“Alright, leave these things to me,” Old Black agreed.
…
Over the next few days, Lin Yun stayed at the inn, monitoring the group’s movements.
During the day, they mostly remained in the inn, cultivating.
Every night, the young man sneaked into Fifth Sister’s room.
But Lin Yun couldn’t glean any more useful information from them, only overhearing crude, vulgar banter…
On the fifth day, Old Black handed the upgraded Purple Star Sword to Lin Yun.
“It feels noticeably different,” Lin Yun said, gripping the sword with a smile.
Upgrading the Purple Star Sword from Origin-grade to Pseudo-Saint-grade involved infusing it with valuable resources, resulting in a qualitative leap.
At Pseudo-Saint-grade, the sword’s sharpness was sure to be significantly enhanced.
“Lieutenant Lin Yun, among Dominion Realm cultivators, Pseudo-Saint-grade weapons are rare unless someone has a strong background or deep pockets. In your realm, your weapon gives you an edge. But in the Saint Realm, many use Pseudo-Saint-grade weapons; they’re practically standard. They don’t give you an advantage there, just ensure your weapon doesn’t hold you back,” Old Black explained.
Lin Yun nodded. For those in the Saint Realm, upgrading to a Pseudo-Saint-grade weapon wasn’t too difficult.
“In the Saint Realm, those wielding Saint-grade or True Saint-grade weapons must be exceedingly rare, right?” Lin Yun asked.
After all, he’d been told that upgrading from Pseudo-Saint-grade to Saint-grade cost over 20 million Haoyue Crystals.
Upgrading from Saint-grade to True Saint-grade would likely be an astronomical figure.
Old Black nodded. “Exactly. In the Saint Realm, those with Saint-grade weapons are few and far between. True Saint-grade weapons are simply beyond what Saint Realm cultivators can possess.”
“Also, here are the other two items.”
Old Black handed Lin Yun a map of the Northern Flame Region and a document about the Xuanyuan Fruit.
Lin Yun immediately opened the map to study it.
Barren Valley was a significant location in the Northern Flame Region, clearly marked on the map.
After examining the map, Lin Yun opened the Xuanyuan Fruit document.
It included illustrations of the Xuanyuan Tree and its fruit, along with some details.
It described how long the tree took to flower and bear fruit, as well as its growing environment.
The document also noted that each Xuanyuan Tree bore fruit only once, and after the fruit was harvested, the tree would wither.
“By the way, Lieutenant Lin Yun, have you picked up any new information these past few days?” Old Black asked.
“Not yet. I’ll keep observing,” Lin Yun replied.
…
After waiting two more days at the inn, there was finally movement.
The group gathered in a room.
“Fifth Sister, today’s the agreed-upon day. Why hasn’t your senior brother arrived? Though few should know about this Xuanyuan Fruit, there are still many unknowns. Without your senior brother’s deterrence, our chances of seizing it are much slimmer,” the fat man said.
“Don’t worry, my senior brother will definitely arrive today,” Fifth Sister replied confidently.
Her appearance was indeed striking, undeniably beautiful.
As she spoke, a man in a white Taoist robe pushed open the door and entered.
“Senior Brother!”
Fifth Sister greeted him with a smile, rushing to meet him.
“Senior Brother, you’re finally here. We’ve been waiting for you,” she said, linking arms with him, visibly delighted.
“Missed your senior brother after all this time?” The white-robed man smiled, gently tapping her nose.
“Of course,” she nodded, smiling.
“Fellow Shun,” the others in the room greeted him with clasped fists.
“Tell me the situation,” the white-robed man said.
The room’s space was immediately shielded, cutting off Lin Yun’s ability to probe further.
He didn’t dare break the shield and could only wait.
About half an hour later, the shield was lifted, and the group left the room, evidently having finished their discussion.
The senior brother, however, stayed behind in the room.
“Senior Brother, this mission’s success hinges on you,” Fifth Sister said, nestled in the white-robed man’s arms.
“Junior Sister, as your cultivation partner, I’ll naturally do my utmost to help,” he replied, gently lifting her chin.
Lin Yun, overhearing this, was stunned.
The white-robed man was her cultivation partner?
Then, the past few nights, when she was with the handsome man from their group, wasn’t she betraying her partner?
Recalling those scenes, Lin Yun felt a surge of disgust and disdain.
Back on Earth, Lin Yun had been betrayed by Feifei.
That experience had left a deep mark, so his aversion to women who betrayed their partners and fooled around skyrocketed!
Still, to avoid missing any useful information, Lin Yun continued probing.
Thanks to his high-level divine sense, even the white-robed man didn’t notice they were being monitored.
…
The next morning, at dawn, the white-robed man and Fifth Sister finally parted.
“Senior Brother, we’re setting out today. We need to leave early; the mission comes first,” Fifth Sister said, resting in his arms.
“Alright,” the white-robed man sat up.
In Lin Yun’s room, he murmured, “They’re leaving today.”
His all-night vigil had finally yielded another piece of information.
Lin Yun got up, left his room, and went to Old Black’s room next door.
“Old Black, I’m heading out today. You can either return to the Heavenly Fire Temple or wait for me in the city,” Lin Yun said.
“Fine, I’ll head back to the Heavenly Fire Temple and wait for your news,” Old Black nodded.
He added earnestly, “Lieutenant, it’s no small feat that you’ve come to the ancestral land from another star realm. Be extremely careful. If anything happens, your life comes first.”
Lin Yun grinned. “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”
Though bold and daring, Lin Yun wasn’t reckless.
He would act based on the situation. If seizing the fruit was certain death with no chance of success, he would give up.
If there was an opportunity, he would take it.
In short, he would play it by ear.
Then, Lin Yun and Old Black left the inn and headed out of the city…
