Lin Shiming did not hesitate to activate the entire Three Profound Qingtao Formation, allowing the mountaintop to be covered with peach blossoms once again, while he himself rode the Flying Sword, releasing his Divine Sense toward Qingtao Mountain in search of the Spirit Peach Tree.
Compared to ordinary peach trees, the Spirit Peach Tree was larger and imbued with Spiritual Energy, which might not be easy for mortals to discern, but for cultivators, with the sensing of Spiritual Power, the difference between an ordinary tree and a Spirit Tree was apparent at a glance.
After a complete search, Lin Shiming's expression grew noticeably gloomier, for although Qingtao Mountain had many peach trees, it was not large; yet he had not found the Spirit Peach Tree after circling around.
However, he soon came to terms with it, for if the Spirit Peach Tree had been on the mountain, his uncle, who was extremely experienced in the wilderness, would have surely discovered it.
It wasn't his turn yet.
Lin Shiming was not discouraged, the system prompt was to inspect all the peach trees, so Lin Shiming continued patiently searching around Qingtao Mountain.
By the time the sun set, Lin Shiming had still not found the Spirit Peach Tree.
The peach blossoms covering the mountains, in his eyes, no longer possessed their former beauty, but rather caused him a hint of irritation.
Hss!
Suddenly, Lin Shiming took out a Spirit Talisman from his Storage Bag, and as the talisman burned to ashes in mid-air, it transformed into a beam of light and flew towards Qingtao Town.
"Trouble on the first day?" Lin Shiming was somewhat speechless. He did not find the Spirit Peach, but instead, issues arose in Qingtao Town first.
Though he was annoyed, Lin Shiming knew well that mortals were the foundation of the family; despite Qingtao Town having only tens of thousands of residents, every five years, usually a few cultivators with Spirit Roots emerged.
Riding the sword towards the flaming talisman paper, he vanished into the horizon in the blink of an eye.
Arriving at Qingtao Town, the elder named Lin Yang, along with a group of men and women dressed in coarse hemp garments, immediately knelt down towards Lin Shiming.
"Immortal Master, there's a demon monkey, a huge one, two to three meters tall! Incredibly strong and ferociously fierce!"
"We implore the Immortal Master to lend a hand, to save all the townsfolk, young and old. The entire town of Qingtao will be at your service, willing to do anything!"
"Tell me where the demon monkey is and what the losses are," Lin Shiming said with a steely expression.
"Master Immortal, the demon monkey is in the north of the town, three li away on the old peach tree at Da Niu's house!"
"Da Niu was assaulted by that demon monkey as soon as he opened his door this morning, he was thrown to the ground and vomited blood, a lot of it; he's still unconscious. Thankfully, Er Niu was quick-witted and managed to escape with Da Niu and his family while the monkey rested. Otherwise, I don't dare to think of the outcome."
"Oh, you mean on the peach tree?" Lin Shiming's eyes suddenly brightened, feeling that his efforts had not been in vain.
The Demonic Beast monkey occupying the peach tree and driving people away was obviously the Spirit Peach Tree that Lin Shiming had been earnestly seeking!
"Yes! The unlucky peach tree at Da Niu's place! It's been two years, a tree that only flowers but bears no fruit!" Lin Yang added.
"We've been urging Da Niu to cut it down, but he wouldn't listen!" a well-intentioned person from the side interjected earnestly.
Having heard the description that seemed to mean the tree only flowered annually and bore fruit every three years, Lin Shiming was completely convinced of the authenticity of the Spirit Peach and also attained a general understanding of the strength of the demon monkey.
Yet he could not help but cast another look at the so-called well-intentioned person, thankful that it wasn't this person's tree. Then, he spoke indifferently.
"All right, I've understood. Lead the way, and I will deal with that demon monkey right now!"
"I lead... the way...?"
"Wang Mazhu, what are you hesitating for? When the Immortal Master asks you to lead the way, just lead the way. The Immortal Master is skilled in magical arts with matchless divine skills, how can he not handle a mere demon monkey?" Lin Yang scolded from the side.
"Yes, Immortal Master!"
Lin Shiming, unconcerned at the side, took out his Flying Sword, and with a slight cast of a spell, it transformed into a three-meter-long giant sword.
Its chilling gleam was compelling, and a flicker of sword light could be seen.
In an instant, the mortals looked on as if they were witnessing a heavenly deity, the admiration in their eyes shooting sky-high.
"Come up!" Lin Shiming instructed Wang Mazhu to get on the sword and lead the way.
Wang Mazhu scrambled onto the Flying Sword, clinging to it as if his life depended on it, much to the speechlessness of Lin Shiming. After being reminded that a Spirit Method protected him, and that he could stand up freely, Wang Mazhu eventually stood up with a flattering smile.
For Lin Shiming, three li was merely a matter of one or two minutes.
Soon, a few modest houses and a small hill came into view.
In front of one house stood a magnificent peach tree, its pink blossoms swaying in the wind but not a single one had bloomed or fallen.
Lin Shiming recognized at once that it was a Spirit Peach Tree ready to bear fruit.
"Immortal Master, Big Niu's house is up ahead, and the demon monkey is on the peach tree," Wang Mazhu added quietly beside him.
Lin Shiming looked intently and saw sure enough, in a large fork of the peach tree, a two to three meters tall yellow-furred demon monkey was lying there in a very relaxed pose.
It was holding an unknown fruit and looked utterly content.
However, upon seeing Lin Shiming approach on his Flying Sword, the demon monkey instantly sprang up, its long arms hugging the tree trunk, fur bristling, baring its teeth and hissing madly at Lin Shiming.
"What an enjoyment-loving Second Rank Intermediate Grade yellow-furred demon monkey!" After confirming that the Spirit Beast was not a Second Rank Superior Grade Demonic Beast, Lin Shiming waved for Wang Mazhu to leave.
The strength of a Second Rank Intermediate Grade Demonic Beast was equivalent to the mid-stage of Qi Cultivation.
With a Magic Artifact and Spirit Talismans at his disposal, he was naturally not afraid.
He took out several Intermediate Grade Spirit Talismans from his chest, holding them in the palm of his hand, ready to activate at any moment.
At the same time, his other hand quickly formed seals, and a Second Rank Flying Sword instantly soared, slashing toward the yellow-furred demon monkey.
The demon monkey's wide mouth became even more ferocious and terrifying, screeching as it leaped high, dodging the Flying Sword and fiercely grabbing towards Lin Shiming.
The distance of dozens of meters seemed to vanish in a flash.
"Well done!" Lin Shiming was worried about damaging the Spirit Peach Tree, so his Flying Sword made a swift return strike.
But the demon monkey was too agile, it dodged again with a swift leap and grabbed towards Lin Shiming, a Golden Shield Talisman then exploded, blocking the claw attack.
Lin Shiming was alarmed and quickly retreated dozens of meters to create distance.
At the same time, he tossed out a handful of seeds from his hand and then quickly formed a spell,
"Wood Vine Technique!"
The Wood Vine Technique was Lin Shiming's best low-level spell, capable of almost instantaneous casting and boosted by the Qing Mu Art. It had been quite troublesome for his uncle Lin Houwei during sparring sessions.
With Lin Shiming's shout, countless seeds sprouted, turning into colossal wooden vines that wrapped towards the demon monkey.
The demon monkey wanted to dodge again, but couldn't escape the sheer number of vines that hindered its speed.
It could only rage in frustration, its long arms flailing wildly.
Following that, Lin Shiming threw out a prepared Second Rank Intermediate Grade Fireball Talisman towards the demon monkey, which exploded upon impact, covering the monkey in blood, its roars incessant.
Yet, this was not the end. Lin Shiming's Flying Sword had already charged forward, delivering a direct sword strike.
A monkey's head flew high into the air, and thus the demon monkey met its death.
After a series of attacks, Lin Shiming's complexion had slightly changed. Both the Wood Vine Technique and Sword Flight consumed a significant amount of Spiritual Energy, and together the consumption was considerable.
If it weren't for the Spirit Talismans he had prepared, the situation could have been dangerous.
Lin Shiming took out a Spirit Stone and began to recover his Spiritual Energy while also releasing the Golden Winged Mantis.
The demon monkey only being at the Second Rank and without a Demon Core, only its claws and fur were valuable while the rest could be used as blood food for the mantis.
The blood of a Demonic Beast could not only stimulate the mantis's ferocity but also accelerate its growth.
"Immortal Master, you are truly amazing," Wang Mazhu then came running over, all smiles.
"Prepare a room for me where I won't be disturbed. I need to meditate for a while!" Lin Shiming ordered, storing most of the demon monkey's corpse into his Storage Bag, leaving only a large monkey leg for the mantis to gnaw on.
"Yes, Immortal Master!" Wang Mazhu went to prepare immediately.
Lin Shiming first went to the peach tree to ensure the Spirit Peaches were unharmed.
However, Lin Shiming frowned upon discovering that the Spiritual Energy here was obviously insufficient. Compared to the family-nurtured Spirit Peach Tree, this one was evidently lacking nutrition, and it likely would only bear twenty or thirty peaches at most.
To increase the yield, the tree would definitely need to be transplanted to an area with denser Spiritual Energy.
He had not prepared the materials beforehand to set up a Spirit Gathering Array, and as for transplanting it to Qingtao Mountain, Lin Shiming did not possess the necessary transplanting techniques.
This inevitably caused Lin Shiming some distress.
After examining the peach tree, Lin Shiming entered the wooden hut at Wang Mazhu's house with a troubled face and began to meditate.
Wang Mazhu saw Lin Shiming's somber expression and immediately became fearful, not daring to even breathe too loudly, as he reflected on whether he had done something wrong.