Guardians of Mountain and Sea - Chapter 17

Lingyi walked to the front of Lin Pu, bent down to pick up a pitch black square stone, and tested it by secretly infusing a trace of spiritual power. A sweet smile rippled across her face once more.

“So Fellow Daoist is actually a disciple valued by the True Monarch herself. I was speaking nonsense earlier, so I hope Junior Sister does not take it to heart.”

There were not many true disciples in the various Heavenly Sects, and they all knew one another. Lingyi was certain that no such person existed among the Feather Mountain true disciples. However, a talisman that possessed such majestic divine power and sealed an incarnation of True Monarch Hong Ling must have been personally bestowed by her. It went without saying that this young cultivator was a junior disciple whom the True Monarch loved dearly. Such a person had a limitless future and a high probability of being formally accepted as a true disciple.

Lingyi tossed the black stone that had dropped after the death of the dragon robed corpse to her and asked, “Since you are a disciple of the True Monarch’s lineage, you should be a fire attribute sword cultivator. Why do you practice the Geng Metal arrow arts?”

“My master, the True Monarch, told me to choose for myself. It was only ten years ago that I caught her eye and was introduced to the immortal path. I have been practicing abroad and am currently preparing to pay my respects and return to the sect.”

Lin Pu caught the stone and asked after a moment of hesitation, “Do you not want this?”

This object had fallen from the body of the dragon robed corpse. The monster had been annihilated by the True Monarch, its soul scattered and its physical body crushed, yet this square stone remained completely undamaged. It was likely an extraordinary treasure. For those who practiced demonic arts, the philosophy of the strong being respected meant there was absolutely no reason to give away a treasure once it was in hand.

Lingyi shook her head and said softly, “By my count, it was you who saved me. The spoils of war should belong to you. How could I take them for myself?”

Besides, the object was a pitch black square block filled with Geng Metal energy and was incredibly hard. It looked like a rare ore that completely rejected her Gui Water essence, making it impossible for her to use. It was better to give it away as a favor. That black coffin was not bad and seemed to be a spiritual tool. By giving the plain stone to this righteous cultivator, Lin Pu would likely feel too embarrassed to compete with her for the black coffin.

Thinking of this, Lingyi was about to come up with a suitable explanation to take the black coffin when she saw the person before her release a burst of Geng Metal essence. The pitch black stone suddenly erupted with a golden light. Nearby, the demonic plants withered rapidly. The black coffin fell to the ground and melted into a pool of metallic black liquid, which then leaped into the air like a living creature to envelop the stone.

After a few breaths, the light faded, and a golden square seal appeared in Lin Pu’s hand, while the black coffin had transformed into an ink colored treasure box meant to hold the seal. The treasure had recognized its master. The square seal was simple and heavy. The divine beast carved atop it was missing its upper half, leaving only a lion’s tail and qilin feet visible, proving it was no ordinary object.

Lin Pu gripped the handle and pulled the seal out to inspect it. The characters on the seal were smoothed over, making it impossible to see what was carved there. She circulated her spiritual power to test it. The square seal moved according to her will, growing larger in the wind and pressing down onto a nearby empty plot of land.

A loud boom echoed, as if a great mountain had suddenly crashed down. A flat piece of land three zhang long and wide was pressed into a deep pit. Lin Pu was startled and quickly retrieved the square seal. Suddenly, a red light shone within the deep pit, and three thin ghosts appeared. Upon seeing a group of cultivators, the ghosts shivered and scurried to Lin Pu’s side, only relaxing once they were near her.

Receiving feedback from the square seal, Lin Pu looked at the three little ghosts with an odd expression and said, “I was only testing the tool. I have no intention of troubling you. My apologies for the disturbance.”

The ghosts scratched their heads in a dilemma, then their eyes lit up with an idea. One ghost closed its eyes, and its nose protruded and transformed into a hound’s nose to sniff the air. It ran out to scavenge the surroundings, its body flickering between solid and phantom states as it passed through ruined walls. It retrieved several storage pouches and brought them back, presenting them to Lin Pu with both hands.

Another ghost extended its skeletal claws. Its left hand groomed the little tiger beast while its right claw stretched out to Lin Pu’s shoulder to preen the feathers of the two spiritual birds. It seemed to use a special technique, for the tiger beast purred and flopped over to reveal its soft belly fur, while Wan Xiang and the Cold Sparrow pecked curiously at the ghostly claws before squinting their eyes in enjoyment as their necks were scratched.

The third ghost walked a few steps to the side and looked at the smiling Demon Sect fairy. Not daring to approach her, it turned back and knelt down to diligently wipe the young cultivator’s boots. Lin Pu could not refuse, so she waited for the three ghosts to finish. She thanked them politely and released a burst of Geng Metal essence. The square seal received it and emitted a golden light that struck the ghosts.

The ghosts closed their eyes as a red lock on their bodies shattered. They opened their eyes with relaxed expressions and knelt to kowtow in deep gratitude before dissipating back to the underworld. This was actually a Ghost Emperor Seal capable of summoning and commanding spirits!

Lingyi felt deep regret and truly wanted to take back her words to seize the seal. However, with so many people watching, the fairy could not go back on her word. She comforted herself by thinking that the ghost seal only required Geng Metal essence, so she would not be able to use it even if she took it. She forced her gaze away from the tool in the young cultivator’s hand and gestured for the Cold Sparrow to return. From the corner of the wall, the two transparent cold swords that had pinned the corpse also flashed back to her.

“I still have matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave now.”

If she did not leave now, she would feel even worse if she discovered that the treasure box made from the black coffin possessed other miraculous properties. Lingyi stepped onto her cold sword with bare feet and looked at Lin Pu with a smile in her beautiful eyes. “I have never been to the Feather Mountain Sword Domain. If I ever have the chance to visit, you must give me a proper tour.”

Others might not have noticed, but Lin Pu detected a hint of indignant resentment beneath the fairy’s soft words. Before she could think further, a cold light flashed, and the beautiful woman vanished.

“Hey, you don’t even know my name yet. How will you find me if you go to the Sword Domain?”

The incident in Fan City was over, but all the teleportation arrays had been destroyed. Lin Pu would have to find another way to return to the sect. Since anyone below the Heaven tier required a spiritual tool to fly, Lin Pu thought about it and politely declined the rogue cultivators’ offer to give her a ride.

Rogue cultivators possessed a near fanatical respect for the Heavenly Sects. After the previous display, everyone assumed she was a disciple accepted by True Monarch Hong Ling while she was traveling the mortal world. The True Monarch had already accepted her final disciple before entering the Realm of Leisure and would take no more. However, her willingness to bestow a talisman of such power was enough to show how much she valued this female cultivator. Consequently, the rogue cultivators in Fan City were extremely warm toward her.

It was not exactly flattery, as there was a bond from having fought side by side. Lin Pu also had a good impression of these upright and righteous rogue cultivators, but it was ultimately a bit uncomfortable to spend time with them. Lin Pu asked for directions and rode away on the giant tiger once she was sure of her path.

The Eastern Lands were different from the ten thousand miles of the wild mountains. To avoid damaging the mortal forests, Senior Tiger did not return to his original form and instead stayed the size of an ordinary king of the forest. Lin Pu figured out how to use the square seal and the treasure box, then spent two days organizing the storage pouches the ghosts had brought her. Although many cultivators had died in Fan City, most were low level rogue cultivators with nothing good on them. However, the pouches belonging to the City Lord and Deputy City Lord contained some useful pills and tools, allowing Lin Pu to amass a small fortune.

Traveling was quite tedious with no one to talk to. Lin Pu leaned forward and slumped over Senior Tiger’s back, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her chin on his furry head while mumbling to him.

“That hateful corpse monster destroyed the bow Senior Sister gave me. Now I have arrows but no bow in my storage pouch. If I encounter an enemy again, using my essence to directly control the arrows is weak, and their power is greatly reduced.”

The bow Lin Pu had used previously was something the True Monarch had found among her pile of various spiritual tools. These items were specifically kept by Mo Xianjun to give away to juniors. Most were sabers and swords, and that was the only bow.

“Granny and Senior Sister were truly farsighted,” Lin Pu said as she rolled over on the tiger’s back to lie on her back and gaze at the blue sky. “If they hadn’t forced me to cultivate the spear and lance techniques from the arrow manual after my Geng Metal arrow intent reached perfection, I would probably be scared about the journey back to the mountain.”

“First it was demons, and now I have to keep an eye out for things like god sacrifices. The continent is vast, and I am just a small Human tier cultivator who could easily run into such a terrifying corpse. Senior Tiger, Granny and Senior Sister are still waiting for me in the Hidden Realm. I’m so afraid of dying before I reach the Realm of Far Travel.”

The white browed tiger gave a soft roar as if to comfort her. Lin Pu slumped back down and stroked his thick, soft neck fur, saying softly, “If I die, please help me return the safety lock hanging from my neck to the sect. After the Sect Leader dissolves the bone in your throat, tell them these things for me.”

Senior Tiger gave her a jolt and accelerated his pace, nearly causing Lin Pu to fall off. Once she sat steady, she hurriedly said, “I was just talking! I was just talking!”

As the person and the tiger chatted aimlessly, Wan Xiang suddenly hopped around and pecked at her master’s earlobe, chirping loudly. Wan Xiang was a divine bird that could manifest and provide support from the heavens while also sensing the connection between heaven and earth. Although this one was still a chick, it possessed basic sensing abilities.

The foundation of the Star Sea Arrow Manual was the five element arrow intent. Lin Pu had already perfected the foundational Geng Metal arrow and reached the peak of the Unreturned Realm. To progress into the Realm of Creation, she needed to practice the water attribute arrow, which required finding a place with abundant water energy or seeking a water attribute treasure to plant in her dantian as a spiritual seed. Wan Xiang had sensed a prime location for water energy and was alerting her master.

The tiger immediately changed direction, running past several hilltops and into a dense forest for several hours before reaching an open area. It was a marsh hidden within the mountains, where the thick branches and leaves of the surrounding trees intertwined to cover the sky above the swamp, allowing only countless spots of light to fall into the pool. In the center of the largest spot of light in the marsh, a delicate lotus flower stood gracefully. Above the heart of the lotus floated a transparent water droplet that shifted shapes, sometimes becoming a small fish and sometimes a river clam, shrimp, or crab. Every time it changed, it released a thick essence of water spiritual energy.

Lin Pu flipped her hand and summoned the square seal, letting it fall lightly to the side as she called forth three ghosts. With her third realm cultivation, she could only summon three underworld ghosts at a time. Two ghosts dove into the marsh, causing bubbles to rise as they rolled out two dead monsters that had become spirits. The floating corpses of the demons happened to create a path from the shore to the lotus.

These two spirits must have died recently, as their bodies were still soft. One was a hideous giant toad covered in poisonous pustules that was as large as a rural courtyard, while the other was a terrifying black python thicker than a village well. It was clear that these two fierce monsters had fought each other for the treasure and died together. The black python’s scales were torn as it coiled tightly around the giant toad, while the toad had swallowed nearly half of the python’s tail and was still dripping with green venom. The two ghosts drifted out from the bodies of the black python and giant toad, bowing and scraping flatteringly at Lin Pu.

Lin Pu was straightforward; she released a burst of Geng Metal essence, and the square seal broke a layer of the ghosts’ sin chains, sending them back to the underworld. One ghost remained, looking on expectantly. Lin Pu thought about it and said, “Then I shall trouble you to keep watch in the area. Once I have safely taken that lotus seed, I will consider that you have helped me.”

The ghost immediately nodded and vanished into the shadows of the trees. Lin Pu jumped onto the demon corpses and walked to the lotus flower. Just as she was about to reach out, the thick branches and leaves above her were suddenly parted, and the bright sunlight stung her eyes. Wan Xiang chirped happily and hopped twice on her shoulder before flapping its wings and flying up to meet someone.

“What a coincidence, little Junior Sister of the Sword Domain.”

The familiar voice was clear and sweet. Lin Pu tilted her head to avoid the blinding sunlight. The person descended slowly while standing bare feet on a cold sword. It was the Demon Sect fairy she had parted with a few days ago.

Lingyi had changed into a lavender gauze dress, and her hair ornaments and jewelry had all been replaced. The red amber on her forehead was gone, and her soft, white earlobes were now pierced with red studs. She had a hint less of seductive charm and a bit more of sweet brilliance, but the beauty remained the same.

Lingyi landed lightly in front of Lin Pu. Her eyes swept clearly to the side, and her lips curled into an even sweeter smile. “To think that the water seed I planted here specifically three hundred years ago has already condensed into an Earth Spirit Water Soul.”

Three hundred years ago, Fairy Lingyi had only just joined the Myriad Demon Sect from the secular world. The Lonely Cry Mountain, where the Demon Sect was located, was in the northern part of the continent.

Lin Pu blinked her eyes. “Then I am truly sorry. I didn’t hold back just now and accidentally killed your two treasure guarding spiritual beasts.”

The aura of these two monsters was clearly that of half step beast kings, each of which could rival a sixth realm cultivator.

“Ah,” Lingyi said as if she had suddenly realized something. “Then I must have remembered incorrectly. Since you killed the monsters, the spoils should belong to you.”

Lin Pu also shook her head hurriedly and said sincerely, “I was also joking with you, Senior Sister. Since you planted this spiritual object, it naturally belongs to you.”

The two of them told their lies with a shared understanding, standing face to face without moving an inch. Only the Cold Sparrow and Wan Xiang flew happily to a nearby branch, preening each other’s feathers and playing joyfully.

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