Chapter 794: Bamboo Forest

"Creak—"

A wooden door was pushed open, and an old man wearing tattered clothes looked curiously at Lingyun standing before him.

"This lord, I wonder what instructions you have?" The old man looked at Lingyun, a trace of caution in his eyes.

The clothing Lingyun wore was the most exquisite he had seen in his entire life. Although it did not look flashy, he dared to be certain that even the high-ranking officials and nobles he had seen in the Capital City might not be able to wear such clothes.

"I am new to this area and not very familiar with this place. I wonder if you could introduce the local customs and traditions to me, old sir," Lingyun said very politely.

Hearing Lingyun speak this way, the old man felt a bit more favorably toward him. After all, this was an era with extremely distinct social classes; those with power and influence looked down upon the poor commoners. Someone who could converse with an ordinary commoner in such a gentle and pleasant manner was truly a rarity.

Hearing the old man's description of this region, Lingyun's expression gradually became strange. Heian-kyo—this was a very familiar name. He had not expected that this place would exist in this world, and that it was even the Capital City.

"Dongying? It seems to be an interesting place!" Lingyun muttered to himself. "Perhaps, over there, I might even run into some interesting Youkai!"

After bidding farewell to the old man, Lingyun walked toward the direction of Heian-kyo. Before long, a Bamboo Forest appeared before him.

"A Bamboo Forest?" Lingyun's gaze fell upon this Bamboo Forest, and his brows could not help but furrow. He discovered that invisible Fate was gathering above this Bamboo Forest, as if something were about to descend upon this place.

"Interesting. It seems this will be the place to rest my feet tonight," Lingyun said with a faint smile. He also wanted to see exactly what kind of thing was about to appear in this place.

When Lingyun stepped into the Bamboo Forest, he discovered something amiss. There was not a single trace of Youkai in this place; this was not a normal phenomenon. One must know that although the era of Youkai in this world had already entered a stage of decline from its peak, it was still the most prosperous era for Youkai. In this era, traces of Youkai were spread all over the wilderness. Yet, there was not a shred of Youkai aura in this Bamboo Forest; this was the strange part.

Invisible Divine Sense spread rapidly, covering the entire Bamboo Forest in just a few breaths' time. However, just as Lingyun had felt when he first stepped into this Bamboo Forest, there really were no traces of Youkai here. Or rather, it was less that there were none, and more that someone had cleared this place out in advance, erasing the traces of Youkai within this Bamboo Forest.

Lingyun grabbed at the air, and a faint wisp of aura appeared in his hand. Feeling the intensity of this aura, Lingyun could not help but raise his brows. The person who had acted upon this Bamboo Forest clearly had strength that had already stepped into the Godly Rank; even compared to him, they were on par.

"Interesting. Could this be the layout of some big shot?" Lingyun pondered for a moment, then walked toward the depths of the Bamboo Forest.

The person who had laid out this plan in the Bamboo Forest was the strongest person Lingyun had encountered since arriving in this world. Perhaps he could catch a glimpse of the capabilities of some of this world's top combatants from this person.

"However, looking at it this way, that person's layout will still require some time. I shall stay in this place for a while, then," Lingyun said. "But, a bamboo forest... I always feel a sense of inexplicable familiarity."

As Lingyun stepped into the Bamboo Forest, an invisible storm swirled around him, and streaks of incomparably sharp Sword Qi swept out from his side, severing swathes of bamboo. The severed bamboo did not fall to the ground but instead hovered around Lingyun, looking somewhat eerie.

When Lingyun walked to the side of a small stream that cut through the Bamboo Forest, the bamboo around him had already gathered into a long dragon. The most bizarre thing was that those severed bamboo stalks were growing again under the influence of some power, looking as if they had never experienced being cut at all.

"This Natural Power is truly useful to a certain extent!" Lingyun chuckled. "Then I shall make a home here for the time being!"

Lingyun casually pulled a giant wild boar from his personal space and threw it onto the ground. He had discovered this wild boar on the outskirts of the small village just now; the boar had been about to attack the village, so Lingyun had slaughtered it with a casual gesture.

While Lingyun began to prepare the wild boar, the bamboo hovering behind him moved. By the time Lingyun had roasted the pork, a simple Bamboo House had already appeared behind him.

"It seems my skills haven't grown rusty yet," Lingyun said, looking at the Bamboo House, wondering what he was thinking of. "However, a Bamboo House alone is not enough in this Bamboo Forest!"

As Lingyun's voice fell, streaks of light bloomed upon the Bamboo House, leaving trails in the Void before imprinting themselves onto the bamboo. If someone who studied arrays deeply were here, they would surely be so shocked that their jaws would drop. Using the Void Inscription Technique to create an array, and such a complex Compound Array at that—this was not something just anyone could do casually.

When the final stroke of the array was placed, the entire Bamboo House emitted a faint glow. Afterward, the light retracted, and the entire Bamboo House returned to its previous simple appearance. However, this Bamboo House was now completely different from before; in front of this Bamboo House, even an existence at the Great Youkai level could not break through the house's defenses in a short time. If the power of the array were fully released, even an existence at the Great Youkai level would perish if they were not careful.

Lingyun stepped into the Bamboo House and took out various items from the Cloud Realm, placing them inside the house.

"The next thing to do is wait for when that person's layout is activated. From the information I have observed, it shouldn't take long," Lingyun spread his hands, and wisps of light overflowed from his body.

Powerful Source Power surged from his body, enveloping the Bamboo House. Under the infiltration of the Source Power, the entire Bamboo House gained an inexplicable aura. If someone with sufficiently keen perception were here, they would be able to discover that the entire Bamboo House seemed to have gained an invisible barrier, and only the purest Heaven and Earth Origin Qi could enter this house.

"Hmm, this looks like a place fit for living now!" Lingyun looked at the house he had refurbished and could not help but reveal a smile.