Retirement begins with summoning Yuan Tiangang

The sky was clear and bright on this day.

With nothing else to do, Lin Tian took a bag of the top-grade iron wok, spatula, and pumpkin seeds he had roasted using the system and exchanged for them, and strolled over to the entrance of Monk Ku Hui's general store.

The fat monk was still sitting in his old, well-worn rattan chair, squinting in the sun, with a pot of coarse tea beside him, looking extremely content.

"Master, want some sunflower seeds?" Lin Tian handed over a handful familiarly.

Ku Hui opened his eyes and accepted it with a smile: "Amitabha, Benefactor Lin is always so polite."

Without any hesitation, he started cracking away, his movements practiced and showing none of the airs of a high-ranking monk who had slaughtered an entire city before him.

The two sat in the shade in front of the shop, cracking sunflower seeds, watching people come and go on the street, listening to children playing, and chatting idly.

As we chatted, somehow the conversation drifted to the most notorious criminal organization out there.

"...I've heard..." Monk Ku Hui spat out the melon seed shells and lowered his voice, even though no one around them was paying attention.

"Those scoundrels are quite formidable now. Their influence extends throughout all the states of Zhongting, with countless experts. They act mysteriously and ruthlessly, and once they set their sights on someone, no matter whether they are a sect elder or a noble of the dynasty, no one can escape."

Lin Tian continued eating sunflower seeds, but he felt a little smug, as if he were listening to someone praising his own child.

"Oh? That's amazing? It sounds like something out of a storybook."

"you do not say!"

The monk Ku Hui smacked his lips.

"The scariest thing is that not long ago, it was said that even a reclusive terrestrial immortal fell into their hands! My goodness, a terrestrial immortal! That's someone who can summon wind and rain, and split mountains and stop rivers! Just like that, gone! Now everyone outside is saying that the leader of the Bad Guys is probably not just a late-stage terrestrial immortal, but even... higher!"

Lin Tian feigned surprise: "Wow! That's really impressive! These 'Bad People'... even the name sounds creepy."

"name?"

The monk Ku Hui scratched his bald head. "The name is a bit eerie. But what's even more eerie is that nobody knows what they're up to. You might think they're vying for world domination, but that doesn't seem like it. You might think they're after money, but that's not entirely true either. It's more like... an invisible net, searching for something, or... waiting for something."

He paused, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his cloudy eyes—a glint familiar to Lin Tian, ​​unlike his usual honest and simple demeanor.

"It seems like things are about to get turbulent again. I just wonder if those winds will reach our remote corner."

Lin Tian knew perfectly well that this whole thing was started by his own commander, but as for the target... he wasn't quite sure yet.

He acted as if it were none of his business: "Let it blow. We're a small place, we don't have much, how many tiles can it take away? If the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up."

The monk Ku Hui glanced at him, chuckled twice, and said nothing more, continuing to concentrate on eating his melon seeds.

After sitting for a while, Lin Tian patted the sunflower seed shells off his hands, got up and said goodbye.

He planned to go to the back mountain to chop some firewood and, while he was at it... take another look at the cave that he had been thinking about.

More than nine months have passed, and his strength is now vastly different from before, so his audacity has naturally grown considerably.

While they wouldn't necessarily barge right in, they were confident enough to observe the cave entrance carefully.

After greeting Ku Hui, Lin Tian leisurely walked towards the back mountain.

As we walked deeper into the familiar woods, the surroundings became increasingly quiet, and even the birdsong became much less frequent.

Soon, the dark, half-hidden hole reappeared before their eyes.

Just like I remember, it was gloomy, deathly silent, and exuded a faint chill.

Lin Tian did not approach immediately. He first activated the basic chapter of the "Hundred Refinements Star Body" at the perfect level, causing his blood and qi to surge slightly, and maximizing his perception.

At the same time, the divine sense of the Celestial Realm, which had been suppressed to its limit, cautiously extended towards the cave entrance like tentacles.

The situation near the cave entrance was similar to what I had sensed last time: strange rocks and dampness.

But when he tried to probe deeper with his divine sense, the sense of obstruction still existed, and was even... clearer.

It wasn't just darkness; it was more like a viscous, repulsive energy field.

Moreover, this time, he clearly detected that ancient, lifeless energy fluctuation.

This fluctuation... seems to be slightly... a tiny bit more active than it was nine months ago?

Is it because my strength has increased and my senses are more acute? Or has something truly changed inside the cave?

He frowned, his sharp gaze sweeping around the cave entrance.

Suddenly, his eyes narrowed.

On the left side of the cave entrance, on a moss-covered rock half-buried in the soil, he seemed to see a very faint... trace.

It doesn't look like a wild animal's scratch, nor like natural weathering, but rather like... the marks left by something rubbing against something?

It was so shallow that it almost blended into the moss; if he hadn't had exceptional eyesight, he wouldn't have noticed it at all.

A warning bell rang in his mind.

This godforsaken place, besides him, could anyone else have been here? Those big shots in town?

Or... someone outside?

He dared not be careless and did not rush forward to check. Instead, he slowly retreated, concealing his aura to the extreme, while calling out to Xiao Hei through mental connection.

Before long, a crow, almost blending into the shadows of the surroundings, landed silently on his shoulder.

"Xiao Hei, keep an eye on this hole, especially near that rock with the mark."

Lin Tian issued the command using his mind.

"Tell me immediately if any creature approaches, or if there is any unusual activity in the cave."

The little chimpanzee's red eyes flickered, conveying a clear understanding, before it flapped its wings and took flight, disappearing like a drop of ink into the shadowy background of the forest.

Lin Tian stood there, took one last deep look at the cave that seemed to devour all light, and then turned and left.

On the way back, all the leisure he had felt vanished.

The scoundrels stirred up trouble outside and quickly gained notoriety.

Within Hexi Town, a young dragon lurks, its birth in Jing'an holding profound mysteries. Now, this mysterious cave seems to be showing unusual signs as well…

This seemingly peaceful town may have more to do with things than he imagined.

"The tree may wish to be still, but the wind will not cease..." Lin Tian sighed, then pursed his lips.

"However, no matter how strong the wind is, it can't move this salted fish that's determined to lie flat!"

He quickened his pace, wanting to get home quickly to hug his son, eat a delicious meal cooked by Shi Yao, and soothe his frightened little heart.

As for the secrets of the cave, and the storms outside...

Let the bullets fly a little longer.