Traveling Between Two Worlds: From Bread for Maids to Fantasy Overlord

The next morning, the gates of Yiming Village opened wide, and a group of cultivators dressed in Qingyun Sect attire slowly walked in. The leader was dressed in white, with a handsome face and a calm aura, and was actually at the sixth level of Qi Refining. Behind him were four cultivators at the fourth level of Qi Refining, who looked respectful and held an exquisite jade box in their hands, seemingly full of sincerity.

Upon receiving the guard's report, Huang Yiming led Qin Yuling, Yang Xiu, Su Qingyue, and others out of the village gate. His gaze fell upon the white-robed cultivator at the head of the group, and he became secretly wary. The Qingyun Sect elder had just been defeated by him, and now he had sent someone, a Qi Refining Level 6 cultivator... This was no pushover. The so-called goodwill was probably just a pretense.

The white-robed cultivator walked up to Huang Yiming, cupped his hands slightly, and spoke in a humble tone, completely unlike the arrogance of the Qingyun Sect cultivators of the past: "I am Lin Mo, a trusted confidant of the Qingyun Sect Master. I have long heard of Chief Huang's extraordinary talent. With a pseudo-spiritual root body, he broke through to the fifth level of Qi Refining in a short period of time. Seeing him today, I can see that his reputation is indeed well-deserved."

Huang Yiming nodded slightly, his tone indifferent: "Fellow Daoist Lin is too kind. May I ask what brings the Qingyun Sect here today?" He did not relax his vigilance at all, his spiritual energy secretly circulating around him, ready to deal with any unexpected situation at any time; Qin Yuling and Yang Xiu were also on edge, their eyes fixed on Lin Mo and the others warily.

Lin Mo smiled gently, gestured for the cultivator behind him to hand over the jade box, and slowly opened it—inside were three high-grade spiritual herbs, Qi Condensation Grass, their rich spiritual energy emanating from them, clearly indicating they were rare treasures. "My sect leader heard that Chief Huang's cultivation speed is extremely fast, and specially ordered me to deliver these three Qi Condensation Grasses to help Chief Huang break through to the Foundation Establishment stage as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, the cultivators of Yiming Village all showed expressions of surprise. The Qi Condensation Grass was a high-grade spiritual herb, priceless, and for the Qingyun Sect to be so generous, offering such a valuable gift was truly unusual. Su Qingyue subtly tugged at Huang Yiming's sleeve, her eyes signaling him to be wary of a trap. Huang Yiming nodded slightly, already understanding: the Qingyun Sect was playing the long game, feigning goodwill while actually testing his cultivation and the secrets of the Dual Realms.

Huang Yiming feigned surprise, a glint of greed flashing in his eyes. He reached for the jade box, saying repeatedly, "Thank you so much for the kindness of the Qingyun Sect Master, and thank you so much, Fellow Daoist Lin! I was just worried about not having any high-grade spiritual herbs to aid my cultivation. This Qi Condensation Grass is a godsend!" He deliberately acted as greedy and unambitious, just to lull Lin Mo into a false sense of security and see what kind of scheme the other party was plotting.

Seeing Huang Yiming's reaction, Lin Mo's eyes flashed with a barely perceptible hint of contempt. He thought to himself, "As expected of a cultivator from a mortal background, he loses his composure at the sight of high-grade spiritual herbs. Such a person is not worth fearing at all." He maintained his gentle smile and said humbly, "Chief Huang, you are too kind. My sect leader said that Chief Huang is a promising talent. If you can establish good relations with the Qingyun Sect, you will surely achieve great things in the future."

"Of course, of course!" Huang Yiming said, playing with the Qi-Gathering Grass in the jade box, while pretending to be obsequious. "If the Qingyun Sect ever needs my help, I, Huang Yiming, will gladly accept any task, even at the cost of my life!" He deliberately acted very humble to make Lin Mo lower his guard.

Lin Mo grew increasingly smug, then subtly changed the subject, asking seemingly casually, "Chief Huang, I've heard you possess many 'divine artifacts' from the mortal realm, as well as treasures capable of purifying spiritual energy. Would you be so kind as to show them to me? Furthermore, I've also heard that the spiritual veins of Black Wind Ridge are remnants of ancient times. Would you be so kind as to take me there to have a look?"

"They're here!" Huang Yiming sneered inwardly. So it really was for the spirit purifier, the spirit vein, and the secret of the dual realms. He feigned hesitation, scratching his head, and said, "Fellow Daoist Lin, it's not that I'm unwilling, but that treasure for purifying spirit energy is extremely precious and cannot be easily shown to others; moreover, I'm still reinforcing the spirit vein of Black Wind Ridge, and it's inconvenient to bring anyone there at the moment. Please forgive me, Fellow Daoist Lin."

He deliberately delayed, neither directly refusing nor agreeing, just to test Lin Mo's bottom line. At the same time, he secretly gave Su Qingyue a wink. Su Qingyue understood and secretly took out a miniature monitoring device hidden in her sleeve, secretly recording Lin Mo's words and actions, as well as the fluctuations in the aura of the cultivators behind him.

Lin Mo's smile faded slightly, and his tone turned colder: "Chief Huang, isn't this a bit unfair? My sect leader sincerely wanted to curry favor, sending such a generous gift, yet Chief Huang refuses even this small request. Does he not trust the Qingyun Sect?"

Huang Yiming quickly waved his hand, feigning panic, and said, "Fellow Daoist Lin misunderstands. How could I dare not trust the Qingyun Sect? It's just that the treasure is indeed delicate, and the spiritual vein is still being reinforced. If something goes wrong, I can't bear the responsibility. How about this, once I've reinforced the spiritual vein, I'll definitely ask Fellow Daoist Lin to come and inspect it; as for the treasure for purifying spiritual energy, I'll ask Fellow Daoist Lin to appraise it after I've cultivated to the sixth level of Qi Refining, how about that?"

Lin Mo stared at Huang Yiming for a long time. Seeing his flustered expression, which didn't seem fake, his doubts gradually dissipated. He nodded and said, "Alright, then I'll wait for Chief Huang's good news. However, my sect leader has another message for me to convey to Chief Huang: If Chief Huang is willing to hand over the secret of the dual-realm communication and submit to the Qingyun Sect, my sect leader is willing to appoint Chief Huang as an outer sect elder of the Qingyun Sect and bestow upon him a Foundation Establishment Pill to help him break through to the Foundation Establishment stage as soon as possible."

Huang Yiming's heart skipped a beat. As expected, the Qingyun Sect's ultimate goal was still the secret of the dual realms. He feigned hesitation, his brows furrowed, and after a moment of contemplation, he said, "Fellow Daoist Lin, this matter is of great importance. I need to consider it carefully and cannot agree rashly. Please grant me a few more days."

"It's alright." Lin Mo nodded, his tone indifferent. "I'll give Chief Huang three days. Come back in three days to hear your reply. If Chief Huang is unwilling to submit, I'm afraid you won't be able to accept the Qingyun Sect's offer." After saying that, a hint of ferocity flashed in his eyes, clearly this was his final ultimatum.

Huang Yiming nodded hurriedly, smiling obsequiously, "Definitely, definitely. Fellow Daoist Lin, come again in three days, and I will give you a satisfactory answer."

Lin Mo said no more, gave Huang Yiming a deep look, and then turned and left Yiming Village with the cultivators behind him. Watching their departing figures, the smile on Huang Yiming's face instantly vanished, replaced by icy coldness. He handed the jade box to Yang Xiu, his tone indifferent: "Keep this Qi-Gathering Grass safe. The things from the Qingyun Sect aren't so easy to take. They give a generous gift today, and they'll demand even more tomorrow."

Qin Yuling frowned, her tone grave: "The Qingyun Sect Master has sent a Qi Refining Level 6 cultivator here, clearly determined to take over our Yiming Village. Moreover, they have already begun to investigate the secrets of the spiritual veins and the dual realms. We must prepare as soon as possible to deal with their next move."

Su Qingyue nodded and took out a miniature monitoring device, saying, "I have recorded Lin Mo's words and actions as well as their aura fluctuations. In addition, I discovered that the auras of the four cultivators behind Lin Mo are very concealed. One of them seems to be hiding the spiritual energy fluctuations of the Foundation Establishment stage. It is likely that a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Qingyun Sect is secretly following Lin Mo to test our strength."

Huang Yiming's eyes turned cold, and a sneer curled at the corner of his mouth: "So what if they are Foundation Establishment cultivators? Since they want to test us, let them see the strength of Yiming Village. Yang Xiu, you should cultivate diligently and stabilize your Qi Refining Level 2 cultivation; Qin Yuling, you are responsible for reinforcing the village's defenses and training the guards; Su Qingyue, you should travel between the two realms and transport more firearms and nutrient solutions over. We will be fully prepared and wait for the Qingyun Sect to walk right into our trap."

"Yes, young master!" the three replied in unison, their eyes resolute.

Just then, Qin Hu rushed over in a panic, looking anxious. "Brother Ming, something bad has happened! When I was training the guard team, I found some rogue cultivators acting suspiciously. They were secretly investigating in the village. I tried to catch them, but they escaped. One of them even left this behind!" With that, he handed over a black token with the character "青" engraved on it. It was the token of an outer disciple of the Qingyun Sect.

Huang Yiming accepted the token, his eyes growing colder. He thought to himself, "The Qingyun Sect is indeed up to no good. On one hand, they sent Lin Mo to feign goodwill, and on the other hand, they sent their outer disciples to infiltrate the village and steal intelligence. It seems a conspiracy against Yiming Village has quietly begun. He must make preparations in advance to completely resolve this crisis."