110: Chapter 110 The News Brought by Zhao Lei

"Senior Brother Hu, you've been in seclusion for the past year. Have you already broken through to Foundation Establishment?" Lin Yao asked curiously.

As soon as these words were spoken, the private room instantly fell silent. Everyone's gaze was tightly locked onto Hu Nan, their eyes filled with unbelievable anticipation and envy.

The Foundation Establishment Stage was the ultimate dream of all Qi Refinement Stage Cultivators. If Hu Nan had truly successfully reached Foundation Establishment, he would be the first among their fellow townspeople to become a Foundation Establishment expert. In the future, they could also rely on Hu Nan's influence to have a bit more confidence within the Heavenly Sword Sect.

Hu Nan smiled and said, "You must be joking. Foundation Establishment is not that easy."

Hearing this, a hint of joy appeared on everyone's faces, though it was also within their expectations.

Foundation Establishment was too difficult; in the entire Heavenly Sword Sect, very few Disciples could successfully achieve Foundation Establishment each year. For Hu Nan to be able to Cultivate to the Great Perfection of Qi Refining was already extremely rare.

"By the way, do any of you have news of Li Hu?" Hu Nan asked.

"Li Hu? I'm not sure. I haven't heard from him in two years."

"Ever since the Grand Competition, it's as if he vanished!"

"He's probably been delayed by something!"

Everyone shook their heads one after another.

Since the last Grand Competition ended, they had never seen Li Hu again.

It was as if Li Hu had simply disappeared.

With Hu Nan's arrival, the gathering of fellow townspeople from Beihai Prefecture officially began.

Everyone sipped their Spiritual Tea while opening up to one another, chatting about everything from the bonds of their shared hometown to their current cultivation struggles. Their conversation was filled with sighs and reflections.

"Speaking of which, quite a few major events have happened in our Sect this past year. Have you heard?" At the height of their conversation, a Cultivator wearing green Outer Sect robes with a cultivation at the Fourth Level of Qi Refining set down his teacup. His tone carried a hint of sighing and envy as he spoke slowly, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

Everyone shook their heads, their faces showing curiosity. Someone even asked urgently, "What major events? We usually only focus on immersing ourselves in cultivation; how could we have the mind to pay attention to these trivial Sect matters? Hurry up and tell us!"

The Cultivator said slowly, "The most enviable thing is that Jiang Lijuan and Senior Brother Wu Yong of the Inner Sect both successfully achieved Foundation Establishment a while ago! I heard they were in seclusion for a full six months before they broke through the Bottleneck in one go to become Foundation Establishment Stage Early Stage Cultivators. Now, they are very influential within the Sect!"

"Jiang Lijuan had already reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refining long ago, so achieving Foundation Establishment is only natural!"

"Senior Brother Wu Yong is the Disciple of Elder Qingxuan, so isn't it perfectly normal for him to reach Foundation Establishment?"

Although everyone was extremely envious of Jiang Lijuan and Senior Brother Wu Yong successfully achieving Foundation Establishment,

it wasn't unexpected.

After all, one was the Disciple of Fairy Qingling and the other was the Disciple of Elder Qingxuan; reaching Foundation Establishment was not difficult for them.

"Why isn't Lin Hao mentioned?"

"Senior Brother Lin's talent has always been very high. Why hasn't he reached Foundation Establishment?"

Soon, someone noticed that Lin Hao had not successfully achieved Foundation Establishment.

After all, Lin Hao had already reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refining several years ago.

Furthermore, his father was the Sect's Law Enforcement Elder, Lin Zhentian.

"I heard Lin Hao was ambushed and his Dantian was injured. He's been recuperating from his injuries for the past year!"

"What? Who has the guts to actually dare to ambush Lin Hao?"

"I heard they even severed Senior Brother Lin's right arm!"

"Fortunately, there was the Duanmai Pill. After more than a year of recuperation, he has recovered!"

"A while ago, I saw Lin Hao, and both his arms have recovered."

"It must have cost quite a lot of Spirit Stones!"

Listening to everyone's discussion, Qin Changsheng felt a bit smug.

After all, the person who had ambushed Lin Hao and severed his arm was him.

Qin Changsheng was not at all surprised that Lin Hao's arm had recovered so quickly; after all, Lin Zhentian was an Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall.

Collecting a few Duanmai Pills would be quite easy for him.

After a brief silence, Zhang Han suddenly spoke up, his tone carrying a bit more fear and gravity: "There's one more thing that's even scarier than that. Recently, many high-level Yao Beasts have appeared near the Sect. The weakest have the strength of the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, and there are even a few at the Foundation Establishment Stage Early Stage. They've already injured many Outer Sect Disciples, and several Inner Sect Disciples who went out for training didn't make it back alive."

"Foundation Establishment Stage Yao Beasts?!" Everyone's expressions changed drastically, the envy and sighs on their faces instantly replaced by fear.

They were only Cultivators at the third, fourth, or fifth levels of Qi Refining. Let alone Foundation Establishment Stage Yao Beasts, they might not even be able to contend with Yao Beasts at the Peak of the Qi Refinement Stage. Now that Foundation Establishment Stage Yao Beasts had appeared near the Sect, how could they not be afraid?

"The Sect Head has already issued an order," Zhang Han continued, his voice trembling slightly, "telling all low-level Disciples not to leave the Sect for no reason. Even if they do go out, they must travel in groups and report to the Deacons' Hall. Otherwise, if an accident occurs, the Sect will not be held responsible. During this time, the Outer Sect Disciples haven't dared to take a single step out of the Sect for fear of encountering Yao Beasts."

Everyone nodded one after another, their faces full of relief and lingering fear. They discussed the terrifying nature of the Yao Beasts and complained about the difficulties of the path of cultivation, their tones filled with unease.

They were already lacking in resources and found it difficult to improve their cultivation. Now that high-level Yao Beasts were roaming about, they didn't even have the chance to go out and search for cultivation resources anymore.

Lin Yao also frowned, her elegant face showing a bit of gravity as she said softly, "These Yao Beasts usually hide deep in the mountains and rarely approach the Sect. For them to suddenly appear in large numbers now, and all of them being high-level Yao Beasts, is truly too bizarre."

Listening to everyone's discussion, Qin Changsheng did not interject.

As for why these high-level Yao Beasts had appeared, Qin Changsheng was very clear.

It was because it was a harbinger of the approaching Great Calamity of Heaven and Earth.

When the Great Calamity of Heaven and Earth approaches, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi becomes turbulent. Influenced by the Qi, the Yao Beasts' temperaments become increasingly violent, and their strength significantly increases. At the same time, they are forced to leave their habitats and wander around. Thus, it is only logical for them to approach the Sects of human Cultivators.

Right at that moment, with a loud "Clang!", the wooden door of the private room was slammed open.

Everyone turned to look and saw Zhao Lei staggering into the room from outside, looking extremely disheveled.

His face was covered in dust and blood, trails of fresh blood still hung from the corners of his mouth, and his clothes were tattered and torn in many places. His eyes were full of dejection and grievance, and even his steps were unsteady; he had clearly suffered significant injuries.

"Zhao Lei? Why are you just getting here? Why do you look so disheveled?" Zhang Han looked at the entering Zhao Lei with some confusion.

The rest of the group also stood up and gathered around. Seeing Zhao Lei covered in wounds, their faces all showed looks of surprise.

Zhao Lei had a cheerful nature and was usually modest toward others, never making enemies. How could he have ended up in such a state? Moreover, the gathering had been going on for a long time; he was always punctual, yet today he was so late.

"Yeah, Zhao Lei, what happened to you? Who bullied you?"

"Your injuries are so heavy. Did you encounter a Yao Beast? But didn't the Sect Head forbid us from leaving the Sect?"

Everyone spoke at once, their tones full of concern. They hurriedly helped Zhao Lei into a seat and poured him a cup of Spiritual Tea to let him catch his breath.

Zhao Lei looked at his fellow townspeople before him, his eyes reddening. In a tone full of dejection and grievance, his voice choked up as he said, "My... my courtyard was stolen..."

"What? Your courtyard was stolen?"

"Who is so bold? To actually dare to seize a Disciple's courtyard within the Sect?"

"These people are truly too audacious!"

Many of the fellow townspeople's faces were filled with indignation.

"It... it was Lin Hao!" Zhao Lei's face was filled with indignation.

Upon hearing the name "Lin Hao," the private room instantly fell silent. The concern on everyone's faces was immediately replaced by wariness and sympathy.

Lin Hao came from a prominent background, with Golden Core Elder Lin Zhentian backing him. He was usually arrogant and domineering. Although he has not reached Foundation Establishment now, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse; he was still not someone these low-level Outer Sect Disciples could contend with.

"Lin Hao? Why would he seize your courtyard?" one fellow townsman asked in a low voice, his tone full of wariness. "Your courtyard is on the western side of the Outer Sect; it's extremely remote, and the Spiritual Qi isn't very dense. Why would he take an interest in your courtyard?"

Mentioning this made Zhao Lei even more dejected, his eyes turning red: "I don't know either! Today, after I finished my cultivation and returned to the entrance of my courtyard, I saw Lin Hao standing there with several lackeys. He said he had taken a liking to my courtyard and told me to move out immediately. I refused and tried to reason with him for a bit, but as a result, I was beaten up by his lackeys..."

After finishing, Zhao Lei could no longer hold it back. He lowered his head, his shoulders trembling slightly, filled with despair and helplessness.

He came from an ordinary background with no powerful backing or sufficient resources. That small courtyard, though remote and crude, was his only place to call his own in the Heavenly Sword Sect. Now that it had been seized by Lin Hao, he didn't even have a place to Cultivate or live.

Hearing Zhao Lei's words, everyone began to console him.

Some said he could make do at their courtyard for a few days, while others told him to endure it and slowly find a way once his cultivation improved. But there was a hint of powerlessness in everyone's tone.

They all knew that since Lin Hao had seized the courtyard, he would never easily return it. None of them had the ability to help Zhao Lei reclaim his courtyard.

The atmosphere in the private room became heavy once again, filled with sympathy and helplessness.

Far away in his small courtyard, Qin Changsheng's eyes were filled with excitement.

Qin Changsheng's mind instantly became active upon hearing Zhao Lei's words.

He had also visited Zhao Lei's courtyard once. It was indeed on the western side of the Outer Sect, extremely remote and rarely frequented. It was far from the residential area for Outer Sect Disciples and exceptionally quiet.

He had always wanted to obtain the Five Elements Spirit Gathering Technique from Lin Hao's hands, but Lin Hao had always stayed at the Law Enforcement Hall, so he simply had no opportunity.

But he hadn't expected that today, Lin Hao would actually move into a remote small courtyard.

That place was rarely visited by people; even if a fight broke out, it would not be easily discovered by others.

Even if it alerted Lin Zhentian, it would be impossible for Lin Zhentian to arrive immediately.

Moreover, Qin Changsheng only needed to secretly investigate the specific situation of Zhao Lei's courtyard, figure out Lin Hao's daily routine and defenses, and then wait for the right moment to act to seize the Five Elements Spirit Gathering Technique in one fell swoop.