Liangyi City is the largest city in the southern continent. It is ruled by the powerful Liangyi Sect and is well-ordered. Countless cultivators want to settle here, which makes the cost of living in the city high.
Yang Ziqing only has the ability to practice Qigong, so naturally he is not capable of living in the city. His home is in a village outside the city. It is a small courtyard where a family of five squeeze together.
Even such a small yard was a huge burden for him.
Whether in the city or outside the city, all houses within the range of the spiritual veins have to pay annual fees, but the fees outside the city are relatively low, and the closer to the edge of the spiritual vein, the lower the fees. The free area is where there is no spiritual vein, and it is the area where mortals live. Unless the monks really can't make it, they are unwilling to go there.
As for traveling to areas outside the sect's jurisdiction, safety cannot be guaranteed without the protection of the Liangyi Sect.
"Senior, this is my room, please!"
Yang Ziqing brought Chen Lin into the yard and hurriedly opened the door of an independent house on the east side.
Then he explained, "My father and I are the only cultivators in my family. My mother and my siblings don't have spiritual roots. My father's cultivation is only at the fourth level of Qi training. Ten years ago, he was injured by a monster while out collecting spiritual herbs. He has difficulty moving, so we don't let them bother you."
Chen Lin nodded and walked into the house.
He had investigated the situations of several hired Qi-cultivating monks before, and was already familiar with this village and their family situations, so he was not surprised.
Although the other party likes to flatter and fawn on others, he is loyal to his family and even makes a lot of sacrifices to keep his family in this safe area. It can be seen that he has good character. He plans to train the other party into a confidant and have him work for him in Liangyi City.
He likes the management style and environment of this city very much, and intends to build a residential area here. If his family cannot go to Zhongtian Continent for reunion in the future, they will settle here.
Moreover, the business atmosphere in this city is very good, and various large businesses have stores here. He needs to find a few trustworthy people to help him collect materials. It would be best if he could get another Acacia grass and communicate with Luo Qinglan again to confirm the other party's situation.
If things are really bad, then you have to consider taking on this Liangyi Pan mission.
"Don't think too much about it. Given your situation, it will be no problem to successfully build your foundation."
Chen Lin put away his distracting thoughts, took out a marrow cleansing pill and three foundation-building pills, handed them to the other party and said, "You can break through here on your own. I'll go see your family."
After saying that, he walked out.
With three foundation-building pills, plus the other party's original one, there should be no problem in breaking through the foundation. If he cannot break through, it can only be said that the other party's opportunity has not come, and he will not continue to invest.
Yang Ziqing looked at the pill in his hand, as if he was dreaming.
No wonder his master didn't care about his foundation building. It turned out that he had so many foundation building pills and marrow cleansing pills. If he still failed to build his foundation, there would be no value in his existence.
After taking a look at the rooms of his parents, brothers and sisters, he calmed his mind and swallowed the marrow cleansing pill.
In another room.
Yang Ziqing's father was very nervous and treated Chen Lin with great respect. His wife and two children were beside him.
He knew that his son had been working for a mysterious powerful man recently. Just now, when his son brought the man into the yard with a respectful attitude, he had some guesses. However, his son had no intention of introducing himself, so he did not go out to ask. Now his son did not come out of the room, but this senior with unfathomable cultivation came to their room. He didn't know what was going on.
"Don't be restrained. I just came to check on your injuries."
Chen Lin glanced at a few people and smiled gently.
After that, he took out a Water Charm Pill and handed it to Father Yang, saying, "Your meridians are badly damaged, and you have been waiting for too long. Ordinary pills are ineffective. This Water Charm Pill is just right for you. Use it!"
"this… "
Father Yang's eyes lit up, but he didn't dare to take it.
The current situation is unclear, and he is afraid that taking it will cause trouble for his son. Although he is very eager to recover, he can only hold back.
At this time, the little girl at the edge suddenly spoke up, "Master Immortal, what happened to my brother?"
"Poetry should not be rude!"
When Father Yang saw his daughter speak rashly, his face suddenly changed drastically. He quickly scolded her, and then apologized to Chen Lin: "Don't blame me, senior. My daughter is just a mortal and doesn't know etiquette. I will definitely teach her a lesson."
Chen Lin took a look at the little girl. She looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, quite pretty and well-dressed.
After all, they are the family of a cultivator. Their life is difficult compared to other cultivators, but it is much better than that of ordinary mortal families. At least they don't have to worry about food, clothing and other expenses.
"May I have your name?"
Chen Lin's eyes flashed with a strange look and he asked.
"My name is Yang Zishi."
After being scolded by her father, the little girl knew that she had made a mistake. When she heard Chen Lin's question, she suddenly became flustered.
Chen Lin did not ask any more questions, but looked at Father Yang and said, "Yang Ziqing has already recognized me as his master and is now building his foundation. Don't worry."
Then, regardless of Yang's father's surprised and happy expression, he asked again, "Have there been any high-level cultivators among your Yang family's ancestors?"
Just now when he was looking at the little girl, he suddenly felt a fluctuation in the origin of his talent. It was not a danger warning, but a resonance of the same energy. Although it was very weak, he still sensed it.
This kind of sensing ability was only acquired after his talent was advanced. If it was before, he would not have been able to discover it.
This means that this little girl may have innate abilities, but because she has no spiritual roots and cannot cultivate them, and has no ability to stimulate them, she herself does not know it.
Logically speaking, anyone who possesses a gifted ability must have spiritual roots. He didn't know why this happened, and could only suspect that the other party's ancestors had gifted abilities and that the ability was inherited.
Father Yang didn't understand, but he still spoke truthfully, "Reporting to the senior, according to the records in my family tree, there was indeed a high-level cultivator who reached the realm of refining emptiness. He was the ancestor of our Yang family. But that was ten thousand years ago. I don't know if the records in the family tree are accurate. Anyway, now there are only two cultivators left in our family, my son and I. It's not certain whether there will be another generation."
Chen Lin hesitated for a moment and said, "Can I see your family tree?"
Father Yang was full of doubts, but when he thought about what the other party said that his son had already recognized the other party as his master, and that his son was in the process of building his foundation, he did not dare to ask more questions. He turned around and took out a box.
There was nothing shameful about the family tree, so Yang's father opened it and took out a thick book from it. It looked very new and did not seem like something that had been passed down for a long time.
"The previous family tree is in tatters. I rewrote this a few years ago. Please take a look."
Chen Lin took it in his hand and looked directly at the first page.
Yang Qianxing!
The first page contained information about the ancestor Lianxu, and even had a simple portrait of a transcendent man looking up at the sky. However, this genealogy had been revised countless times, and the portrait had probably long since deviated from its original appearance.
After looking at it for a while, he closed the family tree and returned it to Yang's father.
The above records are not very detailed, they just describe the majesty of this ancestor. As for the records of other ancestors of the family, they are even simpler. Some of them only have a name, and there is no sign of any gifted abilities.
"Okay, I'm just verifying some questions. Don't think too much. It will probably take Yang Ziqing several hours to break through the foundation building process. You can use this Shui Yun Ling Dan first. I can help you sort it out."
Chen Lin handed the pill to Yang's father again. Yang's father did not dare to hesitate any longer. He took it and swallowed it.
At this time, there was no doubt whether it was doubtful or not. Even if it was poison, he had to take it. Otherwise, if he angered such an existence, the lives of his entire family would be in danger.
Although the place where they live is within the protection range of Liang Yi Sect, if a high-level cultivator wants to kill someone, he has plenty of ways to do so. And this is not Liang Yi City. No one will carefully investigate the deaths of a few Qi-cultivating cultivators and mortals with no background.
But as soon as the pill entered his stomach, Father Yang knew that it was undoubtedly a healing pill, and the effect was very good. As soon as the medicinal power was dissolved, his damaged meridians felt it and slowly became vibrant.
"You don't need to stand guard here, just do what you need to do. If you are really worried, just stand guard outside Yang Ziqing's door, but don't disturb him."
Chen Lin glanced at the other three people who were all worried, and spoke casually.
Upon hearing this, the old woman immediately bowed and walked out. She came to Yang Ziqing's room and peeked inside. Seeing that Yang Ziqing was indeed sitting cross-legged in a state of cultivation, she felt relieved and stood guard outside the door.
Yang Zishi and her brother Yang Zishan stayed beside their father, watching nervously.
Chen Lin sat with his eyes closed, looking as if he didn't want to pay attention to anything, but in fact he was sensing the aura of Yang Zishi's talent, trying to judge from the aura what kind of talent the other party possessed.
If it is a useful talent, he can give it a try and find a way to make the other person a cultivator.
One cannot practice cultivation without spiritual roots. This is an iron rule in the lower realm. However, in this upper realm, where cultivation civilization is flourishing, it is not impossible to change it. There are even ways to allow mortals to develop spiritual roots. However, the price is not low. If the talent is useless, it is not worth it.
Time passes by little by little.
Night falls.
Chen Lin could not sense anything. The other party's talent was weak to begin with, and it had not yet been activated. It was impossible to tell what category it was just by the aura, but it was definitely not fate and luck, nor the five elements of yin and yang.
Suddenly, a strong energy wave emanated from Yang Ziqing's room, attracting the attention of Chen Lin and others.
Father Yang opened his eyes, a gleam of light flashed in them, and without bothering to continue healing his wounds, he immediately stood up.
He was a cultivator in the middle stage of Qi training, so he naturally understood what such a strong energy fluctuation meant. His son had successfully established his foundation!
With a foundation-building cultivator emerging from their family, their status immediately became different. Moreover, they could rely on such a strong man. Even if they became his servant, it meant that the family would prosper!
Yang Zishi and his sister didn't react much. They were all mortals and couldn't feel the fluctuations of magic power. They just felt a little depressed suddenly and their breathing was not so smooth.
"Not bad, a little faster than expected."
Chen Lin spoke calmly, then walked out first.
At this moment, Yang Ziqing also walked out of the room and saw his mother guarding the door. She had been suppressed by the energy fluctuations he emitted and had passed out. He hurried forward to check on her.
Then, he handed his mother to his father who came out later. After learning that his father's injuries were treated by Chen Lin with elixir, he immediately came to Chen Lin and knelt on one knee.
"Thank you for your kindness, Master. Yang Ziqing swears to follow you forever. If I betray you, my soul will be destroyed!"
Although it was just a vow, Chen Lin felt sincerity from the other party's tone.
This was exactly the effect he wanted.
No oath or contract is as effective as sincerity.
"Well, since you have become a foundation-building cultivator, you will be the leader of the group from now on. You don't have to take turns guarding the mission hall. I have other things for you to do."
Chen Lin looked at the other person, nodded and spoke.
Seeing the other party take out the pill bottle, he waved his hand and said, "You can keep the rest, but be low-key and don't show off. You don't need to go out to the wild to take risks to get resources. If you need anything, just tell me directly. If you don't have any exercises, come to my cave tomorrow and I will choose one for you."
Chen Lin transmitted the location of the cave and his name to the other party, and then disappeared.
It took a long time for Yang Ziqing to react. He suppressed his joy and stood up from the ground. Then he went to his mother's side and found that his mother had woken up.
Father Yang glanced at Yang Zishan and said, "Help your mother go back and rest, and you two follow me."
Bringing Yang Ziqing and Yang Zishi into the room, he looked at Yang Ziqing and asked, "What is the origin of this senior? Is he from Liangyi Sect? What is his specific cultivation level?"
Yang Ziqing knew that his father would definitely ask, but he didn't understand why he had to call his sister. His sister was just a mortal and never got involved in matters between them.
Although he was puzzled, he still answered, "He is not from Liangyi Sect, but an outsider cultivator. I met him by chance a year ago. Now I have signed a soul contract to acknowledge him as my master. It cannot be changed, and I am willing to do so."
When Father Yang heard that what was being signed was a soul contract, he fell silent.
There is a way to unlock the spiritual contract, but once the soul contract is signed, unless the other party takes the initiative to cancel it, they have no power to resist.
At this time, Yang Ziqing continued: "As for the master's cultivation, it should be the Nascent Soul stage. I am not sure about the details. I will go to pay a visit to him tomorrow and should be able to learn more."
Father Yang nodded and said, "Since it's done, you should maintain this relationship. This senior is generous and doesn't look like a sinister person. This is an opportunity for you. Now that you have successfully established your foundation, you may have a chance to form a pill in the future. Then my Yang family will really turn things around!"
After saying that, he looked at his daughter and said, "When that senior was in the room just now, he seemed to pay special attention to your sister. Do you think he has any ideas?"