Chapter 170 - Close the Doors   A biting cold wind blew with snow descending on a boundless barren land. Even with dusk approaching, the ground was white without any noticeable darkness. One had to pass through the barren land to reach the Heavenly Qin County.

Cultivators of the empire knew that barren land as the North Barren Land. Perhaps it was because of the geography that the Heavenly Qin County contained the entire empire’s fate and drew in all the spiritual energy from the barren land.

The barren land did not have a spring or autumn. The summer was a sandy yellow, while the winter covered the barren land in white. Anyone who came from the north had to travel through the barren land to reach the capital.

There was a youth walking in the blizzard, pulling a horse along with him. The clothes he wore were a mixture of azure and white and they were exceptionally clean, having no snow on them.

However, he seemed rather frail in his baggy clothes, creating concern for his health. Xiantian Realm cultivators could use their spiritual energy to resist the biting cold, but snow in the North Barren Land would last half the winter. So even if you had robust spiritual energy, you wouldn’t be able to last long.

You could possibly last three to five days, but what about two to three months?

However, that youth had ignored everything and walked through the blizzard. Of course, the youth was Lin Yun. After parting with Ming Ye, he headed towards the Great Qin Empire’s capital through the main path. He then spent two months traveling through more than ten counties before arriving at this barren land.

The North Barren Land’s winter came earlier than the winter in the capital. With his current pace, he would be able to enter Heavenly Qin County in just half a month. So he would reach the capital just in time to welcome the winter. As he welcomed the winter, the capital would welcome the elites from all over the empire.

Over the past two months, Lin Yun’s life only consisted of traveling and cultivating. Recently, he had been pondering the jade slip ‘Time flies like fire’ and he had grasped a few ideas on it.

All 150,000 Xiantian pellets were practically exhausted at this point and he was only left with less than 10,000 Xiantian pellets. With so many resources supporting his cultivation, his Iris Sword Sutra had reached the fifth stage.

The Iris Flower in his Dantian now had a total of thirty petals that were covered in thin stripes and blazed with violet flames. They might have a beautiful appearance, but they contained tremendous spiritual energy.

It was taxing for him to circulate the Iris Sword Sutra, but the flower’s heart would start to condense terrifying sword rays when he did.

There weren’t any changes to his cultivation, but his strength had risen by at least 30%. But compared to him, the Dragon Blooded Horse was far more terrifying. After Lin Yun fed the Dragon Blooded Horse the primordial beast core, its cultivation began to advance leaps and bounds to the point of reaching the seventh orifice of the Xiantian Realm.

All Lin Yun could say to this was that the Dragon Blooded Horse’s bloodline was too powerful. If Lin Yun had an aptitude comparable to the Dragon Blooded Horse, who knew how far his cultivation would soar.

The blizzard continued and covered up their footsteps in fresh snow. It didn’t take long for the sky to darken.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Night in the North Barren Land was dangerous and there would occasionally be roars of demonic beasts echoing out. Those roars always sounded close and could make one shudder.

The North Barren Land was safe in the day, but the night was another story.

Suddenly, Lin Yun stopped and looked at a half-submerged corpse. When Lin Yun stepped into the North Barren Land, he encountered many corpses. Some were frozen to death, others were eaten by demonic beasts, and others died at the hands of wandering cultivators. To begin with, the North Barren Land wasn’t a peaceful place. It was a terrible environment with ferocious demonic beasts. Worst of all, the humans that were present were even more terrifying.

It would only get calm once one stepped into the Heavenly Sky County. The capital had numerous sects, clans, and even royal guards patrolling. So something like this would never happen. As for those who died in the North Barren Land, they were simply too unlucky.

Lin Yun shook his head and pulled the Dragon Blooded Horse. But as he was about to leave, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the corpse’s finger twitched. He furrowed his brow and fell into deep thought. Then, he raised his hand and shot a wisp of sword ray at the corpse.

Sizzle!

The sword ray pierced through the blizzard, heading towards the corpse. The sword ray brushed through the corpse’s body before drilling into the snow. However, the corpse that was half-submerged in the snow still did not move.

He no longer hesitated and went over to the corpse. He brushed away the pile of snow that had gathered, which revealed a tender and pale face. This person didn’t seem dead as he was still breathing.

Judging from his appearance, he seemed to be fourteen or fifteen. This boy was even younger than him. Was he frozen or did he faint from exhaustion?

Lin Yun carried the boy and placed him on the Dragon Blooded Horse before he continued walking. An hour later, a tattered monastery appeared in his eyes. The tattered monastery seemed to be struggling to stand against the blizzard.

It was odd for a monastery to be in a barren land with nothing but snow. Normally, Lin Yun wouldn’t enter since he had the Thunderblitz Battle Physique. So even if he had to stay in the blizzard for half a month, there wouldn’t be any issues for him.

But when he looked at the youth that was on the horse, Lin Yun hesitated briefly before deciding to enter. The monastery wasn’t big and it was covered in cogon grass. This particular monastery worshipped the Vajra. The cold wind blew in from the door and it caused Lin Yun to shudder.

“Close the doors.” An unexpected voice rang out and stunned Lin Yun. But he still did as he was told.

He lit a candle and could see a bald monk sitting in the corner with prayer beads in his hand. The monk was knocking on a wooden fish instrument. However, the knocking sounds couldn’t be heard because of the blizzard.

Leaving the Dragon Blooded Horse in the corner, Lin Yun placed the young man on the ground. He started a fire and instantly warmed up the monastery. The monk didn’t pay any attention to him as he was still focused on knocking on the wooden fish instrument.

The youth’s face gradually changed from pale to pink. Not long after, he opened his eyes and yawned, stretching his body. He behaved like he had just awakened and looked around before spotting Lin Yun.

“So, I was picked up. My name is Li Wuyou. Big brother, what’s your name?” The youth smiled.

His address for Lin Yun was smooth, considering Lin Yun was his savior. As the saying went, don’t slap someone who was smiling at you. Lin Yun also did not have an unfavorable impression of Li Wuyou.

“Lin Yun.” He smiled.

“Do you have alcohol?” Li Wuyou looked at Lin Yun with a smile.

“I do,” replied Lin Yun.

Lin Yun took out a jar of monkey wine without much thought and handed it over.

Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!

Li Wuyou began to gulp it down in mouthfuls, “Good wine! Because of this wine, I’m determined that you’re my big brother. In the future, do take care of me in the Sword Firmament Pavilion.”

“How do you know that I’m aiming for the Sword Firmament Pavilion?” Lin Yun raised his brow.

Li Wuyou replied with narrowed eyes, “Anyone who’s heading to the capital under this stupid weather must be going to join the various sects. Heh, heh. Big brother, you have an incomplete sword intent on you. You might be able to hide it from others, but how can you hide it from a fellow swordsman?”

Lin Yun let down his guard. Li Wuyou might seem young, but his thoughts were pretty meticulous.

“You’re also aiming for the Sword Firmament Pavilion?” asked Lin Yun.

Taking a few more gulps of wine, Li Wuyou nodded his head, “That’s for sure. I, Li Wuyou, will definitely be the best swordsman in the Great Qin Empire.”

When the alcohol effect from the monkey wine kicked in, Li Wuyou’s face turned red. It matched his exaggerated tone, causing Lin Yun to smile.

Creak!

The doors opened once more while the two of them were chatting. A group of Xiantian Realm cultivators entered. They seemed young and looked like they came as a group.

Although they seemed young, their cultivation was robust.

“We’re really lucky to find a monastery in the middle of the blizzard.”

“There’s a fire here!”

“Haha! We can finally get a good night’s sleep.”

When the group of youngsters came in, they began to talk among themselves.

“Close the door.” The monk’s voice sounded out once more. The youngsters who came in were briefly stunned, but they still did as they were told.

After closing the doors, they greeted Lin Yun and Li Wuyou as they sat around the fire. They were all in the same generation and they were here to join the four sects. They had many topics to talk about, so the surrounding atmosphere instantly became lively.

The monk still sat down, knocking on the wooden fish instrument.

When more people gathered, Li Wuyou revealed his personality and joked around with everyone.

“Li Wuyou, you want to become the best swordsman in the Great Qin Empire? What about Bai Lixuan then?”

“I’ll bet with you that you will definitely not last a month in the sect. You will be beaten to death after a month.” A few of the youngsters teased Li Wuyou.

However, Li Wuyou wasn’t bothered and smiled, “I will definitely not die before becoming the best swordsman in the Great Qin Empire. Speaking of which, which sects are you guys planning to join?”

“I still haven’t thought about it. The four sects all have a high threshold and it’s uncertain if I can even make it in. Maybe the Heavenly Qin Institute.”

“I want to join the Demonic Moon Villa. They have a mysterious background, but they don’t recruit publicly.”

“I’m thinking of the Profound Heavenly Sect. The Titled Windstream of the eight titled is from the Profound Heavenly Sect.”

“Lin Yun, why aren’t you talking?”

The youngsters curiously asked when they saw that Lin Yun was silent. Lin Yun smiled. But just as he was about to speak, the monastery’s door was brutally kicked open.

The blizzard blew in and caused everyone to shudder. Three robust men walked in, shrouded in killing aura. All of them were in the seventh orifice of the Xiantian Realm. The density of their killing aura was extremely refined, causing all the youngsters’ faces to change.

The five words, North Barren Land’s wandering cultivator, appeared in their minds. The leader of the group grinned at everyone sitting around the fire. His smile was terrifyingly sinister.

“Close the door.” The monk uttered out once more before the man could speak.

“Close your mom!” The man roared, pulling out the shortsword in his waist and dashing over. His sword flashed and caught everyone by surprise.

“Watch out!” The youngsters exclaimed. They never expected that the North Barren Land’s wandering cultivators would be so irritable that they would try to kill the moment there was a disagreement.

But just when the shortsword was about to stab into the monk’s head, the knocking on the wooden fish instrument stopped. When the sound stopped, the shortsword’s speed suddenly declined.

In that split second, time seemed to stop. The monk smiled and easily received that fatal attack without any aura leaking from him.