91: Chapter 91 Undercurrents

Lin Qing remained in seclusion within the palace; in the blink of an eye, a full month had passed.

During this month, the hall remained consistently quiet and solemn, so silent that one could hear a pin drop.

As for Lin Qing, through these thirty days and nights of unceasing cultivation, he finally reached Perfection in every Visualization Method within the palace.

In the first few days, the Visualization Methods he recorded often required dozens of proficiency points to reach Perfection. As he cultivated more and more Visualization Methods and his foundation continued to stack, the subsequent methods he recorded required less and less proficiency.

By the Middle Stage of his seclusion, a single Visualization Method often required only a few proficiency points to reach Perfection.

Later on, he needed to record several methods in a row before one would even show a proficiency requirement; the rest reached Perfection upon being recorded.

By now, Lin Qing already had dozens of Visualization Methods running automatically, and the speed at which his Divine Thought improved had increased once again.

Throughout this entire month of seclusion, the Five Elements Pulse Opening Method within his body continued to run without pause, constantly refining, widening, and polishing the Meridians throughout his body.

The Five Elements Pulse Opening Method was originally the top Pulse Opening Method in the world. Previously, the lack of running time meant Lin Qing's Meridians were still somewhat inferior to those veteran fifth-rank cultivators. Now, under a month of continuous refinement, Lin Qing had finally caught up.

Lin Qing's combat system was also finally complete.

Before this, his combat power relied more on extreme physical strength; during battles, he mostly focused on close-quarters combat.

Now, not only had his Meridian strength and Spiritual Qi reserves increased, but his weaknesses in Spells had also been addressed.

Current him, even without accounting for his Physical Body, possessed true Spirit Realm combat power.

In the fifth-rank Pulse Opening Realm, the direction of cultivation mainly revolves around the Meridians. Stronger Meridians allow for more Spiritual Qi to pass through, thereby increasing the power of Spells. Therefore, there is a significant difference in Spell power between the Early Stage and Late Stage of the fifth rank.

The cultivation direction of the sixth rank is mainly focused on expanding the Spirit Sea. Compared to the fifth rank, the improvement is concentrated on combat endurance; the increase in Spell power compared to the Peak of the fifth rank is not significant.

Lin Qing slowly stood up, his movements gentle and without a sound, then turned toward the hall doors, pushed them open, and walked out.

Just as Lin Qing stepped out of the palace, the Imperial Guard approached. The leading commander asked:

"Young Master Lin, have you finished your comprehension and are prepared to leave the palace?"

Lin Qing nodded slightly.

The Imperial Guard commander immediately led the way personally, guiding Lin Qing through layers of palace gates and escorting him out of the Imperial Palace.

Lin Qing thanked the guard and headed straight back to the Luoxia Valley courtyard.

Upon returning to the courtyard, he found that Yuan Kun was actually not there. Could he have been unable to wait and returned on his own?

Lin Qing raised an eyebrow slightly and found the old man responsible for managing the courtyard.

Now that Lin Qing was a sought-after Prodigy of the Great Qi, the old man's attitude had become even more restrained than before, and his bow was even lower.

Lin Qing supported the old man with his hand and asked in a calm tone:

"Where is Elder Yuan Kun? Why is he not in the courtyard?"

"In response to the True Disciple Lin, Elder Yuan Kun is at the Zuichun Pavilion; he hasn't returned to the courtyard for seven whole days."

As the words fell, the corners of Lin Qing's mouth couldn't help but twitch, his face darkened, and for a moment he was actually speechless.

Zuichun Pavilion—one could tell by the name that it was a place of entertainment.

During his month of seclusion, Yuan Kun had been living quite a carefree life; he truly was a piece of work.

He suppressed his speechlessness and gave a faint instruction to the old man:

"Go to the Zuichun Pavilion and pass a message. Say that I have returned and ask him to come back tonight."

The old man dared not delay, hurriedly bowing to accept the order before turning and running out the door.

After handling this matter, Lin Qing did not wait in the courtyard.

From the Storage Ring in his robes, he pulled out a set of black robes to perform a simple disguise, then made another trip to the Heshun Chamber of Commerce.

The current Lin Qing was quite wealthy, with over twenty-five thousand Spirit Stones lying in his Storage Ring. Ten thousand were the reward for being in the top five of the Heavenly Pride Competition, and the other fifteen thousand were the proceeds from his previous bets at the Heshun Chamber of Commerce.

His trip to the Heshun Chamber of Commerce this time was to see if he could buy mid-tier Spells, but unfortunately, he was disappointed; even the Heshun Chamber of Commerce did not have them.

However, though disappointed, it was within his expectations. In the Great Qi Dynasty, the rarity of mid-tier Spells was comparable to sixth-rank Spirit Sea Realm Cultivation Techniques. Even within the six top powers, they were considered sect-protecting treasures.

Afterward, Lin Qing spent three hundred Spirit Stones to buy an ordinary ring to serve as a cover. With his current status, if he didn't have a decent piece of storage equipment, it would instead arouse suspicion.

Now, he had a Storage Ring and a Storage Pouch hanging from the belt at his waist, hidden under his robes, and another Storage Ring on his hand—a total of three pieces of storage equipment.

When he returned to the courtyard, Yuan Kun had already come back. Seeing Lin Qing return, Yuan Kun quickly stepped forward to greet him:

"Lin Qing! You're back!"

"Weren't there two months of comprehension time? It's only been one month. Could it be that you've already unlocked Divine Thought?"

Lin Qing did not answer Yuan Kun's question directly, neither admitting nor denying it, but instead changed the subject:

"In three months, the five of us will head to the Tianhe Dynasty together. We will gather at the Royal Capital then."

"The distance from the Royal Capital to Luoxia Valley is vast. Even if we travel at full speed by Flying Boat, a round trip would take a full month."

"Time is tight; we cannot waste any more time in the Royal Capital."

"Tomorrow morning, we will set off and head back to Luoxia Valley."

Hearing this, Yuan Kun immediately nodded without objection:

"Good! We'll do as you say! I'll finish handling my trivial matters in the Royal Capital tonight, and tomorrow morning, we set off on time!"

The night passed in silence.

Early the next morning, the two arrived at the Flying Boat port outside the city.

Qingzhou City was just an ordinary provincial city of Great Qi; the Heshun Chamber of Commerce didn't have large Flying Boats heading to Qingzhou every day.

Thus, the two looked around the port and found a small Flying Boat belonging to an ordinary chamber of commerce. These types of Flying Boats only set off when full, and this one was only short five people. The two paid twenty Spirit Stones and boarded the Flying Boat to wait quietly.

Although the space on this Flying Boat was cramped and the environment was mediocre—unable to compare to the safety and comfort of the Heshun Chamber of Commerce's boats—

The price was not cheap. One must know that a True Disciple of Luoxia Valley only received one Spirit Stone per month; taking one trip on a Flying Boat would cost ten months of savings.

Before long, two more groups of passengers boarded one after another.

One group consisted of two young men in tight-fitting clothes with steady auras, looking like a pair of Loose Cultivators who spent their years traveling abroad.

The other was a lone individual, a middle-aged man in black clothes with an ordinary face.

This man in black had just stepped onto the Flying Boat when he released his Divine Thought, subtly scanning the boat and passing over every passenger.

His movements were concealed and his technique was experienced; he believed he had acted flawlessly and that no one could detect him.

But what he didn't expect was that among the people on this boat, two individuals instantly sensed his subtle Divine Thought probe.

One was naturally Lin Qing, who was sitting cross-legged in the corner.

The other was none other than Fang Chao from the other group!