After hesitating for a long time, Lin Xiao finally chose to stay.
He picked a cave dwelling with an inner and outer room. It wasn't large, but it was enough for the three of them to make do.
It cost twenty spirit stones a night, which averaged out to about five spirit stones per person, and Yuan Qing paid for his own share.
With about ten days left until the Talisman Master Conference officially began, Lin Xiao rented it for fifteen days upfront, paying three hundred spirit stones.
After entering their rented cave dwelling, Lin Xiao first set up a restrictive ward at the entrance before saying to Yuan Qing:
"Daoist Yuan, for the time being, you can stay in the outer room while Fuzi and I take the inner room. What do you think?"
Yuan Qing felt touched. He figured they were letting him stay with them out of fear that he might encounter danger if left alone. As for whether he slept in the inner or outer room, such trivial matters were entirely up to them to arrange. Naturally, he wouldn't refuse.
During this period, Yuan Qing's body had recovered significantly. Although he was still a bit weak, going out normally and using a bit of spiritual energy was no longer an issue, and he could also begin cultivating again.
Lin Xiao guessed that he would probably go looking for his close fellow disciples soon. After a moment of thought, Lin Xiao took an item out of his private storage and handed it to him, saying:
"Seeing as your robes are bare, let me lend you this waist pendant."
Yuan Qing's previous clothes had long been ruined, let alone any accessories, which had all been lost while he was being hunted down.
Because the pursuit had been so sudden, he hadn't prepared any spares in his storage bag, so his current clothes had all been bought for him by Lin Xiao and the others outside.
Yuan Qing took the leaf-shaped waist pendant Lin Xiao handed him. Seeing that it was just an ordinary accessory and didn't look like anything valuable, he assumed Lin Xiao just didn't want him to look too shabby when going out, so he gladly accepted it.
"Thank you, Daoist Lin."
Jiang Youfu saw the peach leaf pendant in his hand and subconsciously touched his own chest.
He secretly glanced at Yuan Qing. Seeing that he didn't seem to realize the true use of the peach leaf pendant, he spoke up with some concern:
"Daoist Yuan, you must wear this peach leaf pendant well and not lose it. It matches your outfit perfectly. If you lose it, it's gone for good."
It was unknown whether Yuan Qing caught the hidden meaning in his words, but he simply smiled faintly at Jiang Youfu:
"Alright, rest assured, Daoist Jiang. I will definitely take good care of this peach leaf pendant."
With that, he lowered his head and securely tied the peach leaf pendant to his waist.
After the few of them tidied up the cave dwelling a bit, Lin Xiao stood up and said to Yuan Qing:
"Daoist Yuan, we plan to go for a stroll outside the city in a bit. What about you?"
Lin Xiao had been thinking about the small advertisements for purchasing monster beasts that he had seen on Seven Star Street in Yuanling City. Now that they had safely arrived in Banxiang City without any mishaps, and there was still some time before the Talisman Master Conference, he figured they could go out and hunt some wild monsters.
However, Yuan Qing's physical condition was obviously not suited to go with them, so Lin Xiao's words deliberately excluded him.
Hearing this, Yuan Qing nodded and said:
"Thank you for your concern, Daoist. Rest assured, I will at most stroll around the vicinity. I won't go far."
"Alright, we will be staying here for a long time. You can take your time to plan your matters, don't rush."
As he spoke, Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu had already walked to the door.
"We'll head out first. If you go out, pay attention to your safety."
Watching them leave, Yuan Qing wandered around the cave dwelling for a while, then meditated for a bit. Feeling that his meridians were uncomfortably blocked, he lost the mood to continue meditating. After some thought, he walked out of the cave dwelling.
Among the Qi Condensation stage cultivators arranged by the sect to come work in Banxiang City, Xu Juan's name was included.
Guessing that he should have arrived by now, Yuan Qing planned to go out and ask around about the current situation in Banxiang City.
Meanwhile, after Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu left the city, they followed some teams who were also out hunting, heading towards the areas where ordinary low-level monster beasts frequently roamed.
At this moment, Lin Xiao suddenly heard the long-lost system notification sound ring in his mind:
Ding! Congratulations to the host for unlocking the Sect Construction Task - Breeding Construction 1: An excellent sect naturally cannot lack a breeding ground. Please construct a breeding facility for the development of the sect's breeding industry.
Ding! Congratulations to the host for unlocking the Sect Construction Task - Breeding Construction 2: An excellent sect naturally cannot lack a breeding ground, and a breeding ground naturally requires various monster beasts to be tamed and raised. Please capture at least five of five different types of monster beasts alive, and tame and raise them. Friendly reminder: The private storage live animal holding area will open its permissions, allowing the host to store monster beasts deemed capable of being tamed and raised by the system, regardless of the monster beast's level.
Perhaps having held back for too long, the system actually popped out two tasks at once.
This made Lin Xiao, who hadn't done a task in a long time, feel a trace of familiarity.
However, constructing a breeding facility...
He was currently far away in the cultivation world, how the hell was he supposed to build one?
He could only try his best to complete the second task.
Moreover, although live ones sold for higher prices, they were difficult to carry. Originally, he had thought that if he encountered too many monster beasts at once, he would have no choice but to kill most of them.
Unexpectedly, the system was very considerate and removed the restriction on the live animal holding area, which previously could only store living creatures that had not developed sentience.
Didn't this mean that he could catch as many as he wanted, and store as many as he caught...
Lin Xiao seemed to see a massive amount of spirit stones waving at him!
At this time outside Banxiang City, there were many idle cultivators forming groups to hunt monster beasts, scattering into the vast mountains and wilderness in all directions outside the city.
Before long, Jiang Youfu saw Lin Xiao beside him suddenly grab him, acting as if he had been injected with chicken blood, and swiftly dart away from the main group.
The further out they went, the more people left the main group, so no one noticed their departure.
As they got further and further away from Banxiang City, the surrounding vegetation became increasingly lush.
The air also became quiet and secluded. They could only hear the chirping of insects and the occasional rustling of the wind.
In the deep mountains and old forests outside, the number of monster beasts was extremely high.
It was just that they all stayed far away from the cities built by human cultivators. Therefore, all along, other than that one Silver Frost Python Demon in Xiushui Village, Lin Xiao had only encountered monster beasts inside secret realms.
Coming out to hunt in the deep mountains and dense forests like this was actually something he and Fuzi used to do often back in Xiushui Village, but this was the first time their hunting targets had changed to monster beasts.
Holding the basic information about the monster beast roaming areas near Banxiang City that he had gathered earlier in Yuanling City, Lin Xiao checked their direction as they advanced.
Jiang Youfu followed beside him, continuously crunching on roasted beans, occasionally stuffing a handful into Lin Xiao's mouth as well.
Before they started cultivating, whenever they frequently went up the North Mountain to catch wild game, it was exactly like this. He was in charge of eating roasted beans in the back and stuffing roasted beans into everyone's mouths.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
