After burning the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivator's remains, Lin Yun killed several more Qi Refining Stage cultivators of the Demonic Path near the front lines before returning to the Golden Drum Plain Camp.
Once back at the Golden Drum Plain Camp, he took the cultivators' Storage Bags with him to report the completion of his assignment.
Lin Yun was about to leave after reporting in when the elderly man surnamed Wu, who distributed Yellow Maple Valley's assignments in the camp, suddenly said, "Junior Brother Lin, I have another assignment here that requires leaving the Golden Drum Plain Battlefield. Would you be interested?"
Lin Yun paused. He had already been trying to find a way to leave the Golden Drum Plains. Now that an assignment offered him a legitimate excuse to do so, wasn't this perfect?
He cupped his hands toward the elderly man surnamed Wu and said, "Please tell me more, Senior Brother Wu."
The elderly man immediately drew Lin Yun aside and said quietly, "A few days ago, the valley received word that the Six Demonic Path Sects might send some low-level disciples into our kingdom's mortal society. They intend to purge some of the mortals secretly supported by our Seven Sects, hoping to disrupt the supply of ordinary raw materials we receive from the mortal world. We've therefore decided to send some disciples to deal with them."
After a pause, the elderly man said somewhat awkwardly, "I have some relatives in the mortal world who are also among the Demonic Path's targets, so I'd like to ask you to go and look after them on my behalf."
Lin Yun considered this for a moment, then said, "Why don't you go and protect them yourself, Senior Brother Wu? Why choose me? I'm only at early Foundation Establishment."
The elderly man gave a bitter smile. "It's not that I don't want to go myself. The Demonic Path's attacks are growing fiercer by the day. As a sect steward, how could I leave?"
"As for why I chose you, Junior Brother, don't sell yourself short. Judging by your achievements today, how could an ordinary early Foundation Establishment cultivator compare to you?"
Lin Yun nodded. "All right, I'll accept the assignment. Where do these relatives of yours live, Senior Brother Wu?"
Seeing Lin Yun accept, the elderly man immediately breathed a sigh of relief. "My relatives live in Xi Zhou. That makes them fellow natives of yours, Junior Brother."
He then gave Lin Yun a detailed account of his relatives' circumstances and their exact address, and took out a letter for Lin Yun to deliver to them.
Upon hearing the address, an unusual expression suddenly flickered in Lin Yun's eyes. After a moment of distraction, he prepared to take his leave.
Just then, the elderly man suddenly added in a low voice, "Junior Brother Lin, if things become hopeless, tell them to conceal their identities and leave the Yue Kingdom."
Although the two sides currently appeared evenly matched, there was an enormous gulf in strength between the Seven Sects and the Six Demonic Path Sects. This was common knowledge within the Seven Sects, and their leaders had actually already prepared for the worst.
Lin Yun paused. "Understood, Senior Brother Wu."
Jade Mountain City lay at the southernmost end of Xi Zhou. It was a city that had prospered through jade, and the elderly man's relatives ran a jade business there.
As the city's largest jade merchants, the Wu Family owned numerous properties in Jade Mountain City. Their residences alone numbered five or six within the city, in addition to a summer estate outside it.
Unlike his children and grandchildren, who favored extravagance and usually lived in the newly built, luxurious mansion in the city, the Wu Family's patriarch, Wu Ping, lived year-round in a modest little courtyard residence.
When Lin Yun arrived at the address the elderly man had given him, he thought he had come to the wrong place.
Yet although it was only an ordinary courtyard residence, it lacked none of the arrangements befitting the home of Jade Mountain City's richest man.
With a single glance, Lin Yun spotted quite a few martial arts experts guarding the courtyard.
After looking over the little courtyard, he did not ask the gatekeeper to announce him. Instead, he walked into a corner, blurred into motion, and stepped inside.
Sweeping his spiritual sense through the courtyard, Lin Yun found his target.
His body swayed slightly, and when he appeared again, he had materialized out of thin air inside a study.
An elderly man in plain cloth robes was calculating accounts in the study. Startled by the figure that suddenly appeared, he was about to cry out.
Then Lin Yun pointed a finger, sending a stream of five-colored magical power flashing through the study. A faint glow immediately flickered across its walls.
At the sight, the elderly man fell silent at once, a trace of awe flashing in his eyes.
"There's no need to be afraid, Master Wu. Someone asked me to come and look after your family. What I just did was merely to prevent any sound in this study from carrying outside. Take a look at this first."
Seeing the elderly man's reaction, Lin Yun said no more. He raised his hand and took the letter from his Storage Bag, using a strand of magical power to float it over to him.
The elderly man accepted the envelope doubtfully, opened it, and began to read.
After his expression shifted several times, the elderly man rose, approached Lin Yun, and bowed respectfully. "I, Wu Ping, thank you for coming, Immortal Master. My uncle instructed me to follow all your arrangements from now on."
Lin Yun was taken aback. He had not expected Wu Ping to be Senior Brother Wu's nephew, but he did not dwell on it. Raising a hand to indicate that such ceremony was unnecessary, he said, "I'm merely honoring the trust placed in me. There's no need to stand on ceremony. Go about your everyday business as usual and pay me no mind. I'll protect you during this time."
"However, although I don't know whether Senior Brother Wu mentioned it in his letter, before I left, he asked me to tell you that if things become truly hopeless, you should conceal your identity and leave the Yue Kingdom. You'd best give that some thought now."
Wu Ping nodded, his expression conflicted. "My uncle mentioned that in his letter as well. Ah! Immortal Master, will it really come to that? Are our Seven Sects truly no match for the Six Demonic Path Sects? Aren't our Seven Sects the rulers of the Yue Kingdom? How could this...?"
Though only a mortal, he supplied raw materials to Yellow Maple Valley, and his own uncle was a Foundation Establishment cultivator. He was therefore not entirely ignorant of the cultivation world and knew a little about the war between the Seven Sects and the Six Demonic Path Sects.
Lin Yun said little, merely reminding him, "Think it through carefully. The Wu Family has a large household and extensive holdings. If you intend to withdraw, you'd best prepare early."
With that, his figure blurred again, and he vanished without a trace.
Wu Ping sat alone in the study, lost in thought for a long time. Only then did he leave and immediately order the servants to summon all his children and grandchildren.
Lin Yun paid no attention to Wu Ping's decision. After leaving Wu Ping's study, he summoned the White Bone Divine Demon and concealed it beneath the Wu Family's residence, ordering it to follow Wu Ping and secretly protect the family.
After leaving the Wu Family's courtyard, he himself used no more magical power. Instead, he walked through the streets of Jade Mountain City like an ordinary person, listening to the cries of the vendors as he explored with fresh curiosity, occasionally stopping to examine the unusual trinkets for sale around him.
Wandering along the way, Lin Yun strolled from morning until afternoon, making his way from the Wu Family's location
in the eastern part of the city to the south, where he finally stopped in front of a medical clinic.
Before you continue