Back to the County Town

Lin Xiao estimated that if he hadn't landed a few extra strikes just to be safe, the array disk might have returned even more spirit stones.

Back when he killed the Silver Frost Python demon, the Yin-Yang Life and Death Array only returned five spirit stones.

This showed just how strong that Silver Frost Python demon was. He figured that if it hadn't been heavily injured with its strength drastically reduced, the Yin-Yang Life and Death Array might not have been able to kill it outright.

By the time Lin Xiao hurried back to the county town, the sky was just beginning to brighten.

As soon as he entered the small courtyard, he saw Sun Yigao pacing back and forth reading a book, while Liu Yunan and Jiang Youfu were meditating and cultivating under the eaves nearby.

Seeing that he had finally returned, the three were overjoyed.

"Brother Xiao, you're finally back!"

"Yeah, we were worried sick!"

"Brother Xiao, Brother Xiao, how did it go?"

Hearing the commotion, Tuantuan inside the house limped out, ignoring the injuries on its body that hadn't fully healed yet.

"Meow!"

Seeing Sun Yigao, Lin Xiao was a bit surprised:

"Huh, Yigao, why are you here? Didn't you go to the exam?"

Sun Yigao replied:

"Today we wait for the results of the first session. If I pass the first session, the next one will continue in two days."

Hearing this, Lin Xiao felt relieved. He had thought Yigao skipped the exam because he was worried about him; if that were the case, he would have felt incredibly guilty.

Seeing everyone looking eager to know the details, Lin Xiao smiled and walked toward the house:

"Let's go inside to talk."

Everyone followed him inside.

Lin Xiao sat down and gave them a rough summary of how he rescued the people and dealt with the black-robed man.

He also casually mentioned running into Mo Yuanjiao and his guards.

Liu Yunan and Jiang Youfu listened with rapt attention, wanting to hear more.

"That man is truly detestable, kidnapping so many people just to set up his damn array for a lousy spirit stone mine. He's completely devoid of conscience!" Liu Yunan was furious as he listened, the veins bulging on the hand he pressed against the table.

Jiang Youfu grabbed a small handful of roasted beans and tossed them into his mouth.

"Right? If I had been caught and had my life force drained until I died like that, my grandma would definitely collapse from crying. Sigh, just thinking about it makes my heart ache."

Lin Xiao looked over at Tuantuan, who had comfortably lain back down in the nest everyone had made for it after hearing that the black-robed man had been killed, and asked:

"Tuantuan, how did you manage to cultivate to the seventh level of Spirit Awakening in just a few short years? Tell us about it."

Tuantuan was licking its left paw. Hearing this, it cast him a somewhat disdainful glance and said:

"Don't you already know that place was a spirit stone mine?"

With that, it smoothed its fur, sat up straight again, and continued:

"About seven or eight years ago, I was out playing and was spotted by someone in a carriage. He ordered his servants to catch me and take me away. That person lived in Liaoju Prefecture.

Later, I found a chance to escape, but I didn't really know the roads in Liaoju Prefecture. By sheer luck, I wandered into that dense forest and fell into the entrance of the spirit stone mine. I tried many ways but couldn't get out, so I survived on rats and small bugs inside. Because the spiritual energy there was so rich, I somehow managed to awaken my spirit in my confusion.

By the time I reached the fifth level of Spirit Awakening, I could climb up that hole by myself. I came back to look for Granny Fang, but who knew... she was already gone."

At this point, Tuantuan lowered its head in deep disappointment.

Lin Xiao and the others couldn't tell whether this turn of events was a blessing or a curse for Tuantuan, considering it had missed the years it could have spent with Granny Fang.

Seeing it so downcast, everyone was at a loss for how to comfort it.

However, Tuantuan was fine on its own and quickly adjusted its mood; after all, it had been several years since this happened.

"Since then, I often ran to the dense forest in Liaoju Prefecture to cultivate, and then I would occasionally come back to this small courtyard to stay for a while."

Hearing this, Lin Xiao rubbed the tip of his nose somewhat awkwardly.

"Um... from now on, you probably won't need to go all the way there to cultivate."

Tuantuan looked at him in confusion.

"Meow?"

Sun Yigao and the other two were also a bit puzzled. Why would Brother Xiao suddenly tell someone not to go cultivate for no good reason?

Stared at by three people and a cat, Lin Xiao had no choice but to say:

"There's no spirit stone mine there anymore. It's been blocked up by a pile of rock walls."

Before leaving, he had specifically stuck his head into the hole where the Spirit Locking Array was set up to take a look.

There was no trace of spiritual energy inside anymore, and he saw that the bottom of the hole, which originally led to the tunnel, had been blocked by a thick layer of solid rock.

Lin Xiao guessed that the system had directly swapped the interior of a mountain somewhere near their sect with it.

"Meow?!" Hearing this, Tuantuan's fur instantly stood on end!

"Then how am I supposed to cultivate from now on?!"

It had tried cultivating directly in the small courtyard before, without that abundant spiritual energy.

The results were negligible. It could be said that if it only cultivated in this small courtyard from now on, it might not even advance a single level in ten years!

For Tuantuan, who had tasted the sweetness of cultivation, this was absolutely unbearable!

The old lady was already gone. If it couldn't cultivate anymore, what meaning would there be left in its meow-life?

Seeing it like this, Sun Yigao thought for a moment, looked at Lin Xiao, and said:

"Brother Xiao, can I take in a disciple?"

Hearing his question, Lin Xiao immediately nodded:

"Of course!"

Lin Xiao hadn't directly asked Tuantuan if it wanted to join the sect because cats were generally wild creatures. However, this Tuantuan seemed quite affectionate, so he believed it was better to maintain their bond with this little cat demon through relationships, rather than relying solely on providing a place to cultivate.

But he already had enough disciples and felt he was a very incompetent master, so he was a bit hesitant.

Yet, their sect being able to obtain this spirit stone mine was largely thanks to meeting Tuantuan.

Now that Sun Yigao spoke up, it allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief.

Having received his approval, Sun Yigao turned to ask Tuantuan:

"Are you willing to become my disciple and join our sect to cultivate together?"

Tuantuan didn't refuse, but hesitated and asked:

"Your sect? Is the spiritual energy abundant?"

Sun Yigao nodded:

"Naturally."

"Do you have any other disciples?"

Sun Yigao smiled:

"No, I've never taken a disciple before. Actually, we've met before. When I was three years old, my dad brought me to the Fang family as a guest. We can be considered old acquaintances."

Although he had no memory of it, his dad had mentioned it to him yesterday, so he figured he'd bring it up to get closer.

Tuantuan leaned close to him and sniffed carefully.

It wasn't a familiar scent... but this person's scent was quite pleasant.

It had a reassuring smell.

Just like the feeling Granny Fang used to give it back in the day.

So Tuantuan thought about it and gently nodded its head, saying:

"Okay, I'll be your disciple."

Watching the whole process from the side, Lin Xiao sighed inwardly: Small animals are just so simple. Both it and Little Luan are way too easy to kidnap.

Sun Yigao reached out, gently stroked its head, and said warmly:

"If you ever want to come back and take a look in the future, you can return anytime."

"Meow~" Tuantuan felt comfortable being pet, narrowed its eyes, and let out a soft cry.