ALL NOVEL Chapter 30 – Massive riot
A month passed in a flash.
The commotion caused by Lin Hao becoming the disciple of the Great Bamboo Peak's master gradually settled down.
After all, everyone here was a cultivator and understood that fate couldn't be forced. No matter how envious or jealous they were, they couldn't change the fact that he had become a direct disciple.
During this time, aside from studying the mysterious manual, Lin Hao was busy establishing a new cave dwelling.
As a direct disciple, he could reside at the six-thousand-meter mark on Little Bamboo Peak. This area was closer to the mountain's summit, where the dense spiritual energy from the peak master's secluded cultivation could reach.
Moreover, a third-grade Gathering Spirit Array had been inscribed at the six-thousand-meter point, making the cultivation effect a hundred times better than where Lin Hao previously stayed.
He chose a relatively secluded part of the mountain to carve out a cave dwelling, placing his personal belongings inside, which were just a bed and a desk.
Compared to other direct disciples, or even inner disciples, his place was quite humble.
There was no helping it; his cultivation speed was so fast it felt like a leap, leaving him no time to accumulate any wealth.
As he stepped out of the cave dwelling for some fresh air, he saw four or five people approaching from a distance. Surprised, he asked, "Senior Sister, what brings you here?"
He glanced at the group of women behind his senior sister, all of whom he had some connection with.
Li Qiushui gracefully walked up to Lin Hao and said sweetly, "Junior Brother, I want to move into your cave dwelling. Is that alright?"
"Of course, Senior Sister," Lin Hao replied without hesitation.
This woman had helped him greatly, and now that he could repay her, he certainly wouldn't refuse.
"There's one more thing," Li Qiushui said, her long eyelashes slightly lowered as she softly spoke, "These three would like to become your maids."
Lin Hao looked at the three women, paused for a moment, and said, "That's fine, Senior Sister."
Upon hearing this, the three women beamed with joy, gazing at him affectionately.
That night.
They played a game of stacking, passing the days in such a manner for three days before Lin Hao remembered he had important things to do.
Now that he had reached Foundation Establishment, besides cultivating, he also planned to delve into the art of second-grade talisman crafting.
For this, he decided to visit the inner sect's Scripture Repository.
Just as he reached the entrance, he heard a cold voice.
"Halt."
Lin Hao thought it must be the elder guarding the repository and quickly took out his identity token.
Swish!
Before he could react, the token engraved with a fire lotus was sucked away.
An elder in a gray robe floated cross-legged in mid-air, his eyes vacant as if blind.
To Lin Hao's surprise, this elder seemed to be the same one from the outer sect.
"Boy, why are you staring at me?"
Uh... Lin Hao quickly averted his gaze and said respectfully, "I thought you resembled someone, Senior."
"You mean the outer sect's guardian? He's my good-for-nothing brother."
Lin Hao glanced at the dried corpse hanging from the ancient tree and thought, no wonder they're brothers; they kill in the same way.
In fact, Lin Hao's remark wasn't off the mark; the warnings he heard were the same.
The elder tapped the fire lotus on the token, and three palm-sized Fire Phoenixes flew out.
"So, you're that girl Cangyue's disciple. Has she finally taken on a student again?"
With a wave of his hand, the token flew back to Lin Hao.
"Since you're her last disciple, you can browse all the texts below the Golden Elixir stage and exchange three techniques without contribution points."
Lin Hao was most intrigued by the elder's mysterious methods, as he couldn't detect any presence unless the elder spoke first.
This was truly a skill of the cautious path. He mustered up the courage to ask, "Elder, is your concealment technique recorded in the Scripture Repository?"
"Heh, you have a keen eye. If you want to learn my secret technique, become the master of a peak first."
"Go on, and if you disturb my cultivation again, I'll hang you from the tree."
Lin Hao felt a chill and dared not say more, quickly entering the Scripture Repository.
There weren't many restrictions here; one could browse freely, but without contribution points, it was pointless.
Having just become a direct disciple, Lin Hao hadn't completed any tasks yet, so he had no contribution points.
Fortunately, Feng Cangyue had granted him three opportunities to exchange for any yellow-grade techniques or spells.
The inner sect's Scripture Repository had three floors, each ten meters high, housing countless techniques and spells, collected painstakingly by the Xuan Yin Sect's predecessors and written by prodigious talents.
These jade slips covered everything: techniques, spells, secret arts, anecdotes, cultivation insights, and more!
Lin Hao felt like a foodie in a culinary paradise, scanning through the techniques and manuals, and after a long while, he finally picked out some decent talisman manuals.
Among the manuals, he found the sect master's talisman notes.
He had only heard that the sect master's talisman skills were unparalleled, able to create a talisman treasure with a casual stroke.
Lin Hao was overjoyed and eagerly picked up the notes, devouring every detail, even starting from beginner-level talismans.
He was so engrossed in the notes that he read for an entire day and night, only stopping when the elder's cold snort interrupted him. Otherwise, he might have read them all standing.
The elder was ushering him out, and Lin Hao remembered he still had two more exchanges left, so he chose a group attack spell, "Wildfire Burns the Plains," an advanced version of "Starlight."
The other was a single-target spell, "Starburst," which could compress flames to the extreme, similar to the thunder technique "Palm Thunder."
He took the three jade slips to the elder for exchange and then left.
Back at his residence, he eagerly took out talisman paper and pen to draw first-grade talismans, with surprisingly good results, as his success rate improved by ten percent.
He hadn't expected the sect master's notes to be so effective, so he continued reading them voraciously.
Time flowed like water, and another month passed.
"It's done!"
Lin Hao picked up the middle-grade second-grade talisman from the table, feeling an urge to shout to the heavens.
After studying the sect master's notes, his understanding of talismans deepened, significantly improving his success rate with low-grade talismans and even breaking through to create middle-grade second-grade ones!
He wanted to share his joy with someone, but his senior sister wasn't around. Recently, he had been so absorbed in talisman crafting that he had neglected her, and she often left early and returned late, seemingly busy preparing for Foundation Establishment.
Never mind... Lin Hao sighed lightly, leaving his residence to find Cui Qing'er and also to seek a formation master to set up a formation barrier for his cave dwelling.
Just as he was about to fly on his sword, he heard a loud noise and looked in the direction of the sound, only to see the sect's Demon Suppression Tower collapsing!
Countless black mists surged out from the tower.
Demons... demon cultivators, all of them, a massive riot, Lin Hao's pupils contracted!
Clang!
The bell tolled thunderously!
The sect's great bell summoned all disciples within the mountain gate to stop what they were doing and head to the Point Immortal Platform!