Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 321 Fufeng County

The teleportation array was quite large, enough to hold about five or six people. For the two of them and the snake, it was more than enough.

The teleportation array has eight bases on its outer perimeter, and including the other spiritual energy joints within the array, there are a total of twelve array eyes.

Without hesitation, Lin Qing took out twelve spirit stones from his Qiankun bag, activated his spiritual power, and suspended them one by one above the array eye.

As the last spirit stone slowly hovered at the center of the array, the teleportation array suddenly began to emit some subtle sounds.

Spiritual energy flowed out from the spirit stone, circulating between the array patterns along several array points.

It quickly filled the entire teleportation array.

However, the spiritual energy within the spirit stone was consumed extremely quickly. In just a few breaths, it turned into a ash-covered waste stone and fell to the ground.

The light within the formation also dissipated.

"Huh? Senior Brother Lin, what's going on?"

"Don't worry, Junior Brother."

Lin Qing looked at the formation and nodded: "I'm just testing it in advance, to be on the safe side."

"What Junior Brother just said about the dangers of teleportation is not without reason. There is a protective barrier at the other end of this teleportation array. If the barrier is broken, the activation status of the array will be different."

"So let's use a low-grade spirit stone to check if there's anything unusual on the other end before we head there."

Song Yan nodded. That's more like it.

Otherwise, neither of them would know what awaited them on the other end, which would be quite unsafe.

Lin Qing casually pointed, and eight mid-grade spirit stones and four low-grade spirit stones flew out one by one, repeating the same method.

"This teleportation is over an extremely long distance, and the spiritual power contained in low-grade spirit stones is simply insufficient to support it."

Lin Qing explained, "At least four mid-grade spirit stones are needed."

"I see."

Eight mid-grade spirit stones are not a small amount, but Song Yan was invited to the Central Region by Lin Qing, so there was no reason for him to pay for the travel expenses.

"Om-"

The spiritual energy within the formation surged.

"Junior Brother Song, let's go."

"it is good."

Lin Qing summoned the teleportation token, which hovered between the two, and the two people and the snake stood on the teleportation array.

"Move!"

With a buzzing sound, a flash of spiritual light appeared and disappeared, and Song Yan and the others vanished from the spot.

……

Song Yan had experienced teleportation many times before.

To be honest, the discomfort he experienced from these teleportations was nothing compared to the discomfort he felt when he first entered and exited the Yin-Yang Realm.

After a dizzying sense of spatial distortion, the solid feel of earth came from beneath my feet.

Song Yan opened his eyes first. What came into view was no longer the slightly man-made rock wall under Fuyun Peak, but a dimly lit mountain cave.

Beside them, Lin Qing and Xiao He also stabilized themselves from the fluctuations of the teleportation.

"Uh……"

Lin patted her forehead lightly, seemingly feeling some discomfort, with a ringing in her ears.

He looked around; the cave wasn't very spacious.

The area ahead was covered by a barrier that shimmered with a dim light, clearly designed to protect the teleportation array from being discovered by outsiders.

Xiao He poked its snake head out from Song Yan's robe and looked around with great curiosity.

"Have we arrived in the Central Region?"

"Probably... we'll find out when we go out and take a look."

The two people and the snake stepped down from the teleportation platform. Lin Qing activated his spiritual power and the teleportation token in his hand. The spiritual power on the barrier light screen melted away like ice and snow, and the light quickly dimmed and disappeared into nothingness.

Perhaps because they had arrived in a new and mysterious place, Xiao He was very excited and volunteered to lead the way.

As the saying goes, a newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger. Snake Treasure was not worried about any traps or dangers ahead, and completely ignored Song Yan's shouts.

Soon, the cave's exit appeared, a narrow crevice in the stone that could only allow one person to pass through at a time.

Xiao He transformed into a snake and scouted ahead. After confirming that there was nothing unusual outside, she turned back to signal.

Song Yan and Lin Qingbian emerged from the crack in the rock one after the other.

"call--"

A crisp, refreshing mountain breeze blew in my face, carrying the unique scent of moist vegetation from the deep forest and the faint fragrance of unknown wildflowers.

As sunlight streamed in, the three people, who had just adjusted to the dim light inside the cave, unconsciously squinted.

Song Yan carefully sensed it and found that the spiritual energy in the air was thicker and richer than that in Chu, but it was also more mixed.

This is a steep mountain hollow halfway up the mountain, with jagged rocks and shrubs and vines at your feet.

Looking up, the view suddenly opened up.

The endless, verdant mountains rise in layers, like blue waves surging towards the horizon.

It is just an unnamed mountain range, but its terrain is majestic and precipitous, with many peaks hidden in the misty clouds.

Lin Qing took a deep breath: "This is the territory of Wushang Prefecture of the Great Tang Dynasty in the Central Region..."

What he saw before him made his long-held, vague imagination about the Central Region feel both real and dreamlike.

I stood personally on this land that has given birth to countless legends and gathered heroes from all over the world.

In an instant, a myriad of emotions welled up in my mind.

Lin Qing felt a surge of pride and ambition, a desire to compete with the world's best and test his mettle.

In contrast, Song Yan and Xiao He did not have as many complicated emotions.

To them, the Central Region was just a "place" that was a bit too far away.

However, being new to the place, the two did feel a bit curious and looked around.

Lin Qing suppressed his turbulent emotions at this moment: "Junior Brother Song, this place is deep within the territory of Wushang Prefecture of the Great Tang Dynasty. According to the information left by our ancestors, it is still quite a distance from Junping Prefecture."

He estimated the route they would take and said, "With our Foundation Establishment stage strength, even if we use magical artifacts to fly and travel day and night, it will still take about a month to reach Junping Prefecture."

As he spoke, he took something out of his storage bag and tossed it into the air.

A flash of inspiration appeared, and a shuttle-shaped boat about three zhang long floated in mid-air.

"Junior brother, there is no need to worry. Before this trip, I specially went to Tongchen Peak to rent this Liuyun Boat."

The three boarded the boat.

With a soft whooshing sound, the Flowing Cloud Boat transformed into a streak of blue-white light and sped off toward the general direction of Junping Mansion.

The journey was long, crossing mountains and rivers.

The speed of the Flowing Cloud Boat is indeed remarkable, but the vastness of the Central Region far surpasses that of the Chu Kingdom.

Lin Qing spent most of his time piloting the Flowing Cloud Boat, while also keeping an eye on the towns and villages passing below, as well as the scenery of the beautiful mountains and rivers.

Occasionally, when other cultivators appear in the distant sky riding flying magical artifacts or spirit beasts, they will be on high alert.

That Golden Core senior naturally left Lin Qinglong a portion of the map of the Central Region, which is now in Lin Qinglong's hands.

He checked the landmarks and maps along the way and constantly revised his course.

As the sun rises and sets, mountains and rivers rush past outside the porthole.

More than thirty days passed in a flash. Below, people began to appear, and large and small cities and towns gradually increased. Cultivators could also be seen flying back and forth in the air from time to time.

"Junior Brother Song, we've arrived."

Lin Qing looked ahead, and on the horizon, the outline of a magnificent city gradually emerged in the twilight glow.

"Junping Prefecture, Fufeng County."

……

The Flowing Cloud Boat landed not far outside the city of Fufeng County.

The two figures appeared in front of the market. Unlike the markets in the Chu Kingdom, which were mostly hidden among dangerous peaks and secluded valleys and required payment of spirit stones or specific tokens.

The openness here far exceeded Song Yan's expectations, and it was only at this moment that they truly felt the difference between the Central Region and the Chu Kingdom.

The Maoling Ward was built almost right next to the city of Fufeng.

Without any illusion to conceal it, it sits openly and proudly in this valley.

Cultivators flying over this place can immediately tell that spiritual energy is gathered here, and there are many buildings, making it a huge market specially opened up for cultivators.

Furthermore, there were no cultivators guarding the entrance, so there was naturally no need to pay spirit stones.

Step inside.

The surrounding area was filled with cultivators, dressed in various styles.

It was quite obvious that among these cultivators, many, like Song Yan and his companion, were from elsewhere.

Whether they came from other parts of the Central Region or from the Eastern Wilderness border region remains unknown.

Song Yan and Lin Qingyin disappeared into the flow of people and slowly walked into the market.

Most of the small markets in the State of Chu consisted of one or two streets with a few shops scattered among the mountains.

Maoling Market was like a small city, only slightly smaller than Jiangxian Pass.

The roads branch off into main streets and side streets, with shops lined up one after another. There are special areas for materials, magical artifacts, and elixirs, as well as restaurants with huge wine banners and inns that provide meditation rooms. The functional areas are clearly visible.

After passing the entrance to the market, the crowd dispersed in a relatively quiet area in the center.

This area is mostly comprised of large-scale, well-maintained inns and shops.

After discussing it, the three of them headed towards an inn called Jing Shui Ju.

The inn's courtyard walls were tall, and a simple wooden plaque hung above the door, faintly emanating spiritual energy. The attendant at the entrance was a cultivator in the late stage of Qi Refining, whose attitude was respectful but not servile.

Seeing that the two looked travel-worn, the innkeeper asked, "Are you two cultivators from elsewhere?"

Song Yan and Lin Qing exchanged a glance, then nodded: "Not bad."

"You two are really lucky today."

As the manager handed over the jade tokens for the two rooms, he said, "Just now, two guests checked out of their rooms."

"Otherwise, you two will probably have to look for somewhere else."

The two learned from the steward that most of the inns in the towns and villages near Fufeng County were already full.

As a result, the price of accommodation has also increased.

The two couldn't help but feel fortunate that they had arrived relatively early.

Song Yan felt bad about letting Senior Brother Lin pay for the accommodation in spirit stones alone, as it was indeed a bit expensive.

The inn has an exquisite layout, with winding corridors and lush flowers and trees, making it far more tranquil than the bustling market outside.

This room was so large that it surprised Song Yan.

It consists of two temporary suites connected to a courtyard.

"Wow……"

As expected, Xiaohe really liked it here.

Lin Qing did not immediately return to her room. Instead, she sat down in the courtyard and looked around at the tranquil atmosphere of the courtyard with great satisfaction.

“Junior Brother Song, now that we’ve settled in, I’d like to ponder the matter of refining the painting at Daozi’s old home. You may do as you please.”

Lin Qing took out a brush, ink, paper, inkstone, and some special pigments from his Qiankun bag.

Song Yan paused to observe for a while, but couldn't muster any interest.

So he went back to his room, tidied up, said goodbye to Lin Qing, and left Jing Shui Residence, wanting to go to the market.

Having finally made it to the Central Region, it's only natural to want to see the unique spiritual items here. If the price is right, I'll take some back to the Chu Kingdom. Whether it's a gift for Granny Qin or another friend, it would be a good idea.

When they asked, "Where did this come from?"

Then you can casually say that this is a specialty of Fufeng County in the Central Tang Dynasty.

It's very prestigious.

Of course, the most important thing is to look for clues about the Cloud Abyss Sword Bamboo.

Walking on the streets of the market,

Snake Baby's eyes were bright and full of curiosity. It kept looking around, its little face full of excitement.

Every stall was novel and interesting.

Song Yan stayed close to her side.

Since I'm new here and there are many people around, it's always good to be cautious.

Baizhenlou, Danxintang, Baiyaoyuan...

However, as he wandered around, whenever he asked about the sword bamboo, the reply was either a blank shake of the head or that there was no such thing.

At first, he hinted at it indirectly, but later he became completely open about it.

Ultimately, no concrete clues were found regarding this item.

According to a knowledgeable old manager of Baizhen Pavilion, the origin of Yunyuan Sword Bamboo is very mysterious and extremely rare, so its uses are naturally very limited.

He had only seen information about this object in an ancient book; he had never actually seen it in person.

Its bamboo rice is something I've never even heard of before.

There's no news even from the markets in the central region...

Aside from the Cloud Abyss Sword Bamboo, many of the key spiritual herbs recorded in the Thousand Pill Recipes can actually be found here, or you can get definite information about them.

It seems that this bamboo spirit is even more precious than I imagined.

However, the journey was not without its rewards; at least some rare herbs and magical items that were not available in the State of Chu were acquired.

In addition, I bought Xiaohe a little toy, a little rabbit wearing a red headscarf.

Infusing it with spiritual energy can briefly make it move, which is quite interesting.

Snake Baby loves it dearly.

Fortunately, the spirit stones are the same and can be spent anywhere.

However, the fact that the money was being spent like water still made Song Yan feel a little heartache.

"what?"

While browsing a general store, Song Yan noticed several people walking together in the market.

The leaders were a man and a woman.

The man appeared to be middle-aged, with a deep and steady aura, indicating considerable cultivation. Song Yan could not discern his true strength.

The woman was at the Foundation Establishment stage, and was young and beautiful.

The middle-aged man frowned slightly, his expression seemingly somewhat displeased.

The two did not communicate telepathically, but simply had a casual conversation. As they passed by, Song Yan overheard a few fragmented sentences.

"I only exchanged a couple of words with Senior Wu before she disappeared without a trace."

"Do you think this is your own home?"

The man's face was very displeased: "Hmph! If you're so capable, don't come back. Let her stay in the Central Region and see what she does then!"

"Father, don't be angry. My sister is just playful and can't have gone far. She's probably still in this market. I'll find her and bring her back."

The two walked further and further away, and it became impossible to hear what they were saying.

Song Yan is not the kind of kid who likes to eavesdrop on others.

What really caught his attention were the clothes of the two men and several accompanying monks.

Although the robes of the individuals were slightly different, their overall style was consistent, and I had seen the pattern on the back of their robes before.

After a moment's recollection, Song Yan remembered.

This is Jiangxian Pass, the family crest of the Nangong family.

(End of this chapter)