Chapter 1483 Stone Carving

White apricot blossoms swayed amidst the misty rain.

Lin Xun leisurely walked across the quiet and old street.

Several low cries of surprise rang out from the front where a small crowd was gathered before a news tree.

Lin Xun approached and soon understood the reason after a quick look around.

"Baiyujing...you sure know how to choose the venue."

Lin Xun shook his head and paid no further attention to the matter.

He had no intention of underestimating Lang Qianheng, but he did feel that selecting such a location made him appear rather shameless.

However, it also showed that the other party wasn’t certain of victory.

Otherwise, why would he have put such thought into the location of the match?

To be frank, Lin Xun was curious about something else. To the Ancient Wasteland Domain, Lang Qianheng represented an enemy from the foreign domain camp.

Since the Omega Sword Sect could tolerate Lang Qianheng setting the venue for the duel to be Baiyujing, would they also put up with Lin Xun heading over for the appointed match?

Lin Xun was interested to find out.

However, now was not the time.

To Lin Xun, it was just a fight and wasn’t an important matter.

Tuk tuk tuk~

Rapid carving sounds rang out from a small old shop on one side of the street.

Lin Xun casually looked over and saw a plaque hanging on the shop — Rock Picking Pavilion.

In the shop, an ordinary man dressed in a coarse cloth robe was carving a piece of stone in his hand with a carving knife.

The palm-sized stone was swiftly sculpted into a human-like figure.

Lin Xun found himself walking forward to take a look and saw various stone figurines of various sizes on display in the shop.

There were figurines in the shape of humans, gods, ghosts, monsters, birds, animals, plants, insects, and fish. All of them were very lifelike pieces.

Lin Xun was surprised to find several figurines that he was unable to identify. However, he could tell that they were probably based on either some kind of creature or food.

For example, there was a figurine of a fish-like creature swimming amidst the clouds and mist. When it swayed its tail, it seemed to dance as if it had wings.

"Customer, please wait a while."

In the shop, the plainly clothed man lifted his head and smiled with a warm expression before lowering his head again to focus on his carving.

Stone chips flew around as the carving knife in the broad palm nimbly moved. The blade wasn’t anything special, but it gave off a sensation of natural ease and unrestrained movement like flowing clouds or water.

Lin Xun watched with keen interest. He was in no hurry to leave.

After a while, the stone figurine of a child riding an ox appeared under the knife. The youngness of the child was clearly shown while the ox's muscles bulged in a healthy and majestic manner.

The simple figurine made Lin Xun feel as if it would come alive at any moment and suddenly fly away into the sky.

Lin Xun clicked his tongue in amazement. "How interesting."

The man finally put down the carving knife. He smiled and said, "It's just a toy."

Lin Xun thought for a while and asked, "May I try?"

The man smiled in a carefree manner, handed over the carving knife, and said, "Feel free to. These stones aren’t worth anything anyways."

Lin Xun took the carving knife and randomly selected a stone. After a brief contemplation, he started to work.

Tuk tuk tuk!

Stone chips flew amidst the sounds of stone being carved as the figurine of a young girl gradually took shape.

The girl has a slender figure with a wide hat covering her face and a spear in her hand.

It was Xia Zhi!

While Lin Xun had only intended to give it a try at first, he unconsciously poured out the feelings in his heart as he was immersed in his work.

Xia Zhi had left before the Supreme Realm’s descent and more than ten years had passed since then. Even when Lin Xun thought of her, he would bury these emotions at the bottom of his heart.

At this moment, however, these emotions were surging out from deep within him.

Only then did Lin Xun realize that he truly missed her.

"Lin Xun, you aren’t allowed to die before I return."

Many years ago, when Xia Zhi was taken away by the Queen of the Dark Night, she said to him with a calm expression, "I have forgotten everything else but the things related to you."

That same year, Xia Zhi awoke from the Nine Cycles of Obliteration and forgot everything except Lin Xun.

"If there are good things in the future, you are forbidden from enjoying them alone."

"No matter what, if you wish to marry in the future, you must first get my permission.”

"Because it will be...very difficult to accommodate a second person besides you in my world."

......

In their most recent farewell, Xia Zhi had only said four words, "Wait for my return."

Clothes fluttering, she grasped her bone spear and took a step into the air. A road that seemed to be made from darkness emerged before her, leading straight into the sky.

Without looking back or showing any hesitation, she stepped into the dark portal high up in the sky.

Crack!

Suddenly, the stone figurine in his hand cracked and shattered into pieces.

Lin Xun woke up with a start as his expression fluctuated indeterminately. It was a long time later before he took a deep breath and gradually calmed down his emotions.

Beside him, the plainly dressed man smiled gently, picked up a stone, and handed it to Lin Xun. "Try again."

Lin Xun acknowledged his comment with a soft grunt.

This time, he sat on a mat and took some time to silently gather his focus before he started carving again.

The carving knife was very ordinary.

The stone material was also very ordinary.

However, Lin Xun knew that he needed to be extraordinary to carve a satisfactory stone figurine!

The man took a seat to the side, took out a yellowed book, and began casually flipping through it with a serene expression while occasionally glancing at Lin Xun’s progress.

Outside the shop, the hazy mist continued to fall from the dusky sky, and the old streets were quiet and empty.

In the shop, light from the oil lamp swayed. Under the mottled glow, the lifelike stone figurines resembled gods, untouched by time as they solemnly observed life pass by.

Crack!

After some time, the stone that was about to take shape cracked again and turned into a pile of stone chips in the palm of Lin Xun’s hand.

Lin Xun was stunned as his expression alternated between cloudy and clear.

"Again."

Another stone was handed over. The plainly dressed man’s expression was as gentle and calm as ever.

Lin Xun received the stone and said, "Thank you."

He sat in silence for a long time before he started his work again.

Compared to the previous two times, he used less force, his speed was much slower, and his expression was full of concentration and seriousness.

Crack!

After an incense stick of time, the stone cracked again.

This time, Lin Xun picked up a stone himself and immersed himself in carving again.

On this attempt, his movements became slower and slower as if the carving knife in his hand weighed a thousand tons.

Rain fell outside the window as the sky darkened.

The plainly-clothed man got up, held up an oil-paper umbrella, and left to buy half a catty of freshly brewed apricot flower wine. When he returned to the shop, he saw Lin Xun still fully focused on his carving and couldn't help but smile.

The man didn’t disturb Lin Xun. He sat in the chair, took out two wooden cups, and poured two cups of clear, fragrant apricot flower wine. He left one for Lin Xun and picked up the other one to slowly enjoy.

Then, he opened the yellowed book and a line of words came into view: "When one has no worries, one can walk, sit, and lie fully at ease."

The man smiled as he drank from his cup.

Late night arrived and there was complete darkness outside the window. The man stood up, closed the shop doors and windows, and glanced at Lin Xun, but still said nothing.

This continued for several days.

The plain-clothed man opened his shop early in the morning and closed the shop late at night. When he was free, he would read and drink; when there were customers he would be busy attending to them. He seemed to find his own joy in this lifestyle.

Lin Xun seemed to have completely forgotten everything else as he focused only on carving.

Beside him, stone shavings gradually accumulated on the ground.

......

In the outside world, a storm was rising.

"Will Demon God Lin accept the challenge?"

It was a question that plagued countless people.

As the center of the storm, Baiyujing attracted endless attention.

After all, the significance of this battle was far from ordinary!

On one side was a peerless expert from a foreign domain who boasted unmatched strength. Since his arrival in the Ancient Wasteland Domain, he had crushed every opponent and had not suffered a single defeat, leaving the local experts too ashamed to raise their heads.

On the other side was the famous Lin Xun. He was a legendary individual and a leader-like existence of the supreme path.

Was there anyone who wouldn’t pay attention to such a battle?

If Lin Xun lost, a heavy blow would be dealt to the Ancient Wasteland Domain and their morale would be affected.

On the other hand, if he won, it would give confidence to cultivators all over the world.

The Omega Sword Sect, however, found themselves rather conflicted.

Since the venue of the battle was in their territory, they naturally wished to use this opportunity to kill Lin Xun if possible.

However, now that this battle had attracted the attention of the world, if they dared to do so, they would risk committing a great crime against the world and become the target of public criticism.

After all, Lin Xun would be fighting on behalf of the Ancient Wasteland Domain if he accepted the challenge!

If the Omega Sword Sect permitted an enemy from a foreign domain to start a challenge on their territory but were unable to tolerate Lin Xun's acceptance of the challenge, they would definitely be reviled by the world and their reputation would be ruined.

Therefore, the Omega Sword Sect recently declared to the world that they would not intervene in the battle.

The entire world was excited, and everyone praised the Omega Sword Sect for their virtue.

However, the Omega Sword Sect wasn’t happy at all!

Everyone knew just how much they wished to kill Lin Xun and vent their hatred. However, they had no other option at the moment and could only suck it up given the current situation.

The Divine Apparatus Pavilion also spoke out and praised the Omega Sword Sect for living up to their reputation as one of the greatest sects in the Ancient Wasteland Domain and their act of putting aside such a great grievance for the big picture was a blessing to everyone in the world.

After receiving such high praise from the Divine Apparatus Pavilion, the Omega Sword Sect completely gave up on trying to deal with Lin Xun. In fact, they even began to worry that he might encounter a mishap in Baiyujing.

Because if he did, the blame would definitely fall on the Omega Sword Sect!

Since the world was siding with Lin Xun, even the Omega Sword Sect had no choice but to give in.

After all, no matter how disliked Lin Xun was, he was still one of their own.

While the outside world was abuzz with activity, Lin Xun remained unaware.

Half a month later, late in the night.

After closing the shop, the plain-clothed man opened his book and was about to start reading when he suddenly stopped and looked towards Lin Xun.

In his palm, a lifelike stone figurine gradually took shape.

Tuk!

With one final carve, the last stone shaving was removed from the figurine. The figurine looked as if it had gained something intangible in that moment and seemed to come alive.