"Haven’t you heard?" the bee girl said, suddenly disappointed.
"When you find the egg of the Fu Jin Bird, co find . I’ll be right here, always managing the milking yard for the tribe."
Lin Xin felt that the girl might know a lot. Just as he was about to try to get more information from her, he saw her dance in the air and buzz directly into the distant darkness without looking back.
"Rember, when you find the egg of the Fu Jin Bird, you must co to find ," her voice drifted faintly into Lin Xin’s ears.
Standing among a group of aphids, Lin Xin waited until the girl had completely disappeared before he looked away.
He glanced at the water globes secreted by the aphids, walked over carefully, took out a small bottle used for storing pills, poured the pills into another bottle, and then gently collected a bit of the sticky liquid from the water globes into the empty bottle.
After sealing the bottle, he summoned with a thought.
With a hiss, a red light flashed, and Yin Mantuo returned to its sword form, easing the swelling pain slightly.
He checked his current cultivation level.
’Return to Origin Technique—Qi Refinent Realm Ninth Layer (Completion 21%) (Damage 18, Constitution 18,)’
He had silently broken through to the ninth layer. Between the fourth and ninth layers for Qi Cultivators, improvents in cultivation did not bring about significant changes in strength; it was rely a matter of accumulating spiritual energy. This was a process of accumulation. Once enough was amassed, various materials would be collected to rebuild the body and form a more suitable Innate Dao Foundation for cultivation practice. From that point on, one would be lighter and able to fly effortlessly through the skies and escape into the earth.
"If all the Essence Qi accumulated in my body were to be digested, I should be able to reach the pinnacle of the ninth layer, eting the requirents for Foundation Establishnt. It’s ti to go back; I’ve been out too long," he said to himself.
Turning around, he took off along the sa path, propelled by a continuous surge of spiritual energy, shooting swiftly back toward the camp.
Truth be told, the mont the bee girl left, he did think about seizing the mont, but in the end, he refrained. He wouldn’t consider himself a kind person, but even he had principles to adhere to. Moreover, in this strange environnt, being alone and delving deep into enemy territory, he couldn’t clearly gauge the bee girl’s true strength, let alone consider the upheaval that might be sparked by such an action.
He returned quickly and was soon back at the place where he had killed Xiao Yi, only to discover, to his surprise, that soone was standing there.
"You sure have the mood to wander around," Dugu Lin said coldly from beneath the branches and leaves.
"What’s wrong?" Lin Xin asked, convinced he had cleaned all traces and remained calm. "I just went out to look for sothing. It’s not easy coming here."
Dugu Lin stared at him intently before slowly speaking.
"Hua Yunu, she’s missing."
Lin Xin was imdiately startled, his shock clearly evident.
"What did you say!? She’s missing?? Where did she go missing?!" he quickly inquired.
"That’s what I’d like to know from you!" Dugu Lin said indifferently. "Let tell you the truth, her background is deep, not lesser than mine. If sothing happens to her, I’ll be fine, facing just so punishnt; but you..."
"But why ask about it? Do you think I could have done sothing to her?" Lin Xin frowned.
"Lin Xin, I’m being serious with you. Of course, it’s highly unlikely that you could handle her, but what if you had other help?" Dugu Lin spoke earnestly. "Tell the truth, did sothing happen to her?"
"I don’t know..." Lin Xin sighed, shaking his head helplessly. "I really don’t know what she’s up to. You know I just went to save soone, saved them and left. I don’t know anything else. Do you think I fancy making my own situation worse?"
Dugu Lin watched him for a long while before speaking slowly.
"If sothing has happened to her, then we’re really in trouble."
"What do you an by ’really in trouble’?" Lin Xin asked curiously. The fact that Dugu Lin showed such a look ant her background with the Pine Forest Sword Sect’s Supre Elder Nascent Soul Daoist Master must be formidable. If even she was apprehensive, did it an that behind Hua Yunu stood a Nascent Soul Daoist Master as well?!
Seeing his gaze, Dugu Lin slowly nodded.
"You guessed correctly; it is indeed as if Hua Yunu has a Nascent Soul Daoist Master at her back."
"What do you an by ’as if’?"
"Because her family, the Hua Family, has four Golden Core True Monarchs, two from the family’s elders, and two foreign Demon Kings as Guest Elders. Among them, Hua Shenxi from the Hua Family even has the reputation of being an Alchemy Dao True Monarch, and she was the number one Golden Core expert in our Southern Prefecture two hundred years ago. Hua Yunu is her most beloved junior, without a rival," Dugu Lin spoke gravely.
"Alchemy Dao True Monarch..."
Hiss...
Lin Xin took in a sharp breath; although much of it was feigned, a chill still ran through him.
If Hua Yunu were dead, things might be manageable, as it wasn’t certain the truth would be uncovered. But if she were alive... and she discovered that he was the one who had saved the victim behind the scenes, and the one who had seriously injured her...
Then the grudge just got extrely serious...
A True Monarch—this title wasn’t sothing an ordinary cultivator could achieve.
Dugu Lin’s teacher was Daoist Master Mingxin, the strongest Nascent Soul Daoist Master of the Pine Sword Sect, and anyone above the Golden Core can be called a Daoist Master.
The aning of True Monarch signifies the top powerhouses among all Daoist Masters, those with distinguished battle achievents, are entitled to such a designation. Often a sect would have only one, and even an entire region might have just one.
Those who hold such a title, without exception, are battle-hardened individuals.
As his mind raced with thoughts, Lin Xin suddenly rembered a way to determine if Hua Yunu was dead or alive—a critical question.
He recalled his experiences of slaughtering many people at Hong Lou in the past; he realized that killing always increased his cultivation regardless of whether it took place in the ghostly mansion or on the surface.
If Hua Yunu had truly been killed by him, then there must have been an increase in his cultivation level.
But after carefully recalling the mont, he hadn’t felt any change in his cultivation, which almost confird that Hua Yunu must not be dead, just severely injured and fled.
Seriously injured....
With a sinking heart, Lin Xin looked at Dugu Lin once more.
"I don’t think he’s dead, just worried if he’ll recognize ."
Dugu Lin could tell by his confident tone that Hua Yunu probably wasn’t dead, or that Lin Xin truly didn’t know. Her expression softened.
"Since he’s not dead, there’s no need to worry. Even if he recognizes you, he would take matters into his own hands rather than seeking help from my master. A scion of his kind of family, who prides himself on overwhelming strength and peerless talent, would greatly diminish his standing in the eyes of the family elders if he went back for help over such a trifle. Think about it, if you were to choose a successor to nurture, would you pick soone who runs crying to you for help over every little thing, or soone who can handle both big and small matters on their own?"
"So you’re saying that I should be grateful he’s not that type of wastrel?" Lin Xin sighed in relief.
"That’s indeed a good thing." Dugu Lin nodded seriously, and then she chuckled, unable to hold back her laughter. "Alright, since there’s nothing to worry about, let’s leave it at that."
"Should we go back now?"
"We’ll wait three full days. We’re almost out of provisions. If Hua Yunu doesn’t return by then, we’ll head back on our own."
"Okay," Lin Xin nodded.
"By the way, if you want to deal with trouble, rember to clean up thoroughly." Dugu Lin suddenly said, tossing a palm-sized mirror from her sleeve. The back was inlaid with a platinum-colored ant, surrounded by vine-like patterns.
"This is the White Ant Mirror, specifically used for erasing residual spiritual energy traces."
Lin Xin caught the mirror and looked it over.
"How do I use this?"
"Inject spiritual energy or embed a spirit jade, and then shine it around," Dugu Lin replied casually. "By the way, can this count as covering the other half of my debt? This thing is a valuable item you can’t find in the market."
"At most, it can waive your monthly interest," Lin Xin said without rcy.
"You’re harsh!" Dugu Lin was speechless, realizing Lin Xin was quite frugal and knew further discussion was pointless; she said no more.
*************************
After waiting three days, the team ultimately couldn’t wait for Hua Yunu’s re-appearance. Under Dugu Lin and Su Wan’s leadership, they all returned to their respective territories.
The team that left to encircle the insect masters was fierce, but upon return, the casualties were heavy, including the disappearance of the top Foundation Establishnt expert and team leader Hua Yunu.
Such results could be considered a terrible defeat, but what was unexpected was that other regions’ extermination teams also sent back grievous news.
Those teams suffered far worse than this group; insect masters not only road free and unchecked but also slaughtered most of the troops. Several leaders in the Foundation Establishnt Stage were either gravely injured or had perished. Although the bed bug controller was eventually killed in a desperate fight, the whole extermination team ended up in a dismal state.
By comparison, the extermination team of the Le Fu Territory fared much better.
After returning to the safe areas, the team hadn’t even stopped to rest when they received an urgent ssage from the sect: each ten territories would combine into one large district, and the leaders for each district would be arranged from above.
But due to the heavy losses in each team and the need to replenish the other regions’ suppressors, along with the earlier detachnt of many experts to encircle the insect queen, the strength of the Four Sects and surrounding cultivators was at an unprecedented low. Whether they were loose cultivators or sects, the stronger experts had been pulled into the encirclent war. In any case, through threats and inducents, the remaining power was at most a third of its original force.
As a result, the powerful cultivators in their team were even directly appointed as leaders of other districts.
Lin Xin’s Spirit Heart Villa also unsurprisingly ascended to the position of leader in the newly divided district.
After returning to the manor, Le Fu Territory went through another round of developnt, with loose cultivators, rchants, refugees, and various talents seeking refuge, rchanting, looking to learn or mixing in to make a living. Their numbers grew more and more.
The entire Le Fu Territory beca even more prosperous.
However, upon returning to the manor, Lin Xin locked himself in the underground secret chamber and refused to see anyone. He wholeheartedly began his research on all the cultivation decisions taken from the ghostly mansion.
He wanted to integrate all the cultivation decisions from the ghostly mansion and find a path to forge a Dao foundation that was completely suitable for himself. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welco to co to Qidian (qidian) to vote for recomndation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian to read.)
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