Wan'er, Come with Me to Teng Family City

At dawn the next day, the golden rooster announced the morning.

Lin Che, having finished cultivating, slowly opened his eyes. Li Muwan was already awake and was refining pills in the next room.

For someone as devoted to alchemy as she was, nothing mattered more than refining the finest possible pills.

Lin Che did not disturb Li Muwan. Instead, he went to the Heng Yue Sect's inner courtyard, intending to see whether Wang Lin was still within the sect.

The Heng Yue Sect was divided into six courtyards: five sub-courtyards and one main courtyard. The Five Sub-Peaks were Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, each housing registered disciples.

Inner disciples and elders mostly resided in the main courtyard.

The area where Wang Lin had lived was the inner courtyard where inner disciples cultivated. Though they were qualified to practice cultivation techniques, they had to complete the sect's assigned tasks each day before they could cultivate.

When Lin Che arrived, he did not find Wang Lin. Instead, he saw a corpse being carried out of a room.

"What happened?"

Lin Che landed steadily on the ground and looked at an elder from the Law Enforcement Hall, his tone calm as he asked.

The Law Enforcement Hall elder had met Lin Che before. Upon hearing his question, he immediately hurried over with utmost respect, cupped his hands, and said, "Reporting to Senior, this man was Sun Dazhu, a Foundation Establishment cultivator of our Heng Yue Sect."

"Sun Dazhu?"

That figure surfaced in Lin Che's mind. According to the original story, Sun Dazhu was an inner sect steward disciple of the Heng Yue Sect and possessed early Foundation Establishment cultivation.

However, he had coveted the Heaven Defying Bead belonging to Wang Lin, the male lead. Wang Lin had controlled him with Three Corpse Thread Herb before ultimately killing him with a single slap inside the room.

The Law Enforcement Hall elder continued, "After our investigation, it appears that a disciple calling himself Wang Lin was responsible. We are currently pursuing the matter, and there should be news soon."

Upon hearing that Wang Lin had already left the Heng Yue Sect, Lin Che raised a brow. It seemed that even though the Heng Yue Sect still existed in the Zhao Kingdom, Wang Lin would still kill Sun Dazhu. Next, he would reunite with Zhang Hu, who had left the sect, and kill Teng Huayuan's grandson, Teng Li.

"So it truly is the cycle of Karma."

Lin Che waved a hand and said flatly, "There is no need to investigate this matter any further. Sun Dazhu brought his death upon himself. There is even less need to trouble Wang Lin."

"This..."

The Law Enforcement Hall elder hesitated for a moment, but when he saw the icy expression on Senior Lin Che's face, he immediately agreed.

"This junior obeys."

With one hand behind his back, Lin Che gazed at Sun Dazhu's corpse and murmured to himself, "It seems that even if the Heng Yue Sect remains in this world, Wang Lin will still kill Sun Dazhu."

Lin Che had originally thought that if the Heng Yue Sect still existed, Wang Lin would not leave it, and the massacre of the Teng family would never take place. Now, it seemed he had been wrong.

With that in mind, Lin Che turned and returned to the bamboo forest, continuing his secluded cultivation. Wang Lin had now chosen to cultivate nearby and would not head to Teng Family City to begin the main storyline until four years later.

Time flew by. Two months later.

Lin Che, who was cultivating deep within the bamboo forest, was drawn out by an intense fragrance of pills.

Not far away, Li Muwan held a golden pill in her hand as she ran happily toward Lin Che. "Senior Brother, I successfully refined a Tier 3 Pill."

Lin Che accepted the pill she handed him and praised her, "As expected of an alchemy genius rarely seen in a thousand ages. You have only just become a Grade 3 alchemist, yet you can already remove every impurity from a pill. Your future achievements will be limitless."

Li Muwan smiled gently. "When there is a chance, Senior Brother, accompany me back to the Luo He Sect. The sect has Grade 3 Heavenly Separation Pills. If we can obtain one, we can directly step into Core Formation."

"Sky Severance Pill..."

The Sky Severance Pill was no ordinary pill. In the eyes of many, it was more precious than countless magical treasures.

That was because the Sky Severance Pill could increase the chance of breaking through into Core Formation. Many people lacked sufficient talent and had little hope of reaching Core Formation, but taking a Sky Severance Pill was different.

If he had obtained a Sky Severance Pill back when he was in the Pseudo-Core Realm, he presumably would not have been sucked into that spatial rift and transported to a hellish place like the Ancient God's Land.

"Wan'er, come with me to Teng Family City."

"Teng Family City?" Li Muwan asked curiously. "Senior Brother, why are we going there?"

"The resources of the major sects have all been handed over to Teng Huayuan, the patriarch of Teng Family City. This time, we will first retrieve those things. There is also another matter to discuss."

Before Li Muwan could react, Lin Che grabbed her wrist, and in an instant, they appeared tens of thousands of li away.

If he broke through to the Soul Transformation Stage in the future, teleporting a hundred thousand li would be effortless. Crossing the entirety of the Zhao Kingdom would be just as easy.

Teng Family City was a renowned cultivation clan in the north of the Zhao Kingdom. Its founding ancestor, Teng Huayuan, was a top-tier powerhouse who had only recently broken through into the Nascent Soul Stage.

It was precisely because of this that Teng Huayuan had not participated in the Extraterrestrial Battlefield campaign, allowing him to avoid perishing there.

Moreover, in order to better maintain control, Teng Huayuan personally issued an order forbidding anyone within Teng Family City from fighting.

As soon as the order was issued, the entire Teng Family City was swept by a solemn atmosphere. Many cultivators had initially been quite dissatisfied, but Teng Huayuan simply slapped them to death. Since then, no cultivator had dared act recklessly in Teng Family City.

Following beside Lin Che, Li Muwan's star-like eyes continuously swept over the shops lining both sides of the street. She was also somewhat curious that a Nascent Soul patriarch could keep the cultivators in the city so subdued.

"Senior Brother, with your cultivation, why are we walking? We could fly on swords instead."

Li Muwan asked curiously.

"I have not experienced the feeling of walking for a long time. Besides, I have not seen such mortal bustle in a hundred years."

Lin Che answered wistfully.

Looking at the streets before him, which felt as though they belonged to another lifetime, Lin Che sighed deeply. He had come to this world over a hundred years ago, and only before the age of thirteen had he known a period of happiness.

Now, looking back upon all the hardships along the way, he realized that aside from killing, he had no other choice.

"I see. Then Wan'er will accompany Senior Brother on a proper stroll through Teng Family City. Wan'er happens to want to buy some hairpins too~"

Li Muwan naturally took Lin Che's hand and led him toward the stalls in the distance. She gathered up all the things she liked while also purchasing many precious herbs for her upcoming pill refinement.

After walking for who knew how long, a five-story building suddenly appeared before them. Even within Teng Family City, it counted as a rather tall structure.

The first impression the building gave was one of refined elegance.

Its overall architectural style was somewhat antiquated. On its plaque were only three simple words: Profound Pill Pavilion.

This was presumably a place specializing in selling the pills and herbs cultivators required.