Free Web NovelChapter 542: Chapter 64: An Unexpected Old Acquaintance (Part 2)
"The first matter, our recent assaults on the demon cultivator army a few months ago have been successful, and more and more fellow practitioners are joining. Presumably, in the recent months, the forces under each of you have grown significantly."
"...However, having many people brings some drawbacks. Firstly, it’s very likely that we’ve been infiltrated by demon cultivators among us. Secondly, having many people makes management difficult. Though we are all disciples of the Martial Arts Palace, there have been several disputes in the past month. Although no casualties were caused, it has disrupted the harmony among everyone, which is not good."
"Therefore, I think for now everyone should continue to operate independently. But if we could unite to form a true Martial Arts Palace alliance against the demon cultivator army, it would definitely yield better results..."
Cang generally put forth his idea.
In fact, his plan was essentially to consolidate these loose cultivators of the Martial Arts Palace. And to achieve this, it requires selecting an alliance leader, as well as several vice alliance leaders.
Cang’s suggestion was for him to serve as the alliance leader of the Martial Arts Palace, and the leaders of the other three factions serve as vice alliance leaders. In this way, the four factions could completely unify to fight the demon cultivators.
Obviously, before this meeting, the leaders of the other three factions, including Cang, had already discussed this, so they did not oppose, unanimously agreeing.
Only the hundred or so Martial Arts Puppets under Lin Chen, due to identity reasons, were inconvenient for frequent communication and merely dealt with the demon cultivator army silently.
"Brother Yue, what do you think?" Cang looked at one of the puppets in front of Lin Chen and asked.
This Martial Arts Puppet of Lin Chen had nearly the strength of an early Nascent Soul, making it the strongest among the hundred or so Martial Arts Puppets.
Even among the leaders of the four loose cultivation factions, its strength ranked among the top three.
Moreover, although the number of Martial Arts Puppets was small, only about a hundred, each had mid-Golden Core strength or above, making them absolute elites.
Therefore, Cang was very concerned about the opinion of the faction represented by ’Yue’ with the Martial Arts Puppets.
Lin Chen stood behind a Martial Arts Puppet, expressionless, but was actually giving commands to the puppet.
Soon, the Martial Arts Puppet received Lin Chen’s command and said loudly: "Hmm, if that’s the case, then all the better. I’m just curious to know what actions Cang, the Taoist friend, plans after becoming the alliance leader?"
Upon hearing the words of the Martial Arts Puppet, Cang was initially taken aback but then showed a look of delight.
He wanted to unify the martial factions of the Qing State this time, and the other three factions had already agreed.
Although the faction represented by the Martial Arts Puppets was small in number, its strength was considerable. Cang originally thought he would have to spend some effort persuading Lin Chen’s Martial Arts Puppets to compete for the alliance leader, but he didn’t expect things to proceed so smoothly.
Actually, Lin Chen wasn’t really interested in Cang or the so-called "Martial Arts Palace disciples alliance" and didn’t even think they could be of much use.
The reason Lin Chen came was to first gather intelligence from these loose cultivators, and secondly, to have a cover for bringing martial artists from Blue Star in the future.
And evidently, these loose cultivators, who practiced the Martial Arts Breathing Technique, were the best cover.
"Since Taoist Friend Yue is so forthright, then I won’t hide it either..." Cang paused momentarily and soon said:
"According to reliable sources, the Demon Path plans to launch a full-scale attack on Celestial Dao City within three years. Currently, the tens of thousands of miles of territory between Celestial Dao City and Wenda City are controlled by the Demon Path, with only these two cities left, along with parts of the Qing State’s Western Domain, that remain unaffected. Although with our power it is difficult to deal a devastating blow to the Demon Path directly, our advantage is that we remain in the shadows, and more and more loose cultivators and civilians are starting to practice the Martial Arts Breathing Technique. Everyone practicing the Martial Arts Breathing Technique is our potential ally..."
"Therefore, I plan to kill them off before the Demon Path launches a full attack. Even if we can’t severely injure the demon cultivator army, we can at least delay their assault on Celestial Dao City."
Upon hearing Cang’s words, Lin Chen was slightly disappointed.
He initially thought these loose cultivators would have some grand plans but didn’t expect them to just continue ambushing the demon cultivator armies. However, Lin Chen hadn’t expected too much; he only intended to gain some intelligence from these loose cultivators.
After half a two-hour session of conversation, Lin Chen obtained a great deal of information from Cang about the Demon Path in the Qing State, including their various outposts and personnel configurations at the front lines. This intelligence was quite useful, and Lin Chen silently made note of it.
However, during this meeting, Lin Chen unexpectedly saw someone among the loose cultivators.
After the meeting ended, Lin Chen silently looked in a particular direction, his heart stirring, and cast a Divine Sense mark on that person.
Lin Chen did not reveal himself; he merely followed the Martial Arts Puppets in turning away and leaving.
After the meeting ended, in the following days, many cultivators gradually left the marketplace in Fule City. Lin Chen also came to a particular residence in the city the next day.
Lin Chen did not enter the courtyard, but his heart was quite moved.
"Xin, I didn’t expect you to have survived that battle... and it seems you’ve had some adventures over these years. Being just a Mixed Spirit Roots, you barely reached early Golden Core, but your martial prowess seems quite remarkable..."
Yes, the old friend he saw yesterday was none other than Huang Xin, who had managed the medicine garden for Lin Chen as an Outer Sect Disciple of the Changchun Sect.
Years ago, Ancestor Changchun sent a group of highly talented Inner Sect Disciples away from Yanlai Country, heading towards the Central Domain of Qing State.
With Huang Xin’s aptitude, it was naturally impossible for him to be sent to the Central Domain. But before the decisive battle at the Changchun Sect, Ancestor Changchun dispersed all the Outer Sect Disciples, with only a few who chose to stay behind, while the rest sought their own paths.
And among those disciples, Huang Xin was evidently one of them.
Parting hastily that year, Lin Chen was not in the sect, and thus did not know Huang Xin’s whereabouts, only seeing a letter Huang Xin left behind.
After several decades, Huang Xin had transitioned from a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to a Golden Core Cultivator.
His cultivation speed was not fast, and Huang Xin was even older than Lin Chen, likely over a hundred and fifty years old.
But Huang Xin was stable in his conduct and meticulous in his cultivation. At that time, he diligently assisted Lin Chen, and Lin Chen had provided him with quite a few pills and cultivation resources.
Lin Chen did not know how Huang Xin had lived these years, but presumably, he relied on those resources and his steady cultivation to step into the Golden Core Stage.
With a mere glance, Lin Chen could tell that Huang Xin was a Sixth Grade Golden Core.
Such aptitude and Golden Core quality were not particularly impressive, but for Huang Xin, it was already very good.
After several decades of absence, Huang Xin’s cultivation level was as Lin Chen had expected, but what surprised Lin Chen was Huang Xin’s astonishing martial prowess.
Since the spread of the Martial Arts Breathing Technique, in just a few decades, Huang Xin had already become a Martial Sect powerhouse.
Among these loose cultivators calling themselves the Martial Arts Palace, his strength was also among the top, being one of the leaders of the four factions.
Huang Xin likely harbored some feelings for the Changchun Sect; otherwise, he wouldn’t have joined this loose cultivator organization to fight against the Demon Path over these decades.
"Well, it’s not yet the time for a reunion..." Lin Chen shook his head, choosing not to enter the courtyard.
With his current cultivation level, unless he wanted to be noticed, most cultivators in the Human Realm would be unable to perceive his presence.
Lin Chen lingered outside the courtyard for a moment before turning to leave.
Not long after Lin Chen left, Huang Xin, who was in the midst of cultivation, suddenly opened his eyes, looking at the storage ring in front of him with a bit of surprise.
He cautiously probed the storage ring with his Divine Sense. After determining that it contained no restrictions or traps, he confidently opened it.
Inside the ring, Lin Chen had left Huang Xin a trove of cultivation resources.
Apart from ordinary Spirit Stones and cultivation pills, Lin Chen had also left behind several dozen drops of Spirit Realm Jade Dew and had stocked the ring with numerous Treasures of Heaven and Earth to aid in martial cultivation.
Lin Chen collected many of these treasures in the past, but after reaching the Fifth and Sixth Realm of Martial Saint, those previously valuable treasures no longer seemed sufficient, so giving some away was of no issue to him.
Of course, aside from these, there was also an important letter.
Huang Xin took out the letter, becoming silent for a long while upon seeing the familiar handwriting and reading its contents, his eyes gradually reddening...
"Senior Brother Lin..."
