Zhou Shan County.
Lin Sheng placed the old man and the young boy in his residence in the County Town, controlling them with the potent poison of the Three Corpse Soul Severing Palm.
He, however, sent a flying letter directly to the Su Family and then soared straight out of the County Town.
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he stopped outside the County Town, frowning as he looked in a certain direction in the distance.
Just now, the sense of crisis fed back by his Danger Perception talent suddenly became faint, and its speed was extremely fast; at this moment, it was already almost imperceptible.
"What's going on?"
His brows furrowed slightly, feeling some doubt in his heart, and then a vertical pupil emerged from between his eyebrows, sensing the malice directed at him.
The malice that had been extremely intense had now also disappeared.
"Did it leave?"
Lin Sheng's brows were tightly knitted, feeling somewhat puzzled. Logically speaking, even if this Magic Seed temporarily gave up, it shouldn't have left so quickly.
After contemplating for a while, he found no clue, and finally, he shook his head slightly, no longer wasting excessive thought.
"Forget it, since it ran away, let's leave it for now."
His purpose for this trip had been successfully completed, and he had also gained a large extra harvest. Now it was time to return to Wanhua City. The time after this would be dedicated to secluded cultivation to improve his strength. As for that Magic Seed, he could deal with it later when he had time.
After all, this so-called Phantom Demon Beast Magic Seed could at most only reach the Bone Transformation Realm. If his strength could break through Bone Transformation, this Magic Seed would not pose any threat to him.
The next day, as the sky brightened, inside the inn room.
"So that's the reason you came to Linjiang Prefecture to find Kong Qi."
Lin Sheng ate his breakfast, looking at the old man beside him whose face was full of smiles, and spoke indifferently.
"That's right, that's the reason for the matter. This old man has lived a life of integrity and has absolutely never done anything wicked or criminal."
The old man said in a hurry.
Seeing that Lin Sheng didn't speak, he glanced at the rather honest young boy beside him and immediately cursed.
"You little brat, why aren't you quickly kowtowing to benefactor and thanking him? If it weren't for benefactor, how could you see the sun today?"
As he spoke, he kept winking at the young boy, who immediately reacted, knelt down with a thud, and kept kowtowing, continuously saying.
"Thank you, benefactor, thank you, benefactor..."
Lin Sheng ignored these actions, picked up a cup of tea, took a light sip, and his gaze fell upon the old man who looked like he had something more to say.
"Speak, what else do you want to say?"
Hearing this, the old man couldn't hold back and finally spoke.
"This old man has an unreasonable request, and I hope benefactor can agree. Could you please let this old man have a look at the Relics left by that Kong Qi? This old man traveled thousands of miles just for that Yin Harmonization Skill. Please fulfill the request of us, master and disciple..."
Hearing this, Lin Sheng smiled, put down the teacup in his hand, the smile on his face quickly disappeared, and he narrowed his eyes, looking at the old man and slowly said.
"You know it's an unreasonable request, yet you still dare to speak. If I don't agree, what will you do?"
"This..."
The old man opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.
However, Lin Sheng had no intention of keeping him guessing and spoke directly.
"I can let you look at Kong Qi's Relics , and I can also let you copy a copy of the so-called Yin Harmonization Skill to take away, but your Yang Extremity Art must stay."
Hearing this, the old man instantly fell silent.
Whether it was Yang Polarity or Yin Harmonization, both were secret transmissions of the Sect, and the ancestral teachings of the master's lineage strictly forbade them from being passed on outside.
Seeing the old man's reaction, Lin Sheng was not in a hurry and quietly waited for him to make a choice.
He was somewhat interested in the Yin Harmonization Skill and Yang Extremity Art the old man mentioned. After all, according to the old man, after these two cultivation methods were completed, they would form a true True Art.
It might even be slightly higher than the Qingniao Chasing Star Finger he cultivated.
Of course, what interested him more was that the True Art formed by these two cultivation methods was one of the very few martial arts that did not rely on powerful exotic beasts as its foundation.
He had also learned from Huang Quan that it was extremely difficult for those without Bloodline talent to break through the Bones Transformation Realm.
However, it was not impossible; there were still a very small number of those without Bloodlines who had exceptional comprehension abilities and could enter the Bones Transformation Realm.
And the Qian Kun Palace where this old man belonged was one of the outstanding ones among them.
Although it had been destroyed for many years, this cultivation method had still been passed down.
Moreover, judging from the fact that Kong Qi could be listed on the Black Rank and had a record of killing four experts of the same level, this cultivation method might not be that simple.
Especially when he was tracking these two people, even with his superimposed super perception after Body Entry, he almost lost them, which further piqued his interest in the martial arts cultivated by these two people.
Of course, he was only somewhat interested, and it hadn't reached the point where he absolutely had to have it. With the mountain and sea scroll, cultivating cultivation methods like the Qingniao Chasing Star Finger, which were based on powerful exotic beasts, was the most suitable for him.
The old man's face showed a look of struggle. He turned his head to look at the young boy kneeling on the ground, gritted his teeth, and sighed softly in his heart.
At this point, what does it matter about Sect rules? Now only the two of us are left. If we can't get the Yin Harmonization Skill now, I'm afraid there will be no chance in the future.
Thinking of this, he very decisively took out a piece of jade from his In arms .
"Benefactor, the cultivation method you want is within this jade. Just activate it with fresh blood."
As he spoke, he forced a drop of bright red blood from his fingertip and let it fall into the jade.
Blood-colored patterns immediately appeared on the originally transparent jade, converging into characters.
Lin Sheng stretched out his hand, and the jade immediately fell into his hand.
After glancing at the content on it, he had no doubts and simply put it into his bag, then threw out a package containing the items he had searched from Kong Qi.
The old man took the package and rummaged through the miscellaneous items within, and his face quickly showed joy. He took out a piece of dark green hard paper from it.
On his palm, streaks of red light emerged, emitting a scorching high temperature.
Under the shroud of this high temperature, blurry characters appeared on the dark green paperboard, quickly becoming clear.
"This is the secret scroll of the Yin Harmonization lineage's cultivation method. Unless it is activated with Yin Harmonization or Yang Polarity energy, others will not be able to find its profound mysteries."
"So there's this kind of trick, it's quite meticulous."
Lin Sheng smiled slightly and said nothing more.
The old man also had no intention of delaying. He immediately tore off a piece of clothing from his body and quickly recorded all the content on the dark green paperboard.
His movements were fast; he finished copying in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and then respectfully returned the item to its original owner.
After that, he had no intention of staying any longer. After bowing to Lin Sheng again, he took his leave. Watching the two figures, one old and one young, walk away, Lin Sheng also had no intention of staying.
It had been a while since he left Wanhua City; he wondered how Yang Niu was doing.
"I hope he doesn't disappoint me."
He murmured as he galloped towards Wanhua City.
...
Time flowed like water, passing quietly, and soon three days had passed.
Lin Sheng finally returned to Wanhua City. His first stop was the Dark Star stronghold in the city, where he brought Kong Qi's head.
The middle-aged woman who was doing needlework showed a faint smile on her face as she looked at the already dried and bloody head.
"It is indeed that Kong Qi. You did well..."
The middle-aged woman very decisively transferred the corresponding merit rewards to Lin Sheng, and even generously transferred an additional twenty points.
Because he already had enough money, he did not choose to exchange the more than 200 points of merit obtained from this mission.
After leaving the stronghold, he took Kong Qi's head with him; he hadn't forgotten that there was still a bounty to collect from the County Yamen.
However, he was not in a hurry to exchange the bounty, but first returned to the headquarters of the Seven Forms Sect.
He first visited Lin Hong and Xie Guilan in the town below the Sect. He did not bring the two of them to Wanhua City, but let them settle in a residence in the town. Being backed by the Seven Forms Sect was much safer than being in Wanhua City.
After chatting with the two elders for a while, he went to the Qingniao Yard to pay his respects to Xie Qingyun.
Xie Qingyun was a little worried that Lin Sheng had been away for too long, but she didn't blame him. Instead, she kept Lin Sheng and gave him some guidance on cultivating the Qingniao Chasing Star Finger.
It wasn't until noon the next day that he returned to Wanhua City. After disguising himself, he came to the Prefecture Yamen in the city.
Although the Prefecture Yamen in Wanhua City was basically just a facade, there was usually a Silver Badge Constable in the Bone Transformation Realm stationed there.
The forces in Wanhua City were complex, and people would occasionally come to claim bounties after killing fierce criminals on the Black Rank, so when Lin Sheng came with Kong Qi's head to claim the bounty, it did not cause much of a stir.
Led by two constables, he went all the way to the inner hall of the Yamen, where he saw an old, fat black-clothed constable. Lin Sheng glanced at the silver seal hanging from his waist and knew the identity of this black-clothed constable.
It was Wei Bo, the head of the Wanhua City Yamen, a Silver Badge Constable.
As far as he knew, this Wei Bo was an old-timer among the Fu City Silver Badge Constables and was an expert at Bone Transformation Sixth Layer.
Because he was old and his qi and blood were decaying and his strength was declining, he came to Wanhua City to preside over the Yamen and took on this leisurely post.
The two constables led Lin Sheng into the inner hall and presented Kong Qi's head.
Wei Bo only glanced at the head, and his gaze fell on Lin Sheng.
"Not bad, it is indeed that Yu Mian Ren. Young and promising, are you willing to join the Yamen as an official?"
"Thank you for Constable's kindness, but this Junior already has a master."
Lin Sheng cupped his hands and said neither humbly nor arrogantly.
Hearing this, Wei Bo said no more and waved his hand to signal the two constables.
"In that case, forget it. Go to the accounts office and get two million taels of paper money and then withdraw."
"Yes, Constable Wei."
The two constables cupped their hands in response and left with Lin Sheng.
After they left, Wei Bo's gaze fell on Kong Qi's head and he clapped his hands.
Soon, two more trusted constables walked in.
"Greetings, Constable."
"Rise."
Looking at his two confidants, he spoke indifferently.
"Go investigate how many bounties the Yu Mian Ren Kong Qi has on him from those aristocratic families and clans."
"Yes, Constable."
The two confidants immediately left in a hurry and returned shortly, with a stack of letters in their hands.
"Reporting to Constable, the Yu Mian Ren Kong Qi has additional bounties in all seven counties of the Prefecture, totaling over fifty thousand taels..."
"Fifty thousand taels? Not bad."
Hearing this, a smile appeared on Wei Bo's face, and with a flick of his hand, he threw the head down to the hall.
"Take this head, and go collect these additional bounties. Also, how is the Beast Mine on Yunshui Mountain?"
"Reporting to sir, the major forces at the Beast Mine are still in constant dispute, but there has generally been a certain division of interests."
The two confidants caught the head and said respectfully.
"The Seven Forms Sect occupies Da Cui Peak and has always stayed out of the matter, no longer participating in the struggle for the remaining Beast Mine. The Crimson Whale Hall, while occupying Baiyun Peak, has recently shown a strong determination to obtain the adjacent Bo Peak, and has dispatched many experts from the hall to be stationed at Bo Peak."
"As for the other Fang Family and White Dragon Gang, they have basically occupied the remaining two peaks. In addition, the Fang Family and White Dragon Gang have also dispatched experts to compete for the division of interests on Bo Peak. Currently, the main forces of these major powers in Wanhua City, except for the Seven Forms Sect, are all focused on the struggle for Bo Peak."
At this point, the two confidants paused, exchanged glances, and then continued to speak.
"In addition, our informant has sent word that Red Hair has sent an invitation to meet Shi Yan and Fang Tiankui in three days."
"Oh?"
Hearing this, Wei Bo's eyes narrowed slightly, and a hint of interest appeared on his face.
"That old fox Red Hair would actually take the initiative to seek out Shi Yan and the Fang Family Old Ghost. Interesting. It seems they really value this final Bo Peak."
As he thought about this, he seemed to remember something else.
"What about that guy Shi Gu? Has the investigation been completed? He was so deeply hidden, it's impossible for him to disappear so suddenly."
"There is still no news about Shi Gu. The informant planted in the White Dragon Gang hasn't found any information either, but in this subordinate's opinion, there is a high probability that Shi Gu has met with an accident."
"Is that so? With Shi Gu's methods, even if something happened, it shouldn't be so silent. Could it be that there are experts in the city?"
Wei Bo's face showed a look of contemplation, and he immediately made a decision in his heart.
"After you two go down, write another letter and send it to Fu City to have them check if those old guys in Fu City have left recently. Also, inform the higher-ups of the current situation in Wanhua City."
"Yes, this subordinate will go do it now."
The two trusted constables noted everything down one by one and then cupped their hands and withdrew.
Watching the two confidants leave, Wei Bo murmured.
"That old guy Ouyang Bing has lost his ambition and is basically no longer a threat. Shi Yan hasn't been in the Seventh Layer for long, so his threat is also not great. The remaining ones are the Fang Family Old Ghost and Red Hair. Could these two old guys be trying to cause trouble using this Beast Mine incident?"
"Forget it, I still need to investigate carefully, lest there be any oversight..."
*
After leaving the Yamen, Lin Sheng weaved through the crowded long street and entered a small alley. When he came out again, his appearance had returned to normal.
He did not stop but walked towards the direction of the Ten Thousand Beasts Hall.
Now that he had unprecedented wealth, it was time to go and check on the information about flying Spirit Beasts.
Thinking of this, his heart was full of anticipation.