Lin Jin possessed a complete collection of Beast Energy Formation. He also had Demonic Transformation and both these cultivation techniques could help raise the monsters’ level up a notch.
However, Lin Jin didn’t teach them openly. First, he passed Beast Energy Formation to the dozen banner masters that he picked. Once they memorized it, Lin Jin instructed them to provide the other monsters with lessons, whenever he told them to do so.
Tiger Taoist had been very lax when it came to controlling the monsters of Dark Wind Cave. He rarely set down new rules, and even if he did, there would only be a handful of them.
That wouldn’t do.
After taking a headcount, Lin Jin counted almost a hundred monsters in the cave who knew Transfiguration. By ‘knowing’, he factored in the half-human half-beast ones too. Only a scarce few monsters managed to fully master the technique.
Those who couldn’t transform made up the majority. Some had just gained spiritual intelligence, some still had their primitive natures, some were still ignorant, and they all totaled up to about three hundred.
Dark Wind Cave did have a huge force.
Among them included rare breeds which Lin Jin had never seen before. After all, Arid Continent was thousands of miles away from United Continent. The difference in geography and climate was bound to produce different beasts.
Lin Jin was naturally delighted at this. He gathered all monsters and beasts and then conducted a ‘physical examination’ on all of them. Of course, this was merely an opportunity for him to record them all into the museum.
Those who had hidden diseases were effortlessly cured by Lin Jin as he went along, and this earned him their loyalty.
As Lin Jin knew that an organization’s success was determined by rule and order, his first step was to set in stone a series of rules and share with them Dark Wind Cave’s future development plan.
If those under sects were here, they would easily recognize these rules as sect rules.
Lin Jin was obviously trying to convert Dark Wind Cave into a monster’s sect, which was his plan from the start.
To found a sect, they needed ancestral figures.
That was easy.
Lin Jin named two ancestral figures for Dark Wind Cave. One was Daojun, of course. This was easy to understand as Tiger Taoist had been their previous cave master, so worshiping his master made sense for them all. When it came to strength and reputation, Daojun could never be ignored.
As for the second ancestral figure, Lin Jin shamelessly nominated ‘Curator’.
He had planned this.
Dark Wind Cave was the greatest fighting force he had assigned to ‘Curator’, so in times of desperation, these monsters would come in handy. In the meantime, they could also promote Curator’s reputation.
If Dark Wind Cave made themselves known to the world, surely, as their Grandmaster, Curator’s fame would rise too. This would add to his strength, so wherever Curator visits in the future, he could easily intimidate enemies into surrendering. The best victory is often achieved without a fight.
Although Lin Jin wasn’t a veteran in this sense, he understood the theory well.
What’s more, to guide these monsters onto the right path would add a meritable deed to his name.
Subsequently, Lin Jin helped both these grandmasters lay down the cave’s rules.
At great length, there were about seventy rules, all of which required the monsters to do good and be righteous. Lin Jin even selected about a dozen monsters with strong cultivation to form a law enforcement team, to have them implement the sect rules. Whoever disobeyed these rules was to be punished according to the regulations.
It was inevitable that they had to sacrifice a couple of disobedient ones in the beginning. This was to set an example to the others because only this way would the other monsters know how important these rules were.
There may be tons to do, but Lin Jin carried them out in an orderly manner. In just two days, Dark Wind Cave was properly organized. Now, they just had to maintain this structure.
Lin Jin had actually been waiting for Clear Wind over the two days as well. Ever since passing on the Divine Blade Scroll to him, Clear Wind had entered a mysterious cultivation state.
This was akin to humans entering a zone.
Lin Jin didn’t bother him and he knew he should refrain from doing so. He could only wait for Clear Wind to wake up on his own.
However, even after two days, Clear Wind showed no signs of ‘waking up’. Lin Jin contemplated and decided not to wait anymore.
He had to retrieve the Four Ocean Gourd from Five Palm Mountain.
Tiger Taoist boldly offered to go with him and Lin Jin agreed. There was a risk that a conflict might occur with Water God Cult, so having another expert with him increased the chances of victory.
Early in the morning, Lin Jin brought Tiger Taoist along as they flew to Five Palm Mountain on a cloud.
Here in Arid Continent, everyone knew about Five Palm Mountain not only because of its gorgeous view but also because it was a combination of a few mountains. From a distance, it resembled the shape of a human palm and was a majestic sight to behold. Another reason behind its fame was the Water God Cult.
In Lin Jin’s opinion, while Five Palm Mountain did look magnificent, it was still a desolate location. However, the center of Five Palm Mountain was lush green and rumored to be the largest oasis in Arid Continent.
From the sky, the greenery stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the drab yellow dessert.
Lin Jin didn’t descend immediately. He was here to search for the Four Ocean Gourd. If the Water God Cult had nothing to do with the Four Ocean Gourd, he couldn’t care to provoke them.
Standing thousands of feet above the ground, Lin Jin saluted Tiger Taoist. “Brother Tiger, I will cast a spell to summon Daojun’s magic treasure. Please protect me for the time being.”
Tiger Taoist nodded with a chuckle. “Don’t worry, Brother Lin. With me here, no one would ever dare to interrupt your spell-casting.”
Lin Jin didn’t doubt that. After a few days of recuperation, Tiger Taoist recovered most of his strength. In his opinion, this world may have tons of experts, but only a handful of them could match up to Tiger Taoist.
Lin Jin invoked a spell and performed it exactly as Daojun had recorded in his hieroglyphic to control the magic treasure.
“Four oceans into one, water of the universe. Magic treasure, return!”
Opening his palm, an invisible force overflowed.
Lin Jin had no idea if the spell would work. Since Daojun said so in his hieroglyphic, that this spell should theoretically summon the magic treasure, or it would at least come within a radius of a hundred miles. In any case, Lin Jin had to try it out.
After all, Daojun only mentioned hiding the magic treasure here in Arid Continent’s Five Palm Mountain and nothing more. Five Palm Mountain was a huge place, and if they were to comb the ground in search of it, god knows how long it would take for them to find it.
Hence, using a magic treasure summoning spell would be the easiest.
The first time he performed it, besides the flow of energy, nothing happened. The magic treasure was either not here, or Lin Jin’s mana was too weak.
Flames then emerged from Lin Jin’s body. This was the strength of his first pet beast, the fire wolf. Then, the flames turned blood-red. This was the strength of his second pet beast, the blood ghost.
Borrowing the strength of both Rank 5 beasts, Lin Jin performed the spell once more.
Rumble!
There was a strange sound and Lin Jin clearly detected a response.
No doubt, the Four Ocean Gourd was near.
This discovery made Lin Jin thrilled. So long as the magic treasure was still here and could respond to his spell, it meant that its magical properties were still intact.
Lin Jin continued performing the spell. Meanwhile, Tiger Taoist peered down at the source of the strange sound, and then his jaw dropped.
