With the rise of my family, I can summon the Daoist Soldiers' Nest.

It was already mid-spring, with warm sunshine and thawing streams. In the spiritual plant fields outside the fortress, the tender seedlings of Sanliu Jade Sprout Rice had already sprouted half a foot tall, and the new leaves of the Iron Wire Grass curled their tips.

Lin Ye has been back from the Sword Sect for half a year, and recently turned twenty.

A few days ago, his mother saw him practicing shooting all day behind closed doors, getting covered in dirt from sparring with Tian Han and Lin Hu. She kept mentioning that he couldn't resist his mother's nagging and even managed to go on a blind date, but he wasn't very satisfied.

Her mother was too focused on the prospective partner's family background and appearance; he was just average-looking. She told her to look again, since if she was going to find someone, she wanted someone pretty, otherwise her time travel would have been for nothing. Besides, things would be different once the nest materialized.

In the past six months, Lin Ye's days have been like an arrow on a bowstring. Every morning and before going to sleep, he practices the Qingfeng Breathing Technique. With the nourishment of five Peiyuan Pills, his vital energy has become more and more refined.

During the day, he would practice the Shadow Spear Technique with young clansmen such as Tian Han and Lin Hu. He had already mastered it and was about to reach perfection. The sound of the spear tip cutting through the air often attracted the children in the fortress to watch.

If there were truly subcategories for third-rate martial artists, he felt he had already reached the threshold of advanced third-rate, just one step away from "perfection."

However, he always remembered the descriptions in the novels of his previous life: mental challenges could damage one's spirit, and after all, he would indeed get a headache when he failed a challenge. Therefore, although he was eager to materialize the third-rate lair, he only dared to challenge it once a week.

Today happens to be the challenge day I set for myself.

Lin Ye had the Rock Toad Guardian stand guard, closed his eyes and concentrated, his consciousness sinking into his mind, where the fruit core of the family's nest was quietly floating.

"Challenge five," he silently recited to himself.

The pit trembled slightly, and five ant servants from the decaying soil sped up with a "whoosh," rushing over like five black shadows.

The lead ant servant's forelegs, like chisels, aimed straight at Lin Ye's brow. In Lin Ye's mind, the Shadow Piercing Spear immediately spun in a "flowing cloud" motion, deflecting the force of the chisel's strike with the shaft and flicking the tip to the side, deflecting its attack and missing its mark.

Then the spear tip was thrust forward and "plop" pierced its head. This one was dealt with first, and the afterimage shattered with a "crack".

The two on the left opened their mouths and spewed acid, the stench filling the air. Lin Ye immediately followed up with a "whirlwind" sweep, the gun barrel knocking them back, preventing the acid from hitting him.

He stared at the second one, then thrust the tip of his spear forward, piercing its shell. The second one shattered with a "crack," turning into a brownish light.

Two more attacked from the right, flanking from both sides, their shells clanging together with a loud "clang." Lin Ye used a "mountain-crushing" technique to press down hard, the butt of his spear slamming into a crevice in the fourth creature's shell, causing it to freeze in its tracks. He seized the opportunity to step forward, aiming the spear tip at its body, and thrust it in with a "thud."

Only one remained, and it still tried to pounce. Lin Ye took a deep breath, stepped into the fully-developed Cloud Step technique, and floated away like a willow catkin, dodging its attack.

Then, a blue light burst from the tip of the spear—"Breaking Through Illusions!" The spear pierced its head precisely, and it fell completely still.

One by one, the five ant servants were dealt with, and their phantoms turned into brown light and burrowed into the fruit pit.

Lin Ye looked at the spear in his hand. That solved the problem. He had gone from being able to parry three to being able to defeat five in just half a year. He was quite a genius.

"bite--"

The kernel trembled slightly, and the halo on its surface swirled faster, vaguely revealing the inscriptions of the ant nests of the Third Rank Daoist soldiers in the rotten soil, before quickly disappearing.

Lin Ye's sea of ​​consciousness suddenly trembled, and the fruit core gave a clear prompt: the ant nest in the rotten soil could now be materialized.

Once he selects a location in his mind, the Dao Soldier's Nest can "grow" from the fruit pit and truly settle in the outside world.

However, like all Dao soldier nests, once placed in a location, they cannot be moved casually. If they are moved, the nest will not be able to breed new Dao soldiers for a year, and it will also lose its effect of suppressing nearby demonic beasts.

Based on years of research and observation, it is possible that the nest, like a plant, needs to take root in a certain place in order to slowly absorb the "mysterious substances" in the air to nurture the Taoist soldiers and exert their power.

Moving it is like uprooting it; it has to be re-established, and then you can't work for a whole year.

Lin Ye suppressed his surprise and pondered.

The problem now is how to make this nest appear in a reasonable way. It's impossible to just take it out now and say that you have contracted a nest, so where did this nest come from?

I've learned a lot about this over time, but I've never seen a nest spawn inside a city. They all spawn outside the city, in places like wastelands and forests far from human habitation.

Therefore, I must make my nest visible outside and then move it to Linjiawu. Although this may cause the nest to lose its effectiveness within a year, it is better than being suspected and investigated.

The question now is, where should this nest be found? That way, we'll have an explanation when we report it later.

To avoid any unforeseen complications, I haven't left Wubao much since returning, let alone ventured into the deserted wilderness. Going hunting would be a good excuse, but family hunts are always in winter, and it's spring now.

Lin Ye racked his brains all night but couldn't come up with a foolproof solution.

I have the cheat code, but I'm afraid to use it for fear of being exposed. Sigh, I might really have paranoia.

The next morning, Lin Ye stopped thinking about it and went to practice martial arts as usual.

During a break from martial arts practice, Lin Qiang approached him.

"Young Master, the horse ranch has been taken back for some time now. We sent someone to check it out recently, and it was completely abandoned. Monsters were appearing there, and the five major families didn't dare to operate it. Shouldn't we make use of it now?"

Horse breeding is our traditional business; in this day and age, horses are a form of hard currency.

Lin Qiang paused for a moment, then continued, "Moreover, the three resources that the young master brought back are now all on track, and the clansmen can proceed step by step. Some people have some free time, and with the Tian family having more than fifty members, there is more than enough manpower. Some people have also suggested restarting the horse farm."

The words "horse farm" suddenly jolted Lin Ye awake. Right, how come he hadn't thought of that before!

The horse ranch was not far outside the city, and it was quite large. It had been abandoned for five or six years, overgrown with weeds and rarely visited by people, which perfectly met the conditions for the "birth of a wild nest".

More importantly, the five major families have now returned it, claiming it's for "temporary care," but in reality, it's already been overrun by monsters, and no one dares to go in.

If the family decides to reopen the horse farm, they will inevitably have to clear out the monsters inside, which will give him a legitimate reason to go out and venture into the wilderness.

Moreover, he hadn't left the fortress much since returning to Xiang County. This time, he went out under the pretext of "clearing the monsters in the horse farm," so his clansmen wouldn't suspect anything. As one of the third-rate martial artists in the Lin family, it was reasonable for him to take the lead in participating.

As long as you pretend to be chasing a monster a little too far away from your tribesmen during the cleanup process, you can secretly reveal the lair and then find a way to bring it back to the fortress.

Lin Ye's eyes lit up, and he immediately replied, "Great! Our clansmen do need to find something to do. Let's start by managing the horse farm, since we're familiar with it. But if it's been abandoned for too long, I'm afraid there will be quite a few demonic beasts around."

"Don't worry about that," Lin Qiang laughed. "These kids train at home every day, it'll be a good opportunity for them to see some blood. I'll take them to clean up the mess."

"I'll go too," Lin Ye said. "It'll be good for them to get some experience. Besides, they lack practical combat experience, and I'm worried about you leading the team alone, Uncle. More people mean more strength."

Lin Qiang was taken aback for a moment, then smiled with relief: "Okay, let's get ready and set off in a couple of days!"

Lin Ye secretly made a plan: clearing out the horse farm would be the best cover for him to manifest his lair.

If the process is arranged properly, he can make his people think he is diligent and reliable, and he can accomplish his important tasks without arousing suspicion.

After discussing it with Lin Qiang and receiving his mother's support, Lin Ye gathered the male members of the clan and the young men of the Tian family at the training ground and announced the plan to clean up the horse farm in a few days and then resume operations.

He stood in the center of the training ground. "The horse ranch has been abandoned for many years, overrun by monsters. Our Lin family ancestors were skilled horse breeders, and now that things are just starting to look up, we can't let this land go to waste. Once it's cleared, we'll send people to manage it. Horses are hard currency; they'll make our family more stable!"

The room fell silent at first, then erupted in cheers as the young people rolled up their sleeves: "We've been itching to get our hands dirty!" "We, the Tian family, can do it too!"

Lin Qiang added, "This is both a trial run and a training exercise, allowing everyone to see the blood and improve their skills. Everyone should be prepared these next two days!"

The news spread, and the fortress was bustling with excitement. The entire clan worked together with one heart, filled with joy. Lin Ye watched this scene, his heart warmed. This not only cleared the wasteland and provided an opportunity to materialize their nest, but also gave the clan members something to look forward to.

Two days later, the team set off.