Under the stunned gazes of everyone, a person and a beast landed outside the Protective Clan Formation.
Lin Tianming took out his Identity Token, cast a spell, and a streak of blue light vanished into the colorless light curtain of the Five Elements.
A moment later, the light curtain revealed an entrance over thirty feet wide, and the interior scenery of Green Bamboo Mountain came into view as the person and beast stepped inside in unison.
As soon as his foot touched the ground, Lin Tianming found himself enveloped in a fiery embrace as a red figure ran up and clung to him, gripping so tightly he nearly couldn't breathe. It was his younger sister, Lin Tianyue.
Feeling his sister's longing, Lin Tianming wrapped one arm around her waist and comforted her by stroking her hair with his other hand.
After a few breaths, the girl calmed down, and Lin Tianming, holding his sister's hand, approached Lin Tianfeng and the others to give a fist salute.
'Tianming pays respect to our fellow clansmen.'
After each of them returned the salute with a fist-clenched gesture, Lin Tianfeng began to speak.
'Younger brother, Tianyue here has been waiting for your return every day, not moving an inch. You must both be weary. We have patrolling duties and cannot stay for long. You've had a tiring journey, so head back and rest early. I'll be sure to visit when I have some free time.'
'Please proceed as you like, elder brother. I will invite you all to visit on another day.'
After exchanging salutes, they parted ways.
Lin Tianming, holding Lin Tianyue's hand, with the Purple Gold Eagle following behind them, walked along a cobblestone path towards the midsection of Green Bamboo Peak.
Gazing at their familiar family grounds, Lin Tianming felt extremely happy at the moment. His sister chatted nonstop all the way, evidently yearning for the outside world.
Seeing the look in his sister's eyes, identical to his own back then, full of longing for the world beyond, he reflected on how one truly starts to miss the warmth of family and the memories of home life only after being away for some time.
In the Cultivation World where strength reigns supreme, murders for treasure and battles with Demonic Beasts are commonplace, countless people meet untimely deaths each day, and numerous family Sects are decimated. All these struggles stem from the pursuit of cultivation resources and the desire to strengthen one's own power.
In this perilous Cultivation World, he bore the expectations of revitalizing and protecting his family, with every family member striving toward this daunting goal.
The path of cultivation can be bleak. While kinship may sometimes become a bond that ties, it is also the beacon that illuminates one's way. Some cultivate in search of immortality, but not Lin Tianming—he cultivates to protect.
In this moment, a subtle change took place within Lin Tianming's heart.
Walking toward the mountain midsection, they passed many fellow clansmen Cultivators. Lin Tianming greeted each one, and under the envious eyes of many clansmen, the siblings finally returned to their own small courtyard.
After receiving Lin Tianyue's message, Grandfather and parents all set aside their work, released a quiet sigh of relief, and gathered outside the courtyard, eagerly awaiting Lin Tianming and his sister, their joy evident beyond words.
Lin Tianming ran over and bowed respectfully to his grandfather and parents.
'Tianming pays his respects to Grandfather, Father, and Mother.'
Grandfather Lin Shigong, grinning ear to ear and squinting, grabbed Lin Tianming and Lin Tianyue by the hand and headed into the courtyard, unconcerned about his son and daughter-in-law's reactions.
The parents hurried to follow, and the family, full of harmonious joy, sat around a stone table in the courtyard to chat leisurely.
Inside the courtyard, Lin Shigong said with a smile,
'You lad, your cultivation has actually broken through to the Seventh Level of Qi Cultivation. I thought reaching the Sixth Level would be good enough, but you didn't let me down. It seems you have not been idle this past year. That's good. So, the success rate and number of pills produced when refining First Order Inferior elixirs must be quite high, right?'
'Grandfather, your grandson has successfully refined the Lingshen Pill, maintaining a success rate of forty percent and producing at least three pills each time, generally around four.'
'What!'
A First Order Medium Grade Lingshen Pill can guarantee a pill formation rate of forty percent, with at least three pills produced,'
Lin Shigong was both shocked and overjoyed. In just one year, such great progress had been made, turning into a qualified First Order Medium Grade Alchemist, which really took people by surprise. It seemed that his grandson's alchemy talent was even higher than imagined.
The parents and sister were also overjoyed, and began to ask Lin Tianming about his experiences over the past year.
In the first half of the year guarding Qingfeng Town, Lin Tianming focused on cultivation and alchemy, consuming a lot of Spiritual Medicine Materials, which logically led to his successful advancement to a First Order Medium Grade Alchemist.
Had it not been for exploring the Cave Mansion Ruins in the latter half of the year, suffering injuries several times, and spending time cultivating Divine Skills without access to Spiritual Medicine Materials, he would not have temporarily set aside the practice of alchemy. Given enough Spiritual Medicine Materials, it would not have been impossible for him to produce First Order Superior Grade elixirs.
This time returning home to visit, aside from submitting the Mysterious Grade Technique and the inheritance of a Third Order Alchemist, he also needed to replenish his supply of Spiritual Medicine Materials fully. With substantial wealth, he could exchange for as many alchemy materials as possible to take back to Qingfeng Town to quickly enhance his alchemy skills.
Suddenly, Lin Tianming's expression turned solemn, and with a series of hand gestures, he set up a Prohibition Barrier to envelop everyone, preventing others from prying into their actions and conversations.
Upon witnessing this, grandpa and the others knew that Lin Tianming had some very important matter to discuss and waited for him to speak.
Today, Tianming took out from his storage bag the Cultivation Technique Jade Cylinder (Three Stars Spirit Sword Technique) and True Person Yuhua's Alchemy Experience that he had obtained, and placed them on the stone table.
His father, quick on the uptake, grabbed the Cultivation Technique Jade Cylinder, while grandpa got his hands on True Person Yuhua's Alchemy Experience, deploying his Divine Sense to check it out.
In three breaths' time, the faces of Lin Shigong and Lin Xingrong flushed with excitement. Grandpa's wrinkled face was as red as a monkey's butt, his excitement evident, not at all like a man nearing a hundred years old.
Grandfather and father gradually regained their composure and exchanged the jade cylinders to explore them.
Lin Tianming then took out more than ten Jade Boxes and placed them in front of them.
Grandpa quickly opened a Jade Box!
"Hidden Spirit Grass"
Grandpa Lin Shigong went completely wild with excitement, laughing madly,
"Heaven blesses the Lin Family, heaven blesses the Lin Family! These more than ten Hidden Spirit Grasses, if used well, are worth at least three Foundation Establishment Pills"
Upon hearing this, father remembered that True Person Yuhua's Alchemy Experience mentioned a formula for the Minor Foundation Building Pill, and his breathing became rapid—with good reason, as Hidden Spirit Grass was tied to one's chances of reaching Foundation Establishment Stage!
Mother and sister watched the jubilation of the three family members with complete bewilderment.
After reviewing the three items, grandfather and father calmed down and began to inquire about the origins of these items, showing some concern.
Lin Tianming recounted the incident where he was forced to kill the man in the red robe and included the Hidden Spirit Grass among the items obtained from him.
Upon hearing this, everyone was dumbfounded. Mother had already cried herself into a mess. She wasn't concerned with techniques or elixirs; she just wanted her son to be safe and sound.
He spoke this way after careful consideration, for Lin Tianming did not plan to submit the Heavenly Grade Technique. After all, wealth should not be flaunted, and with the many gossips, no one could guarantee what thoughts the family might have.
The matter of the Heavenly Grade Technique was too important; the fewer people knew, the better, especially now when it couldn't be disclosed, or it might bring disaster upon the family. Everyone understood the logic that though a man may be blameless, possessing a treasured jade invites crime.
At this moment, grandpa spoke with a grave expression,
"This matter is of great importance. Tianming, you rest for a while. I need to immediately send a message to the Clan Leader and various Hall Masters. We will convene a meeting in the Elders' Council in half an hour."
Having said that, Lin Shigong performed a hand gesture, and more than a dozen fire-red Spiritual Birds formed from gathered spiritual energy flew off in all directions and quickly disappeared from sight.