100: Chapter 100 Departure from Qinghe

Early on the third day, before the sky was fully light, he got up.

He checked the items on his person: identification token, scroll, Medicinal Pill, Talisman, transcription, dry rations, and water.

Everything was ready.

He pushed the door open and stepped out, locking it behind him.

Qinghe City was three hundred miles southeast of the Sect; it wasn't far, but it wasn't close either.

Lin Muchen didn't dally; once he left the Sect, he hurried toward the southeast.

He used two God-Speed Talismans along the way, which significantly quickened his pace.

A quarter before the hour of chen, he arrived at the eastern district of Qinghe City.

The Chen Family residence was easy to find; with two stone lions at the entrance and a vermilion gate, it looked quite grand.

An old man in a gray long gown stood at the door; he was likely the butler.

Lin Muchen walked over, pulling out his identification token and mission scroll to hand them over.

"Lin Muchen, an Outer Sect Disciple of the Qinglan Sect, here to accept Mission Number A-73."

The butler took the token and scroll, examined them carefully, then looked Lin Muchen up and down.

"First level of the Foundation Establishment Stage... Fine, go in and wait in the Side Hall."

The butler returned the identification token to him and stepped aside to let him through.

Lin Muchen entered the main gate, bypassed the Spirit Screen, turned left as directed by the butler, and entered the Side Hall.

Three people were already sitting in the hall.

Two men and one woman.

Of the two men, one looked twenty-five or twenty-six, at the first level of Foundation Establishment, wearing ordinary green martial attire, resting with his eyes closed.

The other looked twenty-eight or twenty-nine, at the second level of Foundation Establishment, with a burly build, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed and a somewhat fierce look in his eyes.

The woman was twenty-two or twenty-three, at the first level of Foundation Establishment, wearing a pale blue dress and playing with a small jade bottle in her hand.

When Lin Muchen entered, all three looked up at him.

The burly man's gaze swept over him, his lips curling slightly, but he didn't speak.

The man in green nodded as a greeting.

The woman in blue smiled at him and continued playing with the bottle in her hand.

Lin Muchen didn't say much either, finding an empty chair to sit down.

System, scan these three people.

[Scanning...]

[Guard A: Male, approximately 25 years old, first level of the Foundation Establishment Stage, stable spiritual power fluctuations, suspected Loose Cultivator.]

[Guard B: Male, approximately 28 years old, second level of the Foundation Establishment Stage, spiritual power carries a hint of Evil Qi, likely has significant combat experience.]

[Guard C: Female, approximately 22 years old, first level of the Foundation Establishment Stage, gentle spiritual power, specializes in water-attribute Cultivation Techniques.]

[Note: All three are Cultivators who have accepted the same escort mission.]

Lin Muchen now had an idea of the situation.

They were all in the Foundation Establishment Stage, with similar levels.

That burly man might be a bit troublesome, but as long as he didn't cause trouble, it would be fine.

He waited for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

Footsteps came from outside.

The light at the entrance of the Side Hall dimmed as someone walked in.

It was a young girl, appearing eighteen or nineteen, wearing a moon-white long dress with a pale green silk sash tied around her waist.

She was quite pretty, but her face was expressionless and her gaze was indifferent.

Her cultivation was at the second level of the Foundation Establishment Stage.

This must be the Second Miss Chen, Chen Qingxue.

Chen Qingxue walked in and scanned the four people in the hall.

"Everyone is here."

Her voice was just like her: clear and cold.

"I am Chen Qingxue. This time I am going to Luofeng Town for training, and the four of you will escort me."

She spoke very directly, without a single wasted word.

"You should have all seen the route: departing from Qinghe City, passing through Black Stone Town, Fengming Pass, and the edge of the Bone Wasteland, to Luofeng Town."

"Follow my arrangements on the road. In case of any situation, the safety of the escort is the first priority."

"If there are no questions, we depart now."

Having said that, she turned and walked out.

The four people in the hall looked at each other.

The burly man was the first to stand up and follow her.

The man in green and the woman in blue also stood up.

Lin Muchen walked at the very back.

Leaving the Side Hall, two carriages were already parked in the courtyard.

The front one was for Chen Qingxue; the carriage looked quite exquisite.

The one behind was for luggage and miscellaneous items.

There were also four horses, presumably prepared for the four guards.

Chen Qingxue boarded the front carriage.

The butler walked over and pointed to the four horses.

"Gentlemen and lady, the horses are ready. Please help yourselves."

The burly man chose the tallest black horse and vaulted onto its back.

The man in green chose a brown one.

The woman in blue picked a gentle white horse.

Lin Muchen took the remaining gray horse.

The convoy left the Chen Family residence and headed along the main street of Qinghe City toward the North Gate.

There were guards at the city gate; the butler stepped forward to say a few words, and the guards let them pass.

Once out of the city, the road narrowed.

The Official Road was fairly level, but both sides were flanked by mountain forests that stretched as far as the eye could see.

Chen Qingxue's carriage traveled in the middle, with the four guards riding horses at the front, back, left, and right.

The burly man led the way at the front, the man in green was on the left, the woman in blue on the right, and Lin Muchen was at the rear.

They traveled like this for about two hours.

It was very quiet on the road; besides the sound of hooves and wheels, there was no other noise.

Riding his horse, Lin Muchen let his consciousness sink into his Dantian to connect with the Origin Star.

He wanted to see how the Chen Tribe was doing.

The image unfolded.

Everything was normal in the tribe; the green on the wind spirit grass slope seemed a bit deeper than yesterday.

[System Note: Detected that the Host is continuously heading north (the Land of Wind and Thunder).]

[The derivation of the Origin Star's wind attribute is receiving positive stimulation; the cycle is shortening.]

[Current wind attribute derivation cycle: 23 days.]

[Growth speed of wind spirit grass increased by 15%.]

Lin Muchen's heart stirred.

The effects were showing already, and they had only just departed?

It seemed this trip north was indeed the right choice.

Just by traveling on the road, the wind attribute derivation of the Origin Star was accelerating.

If he actually reached the Northern Region border, or even near a place like Gale Canyon, the effect would surely be even more intense.

He withdrew his consciousness and continued to follow the convoy on horseback.

At noon, the convoy stopped at an open space by the roadside to rest.

The butler took dry rations and water from the rear carriage and distributed them to everyone.

Chen Qingxue didn't get out; she ate a little something inside the carriage.

The four guards sat in a circle, gnawing on their dry rations.

The burly man took a bite of a pancake and glanced at Lin Muchen.

"Kid, just reached Foundation Establishment?"

Lin Muchen nodded.

"Yeah, not long ago."

"First time taking a long-distance escort mission like this?"

"You could say that."

The burly man sneered.

"Then you'd better be careful. That place in the north is not peaceful. Don't go dragging us down when the time comes."

The woman in blue frowned.

"Brother Wang, you shouldn't say that. We've all taken the mission; we should look out for each other."

The burly man called Brother Wang snorted and didn't speak further.

The man in green remained silent, quietly eating his food.

Lin Muchen didn't respond either, lowering his head to gnaw on his pancake.

After resting for about half an hour, the convoy continued on its way.

The afternoon journey was even more tedious.

Both sides of the Official Road were still mountain forests; they all looked the same after a while.

While riding, Lin Muchen diverted a sliver of his consciousness to monitor the Origin Star.

The green on the wind spirit grass slope was spreading at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Although slow, it was definitely growing.

[Feedback Efficiency slightly increased: currently 11.8%.]

It had risen another 0.1%.

The corners of Lin Muchen's mouth curled up slightly.

This feeling was like idling to farm experience; although slow, it was constantly increasing.

Comfortable.

At dusk, the outline of a small town appeared ahead.

They had arrived at Black Stone Town.

The convoy entered the town and headed straight for the Courier Station.

The Courier Station wasn't large, but it was fairly clean.

Chen Qingxue requested a premium room, while the four guards each got an ordinary room.

The butler and the driver stayed in the common quarters.

Once settled, the butler went to arrange dinner.

Lin Muchen entered his room and closed the door.

The room was very small, with a bed, a table, and a chair.

He sat on the bed, crossing his legs.

His consciousness sank into his Dantian, fully connecting with the Origin Star.

He wanted to see exactly how much change this day's journey had brought.

The image unfolded.

The wind spirit grass slope was already a lush green, a whole circle larger than when they departed this morning.

On the surface of the charred trunk of the thunderstruck wood by the Altar, a faint blue light seemed to flicker.

It vanished in a flash, but Lin Muchen caught it.

That was a sign of the thunder attribute being stirred.

[System Note: Due to continuous northward travel, the wind and thunder attribute derivations of the Origin Star are accelerating simultaneously.]

[Wind attribute derivation cycle stabilized at 23 days.]

[Resonance activity of the thunder-struck wood branch remnant continues to rise.]

[Feedback Efficiency: 11.8% (Stable).]

Lin Muchen was satisfied.

This was only the first day.

He withdrew his consciousness and began to circulate his Cultivation Technique to Cultivate.

After several cycles, his whole body felt warm and pleasant.

[Daily Cultivation complete.]

[points +50.]

[Current points balance: 250.]

Lin Muchen finished his work and opened his eyes.

Outside the window, the sky was completely dark.

Faint barking of dogs could be heard in the distance.

He lay on the bed with his hands behind his head.

He still had to travel tomorrow.

He had heard that the stretch of road from Black Stone Town to Fengming Pass was not peaceful.

He needed to get enough rest.