"Is Junior Brother Lin Jing here?"
"Are you... Senior Sister from Harvest Pavilion?"
Half a month had passed since the Ascending Dragon Festival events, and while Lin Jing was still engrossed in intense cultivation, an unexpected visitor arrived.
The visitor was dressed in a Daoist robe, had a fair face, but looked somewhat frail, like a delicate, sickly beauty.
"Junior Brother, sorry to disturb you, my name is Qin Cai Xin, and I come today with a request." Senior Sister Cai Xin said.
"Please go ahead, Senior Sister." Lin Jing thought he had heard of this name before, perhaps someone among the top talents of the outer sect, unexpectedly she was the one who promoted fertilizer back then.
"Have you been out in the last couple of days, Junior Brother? Do you know that Senior Brother He Yiming was seriously injured by the Demon Hunting Hall people in the Beast Arena?"
"The Senior Brother who was the first to challenge the Bamboo Dragon in the Ascending Dragon Festival?" Lin Jing was puzzled: "What kind of organization is this Demon Hunting Hall?"
Senior Sister Cai Xin replied: "The Demon Hunting Hall was created by Elder Li Hai within the sect; Elder Li has always been dissatisfied with the sect’s disciple training policy, believing that the sect protects its disciples too well. Even the assignments for out-sect training are chosen by the disciples themselves, and he thinks this method cannot cultivate strong individuals."
"Therefore, he established the Demon Hunting Hall, recruiting a batch of disciples from the outer sect every few years."
"These Demon Hunting Hall disciples do not train within the sect but are all thrown by Elder Li into the wilderness to grow amidst battles with demon beasts, leaving their life and death to fate."
"Since they cannot train in a comfortable environment, their cultivation may not be very high, but when it comes to life-and-death combat, they are indeed formidable; Senior Brother He Yiming wasn’t a match at all."
"Why is Senior Sister telling me all this?" Lin Jing asked, "Do they also intend to cause trouble for me? If so, can Senior Sister pass a message for me? I also think Elder Li’s method is better for cultivating strong individuals."
"Though it might be a waste of disciples and pet beasts."
Senior Sister Cai Xin smiled wryly and said: "It’s not that. Junior Brother Lin Jing, what you said is actually correct; closed-door cultivation is no match for life-and-death trials to improve strength. As for the death rate... Elder Li took away dozens of people three years ago, and only four have returned alive now."
"Our Beast Taming Sect is not a demon sect, cannot widely implement this method of training."
"Today, I came to visit Junior Brother... Actually, I want to ask whether the red flying leaves you used during the battle with Bamboo Dragon can be sold to me?"
"My contracted pet beast is a tree bear and also masters the technique of flying leaves. We’ve tried using various spirit plant leaves as flying leaves but none have the destructive effect of your red leaves used by the pine leaf mouse back then."
"There are still a few months before the annual inner disciple evaluation, and the return of the Demon Hunting Hall disciples will definitely increase its difficulty. I want to enhance my strength as much as possible before the assessment."
After Senior Sister Cai Xin finished speaking, Lin Jing understood, but he regrettably said: "I’m truly sorry, for some special reasons, those red leaves can only be used by us."
Lin Jing wasn’t lying; the red leaves synthesized by the pine leaf mouse have a "heartfelt connection" with it, allowing it to control the flying leaves "freely." Under this "heartforce control," the leaves’ power and speed are greatly enhanced, and even without much practice, at Qi Cultivation Level Five, it can control 10 red leaves simultaneously. But for other demon beasts, this binding effect is absent."
"Is that so..." Senior Sister Cai Xin sighed and said, "Sorry to bother you, Junior Brother Lin Jing."
After speaking, she left, and Lin Jing closed the courtyard gate, intending to continue reading.
"Heh heh." But who knew, at this time, a strange laugh echoed in the courtyard.
A Black Bear Monster dressed in a white Dao robe appeared in Lin Jing’s courtyard at some unknown time.
"I recall that girl seems to come from a small cultivation family. Being inherently weak and unsuitable for normal training, her family sent her to the Beast Taming Sect."
"Kid, your Dao heart is strong, a pretty senior sister requests, but you remain unmoved! I believe in you, you will certainly achieve success in cultivation!"
"The main thing is, as someone with a Longevity Body, it’s indeed unsuitable to find a common Dao partner. You should think of finding a female cultivator with a higher realm in the future. At least, she won’t die before you!"
Lin Jing silently looked at Elder Black Bear and said: "You came suddenly, is there something you need?"
"There’s a box of red leaves stored up by the pine leaf mouse, it can’t use them all by itself. Had it been possible to sell them, I would have done so long ago; only it can use them."
"Nothing important." Elder Black Bear looked at the mechanical gears and parts strewn across the courtyard, along with several misshapen turtle toys, and said: "These days learning Mechanical Techniques? Not bad, looking quite decent."
"I came to remind you."
"Didn’t the little girl just say it? There are still a few months until the inner disciple evaluation; although you’re still a bit far from Qi Cultivation Level Seven, that pine leaf mouse, with its aptitude, and if provided enough resources, might reach Qi Cultivation Level Seven and bring you to the evaluation!"
"After entering the inner sect, you’d have to choose a peak to join; the different peaks of the Beast Taming Sect represent different directions, such as Danxia Peak that also trains alchemy, Nine Dragon Peak which specializes in cultivating dragon blood demon beasts, Qingtang Peak which suits water-type spirit beast cultivation..."
"Basically, every outer sect disciple chooses a suitable inner peak to join when the time comes, and learns magic there."
"The Elder Mo and Elder Yu you’re familiar with—one is already retired at Lotus Peak, indifferent to sect affairs, one oversees the outer sect, uninterested in the inner sect—so you cannot rely on them and still have to consider which inner peak to join."
"Once you’ve decided, I’ll arrange a greeting for you, ensuring the other side pays attention to you early. In this Beast Taming Sect, even the Golden Core elders have to give face a few times."
Lin Jing was more interested in Danxia Peak, mainly because he had already invested considerable effort into learning alchemy.
"Elder Black Bear, surely there’s another reason for your visit this time?" Lin Jing did not believe sudden solicitude was in Elder Black Bear’s character.
"Heh heh." As expected, Elder Black Bear laughed: "You shouldn’t tell Elder Mo; I’ve been fond of a spirit fruit called ’Dragon Bone Flower’ since childhood. But after forming the Demon Pill, the nutrients in lower-level spirit fruits no longer serve me. Occasionally, I consume a few to satisfy my taste buds."
"Recently, my mother traveled far to the Beast Taming Sect to visit me, bringing plenty of hometown Dragon Bone Flowers, so I suddenly thought—can that squirrel synthesize ’Dragon Bone Flower’ like it does spirit rice and spirit beans?"
"If synthesized, could it provide more than taste satisfaction—other value for me? Not everything needs to explode."
"Help me out, I’ll give you compensation, but let me mention again, don’t let Elder Mo know. If he finds out I disrupted your cultivation, it’ll be disastrous!"
Lin Jing nodded: "However, Elder Black Bear, what exactly is this Dragon Bone Flower? It doesn’t seem to be recorded in the Complete Collection of Plants and Trees... could it be too high-grade in quality? If so, the pine leaf mouse may not be able to synthesize it."
"It’s quite normal, as besides being delicious, it doesn’t have any special value. Don’t worry, it’s just a relatively rare low-level spirit fruit." Saying this, it took out a fruit resembling a Fire Dragon Fruit from its storage bag, took a bite, and with the flesh being red... the Black Bear Monster appeared to have a mouth full of blood, very frightening.