Chapter 99: The “Rat” within the Stone Talisman
The atmosphere was faintly stifling in the brightly lit room. Lin Zhentian, Lin Xiao and a few others were seated in this room with rather serious expressions on their faces.
“Father, we have successfully restarted all the business that we had previously neglected. Soon, they will all be back on track.” Lin Xiao looked at Lin Zhentian, who had a stern expression on his face, as he softly said.
“Yes.”
Lin Zhentian absent mindedly nodded his head. Moments later, he suddenly lifted his head and looked at Lin Xiao and the rest, sighing: “At first, I thought that after we defeated the Lei and Xie Families, our Lin Family will be able to enjoy prosperous days. Unfortunately, right now, it seems like we have offended another powerful faction: the Blood Cloth Sect.”
“Father, Dong-er acted rashly. I have failed in my teachings…” Lin Xiao stayed silent for a moment before he promptly said. He knew that during this period of time, Lin Zhentian had constantly wrecked his brains over this issue. After all, the Lei and Xie Families could not be compared to the Blood Cloth Sect.
“It’s not Dong-er’s fault. Gu Ying is a vicious and greedy man. Even if we let him live, he will still be a threat to us. Therefore, it does not matter whether we killed him or not.” Lin Zhentian waved his hand as he said.
“If we must blame someone, we should blame that crafty old ghost Lei Bao. He actually dared to reveal the existence of the Yang Yuan Stone Mining Lode to these jackals…”
“Father, what should we do? I have sent several men to investigate the Blood Cloth Sect. Right now, the reason why they haven’t made a move is most likely because they are still investigating our Lin Family’s strength. Once they have finished their investigations…” Lin Ken deeply echoed.
“The head of Blood Cloth Sect is Wei Tong and he is at Yuan Dan Small Full Circle Stage. Under his command, is a follower who recently advanced to Initial Yuan Dan Stage. Meanwhile, they have about ten Heavenly Yuan Late Stage experts. Their strength is something that our Lin Family cannot match up against.” Lin Zhentian slowly said. During this period of time, he had utilized every means in order to investigate Blood Cloth Sect’s strength. However, the more he knew, the greater the anxiety in his heart.
“Yuan Dan Small Full Circle.”
Upon hearing these words, Lin Xiao and the rests’ facial expressions changed. Even though this was only one stage above Initial Yuan Dan, these two stages were totally incomparable. Therefore, even Lin Zhentian would not be a challenge for Wu Tong. Furthermore, there was another follower in the Blood Cloth Sect that reached Initial Yuan Dan Stage. Overall, this kind of strength vastly exceeded that of the Lei and Xie Families’.
Under this immense pressure exerted by their potential enemy, Lin Xiao and the rest turned silent.
“Lin Xiao, secretly transfer some of our younger generation members over this period of time. In case of a mishap, the bloodline of our family will still be preserved.” Lin Zhentian’s wrinkled face was evidently tired as he waved his hand and said.
Upon hearing these words, Lin Xiao and the rest gripped their fists. At this juncture, they must start preparing for the worst outcomes…
“The Yang Yuan Stone Mining Lode is an extremely valuable treasure. Once the Blood Cloth Sect knows about its existence, they will try every means to snatch it away. Furthermore, right now, they have a perfect excuse…” With a pained smile, Lin Zhentian said: “Therefore, it’s only a matter of time before they make their move.”
“Lin Xiao, you must remember. If the Blood Cloth Sect really attacks us, you must protect Dong-er even at the expense of your life. His talent is extremely astonishing and he will definitely become a great person in the future!”
“Alright, it’s late now. All you should head back and rest.”
Lin Zhentian sighed, evidently did not wish to speak further. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed Lin Xiao and the rest.
“Yes.”
As they stared at that old man’s tired expression, Lin Xiao and the rest could only nod their heads as they silently left his room. It seems like it was not easy to be the head of this family…”
…
Just as Lin Xiao and the rest left the room, inside a room deep within the Lin Family estate, Lin Dong who was sitting on a bed slowly opened his eyes. Based on his current strength, it was easy for him to eavesdrop on any conversation without getting caught.
“Yuan Dan Small Full Circle…”
Lin Dong tightly pursed his lips. Right now, based on his current strength, if he utilized all his Mental Energy, he could probably match up with a Initial Yuan Dan stage practitioner. However, if he met a Yuan Dan Small Full Circle expert, his chances of victory would be extremely low.
“It will take at most half a month before the Blood Cloth Sect thoroughly investigates our Lin Family’s strength. At that time, due to the allure of the Yang Yuan Stone Mining Lode, they will definitely attack us…
Lin Dong’s eye flickered. In half a month, what could he hope to accomplish? At the very most, he could breakthrough to Heavenly Yuan Late Stage. However, even that would not be enough to match up against Wei Tong, who was at Yuan Dan Small Full Circle Stage.
“Huff…”
Lin Dong deeply exhaled. Perhaps, he could not accomplish much in half a month, nonetheless, he did not plan to give up so easily. After all, the Lin Family had labored painstakingly to reach their current stage. Therefore, he did not want to see his family get utterly destroyed.
As his fingertips gently tapped on his right palm, Lin Dong slowly closed his eyes. When both of his eyes were shut, with a flick in his mind, that familiar dark Spiritual Domain once again resurfaced.
Currently, within the Stone Talisman’s Spiritual Domain, were the same few glowing shadows. However, that Wonder Gate Seal glowing shadow had now thoroughly perfected that incomplete Martial Arts.
Right now, all four chapters of the Wonder Gate Seal was complete. Based on Lin Dong’s calculations, it was perhaps able to match up to some Grade 5 Martial Arts. Therefore, besides Mental Energy, this was Lin Dong’s most powerful weapon. Even though he could not hope to rely on this skill to defeat the Blood Cloth Sect’s leader, Wei Tong, it could still be considered as one of his trump cards.
Lin Dong stood before these glowing shadows. However, he did not start practising as before. Instead, this time, armed with an inquisitive gaze, he began to slowly scan this dark space.
The current Lin Dong had fairly strong mastery of Mental Energy. Thus, matters that were unimaginable to him in the past, no longer surprised him anymore. For example, Lin Dong estimated that this Spiritual Domain was probably constructed within this Stone Talisman. Meanwhile, the body he had now was probably not his real body but rather something formed by his Mental Energy.
At the same time, as his Mental Energy grew more powerful, Lin Dong uncovered more mysteries behind the Stone Talisman. Therefore, Lin Dong was very curious to find out, besides perfecting martial arts and refining elixirs, what other abilities does this Stone Talisman possess?
Lin Dong earnestly looked about this dark Spiritual Domain. However, as time passed, nothing unexpected happened here. The space was still calm as before.
However, Lin Dong continued observing for half an hour before he sat down on the ground. Streams of Mental Energy began to spread out as they meticulously swept across each inch of this darkness.
However, perhaps because this space was strange, Lin Dong realized that he was expending a huge amount of Mental Energy in order to scan this area. In just ten minutes, Lin Dong began to feel his senses blur.
However this situation did not cause Lin Dong to slow down. Rather, his youthful grit and tenacity began to display itself as he stubbornly chose to release waves of Mental Energy and continued to scan the area.
The dark Spiritual Domain was utterly silent as waves of Mental Energy silently spread out like a ripple.
“Huff….”
This scanning continued for a long period of time. An exhausted expression slowly began to surface on Lin Dong’s face. However, his “scanning” ultimately did not yield any fruitful results.
“Perhaps I am overthinking…”
As he muttered to himself, Lin Dong furrowed his eyebrows. After searching fruitlessly for a long period of time, he had no choice but to give up on this meaningless endeavor. With a flick of his mind, he quickly dispersed his Mental Energy.
As his Mental Energy began to disperse, within the darkness, a nearby inaudible sigh echoed out.
“Who?!”
This sigh was barely audible. However, right now, Lin Dong’s eyes were wide open as he turned to look at a particular dark area and shouted.
Just as he shouted, every hair on Lin Dong’s body stood up. It seems like he was not the only person in this dark Spiritual Domain!
As he became more familiar with the Mysterious Stone Talisman, Lin Dong could feel that when he used this Stone Talisman to refine Elixirs, some parts of the medicinal power would be absorbed by the Stone Talisman. In fact, that day when it absorbed that bewitching flower deep within the mining lode, most of the medicinal power within that flower was not absorbed by Lin Dong, but rather, it all flew into the Stone Talisman!
These daily minute observations caused Lin Dong to turn suspicious. This was one of the reasons why he chose to carefully scan the Stone Talisman’s Spiritual Domain.
After Lin Dong shouted, the entire dark Spiritual Domain turned silent again. This sensation almost made that sigh from before, seem like his misconception.
However Lin Dong was certain that it was not a mistake. As he seriously looked at that black area, streams of Mental Energy quickly materialized in front of him. In the blink of an eye, he had materialized an extremely thin and long needle. This was the “Spirit Divine Needle” that Gu Ying had utilized before.
Even though this was only a normal Secret Spirit Art, it was after all one of the few Secret Spirit Arts that Lin Dong had mastered.
“If you do not reveal yourself, I shall attack!”
The “Spirit Divine Needle” that hovered before Lin Dong slightly twinkled. Meanwhile, Lin Dong’s voice slowly echoed out in this dark Spiritual Domain.
Lin Dong’s words did not elicit any response. After witnessing this situation, a cold glint flashed in his eyes. Without further ado, that “Spirit Divine Needle” that was hovering in front of him immediately dashed off and violently shot towards that dark area.
“Buzz!’
As that “Spirit Divine Needle” advanced, in the next moment, a small light suddenly appeared from the darkness before it quickly dashed towards a deeper area in the darkness.
“You plan to run?!”
When he saw this scene, Lin Dong violently jerked his arm. His Mental Energy was like countless ropes as they immediately chased down that glowing shadow before they trapped it and forcefully began to pull it back.
“Boom!”
When that glowing shadow heavily landed in front of Lin Dong, he took a look at it, before a look of amazement surfaced on his face. As the glow weakened, the formed that was revealed before him was actually a palm-sized rat that was pitch-black from head to toe!
However, what caused Lin Dong to feel the most surprised was that inside the black rat’s eyes were not fear but rather an extremely human-like anger.
“What is this thing…”
As he stared at the black rat’s enraged expression, Lin Dong involuntarily sucked in a deep breath.
