Returning to the County Town

Lin Xiao estimated that if he hadn't added a few extra strikes just in case, the array plate would have returned even more Spirit Stone.

Back when we killed that Silver Frost Python Demon, the Two Aspects Life and Death Formation only returned five Spirit Stone.

This shows how powerful the Silver Frost Python Demon was. He thought that if the Silver Frost Python Demon hadn't been injured and its strength hadn't been greatly reduced, the Two Aspects Life and Death Formation might not have been able to kill it directly.

When Lin Xiao rushed back to the county town, it was just dawn.

Upon entering the courtyard, one could see Sun Yigao walking back and forth reading a book, while Liu Yunan and Jiang Youfu were meditating and cultivating under the eaves.

The three were overjoyed to see him finally return.

"Brother Xiao, you're finally back!"

"Yes, we're extremely worried!"

"Brother Xiao, Brother Xiao, how's it going?"

Hearing the commotion, Tuantuan, disregarding her still-healing injuries, limped out of the house.

"Meow!"

Lin Xiao was somewhat surprised to see Sun Yigao:

"Hey, Yigao, what are you doing here? Didn't you go to the exam?"

Sun Yigao said:

"We're waiting for the results of the first round today. If we pass the first round, we'll continue in two days."

Hearing this, Lin Xiao felt relieved. He had thought Yigao was worried about him not taking the exam, and if that were the case, he would feel extremely guilty.

Seeing everyone's eager expressions, Lin Xiao smiled and walked into the house.

"Let's go inside and talk."

Everyone followed him into the house.

Lin Xiao sat down and briefly recounted the process of rescuing the people and dealing with the man in black robes.

He also mentioned Mo Yuanjiao and his guards whom he had encountered.

Liu Yunan and Jiang Youfu listened with great interest, still wanting more.

"That man is truly despicable! He lured so many people away just to get his broken formation and a worthless Spirit Stone mine. He's utterly heartless!" Liu Yunan was furious, his hands slamming on the table, veins bulging.

Jiang Youfu grabbed a small handful of roasted beans and popped them into his mouth.

"Of course! If I were captured and drained of my life force like this, my grandma would cry her eyes out. Just thinking about it makes my heart ache."

Lin Xiao looked at Tuantuan, who had settled comfortably back into the nest everyone had made for it after hearing that the black-robed man had been killed, and asked:

"Tuantuan, how did you manage to cultivate to the Spirit Awakening Seventh Layer in just a few years? Tell us about it!"

Tuantuan licked its left paw, glanced at him with some disdain upon hearing this, and said:

"Didn't you already know that it was a Spirit Stone mine?"

As it spoke, it stroked its fur, then sat up straight and continued:

"About seven or eight years ago, I went out to play and was seen by a man in a carriage. He ordered his servants to arrest me and take me away. That man lived in Liaoju Prefecture."

Later, I managed to escape, but I didn't know the way around Liaoju Prefecture very well. By chance, I ended up in that dense forest and fell into the entrance of that Spirit Stone stone mine. I tried many ways to get out but couldn't. Later, I survived on the rats and some small insects inside. Because the Spiritual Qi inside was so rich, I unknowingly Spirit Opening.

When I reached the Spirit Awakening Fifth Layer, I was able to climb up to the cave entrance by myself, so I came back to find Old Madam Fang, but who knew... she was gone."

At this point, Tuantuan lowered her head in utter disappointment.

Lin Xiao and the others couldn't say whether this was a blessing or a curse for Tuantuan, who had missed the years of accompanying Old Madam Fang.

Seeing its dejected state, no one knew how to comfort it.

Tuantuan herself was alright; she quickly calmed down, since this had happened several years ago.

"Since then, I often go to the dense forest of Liaoju Prefecture to cultivate, and then come back to this little courtyard to stay for a while from time to time."

Hearing this, Lin Xiao touched the tip of his nose somewhat awkwardly.

"Well... from now on, you probably won't need to go there specifically to cultivate anymore."

Tuantuan looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Meow?"

Sun Yigao two were also somewhat puzzled. Why would Brother Xiao suddenly tell others not to cultivate?

Under the watchful eyes of the three people and the cat, Lin Xiao had no choice but to say:

"There are no more Spirit Stone mines there; it's been blocked off by a bunch of mountain walls."

Before leaving, he deliberately stuck his head into the cave entrance that was equipped with Spirit-Locking Formation to take a look.

There was no trace of Spiritual Qi energy inside, and he saw that the bottom of the cave, which originally led to the passageway, was blocked by a thick layer of rocks.

Lin Xiao estimated that the system had directly replaced the interior of a mountain near the sect.

"Meow?!" Upon hearing this, Tuantuan stood on end!

"Then how am I supposed to cultivate from now on?!"

It had previously tried cultivating directly in the courtyard without sufficient Spiritual Qi.

The results were minimal. It's fair to say that if it continues to cultivate in this small courtyard, it might not be able to advance another level for ten years!

This was extremely unbearable for Tuantuan, who had tasted the sweetness of cultivation!

The old lady is gone. If it can't cultivate itself, what's the point of its cat life?

Seeing this, Sun Yigao thought for a moment and looked at Lin Xiao, saying:

"Brother Xiao, may I take you as my apprentice?"

Upon hearing his question, Lin Xiao immediately nodded:

"Certainly!"

Lin Xiao didn't directly ask Tuantuan if she wanted to join the sect because cats are generally quite wild, but Tuantuan seemed to be quite sentimental. He thought it would be better to maintain the relationship with this little cat demon through connections rather than just providing a place for her to cultivate.

But he already had enough apprentices, and he felt he was a very incompetent master, so he hesitated.

However, their sect was able to obtain this Spirit Stone mine largely thanks to Tuantuan.

Sun Yigao's intervention relieved him.

Having received his confirmation, Sun Yigao turned to ask Tuantuan:

"Would you be willing to become my disciple and join our sect to cultivate together?"

Tuantuan did not refuse, but hesitated and said:

"Is your sect's Spiritual Qi abundant?"

Sun Yigao nodded:

"Nature."

Do you have any other apprentices?

Sun Yigao smiled:

"No, I've never taken on any apprentices before. Actually, we've met before. When I was three years old, my father brought me to visit the Fang Household. So we could be considered old acquaintances."

Although he didn't remember, his father had mentioned it to him yesterday, so he decided to bring it up to try and get on his good side.

Tuantuan then leaned closer to him and took a careful sniff.

It wasn't a familiar scent... but this person smelled quite nice.

It has a reassuring smell.

Just like the feeling that Old Madam Fang gave it back then.

So Tuantuan thought for a moment, then nodded slightly and said:

"Alright, I'll be your apprentice."

Lin Xiao, who had watched the whole thing from the sidelines, sighed inwardly, "Small animals are so innocent. Both it and Xiaoluan are too easy to win over."

Sun Yigao reached out and gently stroked its head, saying softly:

"If you ever want to come back and visit, you can come back anytime."

"Meow~" Tuantuan felt comfortable being petted and let out a soft meow with her eyes half-closed.