However, at that moment, a series of rapid footsteps echoed from outside the courtyard.
Following that, a steward walked in.
The steward arrived at the courtyard and stood at the doorstep, first greeting Lin Jing and the othersâ¦
Then he said to Zhang Yuan:
âYoung Master Yuan, the ancestor requests your presenceâ¦â
Zhang Yuan stood up and approached the doorstep, asking the steward:
âUncle Yue, may I know the reason the ancestor wishes to see me?â
The steward replied immediately:
âRepresentatives from the three major sects have arrived.â
âThey wish to inquire about the incident that occurred in the Secret Realm a few days agoâ¦â
Zhang Yuan nodded and said:
âI seeâ¦â
âUncle Yue, please wait a moment while I inform my friendsâ¦â
Before Zhang Yuan could speak, several people had already risen to their feet.
Li Tangyu stepped forward and came beside Zhang Yuan, saying:
âBrother Zhangâ¦â
âSince you have matters to attend to, we will not disturb you further. We shall visit another day.â
Zhang Yuan pondered for a moment, then nodded.
Meeting the representatives from the three major sects could take a while, and he truly was unable to excuse himself.
âAlright, Brother Liâ¦â
âMy injuries are not severe. Should I consume another Pure Healing Elixir you brought, I estimate Iâll be well in a couple of days.
âApologies for the inadequate hospitality this time. Once I am healed, I will host a banquet in your honor.â
With that, Zhang Yuan expressed his apologies to the group.
The group understood the urgency and waved their hands indicating no worries.
Afterwardâ¦
The group, along with Zhang Yuan, exited the courtyard.
Zhang Yuan, despite their protests, insisted on seeing them out to the entrance of the Zhang Family home, bidding them farewell before turning back.
After leaving the Zhang Familyâ¦
Li Tangyu initially wanted to invite Lin Jing to visit the Li Family.
But Lin Jing, citing alchemy as his reason, politely declined Li Tangyuâs invitation and went straight back to his own small courtyard.
Huang Qingling, however, went with them to the Li Family.
Two days later, at night.
Lin Jing awoke from meditation, saw the pitch-black sky, and knowing the time was about right, he changed into a new outfit,
Then.
Lin Jing mobilized his Spiritual Power, activated The Hidden Dragon Pendant of the Azure Moon, and changed his appearance and aura.
He then left his home.
Today was the day he had agreed to meet with the Elder of the Ning Family.
He was unsure what the outcome was after the Elderâs visit to the Qingyuan Sword Sect.
Lin Jing had not inquired about it in the past two days.
Regardless, he would know the outcome tonight.
If it was unsuccessful, it would be up to the Elderâs decision then.
If he continued on his own path, Lin Jing, despite his desire to help, would be helpless.
Following that.
Lin Jing left his house.
He found the same black market Teleportation Array he used before and teleported through.
Upon entering the black market, Lin Jing headed directly to the Secret Trade Room.
The predetermined meeting spot was right at the entrance of the Secret Trade Room.
It didnât take long.
Lin Jing soon arrived near the Secret Trade Room.
At the entrance of the Secret Trade Room, two people were waiting there.
It was the Elder of the Ning Family and Ning Yue.
This time, Li Tangyu did not accompany them, likely because the two had become familiar enough not to need Li Tangyuâs guidance.
Upon seeing them, Lin Jing walked directly towards the two.
Before he reached them, Lin Jing called out:
âElder, I have arrivedâ¦â
The two turned their heads to look at Lin Jing.
Despite the Black Gauze Bamboo Hat concealing his features, his voice, physique, and the unique aura he emitted undoubtedly identified him as the Elixir Valley Heir.
âYoung friend, youâve arrivedâ¦â
The Elder of the Ning Family said with a smile.
Lin Jing arrived in front of the two and immediately began:
âI wonder if the senior has made up his mind?â
âDo you need me to take the seed to Elixir Valley, so a senior from my sect can help?â
After hearing this, Elder Ning nodded.
âI have made up my mindâ¦â
âYoung friend, why donât we talk insideâ¦â
Elder Ning said, gesturing towards the Secret Trade Room.
This impliedâ¦
Clearly, it seemed Elder Ning had resolved to let Lin Jing take the seed, as there was otherwise no need to go into the Secret Trade Room.
Lin Jing estimatedâ¦
The journey to the Qingyuan Sword Sect had also failed.
âAlrightâ¦â
Lin Jing nodded in agreement, following Elder Ning into the Secret Trade Room.
Once inside, Ning Yue stepped forward and directly pulled out a Medium Grade Spirit Stone from the storage bag.
She exchanged it with a black-clad elder at the counter for a token.
Afterwardsâ¦
The three of them walked further inside together.
As soon as they entered the Secret Trade Room and the door closed,
Elder Ning immediately spoke:
âNot to hide it from you, young friendâ¦â
âIn the past two days, I also visited other places and found a remarkable person.â
âUnfortunatelyâ¦â
âThat remarkable person also had no solution.â
âIt might sound laughable to you, young friend, but at this point, Iâm out of options.â
After saying this, Elder Ning pulled out a finely crafted wooden box from his storage bag.
Moreover, there was no aura emanating from this wooden box.
Obviously, it was a treasure box designed to prevent the leakage of spiritual power.
Meant to hold that seed.
âWhatâs contained here is the seed of the Moon Mulberry Spirit Fruitâ¦â
said Elder Ning.
Having said thatâ¦
he reached out and opened the wooden box.
Then, he handed the box to Lin Jing.
Lin Jing received the wooden box and carefully examined it.
The seed of the Moon Mulberry Spirit Fruit wasnât big, about the size of an almond, and it was completely green, clearly not lifelessâ¦
But the spiritual energy inside was exceptionally weak.
This was rather peculiar.
Because usually, as long as spirit plant seeds are not dead or rotten, they definitely contain spiritual energy.
And the higher the rank of the seed, the stronger the spiritual energy.
The spiritual energy of this seed was too weak, even weaker than some First Rank spirit plants.
Lin Jing looked at it for a while longer.
Then he said to Elder Ning:
âWas this seed just like this when you received it?â
Elder Ning shook his head and said:
âNot reallyâ¦â
âWhen we first received this seed, everything seemed normal, and it was only later during cultivation that we discovered the seedâs spiritual energy was growing weaker and weaker.â
âAt first, we thought it was due to improper care.â
âBut afterwardsâ¦â
âNo matter what we did, the signs of depleting spiritual energy still could not be improved.â
At this point, Elder Ning looked at the seed and let out a helpless sigh:
âAlasâ¦â
âAt this stage, even though we know the seed is the issue, weâre still out of options.â
Afterward, he looked back at Lin Jing:
âI wonder, young friend, if you might know what caused this situation?â
Lin Jing shook his head and said:
âI am not sure as well, weâll have to wait until I return to Elixir Valley and hand this seed to the senior. He might know the reason.â
âI seeâ¦â
Elder Ning nodded slightly.
Just thenâ¦
Elder Ning suddenly spoke again, saying:
âOh, young friendâ¦â
âRegarding fixing this seed, do you know how much your Elixir Valley plans to charge?ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om