Wild cultivation begins with wielding the Taiyin talisman.

Mu Qingming took out his waist token and pressed it against the door. The dark iron suddenly lit up with a yellow-white light and moved behind the door on its own.

The two followed Mu Qingming inside, where a long, slightly transparent black stone table stood in the center. Three rolls of animal hide were laid on the table, and next to it was a bowl filled with a blood-red liquid.

Mu Qingming beckoned, and two rolls of animal hide flew toward Ning Che and Lin Ye respectively: "These are the written contracts. Smear them with your blood, and the contracts will be complete."

Without hesitation, Lin Ye cut his palm with his fingernail and pressed it hard onto the animal hide. The hide seemed to have a spirit, sucking his blood without spilling a single drop.

Ning Che did not start writing directly like him, but instead unfolded the animal skin and carefully read it word by word.

Fortunately, he could understand the common script of the Great Xia Dynasty on the animal hide.

The document begins with the duties of the mountain guardian, followed by the corresponding salary and benefits. It even details the rules for promotion and demotion, rewards and punishments, all written out clearly and meticulously, somewhat like a modern standard contract.

To his surprise, he found the name of the mountain guarded by the mountain keeper in the contract.

The inscription reads: "Ten suns were set on seven mountains, each guarding the four directions of the Great Wilderness. The seven mountains are: Great Wilderness Mountain, Changyang Mountain, Ao Ao Ju, Wu Ji Tianmen, Long Mountain, Feng Ju Yumen, and Fang Mountain."

These seven mountains are also the seven headquarters of the Great Xia Mountain Guardians, and the lineage of the Feihu City Mountain Guardians belongs to the Changyang Mountain branch.

The more he read, the deeper his doubts grew. This was clearly a standard contract that all mountain guardians had to sign, with no special clauses regarding the Taiyin lineage, and certainly no trap he had previously anticipated.

As the successor of the Taiyin lineage, does Mu Qingming have no special requirements for him?

"What are you looking at? Why are you dawdling? Why aren't you bleeding yet? Are you too scared?" Lin Ye, who had been waiting impatiently, crossed his arms and spoke sarcastically, his face full of arrogance.

Seeing this, Mu Qingming smiled calmly and looked at Ning Che: "Let him see. Ning Che, don't you find it strange that I didn't trick you in this contract?"

He laughed heartily, answering his own question: "Because there's no need. Even without this blood pact, if I told you to go east, would you dare go west?"

"I wouldn't dare," Ning Che replied calmly, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger. He simply raised his hand, bit his fingertip, and pressed the bleeding fingertip against the signature on the animal skin scroll.

As the blood was completely absorbed by the animal hide scroll, Ning Che clearly felt an invisible connection suddenly forming in the darkness. An extremely thin, blood-red thread climbed up the Taiyin talisman in his sea of ​​consciousness, its other end disappearing into the boundless darkness, its end unfathomable even by the power of Taiyin.

Mu Qingming raised his hand again, and the two signed animal hide scrolls flew back to the table on their own. He glanced at them before slowly speaking, "Although the contract is in place and you can now join the Mountain Guardians, there are still some procedures to follow. What do you think?"

Lin Ye immediately bowed and said obsequiously, "I will follow Master's teachings!"

Ning Che simply looked at Mu Qingming quietly without saying a word.

"Come with me." Mu Qingming turned and walked out, his voice light and airy: "In this Feihu City, there are hundreds of people who are eager to join the Mountain Guardians, but now there are only three vacant positions."

You must defeat your competitors fairly and squarely in the training ground, lest someone accuse me of favoritism and nepotism. I will prepare a reward for you then.”

After Mu Qingming finished speaking, he revealed a meaningful smile, led the two through the corridor on the west side of the martial arts arena, and finally stopped in front of a row of simple stone caves. He casually tossed two wooden plaques with numbers engraved on them: "This is your barracks. By the way, Xing, when you receive the cultivation technique later, ask for that book 'Jieming Shuanghua Jue'. Just say that I ordered it."

After he finished speaking, he flicked his folding fan, his blue robe billowed up, and he flew away into the air without saying another word, leaving the two of them in front of the barracks.

Ning Che glanced at the wooden plaque in his hand, which was engraved with the three characters "甲子一" (Jiazi 1), his number. The characters "甲子" were also engraved on the roof of the grotto barracks in front of him.

The barracks door was ajar. He first touched the hilt of the Crescent Moon Blade at his waist with his fingertips, then moved very lightly, glancing inside through the crack in the door.

There was already someone inside, sitting cross-legged on the innermost bed, eyes closed, with faint magical energy swirling around him, clearly immersed in cultivation.

Lin Ye, without any hesitation, strode in, found his bed by the wooden sign, and began packing his belongings. Ning Che then slowly entered the room, his gaze quickly sweeping over every corner, finding nothing unusual, before walking to his own bed.

He had little luggage to pack, so he placed the Crescent Moon Blade within easy reach of him, sat cross-legged, and began to organize his thoughts and consider the sequence of events.

The forces of the Moon Palace, let's call them the Taiyin lineage, were defeated long ago in history, but they still have some arrangements, or there is an indestructible entity, such as the Demon Lord.

However, in order to prevent the Taiyin lineage from launching a counterattack, the Great Xia court laid a tight net, such as the Mountain Spirit that could accurately target the Taiyin successor, so that Ning Che was targeted from the moment he received the inheritance.

Judging from this level of importance, there should be many successors of the Taiyin lineage, and although they pose a threat to the Great Xia, it is not serious, so the deputy commander of the mountain guards of a city can handle them.

This incident happened too suddenly; he had no time to prepare or respond. Even the seeds he had kept at home to bask in the moonlight were lost in the village. Like a mole cricket caught in a net, he was now utterly without freedom.

But no matter how tightly the net is woven, there will always be gaps. He believed he could find a glimmer of hope.

"Hey, you there." Lin Ye finished packing his things, strode up to Ning Che, crossed his arms and looked down at him with undisguised hostility and arrogance on his face: "I'm warning you, you better know what's good for you and acknowledge me as your older brother, then I can protect you."

"I'm the one Mu Tong has his eye on; you just got lucky. From now on, if you dare get in my way, I'll make sure you never set foot in the training grounds again."

Ning Che glanced at him, said nothing, and simply looked away.

There's no point in arguing with this mad dog who relies on evil magic to enhance his cultivation and only knows how to wag his tail and beg for mercy. He should focus his energy on things that are more valuable.

Seeing his unyielding attitude, Lin Ye assumed he was scared and became even more arrogant. He kicked Ning Che's bedside, the rough sole of his boot grazing Ning Che's clothes: "I'm talking to you! Are you mute?"

"No noise or private fights are allowed inside the barracks."

The person who had been meditating with their eyes closed on the innermost bed suddenly opened their eyes.

Ning Che was somewhat surprised, and only then did he look at him more closely.

He was a dark-skinned young man, who looked to be in his early twenties. He wore a faded coarse cloth outfit and had a gleaming hunting knife at his waist. His hands were broad and calloused, and he looked like a hunter who made a living in the mountains and forests year-round.

Do ordinary people like this even qualify to join the ranks of those who protect the mountains?

Is the mountain guardian not actually that bad, but just happened to see the bad side, or is this person an oddball here?

"Who do you think you are, daring to tell me what to do?" Lin Ye instantly turned his anger towards him, his face becoming even more menacing. "A piece of trash who can't even reach the eighth rank dares to bark at me?"

"The guards' barracks have rules: anyone who engages in private fights will be disqualified from selection." He stood up, gripped the hunting knife at his waist, and stood ramrod straight. "If you cause trouble again, I'll report you to the enforcement team."

"The enforcement team?" Lin Ye burst into maniacal laughter as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world. "Do you even know who brought me in? Here, Commander Mu is the rule! You dare use the enforcement team to intimidate me? You're asking for trouble!"

Before he finished speaking, a dark red aura suddenly erupted from his body, and he raised his hand to strike the young man in the tight-fitting clothes. The palm wind carried a strong smell of blood; every move was vicious and designed to kill.

The young man in the tight-fitting clothes didn't expect him to attack so suddenly, and he quickly parried with his sword. The hunting knife and the Blood Fiend Palm collided, producing a piercing metallic clang. The young man felt a tremendous force, like splitting mountains and shattering rocks, surge through the blade. His entire arm instantly went numb and he staggered back three steps, crashing heavily into the stone wall and coughing.

Ning Che, however, saw through Lin Ye's weak foundation. What he used was hardly magic; it was more like hurling magical force at someone. It lacked the subtlety of Yue Can's attack and wasn't as fierce as the Lung Gold Sword Qi. This eighth-rank cultivator was ultimately forcibly promoted; his foundation was hollow.

Even the weakest eighth-rank is still an eighth-rank, and ordinary ninth-rank cultivators are no match for him. Even Ning Che, who had mastered many powerful spells and was a veteran of many battles, was unwilling to deal with him, feeling it was too risky and not worth it.

"Is that all you've got? You dare to tell me what to do?" Lin Ye laughed arrogantly, oblivious to everyone around him, and struck out with another palm, aiming for the young man in the martial arts outfit in the chest.

"stop!"

The wooden door of the barracks was suddenly pushed open, and a young man dressed in a blue cloth robe strode in. He looked frail, but he also possessed cultivation. He walked so fast that he left afterimages, and in a few steps, he reached the young man in the close-fitting clothes and helped him up.

The young man in the long robe looked up at Lin Ye, his brows furrowed: "Who are you, and how dare you cause trouble here?"

"Another one coming to die?" Lin Ye licked his lips, the bloodlust in his eyes deepening. "Perfect, two pieces of trash together. I'll take care of them both today and show you what true power is!"

As he spoke, his blood surged, and he was about to pounce on the two of them at the same time.

Just then, Ning Che, who had been silent all along, finally moved.

He didn't get up, but just sat on the edge of the bed, opened his mouth and spat out a silvery-white lung-gold sword aura.

There was no moonlight inside the cave, but the power of the sword energy was still not to be underestimated. On the ground half a foot in front of him, the hard stone wall of the cave was instantly cleaved open, creating a trench about an inch deep. Fragments of stone flew everywhere, just enough to stop his leaping figure.

The entire barracks fell silent instantly.