Chapter 423: Chapter 391: This Trip Was Not in Vain

"So there’s that connection as well. How rare!"

Zhu Huaishi was visibly moved. Seeing Zhao Lin’s sincere outpouring of emotion, he felt a secret pang of shame.

Zhu Lihan was his great-grandfather. With an age gap of nearly two hundred years, they might not see each other for a decade at a time. It was impossible to say they had any deep affection for one another.

Thus, he felt no sadness over Zhu Lihan’s passing, only regret that the family had lost its great protector.

"Young friend, please don’t be sad. He lived a long and full life and passed away peacefully. In the mortal world, we call this a joyous occasion. We should be happy."

Zhu Huaishi said comfortingly.

"I lost my composure."

Zhao Lin raised his sleeve and wiped his eyes.

Before long, the three of them walked into the mourning hall.

As was custom, Zhao Lin tied a mourning sash around his waist. He then took three sticks of incense, walked to the front of the hall, and bowed three times before the body.

Zhu Lihan’s body lay peacefully on the bier. A Spirit Pearl was placed in his mouth, and his expression was serene.

’Even Foundation Establishment cultivators can’t escape death. To truly transcend life and death, one must cultivate to the realm of Divinity Transformation and ascend.’

Zhao Lin lamented silently, his resolve to cultivate growing even firmer.

To make his act convincing, he deliberately recalled some sad memories to force out a few tears.

After paying his respects, Zhao Lin walked out of the mourning hall, accompanied by Zhu Huaishi.

A servant of the Zhu family stepped forward, dipped a peach branch in water, and sprinkled it over Zhao Lin to dispel any lingering gloom.

Upon reaching the courtyard, Zhao Lin deliberately slowed his pace. He turned his head, looking as if he wanted to say something but was hesitant.

Zhu Huaishi could see he had something to say, so he stopped and asked, "Is there something else, young friend?"

Zhao Lin nodded. "Mansion Head, may I ask on which day your ancestor will be encoffined?"

Zhu Huaishi replied, "The ancestor’s body arrived today. As is tradition, the encoffining will be in three days."

The custom of waiting three days before encoffining the body has been practiced since ancient times for two reasons.

First, to give the living enough time to prepare for the funeral and express their reluctance to part with the deceased.

Second, some people with unusual conditions may only be in a temporary state of shock or suspended animation, not truly dead. If they were to be buried, they might wake up only to be suffocated inside the coffin.

The custom of waiting three days was established to avoid such tragedies born from misjudgment.

Zhao Lin hesitated, then said with some difficulty, "I have a presumptuous request."

Though puzzled, Zhu Huaishi said, "Please, young friend, speak freely."

Zhao Lin’s expression turned serious. "I received great kindness from your ancestor and have no way to repay it. I wish to help send him off on his final journey."

Zhu Huaishi was taken aback. "You mean... you want to be a pallbearer?"

Zhao Lin nodded solemnly. "Exactly. I wonder, would the Mansion Head grant my request?"

"I would be delighted! It is what I wished for, but I didn’t dare ask."

Zhu Huaishi naturally had no reason to refuse the offer of such a talented young man acting as a pallbearer, so he agreed at once.

"Thank you for agreeing, Mansion Head."

His heart now at ease, Zhao Lin asked for the specific time and other details before taking his leave.

...

The next day, Zhao Lin went to the Library Pavilion and returned the book.

As he walked out the doors of the pavilion, he saw Li Zhen standing outside. Her eyes were vacant, and she looked completely distraught.

Zhao Lin ignored her and walked straight ahead.

"I asked my father and my cousin. What you said was all true," Li Zhen said suddenly.

"And so?"

Zhao Lin stopped and stared at her.

"Can you two... bury the hatchet?"

Li Zhen asked, her voice strained.

"Interesting. You should be saying that to your father and that man, Tao Huang."

Zhao Lin’s lip curled. ’This woman has cultivation talent, but she’s an absolute airhead. I’ve already killed someone from the Li family. How could this possibly be resolved peacefully?’

’Even if the Li family were willing to back down, I would never let them off the hook.’

"I..."

Li Zhen was left speechless. She walked away, utterly dejected.

The day of the encoffining arrived in the blink of an eye.

The time was set for dawn. Zhao Lin arrived at the Zhu Mansion early.

Everyone in the Zhu Mansion, cultivator and mortal alike, had gathered in and around the mourning hall. Zhao Lin and the seven other pallbearers were arrayed on either side.

Zhu Lihan’s body had been prepared. Next to the bier was a brand new Spiritual Mulberry Wood Coffin.

Spiritual Mulberry Wood repels insects and wards off evil. Besides being used to raise Spiritual Silkworms, it is also a superior material for coffins.

Among the pallbearers were cultivators and mortals, all under forty years old and able-bodied.

Zhao Lin stood at the head of the line, looking at the body on the bier with a sense of anticipation.

Over the past two days, he had learned a bit about Zhu Lihan’s life. The man was a late bloomer; not particularly outstanding in his youth, but he was an incredibly diligent cultivator. He had persisted for over a hundred years with unwavering dedication to reach his level of achievement.

’I wonder which skills I’ll be able to trace this time. Hopefully, there will be one or two at the Perfection level.’

At the stroke of dawn, the members of the Zhu family came forward one by one to pay their respects and view the body.

After the rites were completed, a geomancer covered the body with a white cloth and shouted, "The spirit rises today! May the home be peaceful, may the family prosper for generations, with great fortune and favor..."

Zhao Lin knew it was his turn. He slowly stepped forward, grabbing the silk cloth under the bier with one hand, and supporting Zhu Lihan’s shoulder with the other.

The moment his palm touched the body, the Spirit Cultivation Map reacted, flashing violently.

It then released several streams of Spiritual Qi, and a faint, humanoid phantom appeared in his mind.

The last time Zhao Lin traced the skeleton at the bottom of the river, he had absorbed Spirit Stones while condensing the Essence Soul.

He had provided as many Spirit Stones as the Spirit Cultivation Map required for its Spiritual Qi.

But this time was different. In public, he absolutely couldn’t cause a commotion, so he had "fed" the Spirit Stones to the Spirit Cultivation Map in advance.

Zhao Lin had tested it before; the Spirit Cultivation Map could store Spiritual Qi to be used when needed.

To prevent the Spiritual Qi from running out, Zhao Lin had let the Spirit Cultivation Map absorb all four hundred Spirit Stones left over from analyzing the Array Pattern.

The Spirit Cultivation Map continuously released Spiritual Qi, and the Essence Soul became more and more solid, becoming lifelike.

Zhu Lihan floated in his sea of consciousness, his expression dignified, his eyes bright and piercing, as if he could see through Zhao Lin’s thoughts.

A sense of awe rose in Zhao Lin’s heart. He whispered inwardly, ’Elder Zhu, I mean no harm. I only wish to carry on the legacy of your skills.’

’However, since I am accepting this favor, if the Zhu family ever needs help in the future, I will lend them a hand!’

Whether by coincidence or not, as soon as he finished this thought, Zhu Lihan’s form exploded into countless rays of silver light.

The silver lights separated and merged, linking together to form the names of more than twenty different skills.

Zhao Lin’s heart leaped with joy. ’I definitely picked the right person this time,’ he thought. ’Zhu Lihan didn’t waste his long years of cultivation.’

Time was short. The other seven pallbearers were already walking over. Zhao Lin couldn’t keep holding onto the body, so he quickly browsed through the skills.

The first to appear were eight non-elemental skills: Qi Observation Skill, Light Body Skill, Inscription Skill, Sand Attraction Skill, Sealing Skill, Combining Talisman Skill...

Zhu Lihan’s Qi Observation Skill was at the Great Success Realm, but Zhao Lin had already mastered it. The rest of the skills were mostly related to talisman making, which Zhao Lin wasn’t interested in, so he ignored them all.

Next were four Wind Element Skills: Wind Blade Skill, Wind Roll Skill, Wind Wall Skill, and Hundred-Blade Fallen Leaves.

The first three were Tier One skills, with only Hundred-Blade Fallen Leaves being a Tier Two offensive skill. Once cast, it was like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, known for its wide coverage and strong destructive power.

The Tier Two Wind Element Skill Zhao Lin desired was Cloud-Soaring Flight. Cultivated to the Great Success Realm, it could resist baleful yin wind and Evil Qi, allowing a cultivator to fly for a long time in the Cloud Layer.

But since it had been traced, he would temporarily place it in the Wind Element Skill slot.

If a better option came along later, he could replace it.

The slot had originally contained only the Void Trapping Skill. Hundred-Blade Fallen Leaves appeared above it, next to five flower petals indicating: Great Success Realm.

After the Wind Element Skills came the Water Element Skills.

Zhu Lihan was clearly an expert in this path. There were eight skills in total, and all were at the Proficient level or higher.

Water Manipulation Skill, Water Spear Skill, Water Net Skill, Flying Waterfall Skill, Fubo Skill, Multiple Water Arrows, Water Demon Fist, and Raging Torrent.

The Water Manipulation Skill was at the Perfection level!

Seeing this, Zhao Lin was overjoyed.

There is a saying in the Cultivation Realm: one Perfection-level skill is better than three Great Success Realm skills!

Especially since the Water Manipulation Skill was difficult to cultivate, most cultivators would rather spend their energy on skills that enhance offense and defense, and were unwilling to put great effort into practicing it.

’With this skill, I’ll be able to move freely underwater, roaming as I please!’

Zhao Lin didn’t know that Zhu Lihan was not actually a native of Nanhe Province, but came from Three Mountains County.

Three Mountains County was adjacent to the Feituo River. Zhu Lihan grew up by the river and was extremely enthusiastic about Water Element Skills. Before Foundation Establishment, he spent most of his effort on them.

With a thought from Zhao Lin, the Water Manipulation Skill flashed, and the plum blossom next to the text gained another petal.

Multiple Water Arrows, Water Demon Fist, and Raging Torrent were all Tier Two skills, also at the Proficient level of attainment.

Zhao Lin hesitated for a moment, and finally chose Water Demon Fist.

Among the three, Water Demon Fist had the weakest attack power and was easily dispersed when encountering other skills.

But just as an army’s strategy is ever-changing, water has no constant form. The advantage of Water Demon Fist was its fast casting speed and that it was not easily detected, making it very suitable for sneak attacks.

Finally, there were the Ice Element Skills.

Profound Ice Ring, Ice Hammer Skill, Ice Shield Skill, and Spinning Ice Hammer.

Zhao Lin possessed the Perfection-level Ice Blade Skill and no longer needed Tier One Ice Element Skills, so he skipped the first three and fixed his gaze directly on Spinning Ice Hammer.

Great Success Realm!

Zhao Lin’s heart skipped a beat.

Spinning Ice Hammer wasn’t an ordinary skill. Like the Spirit Blade Skill and Spirit Hammer Skill, it could control a magic artifact, and it was even a grade higher.

Although the Ice Blade Skill was flexible and versatile, its power was limited. In comparison, Spinning Ice Hammer was a heavy weapon that could break through an opponent’s defense at a critical moment.

Zhao Lin unhesitatingly absorbed Spinning Ice Hammer into the Spirit Cultivation Map.

Thus, three more Tier Two skills were added to the Spirit Cultivation Map:

Hundred-Blade Fallen Leaves, Great Success Realm.

Water Demon Fist, Proficient level.

Spinning Ice Hammer, Great Success Realm.

The upper limit of the Water Manipulation Skill also rose from the Great Success Realm to the Perfection level.

’This trip was well worth it!’

Zhao Lin was very satisfied, and an unconscious smile appeared on his face. But he quickly realized he was in a mourning hall and absolutely could not smile.

He then pulled the corners of his mouth down, turning the smile into a look of grief.

"Fellow Daoist Zhao, Fellow Daoist Zhao..."

Two calls came from beside him. Zhao Lin returned to his senses and saw the geomancer signaling him to lift the body into the coffin. The other pallbearers were also waiting.

Zhao Lin quickly responded, applied strength with his hands, and lifted the body into the coffin with the others.

Next came sealing the coffin, the funeral procession, the burial, erecting the tombstone...

Zhao Lin was busy with all this until noon, then he took his leave.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.