However, what made him somewhat helpless was that after circulating his Inner Qi ten times, the accumulated Inner Qi was only enough to increase his progress by one point.
Up to this point, he had only accumulated two points.
"That is to say, I need 98% more progress to break through the First Layer, and I can only circulate my Inner Qi once per day; otherwise, my body's meridians can't handle it. It takes ten cycles to make one point of progress, so I need 980 more days to break through to the Second Layer... Isn't that more than two years, almost three years?!"
Lin Xin calculated in his mind and had originally thought that after seeing the progress, it would be quick., but he didn't expect it to still take so long.
"Junior Sister is only eighteen this year, and she's already reached the Second Layer; indeed, her talents are much better than mine...." Lin Xin lamented. "No wonder my uncle looks at her differently."
Feeling the cycle of Inner Qi inside his body, sluggish like a snail and daring not to hasten with thoughts lest the meridians in his body would tear and cause excruciating pain, requiring time to heal and recover.
Sighing helplessly, Lin Xin opened his eyes to see that Master Ji Lu was still in the same posture as when he entered the temple, meditating.
Taoist Priest Bo Yunzi, meanwhile, was engrossed in a book, with a small wine bottle beside him, periodically taking a sip from it, though Lin Xin wondered where he had pulled it from.
Outside, it was getting dark, and the rain continued; looking out from the broken temple doorway, everything was shrouded in grey, and nothing could be seen beyond ten meters.
In the middle of the temple, a bonfire was burning, and Lin Xin, feeling a bit cold, moved closer and held his hands near the fire for warmth.
The coachman Lin Yuansheng leaned against a Buddha statue in the temple, dozing off with drool dripping from the corner of his mouth onto the ground, sleeping soundly.
After warming himself by the fire for a while, Lin Xin wanted to drink some water. Seeing his state, he decided not to wake him but stood up and took a water flask from beside Lin Yuansheng, pouring a cup using a leather cup.
"Over here.. over here is a broken temple, come quickly!" Suddenly, a man's shouting came from outside, sounding like someone had arrived.
Just as Lin Xin, holding the leather cup, was about to drink, he saw a man in a straw raincoat and bamboo hat dash into the temple from the rain, followed quickly by two others dressed the same.
The three, in their pale yellow straw raincoats dripping with water, took off their hats, revealing a middle-aged man and two young people, male and female, both armed and wearing tight fighter garments, appearing to be wanderers of the Jianghu.
Seeing people already inside, the first middle-aged man to enter greeted Lin Xin with a cupped hands salute, then without speaking, found a corner to remove his raincoat.
The two younger ones, however, were sizing up Lin Xin's group of four, their eyes curious, appearing to have only recently set out on their journey.
Lin Xin put down the water flask, feeling a twinge of pain in his meridians, knowing he couldn't practice any more today. The capacity of his veins was limited and couldn't be overstressed.
With nothing else to do, he leaned against the wall and started to doze off. But the back of his head against the cold wall felt uncomfortable, and the mildew smell in the broken temple also wasn't a good place to sleep.
The three newcomers had already started to make another fire, but since it had been raining too long, the dry wood in the temple had mostly been gathered by Lin Xin's group. What they found was all damp twigs.
"If you don't mind, come join us by the fire." Master Ji Lu, who had woken up at some point, opened his eyes and said nonchalantly.
"Thanks for your kindness, Taoist priests," the middle-aged man smiled politely, nodding to Ji Lu, and brought the two youngsters over to sit by the fire.
"Not sure which direction the Taoist priests are from?" Idle and with nothing better to do, the middle-aged man started to casually inquire.
"We came from the direction of Red Pine City." Taoist Priest Bo Yunzi also sat down, "Hearing your accent, it seems like you're local to Suyang?"
"You have good hearing. Yes, we are indeed from Suyang."
The middle-aged man quickly started chatting with Bo Yunzi, and Lin Xin just listened, hearing the middle-aged man mention that something troublesome seemed to have happened around Red Pine City recently, with many hands rushing there.
Bo Yunzi asked for further details, and it appeared that the entire Red Pine City had turned into a land of disputes, with rumors spread by someone unknown claiming a treasure had appeared there, attracting many from the Jianghu, some for curiosity and others with a covetous heart for the treasure.
"They say deep within Red Pine Mountain there's sparkling gold, not sure if it's true, but many claim to have seen it, and the news spread, attracting many from the Jianghu,"
the middle-aged man whispered.
"Sparkling gold?" A flash of intrigue crossed Bo Yunzi's eyes.
"Now, many from the surrounding areas are rushing to Red Pine City, I heard even the Plum Blossom Sect has set off."
"Is that so? Even the Plum Blossom Sect has mobilized manpower," Ji Lu's expression remained unchanged, but his eyes similarly held a hint of surprise.
"The Plum Blossom Sect must have some credible information; otherwise we wouldn't have earnestly rushed there after hearing such news."
The middle-aged man was also planning to take his two children out to see the world and head to Red Pine City for a look.
Lin Yuansheng also came over, best understanding the situation in Red Pine City. Having traveled wide and far for many years, his experiences were extensive, and he instantly got into a lively conversation with the two inexperienced youths.
Lin Xin listened in, making occasional comments from the side.
As they talked, the rain outside the dilapidated temple finally began to let up, seemingly about to stop completely.
Ji Lu spoke up about continuing their journey, and the others had no objections. They had been bored, staying in this broken temple for two days with their horses' feedstock running low. If they didn't move soon, they might need to resupply, which would be troublesome.
Leaving the campfire to another family, the four of them led the horses, pulling the wagons from the makeshift shelter, and continued on their way.
Lin Yuansheng covered the horses with oilcloths to prevent them from getting wet and falling sick, then picked up the whip to drive the horses forward.
"A treasure has appeared in Red Pine City?" Lin Xin pondered this while sitting on the wagon. Why would the Immortal Master Su Wan go to investigate a mysterious incident only to involve a treasure?
They traveled from noon until dusk, and the rain finally stopped.
More carriages and riders began to appear on the road ahead, most rushing by, only the occasional merchant trains slowed down.
Having passed the territory of Suyang City and entered the region of Su Mountain, the sky gradually darkened. Lin Yuansheng was looking for a suitable place to rest. Suddenly, three riders on yellow stallions came rushing towards the wagon, intending to pass by on the left.
"Whoa---" Suddenly, one of the riders on the horse stopped and saluted towards the wagon.
"Is there a disciple of the Sword Sect in the wagon?"
Ji Lu lifted the wagon's curtain from inside.
"It turns out to be three brothers from the Plum Blossom Sect. Have you come for the matter of Red Pine City?"
"Indeed, we were ordered to support Sister Su Wan. May I ask the brother to inform us about the situation over there?" the rider asked earnestly.
Ji Lu frowned and quickly relayed what he knew.
The three riders hastily bid goodbye and rushed on their way.
Ji Lu frowned and let the curtain fall, but Lin Xin started to feel uneasy.
"Even that bewitching Su Wan has to request reinforcements; the situation there must be grave indeed."
"Your worry is futile, this matter is no longer within our capability to intervene. It's best we keep our distance from the vortex of trouble," Bo Yunzi patted Lin Xin on the shoulder, took out a tobacco pipe, and began to smoke.
"Right," Lin Xin nodded, put away his concerns, and could only pray that his family would remain untroubled. Although he hadn't spent much time with them, they were still his roots in this world.
After days of more traveling, the four of them replenished water and food from a roadside inn, exited the Su Mountain region, traversed several barren hills, and finally reached a turbulent big river.
The river flowed like a jade belt from west to east, the wagon stopped at a small market town on the riverbank. As Bo Yunzi explained, the river was a boundary beyond which lay the headquarters of the Sword Sect, thus non-sect members could not cross the river; Lin Yuansheng had to stay in this small town.
Lin Xin understood, he left half of the Jade Money Lin Zhiwen gave him for Lin Yuansheng to find a place to live in the town. He had originally thought that the Jade Money would be enough to buy a property in town since if converted to Renminbi its buying power was at least a few million, but to his surprise, property prices in Ming Shui Town were unusually high, all the Jade Money was not sufficient, and Bo Yunzi had to lend a bar of gold to Lin Xin so he could finally buy a small house in town. The remaining money was just enough for Lin Yuansheng to barely get by for a year or so.
Lin Xin was led by Ji Lu and Bo Yunzi onto a boat headed to cross the river.
The three stood at the bow, gazing at the mountains vaguely visible through the mist on the other side of the river.
Ji Lu stroked his small chin beard as he introduced to Lin Xin.
"Our Sword Sect is the only one among the Four Sects with a very low threshold for entry. No matter how you obtained your Inner Qi, no matter how poor your talents, and regardless of your character, as long as you possess Inner Qi and are under the age of thirty, you can be admitted. Of course, upon admission, you're only a registered disciple. If you cannot become a formal disciple within ten years, you will be exiled to the Outer Sect or sent away on a severance mission to live independently from the Sect."
"Doesn't this allow any sort of person to join the Sect? Even villains or spies could enter," Lin Xin was puzzled by the Sword Sect's policy.
"It's useless, that's exactly how it is. The number of disciples in our Sword Sect continues to decrease every year. The casualties are severe; you'll see soon enough," Bo Yunzi sighed from the side. "If we also had to verify character, our Sect would have run out of people long ago. As long as someone doesn't extremely despise everything and swears a blood oath, we can't be bothered to care too much."
Lin Xin was speechless, it seemed the internal strife within the Sect was quite severe.
"But you need not fear," Ji Lu continued, "there's a rule within the Sect that prohibits the killing of fellow disciples, and most disciples are too busy every day with Jade Money and missions and improving their cultivation to have time to fight each other."
With that, he also fell silent, and Bo Yunzi said no more.
Controlled by the boatman, the boat slowly approached the bank of Ming Shui River.