hē hē ， kàn lái qián bèi bú shì yuǎn dào ér lái ， jiù shì yǐ qián zài mǒu chù míng shān TT guān ， duì yú yōu zhōu de jìn kuàng ， zhī zhī shèn shǎo 。.neΤ” luó tiān rén zì yǐ wéi shì de shuō dào 。
呵呵，看来前辈不是远道而来，就是以前在某处名山TT关，对于幽州的近况，知之甚少。.neΤ”罗天仁自以为是的说道。
Haha, it seems that the senior didn't travel far or was not familiar with the current situation in Youzhou. Tianren Luo said presumptuously.
lín xuān méi yǒu fǎn bó ， duì fāng zhè yàng xiǎng ， dào ràng zì jǐ shǎo fèi chún shé jiě shì le ：“ bù cuò ， běn rén què shí chū guān wèi jiǔ ， xiàn zài yōu zhōu xíng shì rú hé ？”
林轩没有反驳，对方这样想，倒让自己少费唇舌解释了：“不错，本人确实出关未久，现在幽州形势如何？”
Lin Xuan did not refute him; this way of thinking saved Lin Xuan from having to explain himself: "Indeed, I have just returned from seclusion. How is the situation in Youzhou now?"
“ zhè ……” luó tiān rén huí dá zhī qián ， xiān zhuǎn tóu kàn le shēn hòu de mén rén dì zǐ yī yǎn ， zhēn zhuó zhe kāi kǒu le ：“ qián bèi ， bú shì wǎn bèi bù shuō ， ér shì zài zhè lǐ jiāo tán ， què shí bù tài fāng biàn ， qián bèi ruò bù xián qì ， qǐng dào běn mén de wō jū yī xù 。
“这……”罗天仁回答之前，先转头看了身后的门人弟子一眼，斟酌着开口了：“前辈，不是晚辈不说，而是在这里交谈，确实不太方便，前辈若不嫌弃，请到本门的蜗居一叙。
"Ah...," Luo Tianren hesitated before replying and glanced at his disciples behind him. "Senior, it's not that latecomer doesn't want to say, but discussing here might be inconvenient. If you don't mind, please come to our humble abode for a chat."
”
”
Lin Xuan followed the direction of Luo Tianren’s gaze. The Disciple of Dawnlight Sect had mediocre cultivation, yet they were quite nimble in their actions. Not only did they carefully collect the spirit artifacts left by the lingering spirits, but they also erased all traces of the battle meticulously—clearly not doing this for the first time.
lín xuān shùn zhe tā de mù guāng wàng qù ， zhāo yáng mén dì zǐ de xiū wèi suī rán bù zhí yī tí ， shǒu jiǎo què pǒ wèi má lì ， bù jǐn jiāng nà xiē yīn hún guǐ wù suǒ yí liú de líng qì shōu hǎo ， hái jiāng shuāng fāng zhàn dòu suǒ liú xià lái de hén jì yī yī mǒ qù ， xiǎn rán bú shì dì yī cì zuò zhè zhǒng shì 。
林轩顺着他的目光望去，朝阳门弟子的修为虽然不值一提，手脚却颇为麻利，不仅将那些阴魂鬼物所遗留的灵器收好，还将双方战斗所留下来的痕迹一一抹去，显然不是第一次做这种事。
Lin Xuan remained silent, but his expression suggested he was deep in thought.
lín xuān méi yǒu kāi kǒu ， rán ér liǎn shàng què lù chū ruò yǒu suǒ sī de biǎo qíng 。
林轩没有开口，然而脸上却露出若有所思的表情。
The other party’s cautious demeanor indicated that this area had indeed fallen under the control of the lingering spirits. Otherwise, there would be no need to act so cautiously.
duì fāng rú cǐ xiǎo xīn yì yì ， nán dào cǐ dì yǐ jīng bèi yīn hún men zhàn lǐng ？
对方如此小心翼翼，难道此地已经被阴魂们占领？
"Master, it's done," Luo Tianren said with a smile after receiving a transmission from one of his subordinates. He wanted to leave as soon as possible and bowed to Lin Xuan; "Please follow me."
“ mén zhǔ ， hǎo le 。” tīng le shǒu xià de chuán yīn ， luó tiān rén liǎn shàng yī xǐ ， tā zì rán shì xiǎng yào zǎo diǎn lí kāi zhè shì fēi zhī dì ， chōng lín xuān xíng le yī lǐ ;“ qián bèi ， qǐng 。”
“门主，好了。”听了手下的传音，罗天仁脸上一喜，他自然是想要早点离开这是非之地，冲林轩行了一礼;“前辈，请。”
"Hmm."
“ ń 。”
“嗯。”
Lin Xuan nodded and followed the disciples of Dawnlight Sect who were flying ahead. The other party was extremely cautious, sending two people in front for reconnaissance while suppressing their spiritual energy fluctuations.
lín xuān diǎn le diǎn tóu ， rán hòu biàn gēn zhe zhè xiē zhāo yáng mén de dì zǐ ， dùn guāng xiàng qián fēi qù ， yī lù zhī shàng ， duì fāng xiǎo xīn zhī jí ， bù jǐn pài le liǎng rén zài qián fāng tàn lù ， ér qiě měi yí gè rén ， dōu jìn lì jiāng shēn shàng de líng qì bō dòng yā yì zhe 。
林轩点了点头，然后便跟着这些朝阳门的弟子，遁光向前飞去，一路之上，对方小心之极，不仅派了两人在前方探路，而且每一个人，都尽力将身上的灵气波动压抑着。
In front of these juniors, Lin Xuan did not hide his abilities. He deployed the敛气术 (Conceal Qi Technique) from Nine Firmament Mysteries, making it virtually unnoticeable that he wasn't revealing any spiritual energy.
zài zhè xiē xiǎo bèi miàn qián ， lín xuān dào yě bìng bù cáng zhuō ， jiāng jiǔ tiān xuán gōng zhōng de liǎn qì zhī shù shī zhǎn kāi lái ， hún shēn bù shuō yì diǎn líng lì bù lù ， què yě kě yǐ hū lüè bù jì le 。
在这些小辈面前，林轩倒也并不藏拙，将九天玄功中的敛气之术施展开来，浑身不说一点灵力不露，却也可以忽略不计了。
The disciples of Dawnlight Sect were greatly alarmed, especially the elder who was deeply impressed and hesitated several times before finally restraining himself.
zhāo yáng mén dì zǐ wú bù dà jīng shī sè 。 yóu qí shì nà lǎo zhě gèng shì jīng pèi fēi cháng 。 jǐ cì yù yán yòu zhǐ 。 què yòu qiáng xíng rěn zhù 。
朝阳门弟子无不大惊失色。尤其是那老者更是惊佩非常。几次欲言又止。却又强行忍住。
Lin Xuan was a very clever person. He could easily guess what Luo Tianren was thinking from his expression.
lín xuān shì hé děng cōng míng dì rén wù 。 jiàn le duì fāng dì biǎo qíng 。 nǎ lǐ hái cāi bú dào tā xīn zhōng suǒ xiǎng 。
林轩是何等聪明地人物。见了对方地表情。哪里还猜不到他心中所想。
It seemed this area had indeed fallen under the control of the lingering spirits. Otherwise, there would be no need for such caution.
kàn lái zhè yī piàn qū yù 。 què shí yǐ jīng luò rù le yīn hún men dì shǒu lǐ 。 fǒu zé duì fāng bú huì zhè yàng rú lín dà dí 。 xiǎo xīn yì yì 。
看来这一片区域。确实已经落入了阴魂们地手里。否则对方不会这样如临大敌。小心翼翼。
"Do you find my concealment technique interesting?" Lin Xuan suddenly said casually during their flight.
“ nǐ duì wǒ dì liǎn qì shù gǎn xìng qù ？” fēi xíng zhī zhōng 。 lín xuān tū rán xiàng shì bù jīng yì bān dì màn màn kāi kǒu le 。
“你对我地敛气术感兴趣？”飞行之中。林轩突然像是不经意般地慢慢开口了。
"Yes... ah, no, Senior, I misunderstood."
“ shì …… a 。 bù 。 qián bèi wù huì le 。”
“是……啊。不。前辈误会了。”
Luo Tianren was taken aback when his thoughts were revealed and hurried to defend himself. However, seeing the kind expression on Lin Xuan’s face, he became confused again and stammered, unsure how to respond.
luó tiān rén bèi dào pò xīn sī 。 bù yóu liǎn sè hài rán 。 jí máng fēn biàn 。 kě suí jí kàn jiàn lín xuān biǎo qíng cí hé 。 bù yóu de yòu yǒu xiē yí huò 。 nà nà dì bù zhī dào gāi zěn me shuō 。
罗天仁被道破心思。不由脸色骇然。急忙分辩。可随即看见林轩表情慈和。不由得又有些疑惑。呐呐地不知道该怎么说。
"Do you really not find it interesting?"
“ nǐ zhēn de bù gǎn xìng qù me ？”
“你真的不感兴趣么？”
As the master of a sect, Luo Tianren, though not powerful in terms of cultivation, was still very intelligent. Seeing that Lin Xuan had no malicious intentions, he felt compelled to say: "Senior jests. In these times when evil ghosts roam freely, lowly cultivators like us struggle just to survive. If we had a more refined concealment technique, our chances of survival would increase significantly."
luó tiān rén zuò wèi yī mén zhī zhǔ ， fǎ lì suī rán bù gāo ， rán ér què yě shì jí cōng míng de rén wù ， jiàn lín xuān què shí méi yǒu è yì de yàng zi ， bù yóu de xīn zhōng yī dòng ， kǔ xiào zhe dào ：“ qián bèi shuō xiào le ， rú jīn è guǐ sì nüè ， xiàng wǒ men zhè xiē fǎ lì dī wēi zhī rén ， bù guò shì kǔ kǔ zhēng zhá qiú cún ， dōng duǒ **， ruò shì yǒu jiào wéi shén miào de liǎn qì gōng fǎ ， huó mìng de jī lǜ kě yǐ dà zēng bù shǎo 。”
罗天仁做为一门之主，法力虽然不高，然而却也是极聪明的人物，见林轩确实没有恶意的样子，不由得心中一动，苦笑着道：“前辈说笑了，如今恶鬼肆虐，像我们这些法力低微之人，不过是苦苦挣扎求存，东躲**，若是有较为神妙的敛气功法，活命的几率可以大增不少。”
"Unfortunately, the Dawnlight Sect is merely a small sect with few good techniques at our disposal. We can only do our best and leave the rest to fate," Luo Tianren said, even squeezing out a few tears, his expression extremely pitiful, leaving Lin Xuan speechless.
“ kě xī wǒ men zhāo yáng mén ， bù guò shì xiǎo mén xiǎo pài ， shí zài méi yǒu shén me hǎo de gōng fǎ ná dé chū shǒu ， yě zhǐ hǎo jìn rén shì ， ér tīng tiān mìng le 。” luó tiān rén shuō dào zhè lǐ ， jū rán hái jǐ le jǐ dī yǎn lèi chū lái ， mú yàng bēi kǔ yǐ jí ， ràng lín xuān yī zhèn wú yǔ 。
“可惜我们朝阳门，不过是小门小派，实在没有什么好的功法拿得出手，也只好尽人事，而听天命了。”罗天仁说到这里，居然还挤了几滴眼泪出来，模样悲苦以极，让林轩一阵无语。
This performance seemed a bit exaggerated.
zhè wèi biǎo yǎn dé sì hū yě tài guò le yī xiē 。
这位表演得似乎也太过了一些。
But Lin Xuan did not point it out; instead, he coughed lightly and consoled him: "Master needn't worry. The concealment technique I have is passed down from my unique cultivation method. Even if I were willing to teach you, you wouldn’t be able to learn it. However, there’s another technique for concealing spiritual energy that might suit your needs. As fellow humans, we should help each other. I can pass this on to you."
dàn lín xuān bìng bù diǎn pò ， fǎn ér yī shēng qīng ké ， ān wèi dào ：“ mén zhǔ bù yòng nán guò ， běn rén de zhè tào liǎn qì shù ， chuán chéng zì wǒ de dú mén gōng fǎ ， jiù suàn zài xià kěn jiào ， nǐ men yě wú fǎ xué xí ， bù guò chú cǐ yǐ wài ， wǒ dào lìng yǒu yī tào yǐn nì líng qì de gōng fǎ ， xiào guǒ yě hái suàn bú cuò ， tóng wéi rén lèi ， běn gāi hù xiāng fú chí ， dào shí chuán yǔ nǐ men jiù shì 。”
但林轩并不点破，反而一声轻咳，安慰道：“门主不用难过，本人的这套敛气术，传承自我的独门功法，就算在下肯教，你们也无法学习，不过除此以外，我倒另有一套隐匿灵气的功法，效果也还算不错，同为人类，本该互相扶持，到时传予你们就是。”
Lin Xuan's words were half-truthful. While others could indeed learn the concealment method from Nine Firmament Mysteries, Lin Xuan was not a savior and did not share his secrets with others.
lín xuān zhè fān huà bàn zhēn bàn jiǎ ， qí tā rén qí shí kě yǐ xué xí jiǔ tiān xuán gōng zhōng de liǎn qì fǎ ， rán ér lín xuān bìng fēi jiù shì zhǔ ， yě méi yǒu nà me wěi dà ， huì xiàng bié rén fēn xiǎng zì jǐ de mì fǎ 。
林轩这番话半真半假，其他人其实可以学习九天玄功中的敛气法，然而林轩并非救世主，也没有那么伟大，会像别人分享自己的秘法。
The technique he promised to teach them came from a storage bag of a unfortunate cultivator he had destroyed; it was inferior but sufficient for these low-level disciples of Dawnlight Sect.
zhì yú dā yìng chuán shòu gěi tā men de nà ge ， zé shì zài mǒu gè bèi tā suǒ miè de dǎo méi xiū shì de chǔ wù dài zhōng zhǎo dào de ， xiào guǒ yào chà shàng xǔ duō ， bù guò gěi zhè xiē zhāo yáng mén de dī jiē xiū shì shǐ yòng ， yě yǐ jīng chuò chuò yǒu yú le 。
至于答应传授给他们的那个，则是在某个被他所灭的倒霉修士的储物袋中找到的，效果要差上许多，不过给这些朝阳门的低阶修士使用，也已经绰绰有余了。
Lin Xuan’s actions were motivated by two reasons: first, as fellow humans, helping where possible made sense. Those useless techniques would be of no use to him anyway, so why not do something nice? Second, promising such benefits might make the other party more willing to cooperate when answering his questions.
lín xuān zhī suǒ yǐ zhè me zuò ， yī lái què shí rú shàng suǒ shuō ， tóng wéi rén lèi ， néng bāng yì diǎn bāng yì diǎn ， fǎn zhèng nà zhǒng lā jī gōng fǎ liú zài zì jǐ shǒu zhōng ， yě bú huì yǒu sī háo yòng chǔ ， hái bù rú zuò shùn shuǐ rén qíng suàn le ， èr lái ， zì jǐ xǔ yǐ zhè yàng de hǎo chù ， xiǎng bì duì fāng zài huí dá zì jǐ wèn tí de shí hòu ， huì yuè fā de jìn xīn 。
林轩之所以这么做，一来确实如上所说，同为人类，能帮一点帮一点，反正那种垃圾功法留在自己手中，也不会有丝毫用处，还不如做顺水人情算了，二来，自己许以这样的好处，想必对方在回答自己问题的时候，会越发的尽心。
Why not take advantage of this?
jì rán rú cǐ ， hé lè ér bù wéi ne ？
既然如此，何乐而不为呢？
After exchanging a few words, both parties fell silent. It wasn’t time for conversation; they could ask their questions once they reached a safe location.
shuāng fāng shuō le nà me jǐ jù zhī hòu ， yòu bì kǒu bù yán ， xiàn zài bú shì liáo tiān de shí jiān ， dào le ān quán de dì diǎn ， zài màn màn fā wèn yě bù chí 。
双方说了那么几句之后，又闭口不言，现在不是聊天的时间，到了安全的地点，再慢慢发问也不迟。
As the sun set and the sky grew darker, cold winds howled like knives slicing through flesh. The cultivators present were indifferent to such hardships, but at night, lingering spirits became more active. During the day, these malevolent ghosts didn’t fear sunlight, but their power was somewhat diminished; by night, they acted without restraint.
tài yáng luò shān ， tiān sè yuè fā de yīn àn ， hán fēng hū xiào ， gē miàn rú dāo ， zài zuò de dōu shì xiū xiān zhī rén ， zì rán bù zài hū zhè diǎn xīn láo ， rán ér dào le yè wǎn ， yīn hún guǐ wù men de huó dòng huì biàn dé yuè fā de pín fán ， bái tiān ， zhè xiē lì guǐ suī rán yě bù pà yáng guāng ， dàn fǎ lì duō shǎo yě huì shòu dào yī xiē yǐng xiǎng ， ér dào le yè wǎn ， zé sì wú jì dàn 。
太阳落山，天色越发的阴暗，寒风呼啸，割面如刀，在座的都是修仙之人，自然不在乎这点辛劳，然而到了夜晚，阴魂鬼物们的活动会变得越发的频繁，白天，这些厉鬼虽然也不怕阳光，但法力多少也会受到一些影响，而到了夜晚，则肆无忌惮。
Despite being cautious, they still encountered several wandering souls along the way. Fortunately, there weren’t many of them and they were of low quality. With Lin Xuan’s help, the disciples of Dawnlight Sect easily eliminated them.
suī rán yǐ shì jiā bèi de xiǎo xīn ， kě yī lù shàng hái shì zāo yù le hǎo jǐ qǐ yóu hún ， hǎo zài shù liàng bù duō ， pǐn cì yě lā jī dé jǐn ， zài lín xuān de bāng zhù xià ， zhāo yáng mén zhòng rén ， méi fèi duō shǎo lì qì ， jiù jiāng tā men miè shā dài jìn 。
虽然已是加倍的小心，可一路上还是遭遇了好几起游魂，好在数量不多，品次也垃圾得紧，在林轩的帮助下，朝阳门众人，没费多少力气，就将牠们灭杀殆尽。
Lin Xuan’s displayed abilities left everyone in awe, their expressions becoming even more respectful.
ér lín xuān suí yì xiǎn lù chū lái de shén tōng ， yǐ jīng ràng zhòng rén jīng pèi bù yǐ ， biǎo qíng yuè fā de gōng jìng 。
而林轩随意显露出来的神通，已经让众人惊佩不已，表情越发的恭敬。
They also encountered a few ghost beasts.
ér chú le yīn hún ， hái yù jiàn le jǐ tóu guǐ shòu 。
而除了阴魂，还遇见了几头鬼兽。
Ghost beasts, as the name suggests, are creatures from the Netherworld Realm that had entered through spatial rifts. Lin Xuan had never seen such things before; they were bizarre to an extreme. Unlike lingering spirits, even low-level ghost beasts without实体 (physical form) would still produce妖丹 (yao dan, spirit cores).
suǒ wèi guǐ shòu ， gù míng sī yì ， jiù shì yīn sī zhī jiè de yāo shòu ， dāng chū yě tōng guò kōng jiān fèng xì ， lái dào le zhè lǐ 。
所谓鬼兽，顾名思义，就是阴司之界的妖兽，当初也通过空间缝隙，来到了这里。
Lin Xuan did not hesitate and directly stored the captured beast in his possession for potential future use.
zhè zhǒng dōng xī ， lín xuān hái shì dì yī cì kàn jiàn ， zhǎng dé gèng shì gǔ guài dào le jí diǎn ， yǔ yīn hún bù tóng ， jí shǐ shì dī jiē méi yǒu shí tǐ de guǐ shòu ， miè shā zhī hòu ， tóng yàng yǒu yāo dān chū xiàn 。
这种东西，林轩还是第一次看见，长得更是古怪到了极点，与阴魂不同，即使是低阶没有实体的鬼兽，灭杀之后，同样有妖丹出现。
Despite encountering many troubles along the way, it was mostly uneventful. Due to their slow flight speed, they spent a whole night before arriving at the main sect of Dawnlight Sect.
lín xuān kě méi yǒu hé zhāo yáng mén qiān ràng le ， zhí jiē shōu rù náng zhōng ， yǐ hòu shuō bù dìng huì yǒu yòng 。
林轩可没有和朝阳门谦让了，直接收入囊中，以后说不定会有用。
Descending from the sky, Lin Xuan was dumbfounded by what he saw.
jiù zhè yàng ， yī lù shàng suī rán yù jiàn le bù shǎo má fán ， dàn zǒng suàn shì yǒu jīng wú xiǎn ， yóu yú fēi xíng sù dù jí màn ， huā le zhěng zhěng yī yè de shí jiān ， cái lái dào zhāo yáng mén de zōng mén suǒ zài 。
就这样，一路上虽然遇见了不少麻烦，但总算是有惊无险，由于飞行速度极慢，花了整整一夜的时间，才来到朝阳门的宗门所在。
"Is this your sect’s mountain gate?"
cóng kōng zhōng xú xú là xià ， kàn zhuó yǎn qián de jǐng wù ， lín xuān mù dèng kǒu dāi 。
从空中徐徐落下，看着眼前的景物，林轩目瞪口呆。
Lin Xuan's speech was slightly stammered as he had already guessed that the area had fallen under the control of lingering spirits. Humans had to survive by hiding or moving underground; even cultivators were no exception.
“ zhè jiù shì guì pài de shān mén ？”
“这就是贵派的山门？”
The sect could move to remote mountains or deep underground, but what Lin Xuan saw here was too unexpected.
lín xuān shuō huà dōu yǒu xiē jiē ba ， suī rán yī lù shàng de zāo yù ， yě ràng tā cāi dào zhè piàn qū yù luò rù le yīn hún de shǒu lǐ ， rén lèi wèi le shēng cún xià qù ， bù dé bù dōng duǒ **， biàn shì xiū shì yì rú cǐ 。
林轩说话都有些结巴，虽然一路上的遭遇，也让他猜到这片区域落入了阴魂的手里，人类为了生存下去，不得不东躲**，便是修士亦如此。
This was a deserted village where humans once lived, now devoid of life. Ruined houses and even human bones littered the ground as strong winds whipped up dust.
mén pài jiā zú huò huà zhěng wéi líng ， huò zhuǎn míng wèi àn ， zhè zhāo yáng mén bù lùn shì bān qiān dào rén jì hǎn zhì de shēn shān lǐ miàn ， hái shì yí zhì dì dǐ shēn chù ， lín xuān dōu jué de kě yǐ lǐ jiě ， rán ér yǎn qián de yī qiè ， yě tài yì wài le xiē 。
门派家族或化整为零，或转明为暗，这朝阳门不论是搬迁到人迹罕至的深山里面，还是移至地底深处，林轩都觉得可以理解，然而眼前的一切，也太意外了些。
Moreover, this place had very thin spiritual energy, making cultivation here extremely inefficient. Why would Dawnlight Sect build their main sect here?
Haha, it seems that the senior didn't travel far or was not familiar with the current situation in Youzhou. Tianren Luo said presumptuously.
Lin Xuan did not refute him; this way of thinking saved Lin Xuan from having to explain himself: "Indeed, I have just returned from seclusion. How is the situation in Youzhou now?"
"Ah...," Luo Tianren hesitated before replying and glanced at his disciples behind him. "Senior, it's not that latecomer doesn't want to say, but discussing here might be inconvenient. If you don't mind, please come to our humble abode for a chat."
Lin Xuan followed the direction of Luo Tianren’s gaze. The Disciple of Dawnlight Sect had mediocre cultivation, yet they were quite nimble in their actions. Not only did they carefully collect the spirit artifacts left by the lingering spirits, but they also erased all traces of the battle meticulously—clearly not doing this for the first time.
Lin Xuan remained silent, but his expression suggested he was deep in thought.
The other party’s cautious demeanor indicated that this area had indeed fallen under the control of the lingering spirits. Otherwise, there would be no need to act so cautiously.
"Master, it's done," Luo Tianren said with a smile after receiving a transmission from one of his subordinates. He wanted to leave as soon as possible and bowed to Lin Xuan; "Please follow me."
"Hmm."
Lin Xuan nodded and followed the disciples of Dawnlight Sect who were flying ahead. The other party was extremely cautious, sending two people in front for reconnaissance while suppressing their spiritual energy fluctuations.
In front of these juniors, Lin Xuan did not hide his abilities. He deployed the敛气术 (Conceal Qi Technique) from Nine Firmament Mysteries, making it virtually unnoticeable that he wasn't revealing any spiritual energy.
The disciples of Dawnlight Sect were greatly alarmed, especially the elder who was deeply impressed and hesitated several times before finally restraining himself.
Lin Xuan was a very clever person. He could easily guess what Luo Tianren was thinking from his expression.
It seemed this area had indeed fallen under the control of the lingering spirits. Otherwise, there would be no need for such caution.
"Do you find my concealment technique interesting?" Lin Xuan suddenly said casually during their flight.
"Yes... ah, no, Senior, I misunderstood."
Luo Tianren was taken aback when his thoughts were revealed and hurried to defend himself. However, seeing the kind expression on Lin Xuan’s face, he became confused again and stammered, unsure how to respond.
"Do you really not find it interesting?"
As the master of a sect, Luo Tianren, though not powerful in terms of cultivation, was still very intelligent. Seeing that Lin Xuan had no malicious intentions, he felt compelled to say: "Senior jests. In these times when evil ghosts roam freely, lowly cultivators like us struggle just to survive. If we had a more refined concealment technique, our chances of survival would increase significantly."
"Unfortunately, the Dawnlight Sect is merely a small sect with few good techniques at our disposal. We can only do our best and leave the rest to fate," Luo Tianren said, even squeezing out a few tears, his expression extremely pitiful, leaving Lin Xuan speechless.
This performance seemed a bit exaggerated.
But Lin Xuan did not point it out; instead, he coughed lightly and consoled him: "Master needn't worry. The concealment technique I have is passed down from my unique cultivation method. Even if I were willing to teach you, you wouldn’t be able to learn it. However, there’s another technique for concealing spiritual energy that might suit your needs. As fellow humans, we should help each other. I can pass this on to you."
Lin Xuan's words were half-truthful. While others could indeed learn the concealment method from Nine Firmament Mysteries, Lin Xuan was not a savior and did not share his secrets with others.
The technique he promised to teach them came from a storage bag of a unfortunate cultivator he had destroyed; it was inferior but sufficient for these low-level disciples of Dawnlight Sect.
Lin Xuan’s actions were motivated by two reasons: first, as fellow humans, helping where possible made sense. Those useless techniques would be of no use to him anyway, so why not do something nice? Second, promising such benefits might make the other party more willing to cooperate when answering his questions.
Why not take advantage of this?
After exchanging a few words, both parties fell silent. It wasn’t time for conversation; they could ask their questions once they reached a safe location.
As the sun set and the sky grew darker, cold winds howled like knives slicing through flesh. The cultivators present were indifferent to such hardships, but at night, lingering spirits became more active. During the day, these malevolent ghosts didn’t fear sunlight, but their power was somewhat diminished; by night, they acted without restraint.
Despite being cautious, they still encountered several wandering souls along the way. Fortunately, there weren’t many of them and they were of low quality. With Lin Xuan’s help, the disciples of Dawnlight Sect easily eliminated them.
Lin Xuan’s displayed abilities left everyone in awe, their expressions becoming even more respectful.
They also encountered a few ghost beasts.
Ghost beasts, as the name suggests, are creatures from the Netherworld Realm that had entered through spatial rifts. Lin Xuan had never seen such things before; they were bizarre to an extreme. Unlike lingering spirits, even low-level ghost beasts without实体 (physical form) would still produce妖丹 (yao dan, spirit cores).
Lin Xuan did not hesitate and directly stored the captured beast in his possession for potential future use.
Despite encountering many troubles along the way, it was mostly uneventful. Due to their slow flight speed, they spent a whole night before arriving at the main sect of Dawnlight Sect.
Descending from the sky, Lin Xuan was dumbfounded by what he saw.
"Is this your sect’s mountain gate?"
Lin Xuan's speech was slightly stammered as he had already guessed that the area had fallen under the control of lingering spirits. Humans had to survive by hiding or moving underground; even cultivators were no exception.
The sect could move to remote mountains or deep underground, but what Lin Xuan saw here was too unexpected.
This was a deserted village where humans once lived, now devoid of life. Ruined houses and even human bones littered the ground as strong winds whipped up dust.
Moreover, this place had very thin spiritual energy, making cultivation here extremely inefficient. Why would Dawnlight Sect build their main sect here?