Inside Second Uncle's cave dwelling, Wang Baoling slowly opened his eyes while sitting on a meditation cushion.
After spending the past few days thinking it over, he seemed to have figured out the function of the spirit farmland in his dantian.
"The Pine Spirit Grass actually sprouted after only a few days. It won't take several months to mature."
"Looks like this spirit farmland can accelerate maturation. With something like this, the Immortal Dao is within reach—the Immortal Dao is within reach!"
"Ding-ding!"
Just then, a series of urgent bells rang outside the door.
Wang Baoling wiped the smile from his face and muttered in surprise, "What happened to the Xu family? Why are they calling all the disciples together?"
Although he was surprised, he did not go outside. Second Uncle had told him that no matter what happened to the Xu family, all he needed to do was focus on his cultivation.
More importantly, he was not really a member of the Xu family. He did not even have an Xu family token.
After a while, someone knocked on the door.
"Is the nephew of Elder Wang home?" a domineering voice called from outside.
Wang Baoling froze. Could this be one of Second Uncle's enemies?
No, that couldn't be right. This was the Xu family. How could anyone have enemies here?
With that thought, Wang Baoling opened the courtyard gate.
Standing before him were Xu Lu and a fair, clean-cut man with a smile on his face and an unrestrained air about him.
"Today is the day Li Mingchun and I got engaged. Mingchun bought a lot of Spirit-Opening Pills. When the bells rang just now, everyone came over except you, so I brought yours to you personally!" Xu Lu said with a smile.
"Congratulations, congratulations! A perfect match, made for each other—truly made for each other!" Wang Baoling said, showering them with free compliments.
"Ha-ha-ha! Good, good, good. Everyone else gets one Spirit-Opening Pill, but you get two!" Li Mingchun said with a broad smile.
He handed Wang Baoling a blue porcelain bottle containing two Spirit-Opening Pills.
"Thank you, Young Master Li Mingchun!" Wang Baoling said, cupping his fists in thanks.
"All right, we won't disturb your cultivation." With that, the two of them left the courtyard.
Watching them walk away, Wang Baoling let the smile fade from his face. Looking at the two Spirit-Opening Pills in his hand, he couldn't help sighing inwardly, "Rich people really are different. They get engaged, and even an outsider like me gets a benefit."
Meanwhile, as they walked away, Li Mingchun looked at Xu Lu with disdain. "You were worrying for nothing. This Wang Baoling is nothing but a money grubber. Besides, I was the one who killed Xie Shen. He was still a mortal back then—what could he possibly know?"
"That's right. As long as nothing goes wrong, we'll get married as soon as Grandpa and the others return." Xu Lu gazed at Li Mingchun with affection.
"Good, good, good!" Li Mingchun said eagerly.
Elsewhere, Wang Lin, Xie Yun, and the others arrived at the foot of the mountain where the Xu family lived.
"You've all worked hard, Uncles. We finally managed to obtain the Aroma Grass. The next step is to refine the Gathering Spirit Pill." Xu Fei beamed.
"I'm not good at alchemy. I'll leave it to Xie Yun and Third Master." Wang Lin looked exhausted.
"Don't worry. Leave it to me," Xie Yun said calmly.
"Come quickly! Someone, come quickly!" an urgent voice rang in everyone's ears.
Wang Lin turned around and saw Xu Jinghui, who was grievously wounded.
"Third Master, Second Master, what happened?" Wang Lin, Xie Yun, and the others stared at the badly injured Xu Jinghui in astonishment.
"Come help. Get Second Brother inside first," Xu Wuhui said.
"Dad! Dad!" Xu Hong hurriedly flew down from the mountain.
"Third Uncle, what happened? Where's Eldest Uncle?" Xu Hong asked in confusion.
"Don't worry about that yet. Hurry and get Second Brother to his room!" Xu Wuhui said anxiously.
A short while later, everyone had just finished settling Xu Jinghui in the main hall of the Xu family residence.
"Third Uncle, hurry up and tell us what happened. What exactly is going on?" Xu Hong asked anxiously.
"We were hunted by three unidentified Foundation Establishment cultivators," Xu Wuhui said gravely.
"Three Foundation Establishment cultivators!"
"Where's Eldest Uncle?"
Faced with the barrage of questions, Xu Wuhui gave a bitter smile. "Big Brother held off all three Foundation Establishment cultivators by himself, buying us time to retreat!"
The entire Xu family immediately fell silent.
"Everyone, don't panic. Dad has a way to escape. He has a teleportation talisman on him!" Xu Zhicheng, Xu Guohui's eldest son, said evenly.
"No wonder Big Brother was confident enough to hold off three Foundation Establishment cultivators." A look of realization crossed Xu Wuhui's face.
"Grandpa's awake!" Xu Lu suddenly said.
Everyone immediately turned their attention to Xu Jinghui, who had just regained consciousness.
"Don't panic. Big Brother is in the late Foundation Establishment stage. Across the entire Qingzhou Prefecture, there are only a few people capable of threatening him. We don't have enemies elsewhere, so they must be after the Foundation Establishment Pill in our possession."
"Third Brother, if you obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill, immediately go into seclusion. Don't worry about Big Brother," Xu Jinghui explained in an orderly manner.
"Second Brother, rest assured. I won't let you down." Xu Wuhui's expression was solemn.
"Good, good. Third Brother needs to enter seclusion, and I need to recover from my injuries!"
"The family's safety will be entrusted to Xu Zhicheng." Xu Jinghui turned to Xu Guohui's eldest son, Xu Zhicheng, as he spoke.
"Second Uncle, Third Uncle, don't worry. I'll definitely protect the Xu family!"
"Dad, Xu Lu and Li Mingchun of the Li family are engaged. Can we take care of the wedding first?" Xu Hong asked.
"All right. Do as you see fit," Xu Jinghui said indifferently.
At the hillside courtyard!
"Second Uncle, you're back so quickly. Did you find the Aroma Grass?" Wang Baoling asked curiously.
Wang Lin nodded, his expression somewhat grave.
"What is it, Second Uncle?"
Wang Lin sighed and recounted how Xu Jinghui had been injured and Xu Guohui's whereabouts were unknown.
"No way. They auctioned off a Foundation Establishment Pill, and it turned out this bloody?" Wang Baoling looked shocked.
Wang Lin glanced at him helplessly. "Isn't that the truth?"
"At least we managed to obtain the Aroma Grass without a problem. We didn't run into any danger along the way!"
Wang Lin suddenly raised his hand and used formation flags to seal off the entire Xu family courtyard.
"Second Uncle, what are you doing?"
"Don't ask too many questions. The Xu family is going through troubled times. Although the three Xu brothers are blood brothers, they weren't born to the same mother, and each has his own agenda. This attack was extremely suspicious." Wang Lin's expression was grave.
"Second Uncle, are you saying Third Master ambushed the main and second branches?" Wang Baoling asked curiously.
"No. It could also have been the second and main branches plotting against Third Master. No matter which it is, we're not in a position to provoke any of them."
"I swore upon my Dao heart that I can't leave the Xu family until Xu Wuhui breaks through to Foundation Establishment. But you're different. You have nothing to do with the Xu family. Once you reach the second stage of Qi Condensation, I'll send you away." Wang Lin spoke with a solemn expression.
"All right. I'll listen to you, Second Uncle."
Wang Baoling had no desire to cling to the Xu family's comfortable life. No matter how comfortable life was, you still needed to be alive to enjoy it.