Chapter 85

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Chapter 85: Humans Are Not Plants

Yunzhong Mountain Range, the middle section

Lin Die has been standing outside Lin Jiang’s cave for an hour. She has already sent dozens of Sound Passing Talismans. Lin Die cannot be certain if the person is at home, but she has a feeling that he is.

"Taoist Friend Lin, I don’t know if you are inside. If you don’t want to come out, I can understand. I have come today to thank Taoist Friend Lin."

"This action has brought great benefit to the Lin family, but you will face great risks. Those independent cultivators who suffered losses will not easily let you go. So, if you are willing, you can return to your ancestral roots. No matter which member of the Lin family your relatives are, I will include you in the family records…"

Lin Die’s voice echoed in Lin Jiang’s home. At this moment, Lin Die believed that Lin Jiang was a member of the Lin family who had been living outside.

Because only people from the Lin family are willing to help the Lin family in such a daring way, this can also explain the logic of this matter, and such things have indeed happened before.

Since Lin Batian, the Lin family has never had the concept of one man and one woman. From the second generation to the fourth generation, they all followed the same pattern, with numerous wives and concubines. This is to ensure the rapid increase in the number of cultivators in the Lin family. In the past two hundred years, there are now more than eight hundred members of the clan, even though many clan members have been killed in the Lin family’s repeated wars.

Lin family members are like this at home and they are also promiscuous outside. Over the years, there have been many instances of illegitimate children from the Lin family seeking their roots at the Lin family.

Lin Batian is accepting of these people. As long as they are confirmed to be from the Lin family and have Spiritual Roots, they are allowed to stay in the clan. Those without Spiritual Roots are sent to live elsewhere, as the Lin family has plenty of land.

Upon hearing this, Lin Jiang in the cave was speechless. Lin Die actually took him for a lost illegitimate child of the Lin family. Well, he didn’t bother explaining.

"If you don’t want to acknowledge the Lin family, it’s fine. But because of this matter, I acknowledge you. I have a spiritual talisman here. It was crafted by my father and was originally meant to protect me. Once activated, it can unleash a full-power attack equivalent to the Nascent Soul stage. It is the most precious thing I have. I’m giving it to you. It can protect you if you’re in danger."

Lin Die waited for a moment, but there was still no response from inside the cave. She knew that the person inside didn’t want to come out. She took out a spiritual talisman and threw it inside.

This specially crafted spiritual talisman is extremely precious because it will deplete the cultivator’s cultivation base who made it. Lin Batian would need at least half a year to recover from making this spiritual talisman. It is not given to anyone who is not a close relative or trusted person. It is either exchanged for valuable resources or kept by some Golden Core cultivators as a precious life-saving item.

"I’m leaving. I will depart from Yunzhong City in two days. If you change your mind, you can find me in West City of Yunzhong City."

In the end, Lin Die left. She did everything she needed to do and said everything she needed to say. Even if she didn’t come back, she still fulfilled her obligations.

As soon as Lin Die left, Lin Jiang appeared outside the cave and picked up a special charm called a spiritual talisman. As a Talisman Maker, he knew how valuable this talisman was. In fact, if you added up all of Lin Jiang’s possessions, he couldn’t afford to buy this rare spiritual talisman in Yunzhong City.

"I didn’t want to have any more connections with the Lin family, but people are not like plants or trees. Who can be without emotions? I have spent eighty years living with the Lin family, and it has been a wonderful time for me."

Lin Jiang let out a heavy sigh. According to his principles, he should endure and not worry about worldly matters. This time, he made a big mistake by helping the Lin family deceive an independent cultivator from Yunzhong City.

Lin Jiang also knew that this would not be good for him. Once Xie Youjia and the others suffer losses, they will surely come back to hold him accountable. But Lin Jiang couldn’t help it.

He wasn’t just an inanimate object; he was a living, breathing person with emotions. When he was at the inn in West City, he instinctively considered the interests of the Lin family without any hesitation.

When he weighed the pros and cons of deceiving Xie Youjia and the others again, emotions ultimately overcame reason, and he decided to take the risk and help the Lin family one more time.

"People come before immortals. I hope I won’t become a cold and heartless cultivator in the future."

Lin Jiang shook his head and comforted himself. He tried to convince himself that what he was doing was not wrong. People come before immortals. He was first a member of the Lin family, and then a cultivator named Lin Jiang.

·······

"Boom"

Six months later, Xie Youjia appeared outside Lin Jiang’s cave and swung a sword towards the cave. The cave emitted a transparent protective shield, blocking Xie Youjia’s flying sword.

"Snap"

In the next moment, a flying sword flew out of the cave, heading straight for Xie Youjia. Xie Youjia’s face changed, and he summoned a shield. However, with just one strike, Lin Jiang shattered his shield into pieces, scattering fragments everywhere.

"Thank you, taoist friend. Are you getting impatient to make a move against me?"

Lin Jiang revealed himself, standing within the protective formation, and spoke coldly to Xie Youjia.

"Mr. Lin, do you still have the audacity to say that you caused my demise?"

"Aren’t you still standing here? Am I talking to a ghost?"

"You…"

Xie Youjia was so angry that he almost vomited blood. After hearing Lin’s nonsense, he gathered some good friends and borrowed some money. They went on a shopping spree in Yunzhong City and bought a batch of supplies. They planned to go to Anhua City to make a big profit.

He arrived early. The first few days were indeed very good for business. Anhua City had been under the control of the Lin family for several years, but the strength of the merchants hadn’t recovered. When the cultivators from the surrounding areas heard that Anhua City had waived the entrance tax, they would come and explore. If they found something to buy, they would buy a little bit.

Initially, Xie Youjia made some money. However, he was too greedy. When he saw the situation in Anhua City, he immediately raised the prices, wanting to make more profits.

But he didn’t expect that a large group of independent cultivators from Yunzhong City appeared within a few days. Each of them brought a lot of money and goods, just like him.

At first, Xie Youjia wanted to unite with other independent cultivators and raise the prices together. But he soon realized that this was impossible.

They traveled a long distance from Yunzhong City to Anhua City, facing great hardships and even the risk of being hunted by demons and thieves along the way. After entering Anhua City, they needed money for food, drinks, and accommodation. But they had run out of money because it was all in their goods.

So they had no choice but to lower the prices. Vicious competition began, and the prices of goods in Anhua City kept falling. Some people held on stubbornly, while others cut their losses in time.

Xie Youjia chose to hold on stubbornly. He wanted to endure until these independent cultivators left, so he could recover his investment. But he didn’t expect that there were so many foolish independent cultivators. They came one batch after another.

He was not one of the people recruited by the Lin family to come to Anhua City. He had a house and land in Anhua City and managed to hold on for four or five months, but he couldn’t hold on any longer and could only sell at a discounted price.

After all the going back and forth, along with various expenses along the way, he lost nearly twenty thousand spirit stones and even offended all of his friends. How could he not be furious?

Just when things were going from bad to worse, he returned to the Yunzhong Mountain Range only to find that his cave had been broken into and all the items inside were stolen. It was absolutely infuriating. Filled with anger, he went directly to confront Lin Jiang.

"What do you mean by blaming your own losses on me?"

"Isn’t it you?"

"Thank you, Taoist friend. One should always have a conscience. Did I force you to go to Anhua City? Besides, I have heard that there are many opportunities to make money in Anhua City. For example, Taoist friends Chen Shun and Chen Xing, they have earned tens of thousands of spirit stones. They think that Anhua City has many opportunities and have settled there permanently. I heard from other Taoist friends that the two brothers bought a large five-room mansion for only six thousand spirit stones, and they also bought a shop. They are living a happy life. Even when people advise them to come back, they refuse."

Lin Jiang replied. Not all the people who went to Anhua City have suffered losses. Some have actually made profits. This is the case for the two brothers, Chen Shun and Chen Xing. They never came back and have settled in Anhua City.

"I…"

Xie Youjia was speechless because he also knew the two brothers, Chen Shun and Chen Xing. Indeed, what Lin Jiang said was true. The two brothers arrived in Anhua City a few days earlier than him and immediately started selling their goods. They sold as much as they could and even advised him to sell early. But at that time, Xie Youjia was blinded by greed and thought that the two brothers were too timid to travel all this way just to earn a few spirit stones. When he finally came to his senses, it was too late to regret.

"No more words?"

"I don’t care, anyway it’s your fault. If you don’t compensate me with spirit stones, you won’t have a good day."

Xie Youjia couldn’t swallow it all at once. Since reason couldn’t hold up, he would use his flying sword to speak.

"Seems like you want to play dirty. Bring it on then."

"I’m curious to see what you’re capable of."

Xie Youjia’s face became ferocious. This time he was at a huge loss. If he didn’t recover from Lin Jiang, his days would be miserable. Since that’s the case, he would be ruthless and kill the Lin family, taking over their dwelling.

"You dare to have murderous intent?"

Lin Jiang’s face turned cold. Xie Youjia was not the only one causing trouble for him. Most of them would just let it go after a brief confrontation, accepting their own bad luck. Xie Youjia was the first to dare have murderous intent towards him.

Once the intention to kill arises, the nature changes. Lin Jiang couldn’t let him go either.

"Go"

Xie Youjia slapped the storage bag, and more than ten formation discs flew out, scattering around. Xie Youjia was a skilled Formation Master and planned to use his formations against the enemy. Confidently, he believed that once Lin Jiang fell into his killing formation, he would surely win.

"The Formation Master dares to use formations during the battle."

Lin Jiang shook his head inwardly. The Formation Master was very powerful, but it depended on the situation. If the Formation Master had enough time to set up his formations, dealing with three or five enemies of the same level would be as easy as playing.

However, in this sudden and intense fight, it was too late to set up formations on the spot.

Lin Jiang first scattered a stack of spiritual talismans, not aimed at Xie Youjia, but at his formation discs, intending to disrupt his formations. Flying swords followed closely after, aiming straight for Xie Youjia’s throat.

Xie Youjia thought back to the scene where Lin Jiang shattered his protective shield with a single blow, feeling a tightness in his heart. He dared not take the blow head-on and immediately used his body movement technique to evade. However, the next second, he felt a sharp pain in his temple and his vision went black, losing consciousness.

"Fighting, but using sneaky tactics is more powerful."

Lin Jiang retrieved the flying needles in his hand, using the flying swords and spiritual talismans as cover to disturb the opponent’s vision and attention, and then launching sneak attacks with the needles. It proved to be effective time and time again.