Strolling on the long street of Luoshui County.
Although it wasn't particularly prosperous, people came and went, and the sounds of hawking were endless.
Lin Sheng's expression was relaxed. Since leaving Lin'an County, he hadn't experienced such a lively atmosphere for a long time.
Especially during his time in the Congyun Mountains, his spirit had been highly tense, and only now did he finally relax.
The situation was indeed as he had expected. Although there was a warrant for their arrest in Tiannan Prefecture, it wasn't very strong.
So, during this half-month, he also experienced a rare period of peace.
The warrant for his arrest in Linjiang Prefecture wasn't as strict as he had imagined, not even Tianxiang Sword Sect was an exception.
The reason for all of this was the appearance of a powerful Spirit Beast in Linjiang Prefecture.
This was information he only learned after arriving in Luoshui County.
He also learned the detailed course of events through Dark Star's channels.
Upon learning that this powerful Spirit Beast had been hiding deep within the Yunshui Mountains, he was quite surprised.
Recalling the differences he had discovered on Da Cui Peak back then, it seemed that some clues could be seen now.
Back then, a considerable number of Spirit Beast mineral deposits were found below Da Cui Peak. Unfortunately, those Spirit Beast mineral deposits were severely damaged. Looking back now, the reason for all of this might have been the work of that powerful Spirit Beast.
As for why the Scarlet Eye Flame Dragon mineral deposit was intact, it was likely because it had been in the underground magma. The terrifying high temperature in the magma concealed its aura, or perhaps the powerful Spirit Beast disliked the high temperature of the magma, which was why it was preserved.
According to the information he obtained, as soon as this Spirit Beast appeared, it severely injured the newly appointed Divine Transformation Realm Wan Jianghai, who almost failed to escape.
And it directly destroyed several towns outside the Congyun Mountains.
Finally, General Long Zilu, the commander of Linjiang Prefecture, led the Dragon Demon Army to personally suppress it. Coupled with Tianxiang Sword Sect, Yuanyang Beast Sect, and the Situ family, all the God-Form Martial Artists from the three major forces were dispatched. Only with the joint efforts of multiple parties was this powerful Spirit Beast defeated.
But it was only defeated; it was only known that it finally disappeared into the ground.
Multiple God-Form Martial Artists working together to suppress it still failed to keep this Spirit Beast. Clearly, this Spirit Beast, which had been hidden for an unknown number of years, was much stronger than the Phantom Demon Beast from back then.
With such a terrifying Spirit Beast hidden in Linjiang Prefecture, whether it was the Prefecture Yamen or first-rate forces like Tianxiang Sword Sect, they likely had no time for anything else, and their energy would basically be focused on finding this Spirit Beast.
This situation was actually a good thing for Lin Sheng and his group.
The current peaceful life allowed him to focus on cultivation.
Although his cultivation was still in the Middle Stage of Blood Transportation.
But after half a month of dedicated cultivation, he could already feel the verge of Breakthrough. It was likely that he would soon advance further into the Late Stage of Blood Transportation.
Once he entered the Bone Transformation Realm, his strength would undoubtedly increase greatly. In addition to his own cultivation, entering a new major Realm meant he could activate a new embedded mark.
"With the fourth embedded mark, embedding four different beasts simultaneously, by then, even ordinary God-Form Martial Artists would likely be enough to handle."
Strolling on the long street, Lin Sheng's thoughts wandered. After walking around for a while, he returned to his dwelling.
Time flew by, and five days passed.
In these few days, the group had completely settled down in Luoshui County.
The nearly 30 Disciples of the Seven Forms Sect, led by Xie Qingyun and Yuan Zhongfei respectively, acquired several properties in the County Town.
Although the Seven Forms Sect had been destroyed, these people had all brought a considerable amount of money with them, which now came in handy.
As for Lin Sheng, he focused all his attention on cultivation.
Although the crisis was over, he still had no intention of relaxing. It was always right to do his best to improve his strength, no matter when.
In the quiet room, Lin Sheng sat cross-legged on the ground.
In the room, wisps of calming and focusing sandalwood incense slowly drifted from the purple copper incense burner.
Streaks of green energy emerged from his body, constantly flickering.
As time passed, the flickering green energy became increasingly brighter and more solid.
"Break!"
As a low shout echoed from the quiet room, Lin Sheng's eyes suddenly opened. The energy around his body surged, emitting a sharp and fierce aura.
"The seventh layer of Qingniao Chasing Star Finger is complete."
Feeling the slightly stronger qi and blood in his body and the significantly more solid energy, a smile appeared on Lin Sheng's face.
"Late Stage of Blood Transportation, next it's time to charge towards the Bone Transformation Realm."
He stood up and slightly moved his neck, feeling the changes in various aspects of his body.
"To break through to Bones Transformation, besides stimulating one's Bloodline potential, it also truly means formally venturing into the spiritual level. This is a difficult problem for many Martial Artists who want to enter the Bone Transformation Realm, but for me, this is nothing."
Although he was only in Blood Transportation now, he had a quite detailed understanding of the Bone Transformation Realm. Along the way, he specifically asked Yuan Zhongfei and Xie Qingyun for a lot of information about Bones Transformation.
"So now, the only thing separating me from breaking through to Bones Transformation is accumulating the energy to successfully convert it into Bone Strength."
Lin Sheng pondered in his heart.
Bone Strength is a qualitative change of energy, and it is also a very important characteristic of the Bone Transformation Realm.
Depending on the martial arts cultivated, the Bone Strength condensed is also different.
The Bone Strength condensed by Qingniao Chasing Star Finger has good power and strong destructive force. It can also enhance the cultivator's speed and explosive power.
The Bone Strength of Bai Xiang Zhen Yue Gong (White Elephant Mountain-Suppressing Skill) is fierce and overbearing, which can greatly enhance the cultivator's physical strength and power.
There is a great difference between the two. Of course, even when cultivating the same martial art, there will be certain differences depending on one's Bloodline.
The more compatible one's Bloodline is with the martial art, the stronger the condensed Bone Strength will be. In simpler terms, the stronger the combat power.
Since he chose to break through to the Bone Transformation Realm with Qingniao Chasing Star Finger first, he naturally had to choose a compatible avian Spirit Beast to embed.
The Green-Eyed Fierce Eagle and Ghost Face Black Sandpiper that he had embedded now provided good assistance to his cultivation, but as his Realm became higher and higher, the current assistance was a bit insufficient.
Although his cultivation speed was already extremely fast compared to most Disciples of Qingniao Yard, he was naturally not satisfied with this.
Thinking this, Lin Sheng had already stood up and left the quiet room, arriving in the courtyard.
He clapped his hands, and the clear sound of clapping fell.
Soon, a sturdy figure had arrived in the courtyard.
The figure was none other than Lu Tie from White Elephant Courtyard.
"Sect Leader."
As soon as Lu Tie appeared, he immediately knelt on one knee and spoke respectfully.
"How is it? Is there any news?"
Lin Sheng glanced at Lu Tie and spoke indifferently.
Since leaving the Congyun Mountains, he had been formally elected as the Sect Leader of the Seven Forms Sect.
And he very simply abolished the division of the seven courtyards, collectively referring to them as Seven Forms Sect Disciples.
Although there were not many Disciples left in the Seven Forms Sect now, their strength was quite good. Not only were there core Disciples who had entered Bones Transformation, but the rest were basically elites in the Blood Transportation Realm.
While these Disciples were hiding and lurking, he also sent some, or rather most, of the Disciples out to gather information.
And the first thing to collect was the avian Spirit Beast he needed.
"Reporting to Sect Leader, there are no findings from the Congyun Mountains side for now, but there is a message back from Tiannan Prefecture City. They found an avian Spirit Beast, but the other party's price is quite high. This Disciple was just about to report to you."
Lu Tie immediately replied respectfully.
"Is there news? Very good, price is not a problem, just buy it back."
Hearing this, Lin Sheng nodded, a hint of surprise on his face. He hadn't expected that there would already be a discovery after only a few days.
Although Tiannan Prefecture is slightly smaller in area than Linjiang Prefecture, the population here is indeed much larger than in Linjiang Prefecture. Moreover, the local customs favor martial arts, and it is also adjacent to the Congyun Mountains.
There are also several large rivers within its borders, and it is connected to the Arashi Sea, with developed maritime transport. Therefore, the Spirit Beast business in Tiannan Prefecture is quite developed.
Many forces even make a living by hunting and selling various Spirit Beast Materials. Among them, scattered hunters and herb gatherers are as numerous as cattle hair.
Although he guessed that the difficulty of collecting would be much lower than in Linjiang Prefecture, having news so quickly still surprised him.
Three days later.
A carriage stopped in front of the courtyard. Men in short jackets carried a cage covered with a tarpaulin and quickly entered the courtyard.
And Lin Sheng was already waiting in the courtyard.
"Sect Leader."
Several men in short jackets put down the iron cage and immediately bowed respectfully upon seeing Lin Sheng.
"Get up." Lin Sheng nodded slightly.
Lu Tie, who was standing nearby, immediately stepped forward and tore off the tarpaulin on the iron cage, revealing what was inside the cage.
This was a bird completely black in color, two meters long. Even its eyes were pitch black, looking quite eerie.
Its entire body was bound and restrained by thick cyan-gold chains. It exuded a listless aura, seemingly in a very poor state.
"This is that Black Eyed Ghost Crow. It doesn't seem like much."
Looking at the listless black bird, Lu Tie scratched his head.
He knew that this black, slippery thing had cost a full 50,000 taels of silver.
Glancing at Lin Sheng, he immediately stepped forward and untied the cyan-gold chains wrapped around it.
However, the moment the cyan-gold chains were undone, the Black Eyed Ghost Crow, which was listless a second ago, immediately emitted a large amount of black mist from its body, completely enveloping Lu Tie.
Lu Tie immediately felt his five senses disappear. Startled, he quickly circulated his energy and simultaneously retreated rapidly, escaping the black mist.
However, just as his five senses recovered after escaping the black mist, he felt a chill on his neck. He saw two black sharp claws flashing with cold light already close by.
"My life is over—"
This thought flashed through Lu Tie's mind. At this moment, he had no time to react. Although he had achieved some success in cultivating Bai Xiang Zhen Yue Gong (White Elephant Mountain-Suppressing Skill) and his physical defense was extraordinary, he wasn't confident enough to withstand the attack of a Spirit Beast, especially a vital point like the neck.
He subconsciously closed his eyes, but the next moment he felt his body fly out.
In confusion, he had already landed heavily on the ground.
When he opened his eyes, he only saw that the Black Eyed Ghost Crow had been grabbed by the neck by Lin Sheng, unable to move even slightly.
"Th-thank you, Sect Leader, for saving me."
With lingering fear in his heart, Lu Tie quickly voiced his thanks.
At this moment, the men in short jackets responsible for transportation only just reacted. The scene that just happened was too fast. They also didn't expect that the Black Eyed Ghost Crow, which had been extremely well-behaved along the way, had actually been faking it.
"Go down. This beast is poisonous. Check yourselves carefully."
"Yes, Sect Leader."
Hearing this, Lu Tie then felt a tingling and itching sensation all over his body. Surprised, he quickly excused himself.
Ignoring the departure of Lu Tie and the others, Lin Sheng grabbed the Black Eyed Ghost Crow and came to the quiet room.
【Beast Name: Black Eyed Ghost Crow (Spirit Beast)】
【Body Length: Two meters, entirely black, body contains potent poison...】
【Embedding Requirement: Physique 7】
【Embedding Effect: Agility Boost 6, Illusion Poison Enhancement 6, Strength Boost 5】
【Talent: Hallucination】
"Seventeen points of attributes, it's acceptable."
Glancing at the information that popped up on the panel, Lin Sheng nodded slightly and gave his evaluation.
"Although 50,000 taels of silver is a bit high, it's not too much of a loss. It's just a pity that from the attributes, it doesn't seem to be too compatible with Qingniao Chasing Star Finger."
It's slightly worse than the Green-Eyed Fierce Eagle, but it's a genuine Spirit Beast, and its boost effect is definitely much stronger than the Ghost Face Black Sandpiper.
And it's worth emphasizing that this Black Eyed Ghost Crow has a high Illusion Poison Enhancement. It can be refined into the Three Corpse Soul Severing Palm, which should be able to greatly increase the power of this poisonous technique.
As for this talent, the name is quite concise, related to illusions. It can barely be considered a talent for fighting that affects the spiritual aspect. The specific effect can only be known after trying it out.
With a flick of his hand, he threw the Black Eyed Ghost Crow into the cultivation quiet room. The Black Eyed Ghost Crow, freed from its restraints, immediately emitted a large amount of black mist all over its body and was about to charge towards Lin Sheng.
Lin Sheng's eyes flashed with two golden rays, and his golden vertical pupils flickered past.
The Black Eyed Ghost Crow immediately prostrated itself on the ground, trembling uncontrollably, no longer showing any of its previous ferocity.
"Come here..."
Spirit Beasts have a high level of intelligence and can basically understand human speech.
Hearing Lin Sheng's words, the Black Eyed Ghost Crow paused, then obediently walked over.
Seeing this scene, Lin Sheng felt quite satisfied.
He had a few other thoughts in his mind.
The Dragon Might talent has an extremely strong deterrent ability towards Elementary Level Spirit Beasts. Besides the deterrence effect, it also seems to have extraordinary effects when used for taming beasts.
"In the future, it can be used to tame some Spirit Beasts with decent strength."
Thinking this, seeing the Black Eyed Ghost Crow already close by, he pointed a finger, embedding it into its body.
The Black Eyed Ghost Crow's body trembled, but it ultimately didn't dare to struggle.
"Embed: Black Eyed Ghost Crow."
With a thought, the Black Eyed Ghost Crow let out a mournful cry from its mouth, and its body began to tremble uncontrollably.
In the space of a breath, the embedding was complete.
Lin Sheng glanced at the crow whose aura had clearly weakened. Even at this point, the latter was still lying prostrate at his feet.
"Very smart. Since that's the case, I'll keep you for now."
As if it understood Lin Sheng's meaning, the crow let out a low cry.
He was quite satisfied with this, and took out two pieces of Giant Spirit Bear jerky from the side and threw them over.
Keeping this thing was not a whim; it naturally had its purpose.