Chapter 668: Secrets And Breakthoughs

Once Shantung Sang had been given the pill, he left the Mu clan mansion hurriedly so that he could go back and breakthrough. This was a matter of the utmost importance and involved the future of the Shantung clan.

With the Shantung duo gone, Lin Mu dismissed the alliance meeting, leaving only him and Jing Luo in the room.

"That was smart of you. That pill will both raise his cultivation and shackle him." Jing Luo spoke.

"Hmm… better than blindly trusting them." Lin Mu replied in a low voice before turning to look at Jing Luo.

"Are you going to look for your grandfather?" Lin Mu questioned.

This was something Lin Mu had been intending to ask for a long time now. The only person that knew more in detail about the past was none other than someone who was alive at that time.

Jing Wei knew everything that had happened and had experienced it himself. Not to mention he himself was a victim of the Gu clan and would not let them go. In that way, both the royal family and the Gu clan had deep enmity with the Jing clan and it was not something that would be easily resolved.

"Hmm… I've been intending to go but our ancestral land is not close." Jing Luo spoke.

Lin Mu had already informed Jing Luo where Jing Luo and Duan Ke had gone to; the ancestral land of the Jing clan. 

"Where exactly is it? Jing Wei never told me." Lin Mu questioned.

"It is far to the north west." Jing Luo replied.

"North? Is it also at the border of the pear's belt?" Lin Mu questioned.

"No, no. The pear's belt is more towards the central border of the great Zhou continent. Since it tapers out, there are parts in the north east and west that directly touch the ocean. On the eastern part there is the Eastern Ming Dynasty, while on the west there is the Black Dawn Kingdom.

The ancestral land of the Jing Clan is located beyond the limits of the black Dawn kingdom, inside a minor plane." Jing Luo answered.

Lin Mu was a bit stunned upon hearing this, but nodded his head.

"So will you be going there?" Lin Mu continued.

"No… at least not yet. Even if I know the approximate location of the ancestral land, I don't know the exact coordinates of it. I might be standing right next to it and would not see it." Jing Luo spoke.

Hearing this, Lin Mu knew that he could definitely work it out.

"Do you need my help then?" Lin Mu asked. "Finding a minor plane's entrance won't be hard for me."

"No, that's not necessary. You have more important things to take care of here. I can go there myself, I just need to prepare the entry token first." Jing Luo spoke.

"An entry token?" Lin Mu asked, feeling confused.

"You see the ancestral land of the Jing clan is not a place that can be entered without a price. Only those that are talented in the clan were allowed to go there, kind of similar to the sacred grounds of the Ripple mist sect.

Except in the case of our clan, the proof of our talent would be the entrance token. It composes of multiple complex techniques and shows our skill and talent in weapon and spirit tool forging." Jing Luo replied.

"So you are lacking materials for that?" Lin Mu questioned.

"Not materials… I just need time to make it. At my level, the process itself is easy for me. It's just that a lot of the materials need long periods of tempering and will take up several months to be done. But after that, I should be able to enter it quickly.

I've actually begun making them already and should be done in a few months. I'll inform you when I'm ready." Jing Luo answered.

"Alright. Then I guess we'll be sticking together for a while." Lin Mu said with a chuckle.

"You're goddamn right!" Jing Luo replied with a smile.

"Besides… I won't go before killing a few of Gu Yao's cronies. I'll take a few heads as a tribute to my ancestors!" Jing Luo said, with flames of fury in his eyes.

***

About a month passed since the day Lin Mu had given the Core Hatching Pill to Shantung Sang. 

The man in question had broken through successfully, and it was witnessed by nearly everyone in the city. Despite Shantung Sang leaving the city to undergo his tribulation, the effects of it could be felt all the way to the city.

The commoners were shocked by the strange thunderstorm, while the cultivators wondered who was it that was undergoing a heavenly tribulation. By the time news spread that it was actually the patriarch of the Shantung clan who had broken through, Lin Mu had already taken over all of the members of the merchant council.

They were either enticed into joining the alliance by some resources or threatened by the presence of Gu Yao. The fact that it was Lin Mu who had actually killed the three clans was kept secret from but a handful of people and was enough to scare the merchants into joining them.

But even after all this, there was no response from Gu Yao's end, and this had confused Lin Mu and Jing Luo to no end.

From what Lin Mu had assessed by now, while Gu Yao was a man with a lot of patience, he also knew when to act. It didn't make sense that he had not retaliated for taking over the merchant council and foiling his plans.

If not Gu Yao, then at least the subordinate of theirs that was working under him should have reacted.

While this was one of the worrying parts to Lin Mu, there were many other positives that had happened. Mu Niu had also broken through to the Nascent Soul realm and was the first Mu Clan member to reach that realm.