PDLP Chapter 107 Planning
Chapter 107 Planning
Inside the main hall, Lu Yuanshan was already seated in the main seat.
He was the only one present in the hall, unlike the last time when it was so solemn.
Upon seeing Zhang Lin enter the hall, Lu Yuanshan skipped the pleasantries and went straight to the point: "Are you ready?"
"Ready?" Zhang Lin clasped his hands in a salute.
Lu Yuanshan nodded slightly and took out a jade slip from his sleeve: "The latest intelligence on Baishi Town just arrived this morning."
Zhang Lin took it with both hands and probed it with his spiritual sense.
The jade slip contained several more key pieces of information than it had a month ago.
The Patrol Division has confirmed that the spiritual energy fluctuations around White Stone Town are abnormal, and the concentration of death energy is far beyond what is normal, comparable to the concentration of death energy on the edge of the territory of the White Bone Demon Sect in the Western Continent.
Although the injuries of the two surviving cultivators have stabilized, their spiritual consciousness has been eroded to varying degrees. One of them is delirious, and the other is unconscious all day long.
"Your main purpose in going in this time is to investigate. Find out what you can find out, and if you can't find out, come out. Don't be reckless."
He paused, then said, "The reward for the mission depends on the results of the investigation. If the cause of the incident can be found and useful information can be brought back, the sect will reward you with two thousand contribution points and three thousand low-grade spirit stones. If the whereabouts of the missing cultivator can be found, an additional one thousand contribution points will be awarded."
These two thousand contribution points, according to the Danxia Sect's exchange standards, are enough to exchange for a five-elemental hundred-year-old spiritual item.
This was precisely the first path Lu Yuanshan took to secure resources for him to establish his foundation in the Heavenly Dao.
"However," Lu Yuanshan changed the subject, "the deathly aura in Baishi Town will cause your true energy to be consumed several times faster, so you should prepare more Qi-restoring pills."
"Have you grasped the Hidden Eight Transformations Mysterious True Technique?"
"This disciple has already inscribed a jade talisman in his dantian."
"Very good. Once we arrive at Baishi Town, stay on the outskirts for three to five days to familiarize ourselves with the surrounding terrain and population distribution. Don't rush into the town."
Lu Yuanshan rose from his seat, walked into the hall, faced Zhang Lin, and suddenly lowered his voice by three points.
"I've secretly investigated and found that the deputy commander of the patrol office in charge of this mission is from the Liu family, a prominent clan. Be careful when you arrive."
Zhang Lin's expression remained unchanged: "This disciple knows what to do."
"The people sent by the powerful families are unlikely to make their move on the outskirts," Lu Yuanshan said. "Since they chose Baishi Town as the battlefield, they will most likely have a backup plan set up within the town."
"Your third-tier Concealment Technique, combined with Hidden Form and Shadow, is your biggest trump card for this trip. Remember this sentence..." He extended his right index finger and tapped Zhang Lin's chest.
"Fight if you can win, retreat if you can't. On the path of cultivation, no one dares to claim invincibility, no one dares to claim invincibility."
Zhang Lin clasped his hands in a fist and bowed deeply, saying, "This disciple will remember."
Lu Yuanshan withdrew his hand, sat back in the main seat, and his face returned to its usual composure: "Go, and report your safety to the sect every other day using the communication jade talisman."
"If no report is received within three days, I will personally go to Baishi Town. If any aristocratic family dares to cross the line, I will not hesitate to replace the deputy director of the patrol office."
Zhang Lin acknowledged and withdrew.
As he stepped out of the hall, Lu Yuanshan's voice echoed from within: "Remember, only those who return alive can establish their foundation."
Zhang Lin paused slightly, then strode away.
He met two more people at the mountain gate.
Han Mo and Gu Beichen stood side by side by the roadside, clearly waiting for him there on purpose.
Han Mo was still dressed in a blue robe, gentle and refined, waving a folding fan in his hand. Gu Beichen leaned against an old pine tree with his arms crossed, dressed in white, his face bearing his usual cheerful smile.
"Junior brother, when we're out and about, your senior brother doesn't have much to offer." Han Mo took out a talisman from his sleeve and handed it over. "This top-grade concealment talisman took me half a year to refine. It can be applied to the body and last for an hour. Combined with your concealment technique, even a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator wouldn't be able to detect your whereabouts. There's only one left, and once it's used up, it's gone."
Zhang Lin took the talisman. The talisman was slightly cool to the touch, and the cinnabar patterns on the surface were as fine as hair, with a faint spiritual light flowing through them.
"Thank you, senior brother."
"Don't thank me too soon," Han Mo said with a smile. "We'll talk about it after you use it in White Stone Town."
Gu Beichen took a wine flask from his waist and stuffed it into Zhang Lin's hand: "Take this, it's half of the favor I owed you last time."
Zhang Lin uncorked the flask, and a rich aroma of wine wafted out, with a subtle fragrance of medicinal herbs, indicating that it was a spirit wine infused with medicinal herbs.
"The Rockfire Spirit Wine from Tianzhu Peak." Gu Beichen blinked. "My senior brother has been saving it for three years without drinking it. Baishi Town is now filled with deathly aura and heavy yin energy. A sip when you're cold is more effective than a Qi-restoring pill."
Zhang Lin put the stopper back on the wine pot, put the wine pot into his storage bag, and bowed to the two men.
"No need for formalities." Han Mo waved his hand. "Go ahead, we'll take care of Junior Sister Yu for you."
Gu Beichen's smile faded, and he said seriously, "Remember, come back alive."
Zhang Lin's gaze lingered on the two of them for a moment before he turned and walked down the mountain.
As they reached the bend in the mountain path, Gu Beichen's voice came from behind them again, tinged with a hint of joking: "If you dare to die in Baishi Town, I'll haunt you even if it means I have to go back for that jug of spirit wine!"
Zhang Lin didn't turn around, he just raised his hand.
------
The inner gate of Danxia Sect, Crimson Cloud Peak.
Zhou Mingxuan sat cross-legged on a futon in front of the alchemy furnace, with a gray-robed Taoist boy standing in front of him.
The young Taoist priest, Afu, bowed deeply, holding a communication jade talisman in both hands, and said in a low voice, "Young master, Zhang Lin received the White Stone Town mission token at Chenshi (7-9 AM) today and is expected to have been teleported to Zixia City by now."
Zhou Mingxuan tapped his knee lightly with his fingertips, the rhythm neither too fast nor too slow: "What's Lu Yuanshan doing?"
"The news coming from the main hall is that Lu Yuanshan bestowed a spiritual artifact upon Zhang Lin, the specific grade of which is unknown."
"Zhang Lin first went to the No. 83 courtyard to see the disciple who had been formally registered, and then stayed in the main hall for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."
"Before leaving, I met Han Mo and Gu Beichen at the mountain gate. They gave me some things, but I couldn't see what they were."
Zhou Mingxuan's fingertips stopped.
"Han Mo? That abandoned son of the Han family from Zizhi Peak has also gotten involved?" He narrowed his eyes slightly.
"That's fine. The deeper Zhang Lin's roots are in Cuiping Peak, the more reluctant Lu Yuanshan will be to let him die. Only by pulling him out can Lu Yuanshan feel the pain."
He pondered for a moment, then took out a dark red communication jade talisman from the table.
This jade talisman is different from ordinary communication talismans. It has a circle of extremely fine blood-red runes engraved around its edge, making it a secret communication talisman used exclusively within the Zhou family.
"Send a message to Third Uncle, telling him that Zhang Lin has accepted the mission in Baishi Town."
"The details of this person's cultivation methods and techniques are unknown, but during the outer sect competition, he used five third-tier techniques with the cultivation of Qi Refining at the Great Perfection stage, including the third-tier Fire Heaven Flame. He also mastered a sophisticated Wind Control Technique. In actual combat on the arena, he easily crushed those at the Great Perfection stage of Qi Refining. Preliminary judgment suggests that he possesses the ability to fight beyond his level."
He paused, then added, "Also, this person possesses at least two low-grade spiritual artifacts. We must suppress them with the strength of a Foundation Establishment cultivator and not underestimate them."
The young Daoist boy, Afu, noted everything down, then hesitated before saying, "Young Master, Third Uncle... after all, he's only at the Foundation Establishment stage. Is it possible that he's making a mountain out of a molehill by taking such a serious approach to dealing with a Qi Refining stage cultivator?"
Zhou Mingxuan glanced at him, his gaze cold and stern: "Before the minor competition, who knew Zhang Lin could break through three puppets in five breaths? During the minor competition, who could have imagined that Zhou Mingyuan would be completely crushed by him?"
Afu was speechless.
"This person was not well-known when he first entered the sect a month ago, but a month later he won first place in the outer sect competition, and Lu Yuanshan made an exception and accepted him as a personal disciple."
"This level of progress isn't anything special for inner disciples, but how many outer disciples have you seen achieve that?"
Zhou Mingxuan's voice deepened, "More importantly, this person never revealed his trump card from the moment he entered the competition until he won the championship."
"During the alchemy assessment, the medicinal materials were tampered with. He exposed it on the spot but did not retaliate. Instead, he used the situation against him and won applause from the audience."
"During the spell assessment, he clearly mastered multiple Five Elements Third-Order spells, but he only revealed three of them when necessary, and only showed the other two in actual combat."
"This kind of forbearance is not something that ordinary rogue cultivators from humble backgrounds can possess."
He stood up and walked to the window.
Outside the window, the Crimson Cloud Peak is covered in red leaves, surging like a sea of fire in the night wind.
"This boy has only been in the sect for a few months, yet he's already become sworn brothers with Lu Yuanshan's four top disciples, and even Han Mo from the Han family is lobbying for him." He turned to Afu, "Do you think we should wait until he reaches Foundation Establishment before making a move against someone like this?"
A bead of sweat appeared on Afu's forehead: "What does Young Master mean...?"
"Tell Third Uncle that we need not hold back." Zhou Mingxuan withdrew his gaze. "If this man cannot be used by me, then we cannot let him leave Baishi Town alive."
"As for Yu Youwei, let's leave her alone for now. She's just a disciple at the early stage of Qi Refining and can't cause any trouble. We can deal with her after she's nurtured those two spiritual seeds."
Afu bowed in agreement and left the cave, only to find his back soaked in cold sweat.
Zhou Mingxuan sat alone in the cave, his fingertips gently tapping on his knees again.
The flickering flames in the alchemy furnace reflected in his pupils like two cold starlight points.