The sun had climbed high into the sky by the third gong, and Lin Xianzhi, who had been recuperating in the cave, finally woke up. He called over Lin Shiming and the others, one by one.
Once again, he began the spirit calling. It was the same unnamed spirit plate that had, at some unknown time, appeared in Lin Xianzhi's hands.
Just like the last time, Lin Xianzhi executed the exceedingly complex spirit calling art. The spirit plate shone brilliantly, a dragon-like spiritual energy roaring like a dragon's chant surged towards the heavens.
Then, this dragon-shaped spiritual energy dived forcefully and burrowed into the ground where the spirit soil was located.
The surrounding spiritual energy began to climb again.
Compared to the Second Rank Superior Grade Spirit Vein, the spirit calling proved more difficult. Beads of sweat started to form on Lin Xianzhi's forehead, his furrowed brows betraying the challenge of the task.
Finally, another Spirit Art was cast. A dragon's cry was heard and the surrounding spiritual energy slowly began to diminish.
A yellowish-brown dragon-shaped spiritual energy, having grown significantly larger, flew into the spirit plate.
"Capture!" Lin Xianzhi put away the spirit plate. With this action, their journey to Qingyun was essentially concluded.
Without delay, the group of five continued on their spirit boat flying away from the Qingyun Mountain Range.
They joined the Great Elder and others by the side of an old hillock.
Lin Yuqi and Lin Houshou's injuries had improved slightly, but were still quite serious. They needed to return to Fangmu Mountain for quiet recuperation.
However, the emotions of the Lin Family members grew heavier on the return journey; there were fewer of the "Hou" generation now.
The scenes from the outward journey were still vivid in their memory, but upon returning, everything seemed worlds apart.
Lin Shiming sat in a corner of the spirit boat, gazing at the distant clouds flickering across the blue sky.
He was overwhelmed with emotions.
When they returned to Fangmu Mountain, it was already two days later. Qingyun Mountain Range was closer to Qingyun Market than to the Lin Family, and it was only because Lin Xianzhi maneuvered the Third Rank spirit boat that they managed to arrive within two days.
As soon as they returned to Fangmu Mountain, Lin Xianzhi ordered a lockdown of the mountain and strictly forbade any family cultivators from leaving – even those with important tasks outside were to hide their identities.
With the debacle concerning the Huang Family, they could not possibly remain inactive. Even if they had covered up their tracks well in silencing their victims, the Huang Family would still suspect the Lin Family first; there was no doubt about that.
Deep down, Lin Shiming still harbored the desire to become an alchemist.
And he had system prompts that could help him avoid taking many detours.
However, due to the slow speed of his cultivation and the fear that he wouldn't reach Foundation Establishment by the age of sixty, Lin Shiming had put off considering it for now. Once he had established his foundation and had sufficient lifespan, he would learn and master all that was necessary.
After hearing Lin Shiming's response, Lin Yuqi nodded appreciatively, feeling somewhat moved. Then, he sighed again, and suddenly spoke:
"What do you think about Shitao becoming an alchemist?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Shiming immediately realized that there was more to his second grandpa's words.
It seemed that in the past two years, Lin Yuqi had probably been urging Lin Shitao to learn alchemy without much success.
However, to his understanding, although she was a talented alchemist, Lin Shitao, who was already at the third level of Qi Cultivation, was not keen on alchemy. Instead, she had a passionate love for spirit plants and had been following Lin Shiqi in taking care of the Spirit Peach Trees on Fangmu Mountain.
The fragrance of peach blossoms over the mountain and the sea of flowers in full bloom during spring had drawn much praise from the Lin Family elders.
Lin Shiming hadn't answered yet.
On the other side, Lin Yuqi took another long breath, feeling a sense of weary helplessness:
"Shiming, your second grandpa is getting old. In twenty more years, I don't know if I'll be able to see the day our family concocts a third-rank elixir!"
Having said that, he looked towards the Earth Fire.
The Earth Fire burned vigorously, and without anyone controlling it, the flames would sometimes leap very high and sometimes fall very low.
In that moment, Lin Shiming saw helplessness in the old man's eyes, as well as his worry about the family's future alchemists.
Alchemy was a difficult skill for Qi Refinement Realm cultivators, especially those without talent. It's possible that years or even decades would pass without any achievement in the art. Such delays could potentially ruin one's path to Foundation Establishment, leaving no possibility to reach it. This was generally why cultivators were not enthusiastic about alchemy.
Aside from those with excellent talent, fast learners, or those with Dual or Third Spirit Roots who were confident about their speed of cultivation, generally only those with Quintuple or Fourth Spirit Roots, who knew there was no hope on their path and were looking to find a different way, would consider it.
But for higher-level cultivators, those in the Foundation Establishment or Purple Mansion Realm, having a skill was much more common. After all, by this time cultivators had enough lifespan, and seeking further breakthroughs required more resources and experience.
"Second Grandpa, Shiming will try to persuade Shitao!" Lin Shiming, looking at Lin Yuqi's barely open eyes gazing at the Earth Fire and thinking of the family's situation, spoke out.