At the Qinglian Pond Cave Mansion in Fangmu Mountain, Lin Shiming had just returned when he took out a large wooden barrel, which was full of red medicinal liquid.
The Red-haired Demon Monkey followed him back, also howling, tugging at the corner of Lin Shiming's clothes.
Lin Shiming rubbed the head of the Red-haired Demon Monkey and then took out an even larger model of a wooden barrel. He filled this barrel with the same medicinal liquid to the brim.
This concoction in the barrel was a mixture using Blood Crocodile Flowers, and Lin Shiyi had sold some to the family. Lin Shiming therefore purchased some.
After completing his Body Refinement practice, he would soak in this medicinal bath, along with practicing breathing techniques, which would greatly increase his cultivation speed.
As for the Red-haired Demon Monkey, after witnessing Lin Shiming's bath on one occasion, it howled and jumped into the barrel. Lin Shiming had no choice but to prepare another barrel of medicine for the monkey.
The Red-haired Demon Monkey was addicted to soaking as soon as it tried, and so it became a routine for both to soak in their separate barrels.
Lin Shiming looked at the Red-haired Demon Monkey, quite content as it lay in the medicinal barrel, with only its red head and its fiercely burning tail sticking out.
At this moment, the tail was still ablaze, but the Red-haired Demon Monkey had learned to control the size of the flames, ensuring they did not burn the medicinal liquid away.
Lin Shiming closed his eyes and began to cultivate his breathing techniques.
Three hours later, the color of the liquid in the barrel slowly faded, and its medicinal properties were completely absorbed.
Lin Shiming changed into a fresh robe and went to the insect room, specially prepared for the Spirit-Absorbing Ants.
Inside the insect room were rows of eggs, amounting to over a thousand.
These eggs were white with a tinge of yellow, a clear sign they had been incubating for a long time and were about to hatch.
Lin Shiming immediately stepped forward, squeezing a few drops of essence blood from his fingertip, sprinkling them evenly over the eggs. Then, he cast the Spirit Contract once again.
The birth of the eggs was something he could not predict, and he could only establish the Spirit Contract in advance. Otherwise, by the time the Spirit-Absorbing Ants appeared and if he was not there, the whole cave mansion might be devoured.
He could not afford to encase the whole chamber with large amounts of Spirit Jade either.
After casting the Spirit Contract, Lin Shiming left the chamber and returned to his cultivation room. He sat on a cushion, beginning to meditate and practice the Purple Wood Heart Sutra to quietly recover from the loss of essence blood.
Three years of secluded training had made him seem more composed. In terms of cultivation level, he had unnoticeably made great progress from the early stage of Foundation Establishment.
...
In the Fangmu Mountain Council Hall, at this moment, the Lin Family's elders were gathered.
Lin Xianzhi had also already taken his seat at the high table.
To the right of the high table sat Xie An from the Qingxuan Sect.
At this moment, everyone's expressions were somber; even Xie An's face did not look good.
"Shiming has arrived."
"Shiming pays his respects to Seventh Great-Uncle and greets Senior Brother Xie!" Lin Shiming also greeted the two men.
"Shiming, this time, Yan Country has joined Chu Country and Zhao Kingdom in the crusade, and the front line is retreating steadily. All of Zhao Kingdom's families are being forcibly summoned to battle. My task is to notify all the major Foundation Establishment families in Yunzhou," Xie An said solemnly.
At this moment, Lin Shiming could only feel a great headache. The Demon Sect of Chu Country was already causing the Three Sects of Zhao Kingdom enormous trouble, and with Yan Country getting involved, especially the Corpse Refining Sect, which was even more powerful than the Spirit Beast Sect!
"Each Foundation Establishment family must dispatch at least seventy percent of their Foundation Establishment cultivators and another fifty percent of their late-stage Qi Cultivation cultivators.
Of course, if the Lin Family needs to guard its sect gates with its Foundation Establishment cultivators, then eighty percent of the late-stage Qi Cultivation cultivators and fifty percent of the Foundation Establishment cultivators will suffice," Xie An stated, offering some flexibility, but Lin Shiming could see from Xie An's eyes an unmistakable determination.
Granting the Lin Family a choice already spoke to the gravity of the situation.
"All right, our Lin Family will choose the former option," Lin Shiming nodded. Since there was no avoiding it, they had to join the great battle.
The Three Great Sects would not allow anyone to retain ample strength behind the scenes within their domains.
Xie An, seeing Lin Shiming had made a decision, promptly took his leave, not even sipping a drop of Mingxin Tea. Lin Shiming and Lin Xianzhi escorted him away.
Clearly, he was on his way to notify other families in Yunzhou.
Lin Shiming and Lin Xianzhi then returned to the Fangmu Mountain Council Hall once more.
All faces were grave; following the beast tide, the Foundation Establishment cultivators of Yunzhou had five years to catch their breath. A year later, the cultivators might have had some preparation, but now they faced two Immortal Cultivation nations, Chu and Yan Countries, one of Demon Cultivators and heretics, the other of Corpse Cultivators.
Zhao Kingdom's chance to hold them off was extremely slim unless the neighboring countries of the Righteous Alliance came to Zhao Kingdom's aid.