The Wind Rises (Part 1)

The status bar changed again, and the Minor Returning Origin Art's cultivation suddenly increased by another notch.

Minor Returning Origin Art - Seventh Layer. (32% Completion)

"From 22 to 32... a direct increase of 10%." Lin Xin felt genuinely happy for the second time. The last time he felt this way was when Xiao Lingling was healed by the otherworldly senior.

"This time, I only did two things: one was picking up the Demon Talisman Seed, and the other was killing a long-waisted man. One of these two things must be related to the increase in my cultivation."

Lin Xin analyzed and judged.

Sitting upright in the carriage, he regulated his breathing for a while and swallowed a Qi Transformation Pill in one gulp.

Feeling the carriage stop again, the door opened.

He saw the familiar courtyard of his Mountain Manor again.

Jumping out of the carriage, he looked around. It was still the inner courtyard he had left.

Outside the Mountain Manor, everything was pitch black, as if rolling gray clouds surrounded the entire Mountain Manor.

The red round moon in the sky faintly carried a hint of strangeness and bloodiness.

"This... doesn't seem like a dream, nor does it seem like reality, yet it can bring in things from reality."

This time, he didn't immediately leave to wake up. Instead, he had the leisure to wander around this familiar yet unfamiliar courtyard.

This dark inner courtyard was indeed exactly the same as the courtyard in reality, even down to the most minute details.

However, the only difference between here and reality was that it seemed as if no one had ever lived here. It was merely an identical architectural display.

He walked around the courtyard and found that this place and the courtyard in reality were completely different places, two different spaces.

All traces of human habitation from reality were absent here. Only lifeless furniture and decorations remained.

Walking to the bedroom, he looked at the bed. Xiao Lingling's figure was still not there.

He meditated and regulated his breathing for about half an hour before he finally felt a burst of mental distraction.

Opening his eyes, he was once again lying on his bed in reality, with Xiao Lingling sleeping soundly in his arms.

Looking up at the top of the mosquito net, Lin Xin looked at the status bar below his vision again. Confirming that his Inner Strength cultivation had indeed increased, he breathed a long sigh of relief.

"After such a long stagnation, there's finally hope..." He glanced at the faint fish-belly white sky outside the window. "I'll try again tonight to see which one actually increased my cultivation."

**********************

Outside the bamboo forest of Spirit Heart Mountain Manor.

A man and a woman dressed as Jianghu wanderers stood by the Lane outside the bamboo forest, gazing at the tall and conspicuous white Mountain Manor within the bamboo forest, just like ordinary tourists.

Guards were stationed at the Mountain Manor's gate archway, and the inspection of ox carts entering and leaving with goods was very strict.

The gatekeepers were meticulous in their inspections. Several guys who wanted to bribe with silver were directly turned away.

"The Mountain Manor's guards are quite tight, not bad," the man said, stroking his chin as he looked into the distance.

"There's a faint aura of formation inside, probably a unique warning formation at the suppression point. It seems we can't force our way in, otherwise even you and I might not be able to escape," the woman said indifferently.

"A mere small suppression point. A Mountain Manor Lord who isn't even at the Qi Refining stage is the strongest. What do we have to fear?" The man didn't think much of it.

"It's not that I'm afraid of this Mountain Manor, I'm afraid of the people who will come to hunt us down after hearing the news once the formation is broken. That's the key. You and I aren't just going to leave after one successful attempt. Our main mission is our goal," the woman said seriously.

"That's true." The man pondered for a moment. "It's impossible for no one to leave this Mountain Manor. It's impossible that our target has no important people. As long as we catch one or two and threaten the target, wouldn't that be easier to solve?"

"That's what I think too," the woman nodded. "Anyway, the mission period is still long. Let's wait slowly and just treat it as a break to relax."

"Let's stay in the town near the Mountain Manor, so we can inquire about the situation here at any time," the man nodded.

"It's best if we can solve it without breaking the formation," the woman smiled, turned around, and walked towards the town not far from the Mountain Manor.

The man quickly followed.

**************************

"I heard that there's a problem with the Agricultural Canal Dam, and I plan to go and take a look myself."

Inside the side hall of the Mountain Manor, Lin Xin was processing documents while chatting with his old father, Lin Zhiwen.

"Didn't father just go to the White Buddha Hall? You fulfilled your vows and even traveled for more than ten days. Aren't you tired yet?" Lin Xin said helplessly.

"I'm not going to check the situation?" Lin Zhiwen argued. "I'm not going to travel?"

"You're not traveling? I just sent someone to check the Agricultural Canal Dam, and there's nothing wrong," Lin Xin unceremoniously exposed him.

Lin Zhiwen's old face turned red.

"Your old man can't even go out to play? You have to control me, right? You brat, your skin is itching now that you've grown up, and you don't even believe your old man's words?" He immediately started arguing.

"I just wanted to say... father, you have to take it easy... mother's side..." Lin Xin said helplessly. He knew that his father had secretly married a Younger Concubine and was flirting and traveling everywhere, probably neglecting his mother, Zhao Yuniang. He wanted to persuade him, but Lin Zhiwen was just an ordinary person, not a cultivator. He didn't have the rule that a cultivator could only have one Dao companion. Instead, he could marry as many concubines and Younger Concubines as he wanted, as long as his legal wife agreed. This was also the custom in the mortal world.

So he couldn't say anything.

"Her? You're talking about her? Don't mention it. Your mother is now obsessed with that Nonexistent Flower, cultivating flowers to the point of madness, getting up early and going to bed late every day, and she doesn't even care about this old man," Lin Zhiwen got angry as soon as he mentioned this.

"Just don't give me too many younger siblings..." Lin Xin said helplessly.

"I know, I know. By the way, the second and third children will be coming to the Mountain Manor in a while. Remember to arrange for someone to receive them properly, and don't forget because you're practicing cultivation," Lin Zhiwen instructed. "After all, no matter how bad your relationship was before, they are still your younger siblings."

"Got it."

Lin Xin immediately thought of his three siblings. His second sister, Lin Xinyue, was still holding her own in Wan Xin City, having opened her fifth shop. His third brother, Lin Xinhu, had been transferred to the Stone Gate Mountain military camp, where he was in charge of several hundred people, which was considered a success.

He didn't know what they were coming for this time. Logically speaking, these two had already separated from the family and had their own affairs to deal with. If they didn't have something important, who would run so far, risking the dangers along the way?

Lin Zhiwen chatted about the trivial matters of the Mountain Manor for a while before getting up and slowly walking out the door.

As he left, he glanced at the Xiao Lin Zhen practicing swordsmanship outside. Lu Suo Daoist, a Mountain Manor retainer, and Lin Xinyuan were instructing him in basic swordsmanship. He shook his head, glanced back at Lin Xin, who was buried in his work, and slowly left.

As soon as Lin Zhiwen left, a white-haired woman in a fiery red tight-fitting suit strode into the main hall. The woman's white hair was tied into a ponytail, which was raised high behind her. She had a black curved Dagger strapped to each of her thighs. The way she walked had a decisive sense of cutting through nails and chopping iron.

"Ou Yinghong." A voice came from behind the woman. A bald, burly man with a scar on his eyebrow, naked from the waist up and wearing loose tiger-skin pants, walked in, swaying from side to side.

"Fei Shi. Why are you back?" The Red-Clothed Woman frowned and asked. "Didn't the Manor Lord send you to suppress the turmoil in Flying Fox City?"

"It was just a quick decision," the burly man said with a smile. "Let's go, let's go see the Manor Lord together." His eyes wandered ambiguously over Ou Yinghong's full, slender thighs.

"I'm not familiar with you," Ou Yinghong said indifferently, striding into the side hall.

The burly man's expression stiffened. A cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"Red, ah." Lin Xin had already heard the conversation between the two outside, raised his head, and smiled at them. "How did things go?"

"Reporting to the Mountain Manor Lord. This year's goods have been delivered. The adults over there mean, can the Mountain Manor Lord increase the quantity of goods?" Ou Yinghong entered the door and knelt on one knee, respectfully.

"Increasing the quantity of goods is impossible." Lin Xin shook his head. "The Mountain Manor doesn't even have enough for its own use, it seems the situation is not optimistic."

"Mountain Manor Lord, the matter of Flying Fox City has been resolved, three hundred heads were beheaded, and none of the Mountain Manor's disciples were injured or killed." The bald-headed man also knelt on one knee.

Both of them were later rescued by San Yuan Zen Master and Lu Suo Daoist respectively, and brought under the Mountain Manor's banner. They each brought a force of hundreds of good fighters. In recent years, they have formed two Mountain Manor branches to maintain the stability of Yuefu Territory.

"Red, are there any noteworthy good seedlings among this batch of children?" Lin Xin picked up a scroll and asked casually.

"Reporting to the Mountain Manor Lord, some seedlings have been discovered, but I originally planned to train them well before reporting." Ou Yinghong said in a low voice.

"The temperament test was passed?" Lin Xin was stunned.

"Passed..." Ou Yinghong also said with some complexity. "From the thousands of children sent from Yuefu Territory, only a few dozen with Inner Qi cultivation qualifications were selected, and among them, only less than twenty truly passed the temperament test. This subordinate has already separated them and formed a team." She was not someone with Inner Family qualifications, so seeing so many children with Inner Qi cultivation qualifications, her heart was ultimately complex and inexplicable.

But Spirit Heart Mountain Manor is now the suppression point of Yuefu Territory, and naturally also has the obligation to select disciples and transport outer sect disciples for the Sect, so all children with a little qualification in the entire Yuefu Territory will be sent here.

This is equivalent to gathering the elite from millions of people in the entire Yuefu Territory, selecting them layer by layer, countless children. In fact, many of the children's parents may themselves be people of the martial world, and they have a good foundation in this area since childhood.

"What is the total number of people?" Lin Xin asked further. "As long as those who leave our Spirit Heart Mountain Manor can gain a foothold in the Sect and independently complete a mission, the Mountain Manor can provide a certain amount of Runestones and weapons Jade Coins, etc. as assistance every month."

He has now divided the benefits into several grades.

The first level is the simplest Minor Flame Yang Runestone, Minor Sweet Rain Runestone.

The second level is the Lucid Runestone.

The third level is the Clear Talisman Sword, Flame Yang Talisman Sword.

"The Mountain Manor Lord is benevolent!" Ou Yinghong and the two complimented in unison.

"It's not benevolence, it's just investment. They are disciples who have come out of my Spirit Heart Mountain Manor. Naturally, they also represent my Spirit Heart Mountain Manor and the future of my Yuefu Territory." Lin Xin said calmly. He didn't care whether the two understood the word investment.

"Also, have you found the whereabouts of my Martial Uncle Bo Yunzi?"

"Uh... not yet." The big man Fei Shi quickly replied.

Lin Xin sighed.

"Alright, go down."

"Yes."

The two stood up, and Ou Yinghong hesitated slightly as she left the side hall.

"Mountain Manor Lord, if you encounter children who have a great feud and come to the Mountain Manor only to avoid disaster and learn cultivation to avenge themselves, how should you deal with them?" (To be continued ~^~)