Deep within the Purple Bamboo Sword Sea, inside a seemingly ordinary bamboo tree.
Lin Tingwan slowly opened her eyes, her pale green eyelashes fluttering lightly. The faint, weary cyan hue deep within her pupils finally faded away completely.
Half a month.
She had concealed herself and regulated her breathing within her self-constructed "Wooden Cocoon" for a full half month. Activating the secret technique of Death's Extremity was ultimately too taxing for her current state.
Although she had narrowly won that battle, it had truly injured her origin—the threads of her life were like bowstrings stretched beyond their limit, with many fine yet stubborn cracks appearing.
Fortunately, she still had the three unrefined wood spirit essences obtained from the secret realm.
They contained pure, vast innate Wood Spirit Energy, making them the perfect substance for repairing her origin and solidifying her foundation. Over half a month, using the Green Emperor Longevity Art as a guide, she carefully refined and absorbed the three essences one by one.
Not only did this mend the damage, it also completely stabilized her originally slightly unstable and hollow Dao foundation—a result of her rapid breakthroughs—and her cultivation even faintly advanced a step further.
A blessing in disguise. Although the consecutive life-and-death struggles of the past few days were fraught with peril, they also allowed her to gain a deeper level of comprehension of the Green Emperor Longevity Art.
"It's time to go out."
With a thought, the purple bamboo leaves covering her body receded like a tide, revealing her original form. Her light green hair remained unchanged, the locust branch leaves atop her head appeared even more lustrous and moist, and the Clear Radiance Moon Soul Jade at her waist was as warm and smooth as before.
She changed into an inconspicuous bluish-gray cultivation robe, retracted all outward spiritual aura, and looked like an ordinary, average wood-attributed cultivator at the mid Foundation Establishment stage.
Cautiously extending her spiritual sense beyond the wooden cocoon, she found no abnormalities within a fifty-mile radius. The traces of that day's battle had long been erased by later arrivals or wind and rain, and the corpses of those two Blood Fiend Sect cultivators had likely already turned into nourishment for the purple bamboo.
Identifying the direction, Lin Tingwan transformed into a nearly imperceptible green shadow and sped towards the area where her spiritual sense detected the greatest concentration of spiritual energy and vitality. There should be a gathering place for cultivators.
Two hours later, a majestic and prosperous scene came into view.
A colossal city lay like a crouching primordial beast. Its walls stood a hundred zhang high, forged from a mixture of some dark golden metal and cyan-colored giant stones. Complex array patterns were carved on the surface, faintly emitting a heart-palpitating protective fluctuation.
The city gates were wide open, with a continuous stream of cultivators coming and going, representing various races—there were Winged Tribe members with feathered backs, Demonic Beasts with scaled bodies, Spirit Race members manipulating elemental power, and even more were human cultivators of diverse appearances. Their auras varied in strength, but even the armored soldiers guarding the gates emitted the spiritual pressure of the Foundation Establishment stage.
Above the city gate, three ancient, vigorous, and powerful characters were inscribed with iron strokes and silver hooks: Linyuan City.
Lin Tingwan entered the city with the flow of people, keeping a low profile and not being subjected to inspection. The scene inside the city was even more prosperous and beyond imagination. Broad streets paved with green jade crisscrossed, with towers, pavilions, and halls lining both sides in orderly rows, their treasure lights faintly discernible.
In the sky, magnificent flying boats and swift streaks of light occasionally streaked past. Every so often, a few auras as deep and profound as the ocean abyss would cause one's heart to jump and mind to tremble upon the slightest touch of spiritual sense—that was the oppressive might belonging to Nascent Soul stage grand cultivators!
This place was absolutely incomparable to remote regions like the Southern Province. Just the tip of the iceberg revealed by this city alone, its heritage and strength likely far surpassed many so-called major sects in the Southern Province.
Suppressing the ripples in her heart, she headed towards the city's relatively famous spirit food restaurant, the "Five Flavors Pavilion." If she wanted to gather news, this kind of place with concentrated foot traffic and a mixed crowd of all sorts was most suitable.
The Five Flavors Pavilion was a five-story wooden and stone structure, with carved beams and painted rafters, and spiritual energy misting the air. Lin Tingwan entered the first-floor main hall, found a quiet corner seat by the window, and as usual, ordered the signature spirit food "Eight Treasures Supreme Flavor," along with the fragrant "Braised Spirit Mushrooms," the blood-and-qi nourishing "Crimson Glow Beast Meat Soup," and a pot of Heart-Clearing Tea.
The spirit food arrived quickly. She slowly savored it while listening intently to the conversations of the surrounding cultivators.
"...Have you heard? The 'Wood Spirit Burial Mound' that caused such a stir recently has finally completely closed. All the entrances have disappeared!"
"More than heard! My third uncle's dao partner's cousin's son went in with an overseer from the Longevity Sect. And the result? His soul lamp went out! Not even his bones were found!"
"Alas, I heard this time the burial mound opened with entrances from many provinces. The people who went in were a mixed bag, numbering at least ten thousand! But those who came out alive? Less than one in ten!"
"My fifth granduncle's nephew went in from the Central Province and ended up in Cangwu Province. He only returned recently. I heard he managed to gather the spirit stones needed for the teleportation array, and he even had a thousand-year-old spirit herb left in his hand!"
"That's normal! There are many opportunities inside—ancient spirit medicines and plants, demonic beast treasures, even wood spirit essences suitable for all cultivators! But with so many people, old grudges and new hatreds were inevitable. People killed each other on sight!" one cultivator analyzed with great authority.
"Although the secret realm's rules only allowed those below the Golden Core stage to enter, many who went in were either the proud geniuses of various sects or seasoned old cultivators. Who doesn't have some trump card up their sleeve? I heard the last day inside was practically a slaughterhouse!"
"Exactly! I heard about several rogue cultivators from the Northern Desert Province who entered from the Flowing Sand Sea. There's been no news from them for over a month. They're probably lost inside."
"Or they might have exited from another province's exit. But who knows which remote corner they were teleported to."
"Brother Lü, what do you all think about that thing? Who got it?" a cultivator asked quietly, hand resting on his teacup.
"Hey, who else? The big share definitely went to the Tai Xuan Sect and the Longevity Sect! The people they sent in were elite disciples, led by ruthless characters at the half-step Golden Core stage! There was also a Spirit Race team that reportedly gained quite a lot too." His tone was filled with extreme envy.
"The Blood Fiend Sect sent quite a few people in, but I heard they had bad luck and didn't snatch any wood spirit essences. Seems they even lost several capable members. The specifics aren't clear."
"The Blood Fiend Sect didn't get any? Serves them right! Those murderous bastards..." A cultivator sitting on the right slammed his chopsticks down upon hearing this, cursing with hatred.
"Shh! Lower your voice! There are Blood Fiend Sect people in this city too..." His companion hurriedly covered the man's mouth in panic, glancing around furtively before letting out a relieved sigh.
Lin Tingwan picked up her teacup and took a sip of the Heart-Clearing Tea, slightly bitter with a sweet aftertaste. Her heart, however, grew much more settled.
The news had indeed spread, but just as she expected, the focus was on those major sects and powerful factions. A small fish like her, from a Spirit Race team, hadn't attracted much attention amidst this muddy water.
The outside world only knew the Blood Fiend Sect had suffered losses and failed to obtain wood spirit essences; no one knew the specific details. This saved her a lot of trouble.
It seemed her situation wasn't an isolated case. With space being unstable and multiple entrances and exits, teleportation to other major provinces seemed to happen frequently.
This place was absolutely incomparable to remote regions like the Southern Province. Just the tip of the iceberg revealed by this city alone, its foundation and strength likely far surpassed many so-called major sects in the Southern Province.
She set down her teacup, her gaze sweeping over the prosperous streets outside the window. In the distant sky, a sharp, fierce sword light was piercing through the air, its aura unmistakably that of the Nascent Soul stage.