409: The Way of the Back Guard, Qijinglou (two-in-one, please subscribe and give a monthly ticket for reward)

Golden, dappled light spilled onto the sea, continuously rippling with the waves.

Around the island, there were still many Cultivators clearing out second-order Yao Beasts.

By now, most of the third-order Yao Beasts had been cleared, but some second-order ones were still hidden at the bottom of the sea or on the islands.

The various Cultivators, with great unspoken understanding, all left these second-order Qi Refining Yao Beasts for their respective disciples to train with.

Lin Shiming also took advantage of the setting sun to quietly return to Jiuyue Island.

At this moment, on the island, Lin Houshou was leading the Lin Family's second batch of Cultivators, under the guidance of Lin Xianzhi, to Jiuyue Island.

The Teleportation Array was set up in the very center of Jiuyue Island, not far from the valley where the market was located, and most importantly, not far from Jiuyue Peak, which the Lin Family occupied.

The Lin Family, on Jiuyue Mountain, naturally wouldn't engage in any cultivation but would be purely a plundering and frontier island.

They would plunder resources from the Outer Sea and acquire resources from those Loose Cultivators and small Families to enrich the Lin Family.

Incidentally, they would also defend Tianxiang Island and guard against the Beast Tide.

However, once the Beast Tide arrived, as long as a Demon King appeared, the Lin Family would immediately flee.

Although Jiuyue Island was easy to defend, it was not something the Lin Family could hold.

"Seventh Grand Uncle!" Lin Shiming saw Lin Xianzhi in a pavilion next to the Teleportation Array.

At this moment, Seventh Grand Uncle still looked like a young man, even much younger than him.

He hadn't felt this way before, but as he grew older, he began to find it slightly strange.

"Seventh Grand Uncle, you're about to Breakthrough, aren't you!" Lin Shiming directly handed Lin Xianzhi a spirit beast pouch containing four fourth-order Purple Mansion Water Spirit Shells.

The latter was stunned when he saw the Storage Pouch, then his eyes lit up as he looked at Lin Shiming:

"How many?" Clearly, after arriving at Jiuyue Island, he had learned about Lin Shiming and Lin Shiyuan from Lin Shijie.

But he didn't know exactly how many Water Spirit Shell Purple Mansion Great Demons there were.

"Four!" Lin Shiming replied.

"And at least two water spirit pearls or more."

"Not bad!" Although Lin Xianzhi rarely praised people, he was never stingy when it came to Lin Shiming, even though Lin Shiming had given him many surprises over the years.

But each time, there would be a Breakthrough.

This also made it incredibly difficult for other Family members to receive a few words of praise from Old Ancestor Lin Xianzhi.

"Then I'll accept these Water Spirit Shells!" Lin Xianzhi nodded. Four of them were entirely sufficient for every Cultivator in the Lin Family to possess one.

After those Water Spirit Shells were used for a period, they could be placed back into the Water Spirit Shell casings when they were half-depleted, allowing them to continue nurturing.

Through such repeated use, as long as the Water Spirit Shell population continued to grow, the Lin Family would have an inexhaustible supply of Water Spirit Shells.

The only drawback was that a fourth-order Water Spirit Shell would occupy a Soul Restraining Seal slot.

Otherwise, it would be too difficult to make a Purple Mansion Great Demon willingly comply.

After discussing with Lin Xianzhi for a while, Lin Shiming looked towards the location of the Teleportation Array.

The Teleportation Array was still being set up by Lin Houshou, along with Lin Zelu and Lin Shiyun.

At this moment, the three of them were quite skilled at setting it up, and the Void Gazer crystals required for the Teleportation Array were all issued by Rising Sun Island.

Leaning on a true big tree allowed the Lin Family to truly experience the feeling of resting in its shade.

Unlike the Qingxuan Sect in the Eastern Domain, which was full of schemes, the Coral Alliance, at least for now, seemed to be a truly united Alliance, and Purple Mansion Families like the Lin Family, and even Foundation Establishment Families, could achieve substantial development under this model.

The Teleportation Array took a full two days to set up, and only then did the three of them, along with several second-order Lin Family members assisting, finally complete it.

The newly set up Teleportation Array glowed with Spirit Light, nine Spirit slots gathering into a beam of light, which then diffused into ripples.

Three Teleportation Arrays would be set up on Jiuyue Island, also to allow for timely retreat in case of danger.

Two of them would connect to Tianxiang Island, and one would connect to the Lin Family's Shuangmu Island.

However, for now, one leading to Tianxiang Island, allowing Lin Shiming to smoothly travel to Tianliu Island, would suffice.

"Shiming, did you save a good Water Spirit Shell for your second uncle?" Lin Houshou chuckled after setting up the Formation.

After Dual Cultivation of both Buddhist and Demonic Techniques, Lin Houshou had regained his former cheerfulness, and when no outsiders were present, his tone with Lin Shiming became more intimate, less formal.

Lin Shiming was happy to see this.

Fewer and fewer people in the Lin Family could speak to him like that.

"Of course, Second Uncle!" Lin Shiming smiled slightly, handed over a spirit beast pouch, and also gave one to Lin Shiyun and Lin Zelu respectively.

All of them contained spirit beast pouches; the water spirit pearls obtained by the Lin Family were naturally prioritized for the Lin Family's own Geniuses.

Only then were they sent to the Lin Family Restaurant.

In addition, Lin Shiming also planned to set aside a small portion to offer to Rising Sun Island, and he intended to present one fourth-order water spirit pearl as tribute.

When he saw Lin Shiyun, Lin Shiming even patted Lin Shiyun's shoulder.

The meaning was self-evident; one should know that Lin Zelu's Formation talent and Cultivation had already surpassed Lin Shiyun's.

Not only had he become a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Cultivator, but he was also already a third-order High Grade Formation Master.

As an elder, Lin Shiyun naturally had to work hard.

Lin Shiyun gave an awkward smile, but also looked helpless. Being surpassed by Lin Zelu wasn't because he hadn't worked hard.

It was due to an inherent gap in talent.

Lin Houshou, seeing this, chuckled slightly and was genuinely happy for Lin Zelu, as the Lin Family's Formation Legacy now had a successor.

"Second Uncle, have you prepared how you're going to Breakthrough?" Lin Shiming turned his face now, asking with considerable concern.

Cultivating the Blood Demon Body Refining Technique to Breakthrough to Purple Mansion would inevitably lead to a Heart Demon a hundred times stronger.

This was also a drawback of Demonic Path Cultivation Techniques; ordinary Cultivators would naturally Cultivate a bit faster, but during Breakthrough, the Heart Demons they encountered would be increasingly formidable.

Ordinary Demonic Cultivators would seek out some treasures to counteract them, or their Sect might have specialized secret treasures.

As for Genius Demonic Cultivators, their Dao Heart was inherently a Demonic Heart.

He did not feel that his killings were wrong, nor did he feel that he was bloody, so naturally, he would not have a Heart Demon.

A Heart Demon is doubting what one Cultivates, thinks, sees, and does!

As long as his Dao Heart was to be supreme and self-centered, killing all those who dared to defy him, the Heart Demon would not be so powerful; it would merely be a thick Evil Qi, causing a slight obstruction to the Breakthrough!

But Lin Houshou was clearly not like that; he accepted the Lin Family's ideology and inherited the Lin Family's Legacy.

There was naturally a great discrepancy between his heart and the Blood Demon Body Refining secret technique.

Although he had Cultivated Buddhist Cultivation Techniques, Lin Shiming was still a little worried.

"Shiming, I've also thought about it. After I finish setting up the Family's Teleportation Array, I'll go to the Family's Mortal islands to do good deeds. After performing a thousand good deeds, I'll go into seclusion to Breakthrough!" Lin Houshou was silent for a moment, then spoke with determination.

Just as Lin Shiming thought, he was also not firm enough about Breaking through to Purple Mansion, even though his Divine Sense had already Broken through, and his Formation Cultivation could even be considered fourth-order Medium Grade.

However, he still didn't have much confidence in that Purple Mansion Breakthrough hurdle.

Moreover, unlike others, if he failed to Breakthrough, he could simply continue trying.

But if he failed to Breakthrough, his Dao Heart would collapse even further.

It might even cause the Blood Demon Cultivation Technique and the Buddhist Cultivation Technique to become unbalanced again.

"If a thousand isn't enough, then ten thousand. There will always be an opportunity, not to mention those Mortals who followed the Lin Family to the South Sea have suffered too much!" Lin Houshou added.

Lin Shiming also nodded; he had to admit that Lin Houshou's method was the most effective.

This was also the most common method of experiencing the Mortal World for those Buddhist Cultivators who radiated golden light.

Of course, those Buddhist Cultivators who were merely superficial didn't count.

Lin Shiming had encountered several Buddhist Cultivators who would immediately resort to killing at the slightest disagreement, their so-called 'saving people' merely a catchphrase for killing.

After a long conversation with Lin Houshou, he even took out some spirit wine and had a small drink.

Lin Xianzhi also joined in, and Lin Shiming, Lin Xianzhi, and Lin Houshou drank quite well, while Lin Shiyun and Lin Zelu were extremely reserved.

The sky was once again nearing dusk, and Lin Shiming watched the sunset by the sea, covered in a vast array of fiery clouds.

After three rounds of drinks, everyone departed heavily, and Lin Shiming enjoyed a rare night of relaxation.

The next day, the sea breeze remained, and the Lin Family held another high-level small meeting.

This meeting basically finalized the future direction of Jiuyue Island, and Lin Shiming also added two more points.

The first was still to strengthen defenses and clear the field, but it was not just about hunting Yao Beasts.

The Lin Family also had to issue Formation quotas to those small Families, making them start setting up self-detonating Formations on Jiuyue Island and on various small islands.

These self-detonating Formations had specific divisions, and this division was based on the market's allocation plan.

Those with larger interests in the market would set up more, especially on Jiuyue Island. Besides the Spiritual Vein market and the temporary Immortal Caves of various Families and Loose Cultivators, large numbers of self-detonating Formations could be set up.

Cultivators could discern Formations, but often those second- and third-order Yao Beasts could not; they would only charge in recklessly.

And the third- and fourth-order Purple Mansion Great Demons would not be kind enough to tell those third- and second-order Yao Beasts not to trespass.

This way, at critical moments, they could still delay the Yao Beasts for a bit out of thin air.

In addition to setting up Formations, the Lin Family also began to gather Talisman Masters, Alchemists, and Artifact Refiners to begin unified Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and Talisman crafting.

What they refined, naturally, were strategic consumable Spirit items.

Especially Spirit Talismans, which was also a weakness of the Lin Family. The Lin Family provided Spirit Materials and some basic Spirit Talisman drawing methods.

Then they let those specializing in Spirit Talismans draw them.

Drawing inevitably involved communication.

The Lin Family could also purchase and exchange methods for refining Spirit Talismans that they didn't possess.

Furthermore, in the rooms of some Talisman Masters, recording Formations could be set up, allowing the Family's Talisman apprentices to observe and learn.

If a good Loose Cultivator was encountered, they could also be enticed to join the Family by marrying into it.

These two points also received high recognition from the Family.

The policies were quickly implemented, and the Loose Cultivators and Family Cultivators on Jiuyue Island, surprisingly, did not object this time.

The Lin Family had a vast enterprise and was willing to provide Materials for refining Spirit Talismans, so they were naturally willing. As for the self-detonating Formations to delay Yao Beasts, it also seemed very feasible to them.

Jiuyue Island was developing vigorously, while Lin Shiming had already arrived on Tianxiang Island via the Teleportation Array.

Without delay, he proceeded to Rising Sun Island, offered a portion of the Water Spirit Shells and Spirit Pearls obtained from the Outer Sea as tribute, and then teleported towards Tianliu Island.

Rising Sun Island had a Teleportation Array to Tianliu Island... On Tianliu Island, as soon as Lin Shiming teleported out, he saw a giant Heavenly Willow tree rising from the center of the island.

Countless green willow strands swayed gently in the wind, just like the willows on the spring banks of Jiangnan.

However, this willow tree was simply too enormous, appearing entirely like an island floating above Tianliu Island.

"As expected of the Heaven Willow Demon King's true form!" Lin Shiming couldn't help but exclaim. The strength of this Heaven Willow Demon King was definitely much greater than that of Nine Leaves Zhenren's White Fir Demon King back then.

The Teleportation Array on Tianliu Island was also much larger, and Lin Shiming could still see many Cultivators who had teleported over just like him.

There were Foundation Establishment Cultivators and Purple Mansion Cultivators.

The only thing inferior to Rising Sun Island was probably the tense atmosphere.

On Rising Sun Island, everyone was in danger, and Real Person Hongye had even launched a counterattack.

However, on Tian Liu Zhenren's side, ten years had passed since the Beast Tide was reported, and there were only three Zifu Demon Slayer Leaderboards prominently displayed.

There were no other mobilizations or Teleportation fee reduction policies.

This could be considered the confidence of the top three among the twelve inner islands of the Coral Alliance.

The annual update of the Zifu Demon Slayer Leaderboard was also the most talked-about time for Cultivators on Tianliu Island.

What garnered the most attention was Immortal Yulin, who was currently first on the Tianliu Island Zifu Demon Slayer Leaderboard.

Of course, what made Immortal Yulin even more famous was her father, the first Late Golden Core Stage Daoist permanently residing on Tianliu Island, Immortal Master Kuangsha!

He once even declared that whoever married Immortal Yulin would receive a Golden Core as a dowry.

This led to an exceptionally popular Tianliu Island Zifu Demon Slayer Leaderboard; while other twelve inner islands' Zifu Demon Slayer Leaderboards only had about a hundred competitors, Tianliu Island had five or six hundred Purple Mansion Cultivators.

This far exceeded other islands, and consequently, the tense atmosphere regarding Yao Beasts on Tianliu Island was vastly different from that on Rising Sun Island.

Lin Shiming couldn't help but smile bitterly as he walked along; he hadn't expected Loose Cultivator Yu Lin's reputation to be so great.

Even when he entered a restaurant named Seven Scenery Pavilion, many people were discussing the rankings, speculating which Purple Mansion Cultivators were most likely to gain the favor of Immortal Yulin.

He finally understood why Loose Cultivator Guanghao had shown such goodwill in the Ziyang Secret Realm.

Lin Shiming shook his head; he wasn't interested in these things. Instead, he looked around Seven Scenery Pavilion with great interest. Their Lin Family also ran restaurants, so when colleagues met, they naturally had to learn from each other.

He had to admit, the unique features of this Seven Scenery Pavilion greatly broadened his horizons. Countless female Cultivators, dressed in light, flowing gauze, moved up and down in the restaurant, carrying wafts of fragrant air.

These female Cultivators were all incredibly beautiful, with bright dresses, carrying pipa and bells, and veiled with silk, attracting the attention of most Cultivators.

"Young Master, if you spend fifty thousand Spirit Stones in the restaurant, you can take any female attendant in the building for a night!" The female attendant standing beside him bowed slightly and said softly.

"What kind of tea and Spirit Cuisine do you have here?" Lin Shiming quickly shook his head; he had already guessed the specialty of this Seven Scenery Pavilion.

Leaving behind immortal roots!

This was something many Families whose descendants were dwindling often did.

The Lin Family had once considered it, but it was later rejected after the discovery of the turtle spirit coconuts.

Coupled with the welfare policy for more births, the Lin Family now had a large number of new Genius Cultivators of the Yan Generation.

The female attendant introduced them one by one.

Lin Shiming chose a signature spirit tea called Seven Scenery Tea and ordered a Spirit Cuisine dish named "Iron Tree Blossoms."

He sat by the window on the second floor, then sent out the sound transmission talisman in his hand.

He was here to discuss the Alliance, and he dared not directly seek out Tian Liu Zhenren; it was naturally better to first ask Immortal Yulin for an introduction.

He then looked at the street scenes of Tianliu Island, lost in thought.

The next moment, to his surprise, he actually saw Loose Cultivator Guanghao.