28: Chapter 28 Mysterious Black Stone

The Black Stone Chamber of Commerce's Guard Team stayed in Sunset Town for three days. Seeing no movement from Green Robe Hall, Zhao Meng led his men back to Black Stone City.

Before leaving, he patted Lin Yue on the shoulder.

“With Green-Faced Old Ghost's temperament, he will never let this go. Fellow Daoist Lin, you must still remain on high alert.

If there is a real emergency, you can send me a message, and I will bring men as quickly as possible.”

Lin Yue thanked him for his kindness—

Now that he was an Early Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, his spiritual power flowed with a steady air of authority. In responding to Zhao Meng's goodwill, he showed more of the composure that comes with interacting as equals.

He had Lin Shi select five newly forged silver-patterned daggers to give to Deacon Zhang as a thank-you gift.

Deacon Zhang accepted them with a smile and whispered before leaving:

“Steward Liu asked me to pass on a message. Green Robe Hall has recently been scouting for buyers for companion spirit iron ore in Black Stone City. It seems they want to find another source of Ore to cut off your path.”

“Thank you for informing me.”

Lin Yue understood perfectly, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the communication talisman in his sleeve.

The Early Stage Foundation Establishment spiritual power flowing quietly within his body gave him more confidence when dealing with these schemes.

After seeing off the people from the Chamber of Commerce, Sunset Town returned to its usual pace, though the expressions on the clansmen's faces were a bit more vigilant.

Over at the spiritual fields, Lin De was busy with the medicine boys cultivating a new batch of spirit nurturing flowers. The profound ice grass would be ready for harvest in a few days, and the fires in the Alchemy room burned brightly from morning until night.

In the Artifact Refining Workshop, Lin Shi was attempting to forge a longsword using the juice of metallic spiritual plants. The clanging sound of ironwork was louder than usual, as if venting some pent-up emotion.

Every day, besides handling clan affairs, Lin Yue focused on stabilizing his recently attained Early Stage Foundation Establishment cultivation.

He mixed refined liquid from spirit nurturing flowers into spirit spring water for a half-hour daily soak and took an improved version of the Qi Gathering Pill. The spiritual power in his Dantian became increasingly condensed, and his Realm gradually stabilized.

Grand Elder Lin Cang was also at the Early Stage Foundation Establishment. The two often sparred in the usage of spiritual power at the martial arts field behind the ancestral hall, confirming their insights with each other as their cultivations steadily improved.

One morning, just after Lin Yue finished sparring with Lin Cang, Lin Hu came running over in a hurry, holding several pieces of black Ore in his hand:

“Clan Chief, Grand Elder, something strange happened at the mine. This kind of Black Stone is mixed in with the newly mined companion spirit iron ore. It's incredibly hard; even a silver-patterned dagger can't scratch it.”

Lin Yue took the Black Stone. It felt heavy in his hand, with a smooth surface and faint black patterns flowing across it.

He probed it with a trace of Foundation Establishment spiritual power, only to have it repelled by a cold aura that left his fingertips slightly numb.

Beside him, Lin Cang also picked up a piece to examine, his brow furrowed.

“This aura... it doesn't seem like ordinary Ore.”

“Tell the mining clansmen to be careful. Store this Black Stone separately for now, and don't let it be crushed,”

Lin Yue instructed, putting the Black Stone into his Storage Pouch. “When we trade with the Chamber of Commerce next month, have Deacon Zhang identify it.”

“Understood.”

Lin Hu acknowledged and left.

After handling the matter, Lin Yue returned to his secret room and sank his consciousness into the Grotto-heaven.

Inside the Grotto-heaven, the world tree sapling remained the same, the silver patterns on its leaves flickering steadily without any obvious change.

The Tall, Thin Cultivator was sitting cross-legged, injecting spiritual power. His complexion looked better than it had a few days ago—

He had met his injection quotas these past few days, and as promised, Lin Yue had given him one clear spirit fruit daily. While there was no trust to speak of, a strange balance had formed.

Seeing Lin Yue appear, he only lifted an eyelid before continuing his work.

“Today's clear spirit fruit.”

Lin Yue tossed a lustrous white fruit over. Then, his tone shifted as his Early Stage Foundation Establishment spiritual power spread out with a faint pressure.

“But the spiritual power you are injecting still carries distracting thoughts.

If this continues, the backlash from the Grotto-heaven's rules will be three times stronger than last time.”

The Tall, Thin Cultivator's hand tightened suddenly around the fruit. When he looked up at Lin Yue, there was more fear in his eyes—

He could feel a Foundation Establishment pressure from the other man that was similar to what he once possessed.

Realizing this person was definitely not the Qi Refinement Cultivator he had previously assumed, any thought of resistance was instantly suppressed, and he could only lower his head and speed up the injection of spiritual power.

Lin Yue ignored him and went to check the spiritual fields.

The growth of the profound ice grass met expectations. The ice crystals on the leaf edges were becoming fuller, and the spiritual aura fluctuations were much steadier than those of similar Spiritual Plants in the outside world.

The Spirit River flowed gently, with transparent spirit shrimp swimming leisurely inside. Everything was as usual.

The mining area had also not changed much. The daily production of companion spirit iron ore was stable, and the Low-Grade Spirit Stones in the Spirit Stone vein were still densely packed.

The output probability of Mid-Grade Spirit Stones remained at its previous level.

Pulling up the plane panel, the various data were basically consistent with a few days ago.

Only the Chaos Spiritual Qi conversion points were 3 higher than yesterday, and the Chaos Mist at the edge of the continent had pushed outward by an inch or so, which was almost negligible.

“Steady accumulation is the right way,”

Lin Yue thought to himself as he exited the Grotto-heaven.

In the afternoon, Lin De ran over with newly refined qi condensing pills, his face full of joy:

“Clan Chief, Grand Elder, using metallic spiritual plant juice to assist in Alchemy has increased the pill refinement success rate by another ten percent! Moreover, the pills now contain a trace of resilient energy, which is beneficial for tempering the Meridians after consumption!”

Lin Yue and Lin Cang took the pills to examine them. Indeed, as Lin De said, the surface of the pills had a faint silver glow, and the spiritual aura fluctuations were more solid.

Lin Cang smiled and said, “With these pills, the clan's younger generation will have a much better chance of success when breaking through to the Qi Refinement Stage.”

At dusk, the guards responsible for monitoring the Black Wind Forest sent back news that people from Green Robe Hall were active near the edge of the forest. They seemed to be scouting for news of Sunset Town but did not dare to approach.

Lin Yue and Lin Cang exchanged a look. Lin Cang said solemnly, “I will go reinforce the illusion array so they won't even be able to see the shadow of the town wall.”

“Very well,”

Lin Yue nodded. “Have the Guard Team add more night shifts. If there is any unusual movement from the opponent, ring the alarm bell immediately.”

As night fell, Sunset Town was shrouded in the mist of the “Four Symbols Maze Array.” The lights inside the town were lit one by one, reflecting the stars in the sky.

Lin Yue and Lin Cang stood side by side on the town wall, looking toward the Black Wind Forest. It was pitch black there, yet it felt as if countless eyes were watching from the shadows.

“If Green-Faced Old Ghost dares to come, I'll let him see that my Sunset Town doesn't just rely on arrays.”

Lin Cang gripped the sword at his waist, his Foundation Establishment spiritual power flowing through his body, his tone filled with confidence.

Lin Yue looked into the distance. With a slight movement of spiritual power at his fingertips, the Black Stone in his sleeve gave off a faint, strange vibration.

He said softly, “We will deal with whatever comes our way. We have two Foundation Establishment Cultivators and the array to rely on; there is no need to fear them.”

The evening breeze blew past, carrying the fresh scent of the spiritual fields.

The mist of the “Four Symbols Maze Array” flowed gently, as if protecting the peace of this land and gathering strength to face the next storm.