Lin Qing looked at Duanmu Lin with some admiration; it wasn't easy for a lofty golden core cultivator to be so considerate towards those with lower cultivation especially an entire realm lower. She thought that perhaps she could form some friendship with him; a golden core cultivator would be of some help towards them. And he seemed a descent sort seeing he didn't turn hostile even though apparently none of them could resist him.
"I am Lin Qing; this is my husband Wu Zemin. This is my son Wu Tian and my adopted children. May I know how to address you, fellow Daoist? "
Duanmu Lin looked at Wu Zemin in admiration. He could clearly see that Wu Zemin had no cultivation but he had snatched such a beautiful fairy cultivator as his wife. He then remembered Wu Tian erupting with perversely strong energy and decided not to judge Wu Zemin hastily perhaps Wu Zemin could erupt with nascent soul level strength when angered.
"I am Duanmu Lin, sect master of the clear sky sect. I got word that a golden core cultivator had entered the country so I came to take a look."
Lin Qing and Wu Zemin were startled, especially Wu Zemin. Due to his background he knew that the clear sky sect was the suzerain sect of the sky cloud kingdom. To put it bluntly they could simply replace the king on a whim, and no one would say a peep. Who would have thought that they would meet the big boss of the sect here? He once again felt the gap between cultivating and not cultivating.
Meanwhile Lin Qing had a startled expression on her face, "so its sect master Duanmu. It's an honor. Please come and have a rest while we reorganize. The enemies made a mess and we haven't been able to reorganize. I would like to ask sect master Duanmu some things; I will be sure to make it worth your while."
Duanmu Lin considered and nodded, he was also curious about this family in his territory. At first he had thought the same as Huan Bo, that someone else had battled and killed Huan Bo's son and his guardian and the mansion just happened to be an unfortunate casualty pulled into the conflict.
However from the pressure he felt from Lin Qing and Wu Tian, and the ease with which Lin Qing saw through him, he started to think that maybe they had been the ones who had killed Huan Ming and his guardian.
In another part of the mansion, untouched by the battle Lin Qing had a servant serve Duanmu Lin some tea. She and Wu Zemin sat down with the guest
"sect master Duanmu. I apologize for our lacking service. We can only offer some tea at the moment." Duanmu Lin was also gracious but wondered whether his initial impression had been wrong. They didn't have some spirit tea or wine?
Lin Qing started chatting about cultivation, imparting some of her experience to Duanmu Lin to butter him up a bit. For her guiding him with some words would definitely benefit him greatly in his cultivation. Duanmu Lin was truly shocked, he observed her for a while to make sure she was really was at the qi gathering stage. Her insight was too profound; she even made him feel that it was more profound than his sect ancestor.
He confirmed in his heart that this family definitely wasn't ordinary, after a while Lin Qing asked "sect master Duanmu, can you please tell me about the distribution of forces in the surroundings" she herself didn't know about the forces around the area. She should at least know about the forces in the surroundings, information such as this was important to a cultivator.
Duanmu Lin meanwhile was a bit intrigued, internally he mused "could it be that they aren't from the eastern region?" He thought that anyone with Lin Qing's level of knowledge should definitely have sufficient knowledge about the local cultivation world. All the same he began.
"You know that we live in the origin star, which is divided into several regions. We are in the eastern region which has several major and minor powers. The overlord power is the heavenly sword sect, they are said to have several nascent soul old monsters. It is followed by the misty sect, the treasure refining sect and the six unities pavilion all of which have their own nascent soul ancestors overseeing them. They are the five major powers followed by several major powers with golden core realm experts. The ones surrounding us are the bright pearl pavilion, the Zhao clan, the purple sky palace, the white gate cult and my clear sky sect."
He though for a while and said, "The bright pearl pavilion has only golden core stage expert, the one who attacked you, Huan Bo. He is only in the first stage of the golden core realm so they are one of the weakest but they can't be underestimated, they are a merchant alliance of several families who came together for protection. They have wide contacts and connections, it is rumored that they give a percentage of their profits to one of the five major powers."
Lin Qing furrowed her brow on hearing that, they had made enemies with Huan Bo and although he had retreated she wasn't sure he wouldn't come back again once Duanmu Lin left. It seemed that she really had to get into the flow of the cultivation world and procure materials to set up stronger defensive and offensive formations. She should perhaps be thankful that those idiots had attacked them as it had reminded her of how dangerous the world was.
"Thank you, sect master for the information. I wonder if there is any place where I can trade with other cultivators."
Duanmu Lin seemed amused as he said, "The best would be the bright pearl city, the headquarters of the bright pearl pavilion. That could however be a bit dangerous should Huan Bo be able to recognize you. There is also swift river city, a cultivator city which should match your needs."
Lin Qing nodded and thanked him again. She produced a jade slip which she pressed into her forehead for a while. She then handed it to Duanmu Lin. "this is the starting part of a sword technique I'd like to trade with fellow Daoist. I would like you to inspect it first."