76: Green Bamboo

After posting the mission, Lin Yan headed straight to Lingxu Pavilion.

Previously, when Xiao Songlan organized a gathering to mediate the conflict between Lin Yan and the Zhao and Sun families, Sun Jingyuan had given Lin Yan a Waist Token for the Patrol Field Administration.

Therefore, he had long been a member of the Patrol Field Administration of Lingxu Pavilion, but he simply hadn't had the time to visit.

Naturally, Sun Jingyuan and the others would not say anything about this.

They never intended for Lin Yan to perform missions like an ordinary member of the Patrol Field Administration.

Today, Lin Yan did not come to Lingxu Pavilion for matters regarding the Patrol Field Administration, but rather for its archives room.

Lingxu Pavilion was known as the "Little Spirit Herb Hall" and was involved in various affairs of the Spirit Herb Hall to some extent.

Therefore, the archives room of Lingxu Pavilion was also very large, containing a vast and varied collection of information.

Lin Yan tiptoed through rows of tall bookshelves, his gaze sweeping over the dusty ancient texts.

He had previously heard from the Grand Elder that Qingzhu Peak concealed the Daoist site of the Qingfeng Swordsman, which might contain an Opportunity from a thousand years ago; this made his heart burn with anticipation.

However, he also understood that he was able to enter the Azure Blade Fairy's Daoist site and successfully take the Opportunity within entirely because he had cultivated the Azure Blade Willow.

This process was mysterious and hard to explain; perhaps he had been tainted by the aura of the Azure Blade Willow, or perhaps he had grasped the Realm of Human-Sword Unity while catalyzing the Azure Blade Willow...

In any case, cultivating the Lifebound Spirit Plant of the Daoist site's owner was the key.

Therefore, he had to first figure out what the Qingfeng Swordsman's Lifebound Spirit Plant was.

The so-called Lifebound Spirit Plant is a special spirit plant that a Cultivator with a Wood Spiritual Root refines and contracts with during Foundation Establishment.

It complements the Cultivator and grows alongside them.

A Cultivator with a Wood Spiritual Root who possesses a Lifebound Spirit Plant often Cultivates at a speed far exceeding that of an ordinary Wood Spiritual Root Cultivator, and their path of Dao is much longer.

Take Su Wan Yue, for example; it is said that Elder Lianyi of the Inner Sect intends to bestow the Origin lotus seed of a fifth-rank Azure Trace Sword Lotus as Su Wan Yue's Lifebound Spirit Plant.

Once successful, Su Wan Yue will possess a fifth-rank Azure Trace Sword Lotus as her Lifebound Spirit Plant.

Her future as a five-Realm Nascent Soul Cultivator is basically a certainty.

This shows how profound the connection between a Lifebound Spirit Plant and the Cultivator themselves is.

Unfortunately, the Grand Elder knew very little about the swordsman Qing Feng from a thousand years ago.

Moreover, it was not convenient for Lin Yan to ask too much; saying too much could lead to mistakes, so he could only investigate it himself.

He searched back and forth in the "Directory of Past Cultivators" section of the archives room, flipping through one ancient text after another that recorded the deeds of ancient powerhouses.

However, most only mentioned that the Qingfeng Swordsman was a Grandmaster of the Sword Dao from a thousand years ago, who had once swept across all directions with a single Qing Feng sword, but very few people mentioned his Lifebound Spirit Plant.

"The records regarding the Qingfeng Swordsman are significantly fewer than those of ordinary swordsmen..."

Lin Yan investigated for a long time without finding the answer he wanted, but he did discover some clues.

"The records regarding the Azure Blade Fairy are also very scarce!"

This was very unusual; these two were extremely outstanding predecessors in the history of the Spirit Herb Hall, with cultivation levels at least at the Nascent Soul stage or above.

Their Sword Dao Realm had even reached the Realm of "Domain."

Logically speaking, their deeds should have been passed down extensively and highly praised.

After all, they were excellent role models for the Spirit Herb Hall.

But in reality, the records of these two were fewer than those of ordinary Golden Core predecessors, and key information was scarce; they were all just insignificant deeds.

Just when Lin Yan was feeling a bit disappointed, he suddenly discovered sporadic records in a book titled "Records of Sword Traces," which had bamboo patterns carved on its cover.

The pages of the ancient book were yellowed, and in the corner of one page were a few lines of blurry text:

"The Qingfeng Swordsman, his nature like green bamboo, his Sword Intent sharp and fierce, often resided in a bamboo forest to comprehend the sword."

"His Lifebound Spirit Plant is the Qingfeng Bamboo; Sword Qi condenses in the bamboo joints, the edge is restrained, and when encountering an enemy, it erupts like a sword."

Lin Yan's eyes lit up, and he quickly turned to the next page.

The subsequent content was mostly incomplete, only sporadically mentioning that the Qingfeng Swordsman had once been in seclusion on Qingzhu Peak for decades, and after breaking through the sixth Realm, he had left behind a Daoist site, waiting for a fated person to inherit it.

"Qingfeng Bamboo..." Lin Yan muttered to himself, a plan already forming in his mind.

If he could Cultivate the Qingfeng Bamboo, perhaps he could open the Qingfeng Swordsman's Legacy, just like how the Azure Blade Willow had triggered the Azure Blade Fairy's Daoist site!

Lin Yan seemed to see a Peak-Grade Spiritual Root beckoning to him.

Putting the ancient book into his Storage Pouch, Lin Yan walked out of the archives room.

Just then, a familiar voice came from behind him:

"Yo, Senior Brother Lin, what a coincidence?"

Lin Yan turned around to see Sun Bowen from the Patrol Field Administration walking toward him with a smile.

"Senior Brother Sun!" Lin Yan stood up and cupped his hands: "Long time no see."

The two addressed each other as Senior Brother, each using their own terms.

Sun Bowen walked to his side and said with a polite tone and a smile:

"What brings Senior Brother to Lingxu Pavilion today? If there is anything you need help with, just let me know!"

Lin Yan smiled, not answering directly, and changed the subject: "Where is Senior Brother Sun heading?"

"Heh, the first half of the year has passed, so our Patrol Field Administration is planning to organize manpower to go and purchase the Mutated Rice from the Utility Disciples."

Reselling Mutated Rice was an important source of income for Lingxu Pavilion.

The Hundred Rice Administration was responsible for the Mutated Rice of the Outer Sect Disciples.

And the Patrol Field Administration controlled the Mutated Rice from the Utility Disciples' side.

When Utility Disciples were lucky, they could Cultivate two or even three stalks of Mutated Rice in one mu of spirit field.

As an incentive, the Spirit Herb Hall would leave one stalk of Mutated Rice for the Utility Disciple.

What the Patrol Field Administration resold were these Mutated Rice stalks.

Each Utility Disciple didn't have much Mutated Rice, but there were many Utility Disciples.

So, calculating it, there was an income of several thousand Spirit Stones every year.

Sun Bowen leaned close to Lin Yan's ear and whispered:

"Senior Brother, rest assured, you don't need to do any work; when it comes time to distribute the Spirit Stones, your share will definitely be there!"

"Not bad..." Lin Yan smiled broadly: "In that case, it wouldn't be good if I didn't contribute at all; during this period, I will also go patrol the fields and purchase the Mutated Rice."

"Sure, as long as Senior Brother has time, we are always welcome." Sun Bowen blinked and lowered his voice: "I will arrange an area for you, and you can go purchase them yourself."

"If you receive any rare varieties, you can even keep them yourself; you just need to pay the cost price!"

"Then it's settled." Lin Yan said with a smile.

Sun Bowen laughed: "Alright, I'll go arrange it now and notify you when the time comes!"

"Good, then I won't disturb you anymore." Lin Yan cupped his hands to say goodbye.

"Take care, Senior Brother!"

...

On the mountaintop to the north of the Small Valley.

The morning sunlight gently spilled onto the mountaintop, and a layer of mist, thin as a cicada's wing, shrouded the Tea Garden.

Xu Shuangyuan rubbed his sleepy eyes, and just as he pushed open the simple wooden door, an unprecedented, fresh fragrance rushed toward him.

"This is..." The Little Fatty opened his eyes wide, his nostrils flaring, and he stood there in shock.

The fragrance was fresh and elegant, yet it carried an indescribable refreshing effect, as if a breeze had blown directly into his mind, instantly waking his chaotic morning consciousness.