World Bamboo

He also draped a straw raincoat over his shoulders and sculpted a large beard for his face.

From a distance, he looks exactly like an ordinary mountain dweller.

"If only I had a straight bamboo stick, it would be perfect," Lin Xiao thought.

Traveling alone can be really boring, but that's okay, he'll find some ways to pass the time.

So the goal for the next leg of the journey became finding bamboo sticks.

This time, he did not fly on his sword, but chose to walk, which was more in line with his attire.

However, his walking style differs from that of ordinary mountain dwellers. He shrinks the distance to an inch, and his seemingly casual and leisurely steps can easily cover hundreds of meters.

He followed the map for a long time, passing through several cities but not entering them, instead simply bypassing them.

Because this area is densely populated with cities and Aristocratic Clan of all sizes, Lin Xiao couldn't find a suitable place for their sect to be located. After all, their Lingxian Sect was still too weak in the current Immortal Cultivation Realm, and it was not suitable to settle down in a place with an excessive concentration of cultivators, as it would easily attract all kinds of attention.

This is completely contrary to their sect's principle of wanting to develop in a low-key and steady manner.

After walking a long way through the desolate wilderness, Lin Xiao still couldn't find a perfect bamboo stick.

Along the way, bamboo forests were scarce, and even bamboo itself was extremely rare. When they did encounter bamboo, its appearance was not particularly appealing.

One month later, Lin Xiao suddenly smelled a faint, refreshing scent of bamboo.

He was delighted, and with a quick search using his Divine Sense, he discovered the source of the delicate fragrance.

It's a small bamboo grove in a secluded valley to the right front.

The bamboo in the grove was lush and dense, and the bright green, glossy, and straight bamboo stalks were a delight to behold.

Lin Xiao immediately turned and walked towards the valley where the bamboo forest was located.

A short while later, they arrived at the outer edge of the bamboo forest.

The bamboo grove actually only occupies about half an acre of land. Not far away is a small thatched hut. The thatch on the roof is still very new and clean, but the mud bricks used to build the walls show signs of age.

A barrier had been set up around the bamboo forest. He approached and politely stopped. Looking around and finding no signs or anything like that, he asked, "Is anyone here?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the bamboo door of the thatched hut, which had been tightly closed, opened a crack, and half a head peeked out. It was a child who looked to be only five or six years old.

The child had round, bright eyes and looked at Lin Xiao, who had a full beard, with great curiosity.

"Where are the guests going?" came the child's innocent voice.

"I want to buy a bamboo stalk," Lin Xiao said.

The child behind the door tilted his head, puzzled. "Yeah, where are you going?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiao paused for a moment, then asked, "How much are your bamboos?"

The child counted on his fingers and answered, "Ten thousand Spirit Stone from Chongxiao Domain, one hundred thousand Spirit Stone stones from Netherworld Domain, one million Spirit Stone from Great Wilderness Domain, and between two hundred thousand and one million Spirit Stone from Thousand Waves Domain. Mysterious Extreme Domain is not for sale."

As for the South Spirit Domain and North Spirit Domain, they weren't even mentioned.

After listening to him, Lin Xiao understood. It turned out that these bamboos were not ordinary spirit bamboos; they seemed to have some special function that was linked to various spirit realms.

He then asked, "This is my first time buying bamboo, and I'm a little unfamiliar with the process. Could the shopkeeper explain it to me more clearly?"

The child remained silent for a moment, not answering immediately as before.

He was thinking.

In the past, it was always my mother who dealt with the guests. Those guests were all very knowledgeable and would clearly hand over their needs and Spirit Stone without my mother having to say much.

This was the first time I'd ever taken over the job while my mother was away, and how did I end up with such a clueless new customer?

The child hesitated.

Or should we just ignore it and wait for Mother to come back?

No, no, this is his first time hosting guests. Every time he offers to help, his mother says he's too young.

This time, I happened to run into my mother who had gone out to buy things. She even parked the car in this secluded valley in the middle of nowhere. It's not easy for me to run into a guest all by myself.

If we miss this opportunity, who knows when we'll get another one?

Just when Lin Xiao thought the other party would ignore him, the child spoke up, "My family's World Bamboo is unique in the world. Each World Bamboo can take one person to any marked location. The coordinates are absolutely accurate and genuine, and the price is very reasonable."

"Guest, just tell me which area you'd like to go to; I have coordinates for many areas within my bamboo forest."

It turns out this kind of bamboo is called World Bamboo. It has its own location coordinates and can teleport people. One World Bamboo can carry one person. Lin Xiao understood.

"I wonder if the coordinates of World Bamboo can be changed?" Lin Xiao asked again.

The child said somewhat urgently, "Of course not! World Bamboo can only mark one coordinate in its lifetime, how can it be changed? As long as the World Bamboo isn't damaged, it can be used once a month. As long as you cherish it enough, it should be able to be passed down through generations!" If coordinates could be changed at will, his family's business would be in trouble. "Are you going to buy it or not?"

The child found the customer rather long-winded and unpleasant. His mother would be back soon, and then the business deal, whether it went through or not, wouldn't be his anymore.

Thinking about the price of these bamboos, Lin Xiao felt a pang of regret, but he also found the World Bamboo very interesting and wanted to buy some to study.

Finally, I decided to buy the cheapest one. "Then I'll take one to Chongxiao Domain."

Seeing that he was indeed going to buy, the child breathed a sigh of relief and came out of the thatched hut, walking towards the bamboo forest. He carried a very delicate and small machete and asked, "Does the guest have a specific destination? Or is anywhere in Chongxiao Domain acceptable?"

Lin Xiao then said, "Help me pick a place in the central region, closer to the Netherworld Domain, preferably not in a city."

The child gave him a strange look, then nodded. "Our coordinates aren't set in the city."

At most, the coordinates should be placed around the city. Those cities all require an entrance fee. If the coordinates are randomly set in the city, it is easy to cause conflicts with the city lords. Entering the city without paying the entrance fee is called smuggling, which is easy to be detected by the city's protective formation. This is what his mother taught him.

Lin Xiao calmly nodded. "Okay, by the way, help me pick out a nice, straight one."

The request was quite simple. The child followed Lin Xiao's coordinates to a section in the middle of the bamboo forest, looked around, and then selected a bamboo stalk that was very straight. As for whether it was good-looking or not? All the World Bamboo was good-looking.

The child, pleased with himself, mimicked his mother's actions, patting the bamboo with his little hand. Then, he raised his small cleaver and gently swung it at the base of the World Bamboo, severing it and placing it in his hand.

The fracture was angled and the cross-section was neat. The child was very satisfied with his skill and smiled, revealing his milky white front teeth.