Chapter 437: The Branch in the Valley

Boom…
With a deafening crash, the terrifyingly massive body of the Tianpeng Bird finally gave way. Under the repeated attacks from Wind Peak and the assaults from the Ice Formation, it collapsed like a towering mountain of gold.
Dust billowed up, forming gray dragons that spiraled in the hurricane created by the falling Tianpeng Bird.
Hissing sounds filled the air as spirit snakes emerged in terror from beneath the bird’s body. Though the giant creature was already dying, its overwhelming aura still filled them with inexplicable fear.
Even more were reduced to pulp beneath the Tianpeng Bird’s body. Its golden feathers were as hard as spirit weapons of the sixth or seventh rank, and combined with its unimaginable weight, even metal could be shattered into pieces in an instant.
These spirit snakes had originally been food kept by the Tianpeng Bird, but now, even in its dying state, they could not escape their fate of death.
“It’s done!”
Lin Dong swung his right fist several times high. His excitement still hadn’t fully erupted, yet his joyful expression made it clear just how thrilled he was.
A bird-shaped aircraft! The appearance of the ninth-tier Tianpeng Bird filled a void in Lin Dong’s heart—a huge void.
Once these ninth-tier Tianpeng Birds could reproduce in large numbers, Lin’s Inn would no longer have to worry about geographical disadvantages. With such advantages, and given the inn’s rapid development, it could dominate any region.
Perhaps sensing the commotion, Cheng Bao and Qiao Tianhao quickly flew over. Seeing the Tianpeng Bird, which resembled a mountain of gold, they were equally excited, no less than Lin Dong. To warriors, ninth-tier spirit beasts were mythical creatures beyond reach; witnessing one in person would be the most sacred day of their lives.
But today, a ninth-tier spirit bird lay right before them, open for inspection. Even Cheng Bao found it hard to stay calm.
Any warrior had probably dreamed of riding a ninth-tier spirit beast or bird, soaring through the world with supreme dominance.
“M-Master, can I touch it?” Qiao Tianhao asked Lin Dong with a pleading look, his voice trembling slightly and stuttering.
Cheng Bao couldn’t help but nod.
“Touch it?” Lin Dong laughed loudly. “Just touching it isn’t enough! Cut a few strokes and pluck one or two feathers as a souvenir—that would be more appropriate.”
Qiao Tianhao gulped hard.

Then, with a strange cry, it rushed at Jinshan.
Cheng Bao remained silent; his body, transformed into a gray shadow, moved at a speed that, given his otherwise weak abilities, was likely at its limit.
On the ground, those unknown little spirit trees and spirit snakes suffered undeserved harm. The spirit snakes, which required great effort from those scarred youths to subdue, escaped the crushing weight of the Tianpeng Bird but not the trampling of the two men.
The two men approached the Tianpeng Bird, touching and prodding it. Qiao Tianhao even jumped onto it, bouncing around on its body, thoroughly enjoying the sense of superiority over a ninth-tier spirit bird. Seeing this, Lin Dong felt envious. If it weren’t for maintaining the dignity of the innkeeper, he would have joined them too. Just thinking about standing on the Tianpeng Bird filled him with excitement—after all, it was a ninth-tier spirit bird, the apex of the food chain. Tigers and elephants paled in comparison.
Once Cheng Bao and the others had had their fill, Lin Dong clapped his hands to draw everyone’s attention.
“Qiao Tianhao, go back to Hualang City and wait for Yu Linglong and Yu Mudan.”
“Me?” Qiao Tianhao seemed displeased, glancing at Cheng Bao, clearly hoping that Cheng Bao would go instead so he could stay and continue having fun.
“You have the weakest strength. If not you, then who?” Lin Dong glared at him. When building an inn, speed was undoubtedly crucial. In fact, among everyone present, aside from Feng Yue, Qiao Tianhao was probably the fastest. But the inn Lin Dong was building only required a rough outline; there was no need to construct it brick by brick. Qiao Tianhao’s speed was less useful than Cheng Bao’s combat strength.
That glare instantly made Qiao Tianhao waver. The pressure built up over years left him without the courage to argue. Reluctantly, he went to the cliff’s base, found a foothold, and leaped up, continuing to climb higher.
After Qiao Tianhao left, Lin Dong immediately assigned tasks: Feng Yue was responsible for gathering wood, Yun Lan for cutting the wood into fences and planks with her flying sword, and Cheng Bao for using his golden sword to dig shallow trenches about thirty centimeters deep in the ground.
As for Lin Dong, the innkeeper, he arranged tables and chairs inside the unfinished inn. Once the fences and planks were ready, he used the Yu Tian Jue to transport them to their proper places.

One at the Ninth Level of the Heart Concentration Phase, one at the Fourth Level of the Reversed Heart Phase, one at the Sixth Level of the Reversed Heart Phase, and another at the First Level of the Heart Multiplication Phase—such strength is more than enough to establish a major sect. To build a simple inn, the progress was fast; it only took a day for the entire inn to take shape.

Ding: Please choose whether to include this inn in the branch system.

Finally, after trying over thirty times and hanging a sign above the wooden gate, the system prompt finally appeared. During that day of construction, which actually spanned three or four hours, Lin Dong used the time when no system prompt came up to add details such as abacuses, account books, pots and pans, and wells.

After confirming his choice, Lin Dong stood up at the counter and let out a long sigh.

Glancing at the inn that had finally been recognized by the system, Lin Dong couldn’t help but smile. This newly opened branch was a kilometer long and 200 meters wide—by far the largest branch. Yet it was also the worst one, with wooden fences, walls, and floorboards everywhere. Everything he saw was wood, and it didn’t look harmonious or beautiful at all. Not to mention Lin’s Inn, it might even be the worst inn in the entire Great Han Kingdom.

Of course, it was still Lin’s Inn, and this was only temporary. Someone would be sent to rebuild it sooner or later.

Lin Dong opened the inn system, brought up the map of the branch, and set up the huge wooden shelter covering the Tianpeng Bird as a containment pen. Then his gaze shifted to a wooden door near the cliff.

He set up the wooden door as a transport gate and connected it to Lin’s Inn in Lingnan City. His eyes then settled on Yun Lan.

Having known Lin Dong for so long, Yun Lan knew every move he made. Seeing his actions and expression, she understood his intentions right away. She stepped forward and arranged a simple, low-level spiritual array that Lin Dong was familiar with at the wooden door.

Feng Yue already knew about the cultivation benefits of the inn system, so there was no need to hide from him the fact that this transport gate was far inferior. Of course, it still needed to look proper—otherwise, opening the door to reveal another place would be too bizarre. Having a teleportation array as a cover would make it easier to explain.

Originally, such a remarkable teleportation array should have been a Ninth-Level spiritual array, and it would have taken three to five days to set it up. But Lin Dong no longer cared about that. No matter what Feng Yue and Cheng Bao thought, they would never figure it out. At most, they would assume that Yun Lan had become skilled enough to effortlessly set up a Ninth-Level teleportation array.

He pulled open the wooden door, raised his right foot, and stepped inside. At that moment, Lin Dong’s body was in an unimaginable state—half in Lingnan Commandery and the other half in Hualang Commandery. Though separated by 108,000 miles, his body connected the two places. Without further thought, he stepped in with his left foot as well, instantly arriving at Lin Ji Inn in Lingnan City. He found Ma Chun, explained the situation regarding the gorge, and instructed him to arrange a group of guards who hadn’t gone to open branches elsewhere to renovate the inn in the gorge. He also asked one of the guards to return first to build a bond with the Tianpeng Bird. After waiting a while, Lin Dong left with the accompanying guard. Once the guard entered the enclosure, Lin Dong infused the branch’s spiritual energy and set the Tianpeng Bird’s growth rate at ten years per day. Then he turned his gaze back to Yun Lan. Yun Lan began arranging minor spiritual arrays in several simple rooms; whenever one was completed, Lin Dong designated it as a room with cultivation bonuses. Once everything was ready, the bird-shaped plane would wait for the Tianpeng Bird and the guard to form a bond before sending it out to attract other Tianpeng Birds back to lay eggs. As for advancing to the capital, it would have to wait until Qiao Tianhao brought the Yu Linglong sisters along. The entire trip to find the longevity fruit this time, including the time spent here, took about seven days, leaving nearly half a month before the agreed time. Naturally, Lin Dong wouldn’t waste this time. Each person, including Feng Yue, spent their time in their respective rooms practicing cultivation. Taking out a Hanfeng Fruit, Lin Dong put it in his mouth. The intense energy flowed down his throat into his meridians, instantly filling him with warmth. The spiritual energy surged from his dantian, circled through his meridians once with that warm energy, and by the time it returned, it had grown significantly stronger. After practicing for 36 cycles, Lin Dong roughly estimated that compared to without the Hanfeng Fruit, the spiritual energy increased by at least a hundred times per cycle. At this rate, with enough Hanfeng Fruits, he could successfully reach the fifth level of the Heart Reversal Phase in about ten days. Having confirmed the effects of the first dose of the Hanfeng Fruit, Lin Dong hesitated no longer and focused all his energy on cultivation. Time flew by. On the second day after he used the effects of two Hanfeng Fruits to reach the fifth level of the Heart Reversal Phase, the Yu Linglong sisters arrived at the gorge under Qiao Tianhao’s guidance. Including the journey time, they arrived three days earlier than scheduled. Undoubtedly, they had avenged their revenge and would not have returned early otherwise.

Half a month in a captive enclosure is equivalent to 140 to 150 years—a period that seems infinitely long for humans—but for the Tianpeng Bird, it is merely a small part of its life. This short time is not enough for it, which even finds it hard to bow its head in front of peak warriors, to regard a guard who stays with it all day but is so weak that it could crush them into pulp with a single swipe as its master.
Helpless, Lin Dong had to give up the idea of using the Tianpeng Bird to travel to the capital. After resting for a day, the group climbed up the cliff, called down the eagle-beast bird that was hovering in the air, and set off again for the capital.