Chapter 308: Chapter 279: After a Decade, Song Lin Emerges from Seclusion

[Dragon Mansion Jade Gourd]: An acquired spiritual treasure containing a grotto heaven with Coiled Dragon, Kui Dragon, and Chi Dragon measuring two hundred zhang. Great Dao: Yin Yang Flying Knife. The Yang Flying Knife can decapitate from a distance, impossible to dodge, drawing blood upon striking. The Yin Flying Knife injures the soul, slices spells, and severs magic treasures.

In Donghua Temple, Song Lin held the Dragon Mansion Jade Gourd, quietly examining the small white jade gourd.

This was all the information regarding the acquired spiritual treasure.

Buzz!

A red and a green flying knife shot out from the gourd’s mouth, exuding a rich aura of Yin Yang Qi.

The Yin Yang Transformation Wheel had transformed into flying knives, and two of them, no less.

Whoosh!

Song Lin’s figure flickered and arrived at the back mountain of the Taoist Temple.

"Awoo!"

A hungry wolf leapt out, its eyes a ghastly green, staring venomously at Song Lin.

"Command!"

Song Lin aimed the gourd’s mouth at the hungry wolf.

Whoosh!

The red willow-leaf-shaped Yang Flying Knife flew out, slicing off the wolf’s head in one stroke.

The Yin Flying Knife followed closely, severing the wolf’s soul.

The invisible energy flew into the gourd, absorbed by the three Divine Dragons.

"What a fine treasure!"

Song Lin secretly admired.

Then his figure soared into the sky, reaching a height of a thousand zhang.

His pupils turned pure white as he used the Qi Observation Technique to look at the land below.

A hundred and fifty-one li away, there was a tiger demon.

Song Lin aimed the gourd’s mouth at the tiger demon.

Whoosh!

The flying knife shot out, decapitating the tiger demon!

The tiger demon’s soul fled, carried by the Yin Wind!

The Yin Flying Knife severed the soul.

"The range of lethality is three hundred li!"

Then, Song Lin began a killing spree.

Tiger demons, cat demons, evil ghosts, yakshas, pangolins...

The pangolin burrowed a thousand zhang underground but still couldn’t escape the fate of the flying knife.

Some demons survived an initial strike, only for the Yang Flying Knife to swiftly return and finish them off.

The flying knife always draws blood upon striking.

This is the Dao of the Yin Yang Flying Knife.

With this treasure, even if Fire Cloud were to be reborn, Song Lin need not rely on the Little Giant Spirit God; the flying knife alone could defeat him.

Of course, the meaning of "the knife must draw blood" might be up for debate.

Against lower-level demons, one strike, or a few, can be fatal.

But if facing the Purple Mansion, does drawing a little blood even count as drawing blood?

Might have to send out the flying knife several times for sure.

Even if it can’t kill the opponent, the speed of the flying knife itself can still be a nuisance.

Moreover, the dragon’s battle prowess has significantly increased, although they’re not at the Purple Mansion level, no one in the Core Formation Realm can handle them.

During these nine years at the cave mansion, not only was an innate treasure refined, but Song Lin’s Taoist skill also improved significantly, although he didn’t manage to form the Lead Flower.

As Song Lin explored and experimented.

He arrived at the Five Poison Corpse Gu Temple unknowingly.

Three years had passed, and the place called Golden Bull County was fully operational again.

According to the monthly reports sent from the Taoist Temple.

The Five Poison Corpse Gu Temple had been self-sufficient and even had surpluses as early as two years ago.

With Yin Mountain’s unique environment, benefits naturally emerged for anyone who secured their position there.

Song Lin also went to Dragon Pond County.

Dragon Pond County, situated at the edge of a cold pond, rich in rare treasures and redwood resources due to its geographic location bordering mountains and waters.

As a resource-rich county, its resources wouldn’t be exhausted even in a hundred years of ancient productivity.

Dragon Pond Temple, the ancestral hall.

Rows of fox immortals, snake immortals, yellow immortals, and others were enshrined instead of ancestors.

Zhou Xuan lit incense and placed it into the incense burner.

The smoke swirled, as if drawn away by some presence in the mystic realm.

Zhou Xuan couldn’t help but sigh.

"I never expected to become a temple master one day!"

Zhou Xuan, once a Taoist disciple of the Yin Yang Altar, had worked with Song Lin for a while.

Bonded well with Song Lin, who was ostracized and offended Taoist Wude, Zhou Xuan often gave advice.

After Song Lin became the temple master, Zhou Xuan’s status also rose.

Hindered by his innate talents, it’s been nearly twenty years since, and he remained in the Qi Refining Realm without progress.

Later, he was fortunate to catch the interest of the weasel lord, the Third Great Grandmother, through the Divine Medium Immortal Skill, advancing to the Divine Establishment Realm.

"Ah, in this life, personal effort and choices both matter!"

Zhou Xuan sighed.

From the moment he chatted with Master Song, his fate had already changed.

At this time, the Yellow Immortal Tablet beside him began to glow.

"Third Great Grandmother? What happened?"

Zhou Xuan stepped forward to inquire.

"The temple master is here!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xuan instantly flew outside and saw a magnificent carriage in the sky.

The temple master stood atop the carriage.

"Subordinate greets the temple master!"

Zhou Xuan respectfully bowed.

Even though there was past camaraderie, today’s differences in status led Zhou Xuan to accurately assess his position.

"Hmm, I see, well done, where are Shi Yinhua and the others?"

"They’re establishing a temple at Heavenly Fire Mountain."

"Heavenly Fire Mountain? Come, take me there."

Song Lin pointed lightly, and Zhou Xuan boarded the carriage.

Whoosh!

The carriage soared towards the so-called Heavenly Fire Mountain.

Soon, they arrived at the location Zhou Xuan had indicated.

The so-called Heavenly Fire Mountain was actually a dormant volcano of over ten thousand years.

Numerous fire pits dotted the mountain, occasionally spewing flames, their sulfur smell permeating the entire area.

A newly built city lay at the mountain’s base.

As Song Lin arrived.

Shi Yinhua and Wang Ziyue ascended from below.

"Is this the Heavenly Fire Temple?" Song Lin curiously asked.

Originally, they intended to establish a presence here using Corpse Chasing and Gu Techniques.

Yet, Shi Yinhua unexpectedly utilized local resources.

"Yes, we discovered this volcano recently, with natural earth fire here, and of the five hundred fire pits, over sixty contain non-mundane fires, making it ideal for alchemy and artifact refining, significantly reducing costs."

Nearby, there are iron and lead mines, and additional four hundred fire pits can be developed into workshops for producing ironware to sell.

"By the way, temple master, there’s one final Taoist Temple. What kind of Magic Vein should the new temple use? Still Corpse Chasing and Gu Technique?"

Song Lin had set a target for four new Taoist Temples.

Currently, resources and manpower could only support that much, any more and there wouldn’t be enough focus.

There were three new Taoist Temples in total, plus the original eight, making eleven altogether.

One temple shy of Song Lin’s twelve-temple target.

Once all four temples were completed, together with the original Yin Merit,

only forty one thousand Yin Merit stood between him and his goal of two hundred thousand Yin Merit.

"No, I have an idea. Before that, let’s go to a place and gather enough Yin Merit."

Song Lin thought of a great cultivation technique—the Taiyin Refining Technique.

Moreover, it was the Taiyin Refining Technique improved by Zhengyang.

The original Taiyin Refining Technique required sixty years of slumber to gain sixty years of life, waking after sixty years.

This cultivation method could, at most, achieve the Underground Master level, which is the Divine Establishment Period.

The sixty-year condition was too lengthy.

Zhengyang’s improvements removed this hard constraint.

After death, the body would naturally decay, and the soul would drift to an unknown place to absorb Taiyin Essence Qi.

After absorbing sufficient Taiyin Essence Qi, the soul would return, and the body would rejuvenate to its peak condition.

This process depended on talent; highly talented individuals might awaken in days or years, while ordinary people might never wake up in their lifetime.

Even in the Donghua Alliance, there were quite a few elders, and Song Lin decided to give it a try, seeing as for someone near death, any extra life was a gain.

Song Lin had Shi Yinhua and Wang Ziyue and other high-ranking members enter the Sun Jade Carriage, leading over a hundred people into the depths of Yin Mountain.

Moments later.

The group arrived at a pitch-black wilderness.

The land was ashen, barren for miles around.

In the center lay a deep, dark crevice, from which a Yin Wind blew incessantly.

This was the original site of the Blood Prison Ghost Mansion.

Song Lin’s golden chariot descended to the bottom of the abyss.

The group stepped out.

"How sinister!"

Observing the surroundings, Shi Yinhua couldn’t help but remark.

The soil was pitch-black, though upon closer inspection, it was actually the dried, congealed color of blood.

Countless demon bones and human corpses surrounded the area.

Some bones rose as high as cliffs, exuding a grand aura, evidence of their formidable might in life.

"Here? Here there’s Yin Merit?"

The group was puzzled.

"Of course there is, be cautious."

Song Lin instructed the group to be ready.

Shi Yinhua summoned the White Bone Dharma Form encircled by the Five Immortals.

This White Bone Dharma Form stood two hundred zhang tall, with pallid bones giving it a fearsome appearance, surrounded by pitch-black demonic qi that formed clouds supporting the Five Immortals Dharma.

Wang Ziyue also summoned his two Little Giant Spirit Gods.

One was Erlang God, and the other was the White Ape Yuann Hong.

At the bottom of the abyss was a dilapidated altar, its surface covered with tadpole-like patterns.

Recognizing it at a glance, Song Lin saw it was Netherworld Seal Characters, part of a teleportation array.

As he had guessed.

Planning to repair the script.

Once repaired, the ghosts and monsters of the Netherworld should be able to teleport through.

With the talisman sealing repaired, more and more Netherworld Demonic Energy began to fill the bottom of the abyss.

Boom!

Soon, the array was repaired.

A streak of black light shot to the sky!

Howl!!!

Wretched screams echoed in all directions.

Monsters of bizarre shapes crawled out from the altar.

Fat evil ghosts, yakshas with blue faces and fangs...

Stunned by the sight, the team hesitated, wondering if the temple master could communicate with Netherworld monsters?

Just as they were about to take action upon seeing the swarm of monsters, Song Lin halted them.

"Hold on!"

Song Lin summoned the Dragon Mansion Jade Gourd.

"Command!"

The flying knives appeared.

They sliced along their path continuously.

Wherever they reached, demons were utterly destroyed.

Wherever they emerged, they were cut down, the air filled with the dazzling traces of two willow-leaf flying knives dancing like butterflies,

Puff puff puff!

The ghosts were completely annihilated, and Song Lin restrained his power slightly, leaving a hint of Yin Bone Ghost Debris.

These were used for determining Yin Merit.

The original remnants in the abyss had lost their essence, making it hard to determine their nature.

Song Lin’s array repair was incomplete, able to tolerate at most a Core Formation release.

A Core Formation ghost amounted to five thousand Yin Merit, seven or eight of them earned enough.

This massacre lasted for three days and nights.

Song Lin’s flying knives were unparalleled in dealing with weaklings.

Absorbing the power of the ghosts, the Divine Dragon’s physique grew considerably.

Three days earlier.

In the Mei Mountain Jungle.

Zhengsi received subordinates.

"Have they all entered the mountain?"

"Yes, perhaps to earn Yin Merit."

The subordinates said, "Should we intervene?"

"No need, let him fight slowly."

Zhengsi sneered.

The demons in Yin Mountain were mostly cleaned up.

At this point, continuing would only waste time.

Three days later.

Zhengsi sensed something amiss; Song Lin and his group hadn’t returned yet?

"Let’s go! To Yin Mountain!"

A group hurried to Yin Mountain.

As they entered, they encountered Song Lin on his Sun Jade Carriage.

Standing at the carriage’s head, Song Lin smiled and said, "How coincidental, Daoist Lord, are you here to exorcise demons as well?"

Seeing Song Lin’s smug demeanor, Zhengsi realized he’d miscalculated.

"How was it done?" Zhengsi couldn’t quite understand.

The power of the One Qi God Transformation Tripod shouldn’t have overlooked so many demons.

"By chance, a few years ago, the Blood Prison Ghost Mansion happened to harbor some demons."

Said Song Lin, his eyes turning stern as he sneered, "The Yin Merit has been accrued, are you ready for the duel in six years?"

Since the death of Chi Hai, everything involving Zhengsi had connected afterward.

This person, relying on his deep background, had repeatedly caused trouble for him.

Without his relationship with Zhi Xin, he might have been covertly harmed already.

Hearing Song Lin’s taunt, Zhengsi remained indifferent, laughing, "First achieve the Purple Mansion, then speak, and... have you chosen the appropriate Feng Shui site?"

"Haha! Six years later, see you at Xuanyu City!"

After saying this, Zhengsi didn’t wait for Song Lin’s reply and led his men back into the jungle.

Song Lin, as a stepping stone, had served its purpose, and he would then directly reap the reputation.

Song Lin returned and stayed for several more days, mapping out the direction for Taiyin Refining Shape Temple before once again entering seclusion.

All conditions fulfilled, only awaiting the real-world duel in six years.

During this time, Song Lin didn’t wish to open new worlds to distract himself.

Winning this time, the Donghua Taoist Alliance would formally step into view, gaining vast freedom and autonomy.

Year One.

Taiyin Refining Shape Temple was established, an institution of retirement for the Donghua Alliance.

Year Two.

The Emperor Sword officially became an acquired spiritual treasure.

Year Three.

Zhengsi’s Divine Skill reached completion, the Mei Mountain Jungle shone brilliantly, all beasts submitted, and the birds pay homage to the phoenix.

Year Six

Song Lin emerged from seclusion.

...

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