Chapter 526: A Letter from the Sky Sword Sect

As early autumn arrived, the shops on Tianfeng Street remained bustling. Even Wanbaozhai, with its overly large stalls and limited variety of goods, was still crowded with visitors. Of course, the number of transactions there was significantly lower compared to other shops.

On the day Wanbaozhai opened, Lin Dong transformed into an old man for the second time and went to the back yard. After sitting at the stone table in the yard for a while, several figures suddenly appeared.

Lin Dong remained calm and glanced at the newcomers. There were six of them, all elderly men over sixty years old. One of them was familiar to Lin Dong—Zhong Wanghong, the person with whom he made his first deal when Wanbaozhai opened. Next to the six men stood a huge metal cage made of blue spirit ore.

The cage was about six meters tall and over ten meters in diameter. Once placed in the yard, it immediately made the already spacious back yard feel crowded. Inside the cage, a pair of crystal-clear spirit beasts lay quietly on the bottom shelf, their large copper-colored eyes closed. Yet, their massive size still conveyed a sense of awe and dominance.

“Brother Zhang!” Zhong Wanghong bowed to Lin Dong.
“Brother Zhong!” Lin Dong bowed back to Zhong Wanghong and the other five elders.

Zhong Wanghong didn’t introduce them, nor did Lin Dong ask. It was clear that these five were the elders of his sect.

“Brother Zhang, we’ve brought the Water Spirit Beasts. Here’s a pair—please inspect them first.” Although Zhong Wanghong’s status was far lower than that of the five others, he was the one in charge of this deal. After all, it was he who negotiated with Wanbaozhai, and given the importance of the deal, no carelessness was allowed. Naturally, he continued to handle the transactions with Wanbaozhai. As for the other five, they were merely guards, there to ensure that Wanbaozhai’s sect wouldn’t try to seize the beasts by force.

Although offending a major sect over a pair of Water Spirit Beasts might not be worth it, it depended on the situation. If Wanbaozhai’s sect couldn’t provide Blue-Green Fruits as a counteroffer and those beasts were extremely useful, they might resort to force. With the five elders present, this possibility was greatly reduced. If they really tried to seize the beasts, it wouldn’t be difficult to defeat them if there were enough ambushers. But preventing them from scattering and killing the beasts would be challenging. Just this alone was enough to deter Wanbaozhai from attempting a robbery.

Lin Dong took out the brocade box containing the Blue-Green Fruits, gently lifted the lid, and revealed a pair of shiny Blue-Green Fruits inside. He placed the box on a stone bench and walked over to the metal cage.

The five elders nodded gently. According to the rules of trading among the shops on Tianfeng Street, the owner of the place where the transaction took place had to make concessions, as they held the advantage of location and could set up ambushes. Lin Dong voluntarily handed over control of the pair of cyan-blue fruits to them and did not restrict them from sending people to guard the Water Spirit Beasts, which was in line with the trading rules.

With spiritual energy flowing, heexploreded into the bodies of the Water Spirit Beasts to check them, and after confirming from their appearance and characteristics that they were healthy and in adulthood, Lin Dong nodded. Meanwhile, the two elders sent to verify the authenticity of the cyan-blue fruits also raised their heads and gave a slight nod to Zhong Wanghong.

Zhong Wanghong said with a smile, “For easier transportation, these Water Spirit Beasts have been given Jiu Hong Cao. To wake them up from their slumber, we just need to feed them some clean water. If the inspection confirms they are genuine, how about we come back tomorrow night for the next pair?”

Lin Dong nodded. “I won’t see you off further!”

One of the elders put away the ornate box, and the six of them flew out of the backyard together.

After confirming that everyone had gone far enough, Lin Dong grabbed the metal cage, exerted sudden force, and swiftly moved across the rooftops like a fleeting shadow with the large cage in hand.

Returning to the backyard of Lin’s Inn, Lin Dong intended to head straight to the enclosure but saw Ma Chun sitting on a stone bench.

“Ma Chun, is there something?” Lin Dong was quite curious. He knew about the trading time—it was Ma Chun who had told him, just half an hour ago. Since it was still afternoon, even if there was any activity at the top restaurants, it shouldn’t be happening at this time. He couldn’t understand what could possibly require Ma Chun to leave his inn business to wait for him after such a short time.

Ma Chun opened his palm, revealing an envelope inside.

Lin Dong took the envelope and glanced down. It read “For Yun Lan only” on the cover, and the seal bearing the name Qin Mengtai made him frown slightly.

“Was it sent through Wan Dan Gui Zong?” Lin Dong asked.

Ma Chun nodded and explained, “It was delivered not long ago. I feared it might not be good news. With Master Yun here, I was worried it might cause conflict with the inn owner, so I decided not to deliver it to Miss Yun on my own.”

“It’s fine! Go back to your work. I’ll take care of this.” Since it was a letter for Yun Lan, Lin Dong didn’t dare open it without permission. Moreover, he understood Yun Cangqiong’s character—he might not regard him as a son-in-law, but he certainly wouldn’t treat him with rules that valued him far more than Yun Lan.

Even if it wasn’t good news, once Yun Cangqiong learned its contents, he would never force Yun Lan to do something she didn’t want to do.

Ma Chun nodded and headed back to the main hall.

Lin Dong arrived at Lin Ji Inn in Hongtu County through the transportation gate. Yun Cangqiong remained the leader of the Tianjian Sect, and he couldn’t ignore the interests of the sect in any matter. To avoid unnecessary conflicts, Lin Dong didn’t intend to tell him about the transportation gate. As a result, Yun Cangqiong had spent these days drinking with Old Ding at Lin Ji Inn in Hongtu County. With his father, whom he saw only a few times a year, in Hongtu County, Yun Lan, no matter how outgoing she was, couldn’t focus on opening a branch with Lin Dong. So these days, Lin Dong had been alone in the pavilion of Tianpeng Bird, braving the cold wind, feeling extremely desolate. Upon arriving at the storage room of Lin Ji Inn in Hongtu County and pushing open the door, he saw Yun Lan and three others sitting on stone benches in the courtyard. Old Ding, Yun Cangqiong, and Feng Yue were drinking together, and the atmosphere was much more harmonious than on the first day. Clearly, the bond between Old Ding and Yun Lan, combined with Yun Cangqiong’s desire not to offend Feng Yue for the sake of the Tianjian Sect, had improved their relationship significantly over these days. After greeting the senior figures, Lin Dong handed the envelope to Yun Lan, then took a bench from the mobile cabinet and placed it beside her before sitting down without any hesitation. Although Yun Lan felt a bit awkward, she wisely chose to ignore it. Yun Cangqiong, however, wasn’t so easy to deal with. He warned coldly, “Kid, if you’ve got the guts, try touching Lan’er.” Lin Dong neither challenged Yun Cangqiong’s authority nor showed weakness; he simply ignored his words. Having spent a few days drinking in Southwest County before, he knew quite well about Yun Cangqiong’s temper. As long as Yun Lan wasn’t treated unfairly and his status in her eyes wasn’t severely undermined—so long as this future father-in-law’s protective instincts weren’t provoked or he didn’t feel jealous—challenging a little of his dignity as a peak warrior was within his tolerance. “Sent by the Grand Elder?” Yun Lan frowned slightly after seeing the seal. Yun Cangqiong smiled. He didn’t like Qin Mengtai’s strictness and ruthlessness, but he liked it when Qin Mengtai sent a letter to annoy Lin Dong after he suffered a loss. “Check the content!” Lin Dong reminded her. Yun Lan nodded, tore open the envelope, glanced at the letter inside, and said indifferently, “It’s simple. If I don’t return to the Tianjian Sect within a month with progress on integrating the spirit array and spirit artifacts, it will be considered a disregard for the sect’s rules, and they’ll send people to arrest me for trial.” “That’s quite a heavy accusation,” Lin Dong said, glancing at Yun Cangqiong.

“Don’t look at me!” Yun Cangqiong said bluntly, “Lan Er doesn’t want to return to the Tianjian Sect. Even if Qin Mengtai intervenes personally, I’ll still make him send her back. But as a young lady, what’s the point of staying in an inn all the time?”
“Father!” Yun Lan, who was easily embarrassed, glared at Yun Cangqiong resentfully.
Lin Dong inwardly criticized him as an old-fashioned man, but wore a faint smile on his face as he said indifferently, “Yun Lan stays at Lin’s Inn because it can provide her with enough materials to experiment with fusing spirit arrays and spirit weapons. Moreover, Senior Feng, who is extremely helpful in this regard, is also at Lin’s Inn, so she has to stay. As for Elder Qin, his attitude is too rigid. He recklessly labels Yun Lan with violations of sect rules, acting as if she were his own daughter—able to hit her, scold her, or punish her at will.”
Yun Lan couldn’t help but laugh. Such provocation was utterly crude, lacking any wisdom, let alone matching the status of the owner of Lin’s Inn, who dared to challenge all the top restaurants in the capital single-handedly.
“If Yun Lan wants to stay, I can’t stop her. If Qin Mengtai wants to apply sect rules to her, he just needs to ask me first if I agree; I can’t interfere in other matters.” Yun Cangqiong knew Lin Dong’s provocation was lowbrow, but he had no intention of confronting him. For Yun Lan’s sake, he wasn’t opposed to accommodating Lin Dong, as long as it didn’t go too far.
Lin Dong snapped his fingers—this was exactly the attitude he wanted. As long as Yun Cangqiong stayed out of it, it would be a huge boon for him. He knew Yun Lan’s personality well. In her eyes, the only one who could be compared to him, or even hold a slightly higher status, was Yun Cangqiong.
If Yun Cangqiong prioritized the Tianjian Sect’s rules, Yun Lan would surely struggle to make a decision. If Yun Cangqiong stayed neutral, Yun Lan’s choice would be obvious—undoubtedly Lin Dong.
As for the Tianjian Sect, without Yun Cangqiong, no matter what Qin Mengtai or Feng Zhengyang might do, once he reached the ranks of a peak powerhouse, Lin’s Inn’s guard force could also reach the sixth or seventh level of the Heart Reversal stage. With such strength, they could march straight to the Tianjian Sect. No matter how strictly Qin Mengtai enforced the sect rules or cared about face, if he put the sect’s interests first, he would never risk the entire sect’s survival.
If Qin Mengtai still refused, Lin Dong could bring out a bunch of auxiliary cultivation materials, coupled with his formidable strength, making it easy for the Tianjian Sect’s elders to unite and exclude Qin Mengtai.
“Senior Feng, when you send Menghui Tree back to the Tianjian Sect, remember to remind Elder Qin to bring plenty of healing medicine,” Lin Dong said suddenly.

“If you really insist on saying that, with the Great Elder’s temper, do you think he won’t mobilize the entire sect to hunt you down?” Yun Cangqiong snorted.
“Then let’s change the wording. If he plans to come in person, Senior Yun, please remind him that my strength is still at the same level as during his last visit, during the Heart Reversal phase.” Lin Dong said with a smile.
“Let’s drink!”
Yun Cangqiong raised the wine jar toward Old Ding.