Chapter 92: Chapter 92: Clues to the Cave Dwelling
Lingnan County, Nanling Mountain, this place is also known as Seven Fiends Mountain.
True to its name, the entire mountain was situated on the mountain's shadowy side, shrouded in black fog, giving off a somewhat grim and eerie vibe.
Lin Houyong led his team into Nanling Mountain's territory, and the Spirit Boat was immediately activated at full power.
As for the black fog before their eyes, it might intimidate ordinary people and some Loose Cultivators, but it couldn't stop the Lin Family Cultivators.
Even before Lin Houyong made a move, the second elder of the Hou generation, Lin Houshou, stepped forward solemnly, releasing several Spirit Arts.
A Spirit Flag flew out and in an instant, transformed into a series of rolling flames in the sky, which caused the black fog to instantly emit squealing noises.
The Spirit Light flickered and shifted, and much like having x-ray vision, identified the key point of the Mist Formation.
Another Spirit Art was cast, the flames descended, and the key point was destroyed.
"No high-level Cultivators?" Lin Houshou hadn't expected that the Formation would be so easy to break, and that no one was controlling the formation to change the variations of the Spirit Light in its foundation.
The next moment, the black fog dissipated greatly, revealing the mountain peaks of Nanling Mountain.
The sect's buildings atop the mountain peaks came into view, and several Cultivators hurriedly flew up. These Cultivators also had some tattoos, but they were much smaller and much fainter compared to the Lingnan Seven Fiends.
Most of these Cultivators were in the early stages of Qi Cultivation, with only a few in the middle stage who appeared quite old, as if they had been in Nanling Mountain for a long time.
"Which Sect's Cultivators are causing trouble on our Seven Fiends Mountain?"
A few Cultivators stared at Lin Houyuan and his party, their hearts filled with trepidation, yet they tried to appear calm.
The Lingnan Seven Fiends had a notorious reputation in Yunzhou, with countless enemies. Were it not for their Poisonous Dragon Sect Leader's Foundation Establishment Cultivation Level, Nanling Mountain would have been leveled many times over.
"Some have started to run! Attack!" Lin Houyuan, facing some junior Qi Cultivators, had no intention of responding, directly unleashing his Third Rank Flying Sword.
Normally, he might boast about his Foundation Establishment status and not take action against Qi Cultivators, but they were currently on a clan extermination mission, so naturally, there was no trace of mercy.
Almost at the same moment as Lin Houyuan made a move, the other Lin Family Cultivators also summoned their Flying Swords, lighting up the entire sky with radiant Spirit Light.
A few tattooed Cultivators were shocked, then in the next moment, almost all of them transformed into half-beast forms, scattering in all directions like birds and beasts.
But even in their half-beast forms, they didn't make it a hundred meters under the hands of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator before they fell one by one.
The lead white-haired Cultivator was even grabbed by Lin Houyuan and taken to a secluded room on Nanling Mountain to begin Soul Searching, seeking out the treasures of the Lingnan Cultivators.
The Soul Searching Technique was a secret art that only Foundation Establishment Cultivators could master, and it was a reason why murder for treasure was so common in the Cultivation World. After all, even if you possessed treasures and said nothing, as long as there was a gap of one major realm, they could be extracted with a Soul Search.
And yet, the drawback of the Soul Searching Technique was also obvious—it had side effects. After being soul searched, the victim would at best suffer great damage to their Divine Sense or at worst become an imbecile.
Only Sect Cultivators, with the help of their seniors, could seal their Divine Sense to prevent Soul Searching by other Cultivators.
While Lin Houyuan was Soul Searching, the Lin Family members also dispersed, integrating the resources of Nanling Mountain.
Meanwhile, unnoticed by all, Lin Shiming came from a corner to Lin Houyuan's room.
"Uncle Five!" Lin Shiming greeted respectfully.
"Shiming, take a seat!" Lin Houyuan smiled faintly, showing none of the airs of a senior.
"Speak, what brings you to Nanling Mountain? Just now, I used the Soul Searching Technique on the main manager under the Seven Fiends' command!" Lin Houyong said with an eager expression as he saw Lin Shiming sit down, and he couldn't help but chuckle as he continued.
"Uncle Wu must see through my little ruse, I do indeed have something to ask!" Lin Shiming replied, realizing that his uncle already knew his purpose.
But for him, knowledge was not necessarily a bad thing, and he indeed needed Lin Houyong's help.
This was also one of the advantages of being in a family; your personal opportunities, unless they are foundational resources like Spirit Fruit trees or Spirit Veins, the family generally wouldn't interfere. On the contrary, when you need help, you can confidently seek the support of your family.
"I would like to understand the relationship between the Wu-named cultivator and the Lingnan Seven Fiends, and preferably his cave residence as well."
Upon hearing this, Lin Houyong frowned slightly and pondered for a moment before he spoke:
"It's quite peculiar, this Wu-named cultivator actually found the Lingnan Seven Fiends half a year ago, and has since refined a large number of Beast Taming Pills for them. He even joined the Seven Fiends a few days ago, becoming the Eighth Sha! But there are no clues about the location of his cave residence."
Lin Shiming felt somewhat disappointed upon hearing this news, but then he thought that if he had a treasure like the Minor Divine Ability tree, he wouldn't choose to place his cave residence on Nanling Mountain either; if the Seven Fiends were to harbor evil intentions, no matter how great the Wu-named cultivator's abilities were, he wouldn't have a chance of surviving.
Lin Shiming had no choice but to abandon the idea of searching Nanling Mountain. When he thought of the system's hint, his head ached all over again—it was too broad a piece of information, like when he was first searching for the peach tree.
Without any leads, Lin Shiming could only give up and, when the time came, search the entire Nanling County.
Luckily, there was no time limit to the period he had told his family he would be training, which meant he could stay in Nanling County indefinitely.
Putting aside his thoughts, Lin Shiming also took the opportunity to congratulate Lin Houyong.
"Thank you, Uncle Wu, for elucidating that for me, and congratulations on taking Nanling Mountain for the family, securing another Third Rank Spirit Vein territory, as well as the entire domain of Nanling County."
"Ha ha, I cannot take all the credit for that achievement; your father and Seventh Great-Uncle contributed the most!" Lin Houyong quickly waved his hand, and then with a lift of his eyebrows, he laughed and continued:
"Perhaps my contributions might not even compare to yours!"
After hearing this, Lin Shiming repeatedly waved his hand, well aware of the extent of his actual contributions. Of course, he also understood that Lin Houyong was referring to his actions of killing three of the Five Fiends and aiding Lin Houyuan in slaying the Fiend Leader, the Poisonous Dragon.
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"However, taking down Nanling County will indeed bring significant financial improvements for the family; moreover, the number of mortals in the family can now grow on a large scale..."
Lin Houyong continued to recount the information he had obtained through Soul Searching Technique.
When the Lingnan Seven Fiends departed, they took a large number of subordinates and nearly all of the Spirit Stone wealth with them, so there weren't many Spirit Stones left in Nanling County. Additionally, the Lingnan Seven Fiends were an upstart faction formed by Loose Cultivators, lacking any heritage in pill cultivation or plant cultivation.
In the entire Third Rank Spirit Vein, they had planted only ordinary Spirit Rice, with the minor Spirit Flowers and Spirit Grasses having been plundered.
The only item of great value was the Sha Pattern heritage, originating from an ancient cultivator's cave residence.
But when taken over by the Lin Family, Nanling Mountain could at least accommodate two new Spirit Plant gardens, and with the original four to five thousand mortals of Nanling County, as long as the family relocates ten to twenty thousand more mortals and assimilates them, the family would be able to produce several Immortal Cultivation seeds every ten years.
Most importantly, Nanling County is well-located, close to Qingzhou, which would also facilitate commerce for the Lin Family.
The Li Family may control the largest market in Yunzhou, Qingyun Market, but they cannot control the Lin Family's commerce in Qingzhou.
Besides commerce, there's a small area in Nanling County close to the Qingyun Mountain range. Although it's only the periphery, it could still allow the Lin Family's Demon Hunting Team to enter for training. For cultivators, cultivation level is certainly important, but combat skills are equally indispensable.
And upon hearing Lin Houyong mention the periphery of the Qingyun Mountain range, Lin Shiming suddenly recalled the Entry Guide to Beast Taming as well as the Wu-named cultivator.
Excitement surged within him once more.
If he was not mistaken, the Wu-named cultivator's cave residence must be located in Nanling County, near the Qingyun Mountain range.
After all, the Spirit Beast Sect excelled at dealing with Demonic Beasts, and it was only in such a Demonic Beast mountain range that the Wu-named cultivator could take full advantage of his strengths.