Chapter 1337 – Eavesdropping
“We still haven’t found it but that is also reasonable. The primordial epoch spirit root possesses its own wisdom. If we want to find it, it won’t be easy. But, that is unimportant. Our Skydark Holy Lands have sent out a million disciples as well as countless other wandering cultivators. Finding the primordial epoch spirit root is something that will happen sooner or later. Still, there is another matter that I’m afraid won’t be so easy to complete…”
The bald youth thoughtfully said. Many of those present simply didn’t know what this other matter was.
“It’s fine, you can all go now.”
The bald youth waved his hand, sending the outer court disciples of the Skydark Holy Lands as well as the outer court disciples to rest. “Wait. You right there, what was your name?”
The bald youth pointed at Lin Ming.
“Reporting to Senior-apprentice Brother, my surname is Duanmu, Duanmu Qun.”
Lin Ming casually gave out Duanmu Qun’s name. Duanmu Qun was a fey from the Holy Demon Continent.
“Duanmu Qun, mm, your performance was good today. Although your cultivation methods are rough and your foundation isn’t too solid, you can be considered quite good for a wandering cultivator. Tomorrow you can join our group!”
In the process of searching for the primordial epoch spirit root, they had inevitably experienced bitter battles with some roaming packs of demon beasts. The bald youth had originally planned to use Lin Ming as cannon fodder and sacrifice him, but they never thought that Lin Ming would live by relying on his own ability. Not just that, but he even possessed the strength to kill several strong demon beasts. This surprised the bald youth a little. Out of all the wandering cultivators he had met in these past days, Lin Ming was definitely the strongest one.
Thus, the bald youth dispelled any notion of sending Lin Ming to his death. Instead, he decided to bring Lin Ming into his squad. At a critical moment, Lin Ming could be a decent help, and in dangerous situations, he could even be used as a shield to save the strength of his team as much as possible.
“Well done. After all this is over, I will petition the sect to accept you as a caretaker disciple.”
The bald youth patted Lin Ming’s shoulder, once again putting forth this sweet enticement.
Lin Ming faked an overjoyed expression. He cupped his hands across his chest and said, “Thank you very much for recognizing me Senior-apprentice Brother. I only hope I can live up to your expectations.”
“Haha, well said.” The bald youth said, his face full of smiles. But, in his heart he was actually thinking, “These wandering cultivators are far too easy to trick. They are nothing but ant-like characters that struggle on the edge of death every day. Just a tiny advantage can lure them to cross seas of fire or water. This fellow wants to become a disciple of my Skydark Holy Lands? He needs to live through this first!”
As Lin Ming and the others went to rest, the bald youth and the several other core disciples gathered in the main hall of the camp.
These people were all secret disciples of Tian Mingzi. Although they were secret disciples, it was extremely difficult for them to see Tian Mingzi, much less receive his guidance. But, compared to ordinary disciples, their status was much higher!
In the Skydark Holy Lands, Tian Mingzi was the one and only king. This was like a mortal nation where all power and authority was controlled by the emperor. Even a distant relative was still a royal relative; who would dare to offend them?
As the several of them gathered in the main hall, one of them took out an array disc from their spatial ring. Then, they took out a violet crystal and inserted it into the array disc, creating an enchantment in the space above.
The enchantment of this array disc was able to isolate the senses of outsiders to avoid spies; it was extremely secure. Even a Divine Lord realm martial artist would find it hard to break through. Moreover, once the enchantment was broken, the array disc would react and alert everyone. This was an essential item for the disciples of the Skydark Holy Lands to discuss important matters.
The space enchantment flickered. Within it, the disciples of the Skydark Holy Lands never imagined that a faint strand of divine dream energy would infiltrate their security, clearly observing their conversation.
After cultivating the Divine Dream Law to now, Lin Ming’s soul force had become incomparably powerful. Although his senses couldn’t cut through space, it wasn’t difficult to break through this sort of enchantment.
Lin Ming could see that these young disciples were at least at the core level of the Skydark Holy Lands. There were many things that they must be privy too, especially about the primordial epoch spirit root. They might even know why Tian Mingzi was collecting so many body transformation medicines.
“The primordial epoch spirit root is truly difficult to find!” After the enchantment spread out, a disciple began to complain.
“That is normal. The primordial epoch spirit root isn’t easy to deal with to begin with. Even if we find it we cannot act rashly. Luckily, the sect has sent out many disciples and we can form a giant sealing array to lock it in. There is also a massive number of wandering cultivators that we can use as cannon fodder. If we can obtain the primordial epoch spirit root, that will absolutely be a great contribution. We will obtain endless rewards from the sect. There might even be a small chance for us to study the transcendent divine might of our Skydark Holy Lands.”
As the disciples heard the term transcendent divine might, all of them were extremely excited. Although the Skydark Holy Land’s transcendent divine might was incomplete to an extreme degree, it was still an inheritance that would cause one’s blood to boil with desire.
“I wonder just what Honorable Master has been planning recently. Not only does he want us to find precious body transformation medicines, but he even wants us to search for Lin Ming’s whereabouts… this Lin Ming came in second place at the Divine Realm First Martial Meeting. But even though he came second, the truth is that he is more or less on the same level as the first place Frost Dream. It could even be said that within the Divine Sea realm, he is the number one young elite of the entire Divine Realm. Compared to him, Elder Senior-apprentice Brother just can’t compare at all.
As they discussed the plan to search for the primordial epoch spirit root, one of them suddenly changed topics to Lin Ming.
Lin Ming was startled. “Looking for me?”
Lin Ming didn’t believe that Tian Mingzi was searching for him because he wanted to drink some tea and ask him if he wanted to join the Skydark Holy Lands.
As Lin Ming thought of this, he realized that there was a possibility that Tian Mingzi had discovered his relation with Mo Eversnow. He might have even guessed that the Magic Cube was in his body!
That was undoubtedly dangerous to him. Once news of the Magic Cube was revealed, there might be no place for him to take shelter beneath the heavens.
Lin Ming took a deep breath, calming himself down. He rapidly recalled every moment where he might have revealed his identity. “Miss Mo, could Tian Mingzi have seen some clue from the Celestial Tyrant Manual?”
Lin Ming had used the Celestial Tyrant Manual’s Hundred Layered Waves in the First Martial Meeting. And, the Celestial Tyrant Manual was an inheritance of the Verdant Feather Holy Lands.
“No.”
Mo Eversnow shook her head. “The Celestial Tyrant Manual was originally an inheritance stored away by the Verdant Feather Holy Lands. In the entire Verdant Feather Holy Lands, there was no one besides me who cultivated it. Even Tian Mingzi was no exception. He simply doesn’t know just what it is like to cultivate the Celestial Tyrant Manual. Moreover, the Celestial Tyrant Manual is an ancient body transformation cultivation method passed down from ancient times 3.6 billion years ago. In the Divine Realm, it might not have been uniquely possessed by the Verdant Feather Holy Lands. However, I cannot confirm this.”
Lin Ming nodded. He calmed his thoughts and continued to listen on.
“Do you think that Honorable Master might have realized the secrets on Lin Ming’s body?” A disciple suddenly asked. The bald youth frowned, coldly saying, “Stop carelessly making assumptions! I do not know the reason that Honorable Master is looking for Lin Ming; it might not be to deal with him to begin with. In any case, we only have to follow orders. Above all, this matter must be kept absolutely secret. Lin Ming’s current status is too sensitive. We can only inform other core disciples of this. As for those wandering disciples, we cannot divulge this information otherwise this secret will spread out.”
“Understood!”
“Good. Then we will continue like this. Tomorrow we will look for the primordial epoch spirit root again.”
After the several disciples finished speaking, Lin Ming was lost in his thoughts.
Tian Mingzi was searching for materials to refine body transformation pills and also searching for his own whereabouts – just what was he plotting?
“Lin Ming, Tian Mingzi’s thoughts are extremely deep and hidden. Even though he was part of the Verdant Feather Holy Lands for so many years, I have never completely understood him. His talent and his strength have always been a mystery, even up until now. He is a highly ambitious character that doesn’t move according to common sense. Although I don’t know what he wants with you, you cannot allow him to find you.”
“I understand. Before I have the strength to truly struggle with a Great World King, I cannot come into contact with Tian Mingzi at all. Otherwise that is simply allowing others to play with my life.”
Even though he said this, Lin Ming still didn’t want to miss out on the primordial epoch spirit root. The appearance changing technique that Lin Ming learnt from Divine Dream Heavenly Palace, when used by a Divine Lord realm powerhouse, could even fool a Great World King. Lin Ming could rely on the Magic Cube to use this technique. Moreover, it would be difficult for him to encounter Tian Mingzi here.
Thinking like this, Lin Ming sat down and began to meditate. He was always cultivating; diligence and hard work was one of the required talents of a genius.
Night passed without words. Early next morning, the sun shined through the canopy of Demondawn Jungle, illuminating the endless canopy of trees. The disciples of the Skydark Holy Lands began their missions for the day.
Lin Ming went with the bald youth’s squad, shuttling back and forth all over the jungle. They encountered packs of vicious demon beasts, but Lin Ming performed well during all of these battles. This surprised the bald youth more and more. Lin Ming’s strength was far greater than that of other wandering cultivators.
As the squad ventured deeper into Demondawn Jungle, the surrounding miasma became increasingly thick. In front of them, thick mud began to appear, just like they were wandering into a swamp.
“This black swamp…” The bald youth frowned. According to what he knew, this sort of terrain in Demondawn Jungle was often infested with ambushing demon beasts. As for the miasma and black swamp, that could block their senses. Thus, walking through this area made one particularly susceptible to sneak attacks. One needed a guide to lead one through this area. With a guide, once a danger appeared, everyone else could quickly react and leave.
The bald youth looked at Lin Ming, “We’re going to explore this area. Duanmu Qun, you walk first. An hour from now we’ll have Zhong Feng replace you.”
The Zhong Feng that the bald youth referred to was a very large fellow with a peak late Divine Sea cultivation.
As Lin Ming heard this bald youth’s words, his expression stiffened. Without a doubt, leading the way here was the most dangerous position.
The bald youth coldly said, “What are you so afraid of? With us behind you, are you scared we’ll let you suffer a loss? Moreover, we’ll even replace you after a while.”
“Then… alright. Several senior-apprentice brothers, your reactions must be faster this time. If danger truly appears then I might not be able to withstand it.” Lin Ming said, a bit weakly.
“Haha, don’t worry!” The bald youth agreed, smiling. He certainly wanted to preserve Lin Ming’s life as far as possible, but this was because Lin Ming was still useful. If there truly was some kind of danger then he could only abandon Lin Ming.
Like this, Lin Ming walked in front of the squad. With his senses, he could sense every single movement in the surrounding 1000 miles. Not even miasma or the black swamp could hope to stop him!
After entering 100 feet into this black swamp, Lin Ming discovered that 100 feet away, there was a powerful python laying in ambushF, its large black eyes greedily staring at him.