A hundredfold return! My unfilial disciples are all reincarnations of the Empress.

Back at Xiaozhu Peak, Lin Feng locked himself in his room and flipped through the rubbings of the scrolls he had brought back from the Sutra Repository again and again.

"Blood Serpent Hall... Upper Sect..."

He pondered these two words repeatedly, feeling that something crucial was missing. He closed his eyes and pulled the memory of the great battle ten years ago from his mind—the demonic cultivators did indeed have patterns embroidered on their sleeves when they attacked the mountain, but he hadn't looked closely at the time due to the chaos of war.

Looking back now, it does seem to have the shadow of a coiled snake pattern.

"Damn it," he cursed, slamming the tattered scroll on the table.

If I can't remember, so be it; I've already killed everyone.

He got up, pushed open the door, and went out. In the courtyard, Liu Yushu was practicing the Taiyin Xuan Shui Jue. A layer of light blue water mist condensed around her, and the air became moist wherever her fingertips touched, with the faint sound of flowing water.

Lin Feng leaned against the door frame and looked at it for a while, thinking to himself that this technique was indeed suitable for her. The combination of the Yin body and the water attribute technique would make her achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Liu Yushu finished her practice, turned around and saw him, a smile curving her lips: "Master, you're awake."

"Hmm. How are you feeling?"

"I've already grasped most of the second level, and I should be able to fully master it in a few more days." She paused, "This disciple feels that I've already touched the threshold of the Golden Core realm."

Lin Feng nodded: "No rush, it will break naturally when the time is right."

Just as he was about to turn around and go back into the house, Liu Yushu called out to him, "Master, I'm thinking about something."

"explain."

"The demonic cultivators specifically requested me that day, and the massacre of the Su family was deliberately targeted... Could it be that from the very beginning, their goal was the Taiyin Body?"

Lin Feng stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her.

The little girl stood in the courtyard, her posture upright, her gaze calm, and her tone completely flat, as if she were talking about someone else. But this girl was deep in thought; the calmer her face appeared, the more turbulent her inner thoughts were.

"Possibly." Lin Feng did not deny it. "The Taiyin Body is a top-grade cauldron, extremely useful to demonic cultivators. Your Su family was wiped out overnight. If you didn't offend someone, then someone was targeting your physique."

Liu Yushu lowered her eyes, remained silent for a few moments, then raised them again: "Disciple understands. Disciple will break through to the Golden Core stage as soon as possible."

Lin Feng watched her turn and go back into the house, but didn't say anything more.

The next evening, Chi Yao returned from staking out the Sunset Mountains. Her boots were covered in mud, and two withered leaves clung to her hair. As soon as she entered the door, she filled most of a pot with water.

"Master, a new group of people has arrived over there." She put the kettle on the table. "The patrol team from yesterday has left, and a new one has come. Their cultivation levels are higher than the previous team. I saw two late-stage Golden Core cultivators from afar."

Lin Feng was wiping his Frost-Clearing Sword when he heard this, he raised his eyelids slightly: "You've come closer?"

"I didn't dare get too close, I watched from across a mountain." Chi Yao wiped her mouth. "There's something else. They dug a pit on the west side of the valley, I don't know what they buried there, but they planted a circle of flags around it, and I smelled blood."

Lin Feng lowered his sword: "Formation."

"I think so too." Chi Yao leaned back in her chair. "Should we go investigate again?"

Lin Feng thought for a moment and shook his head: "Let it sit for now. It's actually easier to deal with them once they've set up the formation—the formation's core is fixed, so if people move, the formation can't be moved."

Chi Yao understood: "Wait until they relax their guard before taking action?"

"right."

Five days later, Wang Xiao successfully guided Qi into his body for the first time.

That afternoon, Lin Feng was meditating in his room when he suddenly heard a ghostly cry from the courtyard. He ran out to see what was happening and found Wang Xiao sitting on the ground with his eyes wide open and a wisp of white spiritual energy as thin as a strand of hair floating in his palm.

"Boss! Boss, I did it!" Wang Xiao shouted at him, raising his hand, the wisp of spiritual energy trembling like a candle flickering in the wind.

Lin Feng walked over, squatted down, and took a look: "Not bad, a little faster than I expected."

Wang Xiao was so excited he could barely speak: "Am I considered a cultivator now?"

"That counts as half." Lin Feng stood up. "I'll start learning the Qi Control Technique tomorrow and stabilize my spiritual energy first."

Wang Xiao jumped up from the ground and ran around the yard twice before being kicked into a corner by Chi Yao, finally calming down.

That evening, Lin Feng sat on the rooftop, lit an incense stick, and recounted everything that had happened over the past few days.

The demonic cultivators' occupation of the Sunset Mountains, the Blood Serpent Hall, their specific target of Liu Yushu, the annihilation of the Su family, and the Upper Sect—these points, when connected, point to a single line.

Someone is playing a game of chess, a game that started ten years ago.

Liu Yushu is that chess piece, or rather, the most crucial move on the chessboard.

He extinguished the incense, his eyes showing no emotion.

He wasn't unfamiliar with the game. Back when he was dealing with those old monsters in the Eastern Region, every move he made was a brush with death. Now, with the system in his hands and two incredibly talented apprentices, his confidence was far greater than before.

The problem is not big.

The next morning, Lin Feng went to Shuiyue Peak.

Su Wanqing's injuries had mostly healed, and she was sitting in a wicker chair in the courtyard, basking in the sun. Her shoulder was wrapped in gauze, and her complexion was much better than a few days ago. Seeing him approach, Su Wanqing sat up straighter: "Peak Master Lin, please sit."

Lin Feng sat down on the stone bench opposite her: "How's your injury?"

"He's alright now. He'll be able to remove the bandages in a few more days." Su Wanqing poured him a cup of tea. "Thank you for your help that day."

"You're too kind." Lin Feng picked up his teacup and took a sip. "I came here to ask you—when you encountered the demonic cultivator in the Sunset Mountains that day, did you notice anything amiss?"

Su Wanqing thought for a moment: "Their rotation route was unconventional. They took a long detour and entered the camp from the north. Logically, it would have been faster to enter from the south. I found it strange at the time, so I followed them closely and that's how I was discovered."

Lin Feng put down his teacup: "What's to the north?"

"It's just a rocky slope, nothing special," Su Wanqing frowned. "But they deliberately took a detour, so there must be something they don't want anyone to see over there."

"Okay, I understand."

Lin Feng got up to take his leave, and on his way back to Xiaozhu Peak, he kept thinking about the rocky slope to the north. The fact that he deliberately took a detour meant that there were traces of something they didn't want to be exposed there—either a hidden sentry post, a supply transfer point, or something else entirely.

Either way, it's worth checking out.

But I can't bring Chi Yao this time. She already showed her face last time, and the increased security at the demonic cultivator camp is definitely related to her. It's more convenient to do this alone.

After nightfall, Lin Feng flew out of Qingyun Palace alone on his sword, skimming low along the mountain ridges and avoiding any routes that might expose his spiritual power. His purple-gold protective robe completely concealed his aura, and even the wind avoided him.

Upon reaching the outer edge of the Sunset Mountains, he landed and felt his way north.

Sure enough, there was a rocky slope, seemingly barren where not even grass grew. But Lin Feng used his divine sense to carefully scan the area and discovered a passage hidden beneath the rubble at the bottom of the slope. The entrance was extremely well concealed; it would have been impossible to find it without prior knowledge of its location.

He didn't approach directly. Instead, he retreated to a huge rock a hundred feet away and crouched there for half an hour to make sure no one was coming or going before sneaking over.

The rubble at the entrance of the passage had been recently disturbed, and there were still imprints of demonic cultivators' boots on the ground. He squeezed sideways into the crevice and walked along the passage for about twenty or thirty feet before the space suddenly opened up ahead.

It was an underground cave, not very big, but it was filled with things.

Lin Feng's gaze swept over, and his pupils contracted slightly.

A dozen large wooden crates were stacked in the center of the cave. The lids were not completely closed, and a dark, eerie light shone through the gaps. He walked over and lifted one of them. It was full of demonic artifacts: knives, swords, banners, bells, and all sorts of other items, each enveloped in a thick demonic aura.

The other box next to it contained spirit stones, which were of a high grade, at least mid-grade or higher.

There was a small iron box at the very back, placed separately. Lin Feng pried open the lock and saw several letters neatly stacked inside. The paper was yellowed, but well-preserved.

He pulled out a letter and unfolded it. Inside were only a few lines of text written in some kind of code. He read it twice before he could barely make out part of the contents—"...The Blood Serpent Hall shall relocate to the northern foot of Qingyun Mountain within three months, proceeding according to the original plan. The sect has urged us, and there can be no delay."

Lin Feng folded the letter and put it back, then closed the iron box unopened.

He quickly inventoried the supplies in the cave: about forty magical artifacts and at least two thousand mid-grade spirit stones. These items represented a considerable fortune for a demonic cultivator, and were clearly stored here as reserves, not to be touched in the short term.

He didn't touch anything, retreated the way he came, and covered the rubble back up as before.

It was already past midnight when Lin Feng returned to Xiaozhu Peak. He sat at the table and wrote down what he had seen that night, especially the sentence in the letter—"Relocate to the northern foot of Qingyun Mountain within three months."

The Blood Serpent Hall is moving to the foot of Qingyun Mountain.

The opponent's target is clear: Qingyun Palace. Their occupation of the Sunset Mountains is merely a transitional phase; their true intention is to establish a foothold nearby and pave the way for future actions.

"March..." Lin Feng put down his pen and tapped the table twice with his fingers.

Time wasn't plentiful, but it was enough.

Two days later, Lin Feng summoned everyone.

Liu Yushu, Chi Yao, and Wang Xiao sat in the courtyard, listening to him speak.

"The Blood Serpent Hall is moving to the northern foothills of Qingyun Mountain, which will take about three months. The terrain on the northern foothills is much more complex than that of the Sunset Mountains, so it will be difficult to take a bite if a real fight breaks out. Therefore, we need to make our move before they move."

Chi Yao's eyes lit up: "Take them down?"

"Yes." Lin Feng nodded. "But not by force. There are at least a hundred demonic cultivators in the camp, with at least twenty or thirty above the Golden Core stage, and the leader is a Nascent Soul cultivator. We can't afford to pay the price for a direct attack."

Liu Yushu asked, "Master, how do you plan to fight?"

"We'll take them down in batches," Lin Feng said. "Their rotations are regular; every few days, a group of lone soldiers will go out on patrol or to buy supplies. We'll target the lone ones, killing one group and then letting the others go, slowly reducing their numbers. By the time they realize what's happening, they'll already have half their men gone."

Wang Xiao raised his hand: "What about me?"

"You've just begun to cultivate your inner energy; going there would be suicide. You stay home and guard the house."

Wang Xiao lowered his hand, his face showing an expression that said, "I knew it."

Chi Yao chuckled twice but didn't expose him.

Starting the next day, the three began their hunting routine.

Lin Feng led Chi Yao, while Liu Yushu acted alone, attacking from two different directions. Chi Yao's archery skills were already quite proficient; she could hit any target within a hundred paces. With Lin Feng providing support from the side, they could cleanly and efficiently take down one or two lone patrolmen each time. Liu Yushu's situation was even simpler. The control effects of the Taiyin Profound Water Technique, combined with the domain of the Moonflower Sword, allowed her to trap people and then kill them one by one with a single, silent strike.

In the first half month, they killed twenty-three demonic cultivators.

The camp noticed something was wrong—fewer and fewer people were patrolling, and the survivors were becoming suspicious, not daring to go far in groups of three or five. The routes for changing shifts were constantly changing, with no discernible pattern.

"They chickened out," Chi Yao said softly, perched on a tree and watching the situation at the camp from afar.

Lin Feng stood on a branch next to her: "It's better if you chicken out. The more chicken out you are, the more chaotic things become, and the more chaotic things become, the easier it is to fight."

"Shall we continue?"

"Continue, but with a different strategy. If they're too afraid to come out, we'll force them to."

That night, under cover of darkness, Lin Feng sneaked to the outskirts of the camp and pulled down three of the array flags he had previously scouted. As soon as the flags were pulled down, a large crack appeared in the entire camp's warning array, but the array did not completely collapse. It was not visible on the surface; the crack would only be triggered when someone actually stepped into it.

The following evening, as expected, five demonic cultivators were sent out to repair the formation. When they reached the formation's core, Lin Feng and Chi Yao flanked them from both sides, attacking simultaneously. Chi Yao shot an arrow through one man's throat, while Lin Feng unleashed two bursts of frost from his Qing Shuang sword, freezing the remaining four in place, finishing them off with a single sword strike each.

The bodies of the five people were dragged into the bushes and cleaned up, and the bloodstains were covered with soil.

Another month passed, and the number of people in the demonic cultivator camp had shrunk from over a hundred to sixty or seventy. They didn't even dare to go out on patrol, and instead stayed huddled in the camp.

During this time, Liu Yushu suddenly felt a strange movement in her dantian while hunting. She immediately found a cave, sat down cross-legged, and began to circulate the Taiyin Guiyi Technique. Her spiritual energy surged wildly within her body, and the icy blue spiritual light of the Taiyin Xuanshui Technique intertwined with the white moonlight, rotating alternately around her.

It lasted all night.

As dawn broke, she opened her eyes, her aura surging, and her golden core beginning to form.

When Lin Feng arrived, she was already sitting at the cave entrance, eating dry rations. Seeing him, Liu Yushu swallowed the biscuit in her mouth and calmly said, "Master, your disciple has achieved Core Formation."

Lin Feng looked at the stable aura around her. A twelve-year-old Golden Core cultivator could shake the entire Eastern Region if she were released.

"Is it a sure thing?"

"It's safe."

"Okay, go back and consolidate for a few more days."

That night, in the main hall of Qingyun Palace, True Person Xuanqing summoned all the peak masters of the nine peaks together.

The hall was brightly lit, and the atmosphere was much more somber than usual.

"Peak Master Lin has already ascertained the movements of the Blood Serpent Hall." Master Xuanqing sat upright in the main seat, his voice steady. "They are heading for the Azure Cloud Palace and are expected to move their camp to the northern foothills within three months. We cannot wait until they have established a firm foothold before taking action. I have decided to launch a preemptive strike in one month to eliminate the demonic cultivator stronghold in the Sunset Mountains."

Zhenyan spoke first: "A month later? Is that enough time to prepare?"

"That's enough." Master Xuanqing looked at Lin Feng. "This time, Peak Master Lin will lead the attack, and the other peaks will cooperate."

Zhenyan's expression was not good, but he did not speak again.

Lin Feng stood up: "I need manpower. Not too many, just elites, twenty or thirty, all at the Golden Core stage or above."