Chapter 166: Can Only Be Perceived in the Mind, Not Expressed in Words

At this moment, another middle-aged man beside him said, "Father, do not be too agitated; let me speak with the Immortal Master!"

The old master also realized that his behavior was inappropriate, so he could only nod, agreeing to let his son speak.

Lin Zhangqing also nodded; this was for the best.

The middle-aged man slightly organized his thoughts and began introducing the situation: "Lin Immortal Master, here is what happened; about two months ago..."

A hunter from the village entered the mountains to hunt; normally, he would have returned the same day, but since two days passed without him emerging, everyone guessed he might have met with an accident.

They suspected he might have encountered some fierce beast, so they organized a large group of villagers to enter the mountains to search, but they found neither the hunter's corpse nor any traces of a fierce beast's presence.

After searching for a while with no results, there was nothing else to be done, and the matter was quietly dropped.

Later, one after another, several more hunters entered the mountains and never came out again; it even reached a point where two or three people entering together met the same fate—going but not returning.

Because Tongshan Village is mostly mountainous, with relatively few paddy or dry fields, many villagers rely on hunting for their livelihood; now, with things as they are, no one dares to enter the mountains anymore, and the livelihoods of many families have become problematic.

Therefore, we beg you, Lin Immortal Master, to help us investigate the cause clearly so that everyone can return to hunting in the mountains!"

Having finished speaking, he looked at Lin Zhangqing with a face full of expectation.

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhangqing frowned slightly and asked, "Did you not go to find the cultivators stationed nearby or any cultivation families?"

It was Chen Zi Ya's father who spoke up to explain: "We did; we first went to the Liu Family in Nanhe County, but they came to investigate several times and still could not find the cause.

Only later did we manage to contact an Immortal Master from the Qingyun Sect and relay the message to our Great-Grandmother."

Lin Zhangqing knew it would not be that simple; when the villagers of Tongshan Village spoke of entering the mountains to hunt, they referred to the area beyond the outer perimeter of the Qingyun Mountain Range, a zone where no Demon Beasts live, containing basically only ordinary animals.

Now that local cultivators had inspected the area several times without finding the cause, it was obvious that this was not something ordinary animals like tigers or leopards could accomplish.

It must be a ranked Demon Beast; Lin Zhangqing guessed that this creature was either extremely skilled at hiding or possessed a non-low Cultivation Base.

However, Lin Zhangqing was still confident he could find it; of course, this would necessarily rely on Chu Yi.

He said to the several key figures in the village, "I now understand the situation; I have a Spirit Beast, a Golden Winged Bird. In the coming days, I will send it to search, and then we will know what kind of creature it is.

Rest assured, I will definitely solve this problem for you; for now, everyone please return home, and I will notify you once there are results."

Having said this, and to make the villagers believe him, Lin Zhangqing walked out of the living hall and summoned Chu Yi, who was currently soaring in the sky, down to the ground.

In front of everyone, he gave the bird its instructions, then fed it a Spirit Nurturing Pill, and sent it off to execute the search mission.

Seeing Lin Zhangqing summon down a majestic and powerful large golden bird and order it to search for suspicious targets, the villagers...

... finally felt at ease; now they only needed to wait for the results, and they all expressed their gratitude to Lin Zhangqing.

The old master still wished to host a banquet on behalf of Tongshan Village to treat Lin Zhangqing, but he refused, stating that they should discuss it only after the problem was resolved, and urged them to return home first.

Only then did everyone, fully satisfied, follow the old master's lead and leave Chen Zi Ya's home.

After seeing these villagers off, only Lin Zhangqing, Chen Zi Ya's father, and her eldest brother remained in the living hall; knowing that this family had not seen each other for so many years, they surely had much to say.

Therefore, he actively asked them to arrange accommodations for him, then told them not to worry about him, as he would seek them out if he needed anything.

Subsequently, he also ushered them back, not wanting to delay their family reunion; Lin Zhangqing had enough insight for that. He himself returned to his room to rest, after all, he had been sleeping outdoors and eating rough meals on the road for two or three days; however, before resting, he first took out the Array Disk for the Small Five Elements Illusion Array and set it up around the room.

He then took out the First Grade Spirit Gathering Array disk that his grandfather had prepared for him, along with the explanatory Jade Slip detailing how to arrange it; after studying it carefully, he also set up the Spirit Gathering Array inside the room.

Lin Zhangqing wanted to prepare everything first, since he planned to switch his cultivation to the Five Elements Chaos Sutra here, and every aspect needed to be properly arranged.

He then released the Spirit-Seeking Rat, Mao Qiu; however, he decided against releasing the Purple Crystal Scorpion, since being inside Chen Zi Ya's home, letting the scorpion out would be too dangerous! He would wait until he formally began switching to cultivate the Chaos Sutra! After the earlier commotion, the sky had now completely darkened.

After persisting in cultivating the Thunder True Scripture for one and a half hours and making further arrangements, he finally released Xu Meiniang.

Enjoying a free muscle massage, he also took the opportunity to relieve the fatigue from piloting the Flying Boat over the past two or three days.

Half an hour later, after returning Xu Meiniang to the Spirit Beast Bracelet, Lin Zhangqing lay down to rest.

The next morning, after completing his cultivation as usual, Lin Zhangqing had someone invite Chen Zi Ya over.

Now sitting opposite each other, Chen Zi Ya was brewing tea for Lin Zhangqing.

Quietly admiring Chen Zi Ya's Tea Art, Lin Zhangqing felt that today she was somehow different, perhaps due to reuniting with her family; how to put it? She seemed to have become bright and sunny.

However, this was a good thing; Lin Zhangqing was very happy to see these changes in Chen Zi Ya, as at least now she no longer gave people a feeling of cold isolation.

Perhaps Senior Chen Jieyi had also noticed her problems and therefore specially arranged this visit home to see her relatives!

"Senior Brother, please have some tea!" Smiling at Lin Zhangqing, she then brought a cup of Green Jade Tea over to him.

Seeing Chen Zi Ya's bright and sunny appearance, Lin Zhangqing could not help himself; he gently held Chen Zi Ya's jade-like hand with one hand while accepting the teacup with the other.

Although Chen Zi Ya had experienced this many times before, her face still flushed red; fortunately, Lin Zhangqing did not hold her hand for too long before letting go and beginning to discuss serious matters.

"Junior Sister, I now understand the village's problem; it is likely the work of a Demon Beast skilled at disguise and concealment. I have already sent Chu Yi to search that area, and I believe it will not take long to find it.

Since there is nothing pressing these few days, I intend to formally begin switching my cultivation to the Five Elements Chaos Sutra, which will take approximately three to five days.

During this period, I will release the Purple Crystal Scorpion Swarm to guard the Dharma; please ask your family members not to approach this area to avoid being accidentally injured.

Once I successfully complete the cultivation switch, I will naturally come out; do not worry. Also, if Chu Yi finds that Demon Beast, you must not act on your own; you must wait until I exit closed-door cultivation before making a move, do you understand?"

Chen Zi Ya nodded and smiled lightly, saying, "Rest assured, Senior Brother; I will not go anywhere these few days. I will stay at home to accompany my parents and family, and also guard the Dharma for Senior Brother."

Hearing this, Lin Zhangqing laughed and said, "Junior Sister is always so understanding; in that case, I can peacefully focus on cultivating the new Cultivation Method."

After finishing the serious discussion, the two continued drinking tea and chatting casually; mainly, Chen Zi Ya spoke about the changes in her family over the ten years she had been away, including her eldest brother marrying and having children—he had now given her one nephew and two nieces.

There was also her elder sister, who had married into Nanhe County, the very place they had just passed through yesterday; her Brother-in-law was a scholar, and they too had already borne one son and one daughter, and so on...

She told Lin Zhangqing these important family matters to give him a general idea; after all, as a prospective son-in-law of the Chen Family, he should at least know the situation of his future father-in-law's household! This was also Chen Zi Ya's rather subtle way of telling Lin Zhangqing her feelings; of course, this was their tacit understanding—for now, it could only be perceived in the mind, not expressed in words.

After finishing the Spirit Tea, Chen Zi Ya took her leave; Lin Zhangqing then activated the Small Five Elements Illusion Array around the room, fed the Purple Crystal Scorpion Swarm in advance, and placed them inside the room to guard the Dharma for him.

As for Mao Qiu and the young Mystic Tiger, he also prepared Spirit Nurturing Pills and Demon Beast Meat for them in advance; subsequently, Lin Zhangqing formally entered closed-door cultivation.

(End of Chapter)