Lin Jin hadn’t planned on concealing Zhao Jingyan’s identity so he introduced her to Elder Mo accordingly.
“The great commander of Phoenix Palace?”
It was evident that Elder Mo had heard of Phoenix Palace before. After all, both Daluo Temple of Grassy Continent and Phoenix Palace of South Continent were both establishments that went back centuries. Although they weren’t nations, the power they held was comparable to premium nations, so it came as no surprise that Elder Mo was aware of their existence.
What shocked him was the fact that the great commander of Phoenix Palace was a young lady despite their grand background.
Although Zhao Jingyan was much older than Lin Jin, to Elder Mo, she was still considered a young lass.
However, Elder Mo did not doubt her identity too much mainly because of the level of trust he had in Lin Jin. Since the chief of the association was alright with it, there was no reason for Elder Mo to be too worried himself.
“More than one hundred years ago, an expert from Jade Dragon Kingdom had sealed up a monster inside this Earth Fire Spirit Stream. That man was an elder of our association so he built Maple City’s branch right here at the entrance of the Earth-Fire Spirit Stream. Every thirty years, an association elder would rotate and guard this place to prevent the monster from breaking the seal and bringing tragedy upon the world ever again.”
The incident Elder Mo was talking about happened roughly a hundred years ago. It was when an expert had borrowed the might of the Earth-Fire Spirit Stream to seal up a powerful monster. Since that incident, it had become the rule for an elder to stand guard here. The rotation happened every thirty years, and Elder Mo was currently the fourth elder to guard the place.
“I see. Thank you for your hard work, Elder Mo.” Lin Jin couldn’t help but feel respect for him.
Prior to this, he had no idea why Elder Mo insisted on staying here but now he knew why. Based on his calculations, Elder Mo had been here for more than twenty years so his thirty-year duty was almost up.
To spend most of his time here for twenty years was truly amazing.
“Hehe, it’s my responsibility and my duty to stand guard here!” Elder Mo seemed rather calm about it. It was clear that he was more than willing to sacrifice his years guarding this place.
“So, what brings Chief Lin and Commander Zhao here today?” Elder Mo asked out of curiosity.
The elder was aware of Lin Jin’s remarkable capabilities, especially in beast appraising. The man was second to none in Jade Dragon Kingdom, and that was evidenced by the recent title bestowed upon him by His Majesty. It was the title, ‘Jade Dragon’s Supreme Appraiser’. This alone made Lin Jin a formidable character among the beast appraisers in Jade Dragon Kingdom.
Zhao Jingyan was different.
While he didn’t doubt her identity, Phoenix Palace’s reputation was too great. When Elder Mo was still a student, Phoenix Palace was still in their prime years, and it was renowned as a sacred ground for all beasts of the fire attribute. Their fire spells were the best in the world.
Being Phoenix Palace’s great commander made Zhao Jingyan a superior character, so what was she doing in tiny little Maple City?
Was she here for the Earth-Fire Spirit Stream?
The Earth-Fire Spirit Stream may be precious but it wasn’t valuable to the extent that the great commander of Phoenix Palace would come all this way just for it. Hence, Elder Mo’s curiosity was piqued and he had a number of questions for them.
Zhao Jingyan stayed silent. She could respect Curator and trust Lin Jin, but that was all.
Lin Jin instructed her to take out her phoenix egg.
“These are ashes of a dead phoenix condensed by flames. Only by bathing in fire could the phoenix be reborn but of course, not just any fire would do. It has to be rare and exotic flames. Coincidentally, this Earth-Fire Spirit Stream below our association is an exotic fire source.” Lin Jin then explained to Elder Mo about Phoenix Palace scouting the area several hundred years ago and ultimately sealing up the exotic fire source. Elder Mo listened to the explanation with a gaping jaw.
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Despite having lived for so long, such information still surprised him.
“Exotic fire? Down here?” Elder Mo’s expression faltered. If the Earth-Fire Spirit Stream was considered precious, exotic fire was of a higher grade than that.
Several decades ago, there had been a drawn-out battle between premium countries as they fought over an exotic fire source.
It was worth that much.
One could even call it priceless.
For fire attribute pet beasts, merely borrowing the exotic fire’s energy could help cleanse their bone marrow, thus increasing the success rate of their next evolution.
That wasn’t all. Exotic fire could also be used for pelletization and the forging of weaponry which could boost the end product by several times compared to using normal flames.
Lin Jin said, “Only the three of us know about this so far so please help us keep this a secret, Elder Mo. An exotic fire source is too valuable after all. If word ever gets out, we might attract bad company. Should that ever happen, peace in Maple City and perhaps even the entire Jade Dragon Kingdom would cease to exist.”
Lin Jin wasn’t making baseless speculations and Elder Mo knew the gravity of the issue too so he nodded. “You can rest assured, Chief Lin. I won’t speak a word of this as it concerns too many and I know how grave the consequences would be.”
Elder Mo became visibly excited because he now knew he wasn’t guarding only the Earth-Fire Spirit Stream but also a source of exotic fire. With this, the years he had contributed seemed all the more worth it.
As for what monster was sealed under this place, Elder Mo had no idea. His responsibility was just to strengthen the seal whenever it loosened.
Beside where Elder Mo used to sit was a stone door. Elder Mo’s fire-lizard would always be seen lying around the area, but beneath its belly was a secret passage. Through the passage, one would arrive at an octagonal pavilion and that was where the seal remained.
Elder Mo led Lin Jin and Zhao Jingyang down the passage. Right outside the octagonal pavilion was the Earth-Fire Spirit Stream and through the naked eye, they could see scorching magma and feel the dense fire energy surround them.
A regular person would feel light-headed by the burning heat but Lin Jin and company all had pet beasts of the fire attribute. Due to their blood contracts, they felt perfectly at home standing here.
In the center of the magma was a huge black rock that jutted out conspicuously. A fire amulet was stuck on this rock.
“Every three years, I have to come down here and strengthen the fire amulet with fire spells. Just several days ago, I’ve strengthened it for the eighth time.” Elder Mo pointed to the black rock and said, “That’s the monster.”
Being a man of experience, Lin Jin knew that the rock was formed after the magma had cooled off. In other words, the real monster was inside the rock.
“Thunderfire Needle!”
With a flick of his fingers, the Thunderfire Needle he had crafted from divine lightning shot out. Elder Mo was aware of Lin Jin’s abilities. He would have stopped someone else from doing so but he trusted Lin Jin enough to allow him to do as he pleased.
Like a sharpened arrow, the Thunderfire Needle pierced through the outer magma shell and into the monster’s body.
Immediately after, the museum was triggered.
“Rank 5 demon!”
Lin Jin frowned. To think that man was able to seal away a Rank 5 demon underneath their association. What a remarkable feat!