That night.
On the quiet long street, a carriage silently stopped outside a residence.
The driver of the carriage was a short man. Who else could it be but Pei Er?
Pei Er got out of the carriage, looked around, and was about to knock on the door, but before his fist could fall, the tightly closed courtyard door suddenly opened.
Revealing Lin Sheng's tall and straight figure.
"Young... Young Master Lin, the item you requested has been delivered at the command of my Young Master."
Seeing Lin Sheng appear, Pei Er squeezed out a smile and said.
Lin Sheng ignored Pei Er and his gaze fell upon the carriage outside the door.
The carriage was a four-person model, tightly sealed, making it impossible to see what was inside. However, Lin Sheng's nostrils twitched, and he could smell a faint scent of dust.
Noticing Lin Sheng's gaze, the smile on Pei Er's face grew wider, with a hint of pride.
"The item brought for you this time, Young Master Lin, will surely not disappoint. As for what it is specifically, please step forward and take a look."
"Okay."
Lin Sheng nodded.
He truly hadn't expected that in just seven days, the Reverse Tenth Floor would bring him a Spirit Beast.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward a few steps and opened a gap in the carriage. He saw an elliptical, spherical creature covered in mysterious iron-colored scales.
"This is..."
Seeing this, Lin Sheng was a bit surprised.
From the outside, it was impossible to tell what kind of exotic beast it was. It looked more like an armadillo magnified dozens or even a hundred times.
Since he couldn't tell what it was, he simply extended his hand through the carriage and placed his palm on the body of this giant armadillo.
A string of information instantly appeared in his consciousness panel.
【Earth-Traveling Armored Beast (Spirit Beast)】
【Body length two zhang, covered in armor, tail like a cone, possessing excellent defensive toughness. This is an adult Earth-Traveling Armored Beast, living underground year-round, traveling through the earth like the wind, feeding on various Ores.】
【Integration Requirement: Strength 6】
【Integration Effect: Constitution Increase 7, Strength Increase 5, Agility Increase 3】
【Talent: Earth Travel】
Seeing the attributes of this Earth-Traveling Armored Beast, Lin Sheng's eyes lit up.
"It actually has a seven-point constitution increase!"
He truly hadn't expected that this seemingly not-so-large Spirit Beast could have such a high constitution increase, even one point higher than the Black Armor Mysterious Bull.
Although the other attributes were not outstanding, for him, as long as the constitution was high enough, it was sufficient.
"This is an Earth-Traveling Armored Beast, considered an underground Spirit Beast known for its defense. Capturing it is not easy. Only our Reverse Tenth Floor could manage it, otherwise..."
Pei Er didn't continue speaking, but the meaning was clear.
"Here's what you wanted."
Lin Sheng flipped his wrist, and two porcelain bottles landed in Pei Er's hand.
Pei Er had no intention of staying longer and turned to leave, but before he left, he threw a mysterious smile at Lin Sheng and spoke.
"Young Master Lin, my Young Master also asked me to bring you a message. The power transition in the Prefecture Yamen has set its sights on Wanhua City. The days for the three major forces in the city will become increasingly difficult. However, the doors of the Reverse Tenth Floor will always be open for you..."
After speaking, Pei Er shot out an oval jade stone.
"This is what the Young Master asked me to bring you. Just drip blood into it, and there will be experts from the floor to receive you."
At this point, Pei Er's figure had already disappeared.
Watching Pei Er's figure disappear into the distance, Lin Sheng looked at the jade stone in his hand, then turned his gaze back to the carriage.
He knew very well that the Reverse Tenth Floor delivering this Spirit Beast in such a short time was clearly a display of their strength.
But he had to admit, the power of the so-called Reverse Tenth Floor was indeed much stronger than he had imagined.
As for the power transition mentioned by the other party, he was not clear about it, but it was likely true, which would explain the drastic changes in Wanhua City now.
Without much thought, he directly lifted the carriage, exerting force with his hands. The large carriage was thrown directly into the courtyard. Before the carriage landed, his figure had already appeared in the courtyard and caught it.
He didn't choose to integrate immediately but opened the carriage and dragged the seemingly unconscious Earth-Traveling Armored Beast into the cultivation quiet room.
The secretive Reverse Tenth Floor seemed quite interested in him. It would be best to be careful when integrating exotic beasts in the future.
In the quiet room, Lin Sheng extended his finger, and a green halo condensed at his fingertip, touching the scales of the Earth-Traveling Armored Beast.
Immediately, he felt a sense of obstruction at his fingertip, but as he increased the force in his hand, especially with the penetration talent active, the sense of obstruction instantly disappeared, and his finger sank into its flesh.
Roar!
The sleeping Earth-Traveling Armored Beast seemed to be awakened by the pain and opened its mouth to let out an angry roar, but before the sound could be made, there was a muffled thud.
The Earth-Traveling Armored Beast's head, which had just been raised, drooped down again, falling back into a daze.
He didn't know what methods the Reverse Tenth Floor had used on this Spirit Beast, but its state was quite weak. Otherwise, knocking it unconscious would definitely not be this easy.
"Integrate..."
With a thought, he successfully integrated the Earth-Traveling Armored Beast.
The already weak Earth-Traveling Armored Beast was startled awake, then immediately became listless, its aura weakening, but it didn't die, after all, it still retained a trace of vitality.
Since a Spirit Beast had miraculously survived, he wouldn't just watch it die. He brought out some dried Spirit Beast meat from outside and stuffed it all into the Earth-Traveling Armored Beast's mouth.
Although this creature feeds on Ores, it definitely wouldn't refuse dried Spirit Beast meat which contains considerable energy.
After continuously eating over ten jin of dried Spirit Beast meat, its weak state finally recovered a bit.
As for how to deal with this Earth-Traveling Armored Beast, he would naturally sell it.
Although its condition was not ideal, selling it to the Ten Thousand Beasts Hall would still fetch at least two thousand taels of silver.
Next, it would depend on when the Ten Thousand Beasts Hall could acquire another constitution-type Spirit Beast.
As for the channel with the Reverse Tenth Floor, it would be best not to have too much contact with them for now, unless absolutely necessary.
Although he didn't have much contact with Wan Yanbei, he could tell that he was definitely a person with deep thoughts.
Moreover, he had investigated him quite thoroughly, and it was possible that he had some other purpose, especially since there was likely a terrifying Divine Form Realm Martial Artist behind him. He truly didn't want to have too many entanglements with them.
Time passed like a white Through gap , and half a month quietly flowed by in the blink of an eye.
Wanhua City, Tianxiang Restaurant.
"Alas, I didn't expect the Prefecture Yamen to target water transportation. It was too sudden and caused our Fang Family's water transportation fleet to suffer significant losses."
Zhao Kongfang shook his head, drank several cups, and said with some helplessness.
"But speaking of which, water transportation doesn't affect my Zhao Family's business much. The White Dragon Gang is the one truly fatally impacted. Nearly half of the White Dragon Gang's business relies on water transportation. Now, the Imperial Court doesn't allow private ships to go out to sea without permission. The White Dragon Gang can be said to have suffered heavy losses."
"And the Fang Family. The Fang Family also has some business in water transportation. Now that's completely gone. I wonder when this water transportation ban will be lifted."
Across from him, Lin Sheng didn't speak, just quietly listened to Zhao Kongfang's complaints.
Half a month had passed, and things were indeed escalating as he had expected. The Prefecture Yamen had actually taken action against Wanhua City's water transportation.
On the surface, Wanhua City still maintained a facade of calm, clearly the three major forces hadn't done anything out of line during this time.
But now that the Imperial Court had taken action against water transportation, he wondered if the White Dragon Gang could still remain calm.
"Fortunately, before the water transportation ban, the Star Dew Grass you asked me to purchase, Junior Brother Lin, arrived in advance. Otherwise, I don't know when it would have arrived."
"Oh! Thank you, Second Senior Brother."
Hearing this, Lin Sheng's eyes lit up.
Half a month ago, he had entrusted Zhao Kongfang to purchase a batch of high-grade Star Dew Grass for him, price was not an issue.
He had originally thought it wouldn't be purchased so quickly, and with the changes in water transportation, he had given up hope on this batch of Star Dew Grass, but he didn't expect it to have arrived already, which was a pleasant surprise.
These Star Dew Grass were all specifically purchased high-grade Star Dew Grass, their effects were stronger than the Star Dew Grass he had consumed before, and of course, the price was also higher.
However, he was wealthy now and didn't care about these expenses.
The reason for purchasing a batch of Star Dew Grass was also to temper his spirit.
Although the tempering effect of the Heart Monkey Talent was not as good as before with the increase in his spirit attribute, it still had some effect.
With the assistance of a large amount of high-grade Star Dew Grass, there was a possibility of increasing his spirit attribute by another point.
If his spirit could not condense for a long time, then starting from the spirit attribute was also a method.
The higher the spirit attribute, the stronger his spirit would be, and the easier it would be for his spirit to condense and meet the requirements of the Mingxin Realm.
With both methods working together, the efficiency would definitely increase significantly.
"We are fellow disciples, why be so polite."
Zhao Kongfang waved his hand and said indifferently, but soon lowered his voice, glanced around, and whispered?
"Junior Brother Lin, do you know why the Prefecture Yamen is so concerned about Wanhua City now?"
Seeing the other party's mysterious appearance, Lin Sheng's heart stirred, but he didn't show anything on his face, just whispered.
"Is it because of the god seed incident at the Crimson Whale Hall?"
"No, no."
As if he had guessed Lin Sheng's answer, Zhao Kongfang shook his head repeatedly and, for once, didn't keep him in suspense, but said directly.
"It has something to do with the god seed incident at Bo Peak, but it's not the main reason. The real reason is that the person above the Prefecture Yamen has changed."
"Changed?" Lin Sheng thought of Pei Er's words from half a month ago.
"That's right. My father accidentally learned about this. The original Golden Seal Divine Constable Zhang Songbai has been stationed in the capital, and now the one in charge of the Prefecture Yamen is a new Divine Constable transferred from the capital."
"Zhang Songbai left after the destruction of the Crimson Whale Hall, so the series of measures targeting Wanhua City during this time were all instructed by that new Divine Constable."
"And I heard that this new Divine Constable's temper is not easy to get along with. I'm afraid the days in Wanhua City will become increasingly difficult from now on."
The more Zhao Kongfang spoke, the more he sighed.
Lin Sheng didn't say anything more. A Golden Seal Divine Constable who could replace Zhang Songbai was undoubtedly a Divine Form Realm expert.
For Wanhua City, a Divine Transformation Realm Martial Artist was a great mountain pressing down on all forces.
"Oh, besides this matter, there is another thing. Although it's just gossip, it's very likely to be true."
Zhao Kongfang drank several cups of wine in distress, then seemed to remember something, shook his head, and continued.
"The long-standing peaceful situation between Northern Yan and South Qi is likely to be broken."
"Broken!?"
Hearing this, a hint of emotion appeared on Lin Sheng's face.
"That's right. On the border of Nanli Prefecture, I heard that even Prince Yan, Zhao Hongzhang, has left the capital and is stationed in Nanli. And on the South Qi side, the one stationed in Shenwu Li, facing Nanli across the river, is the Great General Tang Zhong of South Qi."
Zhao Kongfang's face was somewhat blank, not knowing what he was thinking, and he spoke slowly.
"Prince Yan, Zhao Hongzhang, is the undisputed number one expert in Northern Yan, and that Great General Tang Zhong is not to be underestimated, known as the Military God of South Qi. With the top experts of both countries stationed on the border, doesn't that mean something big is likely to happen?"
At this point, Zhao Kongfang's blank gaze focused, and he spat heavily.
"Given the current situation, let them fight. It will also give us a breather..."
"Let's hope so."
Lin Sheng shook his head noncommittally.
He didn't believe that if a war broke out between the two countries, their Sect forces would be able to catch their breath.
Perhaps the situation would become even worse. He understood the principle of 'to resist external enemies, one must first pacify internal unrest' very well.
The two looked at each other, just silently drinking their wine, no longer speaking.
... ...
Nanli Prefecture.
Yuanqi Mountain Range.
As a vast mountain range spanning two countries, its scale was even several times larger than the Congyun Mountains.
There were many ferocious beasts and strange creatures within, and the danger was also incomparable to the Congyun Mountains.
At this time, at the foot of a huge mountain in the mountain range.
The dense vegetation had been cleared away, replaced by a continuous cluster of buildings, all with huge mountain stones as the main body. Although the shapes were rough, they had a rather fierce and wild feel.
Outside the buildings were soldiers wearing dark red heavy armor and with Physiques far exceeding ordinary people.
Each of these soldiers was over 2.5 meters tall, and some of the outstanding ones had even surpassed three meters in height, holding a heavy axe in one hand and a giant shield in the other. Each one was like a giant spirit reincarnated, exuding a powerful aura.
A large number of these soldiers were gathered outside a huge hall in the center of the building complex.
In the rough and wild hall, there was only one tall, middle-aged strong man.
The strong man was wearing casual clothes, and his clothes were even stained with some dirt, as if he had just returned from the fields like a village farmer.
His height of two meters was much taller than that of ordinary people, but compared to the strong soldiers outside the hall, he seemed somewhat petite.
The middle-aged strong man had an ordinary face and rough skin, but sitting in the hall, he possessed an indescribable and mysterious charm.
It was as if he was even more stable than the heavy hall he was in.
The strong man's eyes were slightly closed, and a black iron rod was coiled on his legs. The iron rod had no fancy patterns, as if it was naturally formed.
He gently tapped the iron rod with his fingers, and only crisp sounds echoed in the empty hall.
Suddenly, the tapping stopped abruptly.
The middle-aged strong man slowly opened his eyes, his gaze extremely bright, as if two golden rays burst out. The dim hall seemed to be illuminated by his gaze, giving his originally ordinary face an indescribable sense of majesty.
"Have they arrived?"
He stood up, dragging the black iron rod on the ground. The next moment, his figure disappeared from the hall.