Chapter 94: The Great Seal of the Enlightened King

Lin Yang idly studied his surroundings. The council hall was quite spacious.

It took a full hundred and more steps just to walk from the entrance to the center, and the entire hall was square in shape, with a gigantic crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

The crystal was made from a special mineral that gave off a soft glow, and from time to time it produced strange ripples of light, making it look exceedingly beautiful.

The tables and stools around the hall were all made of fine golden nanmu wood, and even the great doors of the council hall were carved from a rare fragrant timber.

Behind the hall stood a mural wall painted with the image of an old white-bearded man ascending into immortality. It was said to depict the founding ancestor of Yellow Maple Valley.

No one knew who had painted it, but it could actually emit a halo-like radiance, and the white clouds in the painting seemed to drift as if alive.

The hem of the old man’s robe fluttered in an unseen wind. He stepped up a stairway to heaven and entered the heavenly gate beyond.

The painting was endlessly captivating, filled with a peculiar, profound charm.

As Lin Yang was gradually drawn in, he suddenly saw the white-bearded old man turn around and glance at him.

That single look seemed to sever time and space; the entire painting came alive in that instant.

Lin Yang broke out in a cold sweat and was startled by the picture. It was rather eerie.

When he came to his senses, he suddenly discovered that a golden page had appeared in his mind.

When his divine sense touched that golden page in his sea of consciousness, the entire page dissolved into specks of golden light and merged into his soul.

His mind instantly became lucid, while at the same time he felt his soul continually growing stronger, and golden characters began to appear in his consciousness.

At the same time, he heard the faint chanting of a monk by his ear, as though it wanted to wash him clean and convert him into a Buddhist.

He hurriedly circulated the Heart-Calming Immortal Suppression Art, and only then did he suppress the thought of shaving his head and becoming a monk.

By forcefully interrupting the monk-like chanting, the growth of his soul in his mind also came to a halt.

But those golden characters did not stop. They gradually formed into a spell: the Bright King Great Hand Seal.

A small golden figure appeared in his mind, a bald warrior monk.

His meridians became transparent, and all of the cultivation pathways were laid bare within.

The little figure moved, and spiritual energy gathered according to the monk’s motions. Lin Yang saw every route of circulation with perfect clarity.

The golden figure gathered all the spiritual energy in his body and struck forward with a single palm. In an instant, a colossal hand hundreds of feet across materialized.

With overwhelming pressure, it slammed downward, and within that palm seemed to be a sealed space, from which nothing could escape. It struck the ground.

Like the Buddhist palm strike of legend, it left behind a vast palm print on the earth, while the surrounding ground let out waves of pained groans and split open with countless fissures.

Seeing such terrifying power, Lin Yang nearly began unconsciously circulating the technique. One had to remember that this was the council hall.

With his own strength, combined with the might of the Bright King Great Hand Seal, he could reduce the entire hall to rubble.

Just as he raised his hand and tried to circulate the technique, the flow was forcibly interrupted, and the commotion was averted.

By then his face was flushed red. He had been forcibly interrupted while pushing the technique to full power, causing his blood and energy to surge violently and flood into his head.

His entire palm had gone numb. That was the consequence of forcibly interrupting a cultivation flow, and this had only happened at the very beginning, so the price was still not too great.

If he were interrupted later, just as he was about to unleash the hand seal, his meridians would likely suffer severe damage.

"Hu."

Lin Yang hurriedly sat down to regulate his breathing, crossing his legs on the chair and sorting out the chaotic spiritual energy within his meridians.

Only then did his breathing and spiritual flow settle down and return to normal. The redness in his face faded as well, restoring its usual color.

At that moment, Zhong Lingdao came in from outside and saw Lin Yang seated on the chair. He hurried over.

"May I ask what brings Brother Lin here?"

Because Lin Yang’s mind had just been completely immersed in the vision within his consciousness, he had not paid attention to the outside world. Hearing the voice, he stopped calming the spiritual energy within him and opened his eyes to look at Zhong Lingdao.

"I need a spirit vein. I just discussed it with the old ancestor."

"Each year I will refine pills worth one hundred thousand spirit stones for the sect, and in return I choose one spirit vein to belong to me."

Lin Yang got straight to the point. Right now he wanted to find some remote wilderness and try out the Bright King Great Hand Seal.

"Let me think this through first."

Zhong Lingdao pondered for a while, but still could not understand why Lin Yang would need a spirit vein.

"May I ask what Brother Lin needs the spirit vein for?"

Zhong Lingdao was worried that Lin Yang might simply send a large group of people to mine out the vein over a few years, then hand the vein back without paying a thing. At that time no one would blame the old ancestor, and the one who would surely die would be him.

"I need to set up a formation to aid my cultivation."

After saying that, Lin Yang handed over the old ancestor's token. Zhong Lingdao took it at once and could tell with a glance that it was genuine.

"So that is it. Since the old ancestor has already agreed, may I ask which spirit vein Brother Lin wants?"

Seeing the token, Zhong Lingdao understood that the old ancestor had indeed given his approval.

With that assurance, the matter was no longer his responsibility. He only needed to complete the handover.

"I need to take a look first and see which one is suitable. Where exactly are these ore veins located?"

"In that case, I will send an elder to accompany Brother Lin."

After speaking, Zhong Lingdao waved for a disciple outside to come in.

That disciple was the very one who had just been running in panting for breath. Zhong Lingdao had been far quicker than the disciple’s return.

And because their exchange had not taken long, the disciple had only just run back and was still bent over there, gasping.

Then he was summoned in once more.

"Sect Master, what is it?"

"Go find Elder Zhang. He should be in the Mission Hall. Tell him I have something to discuss with him."

"All right."

The gatekeeping disciple hurriedly agreed and ran out again, still panting.

Seeing how exhausted he looked, Lin Yang felt that being a gatekeeper was truly hard. He had to run errands as well; just after finishing one task, before he could even rest, another came along.

"Brother Lin, please wait a moment. It will not take long. I will have Elder Zhang take you to inspect a few spirit veins."

"Very well, I will wait."

"Then please sit, Brother Lin."

Zhong Lingdao brought out a stool for Lin Yang, then had tea prepared, and the two began chatting idly.

They spoke of affairs near and far, great matters and small.

About a quarter of an hour later, an elderly man entered. He had a stern face, and more than half of his beard had already turned white.

"Sect Master, what do you need from me?"

The old man looked extremely serious, as though he handled everything in a strictly official manner.

"Sir Lin needs a spirit vein to set up a formation. The old ancestor has already agreed."

"Elder Zhang, you will take him there."

As he spoke, Zhong Lingdao showed the old ancestor’s token to Elder Zhang.

After examining the token and confirming its authenticity, Elder Zhang turned to Lin Yang and said, "Sir Lin, then please come with me."

With that, he turned and walked off, looking as aloof as ever.

Lin Yang followed slowly behind him.