Lin Family.
Inside a secret chamber.
A young man and an old man sat opposite each other, having been silent for a long time.
"Third Uncle, Lin Yongmao has returned alive from Qinglan Sect. Will he resent me because of this?" the young man asked.
The old man pondered for a moment before replying, "Originally, Qinglan Sect required our Lin Family to send a direct Disciple to be their hostage. But Qinglan Sect was truly dangerous, which is why we came up with this idea."
"Although we manipulated the situation to have Lin Yongmao replace me as a Utility Disciple of Qinglan Sect, didn't Yongmao himself agree to it? It should be fine!"
"Yongrong, Lin Yongmao hasn't amounted to much yet. But his parents hold influence within the Family, so we still need to consider this matter carefully."
This young man was Lin Yongmao's direct elder brother—Lin Yongrong.
And the old man was Lin Yongmao's third uncle—Lin Yukai.
The two were discussing the past scheme to have Lin Yongmao replace Lin Yongrong as a Utility Disciple of Qinglan Sect.
Lin Yongrong said fiercely, "I think it's better to nip it in the bud, to avoid burying such a huge hidden danger in the Family."
Lin Yongrong was four years older than Lin Yongmao, and he had been jealous of Lin Yongmao's Spiritual Root talent since childhood.
Once Lin Yongmao's Cultivation surpassed his, perhaps the next Clan Chief of the Family would not be him, but very likely Lin Yongmao.
Moreover, it was only a matter of time before Lin Yongmao's Cultivation surpassed his.
"Very good, as expected of my Lin Family's direct lineage! Third Uncle supports you!"
"However, this matter must be handled cautiously and discreetly. Otherwise, if your father finds out, you'll be expelled from the Family at best, or directly executed at worst," Lin Yukai analyzed.
"Does Third Uncle have any good strategies?"
"I heard Lin Yongmao applied for a spirit plant field on Qianzhang Cliff. That place is very secluded and not protected by a Family Formation. We can't act ourselves, but we can bribe some Loose Cultivators..."
The two then began discussing the details.
...
"So much spiritual rice, how did you manage it?"
Seeing Lin Yongmao bring back so much spiritual rice, Han Yuying asked in disbelief.
Lin Yucheng was also there. Seeing his son remain silent, he quickly stopped Han Yuying:
"This is our son's Opportunity. The fewer people who know, the better. You must not let anything slip, and don't ask our son for the specifics."
His father was on the right track. Lin Yongmao quickly nodded and said,
"Mother, I hope you can exchange this spiritual rice for Cultivation resources, whether it be Spirit Stones or Medicinal Pills to improve my Cultivation."
Han Yuying said cautiously, "Don't worry, Yongmao. I will submit this spiritual rice to the Family under my name; it won't involve you."
Lin Yongmao added, "The quantity of this spiritual rice is substantial; this is just a portion of it. Moreover, the quality of this spiritual rice is at least thirty percent higher."
Han Yuying tried her best to suppress her urge to ask questions, because the more people who knew this secret, the more dangerous it would be for their son.
Even as Lin Yongmao's parents, they felt that the less they knew, the better.
The world of Cultivation certainly doesn't lack secret techniques for prying into memories. If they fell into someone else's hands, the secret could be leaked.
"With such High Grade spiritual rice, I can definitely exchange it for a good amount of Family Contribution Points and Spirit Stones. With my identity as a Second-Order Spiritual Planter, growing such spiritual rice should be considered normal!"
With his mother's identity as a Second-Order Spiritual Planter to cover it, this spiritual rice could be sold smoothly.
"Mother, please exchange Family Contribution Points for the Spell Jade Slips of Spirit Wood Art and Spiritual Rain Technique for me. It would be best if you could also exchange for some Talismans and a set of First-Order Guardian Formation."
Lin Yongmao had no defensive measures at Qianzhang Cliff, but the Spirit Stones and Family Contribution Points required to exchange for a set of Formation were simply too much.
...
About half an hour later.
Han Yuying returned.
Han Yuying handed Lin Yongmao many things, all exchanged for spiritual rice.
"I went to the Family's Logistics Hall and submitted two hundred jin of spiritual rice to the Family. All the things you needed were exchanged."
"It's just a pity that there's still more spiritual rice that can't be processed. Although this is our Family, countless eyes are still watching!"
Lin Yucheng then came over and said, "Give me a portion of the remaining spiritual rice! I'll go to the market outside the Family to sell it and exchange it for Spirit Stones."
"Won't that be too dangerous?"
In the novels Lin Yongmao had read, there were countless plots of killing for treasure.
Han Yuying pondered, then said, "You don't need to worry about that. Your father's Cultivation has already reached the Great Perfection of the Qi Refinement Stage. There are almost no people in the nearby market who can harm him."
Lin Yongmao could harvest hundreds of jin of spiritual rice of this quality every three days, but selling it all was a bit difficult.
Lin Yongmao happily put away the items his mother gave him, then headed to Qianzhang Cliff.
...
"System, I want to check in!"
"Check-in successful. Congratulations on obtaining 10 Illusion Heart Flower Seeds."
A crisp notification sound rang in Lin Yongmao's mind. The item obtained from today's check-in was no longer low-grade spirit soil, but Illusion Heart Flower Seeds.
Upon counting, Lin Yongmao realized that it was the thirtieth day of check-in.
The Shennong Check-in System triggers 2, 5, and 10 times critical hits for consecutive check-ins of 30, 100, and 365 days.
Today, a double critical hit was triggered, and the item obtained from the check-in also changed.
Over the past month, Lin Yongmao had completely memorized the Primary Spiritual Plant Compendium, fulfilling the first condition required to become a First-Order Spiritual Planter.
However, in the Primary Spiritual Plant Compendium, there was no record of a spirit plant like the Illusion Heart Flower.
Lin Yongmao opened his Attribute Panel and saw the attributes of the Illusion Heart Flower:
Illusion Heart Flower:
Grade: First-Order High Grade
Description: An offensive spirit plant. The mature form can spread heart illusion pollen to confuse Cultivators and Yao Beasts, causing them to lose their combat ability.
Note: Mastering Spirit Wood Art allows for preliminary control over the spreading direction of the heart illusion pollen.
Lin Yongmao's face lit up with joy. He finally had offensive capabilities other than Wood Spike Technique and Water Arrow Technique.
What he worried about most now was lacking self-preservation methods, but now with a set of First-Order Guardian Formation and the Illusion Heart Flower, he was no longer so passive.
For the next period, Lin Yongmao set up the First-Order Guardian Formation on Qianzhang Cliff.
The First-Order Guardian Formation was relatively simple, consisting of ten Formation Flags and a Formation Plate.
The direction in which the ten Formation Flags were inserted defined the protected area; the larger the area, the weaker the Formation's protective ability would be.
Don't underestimate this set of First-Order Guardian Formation. According to Han Yuying, it cost 1000 Family Contribution Points and three hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
Lin Yongmao decided not to cover the entire Qianzhang Cliff with this set of First-Order Guardian Formation for now, but to only protect the area around a few stone houses and several spirit plant fields.