I established the Eternal Immortal Clan by taming beasts.

As Wang Qinian left the quiet room, the friendly smile on his face gradually faded, and he returned to calm.

He walked slowly along the carpeted corridor, his mind already making a quick assessment of Lin Che, whom he had just met.

'This head of the Lin family is quite cautious,' he thought to himself.

"Just now, I secretly sensed with my divine sense that the golden core energy around him was solid and harmonious, yet it contained a layer of obscurity that was difficult to penetrate. Clearly, he had cultivated some kind of secret technique to conceal his core energy and confuse perception."

For Golden Core cultivators, the quality of their Golden Core, its degree of solidification, and especially the unique patterns it emits, are often important indicators of their foundation, potential, and even current strength.

Therefore, cultivating a technique that can effectively conceal or disguise one's own inner energy is a required course for almost all Golden Core cultivators with a little foresight.

To prevent one's true nature from being seen through at a glance, thus putting one at a disadvantage in confrontations or negotiations.

"Ordinary cultivators are at their most complacent and elated upon forming their core, but unexpectedly, a cultivator who rose from a resource-scarce borderland like Chuyang City, upon forming his core, was able to think of this and cultivate such a remarkable concealment technique..."

A hint of admiration flashed in Wang Qinian's eyes.

"This foresight and awareness of protecting one's own information are not what one would expect from a nouveau riche Jin Dan with no connections."

He couldn't help but raise his opinion of Lin Che even higher.

If the Lin family can truly establish themselves in the perilous Chuyang City development zone, and even achieve something significant...

So perhaps his seemingly ordinary referral and discount today could be considered a good long-term investment.

But then he shook his head slightly, suppressing the thought.

How to establish a lasting foundation in a perilous place like Chuyang City, which faces a century-old beast tide?

How could it possibly succeed!

……

Inside the quiet room, Lin Che looked at Qin Yulin, who lacked any masterly demeanor and even seemed somewhat childish, and his lips twitched slightly again uncontrollably.

If it weren't for the undeniable Golden Core spiritual pressure emanating from the other party, he would have seriously doubted whether Wang Qinian had simply found some unreliable person to fob him off.

Qin Yulin clearly noticed Lin Che's undisguised suspicious gaze.

She coughed lightly, a little awkwardly, and tried to put on a serious and professional demeanor, her still somewhat childish face.

"Ahem! Fellow Daoist, what is your name? If you have any needs regarding the formation, just say so. Let's hurry and finalize the plan as soon as possible so I can get started and finished quickly!"

Seeing that Lin Che still had a slight frown and his eyes were full of worry, Qin Yulin wrinkled her small nose, seemingly a little unhappy.

Without saying much, she raised her right hand and made a light sweeping motion.

In an instant, the previously hidden array patterns on the floor, walls, and even the ceiling of the quiet room seemed to be infused with life, all lighting up with a soft yet complex spiritual light!

These lights are not chaotic, but rather flow and intertwine according to some mysterious trajectory.

Even more surprisingly, as the array was activated, the drafts, array diagrams, and jade slips scattered all over the room...

As if sorted and categorized by an invisible hand, they all flew up automatically and landed neatly in several hidden compartments that suddenly opened by the wall.

In just a few breaths, the previously messy room became clean and bright, with only a faint trace of spiritual ink remaining in the air, proving that the previous "battlefield" was not an illusion.

Qin Yulin saw the fleeting look of surprise in Lin Che's eyes and a smug smile appeared on his lips.

With another thought, she gently tapped her finger in the direction where Lin Che was.

Om-!

A pale golden spherical light screen, composed of countless fine runes, appeared without warning and enveloped Lin Che.

The light barrier was solid and heavy, and the spiritual energy it emitted was as steady as a mountain. It was clearly a trapping formation of a high grade!

Lin Che himself had also dabbled in formations, though not in great depth, he still had a good eye for them.

He immediately recognized that the formation was at least level three.

Without panicking, he slightly rotated his golden core, and pure elixir energy surged into his right arm. Without using any magical artifacts or supernatural powers, he simply threw out a simple and unadorned punch!

The fist, carrying the power of a Golden Core cultivator and his physical cultivation, slammed solidly into the golden light barrier.

"Thump!"

With a muffled thud, the light screen remained completely still, and even the ripples only rippled slightly before quickly subsiding.

In contrast, Lin Che felt an extremely tough and elastic resistance, as if he were striking a thousand layers of oil-soaked spirit leather, his power being dissolved layer by layer.

"Such strong defense!" Lin Che thought to himself.

In terms of pure defensive power and the ability to neutralize force, it is probably more than ten times stronger than the Lin family's "Cloud Mist Locking Array"!

This is definitely the kind of performance only a high-grade, or even near-top-grade, defensive formation can achieve.

The other party is proving their strength in the most direct way.

Lin Che immediately suppressed all his doubts, his face showing a solemn expression. Through the light barrier, he clasped his hands in a respectful greeting to Qin Yulin:

"I am Lin Che, the patriarch of the Lin family of Shattered Star Lake in Chuyang City. I have come to seek your guidance regarding the upgrade of our family's protective mountain formation and the advancement of our spiritual veins. Thank you for your trouble, Master."

Seeing Lin Che's changed attitude and acknowledge his strength, Qin Yulin waved his hand in satisfaction.

The golden light curtain receded like a tide, and the other array patterns and spiritual light in the room gradually dimmed, returning to their original state.

She was just about to put on airs and ask Lin Che about his specific needs and budget.

Suddenly remembering something, a hint of suspicion flashed in her round eyes, and she blurted out:

"Wait, you mean Chuyang City? Is it that newly developed Chuyang City on the outskirts of the Fulong Mountains?"

She tilted her head, her tone carrying undisguised skepticism.

"Does your Lin family have so many spirit stones that you don't know what to do with them? You actually dare to invest heavily there to establish a foundation for your business?"

Clearly, any cultivator who has reached a certain level of cultivation and has some understanding of the situation in the Southern Region has heard of the Chuyang City Expansion Zone.

Knowing the reason for its construction, I understand that it's a sinkhole!

Lin Che understood.

He not only understood the risks of Chuyang City, but also, after gaining a deeper understanding of the historical context of the Southern Region, he became even more aware of the complex causes and potential conflicts involved.

However, perhaps it is precisely because the Lin family may have a hidden antagonistic relationship with the major powers in the Southern Region that staying in Chuyang City may be a different kind of "safety".

This could even be an opportunity for the Lin family to rise amidst the chaos.

These things are naturally not convenient to tell outsiders.

Lin Che simply shook his head slightly, his tone calm yet firm:

"The Lin family is newly established and has a weak foundation. Since they chose this place to develop, they have few options left. Now they have no choice but to try and see if they can survive the century-long calamity on their own."

He paused briefly, then steered the conversation back to the main topic:

"Regarding formations, at my Lin family's base, I need a mountain-protecting formation that can deal with threats at the Golden Core level, while also providing defense, early warning, and even a certain degree of counterattack capability. My initial intention is... a top-grade third-tier formation."

"A top-tier third-order item?!" Qin Yulin's eyes widened instantly, and he almost jumped up from the spot, his previous pretentious air of profundity completely gone.

"You still say your Lin family isn't rich?!"

"A custom-designed, fully functional, top-grade Tier 3 composite array would cost at least three million low-grade spirit stones just for its core materials! And that doesn't even include my design and setup fees! Fellow Daoist, I advise you to calm down and think twice before you act!"

She never mentioned her current skill level. The success rate of independently designing and setting up a stable third-tier top-grade composite array was not very high, and it took a very long time.

"Why not consider a high-grade third-tier formation!" she immediately promoted her strength, pointing to the spot where the golden light had just dissipated.

"Like that variation of the 'Golden Wave Layered Peaks Formation' I just saw, I'm good at combining it with the earth's veins to enhance defense and endurance."

"If paired with the 'Thousand Machines Hundred Turns Formation' as a secondary formation to confuse and trap enemies, the two working together will be no less effective than some fancy but ordinary Tier 3 top-tier formations in terms of defense and handling complex situations! Moreover, the cost-effectiveness is much higher!"

Lin Che originally wanted to achieve everything in one go.

But when I heard the figure of "at least three million".

Considering the family's current financial situation—which, while generating income, also involves huge expenses—and the fact that the Spirit Herb Valley will need to set up formations in the future, careful budgeting is indeed necessary.

He hesitated for a moment, then readily agreed:

"Master Qin is right. In that case, let's follow your advice and set the main formation to be a high-grade third-tier formation. However, we must ensure that while maintaining a solid defense, we can enhance its overall capabilities as much as possible."

In addition, I also need to set up a slightly lower-grade, but equally reliable, protective array in the newly acquired Spirit Herb Valley.

Seeing that Lin Che accepted the suggestion, Qin Yulin smiled again, although the smile didn't seem very convincing on her baby face.

"That's more like it! Come, come, let's sit down and talk in detail."

"First, tell me the specific terrain, distribution of spiritual veins, approximate range, main defense directions of your two clan territories, as well as your specific functional requirements and budget range..."

She produced a smooth jade tablet and a magic pen from who-knows-where, and instantly entered working mode. Her previous restlessness and irritability vanished, and her eyes became focused and sharp.

Lin Che also composed himself and began to describe in detail the situation of Shattered Star Lake and Spirit Herb Valley, and discussed the details of the formation with Qin Yulin in depth.

From key defense areas and the deployment of spiritual energy nodes to plans for integration and advancement with existing spiritual veins, and even potential future expansion interfaces, each aspect was discussed in detail.