Chapter 399: The Great Qin Empire’s Diplomatic Party
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
A whiff of avariciousness floated in the air from the void. Someone was spying on Lin Feng as he focused on preparing his Steel Tree Avatar for the experience of the Thunder Tribulations.
Under the presence of the Saros Steel Tree crater at the Great Thunderclap Temple, the Steel Tree Avatar started to reveal its foundations.
A Saros Steel Tree would be attractive to anyone, even though it was still immature and was not yet a demon.
However, that guy who was observing from a distance did not pounce forward immediately. Instead, he was just spying from afar.
On one hand, it was because a Steel Tree Avatar would be more valuable after experiencing the Thunder Tribulations as its powers would have risen by another level.
On the other hand, he could tell that there was something unique about the Steel Tree Avatar - even though it was experiencing the thunder tribulations like any demon would, the mana ripples from its body was starkly different from that of a demon, and it was not a Steel Tree demon. He realized that it was an avatar that had been cultivated by a human cultivator.
Therefore, he had to take into consideration the capabilities of the avatar’s original owner.
Even though he was more careful and on guard, the greed and domineering aura was still incredibly strong and he made no attempt to cover it.
"Nascent soul stage...human race....at least in the Advanced Nascent Soul Stage....." Lin Feng thought to himself but paid no further attention as he focused on bringing the Steel Tree Avatar through the tribulations.
Suddenly, another powerful wave of mana rippled forth from the far end of the horizon.
The advanced Nascent Soul stage cultivator was taken aback momentarily as he started to emanate fury and emotions of indignation within his aura. The aura trembled for a little while before it was gradually withdrawn and eventually vanished completely.
Lin Feng sensed the powerful ripple of mana and already knew what was going on."A friend. It seems like that person who harbored ill intentions knew him as well and could have possibly been defeated by him before. That is the reason why he scampered away without hesitation."
The power wave of mana suddenly became stagnant in the air, and watched Lin Feng as he proceeded with the thunder tribulations. Lin Feng was still relatively unconcerned as he calmly met the final breakthrough of the thunder tribulations.
The Steel Tree Avatar’s aurous core cracked open completely and exuded beams of light as the air was filled with the aromatic smell of nature. A tiny sprout appeared from the mesh of light with multiple shoots and buds.
This young sprout seemed so weak that it would be blown away by a gust of wind. However, it gave off a concept of power that embodied impregnability and eternal life.
Soon, the light illusion slowly vanished back into the head of the avatar. Although it had just experienced the Thunder Tribulations, the Steel Tree Avatar still stood up with ease and appeared to be charged with energy and did not display a single trace of weakness.
Suddenly, a tiny crack emerged in the void and person walked out from it. "Although I have briefly seen this avatar of yours before at the Sea of the Northern Wind, I never expected it to be refined from the Saros Steel Tree."
Lin Feng smiled and replied, "It is my honor to meet you again."
A plump and joyful old man appeared - it was the Vivant Joy Holy Man of the Great Qin Empire. Looks can be deceiving as he was actually a true master and powerhouse of the immortal soul stage.
At the Spiritual Conference of Huanghai, he was together with Prince Anliang Shi Zongyue of the Great Qin Empire and the Gambling Holy Man, Zhuge Guang, as the hosts of the conference. He had only met Lin Feng once, but he had a good temper and everyone had a pleasant introduction and interaction.
The Vivant Joy Holy Man took a brief look at the ruin of the Great Thunderclap Temple and sighed, "An ancient temple that was destroyed in such a short period of time. What a pity."
Lin Feng laughed and kept quiet. All over the world, aside from all the disciples of the Buddha, the Great Qin Empire was probably the only other power that did not want the Great Thunderclap Temple destroyed.
Still, all this was with the benefit of hindsight. To the best of Lin Feng’s knowledge, the Great Qin Empire had turned a cold shoulder towards the Great Thunderclap Temple during the War of Buddha Annihilation.
To the Great Qin Empire, the best outcome was that the clash between the Great Thunderclap Temple and the Great Zhou Empire destroyed them both.
However, they were helpless as the two lords of Great Zhou Empire, Liang Pan, and Zhu Hongwu turned the table against the Great Thunderclap Temple and ended up victorious. In the end, their power and influence rose instead of deteriorating after the battle and they left the Great Qin Empire in the dust.
"Are you on a diplomatic mission in the Great Zhou Empire?" Lin Feng asked as the Vivant Joy Holy Man nodded his head and replied, "Yes I am."
Lin Feng remained expressionless but made a mental note, "The storms are coming."
Even though the Vivant Joy Holy Man was born into the Great Qin Empire and was at the Immortal Soul stage, he preferred to roam the world and enjoy life and was not to keen on handling official matters.
The Great Qin Empire would not typically trouble him unless it was for something important.
When the Great Qin Empire truly needed help for something would they call up this old man, and the Vivant Joy Holy Man never declined their requests.
During the Spiritual Conference of Huanghai, he was present as the host of the event and was already on Lin Feng’s radar. The fact that he was in the Great Zhou Empire on a mission proved that the Great Qin Empire was starting to channel all strength that they had.
Following the Vivant Joy Holy Man, Lin Feng arrived at the honor guard thousands of miles away. The Vivant Joy Holy Man was the leader of the diplomatic party from the Great Qin Empire, and was supported by a great many subordinates and subjects of the Great Qin Empire. Besides him, there was another important figure whom he had seen before at the Spiritual Conference of Huanghai as well - Shi Xingyun, princess of the Great Qin Empire.
Instead of being in a formal dress as was typically expected, Shi Xingyun was dressed in simple clothing as she did for the Spiritual Conference of Huanghai. She paid her respects to Lin Feng, " Greetings, senior."
Lin Feng stared at Shi Xingyun with a face full of curiosity. The Great Qin Empire was ruled by cultivators, and the royal family itself had many powerful cultivators. A female member in an executive position meant that her level of mastery was far superior to that of traditional royal empires.
However, it was rare to see a person like Shi Xingyun acting as a diplomat representing a country.
"Could she be marrying into the Great Zhou Empire?" Lin Feng speculated mischievously. The princess of an empire being sent forth for an arranged marriage would have attracted much attention. Even though he hadn’t received news previously, it could possibly be a trip to probe its possibility.
Pretentiously, Lin Feng hid his true opinions and thoughts as he conversed jovially with the Vivant Joy Holy Man and Shi Xingyun.
Both Shi Xingyun and the Vivant Joy Holy Man avoided asking about Lin Feng’s purpose in being here.
Zhu Yi’s return to Tianjing City to take his examinations was no secret. What caught the attention of Shi Xingyun and the Vivant Joy Holy Man was that Lin Feng did not seem like he was going to follow his disciple personally to support him.
Although it was Lin Feng's avatar that they were speaking to, they could tell from his tone and his attitude that he had no intentions of going to Tianjing City.
To the Great Qin Empire, this was a delicate and subtle gesture. Lin Feng was returning the favor to the Great Zhou Empire - during the opening ceremony of the Celestial Sect of Wonders outside Shazhou City, Liang Pan had sent Mei Wulang to deliver a congratulatory gift.
Therefore, Zhu Yi's return to Tianjing City made Lin Feng less somber as compared to his previous visit to the Sword of Radiance Sect when he personally accompanied Xiao Yan.
By doing so, Lin Feng showed a form of respect and trust in the Great Zhou Empire as he hoped that they would be fair to Zhu Yi.
This was not good for the Great Qin Empire.
However, looking at things from another perspective, Lin Feng had never visited the Emperor of the Great Zhou Empire, Liang Pan, before. Both parties still kept a certain distance and was still in the process of probing and testing each other.
After a short conversation with Shi Xingyun and the Vivant Joy Holy Man, Lin Feng expressed his intentions to remain within the remains of the Great Thunderclap Temple and bid them farewell.
Before Lin Feng left, he looked at Shi Xingyun and thought to himself, "Am I seeing things? I can sense that besides having the soul of the Immemorial Celestial Dragon inside her own, there is something else strange about her."
After Lin Feng departed, a middle-aged man who was in thick armor came to Shi Xingyun and the Vivant Joy Holy Man and said, "Missus, Sir, it seems like the Leader of the Celestial Sect of Wonders is indeed not going to appear in Tianjing City."
Similar to a demonic dragon, this middle-aged man was emitting a vigorous and powerful aura. Specialising in the martial way at the peak of the Aurous Core stage, his physical body and soul was oscillating with so much force that it resembled the force of a gap ripping open in the void.
The joyful facial expression of the Vivant Joy Holy Man suddenly changed and he said stiffly while shaking his head, "Do not touch Zhu Yi. The leader of Celestial Sect of Wonder is not a fool."
"Besides, that is the capital of the Great Zhou Empire."
Shi Xingyun then subtly said, "It is not just that. We have to take note that no one else does - someone could be plotting to frame us for that if anything happens to Zhu Yi."
After hearing what Prince Qingyun said, the armored middle-aged man contemplated momentarily and nodded his head. "I understand, ma’am."
Lin Feng returned to the ruins of the Great Thunderclap Temple after he departed from the diplomatic party from the Great Qin Empire. All of a sudden, he felt something as his heart skipped a beat. "Oh, this mana feels familiar."
The Steel Tree Avatar was already in the Nascent Soul stage. He stepped out and pierced through space and arrived at his destination in no time.
He sensed previously that there was a battle going on, and found one of the ripples of mana extremely familiar.
Lin Feng reached the spot and immediately recognized that person. "Dao Zhiqiang - he should be with the Great Qin's diplomatic party. Why is he here alone?"
Dao Zhiqiang was engaged in a fight with a middle-aged man who looked average but was emitting a dense and stable aura - his two eyes were unmoving and displayed unwavering confidence and calmness.
Even though he was at a disadvantage, Dao Zhiqiang was facing off his enemy with composure.
The only problem was that his opponent was just too strong. An Aurous Core stage cultivator versus a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator could not be so smooth-sailing for the Foundation Establishment stage cultivator - Dao Zhiqiang. In the end, it was rare for someone in the Foundation Establishment stage to resist someone in the Aurous Core stage, or even defeat the latter.
The only reason why Dao Zhiqiang was still barely managing was because of his talismans and the magical items and he could feel himself slipping towards defeat.
Lin Feng was not too hasty about interfering as he could feel that there two other people on scene besides Dao Zhiqiang and his opponent.
Both cultivators were in the Aurous Core stage, and one was clearly stronger than the other. They were obscured in the shadows as they watched the disorganized and messy battle in silence.
What piqued Lin Feng’s interest was the fact that these two cultivators of the Aurous Core stage did not display their strength and level of mastery, but their mantras and whatnot told him that they were from the Heaven Lake Sect.
"This is about to get interesting." Lin Feng let out a subtle smile at the thought of the Heavenly Lake Sect's obnoxious rules and customs.