Lin Yu smiled and said, "Reading and cultivating alone isn't enough. I want to go out and see what the world is like. After all, it's the people we need to protect."
"After all, we'll be fighting the Emperor Corpse in two years. It's not sustainable to keep working in isolation. It's time to get out and explore."
Uncle Nine looked at Lin Yu, remained silent for a moment, and slowly nodded. "You're right. Cultivation is not only about practicing techniques, but also about cultivating one's character and broadening one's horizons."
"Going out to gain experience is good, but remember, safety is paramount. If you encounter any danger, remember to contact me, and don't let anyone bully you."
As he spoke, Uncle Nine took out several items from the cloth bag: a few talismans, a peach wood sword, and a Bagua mirror, and handed them to Lin Yu.
Lin Yu took the things and hugged them tightly to his chest. "Don't worry, Master. You know my abilities. It would be good enough if your disciple didn't bully others after we leave."
After giving a few words of advice to Uncle Nine and his two senior brothers, he turned and walked in the opposite direction from the mortuary.
Uncle Nine watched Lin Yu's figure gradually disappear into the distance and murmured, "This child has grown up."
Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai stopped joking around, their eyes filled with reluctance.
The three stood there until Lin Yu's figure disappeared at the edge of the forest before turning around and continuing towards the mortuary.
A month later, Lin Yu's figure was seen moving through the rolling mountains and forests.
During this month, he walked along the mountain path, stopping and starting. Along the way, he encountered White Jiangshi blocking his way, monsters that wanted to kill him, and some bewildered spirits and ghosts that had gained some intelligence.
He eliminated all evil spirits that had caused human deaths, and carefully instructed spirits that had not harmed people to hide deep in the mountains and not disturb mortals.
That afternoon, Lin Yu was following a trail of spiritual energy in search of medicinal herbs when he heard footsteps approaching from behind.
Looking back, they saw a group of seven or eight people searching for medicine. The leader was a middle-aged man with a weathered face, carrying a bamboo medicine basket. Behind him were several young men and two hunters carrying bows and arrows.
"Young man, are you also up in the mountains gathering herbs?" The leader asked with concern when he saw that Lin Yu was young and walking alone in the forest.
"There are wild animals in this back mountain. It's too dangerous for you to go alone. Why don't you come with us?" a hunter nearby said kindly.
Lin Yu didn't have a fixed destination, so he nodded in agreement.
The middle-aged man smiled and patted Lin Yu on the shoulder, "My Li Laosan, I'm from Li Family Village at the foot of the mountain, you can just call me Uncle Li."
The others also greeted Lin Yu, and the group chatted and laughed, making it much more lively than when he traveled alone.
After walking for about two hours, the group arrived at the edge of a steep cliff.
Li Laosan saw that a blood-red Ganoderma lucidum was growing on the cliff.
He suddenly pointed to the middle of the cliff and shouted excitedly, "Look! It's a Blood Ganoderma! It's so big, it must have been growing for at least fifty years!"
Following his pointing finger, everyone saw a lingzhi mushroom the size of a bowl embedded in the cliff face. Its cap was bright red, with a faint golden tinge around the edges.
Several young men cheered, "That's great! This Ganoderma lucidum can sell for several dozen silver dollars, enough to feed everyone in our village for several months!"
Lin Yu also looked at the Ganoderma lucidum, which was the very herb he had been searching for. Now, he had found it by following the herb-gathering team.
Li Laosan quickly called out to everyone, "Be careful, set up a rope ladder, I'm going down to collect them!"
Before anyone could make a move, a yellow figure suddenly darted out from the bushes at the edge of the cliff and stood firmly in front of the precipice.
It turned out to be a sika deer, filthy all over, with moss clinging to its antlers. Its bright eyes were watching the group intently, clearly trying to stop them.
Lin Yu sensed a subtle flow of Spiritual Power within the sika deer, indicating that it had clearly gained sentience.
This century-old Ganoderma lucidum is rich in spiritual energy, and it is most likely a treasure that this spirit deer has been guarding.
"It was just a deer! You scared me!" a young man laughed.
He saw a yellow figure jump out and thought he had encountered a tiger, which made his heart skip a beat.
A hunter nearby raised his bow and arrow. "Just shoot it away, don't hurt the Ganoderma lucidum!"
Having said that, he drew his bow and nocked an arrow, which "whooshed" towards the white deer.
Contrary to everyone's expectations, the sika deer was frightened and ran away; it just stood there motionless.
Everyone could imagine what it would look like when it was shot by an arrow, but the expected "thud" sound of the arrow piercing flesh did not come.
The arrow struck the white deer, but bounced off without leaving a single mark on the deer.
Lin Yu watched silently from the side, making no move. The mud armor was the sika deer's means of protection, suggesting it was a spirit deer.
With this sika deer around, Li Laosan and his men probably won't be able to get that Ganoderma lucidum unless they have some skill.
Sure enough, seeing that even arrows were useless, everyone was stunned. Li Laosan frowned. "The mud on this deer is too thick. Don't use arrows, use machetes to drive it away, don't delay the harvesting of Ganoderma lucidum!"
The group drew their machetes and surrounded the deer, trying to drive it away.
The sika deer looked at the people who were gathering around it, its eyes filled with anxiety. Suddenly, it raised its head and let out a clear cry that pierced through the mountains and forests and carried far away.
"What is it making?" a young man asked, puzzled.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a tiger's roar, so powerful it shook the leaves to fall, suddenly echoed from the depths of the forest.
"Uncle Li, there's a tiger!" The group of young men had never heard a tiger roar before, and they were so frightened that their legs went weak.
It can only be said that it truly lives up to the name "Tiger's Roar and Dragon's Cry." Being mentioned alongside the dragon demonstrates that the tiger's roar is indeed intimidating.
Everyone froze on the spot, looking around to see where the tiger's roar was coming from.
Even the two hunters drew their arrows and nocked them on their bows, ready to strike at any moment.
Lin Yu wasn't particularly afraid. He had seen several tigers in the past month, and Lin Yu had even killed a man-eating tiger.
At first, he was curious about what tiger meat tasted like, but after eating it, he found that it was just like any other meat.
As expected, while everyone was at a loss, a yellow and black figure darted out with a gust of wind and landed steadily in front of the sika deer.
It was a tiger with piercing eyes and a white forehead, a size larger than an ordinary tiger. The king-shaped stripe on its forehead shone with a faint golden light. Even more strangely, when it opened its mouth, it spoke human language.
"Why are you trying to steal the Ganoderma lucidum I'm guarding?"
The tiger's roar had already terrified everyone, and when they heard the tiger speak, several young men collapsed to the ground.
Li Laosan's face also turned pale. He was pulled backward by the two hunters, and as he retreated, he kept muttering, trembling, "Monster... monster!"
Lin Yu, however, quietly took a step forward, just in case the tiger hurt someone.
Although he sensed that the tiger was not evil at all, Lin Yu was afraid that it would suddenly attack and hurt people since everyone had come to steal its Ganoderma lucidum.
Don't ruin the cultivation of this perfectly good spirit tiger over such a trivial matter.