The next day, at dawn.
Golden clouds enveloped the entire mountaintop villa. In his study, Lin Zhao used up 200 points of stamina in one go, leaving only 20. He had been replenishing talismans recently, including Heavenly Thunder Talismans, Swiftness Talismans, Sword Illumination Talismans, Iron Cavalry Formation Breaking Talismans, and many more. Especially the Sword Illumination Talismans; since Xiao Jiu'er was at the mountaintop villa, he had her warm and nurture over 500 Sword Illumination Talismans overnight. These were the Sword Illumination Talismans of the world's strongest Grand Sword Immortal at the peak of the twelfth realm, so their power was unimaginable. By the time Lin Zhao finished writing the talismans, Xiao Jiu'er was still sound asleep in her guest room on the second floor of Tianranju.
"Huh?!"
Lin Zhao walked out of the room, stretched, and immediately noticed the scenery ahead had changed. He dashed to the front of the green precious cauldron and saw that the gourd vine had already grown to at least five meters long, its long tendrils winding around the gourd trellis. This was only the fifth day since the Folding Fan Goddess Liu Liying used herself as a cauldron to absorb spiritual energy and nourish the gourd vine, yet such results had already been achieved!
More importantly, Lin Zhao squatted down, his rear end sticking up, and watched for a long time. Beneath a patch of gourd leaves, he spotted the first flower of the gourd vine. Below the flower, the nascent form of a fruit was already visible, and it was a fruit emitting a faint red hue. In an instant, Lin Zhao felt as if he had been struck by lightning. Could it be? Seven flowers on one vine? If he remembered correctly, the first gourd that emerged atop the eldest son in "Calabash Brothers" was red, while the second son's gourd was orange. As a child, Lin Zhao had loved watching that cartoon…
"Young Master."
Liu Liying floated down from the mountaintop, trails of spiritual energy flowing behind her and all pouring into the green precious cauldron. Seeing Lin Zhao's excited expression, Liu Liying couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle, "Actually, there's no need to be so anxious. Although the gourd vine has already borne its first flower, it will still be a long time before it bears fruit and the fruit ripens. It won't be that fast."
"I know that too."
Lin Zhao smiled, "But finally seeing signs of blooming and fruiting makes me very happy. Liying, you must take good care of it during this time. Don't let this fruit wither or anything. After all, each fruit is a celestial gourd, and they are all supreme treasures!"
"I know, I know."
Liu Liying nodded with a smile.
"Brother Lin Zhao!"
At dawn, Chen Ben arrived at Tianranju, practicing his boxing stances, and said with a smile, "Shall I go check the fish traps?"
"Alright!"
Lin Zhao nodded, "Today, I'll make a bowl of lobster tail noodles for Sister Liying."
"Got it!"
Chen Ben dashed off and returned shortly after. The fish caught in the traps were plentiful. There were over ten loaches alone, each weighing at least a pound. All the smaller ones were returned to the pond; since the entire pond was their own, Chen Ben knew what he was doing. In addition, there were quite a few lobsters, and they were all wild crawfish with spiny ridges on their backs, which tasted the most delicious.
Lin Zhao took matters into his own hands. Dongcang started the fire, and Lin Zhao cooked the lobsters. He cooked over fifty large lobsters, seasoned with the thirteen-spice flavor. After the lobsters were cooked, he washed his hands and peeled them, leaving only the tail meat soaked in the sauce. Then, Dongcang began to boil noodles. There were only five bowls of lobster tail noodles, and only those who had made outstanding contributions were qualified to eat them. Liu Liying's bowl had the most lobster tails, nearly twenty. This made Liu Liying's pretty face beam with joy. Next was Su Qingjiu's bowl, with over ten lobster tails. The remaining three bowls were for Lin Zhao, Chen Ben, and Dongcang; they were just for tasting. Wu Zhi, Chu Yu, Tong Yu, and the others ate eel noodle soup, while Huang Tingyu, Mu Zha, Tang Guangjun, and the others all had green pepper shredded pork noodles, with no choice in the matter.
After breakfast, Lin Zhao had nothing to do and not much stamina left, so he was too lazy to go down the mountain to farm monsters and level up. He took Zhang Luobai and Zhuang Yirong to Hefeng Academy. After handing the two children over to the young scholar, Lin Zhao bowed and left. The young scholar bowed respectfully to the mountain lord. After all, the young scholar was a disciple of Gu Lingyu, and Gu Lingyu had to call him Uncle-Master.
Lin Zhao did not rush back to the mountaintop villa. Taking advantage of the morning light, he practiced his punches on a stone bridge by Baixi Stream. He was now a martial artist of the third realm. When he assumed his stance, the intent of his Farmer Nine Punches permeated his entire body, exuding the aura of a martial arts grandmaster. Not many people passed by in the early morning, and even if they did, they paid no mind. Lin Zhao rarely came down the mountain, and in fact, few people in the villages recognized him. Sometimes, most people mistook him for a wanderer of the martial world, as there were too many young cultivators like him coming to Xueyu Tianchi to kill demons.
…
At dawn, the morning light was warm.
South of the town, two young girls ascended the mountain, both in blue dresses. They were extremely beautiful, and more importantly, their appearances were identical, clearly twin sisters. It seemed to be their first time in Xueyu Tianchi, and both looked around with great curiosity, finding everything in Xueyu Tianchi very interesting. Their auras were not very strong, but they were already at the Nascent Soul stage. They appeared to be only sixteen or seventeen years old, a tender age. To cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage at such an age was already quite difficult.
The elder sister was named Sun Xingchun, and the younger sister was Sun Yunnuan. They came from the renowned sect of Yaowang Valley in the Northern Region.
Behind Sun Xingchun and Sun Yunnuan followed several escorts, all of whom were martial artists of the eighth realm. In the human world, there were only a handful of sects that could afford to hire four eighth-realm martial artists as escorts.
"Sister."
Sun Yunnuan held her sister's hand, looked north, pointed, and said with a smile, "Are there really demons there?"
"Hush!"
Sun Xingchun lowered her voice and smiled, "Not only are there demons, but it is said that the great demon Yu Zhi of the thirteenth realm is stationed there with the forces of four military camps, constantly seeking opportunities to attack Xueyu Tianchi! Don't be fooled by the bustling scene and the multitude of experts in Xueyu Tianchi today. If there is even the slightest carelessness, and the demon race attacks in full force, Xueyu Tianchi may once again become desolate."
Sun Yunnuan frowned, "Sister, do you think those cultivators who remain in Xueyu Tianchi are truly not afraid of death?"
"Not necessarily."
Sun Xingchun pursed her red lips and said softly, "Perhaps they simply do not wish to live their lives in a cowardly manner."
At this moment, the two girls stepped onto the stone bridge. On the stone bridge ahead, a young martial artist with a sword on his back was practicing his punches. Although his cultivation realm was not high, the intent of his punches was quite dense. More importantly, this young martial artist possessed a rather refined demeanor. Every movement, both still and active, was methodical, unlike the eighth-realm martial artists behind them, who were all rough and crude, and as ugly as could be.
"Buzz—"
Suddenly, Sun Xingchun stumbled, clutching her chest and unable to move.
"Sister, what's wrong?"
Sun Yunnuan was greatly alarmed.
Sun Xingchun's delicate eyebrows furrowed. This tremor that shook her soul originated from her first innate item, a Fire Spirit Jade that rested on her chest. The Fire Spirit Jade was a treasure passed down by her grandfather and a heirloom of the Sun family of Yaowang Valley. Sun Xingchun had refined the Fire Spirit Jade into her innate item several years ago. But now, upon reaching this stone bridge, the Fire Spirit Jade suddenly resonated so strongly!
"This…"
Sun Xingchun looked up, her beautiful eyes fixed on the young martial artist practicing his punches. For a moment, complex emotions swirled in Sun Xingchun's heart.
Grandpa had once said that the Fire Spirit Jade was obtained by their ancestor from an immortal. When the immortal gifted the Fire Spirit Jade, he had said that it was a divine connecting jade. Once refined into an innate item, it would fuse with the user's destiny. When it encountered a destined person, the Fire Spirit Jade would naturally emit a strong resonance. Once a resonance occurred, the person with whom the Fire Spirit Jade resonated was highly likely to be one's destined partner.
For a moment, Sun Xingchun looked at Lin Zhao. Could this young martial artist of the lower five realms be her destined partner? Although he was very handsome and inexplicably matched her preferred type, … he was only of the lower five realms? That seemed a bit hard to believe…
"Sister?"
Sun Yunnuan frowned, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
Sun Xingchun looked at Lin Zhao and, with considerable initiative, walked forward and said, "Excuse me, young sir, how do I get to Jubao Fang?"
"Jubao Fang!"
Lin Zhao raised his hand and pointed into the distance, "There, just keep walking straight down this street. It's less than half a mile away."
"Okay, thank you!"
Sun Xingchun pulled Sun Yunnuan's hand and left the stone bridge. The moment they rushed off the bridge, the resonance from her innate item, the Fire Spirit Jade, finally began to weaken. This further confirmed that the person on the bridge was indeed her destined partner. For a moment, Sun Xingchun's heart fluttered wildly. That person… could he be her future husband?
He was quite good-looking, and he seemed amiable, but his cultivation realm was a bit low.
…
"…"
Lin Zhao resumed his stance, circulating his punches while looking at the receding figures. He frowned. Two Nascent Soul stage spirit cultivators and four peak eighth-realm martial artists. What was the background of this group, and why were they coming to Xueyu Tianchi? They weren't here to cause trouble, were they? It shouldn't be. They were looking for Jubao Fang. Could they be merchants collaborating with Jubao Fang?
That couldn't be right. The demeanor of these people did not suggest they were merchants.
Meanwhile, within the Lingxu, the flying sword Xin Huo, which Lin Zhao had been nurturing in the third Sword Infusion Lake, suddenly trembled, as if it had let out a satisfied burp. In that instant, Xin Huo had greedily swallowed a mouthful of external flame spiritual energy. This mouthful of spiritual energy was incredibly pure, and it seemed to have greatly satisfied Xin Huo. The entire sword embryo hung in the Sword Infusion Lake, surrounded by surging flames, making the entire Sword Infusion Lake resemble a swirling abyss of crimson.
The Fire Spirit Jade was naturally a treasure, but compared to Xin Huo, its level was far too different. The Fire Spirit Jade was at most a lower-grade immortal artifact, while Xin Huo was the immortal sword among immortal swords, and even "superior immortal grade" was insufficient to describe it.
The strong resonance Sun Xingchun felt from the Fire Spirit Jade was, in a sense, the submissive posture of a low-level treasure on the path of flames when encountering a supreme treasure. After being greedily fed a mouthful of flame spiritual energy by Xin Huo as a toll, the Fire Spirit Jade dared to return to normal.
As for Lin Zhao, he was naturally unaware of all this.