Top-level Qi Luck: Leading My Clan to Cultivate

In the dense bamboo forest of blue and yellow hues, Lin Tianming looked around.

Massive Qingling Bamboos were growing in the firm crevices of rocks, with varying heights and thickness.

The tall ones could reach several zhang in height, as thick as the mouth of a bowl, with blue-yellow trunks and very few leaves, all several centuries old and suitable for crafting instruments.

The short ones were less than half a zhang, colored blue, with denser leaves, averaging around a hundred years old.

Qingling Bamboo has a long growth cycle, starting as finger-thick shoots of white jade color, gradually growing into blue, hundred-year-old specimens, and finally, blue-yellow when they reach full maturity.

Lin Tianming swiftly shuttled through the bamboo forest, meticulously searching for Second Order Qingling Bamboo.

An hour had passed, and Lin Tianming's expression turned liver-colored; among tens of thousands of Qingling Bamboos, he hadn't found a single Second Order one.

The task was indeed daunting, given the vast area and difficulty in distinguishing them. The Second Order Qingling Bamboos and the five-century-old ones looked similar, both as thick as the mouth of a bowl with sparse leaves. The only difference was that the Second Order's color was pure gold, while the ordinary ones were paler in blue-yellow.

The entire Qingling Bamboo Forest spanned dozens of li, with several hundred thousand bamboos. To find the mere hundred Second Order specimens was certainly difficult.

After resting for a quarter of an hour, Lin Tianming continued on his quest.

Time passed quickly, and another hour went by.

Suddenly, amidst the thick bamboo, a golden bamboo stood tall among a cluster of five-century-old Qingling Bamboos.

Overjoyed, Lin Tianming disappeared and reappeared beside the golden Second Order Qingling Bamboo.

This Qingling Bamboo was several zhang tall, bowl-thick, completely golden, and the surface shone brilliantly—undoubtedly a Second Order specimen.

Lin Tianming carefully observed the growing environment of this Qingling Bamboo, hoping to deduce the factors for Second Order growth and find a shortcut to locate the remaining nineteen.

He saw that it grew in rock crevices, surrounded mostly by mature, five-century Qingling Bamboos, hinting at a significant difference from the valley below—higher up the rocks, the greater the likelihood of finding Second Order bamboos.

Lin Tianming tentatively concluded this was the case and decided in his subsequent searches to take to the air, identifying areas where the bamboo leaves were sparser and the groves taller, indicating greater possibilities for Second Order plants, and to focus on these patches to significantly improve efficiency.

Resolved, Lin Tianming drew his Qingfeng Sword and began to cut down the bamboo.

Three consecutive sword strikes hit the same spot, yet only a thumb-sized nick was made in the golden Qingling Bamboo.

Lin Tianming was surprised; he was a body cultivator who practiced the top-notch Heavenly Grade Technique, Tiangang Body Art, possessing strength several times that of normal cultivators at the Seventh Level of Qi Refinement, yet he had only managed to inflict such a minor cut. To completely sever it, he anticipated a considerable amount of effort would be required.

Activating his cultivation technique with full force, Lin Tianming delivered multiple sword strikes, each expanding the cut until, after more than fifty strikes, the bowl-thick Qingling Bamboo fell with a sound.

"Puff…"

A loud noise echoed as the several zhang tall Qingling Bamboo crashed heavily to the ground, creating a half-foot deep trench.

Lin Tianming lifted the Qingling Bamboo, sweat bead appearing on his forehead; he tried to lift it three times without success.

It wasn't until he channeled his spiritual power and exerted his full strength, with thousands of jin erupting from his hands, that he managed to hoist the Qingling Bamboo and stow it in his storage bag.

Having successfully secured the bamboo, Lin Tianming wiped his hands and sat panting on a nearby rock to rest.

Lin Tianming thought to himself that each Second Order Qingling Bamboo must weigh at least a few thousand jin; with its hard material and excellent flexibility, swords crafted from it would surely be extraordinary.

After resting for a short while, Lin Tianming continued on his journey to find more Second Order Qingling Bamboos.

Having succeeded in his first attempt, Lin Tianming no longer aimlessly wandered the forest but flew above it, carefully discerning the densely populated areas of five-century Qingling Bamboos.

"Ah…"

"That clump of bamboo about a hundred zhang ahead is taller on average, with sparser leaves, mostly five-century Qingling Bamboos. The chances of finding Second Order ones should not be small."

Lin Tianming swiftly flew to that part of the bamboo forest and began his meticulous search.

"As expected, there are Second Order Qingling Bamboos,"

Lin Tianming was quite delighted, confident that with this method, the twenty Qingling Bamboos could be quickly found.

Two days flew by!

Inside the Qingling Bamboo Forest, Lin Tianming expertly placed a Second Order Qingling Bamboo down, swiftly lifting the several-thousand-jin bamboo stalk and stowing it into his storage bag.

Having finally cut down twenty stalks of Second Order Qingling Bamboo, after two days of non-stop swinging of the Qingfeng Sword, his arms were sore and swollen.

If he had not been a Body Cultivator with a cultivation not considered weak, had it been the time he was at the Fifth Level of Qi Refinement, he likely could not have chopped down many in one day. Banking on his profound cultivation, he had completed the target within two days.

Having reached the required quantity, Lin Tianming was very satisfied and couldn't wait to take the twenty stalks of Second Order Qingling Bamboo to Fifteenth Uncle to ask for his help with artifact forging.

Considering his weapons as a significant shortcoming, he was eager to forge a sufficient number of Spirit Swords. If the grade could all be at First Order Superior, his combat power would at least double. Even facing a cultivator in the Late Stage of Qi Refining, he would be able to retreat unscathed.

Upon reaching the edge of the bamboo forest, Lin Tianming took out his token, cast a Law Decree, and a slit appeared in the light screen; he stepped through without hesitation.

After the span of a single breath, Lin Tianming had successfully emerged from the bamboo forest.

He summoned a Qingfeng Sword, leaped onto the blade, and left flying through the sky.

In half an hour, at the Family Merits Hall, Lin Tianming found Lin Shixin.

"Elder Wu, I have gathered all twenty stalks of Second Order Qingling Bamboo and have come to return the token."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Lin Tianming respectfully handed over the token, exchanged a few pleasantries with Lin Shixin, and then bade farewell as he left the Hall of Merit.

A short while later, in the Family Alchemy Hall, Lin Tianming appeared before his grandfather Lin Shigong and bowed respectfully:

"Your grandson greets you, grandfather!"

Lin Shigong waved his hand and smiled, instructing:

"Cheeky boy, come and sit down!"

Lin Tianming chuckled, sat down directly on the cushion in front of him, and stated his purpose.

"Grandfather, I spent three thousand merit points at once to exchange for twenty stalks of Second Order Qingling Bamboo in the Hall of Merit, intending to ask Fifteenth Grandfather to help forge a batch of Spirit Swords. Unfortunately, I haven't left a communication mark with Fifteenth Grandfather, so I've come to ask for your help to see if Fifteenth Grandfather can help with the forging."

Hearing his grandson's purpose, Lin Shigong was greatly startled!

"This rapscallion, what a spender, to blow three thousand merit points like that. The Mysterious Grade Cultivation Technique Fire Origin Decision that he cultivates doesn't even require so many Spirit Swords, right?"

Lin Shixin was very puzzled by such extravagant spending and thus questioned Lin Tianming why he needed so many Spirit Swords.

Lin Tianming hesitated and fumbled, and after much deliberation, he still did not reveal the Heavenly Grade Technique he was cultivating. He only mentioned that his Cultivation Technique was related to Sword Arrays.

He emphasized repeatedly, asking his grandfather to keep it a secret, or it might bring disaster to the family!

Seeing his grandson so serious, Lin Shixin no longer pressed the matter, knowing everyone had their secrets.

And Lin Tianming had always been smart and stable, so if he didn't speak of it, he naturally had his reasons.

With these thoughts, Lin Shigong earnestly advised:

"Since it's so important, remember never to reveal it lightly in front of others. People in the Cultivation World constantly commit murders and rob others of their treasures; you can't just trust anyone easily, understand?"

Lin Tianming agreed wholeheartedly, easing his grandfather's concerns.

Afterward, Lin Shigong formed a seal with one hand and sent a message to Lin Shilu, inquiring whether he could take on the forging task.

In half an hour, a beam of Spiritual Light passed through the restrictions of the building, stopping in front of Lin Shigong. He read the message, and after the Spiritual Light dissipated, he spoke up:

"Your Fifteenth Grandfather has agreed to help. He told you to go directly to the summit of Green Bamboo Peak, where he and your Third Grandfather are cultivating in their main mountain abode. You can go find him there."

Lin Tianming was overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately took leave of Lin Shigong, planning to go directly to Lin Shilu.

Before leaving, Lin Shigong took out eight hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones and a bottle of Second Order Lingshen Pill, handing them to Lin Tianming as a reward for the forging help.

Lin Tianming, unpretentious, accepted the Spirit Stones and elixir, and left.