Cultivation Begins with Daily Intelligence Reports

61: Returning with a full loadThinking this way, the small bit of loss in his heart vanished instantly, replaced only by a flood of relief and ecstasy.

He didn’t delay any longer, quickly fishing out a set of green Daoist robes from Lin Jingxie’s Storage Pouch. The material was decent and the style relatively low-key. He changed out of his old clothes, which were dirty and torn from the aftershocks of the thunder fiend talisman and the rain.

With the new clothes on, his whole person immediately looked much more spirited, and his mood improved significantly along with it.

He looked down at the dusty Storage Pouch hanging at his waist, its edges worn and frayed like a rag bag; it belonged to Chen Biao, the Grand-Uncle.

He then subconsciously felt the dark green Advanced item tucked into his chest—Lin Jingxie’s Storage Pouch, made of superior material, warm to the touch, and with spacious interior space.

With almost no hesitation, he decisively hid the Advanced item against his skin in the innermost layer of his undershirt, ensuring it wouldn’t be easily discovered. Meanwhile, Chen Biao’s ragged pouch continued to hang ostentatiously in the most prominent position at his waist.

“Wealth should not be revealed; staying low-key is the kingly way. To pretend to be a pig to eat the tiger and make a fortune in silence—this is the way for a low-level Cultivator to survive.” He understood the essence of the martial path deeply.

If you have treasures, you must peel them back layer by layer and reveal them bit by bit. You absolutely cannot let people see through your bottom line at a glance; that is no different from seeking death.

You can’t hide forever; if you hide forever, you’ll truly become a pig.

Similarly, you can’t be too high-profile or too flamboyant.

the Middle Way is the long-term strategy.

After tidying up, Lin Jingyu extinguished the tallow candle that was half-burned, and the cave was instantly swallowed by thick darkness.

He walked to the cave entrance, and a cold wind carrying the dampness of the mountain forest blew against his face.

Outside the cave, it was already a pitch-black night where one couldn’t see their own hand in front of them.

It was as thick as ink that couldn’t be thinned, splashed across the entire world. Heavy clouds pressed down low, obscuring all starlight and moonlight; it was truly black as ink, where even the nearby silhouettes of trees were only vague outlines.

“Wu... Awoooo...”

“Roar...”

The howls of unknown beasts rose and fell in the distant darkness. The sounds were either sharp or low, carrying the greed of predators and the gloom of the night, echoing through the silent mountain forest and making one’s spine tingle.

In the darkness, it felt as if countless cold eyes were hidden behind bushes and in rocky crevices, watching this suddenly appearing figure at the cave entrance with greed and vigilance, regarding him as prey delivered to their door.

“Tsk, do you really think I’m a soft persimmon? A bunch of uncivilized brutes—if you dare come over, I’ll beat you to death with the Green Turtle Spirit Shield!”

Lin Jingyu curled his lip, a trace of disdainful cold laughter appearing on his face. He calmly pulled five Low-Grade Spirit Stones filled with Spiritual Qi from his chest.

Using the faint light of the Spirit Stones, he skillfully felt his way to the slot at the base of the flowing cloud kite’s wings where the stones were embedded.

With a few soft clicks, he nimbly pried out the old Spirit Stones, which were covered in cracks and whose spiritual light had long since dimmed to near extinction.

The warm, new Spirit Stones were precisely embedded into the slots, instantly activating the precise miniature formation core inside the kite.

Buzz—!

A low hum sounded, and the kite’s wings, made of special talisman paper and spiritual bamboo, suddenly flapped!

Whoosh!

A powerful gale erupted from the center of the kite, slamming down like an invisible giant palm!

The weeds, bushes, and even some small saplings within several yards of the cave entrance were instantly pinned to the ground by this violent wind pressure, groaning under the unbearable weight.

The surrounding howls of greedy beasts, which had been rising and falling, were suddenly choked off as if by an invisible hand, turning into instant silence, leaving only the whimpering of the night wind through the treetops.

“Hmph, a bunch of cowards who bully the weak and fear the strong,” Lin Jingyu muttered to himself, no longer paying attention to the terrified beasts.

He leaped up and landed steadily on the wide back of the kite.

Injecting spiritual power into the control core, the kite let out a clear chime and turned into a dim but swift streak of light, steadily rising into the air, tearing through the darkness and speeding toward the Lin family settlement.

Flying through the night sky, the speed was extremely fast. The strong wind whistled past his ears, carrying the unique coolness and scent of vegetation of a mountain night.

However, after flying for less than fifteen minutes...

“Rumble—”

Without warning, the giant ’black pot’ overhead that seemed to be turned upside down suddenly burst open!

A hideous, twisted, and boundless flash of pale lightning, like an Ancient Thunder Dragon, tore through the ink-thick night sky without warning!

It shattered into dozens of bolts spreading in all directions!

Its light was so intense that it instantly illuminated the rolling mountains, winding rivers, and silent villages below as if it were broad daylight! Under this majestic heavenly power, everything was revealed in minute detail, with nowhere to hide!

The violent power of nature was displayed to the fullest at this moment, carrying a terrifying aura of total destruction that made one’s heart and Soul tremble in fear!

Compared to heavenly lightning, the thunder fiend talisman was like the difference between clouds and mud; they were not on the same level at all.

“Holy crap! Which scumbag is making a vow! Damn it, thunder is fine, but don’t let it rain!”

Lin Jingyu’s scalp instantly prickled from the nearby thunderclap that seemed to explode right over his head!

His ears were instantly filled with deafening thunder, buzzing for a long time until he couldn’t hear anything else, leaving only that world-destroying roar echoing wildly in his mind.

Immediately after—

“Splash...”

Cold raindrops the size of soybeans, like the Heavenly River pouring down, followed the deafening thunder and hammered down on him!

They were so fast and dense that they instantly formed a vast white curtain of rain. Lin Jingyu only felt a chill all over; from head to toe, inside and out, he was soaked through in the blink of an eye.

His thin clothes clung tightly to his body, bone-chillingly cold.

“Damn it! This thieving heaven! Are you intentionally going against me?” He cursed under his breath, and in his heart, he questioned the ancestors of the Heavens for eighteen generations.

However, his hands didn’t dare to slow down at all as he desperately injected spiritual power into the kite’s control core, forcing it to lower its flight altitude.

The kite was almost skimming the dark treetops below as it flew rapidly, nearly catching on protruding branches several times. The resulting wind caused the canopies below to sway violently.

He didn’t want to be a sitting duck flying high in the sky! The sight of Lin Jingxie being charred and suffering Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering from the thunder fiend talisman was still fresh in his memory.

If he were even grazed by real heavenly lightning, with his meager cultivation, he would definitely be turned to ash on the spot.

The cold rain whipped his face and body like lashes, pouring down his neck into his collar, instantly soaking his undershirt and clinging to his skin—cold, sticky, and incredibly uncomfortable.

He tried to divert a sliver of spiritual power to form a thin protective shield on his body’s surface to block the rain, but he immediately felt a sense of inadequacy.

Controlling the flowing cloud kite at high speed was already extremely taxing on his mind and spiritual power. With his meager cultivation at the Qi Refining Third Layer, maintaining flight was already his limit.

Even with spiritual power in his body, if he were distracted, the flowing cloud kite would lose its precision, and he might crash into some mountain peak.

“Sigh, the tragedy of a low-level Cultivator! If I had been born into a wealthy Great Family and had practiced various secret methods and Cultivation Techniques from a young age, I wouldn’t be unable to even maintain multitasking!”

He sighed helplessly and could only grit his teeth, pushing through the increasingly heavy rainstorm with difficulty.