Yuejing,
Lin He looked at the bustling, crowded streets filled with the vibrant sights of the mortal world, nodding involuntarily. He scanned his surroundings and walked straight to the agreed-upon meeting place.
That was a restaurant. Inside the restaurant, two women had been waiting for a long time: one with ordinary features yet an extraordinary bearing, the other an exquisitely beautiful woman who looked like a sprite. They were none other than Xin Ruoyin and Nangong Wan.
"Young Master!"
Xin Ruoyin hastily stood up to greet him, the gentleness in her voice warming Lin He's heart.
Nangong Wan also rose, looked Lin He over, and then said with a smile, "Lin He, a year has passed, and your cultivation has grown!"
At this time, Lin He's cultivation had already reached the peak of Early Foundation Establishment. The bottleneck of the middle stage could not be broken through merely by sitting in meditation, so Lin He no longer remained in seclusion, choosing instead to head out and seek the opportunity for a breakthrough.
Lin He smiled slightly. How could he not understand Nangong Wan's thoughts? He merely teased, "Wan Er, back then during the Forbidden Land Trial, you probably never imagined I would advance so quickly."
"I truly didn't," Nangong Wan did not deny it. "I could tell your aptitude was good, but I didn't expect you to advance so rapidly. Now you are only a hair's breadth away from Middle Foundation Establishment. Viewed this way, your hope of forming the Dan is still quite substantial."
Nangong Wan had lost her chastity in the Forbidden Land that day, her heart filled with unwillingness. After all, Lin He was only a Qi Refining cultivator at the time, and the gap between them was immense. But things were different now; in the short span of two years, Lin He had advanced to the peak of Early Foundation Establishment. This speed of cultivation was simply astonishingly fast. After all, for an ordinary Early Foundation Establishment cultivator wishing to break through to the middle stage, a dozen or twenty years was far from enough. Extrapolating from this speed, Lin He's hope of forming the Dan was naturally very great. Even if he failed to form the Dan once or twice, it was not entirely without hope. Therefore, the present Nangong Wan harbored no unwillingness, feeling instead quite satisfied with Lin He's progress in cultivation.
Nangong Wan's countenance was peerlessly beautiful, Xin Ruoyin's bearing was outstanding, and Lin He was exceptionally handsome. The three of them sitting at a single table quickly attracted the gazes of many people.
In a restaurant, there were always a few oblivious drunkards. Three bulky fellows in the establishment drank too much, and upon seeing how exceptionally beautiful Nangong Wan looked, they immediately got carried away.
The boss did not want trouble to break out and hastily came forward to stop them. Yet these three actually possessed a trace of cultivation; although it was merely the meager strength of the third or fourth layer of Qi Refining, it did not hinder their inflated sense of self-importance.
The three strode toward Nangong Wan, who did not even deign to look at them. Lin He and Xin Ruoyin shook their heads upon seeing this, preparing to offer a second of silent mourning for the three.
Right at that moment, a young girl of fifteen or sixteen suddenly reached out and very swiftly tapped the arms of the three men. The three staggered back as if bitten by a venomous scorpion, looking at the young girl before them with startled suspicion.
Behind the girl, an old man stepped out at that moment. The old man glanced at the few of them and said coldly, "What are you looking at? Scram already!"
Realizing they had run into experts, the three were scared out of their wits and fled in a rush.
The young girl was quite pleased with her act of chivalry just now. She clapped her hands and said with a smile, "No need to thank me. Also, when you're out and about, don't dress so prettily; it's too easy to invite disaster."
Seeing the girl point at Nangong Wan with a lecturing tone, both Lin He and Xin Ruoyin wore strange expressions.
"Impudent, you need a beating!"
Nangong Wan's tone deepened. With a casual wave of her hand, across a distance of several zhang, the girl was struck across the face, her cheek instantly turning crimson. This was still Nangong Wan showing restraint, merely wishing to teach the other party a lesson, otherwise the young girl's life would have been forfeit.
The old man at the side turned pale with fright, hastily pulling up his granddaughter and offering a deeply respectful apology, "Senior, spare us! My granddaughter is young and ignorant and has offended you. I beg for your forgiveness!"
By now, the commotion inside the restaurant had attracted the attention of quite a few people. Lin He stood up, smiling as he said, "This is not a place to talk. Follow us, Fellow Daoists."
With that, he walked off on his own accord. Nangong Wan did not even glance at the two of them, following closely behind Lin He, while Xin Ruoyin left a piece of silver to settle the tab, nodded at the young girl, and then followed after them.
"Grandpa, they've all walked away. Then we..."
The elderly man surnamed Xiao wore a bitter expression. "As for the Senior who struck, your grandfather here couldn't see through her cultivation realm at all. She is very likely a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator. When a Senior like that calls us over, do you dare disobey?"
Hearing this, Xiao Cuier looked equally helpless. In the end, the two abandoned any other thoughts and followed behind Lin He's group.
Lin He walked to a secluded corner and casually cast a soundproofing barrier before speaking. "The three of us are not unreasonable people either. The young lady's chivalrous act just now was witnessed by all three of us. However... it is also a fact that she offended a Senior of the cultivation world."
Hearing this, the elderly man surnamed Xiao hastily said, "My granddaughter was ignorant and offended Senior. Whatever demands Senior has, the two of us will go through fire and water without hesitation."
"Oh? Is that true?" Lin He interjected instead, "I noticed the Qi-Concealing Technique the two of you used just now was rather good. Those three drunkards didn't notice you at all. Where did you learn it?"
Nangong Wan did not object, instead tacitly endorsing Lin He's words, which made the elderly man surnamed Xiao somewhat puzzled. Clearly, the pressure the White-Clad Woman gave him far surpassed that of the azure-robed youth beside her.
Yet at this moment he did not dare to lie, hastily retrieving that nameless Dao manual he had picked up and handing it to Lin He.
"Senior, my granddaughter found this by chance. This Qi-Concealing Technique was learned from it."
Lin He took the book and inspected it; it was filled with demon race characters, which of course he could not read, but the final passage containing the nameless Qi-Concealing Technique had been appended later and was not difficult to learn.
So this is the cultivation method for the Gale Nine Transformations. To think it was obtained so easily.
Lin He thought silently to himself, then handed the book to Nangong Wan, skipping straight past the demon race characters. Upon seeing the Qi-Concealing Technique at the end, Nangong Wan was also struck with a wave of astonishment.
"Oh? This Qi-Concealing Technique is indeed rather interesting. I never thought your luck would actually be quite good."
With Nangong Wan's cultivation and discernment, she naturally saw the extraordinary aspects of the Qi-Concealing Technique; this spell was very useful even to her.
"For Senior to appreciate this item means we share a affinity with it. This old man is willing to present this book to Senior as an apology."
The elderly man surnamed Xiao was quite perceptive. Lin He was naturally pleased to hear this, nodding as he said, "We'll take this book. Whatever you need, feel free to ask."
Hearing this, the old man and his granddaughter wore joyful expressions, discussing for quite a while before speaking. "My granddaughter has decent aptitude; we hope she can apprentice under Senior."
Lin He smiled. He had no interest in taking disciples, turning instead to look at Nangong Wan as he said, "This little girl's aptitude is good. What do you think?"
Nangong Wan checked Xiao Cuier's aptitude upon hearing this, discovering to her surprise that the other party actually possessed Dual Spiritual Roots. She could not help nodding and saying, "Her aptitude is good, a material worth molding. Take my token and go to the Covering Moon Sect, someone will receive you there."
Nangong Wan casually produced a jade pendant and gave it to Xiao Cuier, which thrilled the young girl immensely. After the grandfather and granddaughter expressed their gratitude, they immediately departed in high spirits.
Having handled this matter, Nangong Wan suddenly spoke.
"Ru Yin and I used the excuse of traveling abroad to seek opportunities, so we have plenty of time on the road. I’ve already found the mineral vein you mentioned. But you probably won’t be away for long, so you should hurry up and take care of your proper business."
Lin He smiled and said, "Of course the matter of the teleportation array must be handled, but before that I still need to make a trip to the imperial palace."