Chapter 505
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Chapter 505: The End Times
Yun State, Zhonghang Sect
Lin Jiang was a guest at Zhonghang Sect, but everyone knew that Lin Jiang was not someone to mess with. He lived like a lord in Zhonghang Sect, enjoying delicious food and drinks every day.
Lin Jiang also focused on refining his body, training to strengthen his physical abilities and practicing with weapons like knives, spears, and sticks, preparing for the future when he would become an ordinary person.
One day, Lin Jiang was practicing his sword skills while Cao Ying watched by the side, admiring Lin Jiang’s impressive figure. Cultivators always had great physique, even better than male models.
When he finished a set of sword techniques, a figure appeared before him – it was Li Yuncheng.
"Senior Li."
Lin Jiang bowed to Li Yuncheng, showing respect as he had made significant contributions to Yun State. Respect was due.
"Your swordsmanship needs improvement; it’s rough without a master’s guidance."
"Senior, are you here just for this matter?"
"I have a sword technique that may be the strongest in the cultivation world, with some connections to Tiandao Gate from the past. They learned a version of my technique, but not as complete or refined as mine."
"Senior, please continue speaking, what requests do you have?"
"Back then, Lin Batian and I made a promise. I pledged allegiance to him, and he promised to uphold the Li family legacy. Of course, he did fulfill his promise. However, you know the current situation. Please help the Li family to retain a few descendants."
"Just say it all at once."
Lin Jiang frowned and said. Li Yuncheng, why beat around the bush? Just say it directly.
"My disciple Li Qing has the bloodline of the Li family. She should be given a place in the Li family lineage after me. In addition, there are over a dozen people from the Wangxian Sect who also carry the bloodline of the Li family."
"I have already stopped dealing with Qing State."
Lin Jiang explained. The matters in Qing State have been completed. There is plenty of empty land, but the resources are insufficient.
"I am reaching my limit. With the current spiritual pulse level in Yun State, if there is another drop, I will collapse. I cannot go into a deep sleep. I am a Formation Spirit, created by the spiritual pulse formation. If the spiritual pulse disappears, so will the formation, and so will I."
"Another drop would make it to the second level."
"The Dutian Formation is very high-level, and a second-tier cannot support it."
"I gave the sleeping spell to Li Qing."
Lin Jiang said. Since Li Yuncheng pleaded so earnestly, Lin Jiang had to agree. Whether she can sleep or not is up to her.
"Thank you."
"No need. The senior has protected Yun State for nearly three thousand years. This is what the senior deserves."
Lin Jiang said. This favor must be remembered. Yun State has been mostly protected by Li Yuncheng.
"These are all the martial arts techniques of my Li family. When the spiritual energy recovers, help me find a successor to continue the glory of my Li family."
Li Yuncheng nodded, then pointed towards Lin Jiang. A stream of memories poured into Lin Jiang’s mind, and Lin Jiang bowed to him.
········
Lin Jiang brought Cao Ying to Wangxian Sect for the first time. Lin Jiang hadn’t been back for a long time, and Wangxian Sect’s territory had shrunk a lot. With the current power, they couldn’t maintain the huge territory of Wangxian Sect.
"Master"
Li Qing was very happy to see Lin Jiang. His long absence had worried Li Qing a lot. Many things had happened at Wangxian Sect over the years, leaving her exhausted.
"I have something to tell you this time. When I took you as my disciple back then, I didn’t check your background, your ancestors…"
Lin Jiang told Li Qing his purpose, and also handed over the secret technique to her. As for Wangxian Sect, Lin Jiang had actually given up on it.
Lin Jiang had already taken away all the disciples who needed to leave. The remaining people were not very useful to him, and he couldn’t take care of so many people, which was why he hadn’t returned for so long.
"Master, are you going to abandon us?"
Li Qing was a bit panicked. From what she heard from Lin Jiang, he was going to abandon her.
"It’s not about abandonment. You know what the cultivation world is like now. My skills as a master are not better than yours. I might end up burdening you."
"Master, we are still young and need your help to lead the way…"
"Li Qing, Master’s abilities are limited. I will be staying in Yun State permanently. You know how far Yun State is from Bing State. It won’t be easy for me to come back if my cultivation level drops. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Li Qing, he will be under my care from now on. He will naturally live in Zhonghang Sect. If you want to come, Zhonghang Sect is willing to accommodate you. But Wangxian Sect is not welcome."
At this moment, Cao Ying immediately spoke up. She could see Lin Jiang’s intentions and helped him out. If Li Qing and the other higher-ups come to Zhonghang Sect, she doesn’t mind. But if the entire Wangxian Sect comes, that’s another story.
Li Qing looked at Cao Ying in astonishment. She knew Cao Ying, but she never expected that Cao Ying was under the same Master. Is their Master really that powerful, to even have the number one person in the cultivation world under their wing?
"Li Qing, find a place to rest on your own. Everyone has their own fate, no need to worry."
Lin Jiang added, "Li Qing, it’s time for you to go into slumber. Why bother with so many things?" And then, Li Qing stopped talking.
Lin Jiang and the others spent a few days in Wangxian Sect, then left to explore Bing State and other places. They both knew that given the current situation, this might be their last chance to travel. The opportunity to travel again in the future looks bleak.
"Such a great Bing State, fallen to this…"
After walking around Bing State, Cao Ying felt very sad. She had been to Bing State many times before and knew it was a bustling region, but now it seemed to be in ruins.
"Bing State suffered the heaviest losses during the invasion of the demon tribe. Although it has recovered for two or three hundred years, these years have not been peaceful. It’s already good that there are still some people living there. If you go to Zhong State, it’s even more tragic."
"Zhong State didn’t suffer as much in the great war, right?"
"It’s not true, but precisely because of that, the conflicts between the major factions and vassal states in Zhong State are more severe. There has been a lot of bloodshed. I suggest not going to Zhong State."
Lin Jiang said that they were not only there to see the scenery, but also to observe the various aspects of Zhong State’s society. However, now the state of society in Zhong State was really not worth looking at.
"Okay, I’ll follow your advice."
Cao Ying nodded and then both of them turned back and went to Yun State.
The journey was over, and now it was time to get down to business. Cao Ying gathered a group of people to act as advisors, to predict the future situation. Although not completely accurate, many of their predictions had come true.
This time, the advisors recommended to Cao Ying to stockpile specific resources. They had received news that although the spiritual vein levels had decreased, some of the high-level spiritual elixirs stored by the major sects had not expired.
According to this idea, if we store some supplies now, we can use them for a long time later. Even if we have a bit more than others, it might give us a big advantage in the future.
"Elder, be careful, we can’t store supplies in storage bags. We need to build a strong warehouse. If one day the Qi Refining Period is no longer around, we might not be able to take things out of the storage bag."
"Okay, got it. I will gather people to build a warehouse immediately, right at the mountain gate."
"Little Ying, one more thing, order the disciples to copy the techniques and secrets onto paper, silk, leather, anything except jade slips."
"Will these things still be useful when there is no more spirit energy?"
"They will definitely be useful, trust me."
Lin Jiang said that advanced techniques could evolve into martial arts, and alchemy could evolve into medical technology. They won’t be useless, just maybe lacking in content later.
Cao Ying also agreed. With the orders given, Zhonghang Sect began to mobilize. Surprisingly, in today’s world of cultivation, most cultivators have given up their practice, becoming idle. Now with tasks from the sect, they feel more at ease and their days become more fulfilling.
Zhonghang Sect then started to cultivate spiritual land on a large scale, growing spiritual rice and herbs, even if they are low-level. Construction boomed within the mountain gate, as large storage warehouses and the Library Pavilion were established. Disciples were sent to copy techniques and secrets onto jade slips. The entire Zhonghang Sect became busy.
The unusual busyness of Zhonghang Sect surprised other sects, who wrote to inquire about it. Cao Ying didn’t hide anything and told them the reasons and methods.
Other sects, not knowing this, immediately followed Lin family and Five Elements Sect and became busy. Surprisingly, the actions of these three families unintentionally stabilized the situation in Yun State. In this declining era, their actions seemed out of place.
Fifty years passed in this way. After fifty years, there was another drop in cultivation realms. This time, instead of dropping from the Golden Core Period to the Building Foundation Period, they dropped directly to the Qi Refining Period, and the spiritual energy in the entire cultivation world rapidly declined.
The true declining era had arrived!
