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

"Steward, it seems someone is catching up from behind," the servant disciple driving the carriage reported to Lin Ye, who was sitting in the carriage, as soon as Lin Ye and his group left the sect.

Lin Ye led three Taoist soldiers out of the carriage and found Tian Han and others waiting on the side. Looking back, he saw several carriages rushing towards them in the distance, with several people riding horses beside them.

"Stay alert, Zhao Cheng, go and see who it is." Everyone immediately took out their weapons, and Zhao Cheng rode his horse slowly toward the carriage behind.

A short while later, Zhao Cheng returned. "Steward, it's Steward Li Liang from the Sword Sect. He just came down the mountain. His hometown is Yun County, which is next to Xiang County. He wants to travel back with us. I've seen him in the sect before, so it should be true."

"Junior Brother Lin, how about we travel together? It's more than a thousand miles to our hometown, and the route is mostly through desolate wilderness. We can look out for each other."

A letter came from home a few days ago saying that the roads have become dangerous lately—not only are there monsters appearing, but bandits have also sprung up in various places, so it's not safe for someone to travel alone.

"So it's Senior Brother Li. Since we're going the same way, let's ride together." Lin Ye replied, mounted his horse, and rode alongside Li Liang. The two riders slowly moved forward, embarking on their journey home.

After traveling for several days, they finally left Xining Prefecture, where the Qingyuan Sword Sect was located, and entered the territory of Gongchang Prefecture. Lin Ye immediately sensed the difference—the atmosphere here was completely different from that in Xining Prefecture.

In Xining Prefecture, the villages along the way were dense, the crops in the fields were growing well, the roads were wide and flat, and there was a constant flow of pedestrians and merchants, giving off a lively and bustling atmosphere.

But once you enter Gongchang Prefecture, you'll find it desolate.

Apart from the county seat and a few adjacent dilapidated towns, as far as the eye can see, there are hardly any decent villages in the wilderness. Occasionally, there are abandoned house sites and courtyards, but they are just broken walls and ruins, exuding a deathly aura.

These outposts are mostly connected by long-neglected, narrow, and potholed paths, which have effectively separated towns and villages into isolated islands in the wilderness.

The number of pedestrians on the road gradually decreased, and it was common to walk for most of the day without encountering many people. Adding to the danger, several times they were followed by monstrous beasts.

These beasts didn't rush to attack; they simply followed from a distance, their eerie green eyes gleaming in the shadows. They followed for a long time before reluctantly leaving, leaving behind a trail of chilling coldness.

As night fell, the roars of beasts echoed from the surrounding mountains and forests from time to time, sometimes low and sometimes sharp, reverberating across the open wilderness, sending chills down one's spine, and even making the campfire seem to burn less brightly.

That evening, after searching for a long time, the group finally found a dilapidated temple. Lin Ye arranged the night watch and sat down to chat with Li Liang.

"In two more days, we'll be at Qingyang Prefecture!" Li Liang's face lit up a little when he mentioned Qingyang Prefecture, but then his expression fell again, and he spat angrily.

"This Gongchang Prefecture is no place for a human to live! The desolation along the way is unsettling, with only a few scattered towns. We've been spending the last few nights camping in the wilderness."

He paused, a hint of resentment flashing in his eyes, and his voice deepened.

"In the end, it's all the fault of those Northern Xiongnu barbarians! Five years ago, they breached the city of Gongchang, and the surrounding counties suffered as a result."

Many large families were slaughtered, and their 'nests' on which they depended for survival were also destroyed.

The imperial court and the sects were too far away to intervene, and for a time, no family could be found to oversee the lair. Without the lair to suppress the monsters, the number of demonic beasts here increased dramatically. The people either died or fled, and the once prosperous prefecture was left in ruins!

Upon hearing this, Lin Ye understood immediately, and the conclusions drawn from tens of thousands of years of observations about the "nest" naturally came to mind.

It turns out that the Taoist soldiers in the world are not born out of thin air, but are formed by the nest extracting a kind of "spiritual energy" from the air that is imperceptible to ordinary people.

Monsters are transformed from some animals by absorbing spiritual energy, and therefore they are obsessed with this thing. Thus, they have places to hide in. The spiritual energy is continuously extracted, the number of monsters born decreases, and at the same time, monsters are unwilling to stay there for long.

This is the fundamental reason why a lair can "suppress" a region. Moreover, the higher the lair's rank, the wider the area it can suppress.

No wonder the world practices a system of enfeoffment, granting cities to families who possess lairs; this is the reason. Without lairs to guard the spiritual energy of a region and drive away demonic beasts, even the most prosperous land will only become ruins.

"Yes," Lin Ye sighed softly and chimed in.

"I wonder what has become of our Xiang County. Five years ago, Xiang County also suffered at the hands of the Northern Xiongnu, and our stronghold was destroyed. I heard that many villagers fled and sought refuge in your Yun County."

"Haha, that's really a perfect time!" Li Liang's face lit up as he mentioned his hometown.

"A letter came from home saying that Yun County has developed wonderfully in the past few years! Thanks to the influx of migrants, several new towns have just been built!"

When I return, I'll be assigned to manage one of the new towns. Junior Brother Lin, if your family ever needs a place to stay, feel free to come stay with me temporarily! If we join forces, we'll definitely do better than the other outer sect stewards!

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps sounded outside the temple. The Tian siblings, who were on night watch, lifted the curtain and entered, reporting gravely, "Deacon Lin, Deacon Li! Something's wrong outside. We heard a lot of horse hooves approaching from afar!"

"What?!" Li Liang suddenly stood up, his hand already on the hilt of his sword at his waist, and said sharply.

"Junior Brother Lin, the fire lit in this temple is a sitting duck in this dark wilderness!"

Ordinary travelers would avoid this place if they saw a fire and people, but now they are heading straight for this place, which means they are not friendly!

In addition, a message came from home saying that bandits are rampant lately... I'm afraid we've run into highway robbers!

Before he finished speaking, he had already grabbed his sword and shouted in a deep voice, "Wake up, all of you! Grab your weapons and come with me to take a look!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was wide awake and rose to grab their weapons. The group filed out and arrived outside the temple.

The skilled servants quickly linked the carriages end to end, laying them across the open space in front of the temple to form a simple barrier, serving as the front row.

Lin Ye and Li Liang, two third-rate experts, stood side by side, with three Rock Toad Guards standing in front of them as the second row.

All the stewards and servants, including Tian Han and his sister, held swords and clubs, held their breath, and stood behind Lin Ye and his sister, holding their torches straight, as the third row.

Everyone stared intently at the gradually clearing outline of the horse caravan in the darkness.