Chapter 116: Chapter 116: War Treasure Ship
"Shiming pays respects to Master. I failed to deactivate the Formation ahead of time to welcome you, please impose your punishment, Master!" Lin Shiming stepped forward and spoke.
Zi Xuan Hermit, with an imposing aura, waved his hand indifferently as if to respond.
The next moment, when he sensed Lin Shiming's cultivation level, his eyes finally showed a trace of surprise.
Less than ten years, from the seventh layer of Qi Cultivation to the early stage of Foundation Establishment, this speed was already much faster than that of the sect disciples.
"Shiming, how is your amplification of Spirit Plants coming along?" Zi Xuan Hermit suddenly asked.
"To reply to Master, Shiming is slow-witted, not even reaching fifty percent!" Lin Shiming answered cautiously, his words revealing both pride and joy.
For a Spirit Plant Master, being able to catalyze to a certain extent with True Yuan was already quite an achievement.
However, after hearing this, a fleeting look of disappointment passed across the hermit's face, and he did not inquire any further.
Seeing this, Lin Shiming finally relaxed a bit. He had asked his seventh great-uncle; the cultivation speed of a proper ancestor from the main lineage was just about double, and that ancestor was indeed from Qingxuan Sect, definitely cultivating orthodox techniques.
So he had concealed the actual speed, and although Zi Xuan Hermit seemed disappointed, Shiming felt it was more like a test.
Zi Xuan Hermit also glanced at Fangmu Mountain, and it seemed as though he could see through all the fog shrouding the mountain.
At that moment, Lin Shiming tensed up again.
Upon the mountain were Heavenly Spirit Fruit Trees, a Superior Grade Third Rank Spiritual Vein, and also Minor Divine Ability trees, and even Lin Shilei, a Thunder Spirit Root genius.
Toward such a Purple Mansion power, he did not dare to speculate about his capabilities.
Fortunately, Lin Xianzhi did not release the Spiritual Vein detection from the Array Plate; if the Spiritual Energy of the Fourth Rank Spiritual Vein had emerged, it would have been detected at a glance.
Zi Xuan Hermit seemed to have some sense of self-restraint concerning his status and did not use his Divine Sense to probe on a large scale. The Formation around Lin Shiming utilized a Superior Grade Third Rank Array Plate.
After a glance, Zi Xuan Hermit's expression remained unchanged, as if that look was just a casual glance at the scenery.
He then turned to Lin Xianzhi:
"Xianzhi, we should not delay any longer, let's set off for Qingyun Mountain!" Zi Xuan Hermit waved his robe and stepped onto the Spirit Boat again.
Following him, including Xie An, the two senior brothers also stepped onto the Spirit Boat, continuing under Lin Xianzhi's guidance.
However, from Lin Xianzhi's hand, a Pill Bottle flew into Lin Shiming's hand, which contained a bottle of elixirs for healing, clearly for Lin Houyuan.
As Lin Shiming received the elixirs, Lin Xianzhi also transmitted a message to him:
"Shiming, come and join us. Confronting the Li Family, the more people we have, the more strength we can amass!"
Lin Shiming nodded in response.
After handing the elixirs over to Lin Shijie, he instructed the latter to continue guarding Fangmu Mountain, and then he too boarded the Spirit Boat.
Inside the Spirit Boat, no one spoke. Zi Xuan Hermit was meditating in a room, while the two senior brothers were sitting silently with their eyes closed, meditating on the deck.
Only Lin Xianzhi was standing at the very front of the deck, steering the Spirit Boat.
His white hair drifted in the wind. In fact, for cultivators, driving a Spirit Boat would not invite wild winds.
Lin Shiming suddenly thought if the deficiencies in the Renshui Geng Metal Art his seventh great-uncle practiced could be corrected by the system tips.
If the cultivation technique were accurate, could it restore some of his lifespan, or even make a breakthrough into the Purple Mansion.
After contemplating for a moment, he increasingly felt it was highly feasible. Unfortunately, he couldn't currently have his seventh great-uncle practice it; instead, he would observe from the side later.
But as he thought about the randomness of the system tips, another headache began for Lin Shiming.
Traveling silently, Lin Xianzhi neither transmitted any messages nor engaged in conversation.
After greeting the two senior brothers, Lin Shiming also found a spot on the deck to sit quietly and begin cultivating his newly acquired Magical Artifact.
...
The sun rose in the east, and a streak of purple light emerged with the dawn, heralding the arrival of a new day.
In the distance, a tall mountain reaching into the clouds came into view.
This mountain was evidently much taller than Fangmu Mountain, and as its name suggested, it stood above the Qingyun.
Even thousands of miles away, one could sense its towering height and steep cliffs.
This was where the Li Family of Qingyun Mountain resided, and almost as soon as Lin Xianzhi's Spirit Boat arrived, another Spirit Boat emerged at its side.
Hovering above that Spirit Boat was a huge character for "money," signifying that it belonged to the Qian Family.
The two Spirit Boats converged together as if by some unspoken agreement.
On the other Spirit Boat, Qian Bosheng was clearly the one piloting the craft, with Qian Zichu standing quietly behind him.
Once the Spirit Boats stabilized in the air, a man in a green robe walked out from the opposite craft, and at the same moment, Zi Xuan Hermit stepped out from within his own boat.
"I had a premonition before coming here and sure enough, Heavenly Sword Peak is still under Master Ji's command. For this mission, we'll have to rely on Master Ji to lead our formation!"
"What are you saying, Brother Qian? In just three hundred years, you've advanced to the Purple Mansion Late Stage. We should work together. If the Li Family dares to collude with the Heavenly Demon Sect, they can't blame our Qingxuan Sect for forgetting old ties!"
The two exchanged greetings briefly before turning their attention towards Qingyun Mountain.
At this point, both the Lin Family and the Qian Family seemed to be playing the roles of guides.
They were only a thousand miles away when the man in the green robe gestured suddenly in the air.
A colossal ship that covered the sky appeared, a vessel that looked like a small mountain compared to the Third Rank Spirit Boats, not only in size but also in its overwhelming Spirit Might.
It was a Fourth Rank Magical Treasure Spirit Boat, also known as a War Treasure Ship.
The War Treasure Ship was the only treasure vessel that Foundation Establishment cultivators could also pilot. It contained several powerful formations, and at critical moments, it even had spatial formations that could accommodate up to a hundred thousand people.
In times of war, this allowed for the decisive advantage of swift military movements.
This was also a closely guarded secret treasure of the Qingxuan Sect. Even the Spirit Beast Sect and the Spirit Talisman Sect, fellow sects of the Zhao Kingdom, could only purchase it from the Qingxuan Sect.
Together, they boarded the Fourth Rank treasure vessel, comprising two Purple Mansion cultivators and ten Foundation Establishment cultivators.
While boarding, Lin Shiming finally learned from his seventh grand uncle that the other Purple Mansion cultivator was known as Tianyun Hermit from the Shen Ji Peak of the Qingxuan Sect.
Moreover, Tianyun Hermit had once been a disciple of the Qian Family, but due to his powerful Dual Spirit Root of wood and earth, he had joined the Qingxuan Sect and became a Purple Mansion Late Stage cultivator within a mere three hundred years.
The speed of the treasure ship was terrifying. In an instant, they felt a terrifying propulsive force burst forth and shoot out.
In just a few breaths, Qingyun Mountain, which was thousands of miles away, was suddenly right before them.
Then, array flags shot out rapidly in front of the treasure ship.
They quickly enveloped Qingyun Mountain.
The array flags moved so fast that Lin Shiming could barely keep up, and in the next moment, Spirit Light connected in a continuous expanse, forming a gigantic Trapping Formation around the mountain.
A Fourth Rank Formation, the Eight Wastelands Prison Dragon Formation!
At the same time, the entire treasure ship began to shake violently. As it shook, Spirit Patterns undulated like waves in the ocean, and a terrifying suction force emanated from the front of the ship.
The next moment, a splendid sword of light spanning thousands of feet took form!
Without a word, it slashed down!
It was the treasure ship's attack formation, the Heavenly Sword Extermination Formation!
Lin Shiming watched on, dumbfounded. There was no inspection, no greeting—just a direct Fourth Rank Trapping Formation to trap people and a Fourth Rank Killing Formation to break through the defensive formation!
There was no trace of the demeanor expected of high-level Purple Mansion experts!