Seeking immortality begins with daily intelligence reports.

They traveled in silence, and the flying boat landed smoothly in the Zhao family's courtyard.

As dawn broke, Li Shen stepped off the flying boat, and an old man, dressed only in a thin robe and with a worried expression, came to greet him.

"Fellow Daoist Li, how was your trip? Why are you back so soon?"

Zhang Hong, the alchemist serving the Zhao family, asked Li Shen questions while pulling him around and looking him over.

He breathed a sigh of relief after not finding any injury.

Only then did he notice that two young ladies from the Zhao family were standing beside Li Shen.

He then greeted Zhao Ying and Zhao Qian respectfully.

The two are not only the daughters of the Zhao family patriarch, but one of them has already reached the Foundation Establishment stage in cultivation.

His status in the Zhao family was far higher than that of a mere retainer.

Zhao Ying nodded slightly in response, ignoring Zhang Hong's rudeness, and walked straight toward Zhao Yuan, the head of the Zhao family, who had rushed over.

The trip to Linlang City ended much earlier than expected.

Therefore, after the Zhao family patriarch and a group of elders noticed that a flying boat had landed, they all came to this place one after another.

"Are you alright, Ying'er, Qian'er?"

Zhao Yuan frowned slightly as he looked his two daughters up and down. His aura as a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator unconsciously leaked out, causing the surrounding air to freeze.

Those family members who hadn't slept in the middle of the night and were hiding in the shadows, wanting to see what was happening, immediately and consciously withdrew upon sensing this powerful aura.

"Dad, we're alright."

Zhao Ying remained calm, her tone as indifferent as ever.

Zhao Qian pouted, her eyes glistening with tears. She had clearly remembered the dangers in the Fallen Soul Forest. Now that she was back in safety and in front of her father, her expression softened and she became somewhat moved.

However, the greater pressure wasn't actually from fighting Foundation Establishment cultivators, but rather from using it to evoke his father's concern, so that he would be less demanding of him in his cultivation in the future.

She said softly:

"I was a little frightened, but thankfully my older sister was there."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuan's gaze darkened, his eyes filled with worry as he looked at Zhao Ying:

"Explain in detail."

Thanks to their shared spiritual connection, Zhao Qian's little thoughts could not escape Zhao Ying's notice. She glanced at her younger sister, then nodded slightly and told her father and the family elders about the matter.

As she spoke, she walked towards the Zhao family's reception hall.

Before long, only Zhang Hong and Li Shen remained in the square.

Once Zhao Yuan's aura had dissipated, the two resumed their previous conversation.

"I never expected so many things to happen along the way. Luckily, Miss was here."

After listening to Li Shen recount the events that had occurred along the way, Zhang Hong murmured to himself:

"Since that's the case, Fellow Daoist Li, I won't bother you any longer. You should go back and get some rest."

After saying this, Zhang Hong took out two pills that would help with recovery from his storage bag, handed them to Li Shen, and then took his leave.

"Thank you, Venerable Zhang. Do you have any spare rooms I can stay in temporarily?"

Li Shen bowed in thanks and then inquired.

He was still somewhat worried about the hint of killing intent that Elder Chen of the Yunhe Sect had released at that time.

Even if Zhao Ying takes the blame, and Han Yuanhua is confirmed as a traitor, there is no guarantee that the other party will not retaliate against him.

Therefore, Li Shen planned to find a way to hide temporarily in the Zhao family mansion and return to his small courtyard in the outer city after the storm had passed.

"sure."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Hong readily agreed.

For him, living closer to Li Shen would make it easier to learn the Thousand Refinements Hand Technique.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Venerable Zhang."

Li Shen breathed a sigh of relief and bowed to express his gratitude.

Zhang Hong waved his hand:

"No need to be so polite. There's a room in my courtyard that's always been uninhabited. Fellow Daoist Li can stay there as long as he wants."

After saying that, Zhang Hong led Li Shen away from the square.

-

Inside the Zhao family's reception hall.

After listening to Zhao Ying's account, the atmosphere in the reception hall became heavy.

The elders and the Zhao family patriarch present were all wondering if killing a disciple of a Golden Core elder would provoke retaliation.

Even if that person was a traitor, logically speaking, Zhao Ying and Zhao Qian's actions still seemed like overstepping their bounds.

If this Golden Core elder is rigid in his ways, then we'll be in trouble.

"Patriarch, should we report this matter to the Supreme Ancestor and ask him to mediate?"

Zhao Ling, the elder in charge of law enforcement for the Zhao family, asked the question.

His right eye was destroyed when he was involved in the matter of the Xuanhuo Shangren's former residence. Now, with the eye patch on, coupled with his already serious face, he looked even more dignified.

"According to Ying'er, the enforcement elder of the Jade Sword Sect was present at the time. In addition, Ying'er and Qian'er have a good relationship with the Golden Core elder of the Cloud Crane Sect, so this matter should be fine."

Zhao Wuchen, the eldest elder of the Zhao family, stroked his beard and pondered for a moment.

Zhao Yuan nodded slightly, agreeing with his father's opinion, but he still couldn't help feeling a little worried.

After a moment of silence, he stood up:

"Let's leave it at that for now. Ying'er, Qian'er, you two go back and rest. Although there's no need for the Ancestor to mediate, it's better for him to know for now. How to handle this matter is up to him to decide."

After speaking, Zhao Yuan waited for a moment. The elders of the Zhao family looked at each other but had no objections.

He then ordered everyone to disperse.

-

In Zhang Hong's courtyard, in an empty room on the east side.

After the Zhao family servants tidied up briefly, Li Shen settled in there.

Although the door didn't have a protective array like the one on the rented courtyard in the outer city, it was still within Zhang Hong's courtyard, so probably no one would dare to disturb him.

He sat on the edge of the bed, took a Qi-restoring pill, and after briefly circulating the "Evergreen Technique" to adjust himself, he got up and sat at the round table in the center of the room.

With a wave of his hand, Han Yuanhua's storage bag and magical artifact appeared before him.

He first picked up the longsword used by Han Yuanhua, and after a brief examination, he knew that it was a high-grade magic weapon.

The refining process was quite good, ranking among the top-grade products.

"As expected of a disciple of a Golden Core Elder."

Li Shen subconsciously sighed and put the sword into his pocket.

He then picked up Han Yuanhua's storage bag, took a deep breath, and carefully probed it with his divine sense.

The next moment, his pupils dilated slightly.

"This is……"

The storage bag contained the largest space he had ever seen, about three zhang square, clearly indicating it was a high-grade item.

The contents piled up there made him gasp for breath.

First, in the center are neatly arranged spirit stones.

Li Shen glanced at it briefly and immediately formed a plan in his mind.

There are approximately three thousand low-grade spirit stones.

"They must be incredibly wealthy."

Li Shen suppressed his joy and continued his investigation.

Beside the spirit stone were pills, talismans, four or five jade slips, and finally some miscellaneous items.

He took out all the items except the spirit stones and placed them on the table.

There were seven bottles of pills, including two bottles of Qi-gathering pills, one bottle of fasting pills, one bottle of mind-concentrating pills, and two bottles of recovery pills of different qualities, all mixed together.

These are not the most important things.

Most importantly, there was a bottle containing Foundation Building Pills.

Li Shen opened the bottle, and the fragrance of the elixir slowly wafted out. He then poured it out.

Two Foundation Establishment Pills appeared before them.

It seems that the preparations for the foundation building of the Korean Won are really thorough.

He put the pill away and continued examining it.

Those talismans weren't anything special.

The quality is also not as good as Li Shen's own paintings.

After a quick count, Li Shen put them away.

Finally, there were those jade slips.

Li Shen probed into each of their spiritual senses one by one.

The first one surprised him greatly.