Chapter 202

"I've looked into it." Qiu Yiren nodded.

"According to our intelligence, the faction backing them is a large local martial hall called the Hongfei Sect. Like us, the Hongfei Sect is supported by a major power in the Inner City. They previously colluded with the Myriad Medicine Villa, so they likely came prepared."

"Who is backing the Hongfei Sect?" Lin Hui looked at Wang Hongshi.

"I checked. It's the Carefree Pavilion," Wang Hongshi replied promptly.

"The Carefree Pavilion again?" Lin Hui remembered that the previous issue with the Circulation Realm expert Li Chi had stemmed from them. Back then, his strength had been low, and he’d had neither the time nor the energy to settle the score.

He hadn't expected the New Martial Alliance's Carefree Pavilion to pop up again and push their luck.

"The Carefree Pavilion and the Golden Goose Gate are the two pillars of the New Martial Alliance in the Inner City. Now that the Carefree Pavilion is moving against us, could it mean someone in the Inner City is dissatisfied with your eldest brother, Temple Master?" Wang Hongshi suggested.

"It's not necessarily targeted at us specifically. I remember my eldest brother mentioning that the Carefree Pavilion's backer is Su Yuhong, a government prodigy as famous as he is. They've always been rivals and have fought many times without a clear victor." Lin Hui knew a bit about the situation.

He pondered for a moment.

It wasn't suitable to expose his current strength. Given the abilities of a Blood Ancestor's Blood Heart, he didn't dare reveal himself casually until he could guarantee a win against one. Otherwise, it was highly likely he would be targeted by a group of Blood Ancestors and treated as nourishment for their future growth. The Blood Ancestor's Blood Heart relied on devouring the strong, using them as nutrients to continuously grow stronger.

"Post the relevant tasks for this matter and handle it yourselves. You can invite the Internal Force martial artists within the sect to take action. Try not to escalate the situation; killing some of their people to answer for our dead and injured disciples is enough." Lin Hui didn't plan to act directly before figuring out the underlying cause.

Especially now that he knew exactly who was keeping an eye on him in the city.

"Understood! But Senior Sister Xia insists on going..." Wang Hongshi said hesitantly.

"Let her," Lin Hui replied.

After checking on Qiu Yiren's injuries and confirming she was fine, Lin Hui dispensed the sect's rewards: all medical expenses were waived, a bonus was issued, and the incident was counted as completing a Medium Mission for her Contribution Score.

After handling Qiu Yiren's matter, Lin Hui returned to his courtyard alone and took out the box of precious medicines offered as a filial gift by Tao Xuehai.

After discovering the maze ruins—a natural Mist-Free Zone—Lin Hui didn't want to stay in the Outer City a second longer. He was desperate to complete the Blood Seal's evolution as soon as possible and move his people there.

Unfortunately, the evolution of the Nine Skies Gate still required a long time.

Let's see if these things Xiaohai sent will work. If they do, it seems I'll have to play the role of master properly.

Lin Hui waved his hand, casting a wave of Wind Force to shut the courtyard door.

"I need to enter secluded cultivation for a while. Do not let anyone disturb me," he ordered.

"Yes," the disciple stationed outside replied hastily with respect.

Lin Hui sat cross-legged in the courtyard and gently opened the jade box. Inside lay a whole box of Purple Cloud Reishi, arranged in two rows—a full ten stalks.

"Xiaohai... he really put his heart into this," Lin Hui sighed.

He felt that Tao Xuehai's help was almost too substantial. This precious medicine was out of stock on the market; obviously, he had slaughtered an Inner City family to find this stash.

Always thinking of his Master—Tao Xuehai's respect for his teacher and the Dao was arguably the deepest Lin Hui had ever seen.

It seems that once the Nine Skies Gate finishes evolving, the first thing I must do is help Xiaohai resolve the issues in his body. Such a good-hearted disciple cannot be allowed to meet with an accident.

Lin Hui made plans in his heart, then looked at the Purple Cloud Reishi before him.

A single stalk of Purple Cloud Reishi could shorten his evolution time by two years. With ten stalks here, that was twenty years...

Xiaohai... Lin Hui sighed once more. He picked up a stalk of Purple Cloud Reishi and slowly put it into his mouth to chew.

With his current Body Tempering, he digested and absorbed all the Purple Cloud Reishi in just a short shichen.

The remaining time in the Blood Seal was also slashed significantly.

[Nine Skies Gate: Remaining evolution time 19 years and 3 months.]

The Blood Seal's message flashed across his vision, and Lin Hui finally felt a hint of anticipation in his heart.

If only I had another batch of Purple Cloud Reishi like this... then I could...

A desire he had never felt before surged in his heart.

Those great clans in the Inner City were truly quite wealthy...

After dealing with the Purple Cloud Reishi, he stood up and continued to cultivate his Internal Force. Another benefit of the Wind Disaster Affinity revealed itself at this moment: no more pill toxins.

All pill and medicine toxins were rapidly broken down and dissolved the moment the Wind Disaster Affinity swept through his body. The Wind Disaster Affinity could decompose practically anything; its uses were omnipotent.

After checking his body for medicine toxins, Lin Hui went to check on Lin Xiaoliu. After making sure she was fine and had finished her daily training tasks, he sent the child back to the Lin Manor.

Early the next morning, a new team from the Clear Wind Temple set out. Four of the top ten-ranked disciples accepted this mission, mobilizing to take revenge on the Hongfei Sect and Myriad Medicine Villa.

Xia Si followed along.

Feeling uneasy, Lin Hui asked his eldest sister, Liu Xiao, who was on leave at home, to tag along and prevent any accidents.

As for himself, he planned to head to the outer Mist Zone again to continue expanding the maze ruins.

But before he could step out the door, a person he had been waiting for a long time finally returned to the Clear Wind Temple's rear estate.

"Here! The precious medicine resources you wanted!"

Mingxia was in a blue skirt, the hem so tattered it barely covered her thighs. The upper part of the skirt was riddled with tears, damage, and encrusted with black and red bloodstains and filth.

The veil on her face was long gone, replaced by two knife scars on the right and three claw marks on the left. Her forehead bore a scorched crescent moon scar. Half of her chin was missing, seemingly hacked off by something, and one of her eyes had become a black hole—not only was the eyeball gone, but white frost continuously seeped out from it.

She hurled a large bundle heavily in front of Lin Hui. Only then did Lin Hui realize that she only had one arm left...

"What happened to you?!" Lin Hui stared at her in shock. What kind of dangers had she encountered, and what state had she been beaten into, to end up this miserable?

"Ran into a super-massive monster on the way, and even got chased by a Mist God. The ship was destroyed, so I found an island halfway, disguised myself as a local savage, and lived there for a while. Finally found an opportunity to hijack a passing pirate ship and made it to Tianchong City..." Mingxia explained simply.

That could not have been easy...

Lin Hui was speechless. Just from her brief description, he could sense the extreme, soul-stirring danger. The experiences along this journey were enough to write a book titled The Wanderings of Mingxiazi.

"Only I could have taken a route with a fifty percent mortality rate and made it back. Anyone else would definitely be dead." Mingxia patted her half-missing chest with her remaining hand.

Lin Hui's eyelids twitched at the sight.

He knew it. Before she left, she said it would take half a year at the fastest, but it had ended up taking over a year...

"Then these injuries of yours...?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Don't worry, they'll heal after I rest in the Inner City for a while. If it weren't for the residual power of the Mist God in the wounds, which must be purged before I can recover, I would have healed them on the road," Mingxia said lightly.

"That's good." Lin Hui nodded, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Come on, come on, check the goods first. This lady went through untold hardships, but the good stuff I brought back is definitely worth the price of admission!" Mingxia kicked the large bundle on the ground, which was over a meter in diameter, toward Lin Hui.

Inside, an unknown number of items clattered and rustled.

"Let me see." Lin Hui glanced at her confident expression, then reached out and gently sliced the bundle's knot.

Soundlessly, the bundle fell open.

It revealed a huge pile of Spirit-Enriching Reishi, Purple Cloud Reishi, and a type of purple, jade-like flower he couldn't identify, all thrown in a mess.

Looking at this dense, massive sack of precious medicines, even though Lin Hui had harbored some expectations, the shock and impact he felt upon actually seeing it was simply indescribable.

I struck it rich!

This was the first thought that popped into his head. At a rough glance, the Spirit-Enriching Reishi were the most numerous, at least a hundred stalks.

He stood frozen in place in shock for several full seconds before exhaling a long breath. "Let me count them first."

"Alright! As long as you're satisfied—I'm waiting for that Wild Wind Sword Technique you promised!" Mingxia grinned, revealing a mouth missing more than half its white teeth, her voice whistling through the gaps.

Lin Hui wasted no more words and quickly took inventory.

Half a minute later, the total number of precious medicines in the sack had been tallied.

Exactly one hundred stalks of Spirit-Enriching Reishi, thirty Purple Cloud Reishi, and ten pieces of Purple Snow Jade.

Your haul this trip... is indeed extremely bountiful. Lin Hui sighed with emotion.

"Actually, the Spirit-Enriching Reishi and Purple Cloud Reishi are nothing compared to these last ten pieces of Purple Snow Jade." Mingxia chuckled.

"How so?"

"The true treasure I found on this trip, the one worth paying such a huge price in injuries to fetch, is these ten pieces of Purple Snow Jade. This stuff is the source essence from which Purple Cloud Reishi grows. These ten pieces can establish a foundational Purple Cloud Reishi plantation. This way, you can cultivate an endless stream of Purple Cloud Reishi! This is the true inexhaustible resource!" Mingxia said, slightly smug.

"...Are you sure?" Lin Hui's eyes narrowed, his heart skipping a beat. This kind of thing was actually sold in Tianchong City?

"I'm sure! After all, it took a massive effort and cost me more than half my net worth to procure a foundational set. Exactly ten pieces is the minimum standard to build a plantation," Mingxia nodded affirmatively.

"...Good!" Lin Hui grabbed the bundle and closed it, his expression solemn. "The Wild Wind Sword Technique I promised you—once your injuries are healed, just come and learn it. I absolutely won't hide anything!"

"I was waiting for that!" Mingxia burst into laughter. "I'll hurry back to recover!"

Her figure flashed, and as she turned, she abruptly dissolved, vanishing into countless motes of white light.

She wasn't even pretending anymore.

After all, how could the "real" Mingxia possess such movement techniques that even Lin Hui couldn't fathom?

But right now, neither Lin Hui nor Mingxia cared about these details anymore.

In Lin Hui's eyes, there was only this massive sack on the ground.

He glanced around, quickly grabbed the sack, and darted out of the Clear Wind Temple.

Wind Force enveloped his entire body, and Internal Force condensed beneath his feet to form leverage points. With almost a flash per step, he soared directly through mid-air, flying out of the Clear Wind Temple in the blink of an eye like a large bird. He quickly left Xinyu Town and plunged into the Mist Zone.

With an ample supply of precious medicines this time, the evolution of his Nine Skies Gate could be completed today! Establishing his very own safe stronghold could be realized immediately!

Moreover, there would still be plenty of precious medicines left over. He could definitely try to establish his own Purple Cloud Reishi plantation. And if he used the Blood Seal to evolve the Purple Cloud Reishi plantation...