Since he was concerned about Teacher Lan Jin in his heart, Shen Xingcong didn’t go after him. He put away the pouch for the time being and rushed to the main house.
He arrived after stepping over the stone road throughout the way, and he wanted to push the door quickly. In the end, he still remembered some etiquette, and shifted from push to knock.
“Master, I heard from senior sister that you are looking for me.”
Not long after the words fell, the house door opened from the inside.
Shen Xingcong went in and saw Elder Jing Xin sitting on the long chair.
He got straight to the point: “Is something bad happening to Teacher Lan Jin?”
“There is no hurry.” Elder Jing Xin raised his hand, and a chair moved behind Shen Xingcong, “Sit down first.”
There seemed to be something to talk about.
Shen Xingcong complied and sat down, his eyes still glued to Elder Jing Xin.
Elder Jing Xin stroked his beard: “‘Lan Jin has been in seclusion for more than seven years. When he is stable once in a while, he will use the spiritual tablet to contact me.”
This was the first time Shen Xingcong had heard of this.
“Then how is Teacher’s situation? Has he succeeded in making a breakthrough?”
Elder Jing Xin shook his head.
Unexpectedly, there was no progress even after being in seclusion for so long.
Shen Xingcong had heard that Lan Jin was a proud son of Heaven with outstanding talents. It was only because something terrible happened on the way that his cultivation stagnated. Thinking of Xiao Lin, he couldn’t help but ask: “Could it be…that Teacher’s spiritual roots were damaged?”
Elder Jing Xin was quite surprised: “Why do you think so?”
Shen Xingcong: “I have encountered demon cultivators with Teacher before, and I guessed a little bit.”
“So that’s how it is.” Elder Jing Xin sighed, “No wonder he treats you differently.”
“The damage to the spiritual roots is one reason, but it’s not all. Xiaoyao Sect is rich in resources, and after so many years, we have tried our best to treat Lan Jin. But there are still other reasons for not being able to break through.”
Shen Xingcong’s heart tightened: “Can I do something?”
Elder Jing Xin: “This time, I am looking for you to come here for this matter.”
“It has been almost a year since the last contact. Before I allowed him to go into seclusion, we had an agreement. If there was no contact for more than a year, I would break through forcibly from the outside.”
It was common for ordinary cultivators to enter seclusion without contacting the outside world for a year or so. For example, the Xiaoyao Sect’s Sect Leader has been in seclusion for over ten years, and no one is too worried.
But Lan Jin was different. For physical reasons, it wasn’t suitable to stay alone in seclusion for too long.
“I look for you to come over, precisely because I wanted you to go to Lan Jin’s seclusion place to wait during this period of time. If you see anything unusual, you can also contact us in time.”
Lan Jin’s safety was at stake, so Shen Xingcong naturally agreed.
But before he answered, he heard Elder Jing Xin say: “This is not a command, but to seek your opinion. If you don’t want to, you can refuse.”
There couldn’t be any unwillingness to do this.
Shen Xingcong said: “Teacher Lan Jin treats me very well, I also respect him a lot. No matter how long I have to wait, I am willing to go forward to Yun Island to guard Teacher.”
Elder Jing Xin saw that Shen Xingcong was sincere and nodded slightly.
“Come here, I have something for you.”
Shen Xingcong got up and walked over, taking the spiritual tablet and a talisman from his master.
The spiritual tablet was for contact use. If an abnormality was found, Elder Jing Xin’s side would arrive in time.
The talisman was to break the mountain gate. If he met with an emergency situation, Shen Xingcong could go in first to help.
After explaining these, Elder Jing Xin said: “Lan Jin’s situation is special…if something happens, do not let others know.”
“Master can rest assured.” Shen Xingcong said, “I will definitely not let anything happen to Teacher.”
He cupped his hand and prepared to withdraw but was called back.
“Wait,”
Shen Xingcong turned around, yet saw Elder Jing Xin wanting to say something but then hesitated.
The gentle old man, who usually always stroked his beard and smiled lightly, was actually slightly knitting his brows, as if there was something difficult to be mentioned.
Shen Xingcong asked: “Master still has something to instruct?”
“…nothing.” Elder Jing Xin sighed, “Lan Jin is counting on you.”
A few days later, Shen Xingcong packed simple luggage and headed to Yun Island.
This was where Teacher Lan Jin’s residence was located. Remembering eight years ago when he had just entered the inner sect, the area he usually stayed most often was this place.
Because no one lived there for years, the grass and trees in the forest were even more lush and overgrown with weeds. Shen Xingcong carefully passed around it, planning to take some time to handle it.
Although he occasionally came over to clean the main house, he didn’t go so far as to even trim the vegetation together.
The place where Lan Jin was in seclusion wasn’t far from the main house. It was a cave under a mountain range. The outside has a complex invisible barrier. If someone is close, the person inside will immediately sense it.
Shen Xingcong didn’t get too close, but watched from afar at the edge of the barrier for a while.
The vicinity of the cave was extremely quiet, and no small animals could be seen. Only occasionally did the wind blow through, and the leaves rustled. The stone wall at the cave entrance was sealed, completely blocking the way in and out.
Just by looking at it, he couldn’t imagine that there were people inside.
Master said he should contact them immediately if he sensed anything unusual. But the stone wall is so thick and heavy. Even if something really happened inside, how could he notice it?
Shen Xingcong closed his eyes and a flash of dark light came out from his fingertips. It connected into a silk thread and probed towards the cave. Bypassing the complex invisible barrier gap, it penetrated through the wall.
The cave was extremely deep and dark.
He didn’t know how long the dark light searched before it finally reached the bottom, and then turned.
Then——
Shen Xingcong abruptly opened his eyes, and the light at his fingertips disappeared. Looking down, his fingers were still trembling uncontrollably.
… it’s so cold.
Shen Xingcong had put his five senses on it and wanted to explore the situation inside. But when he arrived at a certain place, he was immediately frozen awake.
The temperature was so low, it was like a sharp whip, which would cut the skin in the next second.
If it was other people probing the divine consciousness, perhaps they wouldn’t be able to recover for a long time, or even have their spiritual veins damaged.
How could the place where Teacher Lan Jin was in seclusion be this cold?
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Pr la qbrrlyif atja rbwfatlcu tjr tjqqfcfv?
.
C klcufv ktlaf alufg klat rcbk-ktlaf oeg rmegglfv atgbeut atf obgfra. Ktf rqffv kjr rb ojra atja la kjr jiwbra lwqbrrlyif ab rff lar agjli klat atf cjxfv fsf. Pc atf cfza rfmbcv, la kjr mjeuta ys atf rqlglaeji gbqf jgbecv lar cfmx, jcv lar ybvs rajiifv lc wlv-jlg. Ktfc la ofii vbkc tfjnlis.
“Xiao Lin, good job!”
Yu Fei followed up the victory with a hot pursuit and summoned the Heavenly Dragnet to trap the spiritual beast.
The flying winged white tiger roared and struggled, but the trap was getting tighter and tighter. In the end, it couldn’t even open its mouth and could only whimper in frustration.
Yu Fei’s sword tip poked at the fur of the spiritual beast: “This thing’s fur and teeth are very useful, both for forging weapons and refining medicine. It’s just that it’s too fast. I’m afraid I can’t get it done that quickly by myself.”
The secret realm’s tree roots were gnarled, and the trees were tall. Coupled with the perennial mist, visibility was extremely low. Cultivators always came in with cautiousness. It was also not good for the attack range to be too large, angering the rest of the ferocious beasts and attracting a group attack.
Yu Fei chatted while collecting the fur and teeth into the space ring. Until he got up, he didn’t hear a single response.
When he turned his head to look, he saw Xiao Lin with his hand on the end of his sword, looking to the other side, not knowing what he was looking at.
“How come you have turned into a taciturn person just like your Senior Brother Murong.” Yu Fei complained, “I am talking to you.”
Xiao Lin returned to his senses, turned his head, and chuckled: “The collection should be enough.”
“Yes, coming out for half a month is quite rewarding.” Yu Fei said, “If you want to go deeper, I would not dare to bring you in alone. Let’s go back first this time.”
Xiao Lin nodded and turned towards the outside.
Yu Fei followed up and casually put his hand on Xiao Lin’s shoulder: “I know why you are always absent-minded, are you worried?”
Xiao Lin kept silent and avoided contact: “Worried about what.”
“Of course worrying about Teacher Lan Jin.” Yu Fei sighed, “Speaking about it. It’s the first time I have seen Teacher go into seclusion since I entered the sect, and this seclusion was nothing much, but he has been in seclusion for such a long time.”
Worrying about Lan Jin?
A sense of absurdity couldn’t help but appear in his heart.
Xiao Lin: “Senior Brother Yu Fei is right, it is indeed me who is too worried.”
“Let me just say it.”
Yu Fei thought he was really the most understanding and competent senior brother, and was immensely smug.
“Xingcong has already gone to wait, so you don’t have to worry too much. After we return to the sect, we can go to Yun Island to take a look at the situation.”
Due to the extremely low visibility of the secret realm, even standing at this distance. Yu Fei couldn’t see Xiao Lin’s expression quite clearly either.
He only knew that the other person was facing him sideways, his long black hair hidden in the mist, and responded in a low voice.
“…yes. I will go and have a look.”
.
Waiting on Yun Island here could be described as free, but it could also be described as boring.
Waking up every day, first go to the surrounding area to clean and trim the vegetation. Then, splash water to irrigate it, fertilizing the soil.
Nowadays, since he has bigu, eating three meals a day is unnecessary. But for Shen Xingcong, three meals are not only for satiety, but more for pleasure. Therefore, he would still make himself something to eat.
Then, most of the time, he was waiting outside the entrance of the seclusion.
There was no master to watch over, no senior sister to nag, and no youngest junior brother to quarrel with. There was no one to talk to.
Occasionally, a cultivator flew by with a sword over his head, bringing a little human life energy.
Because he didn’t know when something would happen inside, Shen Xingcong didn’t dare to get too far away. So as not to cause irreparable consequences when he was clearly guarding here.
He also didn’t know how Teacher Lan Jin was.
Sitting cross-legged outside the barrier, Shen Xingcong sighed lightly.
What he saw today wasn’t too different from what he had seen when he came here half a month ago. The barrier didn’t have any fluctuations, and no movement was coming from inside.
He later tried to probe with his divine consciousness several times, but he was frozen out every time.
This wasn’t an illusion.
For some reason, the temperature inside was far lower than the outside world.
Thinking back, Teacher Lan Jin always wrapped himself in layers inside and outside, seemingly to be extremely afraid of the cold. It was said that one should choose a place similar to the attributes of one’s spiritual roots for seclusion.
Teacher is not a water or ice spiritual root, how could he come to such a cold place?
Shen Xingcong couldn’t figure it out.
【Who is outside.】
A voice transmission was suddenly heard inside his head. He couldn’t help but be stunned, thinking that he had misheard it.
And after that sentence, there was no more sound.
He pressed his fingers between his foreheads and tried to send a message back:【Teacher Lan Jin?】
The voice transmission inside the mind wasn’t a direct hearing of a voice. It was more akin to text communication. The message would directly emerge in his mind.
Therefore, he couldn’t hear Lan Jin’s tone, and he didn’t even know what the other person’s mood was, or what was unusual.
The only thing he could be sure of was who the message came from. Because he could recognize Lan Jin’s spiritual qi.
A short while later, another response came.
【…Xingcong?】
Shen Xingcong’s heart was agitated, and he stood up at once.
【Teacher Lan Jin, how are you feeling? Are you okay now?】
In order to avoid disturbing the cultivation of the person inside, he didn’t dare to rashly talk before. At this moment, listening to the other side’s initiative, he expressed the thoughts in his heart in one breath.
【A year without contact, Elder Jing Xin and us are very worried. He specially instructed me to come over to wait for Teacher. How is Teacher’s situation now, when will you be able to leave the seclusion?】
However, after a series of words, the opposite side once again fell into silence.
Shen Xingcong looked at his fingertips and was about to probe with his divine consciousness once more. But he heard the next sentence.
【…go back.】
Shen Xingcong paused, and the bright light in his hand disappeared.
【Teacher, I will not disturb your seclusion, nor will I trespass. Elder Jing Xin only asked me to guard, just in case…】
【If you don’t want to make me angry, go back immediately!】
Even if he couldn’t hear the voice, he could still detect the anxiousness.
Shen Xingcong didn’t dare to stimulate him again and took a few steps back.
Then the transmission broke off, no longer sensing Lan Jin’s presence.
There was wind passing by, and the grass on the ground swayed. Covering the traces of the invisible barrier. The conversation just now seemed like an illusion.
Shen Xingcong stood alone in the same place, a bit dazed.
Teacher Lan Jin told him to go back?
He and Elder Jing Xin were clearly only out of concern, and also merely guarding outside the door. Why should he be so agitated?
He felt puzzled, and once again looked at the stone gate before him.
What should be done next?
He didn’t want to go against Lan Jin’s wishes, but he was also really worried. What if something really happened if he had just been obedient and left?
He hesitated momentarily, pulling out a spiritual tablet from his bosom to contact his master, informing him of everything that had just happened.
Elder Jing Xin muttered: “Lan Jin contacted you?”
Shen Xingcong: “Yes.”
“He wants you to leave.” Elder Jing Xin asked, “What are you planning to do?”
Unexpectedly, the question was thrown back.
“Master,” Shen Xingcong hesitated, “What exactly is the reason for Teacher Lan Jin’s rejection in this way?”
Elder Jing Xin didn’t reply.
Still inconvenient to say?
Shen Xingcong’s brows furrowed tightly.
Whether to follow Lan Jin’s wishes, or his own ideas.
It was about the fact that it would expose the former secret, so the other person was unwilling to let him stay. But if life is really in danger, what secret is more important than life?
At this moment, Master’s voice came back to his ears.
“If you are uncertain…just stay there.”
This wasn’t an order, nor a request, but rather Elder Jing Xin’s wish out of selfishness.
Shen Xingcong heard this and squeezed his five fingers tightly around the spiritual tablet: “…I know.”
“It’s concerning Teacher’s safety, even if it goes against his ideas, I will do it.”
The night was already deep.
Usually at this time, Shen Xingcong had already temporarily returned to the main house, but he stayed for a while longer because of the brief interlude just now.
The spiritual tablet connection was disconnected, and he was about to leave when he suddenly heard a terrifyingly loud sound from behind him.
He tugged at his ears, and the loud noise intensified. It beats his eardrums.
He turned his head back.
The sound came from the direction of the seclusion, and along with it, the rock wall shook, and stone fragments on the outside shook down, scattering on the ground.
.
When rushing back to the sect from the secret realm, it was already very late.
Yu Fei originally wanted to report to his master on the second day, but he heard Xiao Lin say: “When came back with the sword just now, the main house was brightly lit, Master maybe hadn’t rested yet. Since Senior Brother Yu Fei is already tired, let me go to report.”
Yu Fei was astonished: “Youngest Junior Brother, are you made of iron. My cultivation level is higher than yours and I have exhausted my spiritual energy, but you can still move?”
Xiao Lin smiled: “Reporting does not require the consumption of spiritual energy either.”
Yu Fei felt that he couldn’t even compare to his youngest junior brother, which was a bit humiliating. But he really couldn’t walk and move. When he thought about going to find his master in a while, he was sure that there would be rules everywhere, so he didn’t want to move even more. Therefore, he waved his hand: “Then I’ll leave it to you.”
The two of them separated.
Xiao Lin went to the outside of the main house, heard the sound of people from the inside, and didn’t immediately disturb.
Until there was a momentary pause, and the person inside inquired: “Xiao Lin has returned?”
Xiao Lin cupped his hand: “Yes, I came to report.”
The door to the house immediately opened. He walked in and saw that Elder Jing Xin had just put down his spiritual tablet.
“How was this trip to the secret realm?”
Xiao Lin: “It was quite abundant.”
He briefly explained in a few sentences.
Elder Jing Xin nodded his head and was about to say something when he heard another vibration coming from the spiritual tablet.
He glanced at it and instructed Xiao Lin: “It’s been hard on you. Go back and rest first.”
Xiao Lin’s gaze went to the spiritual tablet: “But senior brother contacted?”
Elder Jing Xin gave a start and couldn’t help but look.
“I am also worried about Teacher Lan Jin.” Xiao Lin cupped his hand, “If there is anything I can contribute, I will certainly do so.”
.
After a series of vibrations, the cave was quiet again. It seemed as if the movement just now was just an illusion.
But Shen Xingcong heard it perfectly clear, and even when he contacted Elder Jing Xin again, the strange sounds still hadn’t stopped.
But after cutting off from the spiritual tablet, it ceased abruptly.
“…Teacher Lan Jin?”
Shen Xingcong gazed at the dark cave entrance and murmured in a low voice.
Just now, Elder Jing Xin said he would come immediately and asked him to stay put for the time being. See if there were any other remaining movements.
So Shen Xingcong remained guarding the entrance of the cave.
He stepped into the barrier, and it was reasonable to say that the people inside should have sensed him. At this moment, there was no reaction at all.
Close to the stone wall, the entrance and exit were blocked airtight. Rubbles tumbled down among the grass. He probed his hand over the rock wall, and the stone substance was incredibly solid.
“Boom!”
Muffled sounds came from the inner wall, and the agitation spread to Shen Xingcong’s palm. Along with it, his heart skipped a beat. Uneasiness filled his chest cavity.
Was it the collapse of the inner rock wall, or an attack by unknown creatures?
But this was within the territory of the Xiaoyao Sect. What thing could have broken in?
A while had passed, but Elder Jing Xin hadn’t yet arrived. Shen Xingcong didn’t dare to use his spiritual tablet to contact him again for fear of delaying the other person.
His fingertips flared with light, and he once again probed out his divine consciousness.
If Teacher Lan Jin was awake inside, perhaps he would somewhat notice. But he couldn’t take it into consideration too much right now. The most important thing was to make sure Teacher Lan Jin was safe.
Inside the rock wall was dark, and there wasn’t any light passing through. After examining it several times, Shen Xingcong had almost confirmed Lan Jin’s whereabouts. It was in an extremely cold place that was located on the outstretched side of the cave.
Occasionally, water dripped down, probably drops of water condensed from stalactites.
This time, compared to before, it seemed to be different.
Shen Xingcong’s brows furrowed tightly.
The sound of breathing could be heard.
No, to be precise, it was the sound of gasping. It appeared to be extremely painful.
It was accompanied by whimpering, as if they were trying their best to endure something.
Was Teacher Lan Jin injured?
Shen Xingcong froze as images flashed through his mind.
It couldn’t be that the mountain collapsed, and Teacher Lan Jin was unable to dodge in time and was crushed under the boulders. And listening to the vibrations just now, perhaps there were still rocks falling even now.
If that’s the case, perhaps it’s not the time to stand around waiting for Master to arrive. He must rescue Teacher Lan Jin as soon as possible!
Shen Xingcong still remembered in his heart what the other person had said, asking him to leave.
But he only hesitated for a split second before attaching the talisman previously given by Elder Jing Xin to the stone gate.
Taking a few steps back, he drew a line in mid-air: “Break!”
The words on the talisman paper sank inward, and immediately cracks crumbled open, spreading out in all directions like a spider web.
The originally thick and sturdy rock wall fell, revealing the dark tunnel behind it.
The vibration was extremely subtle and shouldn’t involve the inner side. But just in case, Shen Xingcong still hurriedly rushed in.
All along the way there was rock debris falling, looks like the vibration impact just now wasn’t small. And after passing through this long and narrow tunnel, the place ahead suddenly opened up.
The first feeling was extremely cold.
The ice-cold and bone-chilling ten thousand years of frost spread out, and as if moonstones were embedded, the rock wall surface emitted a faint light.
Followed up by a white color. The underground was ice, and the rock walls were frosty. However, because the light was too dim, it didn’t appear to be dazzling.
This cave, which was like a work of art, didn’t know what kind of heavy blow it had suffered, there were holes on all sides.
The walls were full of potholes and the floor was full of ruins. The stalactites above the head were broken in half, on the verge of collapsing, as if it was going to fall down in the next second.
In the midst of this mess, there was a high platform.
Teacher Lan Jin was probably meditating there. At this moment, no soul was in sight on the platform.
The vibration seemed to have stopped, and after the quietness of the surroundings, the gasping sound became even more evident.
Only when he entered here, Shen Xingcong realized that the voice was a bit unusual.
Although it was excruciating, it wasn’t only like being injured. On the contrary, it showed a bit of ambiguity.
Restraining the strangeness in his heart, he looked around and saw a corner of the lower hem of a robe at the back of the high platform.
“Teacher Lan Jin!”
Shen Xingcong immediately ran there.
A figure fell behind the high platform, his body curled up. A wide outer robe was draped over his body, covering the entire person.
Sure enough, he was injured?
Shen Xingcong hurriedly squatted down and wanted to examine. Just as his hand touched the outer robe, his palm was caught.
A plain white slender wrist poked out from the inside, and the fingertips hooked his five fingers.
When the skin touched, Shen Xingcong couldn’t help but tremble.
So hot.
Compared to this unusually cold cave, Lan Jin’s body was frighteningly scalding.
It was like touching a boiling water stove. He was subconsciously going to retract his hand.
But it was tightly clasped.
The person underneath him propped himself up slightly, and the outer robe on his shoulders slipped off. Naked shoulders and delicate collarbones.
It was only then that Shen Xingcong realized that Lan Jin was half naked, only draping outer clothing.
Black hair scattered, slightly obscuring the appearance of a good-looking woman’s facial features. His face was an unnatural red color. The pupils of his eyes were unfocused.
As if they were looking at him, but also as if they were looking at another person through him.
“…”
He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something. But the syllable that came out first was a groan/moan.
Shen Xingcong was stunned: “…Teacher Lan Jin?”
Lan Jin was still looking at him.
Shen Xingcong was no longer sure whether this person was Lan Jin, or another person who looked the same as Lan Jin.
He saw the other person sitting up more and more, and his outer robe had slipped down between his legs. Looking at him, he revealed a smiling expression that wasn’t as gorgeous as usual.
“Xing…cong?”
The next second, Shen Xingcong’s arms were climbed on. Even if it was separated by a layer of clothing, the scorching heat still burned the skin.
A strong force hit and pressed him down together.
Thank you for the chapter !!
I won’t lie, I’ve been shipping Lan Jin and Shen Xingcong for a while now. I knew it’s futile and they won’t end up together but a fujoshi can dream lol
Me too! For me they can be official couple! (=^w^=)/
Me to I am also shipping them they are good together ☺️
I’m so worried! QAQ
Thank You for the new chapter (◦’ںˉ◦)♡
Ai what happened to Lan Jin? It seems like he’s drugged! 😥
Oh my god this reminds me of that one scene in TGCF… only this time I’m afraid of how it’s going to end lmao
Oh it’s just my speculation but I think that he got some kind of poison in his body that making him behave like this.
Well, now I’m worried Xiao Lin’s gonna kill Lan Jin.
I knew he’d be scalding hot haha
Can’t say I’m surprised by the turn of events. Hope Xiao Lin won’t combust! And give Lan Jin a Real love interest dammit!