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

Before even reaching the camp, one could see from afar that the camp was ablaze with fire, with countless torches illuminating the night as if it were daytime.

Groups of torches moved around inside and outside the camp, and squads of cavalry, holding torches high, sped off in several directions, clearly on a search mission.

Lin Ye continued to approach the camp, gradually getting closer to a group of cavalry carrying torches.

In the firelight, the sharp-eyed leader of the cavalry recognized a familiar figure ahead and immediately exclaimed with delight, "Lord Lin, is that you?"

"It's me. Why are you all out here?" Lin Ye stopped in his tracks.

"Lord Lin, where have you been? We haven't seen you in the camp. Following Lord Chen's instructions, everyone immediately came out to search for you," the team leader replied, his voice filled with anxiety.

"I'm just a second-rate martial artist. What's there to worry about if I go out for a stroll?" Lin Ye smiled calmly, his gaze sweeping over the expressions of the crowd.

"Lord Lin is here, he's alright!" someone in the crowd immediately echoed, their words acting as a reassurance and easing the tense atmosphere.

Immediately, someone shouted loudly to spread the news.

Upon hearing the news, squads of cavalry turned around and rushed over, their hooves thundering. They quickly formed a column and escorted Lin Ye toward the center of the camp.

Upon arriving at the camp gate, Chen Cheng, Liu Zhenghua, and the others were already waiting. As soon as Chen Cheng saw Lin Ye return safely, his tense expression immediately relaxed, and he stepped forward, saying, "Brother Lin, why did you go out alone so late at night? Everyone was very worried about you!"

Liu Zhenghua also looked Lin Ye up and down with a questioning and strange gaze, clearly suspicious of his late-night outing.

"Brother Chen, I'm sorry to have worried you. I just went out for a walk." Lin Ye said as he walked forward. Chen Cheng saw this and didn't ask any more questions. He walked with Lin Ye toward the tent.

Seeing that Lin Ye seemed to have something to hide, Chen Cheng kept a close eye on him but didn't say anything. He simply followed him into the tent.

Seeing this, Lin Ye gave a slight signal, and Liu Zhenghua, Liu Yun, Lin Ping, Chen Hai and others also entered the tent one after another. The people in the tent looked at Lin Ye and fell silent for a moment, with only the firelight flickering on their faces.

Lin Ye slowly swept his gaze over the crowd, then rolled up his left arm, and with a slight thought, the cave-like tattoo on his arm appeared in the firelight.

The jagged stone teeth were scattered like fangs, and the cave was shadowy. The stone outline of the "guardian" was vaguely visible, with its wings folded like stone slabs. This was the lair of the gargoyle he had just contracted.

"I just went out and made a contract with a third-rate nest." His voice was calm, but it was like a pebble thrown into everyone's heart.

All eyes fell on the tattoo, first in shock, then in a daze.

Liu Zhenghua suddenly stood up, his hand already on the hilt of his sword. The sword was drawn half an inch from its sheath with a clang, and his sharp gaze locked onto Lin Ye like a knife.

Liu Yun and Lin Ping could not hide their joy, their eyes shining with excitement.

Chen Cheng and Chen Hai looked puzzled and confused, their brows furrowed, clearly processing this astonishing information.

"You may be wondering why that shaman warrior targeted me? Why didn't his most crucial strike kill me?" Lin Ye met everyone's gazes, his tone calm. "It's because of this lair."

He paused, "This lair was actually discovered more than a year ago by that first-rate Northern Xiongnu martial artist who was killed by Elder Liu. I don't know why he didn't form a contract with him, but instead participated in the attack on Linjiawu. I obtained a map from him."

"At first, I didn't know what the map depicted. It wasn't until a year ago that a group of bandits entered Xiang County and were killed by my subordinate Sun Qian and his men."

From a prisoner, I learned that the top-tier martial artist had discovered a lair. Only then did I suspect that the location marked on the map was indeed that lair.

"Today on the ship, I looked out at that small hill and found that its outline was very similar to the mark on the map."

After nightfall, I went to investigate and indeed found the nest. It was fortunate we traveled by boat today; had we followed the land route we came by, we probably would never have found this place.

Liu Zhenghua slowly lowered his sword, the blade clicking softly as it returned to its sheath. His expression remained serious. "How can you prove your words are true?"

Lin Ye had anticipated that everyone would have doubts.

People were terrified by the past actions of the Northern Xiongnu, fearing that their territory would be taken from the Northern Xiongnu and that the Northern Xiongnu would support them as internal agents.

"My subordinate Sun Qian can testify that he was present throughout the interrogation of that bandit prisoner."

"Why didn't that shaman warrior make a contract with you himself, but instead left it to you?" Chen Cheng stared intently at Lin Ye and pressed for an answer.

This is indeed the biggest point of doubt. A third-rate lair is not difficult for a first-rate martial artist, so abandoning it would be illogical.

"I know a little about this matter. In order to counterbalance the power of shamanism and fear that shamanism would threaten its rule, the Northern Xiongnu royal court once made a treaty with shamanism, stipulating that shaman warriors could not contract to hide in shamanic dens, so as to prevent them from becoming tribal leaders."

To maintain the sect's existence, shamanism strictly forbids its members from privately establishing hideouts, with violators facing certain death. Therefore, if shamanic warriors discover a hideout, they often offer it to a powerful figure in the Northern Xiongnu in exchange for resources and protection.

"A first-class lair was discovered in Gongchang Prefecture a few years ago. It was the same situation back then. After the shaman warriors discovered it, they reported it to a prince of the Northern Xiongnu court."

Upon hearing this, Lin Ye's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally relaxed a little.

"Take us to the birthplace of the nest," Liu Zhenghua said finally.

The group avoided the army and quietly arrived at the cave on the small hill.

The closer you get to the cave entrance, the more you can feel a deep and unique aura, a spiritual energy unique to the birth of the nest and connected to the pulse of the earth.

Liu Zhenghua and Chen Cheng exchanged a glance, each concentrating their senses for a moment before nodding in unison. They confirmed that this was indeed the birthplace of the lair, and the aura resonated perfectly with the tattoo on Lin Ye's arm.

On the way back to camp, Chen Cheng walked beside Lin Ye, looking him over with a complicated and strange gaze.

This guy's luck is just too good. He only managed to kill a first-rate martial artist, but he managed to follow the clues to the lair and even successfully formed a contract with it.

During our previous collaboration, he always acted like the elder brother, making most of the decisions himself. But now it seems things will change.

Liu Yun and Lin Ping were all smiles as they walked, their steps becoming lighter, and they couldn't hide the joy on their faces.

The gloom that had previously hung over Lin Jing's injuries had long since vanished. So what if he lost an arm?

This expedition has secured a stronghold, and even if both arms are severed, it will be worth it immensely!

Liu Zhenghua remained silent the entire way, his brows slightly furrowed, as if deep in thought.

He weighed the relationship between the Sword Sect and Lin Ye in his mind. As a disciple of the Sword Sect, Lin Ye discovered such an important clue about the nest but did not report it to the Sword Sect immediately. If this matter were to be reported back to the sect, he wondered what the higher-ups would think.

Will this sow discord between the two sides and create a rift? As Lin Ye's elder and a sword sect elder, he is caught in the middle, making his future actions even more difficult.

Lin Ye appeared calm, but in his mind he was rapidly calculating another matter: what was the grade of the nest discovered by the Northern Xiongnu warrior?

He had previously assumed that the first-rate martial artist had failed to form a contract because he felt he couldn't conquer the territory, thus deducing that it was a second-rate lair.

But after hearing what Liu Zhenghua said today, I learned that the martial artists of the Northern Xiongnu Shamanism are not allowed to privately register nests due to the rules of the sect. Even if they are first-rate martial artists, they can only report to the authorities when faced with a third-rate nest and cannot take it for themselves.

Thinking about it that way, that nest might not be second-rate, but rather third-rate.

The difference in value between a third-rate lair and a second-rate lair is significant, which inevitably makes him feel conflicted.

However, he maintained a joyful expression on his face, revealing no hint of his true feelings.

Everyone returned to their tents to rest, but tonight, none of them were destined to sleep.