Qin Yun looked at Magus Xian and thought to himself, “For him to let me set the terms first, it appears he is willing to spare no expense to obtain my token. However, I have no lack of treasures.”
In terms of treasures, Qin Yun had spent about half of the vast amounts of Stellar Stone he had for Samsara Dew and he still had a lot left. He also had the Connate Spirit Root, the Connate Lightning Fruit Tree, in his possession. This made Qin Yun’s wealth far exceed that of many pinnacle Golden Immortals.
“Sword Immortal Qin, please raise your conditions,” said Magus Xian again.
Qin Yun hesitated for a moment before saying, “You can take the bronze token I have! And I only have one condition… lend the other two incomplete bronze tokens to me for studying. A month later, I’ll turn over the three tokens to you.”
“Lend you the two tokens?” Magus Xian was taken aback.
He was also a bit stumped.
“This is the only condition,” said Qin Yun.
…
Inside the wooden hut far away.
The yellow-robed monk sat cross-legged there while Magus Xian’s avatar was beside him.
“Teacher, this Qin Yun wishes for you to lend him the two bronze tokens for studying. He will then give us all three tokens after a month,” said Magus Xian. “How should I answer him?”
“Lend it to him for studying?”
The monk’s eyes had a conflicted look. “The condition he raised does exceed my expectations. The three bronze tokens are just a catalyst. What’s there to study?”
“Could it be a scam?” asked Magus Xian.
The monk pondered for a moment before saying, “Agree to it! This Itinerant Immortal Qin Yun is now most concerned about his twelfth Itinerant Immortal tribulation. Therefore, he is focused on cultivating to raise his strength. He wishes to attain the perfected Great Dao realm before the twelfth Itinerant Immortal tribulation befalls him! This agreement results in karma. He would not wish to be tied by karma by going back on his words.”
“Alright.” Magus Xian nodded.
“However, have him promise that during the month he has the three tokens, he is not to leave Mt. Lightning Roar,” said the monk.
“Okay.” Magus Xian nodded.
******
Qin Yun looked at Magus Xian calmly as he patiently waited for an answer.
He had long guessed that… Magus Xian likely had someone he was acting for.
It was unlikely Magus Xian had attained a realm that allowed him to be able to hide the karma that well.
“The other two tokens can be lent to you for studying, Sword Immortal Qin,” said Magus Xian with a smile. “However, during the month of the loan, the three tokens are not to leave Mt. Lightning Roar! You will give me the three tokens a month later. How about that?”
Qin Yun smiled. “Sure.”
Magus Xian nodded slightly as he waved his hand, producing an open spatial passageway. Two incomplete bronze tokens flew out from within and entered his hands.
“Oh?” Qin Yun looked at the spatial passageway with interest. There was only a haze on the other end of the spatial passageway. He found it difficult to pry into the other side.
“How mysterious,” thought Qin Yun.
“Here.” Magus Xian smiled as he handed the two incomplete bronze tokens.” I believe you will abide by your promise.”
“Don’t worry. I will do as I promised.” Qin Yun’s eyes could not help but light up as he looked at the two tokens.
“I don’t care about the secret behind the bronze tokens. What I care about is the inspiration the patterns on them give me.” Qin Yun excitedly received the two incomplete bronze tokens. He could tell at a glance that the two tokens were originally one with the token he had! This was because the charms contained in the patterns stemmed from the same source.
“I bid you farewell,” said Magus Xian.
Qin Yun did not keep him and quickly allowed Magus Xian to leave.
The moment Magus Xian left, Qin Yun sat down cross-legged on the mountain peak. With a flip of his hand, he took out the incomplete bronze token he had.
Immediately, he placed the three incomplete bronze tokens in front of him!
Qin Yun did not combine them together but observed each one of them carefully. He took in the arcane charms of each pattern and the inspiration they brought him.
“I wonder which senior carved these. The charms contained in the patterns… are truly amazing.” Qin Yun was pleased looking at them. He could feel that he was getting close to the attaining of his Great Dao of Earth! Every minute of his observations pushed him closer.
He spent the entire day sitting on the mountain peak.
“It’s time to combine them together.”
Although he had studied it for a long time, allowing him to deeply impress the patterns on all three bronze tokens into his mind, the squarish bronze token that resulted when Qin Yun joined them together was unlike the picture he formed in his head. He could not help but feel palpitations in his heart when he saw the completed pattern.
The squarish token had complete patterns that formed a complete array formation.
The array formation was formed of many patterns and its entire body was squarish. It resembled that of a vast land!
Hum!
At the moment Qin Yun’s perception made contact, he felt that the bronze token contained information within.
It was a map!
“A map?” Qin Yun was somewhat astonished. “The map points to the Effulgent Great World’s Mt. Three Blades! There’s an array formation set up at Mt. Three Blades? Only through this complete bronze token can that array be opened?”
Although this information left Qin Yun intrigued, he did not mind it.
What was inside the array?
Treasures?
“So what if there are treasures? What I need is to figure out the Great Dao of Earth! Following that, I still need the Great Dao of Man! Only then will I attain a perfected Great Dao,” thought Qin Yun. For instance, Daoist Burning Lamp had transformed the twenty-four Sea Calming Beads—a Connate Cardinal treasure—into the twenty-four heavens in order to attain his perfected Great Dao.
Some treasures were nothing worth mentioning when placed against the backdrop of a perfected Great Dao!
Qin Yun quickly relegated the information contained in the bronze tablet to the back of his mind as he focused on studying the array formation formed by the completed patterns of the bronze token.
“These naturally formed but massive charms… are what I’m lacking. As long as I figure it out, my Great Dao of Earth can be attained.” Qin Yun concentrated on gaining further insights.
…
Days passed one after another.
Qin Yun stayed on the mountain peak, occasionally imbibing Samsara Dew to study the array formation.
“Yuluo.” Yi Xiao was chatting happily with a girl.
“Grandma.” The girl was none other than Qin Yuluo. She was the amalgamation of the strengths of her mother, Qin Yiyi and her father, Han Lin. She had Qin Yiyi’s sharpness and Han Lin’s tenderness. She was also the most talented junior in the Qin family after Qin Yun…
“Where’s Grandpa?” asked Qin Yuluo immediately.
“On the peak of the back mountain,” said Yi Xiao.
“I’ll go find him.” Feeling somewhat impatient, Qin Yuluo stood up immediately.
“He’s cultivating. Don’t disturb him,” said Yi Xiao.
Qin Yuluo was enlightened as she sat down obediently. “If only there wasn’t the threat of the Itinerant Immortal tribulations. With Grandpa’s present strength, he is already one of the best in the Three Realms. Without the tribulation, Grandpa would be able to live freely.”
“Without worries allowing him to be carefree… It might seem free and easy, but in fact, it’s a form of selfishness,” said Yi Xiao softly. ‘Who doesn’t have worries and burdens? With worries and burdens, one cannot be truly free!”
Qin Yuluo was taken aback as she pondered over the matter before nodding slightly.
She had also cultivated for many years. In fact, she had her own burdens deep down.
Her grandfather thought highly of her… He often gave her pointers! How precious was her grandfather’s time? Yet, he spent time guiding her. Qin Yuluo also knew that if her grandfather failed to transcend the Itinerant Immortal tribulations, the Qin family would lose its pillar of support! The Qin family would likely depend on her to prop it up if that happened. Although her grandfather had many friends who could help, it was best if she was strong herself. The Qin family had to have sufficient strength.
Therefore, Qin Yuluo had been working hard at cultivation.
Furthermore, there was always a figure in her heart that made her unwilling to slack off.
“It’s just that Brother Yun’s burdens are too great.” Yi Xiao smiled. “Of course, he is very happy to allow countless beings to live on and does not think of them as burdens.”
Qin Yuluo nodded slightly. “Perhaps only with such a Dao heart was it possible for Grandpa to create a new sword immortal lineage and attain a pinnacle Great Dao the moment he formed his Sword Dao. It’s also why he has a greater chance of attaining a perfected Great Dao.”
…
A month passed in a blink of an eye.
Magus Xian came and Qin Yun very naturally handed over the three already separated incomplete bronze tokens to him.
“Sword Immortal Qin is indeed a man of his word,” said Magus Xian with a smile. Many mighty figures in the Three Realms, even the ancient existences, respected Qin Yun. He was willing to sacrifice himself for countless mortals, even to the point of not being enticed by the Fiend Ancestor. This was already worthy of admiration. On the other hand, Qin Yun’s potential was that of a perfected Great Dao. The only problem was that the Itinerant Immortal tribulations presented the biggest obstacle to Qin Yun’s cultivation journey.
Qin Yun nodded slightly as he watched Magus Xian leave.
There was a stir brewing in his heart. Once it was done, what spewed forth would be the success of his Great Dao.
“The information contained in the bronze token points to the Effulgent Great World’s Mt. Three Blades. There’s a bigger array formation there which requires the bronze token to open?” Qin Yun’s eyes lit up. “Although I have no means of opening it, I can go and take a look at the bigger array formation.”
“Time to leave.”
Without any hesitation, he took a step forward and tore through space to head for the Effulgent Great World.