Chapter 176: Both Kindness and Severity

Returning to his room, he activated the Small Five Elements Illusion Array.

Five days had already passed, and Lin Zhangqing was prepared to have Chen Hu write down the cultivation method again today. Regardless of whether the content was the same, he would deal with them all.

Keeping these rogue cultivators was just taking up space, and their eating, drinking, and excreting also polluted the environment.

He raised his hand and released Chen Hu from the Spirit Beast Bracelet, seeing that he was still in that half-dead state.

Lin Zhangqing ignored him and directly took out a pile of paper and pens for him, telling him to write down the Ten Thousand Beasts Spirit Taming Sutra cultivation method again.

More than an hour later, Chen Hu handed the written cultivation method to Lin Zhangqing and then looked at him with trepidation.

It was just a pity that Lin Zhangqing didn't want to pay attention to him at all, directly knocking him unconscious and putting him back into the Spirit Beast Bracelet.

Then he placed the two copies of the cultivation method written by Chen Hu on the table and began to compare them word for word. It took about two quarters of an hour to confirm that the two copies of the cultivation method were exactly the same.

But Lin Zhangqing still didn't dare to believe him. In any case, he wouldn't cultivate it, so he would just keep it as reference material in the future.

Next was dealing with them. After checking the surroundings and confirming it was safe, he entered the inner space.

Five days had passed since he last came in. Xu Meiniang had been here for five days, and he didn't know if she was used to staying here.

Upon entering the space, it was always the Lu Youqiang family that discovered him first and ran to his side.

Circling him and calling "You-You", Lin Zhangqing began to feed them Spirit Nurturing Pills and stroke their fur one by one.

He even rode on Lu Xiaoya, letting it use the Wind Escape Technique to take Lin Zhangqing for a few laps, letting him experience the feeling of wind speed.

However, Lin Zhangqing didn't grab its ears, but hugged its neck.

After playing with the deer for a while, Xu Meiniang had already been waiting on the side.

He glanced at her. She seemed to be in good condition now. Lin Zhangqing asked: "How have these few days been? Are you used to living here?"

Xu Meiniang nodded and said: "This servant greets Master. It's quite good here, much better than I expected at the beginning!"

Hearing her say this, Lin Zhangqing felt a bit more at ease. "That's good. At the very least, it's safe enough here, and there aren't many worldly worries, so you can cultivate with peace of mind! Strive to reach Foundation Establishment as soon as possible."

Xu Meiniang said seriously: "Thank you, Master, for sending this servant here. This servant likes it very much. I will definitely cultivate hard and work seriously in the future to repay Master."

"Also, besides being too quiet here, everything else is quite good. The deer are also easy to get along with and very cute."

Lin Zhangqing nodded and said: "It is indeed a bit quiet here. Don't worry, it will gradually improve in the future! If you have time, you can clear out ten mu of land, which will be convenient for planting spirit rice in the future, so that you can ensure self-sufficiency in the inner space."

Xu Meiniang nodded and agreed.

Lin Zhangqing took out another jade slip and handed it to Xu Meiniang.

He continued: "You deal with spirit herbs and spirit plants all day. This is a complete First-Rank Spirit Planter inheritance?"

"The knowledge about spirit herbs and spirit plants inside—if you have time, you can take a look and learn. It should be of some help to you."

"Also, the spirit planter secret art 'Nourishing Origin Catalysis Technique' inside—if you can't learn it, it doesn't matter. The Lu Youqiang family's talent spell is this. If you need it, you can ask them for help."

Xu Meiniang happily took it. This was exactly what she needed now. "Thank you, Master, for bestowing the method. I will definitely study it well."

Thinking of Xu Meiniang's identity as a brewer, he continued: "As for brewing wine, I don't understand it, so I won't give blind directions. You can arrange it yourself."

"In this space, as long as they aren't too important spirit herbs, spirit grass, or spirit plants, if you need them for brewing, you can add them directly without asking me."

"If they are relatively precious spirit herbs or spirit fruits, you must tell me first to confirm that it won't conflict with my intended use before you can use them."

Xu Meiniang was overjoyed upon hearing this: "Thank you for your trust, Master. This servant will definitely brew the best spirit wine for Master."

Lin Zhangqing nodded. He had sensed Xu Meiniang's emotional changes through the silver rune during the conversation just now and found that what she said matched her emotions.

This proved that what she said was all true and not just to appease Lin Zhangqing, so he felt at ease. However, as the saying goes, both kindness and severity should be used. Now that kindness had been bestowed, the next step was severity.

He beckoned and took Xu Meiniang to the side of the deep pit, saying to her: "Watch carefully. This is the reason why I don't let you get close to the deep pit."

After finishing, he released Chen Hu from the Spirit Beast Bracelet.

Just after coming out, he was still confused and hurriedly asked: "Where is this?"

Lin Zhangqing looked at him coldly and said: "Considering the cultivation method you wrote down, regardless of whether it's true or false, I'll give you a chance to redeem your life."

"As long as you can take out ten thousand spirit stones, or spirit objects of equivalent value—of course, valuable information also works—you can redeem your own life from me. Otherwise, I'll send you on your way now."

Chen Hu was stunned upon hearing this, then opened his eyes wide and shouted loudly: "How can you do this? Didn't I write down the cultivation method for you?"

Lin Zhangqing sneered: "You still have the nerve to say that. A cultivation method that can only be cultivated to the Foundation Establishment Initial Stage, and you were the one who wrote it down."

"If it were you, would you cultivate it? Do you dare to cultivate it? The only value of the cultivation method you wrote down is to serve as reference material."

"So now, if you can't take out spirit stones or spirit objects to redeem your own life, then go die!"

Chen Hu was trembling with anger, pointing at Lin Zhangqing and shouting loudly: "You are faithless and will not die a good death..."

Seeing him like this, knowing that there was definitely no more oil to squeeze, Lin Zhangqing ignored him.

He lifted him up directly and threw him into the deep pit. Soon, after a few screams, everything returned to calm.

Hearing these screams, Xu Meiniang had goosebumps all over her body.

However, thinking about it, she felt she was really too lucky to have gained the Master's trust, and she would definitely work seriously, work hard, and repay the Master well in the future.

Lin Zhangqing sensed Xu Meiniang's emotions through that silver rune and was quite satisfied.

He released Bai Jingde as well, and just as he was about to throw him down, he suddenly remembered that he hadn't squeezed him yet to see if he could get any more oil out, so he couldn't waste it just like that.

Bai Jingde felt he had suddenly changed environments and was stunned for a moment before reacting. He didn't know he had already walked on the edge of life and death.

And after so many days, he didn't know how his companions were doing. However, he knew that suddenly releasing him definitely wouldn't be a good thing.

He could only ask with trepidation: "Fellow Daoist, you released me, is there anything you want to ask? I will definitely tell you everything I know."

Lin Zhangqing shook his head at him and said directly: "There is nothing to ask. Your companions have already gone on their way before you."

"I am giving you a chance to redeem your life considering you were quite cooperative. As long as you can take out ten thousand spirit stones, or spirit objects of equivalent value—of course, valuable information also works—you can redeem your own life from me."

After finishing, to increase credibility, he threw out the two corpses he had kept in the storage bag, one of which was the corpse of their leader, Chen Biao.

Seeing the leader's corpse here, the others were probably also doomed, and the last shred of hope in his heart was shattered.

Thinking of needing ten thousand spirit stones or spirit objects to redeem his life, his face turned pale, and his whole body began to tremble.

Looking at Lin Zhangqing, his mouth opened, but he couldn't speak at all.

Lin Zhangqing wasn't in a hurry. After waiting for a long while, Bai Jingde finally recovered.

With a "thump", he knelt on the ground, begging Lin Zhangqing for mercy desperately, "Please let me go! I only captured a dozen villagers and didn't take their lives. Please spare my life, I can be a beast of burden for you."

Lin Zhangqing sighed. Another poor ghost from whom he couldn't squeeze any oil!

Without the slightest hesitation, he lifted him up and threw him into the deep pit. After a few screams, everything returned to calm again.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 177 =====

(End of chapter)