I established the Eternal Immortal Clan by taming beasts.

As soon as the spirit steed appeared from the spirit beast pouch, Su Wanwan's gaze was drawn to it.

The Wind-Treading Steed is tall and upright, its light blue coat shimmering with a healthy sheen in the light, its limbs long and powerful, and a gentle breeze seems to linger between its hooves, making it appear exceptionally majestic.

Judging from the spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from it, its strength far surpasses that of myself, and it is probably already in the late stage of Qi Refining.

"Huh?" Upon closer inspection, Su Wanwan suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity about this spirit horse.

A long-buried memory quietly surfaced in her mind, and her gaze unconsciously fell on the forelegs of the Wind-Treading Steed.

Upon seeing this, her eyes widened immediately, and she quickly covered her mouth with her hand to prevent a gasp from escaping her lips.

On the inside of the left foreleg of the Wind Chaser, there is a special light gray pattern. Its shape and size are exactly the same as the mark on the leg of the Wind Chaser she chose when she was a child!

Although the spirit steed before her was quite different, with a more magnificent physique and a more powerful aura, the familiar feeling that came from the depths of her heart convinced her that she had not made a mistake.

Memories of the past flooded back: when she was little, she loved to lie on the soft back of the swift horse and let it carry her across the grass;

Her father often fed it its favorite green grass in the courtyard, and she would always secretly slip it a few extra handfuls;

Sadness overwhelmed her instantly, and her eyes involuntarily welled up with tears.

At this moment, Lin Che turned around and saw the girl's tearful appearance, which made him feel a little confused.

What did I do? I don't think I bullied her. Why does she look like she's suffered a terrible injustice?

"What's this...?" he asked, puzzled.

Su Wanwan bit her lower lip, her eyes red-rimmed, and pointed at the Wind-Riding Spirit Steed, her voice choked with sobs: "Senior, may I ask where you obtained this spirit steed?"

The Wind-Riding Spirit Steed turned to look at the girl, tilting its head to examine her for a moment before suddenly sending a thought to Lin Che: "Master, there's a familiar feeling about her; I feel like I've seen her somewhere before."

"This..." A flash of inspiration struck Lin Che, and he immediately understood something.

No wonder he felt the girl looked familiar before. Could there really be such a coincidence in the world?

His Wind-Riding Spirit Steed was indeed "borrowed" from an inn back then in order to escape the territory of the Rebellious Demon Palace as soon as possible. For this, he specially left a bottle of valuable second-tier pills as compensation.

At that time, a little girl fed him and then entered the post station. It was because the little girl was only a Qi Refining stage cultivator that Lin Che chose this spirit steed.

Back then, it was a mid-grade first-tier Wind Chaser Spirit Steed. Lin Che used the system to upgrade it, and it became a second-tier bloodline Wind Treader Spirit Steed. Only after being slowly nurtured did it develop the intelligence it possesses now, enabling it to communicate.

Could the girl in front of me be the same little girl from back then?

Lin Che decided not to hide anything and recounted how he obtained the Wind Chaser Steed.

As soon as she finished speaking, Su Wanwan could no longer hold back her emotions, and tears welled up in her eyes.

She sobbed as she recounted her life story.

The answer was exactly as Lin Che had guessed.

This is the girl's steed. She cried for three whole days after discovering that her beloved horse was missing.

This wonderful coincidence made Lin Che feel somewhat emotional.

This spirit steed helped him escape the influence of the Demon Palace of Rebellion back then, and he just happened to encounter it today and saved her.

The workings of cause and effect in the unseen world are truly wondrous.

Then Lin Che continued to listen to Su Wanwan recount her experiences.

The rise and fall of a cultivation family slowly unfolds.

She was originally from the Su family, a Golden Core family that was affiliated with the Nascent Soul power "Shuiyun Immortal Pavilion".

However, in the fierce power struggle, the Su family gradually declined, and several Golden Core ancestors passed away one after another.

To preserve their bloodline, the family decided to split up and relocate. Her father and two uncles, along with their families, embarked on a journey to find a new home.

Upon hearing the news of the Chuyang City expansion zone, they arrived full of hope, only to clash with the Chen family, a family of alchemists, in the Spirit Herb Valley.

Both families were alchemy families, and both coveted the Spirit Herb Valley, a treasure trove suitable for cultivating spiritual herbs, leading to a rapid escalation of their conflict.

The Su family, whose strength was already inferior to that of the Chen family, was in a precarious situation.

To enhance the family's strength, Su Wanwan's father risked opening the furnace and refining a batch of precious Foundation Establishment Pills, intending to use them for three family members who had already reached the late stage of Qi Refining to break through.

However, this sowed the seeds of disaster.

When the Chen family discovered that the Su family had suddenly gained three Foundation Establishment cultivators, they immediately realized that the Su family possessed the formula for Foundation Establishment Pills.

Although the Foundation Establishment Pill is a top-grade first-tier pill, it is usually made by a second-tier alchemist because the refining process requires the assistance of divine sense to ensure the success of the pill.

That's alright, but what's rare is the Foundation Establishment Pill!

The formula for Foundation Establishment Pills is strictly controlled by various major powers, and Foundation Establishment Pills have become an important means of controlling subordinate forces. Very few of the formulas are known to the public.

The discovery that the Su family possessed the formula for Foundation Establishment Pills prompted the greedy Chen family to spare no effort, mobilizing all their forces to launch a surprise attack on the Su family.

After a bloody battle, the Su family was almost completely wiped out.

Only Su Wanwan, who ran a shop in Chuyang City and had a relatively low cultivation level, managed to escape this calamity.

After receiving her father's dying message, she began a life of hiding and fleeing.

With her low cultivation level and being a novice in alchemy, her life was extremely difficult.

Somehow, word got out of their way that they were out gathering herbs, and they were targeted by the Chen family cultivators, which led to what happened earlier.

After hearing about the girl's plight, Lin Che couldn't help but sigh.

"Possessing a treasure is a crime"—this is indeed an eternal truth in the world of cultivation.

Without sufficient strength, you can't survive anywhere.

He wanted to offer words of comfort, but didn't know where to begin.

Only then did I realize that I hadn't formally introduced myself yet.

"My name is Lin Che," he said solemnly. "Today I make you a promise: as long as you are in the Lin family, I will protect you and will never allow anyone to harm you."

He paused, then softened his tone: "From now on, you don't need to call me 'senior,' just call me clan leader."

After pouring out the past that had been weighing on her heart, Su Wanwan felt much relieved, but she couldn't help but worry that the other person might change their mind because of the trouble she had gotten into.

But when she heard Lin Che's resounding promise and saw the unwavering determination in his eyes, a long-lost warmth welled up in her heart.

She hadn't felt this sense of being cherished and protected for a long time.

She sniffed, wiped away her tears, and said earnestly, "I will definitely work hard to repay the debts and help you rebuild your family!"

After the girl calmed down, Lin Che took her back to Chuyang City.

Riding her childhood companion again filled the girl with a mix of emotions.

……

Arrived in Chuyang City.

The two arrived at the Spirit Vein Management Office located on the west side of the City Lord's Mansion.

This is a quiet and elegant courtyard, with only two female monks on duty in the hall.

They leisurely sipped their spiritual tea and flipped through the picture albums in their hands, appearing quite relaxed.

Only when they saw someone come in did the two of them raise their heads.

The female cultivator on the right, who was at the Foundation Establishment stage, put down her teacup and spoke in a businesslike manner: "What business do you need, fellow Daoist?"

"Apply for territory development registration."

These words surprised both of them. They carefully examined the newcomer and confirmed that he was not one of the familiar family cultivators from the Chuyang City area. They couldn't help but show some surprise.

More than ten years have passed since the decree to establish a government office was issued, and I never expected that there would still be families who want to settle down here.

Moreover, there really isn't much decent land left to develop within the Chuyang City area.

However, since the other party had taken the initiative to bring it up, they couldn't say much and just followed the rules.

The Foundation Establishment female cultivator took out a jade slip and handed it over: "These are the terms and conditions that must be followed when expanding territory and establishing a family. Once you have confirmed that everything is correct, we can process your registration."

Lin Che took the jade slip and immersed his consciousness into it to read it carefully.

The first rule is the most important: During the outbreak of the monster tide, the family must send cultivators to assist in defending the city.

The Foundation Establishment family needs to deploy two Foundation Establishment cultivators and five Qi Refining cultivators to jointly protect the Chuyang City area.

This rule is not unique to Chuyang City. All forces under the Fang family's jurisdiction, whether they are Nascent Soul cultivators or Qi Refining families, must send troops to support them when a beast tide breaks out in the Fulong Mountains.

The stronger the family, the more people they need to mobilize.

Normally, each family also needs to take turns sending cultivators to guard the Burning Bone Pass.

The second article concerns taxation: newly developed territories are entitled to a 15-year tax exemption period, with 5 years remaining. After 5 years, territorial taxes must be paid annually.

Families occupying a first-tier spiritual vein pay 500 low-grade spirit stones annually, while those occupying a second-tier spiritual vein pay 5,000 low-grade spirit stones.

According to Lin Che, this tax rate accounts for about 10% of an average family's annual income, which is much more favorable than in inland areas.

The third requirement is that within one year of registration, the family business must be initially established in the selected area, hidden dangers in the territory must be eliminated, and a territory magic array must be set up.

Lin Che had no objection to these conditions and immediately nodded in acceptance.

"In that case, please specify the area you wish to explore." The female cultivator took out a registration jade slip, preparing to record it.

"I'm preparing to establish my family in the Shattered Star Lake area," Lin Che said in a brisk voice.

However, the other party's answer surprised him.

The Foundation Establishment female cultivator paused, exchanged a meaningful glance with her companion, and then slowly spoke: "The Shattered Star Lake area has already been registered by the Zhao family. Fellow Daoist, you will probably have to choose another place."