Lin Zufeng followed Fourth Elder Lin Rulan and soon arrived outside Clan Leader Lin Rugen's Immortal Cave. As soon as they reached the entrance, the stone door automatically opened, and a voice said, "Fourth Sister, coming here late at night, you must have something to discuss. Come in.". It turned out that the Clan Leader's Divine Sense had already detected the arrival of the Fourth Elder.
The Fourth Elder smiled and said, "Clan Leader Brother is truly prescient. Fourth Sister coming here late at night indeed has something that she can't quite decide on, so she came specifically to ask Clan Leader Brother to make the final decision."
After speaking, she led Lin Zufeng into Clan Leader Lin Rugen's Immortal Cave. Upon entering the Immortal Cave, Lin Zufeng first cupped his fists and bowed to Clan Leader Lin Rugen, saying, "Zufeng greets the Clan Leader. May the Clan Leader's Immortal path be evergreen, and may our Lin Family become even stronger."
Clan Leader Lin Rugen looked at Fourth Elder Lin Rulan with a surprised expression, then looked at Lin Zufeng, as if to say, "What's going on here? Who is this little brat?"
At this moment, the Fourth Elder promptly said, "Clan Leader, this child is Zufeng, the son of Chengyuan. Chengyuan was ranked ninth among the cheng generation and possessed a three-Spiritual Root Aptitude. Chengyuan and his wife were killed by villains in the wilderness nine years ago while performing a Family escort mission. Before the incident, he was at Refining Qi Level 9 cultivation and was also a promising candidate for Foundation Establishment Cultivator in the Clan. After the incident, the Clan has been secretly investigating for years, but has yet to find out who was responsible. Six years ago, this child was tested and found to have dual Spiritual Roots of Wood and Fire, so he was brought into the Family academy to learn Cultivation, being cultivated as a key Family disciple. To better protect him, his dual Spiritual Root Aptitude was never publicly revealed. Three years ago, this child entered the Qi Refinement Stage from the Qi Perception Stage, and after that, he Cultivated diligently, leading to an unstoppable progression. In three years, he continuously Broke Through, advancing from Qi Refining Level 1 to Qi Refining Level 6. His Cultivation talent is truly astonishing, and his Cultivation progress can be described as miraculous. Currently, no Lin Clan in the entire Family has been able to raise their cultivation by five Ranks in three years, which shows that this child's Cultivation not only has astonishing talent and excellent Spiritual Roots, but his Dao Heart is also exceptionally firm; he is a trainable talent."
Clan Leader Lin Rugen said with a look of surprise, "To Cultivate from Qi Refining Level 1 to Qi Refining Level 6 in three years is indeed not easy. Calling him a Genius is not an exaggeration. Heaven truly blesses our Lin Family; a Qilin child has appeared. This is the fortune of our Lin Family. Chengyuan bore a good son; he would be happy knowing this in the afterlife. The Family's revival is hopeful. Zufeng, who knows about your Breakthrough to Level 6?"
Lin Zufeng replied, "Reporting to the Clan Leader, after I Broke Through to Qi Refining Level 6 and stabilized my Realm, I reported it to the Four Elder alone. Currently, only the Clan Leader and the Four Elder know."
The Clan Leader said, "Hmm, good. In the future, do not display your cultivation to others, not even to the Lin Clan. I have a Mind-Cultivation Technique here for hiding cultivation, called the "Hiding Spirit Mantra". After Major Achievement, it can hide your cultivation by one major Realm. It is not only useful in the Qi Refinement Stage but also equally useful in the Foundation Establishment Stage. Unless someone's cultivation is one major Realm higher than yours or they possess a special secret art, others will not be able to see through your true cultivation. You must Cultivate diligently. Do you know my intention in doing this?"
Lin Zufeng said, "The Clan Leader is worried that the news of my Cultivation talent and rapid increase in cultivation speed will leak, leading to assassination attempts by other families or hostile forces, causing the premature death of a Family Genius disciple, thereby weakening the Family's future strength and causing a gap in the Family's strong Cultivators, all to achieve the goal of weakening our Lin Family. Finally, they would swallow us, thereby achieving the goal of seizing the Cultivation resources owned by our Lin Family."
Clan Leader Lin Rugen further said, "For you, at the age of twelve, to think so far ahead and see the essence of the problem is not simple. It seems your Heart-Nature is quite mature, and you have your own unique insights and ideas regarding the Family's development and your own Cultivation. Very good. It probably also has something to do with living independently from a young age and not relying on others."
From Lin Zufeng's growth experience, the Clan Leader thought to himself that the environment is also very important for a person's growth; the living environment can change all aspects of a person. It is time for the Family to change the way it Cultivates its Lin Clan; strong Cultivators cannot be cultivated in a greenhouse.
This was something Lin Zufeng could not have imagined—that a single sentence from him could bring so much pain to his companions and cause significant changes to the Family's method of cultivating its Lin Clan. These later developments will not be recounted one by one for now.
Fourth Elder Lin Rulan interjected, "Yes, it's time to be flexible. We are, after all, only Foundation Establishment Cultivators with limited Lifespan. We cannot take care of them forever. The Family will ultimately be handed over to them."
The Fourth Elder continued, "Clan Leader, Zufeng wants to take on the Family's planting task, firstly to obtain Cultivation resources, and secondly to learn a planting skill. Among the hundred Immortal arts, he wants to learn Alchemy. I saw that he was too young and didn't dare to agree, so I brought him to see the Clan Leader to ask for your decision."
Clan Leader Lin Rugen pondered for a moment and said, "He can be arranged according to Zufeng's own ideas, and the Clan will fully support him. This child has a mature Heart-Nature, and if he wants to take on a Family task, he must have his own mature ideas. I want to see what kind of achievements this method of cultivation will bring him in the future. This also provides us with a new approach to cultivating our Lin Clan."
Clan Leader Lin Rugen said, "Doesn't the Family have a High Grade Spiritual Vein on Chessboard Mountain in the Huilan Mountain Range? There are ten acres of Spiritual Field on the Spiritual Vein; let this child Cultivate them. The Spiritual Qi of the Spiritual Vein is also sufficient for his current Cultivation, and it's not too far from the Clan's territory. You should look after him more often. Help him solve any problems promptly."
"Isn't the task too heavy? After all, he's only twelve and has no planting experience," the Fourth Elder said.
Clan Leader Lin Rugen said, "Don't worry, no pain, no gain. Perhaps this is another kind of growth for him. This can not only temper his Heart-Nature and Heart-Nature but also Cultivate his hundred Immortal arts, which will also benefit his future survival. I believe he can complete the Family task."
Clan Leader Lin Rugen said to Lin Zufeng, "Zufeng, after you leave, go to the Family Scripture Pavilion to collect a copy of the "Ten Thousand Medicines Canon" and "Lian Dan Chu Jie". One is a classic text on cultivating various Spirit Medicine, detailing the medicinal properties, growth cycles, planting experiences, and preferred environments of various Spirit Medicine, with illustrations and text that are not difficult to master if you study diligently.
One is an Elementary Alchemy true explanation, which contains some Alchemy experiences from Seniors, Alchemy techniques, and Pill Formulas for Rank 1 Medicinal Pills. It is divided into two parts, upper and lower. The upper part introduces the Alchemy experiences and methods for various Rank 1 Medicinal Pills, while the lower part records six types of Rank 1 Medicinal Pill Formulas: Gathering Qi Pill, Heqi Pill, Nourishing Meridian Pill, Nourishing Meridian Pill, Bi Gu Dan, and Detoxification Pill. These are just right for your current situation. Additionally, go to the Transmission Hall to collect the latter half of the "Fire Flame Art" Cultivation Technique. If you have any questions, consult the Third Elder for planting and the Grand Elder for Alchemy. If you need any active help, you can also find the Fourth Elder. Go and rest now."
Lin Zufeng bowed to the Clan Leader and said, "Thank you, Clan Leader, for the reward. Zufeng takes his leave." He then exited the Clan Leader's Immortal Cave, bid farewell to the Fourth Elder, and returned to his small house.
Inside the Immortal Cave, Clan Leader Lin Rugen said to Fourth Elder Lin Rulan, "This child must be cultivated with priority by the Clan. You must arrange a Dao protector for this child. This child not only has good talent and a mature Heart-Nature, but I also saw a firm Dao Heart in his eyes. In the future, he might become the Lin Family's stabilizing force, leading our Lin Family to glory. We old guys should act as a catalyst for their success."
Fourth Elder Lin Rulan said, "This child is good, but is the Clan Leader expecting too much of him?" "Fourth Sister, just watch. This child will turn into a Dragon once he encounters a storm. He will become the pride of our Lin Family. In the future, we must focus on this child, but there's no need for special care; let nature take its course. As long as he doesn't die prematurely, this child's achievements will not be low." "Alright, I'll listen to Big Brother. Big Brother's judgment has always been correct." Clan Leader Lin Rugen smiled, "You're quite something, Fourth Sister."