"This..."
Lin Zhao held the immortal gourd, examining it from all sides, repeatedly confirming that within the small world filled with sword dao fortune, two ephemeral flying swords were indeed swimming. When he moved his mind, the two small refined ephemeral flying swords turned into gray light and flew out of the gourd's mouth, stopping above Lin Zhao's palm. Although the ephemeral flying swords were extremely small, they were incredibly sharp.
He frowned, put the ephemeral flying swords back into the immortal gourd, leaned against the head of the bed, his mind a bit chaotic.
If the ephemeral flying swords could replicate, did that mean he didn't need to nurture any more flying swords in this orange gourd? One ephemeral flying sword would be enough? Now there were two, and in the future, perhaps four, ten, more and more, until the orange gourd was full. At that time, with a casual wave, countless ephemeral flying swords would attack like gnats, killing without a trace. What kind of scene would that be?
Just thinking about it made him excited!
He was delighted. He had originally thought that Qing Yan leaving him an ephemeral flying sword was just a memento, an object to accompany him for the rest of his life. He never expected that Qing Yan would give him such an incredibly precious gift, a heavenly opportunity. Ephemeral flying sword + immortal gourd, was there a better combination?
None, especially since the ephemeral flying sword was gifted by Qing Yan, making it even more unparalleled in the world!
He jumped up, patted the orange gourd on his waist, and thought, "Just keep nurturing it slowly, no need to rush now. Just wait for the ephemeral flying swords to replicate more and more, and eventually overwhelm enemies in swarms!"
He went out, bathed in the morning light, took a bowl of shredded eel noodles handed to him by Liu Li Ying, and sat down with Niu Zhi and Chu Yu for breakfast. He looked up into the distance and asked, "Where are Luo Bai and Yi Rong?"
"They went down the mountain to the academy, sent by Senior Sister Tong Yu," Chu Yu replied.
"Oh."
Lin Zhao smiled and nodded, saying, "How is the spiritual rice cultivation in the back mountain?"
"Very good."
Niu Zhi said, "The first batch of spiritual rice planted is about to sprout under the abundant spiritual energy nurturing. The back mountain of our summit villa is spring-like all year round, perfect for planting spiritual rice."
At this moment, Chu Yu blinked her eyes and said, "Lin Zhao, there's one more thing..."
"Chu Yu, you tell me."
"The New Year is coming soon..."
Chu Yu smiled and said, "This is the first New Year our group has reunited to celebrate in the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool. As the Mountain Master, do you have any plans?"
"Plans..."
Lin Zhao scratched his head. "No, let's just celebrate the New Year as usual, pasting couplets, setting off firecrackers, staying up late, eating tangyuan, eating dumplings? Our financial situation is much better now, so there's no need to be stingy. We can take some money from the summit villa's treasury to give everyone a prosperous New Year. The offerings for the summit villa should also be paid. That fellow Tang Guangjun wears the same tattered clothes every day, isn't that embarrassing? Give him money to make himself a new set of clothes."
"Mm."
Chu Yu smiled and nodded.
"Oh, and we also need to prepare New Year's gifts," Lin Zhao pondered for a moment and smiled, "Niu Zhi, Chu Yu, you two buy more New Year's goods later. We have many people to send gifts to. For Auntie, we should prepare a generous gift for Xi Jian River, right? And for Miss Lin of Fusu Great Wall, we also need to prepare a generous gift. In addition, Xu Mingan of Danxia Mountain, Zhang Xicheng and his wife of Tong Jing Lake, Han Yetang of Shan Hai Pass, Chen Xi of Yun Zhou, Lin Ruo of Yang Ping Pass, and Qing Luan Sect, Tie Fu Mountain, Ling Yan Sword Sect, Dong Ting Lake, etc., should all receive New Year's goods. And, and, Zhao Shutong of Bai Di City, Qing Qiu of Ju Bao Fang, Miss Xu Qingyi of Qian Ji Pavilion, and the military cultivators guarding Zhen Jian Lou, all need to prepare gifts. We must try not to miss anyone, a token of our sincerity, so as not to let them feel cold."
Niu Zhi chuckled, "I'll draft a list later."
"Done!"
Lin Zhao counted the days. In a few more days, it would be the Kitchen God Festival. It was indeed almost New Year.
In the memories of his youth, the New Year wasn't a good time at all. Families pasted couplets, set off firecrackers, and ate reunion dinners, while Lin Zhao faced the New Year alone, only eating a bun for sustenance. It wasn't until he and Guo Dongyang grew up that they finally had a little meat on their New Year's Eve dinners when they celebrated together.
Now, Guo Dongyang had been dead for many years.
...
For the next few days.
The flying swords in the orange gourd seemed to truly replicate. One late night, they suddenly went from two to four. Then, one early morning, they went from four to eight. Two days later, they actually became sixteen. So, when Lin Zhao again observed the small world inside the orange gourd, he could see sixteen ephemeral flying swords swimming, like a school of fish moving in unison.
Putting aside other things, these ephemeral flying swords could cause small-scale AoE damage when they clashed, which was absolutely deadly. Moreover, even without clashing, these ephemeral flying swords were twice as effective for farming monsters. With Lin Zhao's current foundation, three life-bound flying swords, five medium-refined immortal swords, twelve great desolate ancient swords, plus the sixteen ephemeral flying swords in the immortal gourd, his monster farming speed would be absolutely insane. Even the strongest mages in the national server would have to bow down before Lin Zhao.
In addition, the remaining four immortal gourds on the gourd rack had also matured. Lin Zhao spent a whole day carefully processing them, and all four immortal gourds were ready for use. He sent Niu Zhi to Chang Ming Mountain personally to give the green gourd to Xiao Jiu Er, then gave the cyan gourd to Tong Yu, the purple gourd to Zhang Luo Bai, and the remaining blue gourd was kept for Leng Yan.
It was already afternoon.
"Ding!"
Lin Zhao sent a message to Leng Yan: "Miss Leng, where are you? I'm coming to find you, to give you a New Year's gift!"
"Ah!?"
Leng Yan, who was practicing her skill proficiency in Dong Quan Sword Sect, was pleasantly surprised and overwhelmed. "I'm at the sect, what New Year's gift? Can I see it?"
"No, you have to see it in person for the surprise. I'll be there at Dong Quan Sword Sect shortly."
"Mhm, mhm, waiting for you!"
Lin Zhao flew down the mountain on his sword, but he felt it wouldn't be appropriate to go alone without anyone capable to accompany him. Niu Zhi had gone to Chang Ming Mountain and wouldn't be back for a while. Huang Ting Yu and Mu Zha were in the army managing military affairs. Chu Yu was preparing the New Year's goods list. Mu Zha and Chen Ben were not steady enough in their work, and Liu Li Ying and Dong Cang's combat power was mediocre. So, the only person he could bring seemed to be that scruffy fellow.
"Tang Guangjun!"
He looked down from above.
"Yes, Mountain Master!"
Tang Guangjun stood at the mountain gate, his body straight and alert, chest puffed out, just short of giving a military salute.
Lin Zhao was speechless and said, "Accompany me on a trip to Dong Quan Sword Sect. I'm carrying precious treasure, and it's not good if we're ambushed by demons on the way."
"Yes, Mountain Master!"
Tang Guangjun immediately drew his sword and accompanied Lin Zhao. However, Tang Guangjun's flying sword always stayed below Lin Zhao's, showing respect for the Mountain Master. He understood this level of discretion.
...
Dong Quan Sword Sect.
Leng Yan, dressed in a short skirt and armor, with a cloak on her back and boots on her feet, the dignified Vice Sect Master of Dong Quan Sword Sect, had a pair of long, smooth, and jade-like legs that were extremely alluring. She stood at the mountain gate, waiting to open the protective mountain formation to welcome Lin Zhao. Meanwhile, female disciples of Dong Quan Sword Sect passed by, smiling and greeting her, "Senior Sister!"
"Mm."
Leng Yan smiled and nodded to each of them. The atmosphere at Dong Quan Sword Sect was excellent. The Sect Master and Vice Sect Master were sisters Lu Gui Yi and Leng Yan. All the disciples they subsequently accepted were female disciples. All the sword-wielding female disciples addressed the two Sect Masters as Senior Sister. Therefore, although Dong Quan Sword Sect was listed in the Great Shang Dynasty's records, it only had one generation of disciples. The future prosperity of Dong Quan Sword Sect would depend entirely on this generation.
Leng Yan pursed her lips, her gaze distant, wondering when Lin Zhao would arrive and what kind of New Year's gift he would give her. She pondered how to act when they met. Should she pretend to be shy when receiving his gift? Or, should she take the opportunity to give him a 34C hug and then pretend to blush?
For a moment, the beautiful female sword cultivator's pretty face was flushed red. She immediately dismissed the thought, thinking, "What nonsense am I thinking? How embarrassing!"
...
Dong Quan Sword Sect, at the foot of the mountain.
Lin Zhao and Tang Guangjun did not fly directly up the mountain but landed at the foot and began climbing. This would show more sincerity. As the two climbed the mountain one after another, a figure appeared on a small path in the nearby woods. It was a young man in a green shirt, carrying a long sword, with an ordinary appearance and a hint of fierceness in his eyes.
"Oh?"
Tang Guangjun glanced at him and immediately knew his identity. Both his and Lin Zhao's auras were suppressed to a very low level, making the other person think that Tang Guangjun and Lin Zhao were both sword cultivators of the lower five realms.
"Huh, what a coincidence!"
The other person smiled and cupped his fists. "I am Shi Xin, a cultivator in the mountains. Are you two going up Dong Quan Mountain?"
"Mm."
Lin Zhao smiled and nodded.
Instantly, Shi Xin's eyes narrowed, and a sinister gleam appeared in them. He smiled and said, "Are you two perhaps also here for the pretty young ladies of Dong Quan Sword Sect? Tsk tsk, to tell you the truth, I am Shi Xin, and I am also here for the female sword cultivators of Dong Quan Sword Sect. This time, I've come specifically to challenge Dong Quan Sword Sect and snatch a woman back as my Dao companion."
"Yo, isn't this a coincidence?"
Lin Zhao chuckled and said, "I have the same intention!"
"Then let's go up the mountain together!"
"Absolutely!"
Shi Xin felt like he had met an old friend in a foreign land. He waved his hand and shouted, "Children, no need to hide yourselves. These two sword cultivators are our own people. We're all going to Dong Quan Sword Sect. If anything, we'll challenge them together later and let the young ladies of Dong Quan Sword Sect know how powerful we men are!"
In an instant, figures began to fly past in the mountains and wilds, most of them mountain spirits. There was even a young boy with lush green leaves growing on his head, a third-realm tree spirit. Although he had cultivated into human form, he didn't seem fully formed. As for their leader, the young sword cultivator named Shi Xin, he was actually an eleventh-realm stone spirit, the strongest and most murderous!
...
As everyone reached the mountainside, the national server's leg god, the peerless beauty in her skirt armor, stood there. At that moment, Shi Xin's eyes widened and he stammered, "This one is mine... This one is mine... It must be mine..."
Lin Zhao glanced at him.
If that one is yours, what about me?