Seeing Him Off

Recently, people have been coming and going from Xiushui Village from time to time; they are mostly people from nearby villages who are related to Xiushui Village.

Occasionally, a peddler would come to the village carrying odds and ends like needles and thread.

It was only at this time that this isolated little village began to exchange information.

In the afternoon, it's the perfect time to take a nap under the shade of a tree after lunch.

At that moment, Third Aunt Hu from the Hu Household in the village was whispering to her younger brother and sister-in-law in her room.

"Let me tell you, those kids in our village who's good friends with my second nephew are a bit strange."

Her younger siblings were somewhat confused:

What's so weird about this?

Third Aunt Hu slapped her thigh and whispered:

"Hey! Let me tell you, that Lin Household boy, the one who lives not far from the village entrance, his dad's the one in our village whose wife died and he hasn't remarried since, you know?" She leaned close to her sister-in-law's ear and covered her mouth with her hand, "The other day, he actually cut off the hands and feet of that Boss Liu in our village..."

"Ah! Is that the same Boss Liu scoundrel you always told me about?" Her sister-in-law covered her mouth in surprise.

Third Aunt Hu nodded:

"Yes! He's just a skinny kid, barely ten years old, but I heard he managed to subdue that Boss Liu he couldn't move an inch. Boss Liu, who's usually so arrogant, just let him cut off his hands and feet. Don't you think that's a bit strange?"

Her sister-in-law glanced at the door and whispered:

"That's really weird? Doesn't your formidable mother-in-law do anything about it?"

Third Aunt Hu pursed her lips:

"That old hag spoils her precious grandson rotten, she wouldn't care about this at all."

"Oh dear~ that won't do. What if that Lin Household boy gets possessed by some evil spirit and then passes it on to your second nephew? Should I go back and have my mother come over and talk to your mother-in-law?"

Similar scenes are playing out in the homes of many gossipy people in the village, and not just in Xiushui Village.

Villagers from Xiushui Village who went to visit relatives in nearby villages also brought up similar topics in various villages.

In no time, the stories of "the infamous Boss Liu having his hands and feet cut by a twelve-year-old child" and "children running up the mountain every day from dawn till dusk, seemingly bewitched by a spirit" made Lin Xiao quite famous in the nearby villages.

He didn't even know if anyone among them still remembered the time he recruited disciples in the village, but recently the sect's reputation in the system had increased by a few points.

If Lin Xiao hadn't glanced at the sect reputation in the system while looking at his father and older cousin's information, he wouldn't have known.

However, Lin Xiao was mentally prepared for the news to leak out sooner or later.

But he wasn't particularly worried.

After all, the Immortal Cultivation Realm is too far away from here.

Even the Shangyang Sect, which came to their town to recruit disciples before, must not be close to them.

The activities of cultivation sects don't even extend to mortal realms, so even if news of their sect leaks to Ten-Li surrounding villages, it won't have much of an impact.

Unless it really escalates to the point of alarming the government at the county level or above, to the point that the government sends people to investigate.

Only then would Lin Xiao worry about whether he might alert the Shangyang Sect.

So even though they saw the sect's reputation growing inexplicably and knew that their cultivation might not be a secret for long in the villages, the members of the Lingxian Sect still continued to cultivate and relax as usual.

The lack of communication in ancient times was not just a saying.

It was only after arriving here that Lin Xiao truly understood this point.

If it weren't for Aunt Yang, he wouldn't even have known the name of the country he lived in for the past twelve years.

If the county magistrate is replaced, their village might not hear the news for another six months to a year.

After all, there is no internet or base station here, and everyone relies on their own two legs to get around. The farthest place most people have ever been is the town.

I only share any news with my relatives when I have free time.

Once a sentence has passed through three people, it basically loses its original form; even if it gets out, others will just treat it as a joke.

Life is hard enough as it is; who has the time to ponder the truth or falsehood of what others say?

This was also the day Qin Jianghe set off.

He had already told his family that he was going out to make a name for himself with his two cousins.

The elders thought that his two cousins were quite reliable and tall, and that the three brothers wouldn't be easily bullied if they went out together, so they didn't object too much.

Before dawn, Qin Jianghe, having said goodbye to his family, walked from his home to the village entrance, where he saw Lin Xiao and the others waiting to see him off.

He stepped forward to say goodbye to everyone.

Lin Xiao patted him on the shoulder, took out twenty Teleportation Talisman, and handed them to him, saying:

"Keep this Teleportation Talisman. If you encounter any danger while you're out there, use it immediately."

He had always kept the Mother Talisman within the sect.

Qin Jianghe accepted the gift, then solemnly bowed to everyone in farewell:

"This time I'm going out, I'll definitely find a way to open up new sources of income for our sect, so that the Brother Xiao can't stop me!"

"Hahaha, don't even think about it. We're not going to let you have your salary deducted. Just wait until you come back and we'll make you train again!"

"It's getting late, you'd better set off quickly, or your two cousins in the next village will be waiting for you."

"Take care of yourself while you're traveling alone."

Wishing you every success!

And so, under the morning light, amidst the farewells of the crowd, Qin Jianghe embarked on his journey away from the village.

When Qin Jianghe's figure gradually became a small black dot and finally disappeared completely, the group turned back and went up the mountain to cultivate.

The cultivation levels of everyone in the Lingxian Sect have improved significantly.

Apart from the newest members Lin Dayou and Lin Lei, and the youngest Lin Ying, who are still at the Qi Refining First Layer, everyone else has at least reached the Qi Refining Second Layer.

Sun Yigao also advanced to the Qi Refining Eighth Layer yesterday.

Currently, the cultivation levels of the Lingxian Sect members, from highest to lowest, are as follows:

Lin Xiao: Foundation Establishment Early Stage (12055/100000); Liao Pantu (Soul Body): Equivalent to Ninth Layer of Qi Refinement; Sun Yigao: Qi Refining Eighth Layer;

Jiang Youfu: Qi Refining Fifth Layer; Lin Yun: Qi Refining Fifth Layer; Liu Yunan: Fourth Layer of Qi Refinement;

Qin Jianghe: Third Layer of Qi Refining; Yang Jinshu: Third Layer of Qi Refining; Liu Shengsheng: Qi Refining Second Layer;

Hu Liang: Qi Refining Second Layer; Xiaoluan: Spirit Awakening Second Layer;

Lin Ying: Qi Refining First Layer; Lin Lei: Qi Refining First Layer; Lin Dayou: Qi Refining First Layer.

In just about two months, the people of the Lingxian Sect have achieved such cultivation results.

Liao Pantu was quite shocked when he learned that all of them had only been cultivating for a month or two.