Chapter 74: News From the Lin Family
In the middle part of the Yunzhong Mountain Range, inside a cave belonging to the Lin family at the Building Foundation Period, several Taoist friends were discussing and studying.
Humans are social creatures, and this statement is absolutely true. Despite being introverted, Lin Jiang still needed some social interaction. So when other Building Foundation Period practitioners in the middle part of the Yunzhong Mountain Range actively approached him, he didn't refuse. Slowly, he became familiar with a few cultivators.
These gatherings would be held regularly, once every two months, at a place called Sun Man's house. Sun Man was a second level alchemist and could refine True Yuan Pills. He didn't want to sell his pills to commercial establishments that would exploit him, so he made many friends instead. Basically, his friends would consume his pills.
Lin Jiang bought a few times, but he found that the quality of Sun Man's pills was slightly inferior to those from the commercial establishments in Yunzhong City. So he stopped buying and lied, claiming that he had made an agreement with other alchemists. Every time he came, he primarily discussed matters related to cultivation and also learned about the outside world.
"Today, let's end the discussion here. Let's chat and exchange information."
"Let's discuss what's new this time."
"Let me tell you one. The fishermen near Yuntuo River know about it."
"Oh yeah, what's going on?"
"Several decades ago, I forgot how many years exactly, the Giant Wave Fish Gang took over the territory of the Trident Fish Gang. But starting from last year, a remarkable descendant of the Trident Fish Gang has emerged. Recently, they have been attacking members of the Giant Wave Fish Gang, causing the deaths of dozens of people in the Qi Refining Period and Building Foundation Period."
"After all these years, they can still produce people. The Trident Fish Gang is really something."
"Who knows? The people from the Trident Fish Gang are currently conducting an intense investigation. They say they will reward anyone with fifty thousand spirit stones for providing information."
"Fifty thousand, that's not a small price."
When it comes to prices, some people become interested. The Qi Refining Period is poor, but the Building Foundation Period is also struggling. Generally, the income of the Building Foundation Period far exceeds that of the Qi Refining Period, but the expenses are also high. Various elixirs, various equipment, easily costing several thousand to tens of thousands of spirit stones.
Lin Jiang, on the other hand, thought of Liu Dong, Liu Jie's son. In the past, he had extreme hatred for the Giant Wave Fish Gang. His whole family died at the hands of the Giant Wave Fish Gang. Before Lin Jiang left, he gave him the Overlord Scroll technique.
It's been about thirty years since then. In normal circumstances, Liu Dong would definitely not have accomplished much in thirty years. But considering the effectiveness of the Overlord Scroll, maybe he has already reached the Golden Core Period.
"Dear Taoist friends, it is important to be cautious in our words and actions. The matter with the fishing gang is quite complicated and dangerous, beyond the reach of us independent cultivators. Let's talk about something else instead."
Sun Man quickly said, he actually didn't want these people to take any risks. They were valuable and hard-earned customers. If something happened to them, where would he find new customers?
"I have some fresh news, but it's a bit far from Yunzhong City."
"Oh, please go ahead, Taoist friend. We're just chatting, after all."
"I come from the southwest of Yun State, which borders the Wilderness. Although my cultivation power is weak, in recent years a new force has emerged. I've heard from a friend that this force is about to take control of Anhua City in the southwest."
"Taoist friend, please be more forthcoming with your words. No need to hide anything. If it's a significant force, we should keep our distance in the future too."
"Exactly! We independent cultivators have to be more sensible to live a long life."
This person's way of speaking, leaving things half unsaid, is annoying. Independent cultivators have to be extremely cautious in their lives, just like them. They never offend disciples from the Zhonghang Sect and Cloud Sword Sect, even if they are in the Qi Refining Period. Who knows if provoking the smaller ones will attract the older ones?
"The force doesn't really qualify as a significant one, it's called the Lin family. The head of the Lin family is Lin Batian, who wields the Overlord Spear with incredible skill. One hundred years ago, he already had golden core cultivation and could defeat two opponents of the same level. Now he has reached Nascent Soul cultivation. Meanwhile, the Nascent Soul cultivators in Anhua City are about to pass away, and many say that the Lin family will take over the city."
"I know Anhua City, although it's not as good as Yunzhong City, but it's not bad in Yun State. However, I've never heard of this Lin family."
"I haven't heard of them either. They must be a small family from the Wilderness."
"If they have someone at the Golden Core Period guarding them, they can't be considered a small family. They would be quite good even in Yunzhong City. Even if they are outside the city, they could still control a village or town."
The crowd was discussing excitedly, and Lin Jiang's mind was completely captivated. He had been away from home for seventy to eighty years, and this was the first time he had heard news about the Lin family. He never expected that his cheap old dad would actually advance to the Nascent Soul stage.
"Dear friend, could you please explain in more detail?"
"Taoist Friend Lin, why? Are you thinking of joining the Lin family?"
"I have the surname Lin too. Maybe five hundred years ago, we were still one family. We're all relatives, so if I really wanted to join, it wouldn't be impossible."
"Haha, Taoist Friend Lin is right. You share the surname Lin, so there might be a good fortune waiting for you."
"Oh, what kind of fortune?"
"This Lin Batian has many wives and many children. He has two daughters, known as the Lin family's twin beauties. Not only are they beautiful, but they also have high cultivation. They are already at the level of golden core. I heard that Lin Batian intends to find a son-in-law. You are also surnamed Lin, so if you become a son-in-law, your children will also have the surname Lin."
"Haha, Taoist Friend Lin, this is an interesting matter. I think you should give it a try."
"Exactly, if you can marry into the Nascent Soul family, you won't have to worry about cultivation resources anymore. Just think about Wen Xing, he used to be nothing, but after marrying Pill King Li Ruoxu, he became a talented young man."
"That's right, Taoist Friend Lin, you are young and have a promising future. We're already old and no one wants us."
A few people in the Building Foundation Period then shifted the topic to Lin Jiang. Among them, Lin Jiang is the youngest. He is currently fifty-three years old and settled in the Yunzhong Mountain Range three years after successfully building his foundation.
"I have a good appetite. I like to eat solid food and can't eat soft food. Such a pity."
Lin Jiang said lightly, he is now very happy. Finding out that Lin Batian has broken through to Nascent Soul, Lin Die and Lin Ying have reached golden core. This is the best news for him this year. It means they can still live for a long time and there may be a chance to meet in the future.
However, Lin Jiang dare not go home now. His secret is too special. Longevity is something all cultivators strive for, but it's easily attainable in his hands. No one can guarantee that Lin Batian won't take action against him. Father and son fighting each other is not a rare thing in the mortal world, and it happens even more in the cultivation world. It's very common for such conflicts to occur over resources.
After chatting for a while, they entered the trading environment. Sun Man took out pills, and others also took out things they didn't need to exchange for what they needed.
Lin Jiang took out a second-level spiritual talisman. After more than two years of hard work, Lin Jiang successfully drew a second-level low-grade spiritual talisman. However, the success rate is still not high and needs further improvement.
What he needs now are more second-level spiritual talisman runes. Lin Jiang inherited her mother Zhuang Rong's symbol arts, which was inherited from her grandfather. Although her grandfather's symbol arts were good, they were not top-level. Lin Jiang has already learned all the symbols he had, so he needs more symbols to enrich her symbol-drawing skills.
However, Lin Jiang didn't have much gain this time. The symbols on the hands of these people were long traded by him. None of them were specialized Talisman Makers, and they didn't specifically collect symbols.
Lin Jiang didn't mind. He is currently focused on improving his symbol arts and not expanding the variety of symbols. This is preparation for the future, so he will take it slowly.
After the exchange event, Sun Man and the others had many activities. Usually, they would eat and drink together, and occasionally they would go to the Spring Coming Tower in Yunzhong City to exchange martial arts skills. However, Lin Jiang didn't have this hobby, so he went home early.
As the outer array opened, the eyes were greeted by hundreds of acres of spiritual medicine, with strange and beautiful flowers and plants blooming. Further ahead, there were several acres of vegetables and fruits, with over twenty different varieties. The spiritual medicine and vegetables were separated by different arrays.
On the hillside, there were several acres of spiritual peaches, which were currently blossoming and looked very beautiful. Next to the cave, there were some spiritual bamboo, but they were still sparse and weak. They were just planted by Lin Jiang this year.
In the distance, there were more wastelands with overgrown weeds. Lin Jiang bought some spiritual grass seeds, which can be used to make talisman paper. However, Lin Jiang didn't plan to use them for making talisman paper, as he doesn't know how to do it. These are fodder for poultry. Lin Jiang purchased more than ten spiritual deer, as well as some transformed rabbits, chickens, and ducks, all of which were allowed to roam freely.
In the cave, only a dozen large trees were left, and the rest were all cut down. At this moment, Big Shadiao and Small Shadiao were standing on one of the large trees, staring at the leisurely spiritual deer, almost drooling.
"Big Naughty and Small Naughty, if you dare to steal the magical deer again, I will dare to roast you and eat you tonight."
Every time Lin Jiang came back, he would warn them once, because when the magical deer was first bought, they stole half of it. As punishment, Lin Jiang treated them as sheepdogs and let them herd.
"Chirp chirp..."
Big Naughty and Small Naughty retorted one after another, coldly looking at Lin Jiang. They had already been beaten before, so they didn't dare to steal anymore. Of course, it's also possible that they think the current magical deer is too small, so they'll fatten it up before eating it.
