Chapter 644: The Road Is Long, The Goal Distant
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Miao Yan Zhenren’s question made it clear that he thought Curator was the one who offered the solution. Lin Jin could tell this much, so he nodded silently.
“Your master is truly a divine character.”
Miao Yan Zhenren looked impressed. Even if he was tasked with writing a crafting instruction for magic treasures that he was most familiar with, he would never be able to produce such a comprehensive manual.
He would never be unimpressed with the manual.
“Don’t worry, Taoist Lin. Leave the crafting of this Purple Thunder Needle to me. It may take a few days, so for the time being, please stay in our Mystery Dao Sect. You are free to roam anywhere inside the sect’s grounds.”
Miao Yan Zhenren meant his words.
In other words, Lin Jin was granted permission to venture anywhere he pleased inside the sect’s territory.
Having said that, Miao Yan Zhenren spoke to Mr. Qi for a bit before taking his leave. Mr. Qi seemed exhausted, which was unsurprising. According to his analysis, Mr. Qi’s severe injuries caused him to be asleep most of the time. There weren’t many days he stayed awake.
This was the easiest way he could recuperate, so if he guessed it correctly, Mr. Qi would also be asleep for the next few days.
Before he left, Mr. Qi gave Lin Jin something.
It was a scale piece.
About the size of a palm, this scale seemed like something crafted by a blacksmith using rainbow metal.
At first, Lin Jin didn’t know what it was nor did he understand Mr. Qi’s intention. However, a second after accepting it, he instantly knew what was going on.
“Mr. Lin, do you know what this is?” asked Mr. Qi expectantly. He was observing Lin Jin’s reaction and the latter did show some response.
Lin Jin knew what this was.
He n smiled and shook his head. “I can’t tell for now. I need some time to research it.”
Mr. Qi pondered before saying, “Mr. Lin, please keep this in your care for now. If you do find out something about it, do tell me. I will compensate you handsomely for the information.
Then, he glanced at the scale one more time before bidding farewell.
Was there any beast in this world Lin Jin couldn’t appraise?
There wasn’t.
The instant he received the scale, Lin Jin already knew of its origins.
‘The Rank 9 immortal devouring beast’s scale. Who knew that such a thing would be found here,’ Lin Jin thought. Then, he finally pieced together the puzzle.
Mr. Qi was hurt by the immortal devouring beast. Back then, he was an immensely powerful Rank 8 immortal beast so he must have fought the immortal devouring beast.
It ended up with Mr. Qi almost being beaten to death by the frightening creature, which explained his severe wounds and gradual decline. This scale must have been removed from the immortal devouring beast during the fight.
One almost succumbed to his injuries, while the other merely lost a scale. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who was stronger.
“Is the difference in strength between Rank 8 and 9 that vast?” Lin Jin looked grave. But it was too early for him to consider this issue now.
The strongest on his team now was the Rank 6 blood ghost, and Xiao Huo was only Rank 5. The nine sun quartz proved difficult to find, and even if Lin Jin managed to secure one, Xiao Huo would only be Rank 6.
Rank 6 was quite far from Rank 8, much less Rank 9.
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The only Rank 9 to have ever existed was probably the immortal devouring beast.
“The road ahead is long, and the goal is distant!” Lin Jin mumbled. Chen Xuankong came in to lead Lin Jin outside.
As agreed upon, Lin Jin stayed with the Mystery Dao Sect.
Miao Yan Zhenren probably needed about three to five days to craft the Purple Thunder Needle, and that Lin Jin knew well. Due to how powerful the Purple Thunder Needle was, it was correspondingly taxing to craft.
Simply put, the Purple Thunder Needle was the highest grade of Psyche-Refining Needle available. If Lin Jin wanted to craft it himself, he would have to wait until he achieved profound immortality.
However, God knows how long that would take. Hence, if he could borrow another’s strength, he would be able to enjoy the power of the Purple Thunder Needle in advance.
“Taoist Lin, this is the guesthouse of our sect. It’s a little plain, but please bear with it.” Chen Xuankong led Lin Jin into a rather exquisite floating stone mansion.
The house was perched atop a twenty feet tall rock that hovered in the air. There were smaller floating rocks below it, serving as a flight of stairs. Once he got up there, Lin Jin could see a compact courtyard. There was only one house inside with no bed, but one futon. The room had an incense burner, a study table, and in the courtyard was a stone table and stone benches. It was simple, but it was far from plain.
Lin Jin immediately fell in love with the place.
“This place is exquisite. I like it!” said Lin Jin earnestly. After settling Lin Jin in, Chen Xuankong accepted Lin Jin’s request to show him around the sect.
The Mystery Dao Sect used a universe spell to expand its space so the area they occupied was surprisingly vast. Despite the beautiful scenery and plentiful buildings, Lin Jin saw few people around.
Chen Xuankong told him they couldn’t help it. After all, the path to immortality had been destroyed, and every other sect suffered the same problem.
The immortals of their sect were all survivors of the great immortal tragedy, so up until today, they were at least several thousand years old and nearing the end of their lifespan.
Profound immortals like Miao Yan Zhenren and talented disciples like Chen Xuankong who achieved half immortal status did not have to worry.
The same could not be said for the rest of the immortals.
In the past thousand years, many immortals have passed away naturally.
That was why many immortals were trying to go into hibernation through the use of immortal spells. When one was asleep, the exhaustion of their life would be reduced by one-third. However, since they would be asleep instead of going into seclusion, they were unable to cultivate. But they had no choice. For the sake of a longer life, this was their only option.
While some of the sect’s disciples looked older, their actual age was far below custodian disciples like Chen Xuankong.
These disciples had achieved immortality too, and many of them were mortal disciples who have been brought in here during the great immortal tragedy.
Back then, they were still mortal, and probably ignorant youths. By the time they cleared the hurdles and achieved immortality, they had aged quite a bit.
Some were so old that they started trembling. Lin Jin bumped into quite a few silver-haired immortals as he strolled around the place. They all bowed at Chen Xuankong and addressed him as ‘Senior’.
It felt bizarre.
Just then, Lin Jin saw the Moving Library up ahead. Zuo Men and Huang Shi Sanren each had a book in hand, and were engrossed in reading. They didn’t even notice when Lin Jin passed by and that showed just how absorbed they were.
Lin Jin didn’t disturb them.
It was rare for one to enter such a hyperfocused state, so he might end up destroying their attempt at a breakthrough by disturbing them. Lin Jin would never do something so wicked.
It looked like Zuo Men and Huang Shi Sanren would be in this state for quite a while, and it just so happened that Lin Jin had to stay here a few days so he decided to leave them alone.