As he pondered, a Blackgold Silkworm happened to be nibbling mulberry leaves beside him, so Lin Ke crouched down to examine it.
"Crunch, crunch..."
The Blackgold Silkworm munched the leaves at a slow, leisurely pace. Its entire life consisted of eating and spinning silk, sleeping after spinning silk, then eating again after waking up.
What an enviable life!
"Haha, junior brother, you certainly have leisure to spare!" Just then, laughter rang out high overhead.
Lin Ke looked up and saw a man and a woman flying toward him from a short distance away. The man had phoenix eyes, while the woman wore a Daoist robe and a placid expression.
The speaker was the man with phoenix eyes.
These two... Seeing their black clothing, Lin Ke had an inkling of who they were.
"May I ask who you are?" Lin Ke asked, cupping his hands.
"We are disciples of the Discipline Hall, here to inspect your sect assignment, junior brother." The phoenix-eyed man smiled. "My name is Han Yun, and this is my junior sister, Han Fu."
"I am Lin Ke. Greetings, deacons." Lin Ke's pupils contracted before he smiled. "There are still twenty-odd days until the end of the month. Why have you come to inspect it today?"
An uneasy feeling stirred within him.
"Oh? A mere Qi Refining Stage disciple..." Han Yun raised an eyebrow at his words and was about to say something.
Then he saw Lin Ke rise into the air to meet them at eye level.
Han Yun's expression returned to normal, and he smiled. "So you have already advanced. Congratulations, junior brother... But you previously asked Junior Brother Li Le to have us inspect it early. Why are you reacting like this now?"
Li Le... Hovering in midair, Lin Ke confirmed his suspicions.
Li Le really was trying to get him killed!
"I never asked Li Le to do that." Lin Ke's expression was as still as an ancient well. "Please return."
Who would have thought that Han Fu, clad in her Daoist robe, would frown and speak up? "Do you expect us to come when you tell us to come and leave when you tell us to leave?"
Lin Ke cupped his hands. "Li Le has played a trick on you both. It has nothing to do with me."
He did not know whether Li Le had deceived these two or ordered them around, but either way, he would not let them conduct an inspection.
Otherwise, if Li Le learned he had a chance to turn the tables, wouldn't he immediately come after him?
Besides, their initial expressions had been somewhat off. Had he not revealed his Foundation Establishment cultivation, they probably would not have been nearly so accommodating.
After hearing Lin Ke's words and studying his expression, the two exchanged a glance, their expressions unreadable.
"How about this? Let us take a look at the blackgold silkworm silk, junior brother, so we can report back." Han Yun cupped his hands and smiled.
"No need. Come back at the end of the month, senior brother." Lin Ke cupped his hands and refused. He could not even be bothered to smile, his expression impassive.
Li Le had his elder father backing him, and Han Yun and Han Fu had probably already realized there was a conflict between Li Le and Lin Ke.
Thus, even if they had initially been unaware that Li Le was using them as his weapons, now that they knew, they had simply decided to play along, make trouble for Lin Ke, and curry favor with Li Le.
Lin Ke could not be bothered to show these two a pleasant face either.
"You wretch! We came all this way, so surely we ought to do something? Why are you being so unreasonable?" Han Fu snapped, her brows tightly knitted.
"Just take out the blackgold silkworm silk and let us weigh it. Wouldn't that settle everything?"
"No need." Lin Ke could not be bothered to say more. After those brief words, he brought the Amethyst Longhorn Beetle and the Stinger Hawk Moth out of his Niwan Palace.
The Amethyst Longhorn Beetle and the Stinger Hawk Moth rested motionlessly on his shoulders, like two statues.
"You..." Han Fu's eyes widened, and she was about to speak again.
But from Lin Ke's stance, she knew she could not force her way down to conduct an inspection. Even if she complained to their sect elders, she would have no grounds to stand on. All she could do was glare fiercely at him.
"Don't be hasty, junior sister." Han Yun glanced at the two insects on Lin Ke's shoulders, especially the Amethyst Longhorn Beetle, admiration in his eyes. "What a fine spirit insect. I have never seen a longhorn beetle of this kind before. Where did you obtain it, junior brother?"
Lin Ke said nothing, merely hovering quietly in the air.
The more he said, the more chances he had to slip up.
Besides, Han Yun and Han Fu were playing good cop and bad cop. Now that their inspection had failed, they clearly wanted to gather some information to take back to Li Le.
Why should he say anything more?
If the two tried to force their way in, resisting them would not count as breaking sect rules. After all, he could say he did not know their intentions. If they barged in, they would be the ones to suffer for it.
He could also use the opportunity to test the effectiveness of his spells and spirit insects.
And so, a hint of anticipation appeared on Lin Ke's face.
The Amethyst Longhorn Beetle on his shoulder waved its long antennae, while the Stinger Hawk Moth gently fluttered its wings, both looking eager to try.
"In that case..." Seeing that Lin Ke would yield to neither oil nor salt, Han Yun narrowed his eyes, then turned with a sweep of his sleeve. "Junior sister, let's return and report!"
As he spoke, he turned his face halfway back and cast a sidelong look at Lin Ke. "Just wait until a month from now. We will return and conduct a thorough inspection to see whether there is enough blackgold silkworm silk here!"
"Hmph!" Han Fu also glanced at Lin Ke before flying away with Han Yun.
Lin Ke remained expressionless in midair, only descending to the ground once the two were far away.
"Li Le..."
Lin Ke slowly rolled the name over his tongue, his brows tightly furrowed.
He had no opportunity now, but if he caught one later, he would have to deal Li Le a devastating blow.
Otherwise, this endless harassment would leave him without a moment's peace.
"Strength! Strength is still what matters most..."
Lin Ke sighed.
Cultivation could not be rushed.
Otherwise, he truly wished he could cultivate hard for twelve double-hours a day-all twenty-four hours.
Unfortunately, his body and soul had limits to what they could endure and absorb. He could not achieve everything in a single bound or eat himself fat in one mouthful.
After landing, he no longer felt like examining the Blackgold Silkworms, so he simply headed to another mountain.
Fang Tong had previously given him Old Han's legacy. Now that he knew many insect-rearing methods, he needed to clear out a space specifically for raising insects.
"This place looks good."
Lin Ke examined the mountain. With his meager knowledge of geography, he could detect the warmth and moisture within it.
He went to the foot of the mountain, spiritual power surging inside him.
"Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning!"
With a low shout, he raised both hands.
The next instant, the earth and rocks before him parted from the middle like curtains, exposing the reddish-brown soil beneath.
Lin Ke stepped inside. As he advanced, the soil flowed apart to either side with a rustling rush, like congealed lard sliced by a hot knife.
The Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning technique offered the greatest control over the earth and water elements. It was not merely about "moving" and "overturning," but a form of control that made lifting great weights seem effortless.
Many spells, including the Mountain-Moving Art, Earth Spike Art, Earth Wall Art, and Water Arrow Art, were merely offshoots of the Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning technique.
Lin Ke was still not very familiar with the Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning technique. He had some way to go before he could wield the power of "mountains" and "seas" freely, but he could manage to excavate a cave.
As he ventured deeper, he could feel earth and rocks falling, making the entire cave extremely unstable.
"Rumble..."
Suddenly, a noise came from behind Lin Ke, who had already ventured several meters into the cave.
It had collapsed!
"I forgot about that..."
Seeing this, Lin Ke hurried back while maintaining the Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning technique.
This was only natural. Even though Lin Ke had never studied geography or civil engineering, he still understood terms such as structure and load-bearing.
But there was little point in researching on the spot how to construct a cave's framework and support its weight.
"Looks like I still need to buy a technique for turning earth into steel with a point of the finger!"
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