Guiding Light

But when others asked them what had happened, they kept their mouths shut, only saying, "You will know if you go in and try it yourselves."

However, having seen their previous sluggish and dazed appearances, how could the crowd dare to step inside carelessly just to test what had happened to them?

So, in the end, the matter was left unsettled.

The arrival of a group of outsiders also alarmed the village chief.

Seeing this, many villagers temporarily put down their work and followed to see what was going on. Some even asked their children to run to the village chief's house to call him over.

At this time, the villagers surrounded the outsiders, watching them converse back and forth.

At the same time, they also began whispering among themselves.

"The mountain path on the North Mountain wasn't like this when I passed by last month. Since when did our village have so many peach trees..."

"If you ask me, Lin's Second Son has definitely become a true immortal. Oh my, this boy is really capable. When the immortals came to recruit disciples before, he didn't go. Who would have thought he could become an immortal all by himself..."

"Bah! You've got it wrong! I heard that when the immortals came to take disciples, they secretly favored Lin's Second Son. But the boy refused to go. The immortals cherished his talent and couldn't bear to see him go to waste, so they let him cultivate at home by himself. Moreover, when the immortals have time, they secretly descend to the mortal realm to guide him..."

The whispering villagers' tales grew more and more fantastical.

Those tourists from the city did not stay much longer. Their trip was originally meant for sightseeing in Xiushui Village. Now that this had happened, whether they were the ones trapped on the mountain path or not, their minds were filled with all sorts of chaotic thoughts, completely losing the mood to play.

Thus, after confirming that the few people were unharmed, the group left Xiushui Village under the escort of their friends and servants, returning to the city.

Seeing these outsiders leave, the observing villagers lingered for a while and chatted. After spouting various nonsense, they smacked their lips, still leaving more to be said, and dispersed to go home and continue their work.

However, there were also some who were so bored they had nothing better to do, so they made a special trip to the Lin family's old residence.

They wanted to go and chat with Old Master Lin to fish for information.

To their surprise, they found no one there.

The courtyard gate of the Lin family's old residence was shut tight, and there was no movement inside at all. It looked exactly like no one was home.

What the villagers and the people of the Lingxian Sect did not know was that the next day, this incident spread throughout the county town.

It even reached the county magistrate's office.

When Wen Keming, the magistrate of Anqun County, heard the news, he was a little surprised and somewhat skeptical.

Although he had personally received the immortals from the Shangyang Sect not long ago.

However, it was precisely because he had personally received those immortals that he felt it was even more impossible.

How could those arrogant immortals ever reveal any immortal miracles in a remote backwater like Xiushui Village?

They weren't even willing to treat a mortal they encountered on the road who suddenly fell severely ill.

Yet, one of the trapped individuals just happened to be his normally somewhat mischievous youngest son, Wen Yuejun.

Although his youngest son was a bit naughty, he never stooped to lying; Wen Keming knew this very well.

Last night, when his youngest son returned home and told him about this, he initially thought that his child, who never lied, had actually started telling lies.

Wen Yuejun, who had always lacked normal and effective communication with his father, saw that his father didn't quite believe him. He didn't argue. He simply shut his mouth, said "I'm full," put down his bowl and chopsticks, and went back to his room to stay by himself.

Wen Keming was already used to this son of his throwing down his chopsticks and leaving the dinner table in silence whenever they disagreed. Hearing him actually give a greeting at dinner last night was quite a surprise.

Early the next morning, Wen Keming received a report from his subordinates regarding the rumors of the strange events in Xiushui Village.

Wen Keming then realized that his youngest son really hadn't lied last night.

He felt somewhat guilty in his heart, but this guilt also flashed by and disappeared.

After all, he was the father; what did he have to be guilty about towards his child?

He just needed to go back and have a good talk with Yuejun later.

So he tossed the matter to the back of his mind.

After pondering for a moment, he ordered his subordinates to organize some men; he was going to personally visit Xiushui Village to investigate!

Anqun County was not close to Xiushui Village.

Wen Keming had to set out early for this trip. If they rode fast and didn't delay on the road, they could barely make it back to the county before dark.

So, after he gave the order, his subordinates hurried to make preparations.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiao was completely unaware, currently in the sect hall studying the preparations for his closed-door cultivation, checking if there was anything he had missed.

Browsing through his private treasury, he suddenly noticed an unremarkable-looking object lying in the corner.

It looked like a wooden street lamp?

He clicked on it to take a look and found that the item was called the [Guiding Light].

Confused, he decisively used the appraisal function.

[Guiding Light: A guiding lamp that leads people from darkness to light. It has the effect of clearing the mind, calming the spirit, exorcising demons, and warding off evil. Illumination range: a radius of five hundred meters.]

Seeing this description, Lin Xiao was overjoyed.

What a good item.

If he placed this thing at the entrance of the mountain path at the foot of the mountain, wouldn't that mean that outside the defensive barrier, the safety of the area around their sect entrance would be greatly increased?

Therefore, Lin Xiao couldn't wait to rush to the mountain path entrance. He took out the Guiding Light and planted it next to the path.

Unexpectedly, the system suddenly spoke up:

[Confirm placement of the Guiding Light here?]

Lin Xiao decisively chose yes.

[Guiding Light placement initiated.]

Immediately after, Lin Xiao vaguely sensed that from beneath the Guiding Light, numerous invisible fine threads seemed to extend out, taking root into the soil one by one.

It seemed that this Guiding Light even came with a built-in anti-theft function.

Lin Xiao was very pleased.

Then he suddenly realized something.

Where did this thing come from?

His private treasury couldn't have suddenly developed a self-production function, right?

However, at this moment, the system spoke up again:

[Friendly reminder: Host, this is the reward you forgot for completing the Sect Construction Task: Surroundings Construction (1) - Private School Building Task.]

Hearing this, Lin Xiao finally remembered that there did seem to be such a thing.

A couple of days ago, when he was preparing to return from Yuanling City, he did indeed receive a reward.

But he was busy preparing to come back at the time, so he had no mind to check the reward and ended up forgetting about it.

He didn't expect the reward from this task to be quite good.

Having placed the Guiding Light, Lin Xiao was just about to head back up the mountain.

Unexpectedly, as he turned around, he saw a familiar figure on a field ridge in the distant village, greeting the villagers in the fields while walking toward the foot of the mountain here.

Lin Xiao's eyesight nowadays was exceptionally good.

Even though the person was still very far away, and an ordinary person might only see a small black dot.

He, however, could see them very clearly.