Chapter 173 - Great Qin Empire   When the scenes disappeared, Lin Yun only saw four words in his mind. It seems that the Iris Sacred Flames weren’t enough. But those runes had been deeply imprinted in his mind.

It was just as Yue Weiwei had guessed. This bamboo slip had something to do with alchemy. But Lin Yun was baffled by those runes. He had a feeling that there was something different about them compared to refining pellets.

However, Lin Yun pushed that thought to the back of his mind for now. He did his best to memorize the runes. He had a feeling that there was a use for them.

He had decided to make use of this opportunity to become an alchemist. When raising his strength, he would also try to grasp these runes. Closing his eyes, Lin Yun began to circulate the Iris Sword Sutra.

Refined violet spiritual energy coursed through his meridians like tidal waves. After he completed one complete cycle, the dim flames on the Iris Flower surged once more. Lin Yun opened his eyes when the flames fully recovered. The Iris Sacred Flame had no vitality. So Lin Yun had to be cautious when it came to nourishing the flames to prevent them from dying out.

No matter what, he had to keep this in mind.

For the next few days, Lin Yun would practice the Iris Sacred Flame on the road while comprehending the runes at night. He disregarded everything else and focused on his cultivation. Without him knowing, seven days had passed.

The blizzard was blowing in the barren land. Li Wuyou was deep asleep, talking in his sleep. There were many runes engraved on the snow. They were the runes that Lin Yun had comprehended over the past few days.

The runes were flickering on the ground as if they were alive. Every single rune existed alone without any link towards each other.

Holding onto his chin, Lin Yun looked at the runes and fell into deep thought, “After five days, I’ve finally memorized these runes, but they seem to be ancient runes that exist by themselves without any use.”

But when he saw what the alchemist drew in his mind, these runes had joined together to form a picture before being engraved on the pellet. Lin Yun had no idea how to accomplish that. The runes alone cost a lot of spiritual energy, making it harder for him to draw. So it would only be tougher for him to join them together.

“It’s worth a try regardless of how challenging it is…” Lin Yun couldn’t accomplish what that alchemist did, drawing runes in the air. He could only guide those runes to converge together.

Boom!

When he attempted to move them, the runes immediately collapsed.

“Looks like it’s not sturdy enough.” Lin Yun immediately realized that he only drew the form of the runes. They would collapse upon being touched. “It looks like I missed some details.”

Summoning a wisp of sword aura on his fingertips, he destroyed the runes on the ground. Retrieving the bamboo slip, he poured the Iris Sword Flame into it once more.

After half the time it took for an incense joss to burn passed, the bamboo slip flew into his forehead once more. The same scenes appeared in his mind. It was the same ancient pellet refining chamber with the same alchemist, drawing runes in the air.

That’s… Lin Yun was shocked when he discovered how the alchemist drew in the air. There was a faint flicker on his fingertips that disappeared in a flash.

“Flames!”

Spiritual energy did not have a form. There was no way it could exist outside his body. But if it were the flames that he had refined, it would be a completely different story. Even after being extracted out of his body, they could still burn for a long time.

I see… Lin Yun suddenly comprehended and opened his eyes. The bamboo slip flew out of his forehead. Grabbing onto the bamboo slip, Lin Yun’s eyes now flashed with boundless confidence.

Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!

Complicated runes appeared on the ground once more. It didn’t seem any different than before, but every rune was flickering with flames.

“This is it! It’s easier to control the runes that contain my Iris Sacred Flames.” Lin Yun swiped with his finger.

Boom!

The runes started coming together and formed a complete picture in Lin Yun’s eyes. With joy on his face, Lin Yun muttered to himself, “It looks like the runes are just the foundation. They need to join together to form a picture. Only then can I imprint pellets.”

However, Lin Yun had no idea what these runes were. But he was certain these runes were graded. Perhaps he would gain more knowledge the more he grasped the Age Sutra. The scene he saw might only be a tiny portion of the bamboo slip that might not amount to much.

“Let’s aim to familiarize myself with the runes before entering the Sword Firmament Pavilion.”

Clearing the runes on the ground, Lin Yun returned to the campsite.

Three days later, Lin Yun and Li Wuyou finally came out of the North Barren Land and into the Heavenly Qin County. The Heavenly Qin County was boundless and stretched tens of millions of miles out. This was the center of the Great Qin Empire, where the four prominent sects and families resided.

This scale was the size of over ten Azure Sun Counties. It was a flourishing place that Lin Yun couldn’t describe with words. Stepping into Heavenly Qin County, Lin Yun and Li Wuyou quickened their pace.

It took them five days to arrive at the capital. The towering walls were over thirty meters in height and made of metal. Not even a Profound Martial Realm cultivator could break the walls apart.

“We’re finally here! Let’s go in!” Li Wuyou had a smile on his face. He had been filled with admiration over the past few days. He encountered no trouble traveling with Lin Yun. Li Wuyou even guessed that Lin Yun must be experienced at traveling alone and his strength might not be as simple as it seemed.

Nodding his head, Lin Yun got down from the Dragon Blooded Horse and headed toward the gate. There were long queues at the gate for entering the city. On the granite streets, many people rode their demonic beasts while entering. When they arrived at the capital, Lin Yun’s Dragon Blooded Horse finally no longer seemed so eye-catching.

“Lin Yun, over here!”

Lin Yun could hear someone calling out for him when he passed through the city gate. When he turned his head, he immediately saw Xin Yan. There were some youths gathered around Xin Yan. They weren’t any older than him and their cultivation didn’t seem simple. There were even some with cultivation in the seventh orifice of the Xiantian Realm.

“Senior Sister Xin Yan…” Li Wuyou rejoiced when he saw Xin Yan and ran over while Lin Yun was examining the youths. With a smile on his lips, Lin Yun walked over with the Dragon Blooded Horse.

Looking at Lin Yun and Li Wuyou, Xin Yan smiled, “The two of you are late. If you guys didn’t turn up, I might have had to look for you.”

Lin Yun had been spending the night pondering the runes. So it would be weird if they could quicken up their pace.

Lin Yun replied with an apologetic smile, “I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”

“It’s fine. Introduce yourselves. These are the others I found in the North Barren Land. You guys will be coming with me to the Sword Firmament Pavilion’s branch later. You guys will not need to go through anymore tests.” Xin Yan smiled.

“Han Ping!”

“Bai Yu!”

“Zhang Ye!”

Three youths were rather friendly to Lin Yun and Li Wuyou. After all, they would be under Xin Yan’s faction in the Sword Firmament Pavilion, so they had to build up a good relationship.

As for the youth who was in the seventh orifice of the Xiantian Realm, he was the last to smile, “Li Xiaotian.”

His gaze fell onto Lin Yun with interest, “You must be Lin Yun, right? Big Sister Xin Yan said that you’ve grasped an incomplete sword intent despite being in the fifth stage of the Xiantian Realm. Do take care of me in the future when we’re in the Sword Firmament Pavilion.”

“You’re flattering me. You’re the one with the seventh orifice cultivation here.” Lin Yun calmly replied.

“We’re all in the Xiantian Realm. It’s not a problem as long as you have enough resources.” Li Xiaotian spoke with a trace of pride in his eyes. Evidently, he wasn’t as calm as he claimed. For him to reach the seventh orifice of the Xiantian Realm at the age of sixteen meant that he was truly talented.

Even if he had gotten his cultivation by relying on resources, he still had something to be proud of.

“Now that everyone has gotten to know each other, let's get going. The capital is huge and it will be troublesome if you get lost.” Xin Yan smiled and led the way. As they walked, many people directed their attention towards Xin Yan.

“Follow closely! I visited the capital once and it’s true that you can lose your way easily.” Li Xiaotian replied. He walked alongside Xin Yan and tried to talk with her.

“This fellow is only in the seventh orifice of the Xiantian Realm. What’s the big deal…”

Li Xiaotian had behaved arrogantly earlier, ignoring everyone except Lin Yun, who grasped an incomplete sword intent. He acted like the vice leader of this group, which left Li Wuyou unhappy.

Lin Yun led the Dragon Blooded Horse and walked with a smile. He did not say anything.

The capital was bustling with youths everywhere. Roughly half an hour later, Xin Yan pointed at a huge building and explained, “We’re almost there. That’s the Sword Firmament Pavilion’s branch where we recruit new disciples.”

The main gate of the entrance was over three hundred meters in length and about two hundred meters in width. There were three words engraved on the sign, Sword Firmament Pavilion.

There was a picture at the center of the three words. With just a glance, anyone could sense the sword aura. The aura was so dense that it had formed into a sword formation. It seemed so mighty even from a thousand meters away.

“That’s the Sword Firmament Pavilion’s Myriad Sword Diagram!” Li Wuyou spoke out with excitement next to Lin Yun. “It’s rumored that the Sword Firmament Pavilion is founded by the founding ancestor, Jian Wuming. This Myriad Sword Diagram must be a copy. The real one is on the Myriad Sword Cliff.”

Lin Yun’s heart throbbed. It looked like picking the Sword Firmament Pavilion was the right choice. Just from this diagram alone, he could see the pavilion’s foundation.