Chapter 36: Is This How You Repay Uncle Lin?
Qingzhu Mountain Marketplace, Back Hill.
"Old He, you’re quite lucky—there’s someone to bury you even after death."
In the light rain, having gone out to purchase some supplies, Lin Chang’an happened to pass by the back hill on his way back and decided to take a look at Old He’s grave.
In the cultivation world, who knew how many cultivators died without a burial place?
However, just as Lin Chang’an was about to leave with a shake of his head, he seemed to notice something and narrowed his eyes.
"This is… someone’s been here!"
Though the traces in front of Old He’s grave had been deliberately wiped away, the surrounding weeds had clearly been cleaned up.
"Could it be that Old He still has surviving family?"
Lin Chang’an was stunned.
He distinctly remembered that Old He’s relatives were all dead—surely no one would be so kind as to clean up the back hill out of sheer goodwill.
"Could someone have cried at the wrong grave!?"
Lin Chang’an’s expression grew serious.
Upon closer inspection, the cleared weeds had clearly been tidied by hand.
Clutching the Wood Spirit Thorn in his hand, with a High-grade Golden Light Talisman stuck under his robe, he was already poised for action.
Damn it, visiting graves really is a way to invite ghosts!
Were the Cultivator Robbers so desperate now that they squatted at graves waiting for victims?
In the light rain, Lin Chang’an squinted, pretending to be nonchalant, while secretly vowing never to come near this grave again unless absolutely necessary.
As Lin Chang’an’s silhouette vanished into the misty rain, a figure under a bamboo hat slowly emerged from under a large tree in the back hill.
"Uncle Lin."
With a hoarse voice, the person beneath the hat turned out to be He Yan.
Old He’s grandson—the very He Yan who was rumored to have died.
Yet now, He Yan no longer carried that youthful arrogance and energy from before.
The temples of his hair were streaked with gray, and his eyes showed the marks of hardship.
He was clearly a middle-aged man now.
…
On the way back home, realizing that no one had followed him, Lin Chang’an felt a bit suspicious.
"The marketplace has been too chaotic lately. I need to be more careful these days."
But just as Lin Chang’an returned to his courtyard, a jade talisman glowing with spiritual light slowly floated up, along with a jade slip.
"A voice-recording talisman! Who’s so wasteful!"
Lin Chang’an was stunned.
Just one of those talismans cost a spirit stone—only sects and major family cultivators used them.
Ordinary cultivators wouldn’t use something like that.
"This is!"
The voice-recording talisman didn’t transmit any sound from a cultivator, but the jade slip below turned out to contain the inheritance for the Fireball Talisman.
"A complete First-rank Fireball Talisman inheritance!"
Yet upon seeing this sudden fortune falling from the sky, Lin Chang’an’s first instinct was to stay on guard.
But after double-checking several times, he confirmed it was indeed the complete First-rank Fireball Talisman.
"This is…"
On the back of the talisman, a broken trace remained—marked with the character ‘He’.
Suddenly, all the clues in Lin Chang’an’s mind connected.
"Could Old He’s bragging have been true back then!"
Old He had once boasted that his ancestors included a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but the family had declined over the generations.
Lin Chang’an fell silent, seeming to understand something.
He Yan hadn’t died, but he didn’t return, nor did he join Lihuo Palace.
That gave Lin Chang’an a bad feeling.
Lihuo Palace was one of the three major sects in Yue Kingdom—what could make He Yan not dare to face others?
Why would he even abandon his identity as a disciple of Lihuo Palace?
"Could that brat have joined Shensword Sect!"
Thinking of all the recent events, Lin Chang’an’s heart tightened.
The jade talisman in his hand now felt like a hot potato.
"Well now, good nephew, is this how you repay your Uncle Lin?"
Lin Chang’an committed the inheritance to memory, then with a wave of his hand, destroyed the talisman and jade slip, eliminating all evidence.
At a time like this, if anyone found out he had ties to Shensword Sect’s Cultivator Robbers, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would be in trouble.
Though he understood this might be He Yan's way of repaying him, no matter how moved he felt, he still had to erase all traces.
“No, I must move!”
Acting on his thought immediately, Lin Chang’an didn’t hesitate at all.
He walked out of the courtyard, pretending nothing was out of the ordinary, and went straight to Juxian Tower.
He met with Shen Lie once, then mentioned that Erniu had moved into the Zhou Family’s core area, and he also wanted to move there to have someone to rely on.
Just like that, it was only natural that he moved to an area near Shen Lie’s residence—still under the Lihuo Palace’s nose—so even if someone wanted to stir up trouble, it wouldn’t be that easy.
After cautiously observing for a few days, he finally let out a breath of relief.
It wasn’t that he was overly cautious, but rather that this was a time of unrest—better to avoid being dragged down.
Yet during this period, major events continued to occur in the marketplace.
Cultivator Robbers were rampant, demon beasts were in chaos, and then came the news that Xuanyin Pavilion had discovered a vein of purple-gold ore.
In an instant, danger and opportunity overlapped completely.
…
“Tsk tsk, the Zhou Family really went all out this time. I heard they personally took two Black Wind Wolf cubs to visit Xuanyin Pavilion.”
“They’re really willing to go that far. In the past, this would have been called treason.”
“I heard the Zhou Family’s ancestor doesn’t have much lifespan left.”
One day, Lin Chang’an came to the marketplace and couldn’t help but mutter to himself as he listened to the rumors outside.
Had the Zhou Family really allowed such news to spread like wildfire?
Treasure Pavilion.
“Shopkeeper Miao, give me a set of this Small Spirit-gathering Formation.”
Passing through the busy district, he entered Treasure Pavilion and went directly to Shopkeeper Miao.
With a wave of his hand, he laid down two hundred spirit stones, causing Shopkeeper Miao to grin broadly.
“Oh my, Talisman Master Lin, you’re a rare guest indeed.”
The two had known each other for a long time.
News of Lin Chang’an becoming a High-grade Talisman Master had already spread, so Shopkeeper Miao wasn’t surprised at him pulling out two hundred spirit stones—instead, he was filled with envy.
“Talisman Master Lin has a firm Dao Heart, even willing to part with a Small Spirit-gathering Formation.”
For someone Lin Chang’an’s age to be willing to spend two hundred spirit stones like this, it was indeed a sign of strong determination.
However, Lin Chang’an shook his head and sighed.
“The world outside is too chaotic. Who knows when conflict will erupt? While I still have strength and vigor, Foundation Establishment may be too far, but late Qi Refining is still worth a shot.”
Shopkeeper Miao gave a knowing nod at those words.
“Talisman Master Lin, here is the Spirit-gathering Formation and instructions for its setup.”
After learning how to use the Spirit-gathering Formation, Lin Chang’an nodded quietly.
As expected, the cultivation arts of all kinds each had their own uses.
In the future, once he reached Foundation Establishment and gained two hundred years of lifespan, he would definitely learn another supplementary cultivation craft.
He stored the Spirit-gathering Formation into his storage pouch, then purchased a few more cultivation resources before turning to leave.
…
Marketplace shantytown area.
Inside a dim house, a group of shadows gathered.
Among them, three Foundation Establishment cultivators exuded a sinister aura, gazing down at a dozen late-stage Qi Refining cultivators.
Unlike others, each of them had sunken eyes and sallow, emaciated faces—clear signs of having cultivated demonic arts that drained potential.
“Do you have any information?”
The group of Qi Refining cultivators shook their heads.
One among them, surprisingly He Yan, wore a grim expression and replied hoarsely.
“Reporting to My Lord, things were too chaotic at the time. We searched for several days to no avail. I’m afraid…”
Although He Yan didn’t finish his sentence, the three Foundation Establishment cultivators couldn’t hold back their fury and cursed aloud.
“A bunch of useless trash! We fought tooth and nail, only to let a group of drifting cultivators snatch the benefits!”
“Pah! Isn’t that the truth? There was Foundation Establishment Pills in the Zhou Family and Xuanyin Pavilion’s two storage pouches, and now who knows which filthy bastard fishing in troubled waters picked them up.”
As the three Foundation Establishment cultivators cursed in lowered voices, a figure suddenly appeared inside the room.
“Greetings, Protector!”
The three Foundation Establishment cultivators turned pale and immediately knelt on one knee, loudly addressing the Protector.
The newcomer had a pale, sinister face and coldly swept his gaze across the crowd.
He barked in a chilling tone:
“A bunch of useless trash! Your mission was to incite civil unrest within the Yue Kingdom, not to fight over some Foundation Establishment Pills. Is our Xuanyin Divine Sect’s Foundation Snatching Technique not enough!?”
That one sentence drained all color from the faces of the three demonic Foundation Establishment cultivators, and they quickly cupped their hands.
“Forgive us, My Lord!”
“Trash!”
As the bloodthirsty voice echoed, cold sweat poured down their backs, but no one dared say a word.
Trying to gain merit, one person hurriedly lowered his head and reported:
“Reporting to My Lord, someone in the Zhou Family is unwilling to accept their fate and is attempting to reach Foundation Establishment…”
Everyone was shocked upon hearing this.
It turned out someone in the Zhou Family had betrayed their clan for the sake of Foundation Establishment, even leaking information that the clan’s Guardian Spirit Beast was currently in a weakened state due to pregnancy.
“The Zhou Family’s Guardian Spirit Beast, the Xuan Shui Turtle, is currently expecting? That really is some excellent news.”
Hearing the Protector’s praise, the Foundation Establishment cultivator below secretly breathed a sigh of relief and showed a flattering smile.
That Protector, radiating a sinister and terrifying aura, grinned with a horrifying expression.
“Heh heh, you bunch of useless fools have been working for so long—do you know why there’s still no chaos?”
All the cultivators looked bewildered and quickly bowed their heads, appearing clueless.
The Protector sneered and said, “Because these drifting cultivators aren’t mad enough yet! Their greed hasn’t fully awakened. If just one or two among them succeeded in reaching Foundation Establishment, guess what would happen?”
That one statement made everyone shiver uncontrollably.
If even just one or two succeeded in Foundation Establishment, it would ignite hope in the hearts of the drifting cultivators.
The gates of desire would burst open, and the drifting cultivators would go completely insane.
“Protector is truly wise!”
One person revealed a sycophantic expression, but the sinister-faced Protector only showed a twisted grin upon hearing the flattery.
“Very good! Then you will be the one to carry out this task!”
“Me!?” That flattering Foundation Establishment cultivator’s eyes widened, but upon seeing the other’s terrifying gaze, he immediately cupped his fists and said:
“Rest assured, Protector! This lowly one will definitely lure those traitors into the trap!”
“And as for the rest of you!” The Protector turned to the group of nervous Qi Refining cultivators, showing a horrifying smile.
“Didn’t I just hear that you all want to reach Foundation Establishment? Well, here’s your chance. As long as you achieve great merit, I’ll personally use our sect’s Foundation Snatching Secret Technique to help you reach Foundation Establishment.”
Foundation Establishment!
That was a realm they had never even dared to dream of before.
Though the Foundation Snatching Technique came at a heavy price, it was still better than having no chance at all.
“What are you all standing around for!? Go and act—plunge Yue Kingdom into chaos!”
“Yes!”
As the demonic sect members departed, the Protector revealed a cold, sinister gaze.
“Heh heh, the old ancestor was right—there really are signs of a secret realm hidden within the Yunwu Mountain Range. While the old ancestor is in seclusion, I’ll use this opportunity to send these cannon fodder to scout it out.”
“With my false Golden Core cultivation, this marketplace is nothing but a den of Foundation Establishment cultivators. Like the mantis stalking the cicada unaware of the oriole behind, I can both stir up conflict and muddy the waters. I truly am worthy of being called the old ancestor’s heir.”
In the dark space, a hoarse laugh echoed.