I established the Eternal Immortal Clan by taming beasts.

As the morning light slowly spread across the eastern horizon, it bathed the entire outline of Chuyang City in a warm golden hue.

The city walls that had been repeatedly battered by the beast tides had been mostly repaired. The new bricks and stones still had a slight color difference from the old ones, like the not-yet-completely-faded mark between a newly healed wound and the surrounding skin.

The array patterns on the city wall shimmered with a faint light in the morning glow, and the reactivated spiritual paths were operating at a more stable frequency than before the battle, as if the city itself was slowly awakening from a long nightmare.

Seven days have passed since that victory celebration banquet that shook the Southern Region.

During those seven days, the city gates of Chuyang City were almost never closed.

Monks, caravans, and messengers from all directions poured through the newly repaired city gates into this small town that was once considered a "dead frontier."

Long queues formed at the registration desk at the city gate. Those rogue cultivators who once looked down on Chuyang City were now clutching their identity jade tokens, their eyes eagerly fixed on the rapidly operating spirit array at the city gate.

Some of them were rogue cultivators who had escaped from Burning Bone City, some were demon hunters who had come from even further away, and some were clan leaders of small families who had brought their entire clan's wealth with them. They were all making the same choice: to settle down and take root in Chuyang City.

"Next!" A Lin family cultivator at the registration desk called out without looking up, his spirit pen quickly tracing patterns on the array plate, recording the names, cultivation levels, and origins of the cultivators pouring into Chuyang City.

At the front of the group, a middle-aged rogue cultivator carrying a weapon strode forward and placed his identity jade token, which he had obtained in Burning Bone City, on the table: "My name is Zhao Tieshan, mid-Foundation Establishment stage. I used to run an ironware shop on West Street in Burning Bone City. I would like to apply to join the reserve garrison of Chuyang City." His voice carried an urgency that had been suppressed for too long, as if he was afraid that if he spoke too slowly, he would be turned away.

The registering cultivator looked up at him, but didn't ask any questions. He simply wrote down a line on the jade slip: "After entering the city, you can report to the Western District Garrison Headquarters. With this jade slip, you can receive temporary accommodation. Within three days, someone will arrange an assessment. After passing the assessment, you will be incorporated into the reserve force, and your monthly salary will be paid according to the standard for mid-Foundation Establishment." He knew those terms by heart, having repeated them countless times in the past seven days.

Zhao Tieshan accepted the jade slip, thanked him, and quickly walked towards the inside of the city gate.

This scenario has been repeated thousands of times in seven days.

The news that Qin Wudao, the master of the Rebellious Demon Palace, was defeated by the Undying Battle Soul was like a stone thrown into a deep pool, and the ripples it created were spreading faster and faster throughout the entire Southern Region.

Those major powers that once looked down on Chuyang City, those small and medium-sized sects that once thought the rise of the Lin family was nothing more than a fluke, and those cultivators who once thought that this border town would be annihilated in the next beast tide, are now all re-evaluating the Lin family's significance.

The cultivators who had fled from the various defense lines of Burning Bone Pass were initially hesitant when they heard that Chuyang City could provide them with protection. However, after learning that the Lin family had actually repelled a Nascent Soul cultivator, they had no more doubts and rushed towards Chuyang City.

For the Lin family, population is also crucial; the prerequisite for expanding the garrison is a large number of cultivators.

Most of the independent cultivators and family cultivators in the original Chuyang City have already joined the garrison, and there is almost no need to expand the number of soldiers.

Therefore, one of the benefits of making the Lin family famous is that a steady stream of cultivators come to join them.

…………

Shattered Star Lake, the council hall of the comprehensive area.

Morning light seeped in through the gaps in the carved window frames, spreading out a patchwork of dappled light on the ground.

On the long, narrow conference table made of rosewood lay several thick stacks of documents, including a register of newly arrived cultivators, a budget plan for expanding the garrison, expansion plans for numerous cave dwellings, and several official correspondence letters from various forces in the Southern Region.

Lin Xuanqi sat at the table, signed his name on the last document with his spiritual pen, then put the pen on the inkstone and picked up a piece of Frost Condensation Cake to reward himself.

"Brother, how many cultivators have entered the city these past few days?" Lin Xuanjing walked in, sat down opposite him, and crossed his arms.

"More than 37,000 people," Lin Xuanqi said with a smile, squinting as he savored the food. "Among them, there are about 25,000 Qi Refining stage cultivators, 12,000 Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, and about 270 patriarchs of various small families and Golden Core cultivators among the rogue cultivators!"

"So many?" These numbers clearly exceeded his expectations.

"This is just the beginning." Lin Xuanqi finished his last bite and tapped his fingers lightly on the table twice. "The news from Zhihei is that the Fang family's evacuation order was very sudden. Most of the smaller families that live far from Burning Bone City didn't even know about it and didn't make it in time for the Fang family's evacuation."

Now that their defenses have collapsed and their escape route has been cut off, they are all rushing here after hearing that the Lin family can take them in.

Father's move was brilliant. It not only attracted the attention of many cultivators, leading them to choose our Chuyang City, but also made all the major powers take us seriously.

Formal letters of communication have been delivered to us one after another. This is a form of approval and a prerequisite for cooperation!

"Great news!" Lin Xuanjing smiled and picked up a piece of the eldest brother's newly made pastry to taste.

The pastry melted in his mouth, carrying a hint of sweet frost flower fragrance, which made him squint his eyes.

The planned meeting to discuss the future of the family was temporarily put on hold because there were too many independent cultivators to settle and the attitudes of various forces were still unclear.

"Everyone reacted quickly. According to the intelligence from Zhihei, they found a lot of spies, including those from the Fang family, the Reverse Fate Demon Palace, and various other forces. These people were mingling around Chuyang City and among the teams entering the city, clearly trying to find out the specific situation of our Lin family."

"Shall we just let them see?" Lin Xuanjing raised his eyebrows even higher, a playful smile playing on his lips.

"Let them see." Lin Xuanqi nodded. "Father said that the Undying Battle Spirit doesn't need to be hidden; its very existence is the Lin family's greatest deterrent."

My father and I discussed it and decided to send the Undying War Soul on patrol, so that it would take a walk around Chuyang City every few days.

The Undying Battle Spirit also said that he was bored staying in one place all the time and couldn't wait to get out and stretch his muscles.

…………

As night fell, outside Chuyang City, a figure silently landed on a withered tree five hundred feet from the city wall.

The figure wore a dark gray robe, had an ordinary face, and concealed his aura so thoroughly that even a late-stage Golden Core cultivator would not notice anything unusual if he passed by within ten feet of him.

His gaze fell on the spiritual light on the distant city wall, sweeping from the east section to the west section and back again, taking in the array patterns that were in operation and the rotating guards.

The arrangement of those array patterns, the intervals between the garrison rotations, the distribution of crossbow bolts in the arrow towers—every detail was quickly recorded, organized, and analyzed in his mind.

A moment later, he took out an extremely fine silver rune from his sleeve and crushed it.

The talisman transformed into an almost invisible wisp of silvery-white light, flying towards the western night sky, disappearing swiftly into the twilight like a spider's web scattered by the wind.

The figure lingered on the withered tree for a moment, making sure no trace was left, before silently leaping down and disappearing into the night like a withered leaf blown away by the wind.

Meanwhile, deep within the Demon Palace of Rebellion, in a side hall shrouded in dark red spiritual light, a cultivator dressed in black strode in and presented a glowing silver rune to the main seat.

The light from the runes flickered slightly within the dark red glow of the side hall.

The figure sitting in the main seat was none other than Qin Wudao.

He changed into a simpler, dark blue robe. His face remained refined, but there was a deep, suppressed calm in his eyes.

"Palace Master, the Shadow Hall spies from Chuyang City have sent back news." The black-clad cultivator knelt on the ground, his voice extremely low. "That puppet still hasn't collapsed, and it patrols the outskirts of Chuyang City every few days. A large number of rogue cultivators have recently flooded into Chuyang City, and the Lin family's garrison is expanding. According to preliminary estimates, their defensive strength may double in the short term. Furthermore, some cultivators who don't belong to the Lin family have appeared in Chuyang City; their auras are peculiar, and they are suspected to be demons in human form..."

"The demon race has taken human form... Has the Lin family already cooperated with the demon race?"

The black-clad monk did not answer, but simply pressed his forehead even lower.

"Go on, keep an eye on things, but don't alert them, and don't overlook any details." Qin Wudao waved his hand.

"Yes." The black-clad monk stood up and silently left the side hall.

"My lord, what should we do next?" Xue Yuan, the deputy palace master who was standing to the side, spoke up at this moment.

His cultivation level was still at the Nascent Soul stage, clearly indicating that he had failed to break through.

"Lin Che... Chuyang City... Beast Taming..." Qin Wudao repeated these words in a low voice, "This Lin family is really interesting."

The side hall was quiet for a moment.

"Let's negotiate peace with them. We tricked the Fang family, and they won't let it go. Chuyang City is located in our rear, so we can't afford to be enemies with them, otherwise we'll easily find ourselves in a situation where we're attacked from both sides."

Compared to the Fang family, the humiliation suffered in the Lin family is nothing. Enduring it for the sake of the bigger picture is the best choice.

…………

The Fang family headquarters is located in the forbidden area behind the mountain.

Fang Tianhong was almost laughing out of anger.

He sat on a large Huangling stone chair, a newly delivered secret report spread out in front of him, his voice tinged with exasperation: "What do you mean you didn't finish them off, allowing the Lin family to snatch that fourth-tier peak puppet?"

Only after fighting those two old men did he learn that things had taken a slightly wrong turn.

Qin Wudao from the Rebellious Demon Palace still managed to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.

But this was within Fang Tianhong's expectations. After all, the Demon Palace of Rebellion had been plotting for so long, it must still have some trump cards up its sleeve.

But where did this Lin family come from?

"This is my problem. At the time, I saw that the puppet was about to collapse, and Gongshu Xuanji of the Xuankui Sect was breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage. I was afraid they would cause some trouble again, so I rushed over immediately." Fang Tianheng sat to the side, with a rare look of embarrassment on his face.

He knew that his choice at the time was logically correct, but the result was completely unexpected.

Fang Tianhong sighed helplessly, shifting his gaze from the secret report to the distant outline of the mountains shrouded in twilight: "Never mind, it's not your fault. Who would have thought that a Lin family could emerge in a place like that? The Beast Taming Lin family, haha, how interesting."

"Let's ignore them for now. Our goal is to unify the Southern Region. Our focus isn't on that right now. Let's win over the Lin family for now and keep them at bay. Once we unify the Southern Region, the Lin family will no longer be a threat."

"Okay, I'll give the order right away."

In an instant, all the top forces in the Southern Region received detailed information about the Lin family and saw the exaggerated puppet.

The final choice was surprisingly consistent: to temporarily refrain from hostility.

…………

Meanwhile, in the reception room of the City Lord's Mansion in Chuyang City, Lin Che and Wan Yue sat facing each other.

Dusk seeped in through the cracks in the window, gilding the outlines of the two figures with a dark gold hue.

The spiritual tea on the table had been refilled for the third time. The color of the tea soup was a little lighter than the first time, but the clear and refreshing aroma still slowly diffused in the air, mixed with the fragrance of golden trumpet creeper flowers drifting in from outside the window, forming an aroma that made people unconsciously slow down their breathing.

"Your Excellency Wanyue, has there been any new instructions from Venerable Bai Ze?" Lin Che put down his teacup, his gaze falling on Wanyue's silver-gray pupils.

Wan Yue picked up her teacup and gently blew away the foam on the surface: "The Venerable One only mentioned one thing: the Great Qian Dynasty has already taken notice of the movements in the Southern Region."

Lin Che's gaze sharpened slightly.

Wan Yue's voice remained steady, but a faint glint of cold light flashed deep within her silver-gray pupils: "The collapse of the Burning Bone Pass defense line, the chaotic battle among the three Nascent Soul forces in the Southern Region, the invasion of the demon beast army, and Qin Wudao's breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage outside Burning Bone Pass—these events are too significant for the Great Qian Dynasty to be unaware of."

They haven't officially intervened yet, but once they've cleaned up their mess, someone will inevitably head south.

She withdrew her fingers, picked up the teacup, and regained her composure: "So the Venerable said that the Lin family now has two paths to take. The first path is to defend Chuyang City, use the Undying Battle Spirit as a deterrent, slowly accumulate strength, and wait for the right opportunity. This path is safe, but slow."

The second path is to take the initiative and find a breakthrough among the Fang family, Qingyun Sword Sect, Baicao Valley, and Niming Demon Palace, seizing the greatest benefit while they are still engaged in their internal conflict.

Lin Che remained silent for a moment.

"Your Excellency, which path do you think I should choose?"

Wan Yue smiled gently: "The Venerable One said that this is a choice you must make yourself."

A smile appeared on Lin Che's lips, and his gaze became clearer than before: "We have defended Chuyang City, but this is only the first step. If we hold on here and do not move, even with the Undying Battle Soul guarding us, the Lin family will eventually be worn down. Resources are limited, territory is limited, but time will take away all advantages."

The Fang family won't waste its strength in the chaos forever, the Demon Palace of Rebellion won't ignore us forever, and the Great Qian Dynasty won't completely abandon the Southern Region. Once they're all free to focus their efforts, the Lin family will become a besieged, isolated city.

"Therefore, I choose the second path."

Wan Yue's gaze lingered on Lin Che's face for a moment, then she picked up her teacup and raised it slightly towards him: "The Venerable One said that this is the answer she has been waiting for."

"Now, let's start talking about the specifics of the collaboration and the division of territories."