Cultivating immortality begins with discerning the secrets of heaven.

Towards the South Ridge, the White Reed Marsh.

This muddy swamp is covered with a large number of white reeds, which can create waves of white when the wind blows.

"Boss, we've been staking out this place for three days, and we still haven't seen a single person."

Several men with wolf head tattoos huddled in a reed bed, using the lush reeds to conceal their figures.

The man in the lead had a ferocious face, with a wolf head tattoo covering almost half of his cheek. He licked his lips and said, "What's the rush? We've already investigated. The Lin family will definitely pass through this place on their way to Zhongling Market."

"We haven't been exposed, so why would the Lin family take a longer route?"

"Just keep an eye on it. After we finish this job, you'll have a chance to advance to the late stage of Qi Refining with the pills promised by the Wu family."

Upon hearing this, the other thieves' eyes lit up, and they waited patiently.

After a long while, finally, a melodious wolf howl came from afar.

"Awoo!"

Upon hearing this sound, the group of thugs became excited.

"They're here. This place is the middle of nowhere; anyone passing through must be someone from the Lin family delivering goods!"

The leading man stood up, shouldered a huge crescent-shaped blade, and gazed into the distance.

Immediately afterwards, he took out a horn-like horn and activated it with his spiritual power.

The bugle emitted a dull melody, which spread out at an extremely fast speed.

In the next instant, one after another, black wolves sprang out of the white reeds at incredible speed, converging on the sound of the initial wolf howl.

"Get ready to attack! Get ready to attack!" Iron Fang grinned maliciously, his spiritual energy bursting out from his feet as he charged forward.

The rest of the bandits excitedly followed. They had been hiding there for three days and three nights, and they could no longer bear the tedious waiting.

Meanwhile, the Lin family members not far away frowned.

  

"Huh? When did wolves appear in White Reed Marsh?"

Lin Chaojing, an elder of the Lin family's main branch, immediately turned cold and stern: "It's not a wild wolf, but a first-tier demonic beast, the Black Wind Wolf."

Upon hearing this, one of the Lin family members who had just arrived to carry out the mission slightly changed his expression: "A first-tier demonic beast..."

"Don't panic. It's probably some ignorant cultivator who sent demon wolves to hunt us down. We've been targeted." Lin Chaojing was very calm, as if he had expected this.

"Uncle Chaojing, look over there! Someone is approaching us!" a disciple of the Zhong family exclaimed.

The instant his voice fell, the leader of the Night Wolf Bandits used the sound to pinpoint the location. With a sneer, Iron Fang unleashed a surge of spiritual energy and slashed out with the crescent-shaped blade in his hand.

Swish!

A large area of ​​white reeds was cut down, and a rapidly spinning scimitar radiating a dark spiritual light slashed toward the Lin family members in the distance at an extremely fast speed.

Lin Chaojing flicked his wrist and summoned a high-grade talisman. Brilliant golden light poured out like flowing water, instantly forming a golden shield that blocked the slash of the crescent-shaped blade.

A superior talisman, the Golden Light Talisman!

"The Southern Ridge has been peaceful for too long. Back then, with the combined efforts of our major families, all the cultivators who had fallen into the trap in this area were wiped out."

"So much so that you younger generation people rarely have the chance to see blood, but today is a good opportunity."

Upon hearing the words of the elder Zhongmai, the other younger members of the Lin family turned pale.

Because they clearly sensed the powerful aura emanating from those cultivators: one was at the late stage of Qi Refining, two were at the middle stage of Qi Refining, and the remaining four were all at the third level of Qi Refining.

Moreover, there were five first-tier demon wolves surrounding them, and even through the dense reeds, they could smell the blood in the wolf demons' mouths.

There were only six of them in total, and Lin Chaojing, the one with the highest cultivation level, was only at the sixth level of Qi Refining.

"Uncle Chaojing, why don't we run away..." a younger member of the Lin family said in a trembling voice.

Just then, Iron Fang, the leader of the Night Wolf Bandits, let out a wild laugh: "Hahahaha, trying to escape? It's too late!"

Iron Fang leaped into the air, unleashing a chilling magic seal from his palm.

Boom!

The protective shield formed by the golden light talisman suddenly trembled, revealing layers of cracks, and finally shattered in an instant, turning into a sky full of golden light.

After the golden shield shattered, five black wind wolves rushed out with incredible speed and pounced on the Lin family members.

At that very instant, two bamboo leaf boats appeared on the horizon, flying in from the left and right at an incredibly fast speed.

"Hmph, you night wolf bandits of Jinye Plain, who gave you the audacity to plot against my Lin family?"

As an extremely majestic voice echoed down, several sword lights shot down from the sky.

shhhhhh!

In the blink of an eye, three of the five Black Wind Wolves died, leaving only two wolf demons with the strength of the early stage of the first tier.

Iron Fang was taken aback at first, but after seeing the formation in the sky, his eyes showed shock.

"The Lin family elders arrived so quickly? That's impossible!" Tieya muttered to himself in disbelief.

"Boss, it seems like four late-stage Qi Refining cultivators have arrived..." a bandit said, his face pale.

The four elders of the Lin family leaped off from two bamboo leaf boats, completely blocking their escape routes.

"Run!" Iron Fang was terrified, completely unaware of what had gone wrong, and led his six men to flee.

But the Lin family had already planned this for a long time, so there was no way they could escape.

"You're courting death! Surrender now!" an elder of the Bo clan said in a deep voice, directly summoning a high-grade magic artifact, the Azure Wood Magic Shield.

The massive black wood shield slammed out horizontally, plowing a ten-zhang-wide track in the white reeds. Several people were caught off guard and were thrown to the ground, coughing up blood.

The other three elders were also ruthless and worked together seamlessly, subduing Tieya in no time.

A vine that had been repeatedly refined bound Tieya's body tightly. The four elders of the Lin family were extremely cautious in their actions and had placed multiple seals on him, completely eliminating any possibility of escape for the Night Wolf Bandit leader, making it impossible for him to even commit suicide.

"Chao Jing, you did a good job this time. You remained calm in the face of danger, not only protecting the younger generation of the clan but also capturing the leader of the Tribulation Cultivator. You deserve credit for this." An elder of the Zhongmai clan said with a smile.

Lin Chaojing gave a wry smile, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "If I hadn't known about this beforehand, I wouldn't have been able to remain so calm."

Hearing this, Tieya, who was tied up, stared wide-eyed, completely unaware of how the Lin family had found out.

"Take these people back to the family for questioning. Chao Jing, you continue to Zhongling Market to restock. You don't need to worry about the rest."

"Yes, sir!"

...

Several days later, at the Taiyuan Sect, on Lingxu Peak, inside a cave dwelling.

A woman dressed in red opened an urgent confidential letter.

After reading the secret letter from her family, Lin Hongye's lips curled into a striking, heroic smile.

"This is a great help. Perfect timing. I'll take this opportunity to go back to my family. Wu Tong will probably think I'm going back to cover up the family's mistakes."

As soon as she finished speaking, a spark appeared on Lin Hongye's slender, jade-like fingertips, and the secret letter was instantly burned to ashes.

After doing all this, she strode out of the cave and flew to a grand hall at the top of the mountain on her magical artifact.

"Disciple Lin Hongye greets the Vice Peak Master!"

Within the mist-shrouded palace, a light, airy voice drifted out: "What is it?"

"An urgent matter has occurred at home, and I plan to go down the mountain to return home for about a year," Lin Hongye said sincerely, kneeling before the hall.

"Granted." A casual reply came from within the palace once again.

"Thank you for your understanding, Vice Peak Master!"

Having received the deputy peak master's approval, Lin Hongye immediately settled her affairs within the sect and then prepared to descend the mountain.

Outside her cave, a gloomy young man stood with his hands behind his back. Upon seeing Lin Hongye, a sickly heat surged in the young man's dark eyes.

"Junior Sister Hongye, why are you in such a hurry to go down the mountain and go home? Could it be that some trouble has occurred in the family?"

"Do you need my senior's help?"

Lin Hongye's expression immediately turned cold, and she said in a chilling tone, "No need, Senior Brother Wu. It's just a small matter; there's no need to trouble you."

Wu Tong was not annoyed by what he heard, and watched Lin Hongye walk past him with a smile.

"Really? Then I wish Junior Sister Hongye all the best."

"Thank you for your kind words, Senior Brother." Lin Hongye flew away from Lingxu Peak without looking back.

After watching that tall, dashing figure disappear, Wu Tong lingered, inhaling the lingering fragrance of perfume.

Xiang is confused.

"After a year down the mountain, it seems he intends to give up the competition for the Foundation Establishment Pill. Iron Fang is truly reliable in his work."

"Once I establish my foundation and become an elder of Lingxu Peak, everything will be much easier."

The thought of soon being able to pin this fiery steed beneath him made Wu Tong swallow hard.

...

In Fire Cloud Valley, Lin Yun received the supplies sent by his family.

Inside the storage bag, besides the provisions he had originally planned, there was also a long spear made of stone bamboo.

This is a reward from the family because he made a significant contribution by providing the Fire Marrow Heart and the information about the Night Wolf Thieves. Therefore, the family has given him an extra low-grade magic weapon as a reward.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that his second uncle also received a reward. The family bestowed upon him a Spirit Breaking Pill, which can help a cultivator at the sixth level of Qi Refining break through to the late stage of Qi Refining.

However, taking this pill to break through to the later stage of Qi Refining will have some impact on one's foundation.

However, Lin Hairong was nearly forty years old and had long since given up his ambition to reach the Foundation Establishment stage, devoting himself wholeheartedly to the construction of the family.

Therefore, Lin Hairong did not accept any of the fifty spirit stones that Lin Yun originally intended to give to his second uncle as a token of gratitude, and instead handed them over to him.

"The Stone Bamboo Spear is a standard ritual weapon. Its spearhead is forged from refined iron, and its body is made of stone bamboo, giving it both toughness and hardness."

"The spirit runes engraved on it... should be basic spirit runes of the metal element, the Duijin runes."

As he spoke, Lin Yun planted his own spiritual imprint and then tried to activate the Stone Bamboo Spear.

call out!

A flash of spear light appeared, and the entire Stone Bamboo Spear almost completely disappeared into the hard ground!

"Not bad!" Lin Yun was extremely satisfied with the gun.

After playing with it for a while, Lin Yun looked at the supplies he had exchanged for the Fire Marrow Heart, and his smile became even brighter.

Six bottles of Nourishing Spirit Pills, three hundred catties of Spirit Rice, two ten-year-old Jade Fungus plants, and eighty spirit stones!

He himself had two spirit stones, half a bottle of Qi-boosting pills, and a slightly damaged speed puppet.

"With these, I should be able to cultivate to the mid-stage of Qi Refining."

"Consider it a small amount of interest collected from the Zhong family."

...