Tap, tap, tap!
Meng Haoran's footsteps rang out urgently through the mountain forest.
He suddenly crouched down. Seeing the bloodstains on the ground before him, he raised his head and looked toward a towering boulder.
"Lin Jiangye! Stop hiding! I've already found your position!"
Behind the boulder, Lin Jiangye pressed his lips together and tore off a strip of cloth with both hands, wrapping it around his right calf.
"Meng Haoran, there has never been any grudge between us. Why must you push things to such extremes?"
Lin Jiangye's voice came from behind the boulder. "As long as you let me leave today, I will never speak of this! No—I was never here at all!"
Meng Haoran began moving forward slowly as he said, "Lin Jiangye, neither of us is a three-year-old child. If those words came from my mouth, would you believe them?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Jiangye's heart clenched sharply, and a faint sense of death gradually crept over him.
Crack!
Meng Haoran instantly snapped a fallen branch beneath his foot. The sound rang out from the other side of the boulder where Lin Jiangye was hiding, startling him into leaping away as he turned to rush deeper into the forest!
Swift Snake Step!
Seeing Lin Jiangye flee, Meng Haoran's footwork abruptly accelerated, as nimble and sinuous as a snake.
Before Lin Jiangye could escape very far, Meng Haoran had already reached his back.
Water Cloud Sword!
A tiny sword-shaped technique formed from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth appeared once more between Meng Haoran's palms. He let out a fierce shout. "Go!"
The Water Cloud Sword shot forth violently, instantly piercing Lin Jiangye's other leg.
With both legs wounded by Meng Haoran, Lin Jiangye lost all support and rolled down a short distance away in the blink of an eye!
After a few leaps, Meng Haoran arrived at Lin Jiangye's side. Looking at his bloodied, broken head, he said quietly, "Don't blame me for being too ruthless. I gave you a chance, but you insisted on entering the Meng Family's Spirit Plant Field. You brought all this upon yourself!"
Only then did Lin Jiangye truly realize that he was about to die here!
"Meng Haoran! Let me go! I'll agree to anything you want!"
During his earlier tumble, Lin Jiangye had accidentally broken his left arm. Unable to make any further resistance, he could only beg Meng Haoran helplessly. "Spirit Stones! I have Spirit Stones! I'll give them all to you!"
Out of the corner of his eye, Meng Haoran saw sunlight breaking through at the horizon. He knew it was getting late. If he hesitated any longer, more people would pass through this place.
"Of course I need Spirit Stones. But you've forgotten one thing: once I kill you, all of these things will naturally become mine as well!"
Lin Jiangye's pupils contracted. "You..."
Before he could finish, Meng Haoran's right palm slammed heavily into his chest!
A sound of bones shattering came from Lin Jiangye's chest. He collapsed limply, his whitened eyes fixed stubbornly on Meng Haoran.
This was Meng Haoran's first time killing someone. He forcibly suppressed the unease in his heart and carefully searched Lin Jiangye for spoils.
"A Storage Bag and a Storage Ring!"
Meng Haoran said under his breath, "It seems Lin Jiangye's standing in the Lin Family wasn't low."
As he spoke, a flicker of flame suddenly burst from his fingertips. With a thought, he sent that flame directly onto Lin Jiangye's body.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, the blaze completely engulfed Lin Jiangye's corpse.
Meng Haoran called over the Thunderfire Tiger and, without lingering, turned to clean up the traces left behind during his pursuit of Lin Jiangye.
Before the morning mist had dispersed, Meng Haoran and the tiger raced straight toward the Xinghua Village Meng Family.
"The traces have been cleaned up. Lin Jiangye died in the forest, and his corpse must have turned charred black by now. If they want to learn his whereabouts by bypassing all this, they likely won't discover it for another three or four days."
"By then, the Spirit Plants in our Meng Family's Spirit Plant Field will have been fully harvested!"
"And this matter must be reported to the elders as soon as possible!"
"Clan Uncle Bohai, that is what happened."
Within a pavilion, only Meng Haoran and Meng Bohai sat facing each other.
Meng Bohai smiled faintly and comforted him. "Hao Ran, you handled this matter very well. You protected the Lineage's interests from violation, kept yourself safe, and eliminated a grave hidden danger for our Meng Family."
Meng Haoran placed the Storage Bag and Storage Ring he had taken from Lin Jiangye onto the stone table. "Clan Uncle Bohai, I obtained these from Lin Jiangye. There are more than three thousand Spirit Stones in the Storage Bag, while the Storage Ring only contains a little over five hundred Spirit Stones. However, there are also two Lin Family Cultivation Methods inside the Storage Ring."
Hearing this, Meng Bohai felt a touch of delight. Compared to Spirit Stones, Cultivation Methods and Daoist Magic interested him far more.
"Qi Gazing Technique, Body Sculpting Art."
Meng Bohai replied, "Both are cultivation methods. Their grades are no better than our Meng Family's Forging Yin Refining Yang Method, but we can make copies and sell these two cultivation methods in the Black Market."
Meng Haoran nodded lightly.
He understood Meng Bohai's intentions.
Since both the Qi Gazing Technique and Body Sculpting Art were inferior to the Meng Family's Forging Yin Refining Yang Method, rather than letting them gather dust in the Lineage's library, it was better to sell them in the Black Market. Not only could they earn the corresponding Spirit Stones from the two cultivation methods, they could also use the Black Market's circulation to divert the Lin Family's attention.
It would make the Lin Family believe that someone from the Black Market had killed Lin Jiangye and taken some items from his body.
Thinking this, Meng Haoran clasped his fists. "Everything will be done as Clan Uncle Bohai says."
Meng Bohai smiled. "A Storage Bag cannot compare to a Storage Ring. A junior of the Lineage like you naturally has no qualifications to carry one. To avoid drawing the attention of the Lin Family, I will accept this Storage Ring on behalf of the Lineage. As for the Storage Bag, nearly everyone has one, and their styles are mostly identical. So I will give this Storage Bag to you."
Now that Meng Haoran had embarked upon the path of cultivation, the cultivation resources he required would certainly increase with time.
With this Storage Bag now in his possession, it was equivalent to resolving a future difficulty in Meng Haoran's cultivation.
"Hao Ran thanks Clan Uncle Bohai!" Meng Haoran replied.
Seeing Meng Haoran's expression, Meng Bohai smiled and waved his hand. "But your clan uncle will not have you do these things for nothing."
As he spoke, Meng Bohai placed the Storage Bag and Storage Ring together. With a movement of his divine sense, a glimmer of light flashed between them.
"You have made such a great contribution to our Meng Family. Your clan uncle certainly will not let you suffer a loss."
Meng Bohai pushed the Storage Bag before Meng Haoran. "There are five hundred Spirit Stones inside. Consider them your reward this time."
Upon hearing this, joy appeared on Meng Haoran's face.
He was currently at the peak of the third layer of the Qi Refining Realm and urgently needed Spirit Stones as cultivation resources to support his breakthrough.
Moreover, he had the Thunderfire Tiger, that gold-devouring beast, at his side.
Naturally, Meng Haoran would not refuse these five hundred Spirit Stones. He clasped his fists and said, "Many thanks, Clan Uncle Bohai!"
"No need! You deserve them!"
Meng Bohai replied, "Today was your first time killing someone, and it was also one of the hurdles on your path of cultivation. In the future, for our Meng Family and for your own path of cultivation, you will kill even more people who stand in your way. Since it has already happened, and you handled it very properly, there is no need to dwell on it further."
Meng Haoran replied softly, "Hao Ran understands. I will not hesitate over this matter."
Meng Bohai pondered briefly. "Rest well in the village for now. After noon, accompany me to the Spirit Plant Field and complete the harvest of that batch of Spirit Plants!"
Meng Haoran nodded. "All right, I understand, Clan Uncle Bohai."
At sunset, after Meng Haoran and the Meng Family clansmen finished harvesting that batch of Spirit Plants from the Meng Family's Spirit Plant Field, they returned directly to Xinghua Village.
Watching the clansmen carry bag after bag of Spirit Plants back to the Lineage, Meng Bohai turned and called Meng Haoran over.
Meng Bohai said in a low voice, "We have been busy all afternoon, and nothing unusual happened nearby. Moreover, passersby and our clansmen have been going back and forth, making the traces from your pursuit of Lin Jiangye this morning even more confusing. Now you can rest completely at ease."
Meng Haoran replied, "After killing Lin Jiangye, I cleaned up all the traces along the route I took. With everyone's disturbance added on top of that, even if the Lin Family wants to track down the culprit, I do not think their suspicions will point toward our Meng Family."
Meng Bohai nodded. "The most important matter for our Meng Family now is to quickly plant that batch of Second-Tier Spirit Plant, Six-Pattern Wheat, in our rear courtyard. The Patriarch previously entrusted you with the task of the new Spirit Plant Field, so, Hao Ran, you must hurry and successfully plant that Second-Tier Spirit Plant, Six-Pattern Wheat."
Meng Haoran said solemnly, "I understand. The Lin and Chen Families have secretly joined forces and are targeting our Meng Family at every turn because our Meng Family has only the Patriarch, a single Half-step Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, while each of their families has two Half-step Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators. Should any further unfavorable change arise for our Meng Family, the Lin and Chen Families will surely deal us a fatal blow. Therefore, we must seize the time, amass cultivation resources, and prepare against unforeseen needs in the future!"
Meng Bohai said with some gratification, "Hao Ran, it greatly comforts me that you have considered this. And I have good news for you: within three months, I will break through to the Half-step Foundation Establishment Realm!"
Meng Haoran asked in surprise, "Really? That is wonderful! Your nephew congratulates Clan Uncle in advance on your successful advancement!"
Ten years ago, the Meng Family had lost two Half-step Foundation Establishment Realm clansmen at the same time, causing the entire Meng Family's development plans to suffer considerable obstruction.
If Meng Bohai truly advanced to the Half-step Foundation Establishment Realm, a portion of the Meng Family's present difficulties could be dismantled.
Meng Bohai smiled. "Therefore, you must hurry and cultivate and plant more cultivation resources for the Meng Family."
Meng Haoran nodded. "All right, I'll go now."
As soon as his words fell, Meng Haoran headed straight for the Meng Family's rear courtyard.
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