I'm in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have one equipment slot!

Chapter 326 The Saintess's Pursuit! Arrival in the Great Jin! Plotting against the Ming King!

"Damn it—damn it!"

Lin Yinping stood there, her pretty face as pale as paper, devoid of any color.

Her teeth were clenched, and her delicate body trembled slightly with extreme anger and regret. Her clear, dreamy eyes were now filled with remorse, helplessness, and a deep sense of fear.

A sacred beast, the Heavenly Azure Sacred Beast!

That was the avatar of the demon king from the upper realm that she had painstakingly summoned by using the secret techniques passed down in the temple to communicate with the upper realm!

It is a sacred object that carries the hopes for the future of the entire Tianlan Clan!

It is her greatest asset in consolidating her position as a saintess and leading her people to glory!

Now, right under her nose, a cultivator from Tiannan had forcibly taken it away using a small cauldron similar to the Sacred Cauldron!

How could she explain this to her people?

More importantly, if something were to happen to this sacred beast avatar and anger the demon king of the upper realm, who would then punish it—the entire Tianlan Clan would likely face annihilation!

The thought of the potentially terrifying consequences sent a chill down Lin Yinping's spine.

"Zhou Yuan! I, Lin Yinping, will never let you get away with this!" she screamed in her heart, her nails digging deep into her palms until they bled.

Just as Lin Yinping was feeling agitated and at a loss, several powerful auras were hurtling through the sky at an astonishing speed in the distance.

A streak of azure light appeared first, then faded, revealing Xu Changqing's gentle yet solemn figure.

Immediately afterwards, a purple light and a yellow light descended simultaneously, transforming into Sun Erniang and an old man dressed in an earth-yellow hemp robe, with an ancient face, a burly figure, and an aura that had also reached the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

This old man was another renowned master on the grassland, born in the Hulan tribe, and known as "Master Huyanlie".

He was originally stationed in the Holy City, but upon sensing the intense fluctuations in magical power and the unusual movement of the sacred beast's aura, he immediately rushed over.

The three saw that the scene was a mess, with traces of violent magical collision remaining in the air, and the complete disappearance of the sacred beast's aura!

Lin Yinping stood alone, looking lost and pale. All three of them felt a sudden unease, a sense of foreboding rising in their hearts.

"Holy Maiden! What happened? Where is Zhou Yuanren?"

Huyan Lie was the most impatient. As soon as he landed, he shouted a question, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings like lightning, his fighting spirit surging.

He had prepared himself to compete with the legendary number one person in the south, but when he arrived, he only saw the Holy Maiden.

Lin Yinping slowly raised her head, looked at the three most outstanding Grand Immortal Masters in the clan, her eyes slightly red, her voice choked with sobs and self-reproach, and quickly recounted what had just happened in the most concise language.

From the moment she sensed Zhou Yuan's aura and led the sacred beasts in pursuit, to Zhou Yuan's sudden return, his thunderous repulsion of her, and his forceful removal of the sacred beasts with a mysterious small cauldron, and then to Zhou Yuan's triumphant departure—every word struck the hearts of the three great immortal masters like a heavy hammer.

"What?! The sacred beast was—was taken away by Zhou Yuan using a cauldron?!"

Hu Yanlie's eyes widened, and he roared in disbelief. A violent aura burst out uncontrollably, sending the surrounding rocks flying!

"What are we waiting for?! Immediately gather all forces! March towards Tiannan! Crush that damned Ascension Sect! Reclaim the Sacred Beast!"

His beard and hair stood on end, like a raging lion.

However, Xu Changqing and Sun Erniang exchanged a glance and slowly shook their heads, their faces showing solemnity and helplessness.

"Elder Hu, please calm down."

Xu Changqing spoke in a deep voice, his tone tinged with bitterness, "A large force marching towards Tiannan—that's simply impossible. Although Tiannan's overall strength may be slightly inferior to our grasslands, it has veteran great cultivators like Zhiyang, Hehuan, and Wei Wuyai in charge, as well as countless sects and formations. If our grassland army were to launch a full-scale attack deep into Tiannan's heartland, it would inevitably face full resistance from Tiannan's cultivation world. Even if we were to win, it would be a pyrrhic victory, and it would give the Great Jin or other forces an opportunity to exploit the situation. This path is blocked."

Sun Erniang also put aside her usual charm and said seriously, "Master Xu is right. If we only send two or three great immortal masters to sneak into Tiannan to demand an explanation from the Ascension Sect—not to mention that the Ascension Sect's protective formation must be extraordinary, just Zhou Yuan himself, plus his junior brothers who are in the mid-Nascent Soul stage, and other possible allies, even if we two or three go, I'm afraid we will not get any benefit. We might even be surrounded by Zhou Yuan and other great cultivators in Tiannan, and end up trapped ourselves."

Upon hearing this, Huyan Lie, though still furious, knew the two were telling the truth. He could only slam his fist into a nearby boulder, shattering it to pieces, and gritted his teeth, saying, "Are we—are we just supposed to swallow our anger? Just let this go?!"

Lin Yinping had calmed down somewhat. She closed her beautiful eyes, seemingly sensing something. After a moment, she suddenly opened her eyes, a hint of surprise and glint in them, and exclaimed, "No! That's not right! I sensed—the aura of the sacred beast wasn't moving south! But—but towards the far north! That direction—is towards the Great Jin!"

"The Great Jin?" Xu Changqing, Sun Erniang, and Huyan Lie were all taken aback.

"Indeed! It is indeed the Great Jin!" Lin Yinping affirmed. "As a Holy Maiden, I have a special spiritual connection with the sacred beasts. Even from a great distance, I can vaguely sense their approximate location. Zhou Yuan did not turn back south, but continued north, venturing deep into the grasslands. It seems—he intends to traverse the entire Tianlan Grassland to reach the cultivation world of the Great Jin!"

"Go to the Great Jin? What would he do in the Great Jin?" Huyan Lie asked in astonishment.

Xu Changqing's eyes flashed with a sharp light as he quickly analyzed, "So that's how it is—it seems Zhou Yuan didn't flee back to Tiannan out of fear of our grassland forces. His original target was probably the Great Jin! He just happened to learn about the sacred beast while passing through our Tianlan Grassland, and on a whim, he kidnapped it! This man's ambition is greater than we imagined!"

"In that case—we still have a chance!" Sun Erniang's beautiful eyes lit up. "He went to the Great Jin Dynasty, where he's unfamiliar with the place and the people. Our Tianlan Clan isn't entirely without connections to some forces in the Great Jin, especially the demonic sects. As long as he's still in the Great Jin, we have a way to find him and reclaim the sacred beast!"

Lin Yinping took a deep breath, her eyes regaining their composure and resolve. She looked at the three Grand Immortal Masters and said in a deep voice, "The sacred beast was lost due to my negligence; I bear the responsibility. I have decided to personally travel to the Great Jin Dynasty to retrieve it!"

"The Holy Maiden is going in person?" All three were surprised.

"That's right." Lin Yinping nodded firmly. "Once we arrive in Dajin, I plan to contact the Yinluo Sect of the Demonic Path first."

Do you all remember that decades ago, the Yinluo Sect joined forces with the Mulan people to launch a war against Tiannan?

"During that battle, it is said that Zhou Yuan killed several Nascent Soul cultivators from the Yinluo Sect! Later, around the time of the founding ceremony of the Ascension Sect, Zhou Yuan even personally killed the former sect leader of the Yinluo Sect! It can be said that the Yinluo Sect and Zhou Yuan have long been sworn enemies!"

She paused, a cold glint flashing in her eyes: "If the Yinluo Sect knew that Zhou Yuan had come to the Great Jin Dynasty alone, they would definitely want to eliminate him even more than I do! I can first use the Yinluo Sect's intelligence network and resources to find Zhou Yuan's exact location, and then send a message to all the Immortal Masters. At that time, we can join forces with the experts of the Yinluo Sect to lay a trap, and we will surely be able to stop Zhou Yuan, retrieve the Sacred Beast, and avenge this grudge!"

"This plan is feasible!" Xu Changqing was the first to agree. "The Yinluo Sect has considerable influence in the demonic path of the Great Jin Dynasty. If we get their help, we will have the advantage in terms of intelligence and manpower."

Sun Erniang nodded in agreement: "The Holy Maiden is meticulous in her thinking. Please be careful on your journey to the Great Jin. We will stay on the grasslands and be ready to provide support at any time."

Although Huyan Lie was still somewhat unwilling, he knew this was the best solution at the moment, so he could only mutter, "Then—Holy Maiden, please be careful on your journey! If needed, send a message immediately, and I, Huyan Lie, will be the first to rush to your aid!"

"Thank you, three immortal masters."

Lin Yinping bowed respectfully to the three of them, then, without further delay, transformed into a streak of silver light and sped off towards the Great Jin Dynasty.

More than two months later.

Great Jin Dynasty, Liaozhou, Guanning Prefecture.

A magnificent city, vast in area, densely populated, and bustling with commerce, stands on the plain.

The city is filled with tall buildings, crisscrossing streets, bustling traffic, and a lively atmosphere.

Unlike the Tiannan cultivation world, where mortals and cultivators are mostly separated, the Great Jin Dynasty has a more open atmosphere, and it is extremely common for mortals and cultivators to live together.

-

At this moment, Zhou Yuan was strolling along the streets of this large city called "Guan Ning City".

He changed into an ordinary gray-blue robe, concealing his aura as if he were an ordinary person with no cultivation, blending into the bustling crowd and remaining inconspicuous.

He held a jade slip containing a detailed map he had just purchased from the market. The map was meticulously drawn and marked, covering almost all of the Great Jin Dynasty's regions, major spiritual veins, sect territories, and important cities. As he walked, he probed the map with his divine sense and silently browsed through it.

"As expected of the Great Jin Dynasty, a sacred place for cultivation in the human realm. Its territory is vast—and the concentration of spiritual energy is generally higher than that of the Southern Heaven, while the number and quality of cultivators far surpass it—"

Zhou Yuan sighed inwardly.

Just walking on the streets of Guan Ning Prefecture, he sensed the auras of no less than dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators, and even a few faint Core Formation cultivators' divine senses sweeping over him.

This was simply unimaginable in the Yue Kingdom at that time.

The cultivation civilization of the Great Jin Dynasty was indeed astonishingly prosperous.

His thoughts quickly shifted from his overall impression of the Great Jin Dynasty to the specific objectives of this trip.

"Guan Ning Prefecture—this place name sounds familiar."

A hint of reminiscence flashed in Zhou Yuan's eyes, and fragments of memories from the "original work" began to surface in his mind. "If I remember correctly, there were once four great cultivation families in this Guan Ning Prefecture area—the Kong, Zhao, Dong, and Feng families. These four families operated here for hundreds of years, their influence deeply entrenched, controlling most of the cultivation resources in Guan Ning Prefecture."

"However, the situation behind these four great families seems far from simple. Especially the Kong family; its higher-ups appear to have been secretly controlled by General Ge, a general sent by a powerful king known as 'King Xuan Ye.' As for the Feng family, because their ancestors had practiced Buddhist techniques, they vaguely sensed the Kong family's abnormality, which led to their demise. To silence them, King Xuan Ye instructed General Ge to manipulate the other three families, resulting in the complete annihilation of the Feng family!"

"Judging by the timeline, if the original story's trajectory hasn't deviated too much, the Feng family should have been wiped out by now," Zhou Yuan calculated in his mind. "And before their destruction, they seemed to have hidden their most important family heirlooms and treasures in a secret cave. The location of that cave was entrusted by the Feng family to—the owner of an inn?"

"The most valuable thing in that secret cave should be a Buddhist body-refining technique called 'Ming Wang Jue'! This technique is the top-level body-forging method in Buddhism. If you master it, you can achieve physical sainthood, become incredibly strong, indestructible, and even develop various Buddhist supernatural powers."

"Although I specialize in swordsmanship and magic, if I could also cultivate a top-tier body-refining technique to compensate for my physical weaknesses, it would undoubtedly greatly enhance my overall combat strength!"

"Now that we've come to the Great Jin Dynasty, and happen to remember this opportunity, how could we possibly let it slip by?"

Zhou Yuan made up his mind, put away the map jade slip, scanned the streets of Guan Ning City, identified the direction, and then walked towards the location of the "Snow River Town" in his memory.

Xuejiang Town is an inconspicuous small county town under the jurisdiction of Guanning Prefecture. It is named after its proximity to the Xueling Mountains.

The "Yuelai Inn," which holds the key to the Feng family's secret cave, is located in this city.

Zhou Yuan did not use his escape technique, but instead traveled at a leisurely pace like an ordinary traveler for half a day, arriving at Xuejiang Town in the evening.

This small town is not large in scale, with low city walls and simple buildings, far less prosperous than Guan Ning City.

Although small, the city was complete in every way, with restaurants, inns, and shops. Most of the people in the city were ordinary people, and there were very few cultivators. The highest-ranking cultivator was only a Core Formation stage cultivator stationed there, whose aura was hidden in a mansion in the west of the city.

Zhou Yuan's divine sense swept across the entire city like a gentle breeze, and soon locked onto a shop with an old but clean "Yuelai Inn" sign on a relatively bustling street in the east of the city.

He strolled to the inn's entrance. A waiter dressed in shorts immediately greeted him with a beaming smile: "Sir! Are you here for a meal or to stay the night?"

"Checking in." Zhou Yuan smiled slightly, stepped over the threshold, and entered the inn's lobby.

The lobby was dimly lit, with a few tables and chairs that were wiped clean. A few guests were scattered around, some eating and some chatting.

The air was filled with the aroma of food and a faint smell of wine.

Zhou Yuan's gaze habitually swept over the counter on the first floor.

Behind the counter, there was a thin old man, about fifty years old, with a clean face, wearing a faded blue cloth long gown.

At this moment, he was looking down, fiddling with a well-worn nanmu abacus, seemingly checking accounts.

"This person must be the owner of the Yuelai Inn," Zhou Yuan thought to himself.

He carefully observed the old man's demeanor and movements. He was calm and composed, with a relaxed brow, showing no signs of anxiety, fear, or tension.

"His reaction was normal, his expression calm; it seems he hasn't encountered any recent changes or troubles," Zhou Yuan quickly concluded. "In other words, no one has come looking for him recently, and the location of the secret cave hasn't been revealed!"

Thinking of this, Zhou Yuan felt somewhat relieved. He wasn't in a hurry, walked to the counter, and smiled gently at the gaunt old man, "Manager, do you have any quiet, well-maintained rooms left?"

The gaunt old man looked up at the sound of the voice and saw a young man in a blue robe with a gentle demeanor. Without suspicion, he put down his abacus and put on the amiable smile typical of merchants: "Yes, yes! You've come at the right time, sir. There's a vacant room in the top-tier section of the back courtyard, the quietest place imaginable. Fifty copper coins a day, including three meals and plenty of hot water. How many days will you be staying, sir?"

"Stay here for now. We'll decide on the exact number of days later, depending on the situation." Zhou Yuan said, taking out a small piece of silver from his sleeve and placing it on the counter. "This is the deposit. Any overpayment will be refunded, and any underpayment will be collected."

"Alright! You're so generous, sir!" The innkeeper took the silver, his smile widening. He turned and called out to the door, "Er Gouzi! Take this gentleman to room number one in the back courtyard! Treat him well!"

"Coming right up!"

The waiter at the door immediately responded and ran over quickly, leading Zhou Yuan to the backyard.

Zhou Yuan followed the waiter through the lobby, down a long corridor, and into a quiet and elegant courtyard.

There were several banana trees planted in the courtyard, and an old well in the corner of the wall; the environment was indeed quite nice.

The waiter led him to the east wing, pushed open the door, and found the interior simply furnished but clean and tidy.

"Sir, please rest for a while. If you need anything, please let me know."

"That's what the waiter said solicitously."

"Okay, go ahead."

Zhou Yuan nodded.

After the waiter left, he closed the door, sat down at the table, and poured himself a cup of tea.

Zhou Yuan did not rush to find the location of the Feng family's secret cave, but waited patiently.

He knew that the key to the secret cave would soon be "sent" to this inn.

All he had to do was wait patiently for the rabbit to run into the tree stump!

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