"Second-grade pills, these are second-grade pills!"

The disciples of the Flying Spirit Gate were stunned and speechless. To Li Lin, second-grade pills might not seem significant, but to them, it was a different story. In the Flying Spirit Gate, they had never even used first-grade pills, let alone second-grade ones.

A single second-grade pill was worth hundreds of gold coins, a substantial amount for them, who had no financial resources. Buying pills was an impossible task for them.

Seeing the second-grade pills Li Lin took out, Zhang Mingtao was also amazed. As the eldest disciple of the Flying Spirit Gate, he had only ever used two first-grade pills since joining the sect.

Amidst everyone's astonishment, Li Lin smiled faintly and then returned to his residence with Li Xintong.

In the evening, a female disciple arrived at their dwelling. Li Xintong immediately greeted her, "Sister Xin Qi."

"Xin Tong." The female disciple held Li Xintong's hand and asked, "Have you eaten?"

"Not yet, brother was about to cook," Li Xintong replied.

Li Lin observed the visiting female disciple, whom he had seen in the main hall earlier. She was Zheng Ying's eldest disciple, dressed in a simple green palace outfit. Her features weren't exquisite, but they were pleasant to look at, with big eyes, a small mouth, and dimples. Her attire outlined her figure attractively, giving her a girl-next-door vibe.

"Are you really a disciple taken in by our sect leader's uncle?" the female disciple asked Li Lin, curious, having witnessed his actions during the day.

"What do you think? Is there such a thing as falsely recognizing a master?" Li Lin said with a slight smile.

"I suppose." The female disciple was momentarily startled, then said, "My name is Fang Xin Qi. You can call me Sixth Sister. I joined the sect sixth in line. After Granny Lan passed away, the master asked me to take care of Xin Tong. I'll be living here from now on," she said.

"Oh," Li Lin responded lightly. He had been wondering how to arrange care for Li Xintong, and Fang Xin Qi's arrival to take care of her resolved his concern.

"Really, Sister Xin Qi?" Li Xintong asked with sparkling eyes.

"Yes, I'll take good care of you," Fang Xin Qi replied.

"You've come at the right time. Can you help Xin Tong with some food? I'm going to practice," Li Lin said and returned to his room, which Zhang Mingtao had prepared for him near the back mountain waterfall. Li Lin liked it very much.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Li Lin fell into deep thought. He would likely have to stay at the Flying Spirit Gate for a while, with no other place to settle down. Besides, he had promised to avenge Li Xintong's father.

Staying at the Flying Spirit Gate naturally came with risks. If Huang Haibo and Zhou Yuhou were indeed the murderers of Li Qing, they would certainly target him, aware of their guilt. Li Lin knew he needed to be cautious.

"Chirp chirp..."

Little dragon crawled out of his sleeve, looking curiously at Li Lin, who was lost in thought. The little dragon's round eyes moved around, looking rather cute.

"If you get bored, you can play in the back mountain, but be careful," Li Lin said, stroking Little dragon. Little dragon was strong enough to be relatively safe in the vicinity. Keeping him hidden in the sleeve was a bit suffocating, but Li Lin worried about exposing his identity to others.

"Chirp chirp." Little dragon flicked its tongue and nodded, seemingly understanding Li Lin's words, appearing very adorable.

"Continue to practice." Li Lin then sat cross-legged and began to cultivate slowly. The Flying Spirit Gate wasn't very safe, so he didn't take out the spiritual jade bed.

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After a while, Li Lin entered a state of cultivation. The last bit of his soul spirit liquid in his mind was yet to be refined, and he was close to reaching the mid-phase of the eighth layer of the Spiritualist realm.

Enveloped in an invisible white light, Li Lin immersed himself in cultivation as time slowly passed.

At night, under the dim moonlight, a figure left the Flying Spirit Gate and instantly disappeared.

In a dense forest, a figure leaped in.

"How are things? Did you find the sect leader's seal?" Inside the forest, as this figure appeared, another shadow emerged.

"No, it's not on him. Li Qing's daughter has returned, and it doesn't seem to be with her either."

"Where could the sect leader's seal be then? Without it, we can't open the secret chamber."

"True, the sect leader's seal is key. Having the key is useless without it. However, a kid has appeared out of nowhere, claiming to be Li Qing's newly accepted disciple. I suspect the seal is with him."

"Someone from your sect injured one of our disciples today. Was it that person?" the shadow frowned and asked.

"Exactly. That kid's background is mysterious, and he used a Yellow Level martial skill. Even the highest martial arts of the Flying Spirit Gate aren't Yellow Level. It's unlikely that this kid is Li Qing's disciple."

"Why not kill the kid and find out?"

"It's not that simple. My sister disciple is already suspicious, and she has another key. Plus, if the kid has the sect leader's seal, he would have hidden it. Killing him would make the seal even harder to find."

"Then figure it out yourself, but find that sect leader's seal as soon as possible."

"Alright, but during this time, tell your people to lay low and not trouble the Flying Spirit Gate, to avoid any accidents with the kid."

"I understand. But remember, that kid dared to hurt our people, make sure to keep his life for me." As the voice faded, the shadow disappeared instantly.

The remaining figure stood still for a moment, then leaped back towards the Flying Spirit Gate.

The night passed, and the eastern sky revealed a streak of dawn. In the Flying Spirit Mountains, the chirping of birds began to sound.

At this time, the entire Flying Spirit Mountain Range was enveloped in soft morning light. A refreshing fragrance drifted with the morning breeze.

As the first ray of morning light pierced the thin mist, the day gradually brightened. The morning was peaceful and tranquil, without any noisy atmosphere, making one feel calm and refreshed. In the distant sky, a few remaining stars gradually vanished into the firmament.

"Sigh..."

After a night of cultivation, Li Lin exhaled a long breath of turbid air. The soul spirit liquid in his mind was completely refined. His spiritual power reached the mid-phase of the eighth layer of the Spiritualist realm, as he had predicted, still a considerable distance from the ninth layer.

The first time he consumed one-tenth of the soul spirit liquid, he broke through four levels. This time, it was just over two levels. Li Lin estimated that consuming another one-tenth of the soul spirit liquid should be just enough to break through to the first level of the Spiritual Master.

However, it was not the best time to consume the soul spirit liquid again so soon after just refining it. Li Lin decided to first break through to the peak of the ninth level of martial artist and then consider consuming the soul spirit liquid again. By then, he could potentially break through both the martial artist and spiritualist levels in one go.

"Brother, are you awake? It's time for breakfast," came the young and clear voice of Li Xintong from outside the room.

"You're up early today, and you look really pretty," Li Lin said as he opened the door and saw Li Xintong. She had changed into a clean pink dress and had her black shiny hair braided. Her thick eyebrows framed a pair of bright, black eyes, decorated by long eyelashes like beautiful crystal grapes. Her face, still carrying a hint of childishness, made her look like a pretty little lady.

"Really? Do I look pretty?" Li Xintong smiled slightly, a bit shy, and then took Li Lin's hand, walking towards the hall like a little butterfly, looking very cute.

"Junior brother, breakfast is ready," Fang Xin Qi said to Li Lin in the hall. The table was set with quite a few foods, although they were all rather simple and common, as the Flying Spirit Gate didn't have extra funds to improve their meals.

"Thank you, senior sister," Li Lin said, sitting down unceremoniously. He tasted Fang Xin Qi's cooking, which was indeed good, and couldn't help but praise, "It's delicious, really good."

"Really? Then eat more," Fang Xin Qi said with a slight smile, her gaze continuously and subtly observing Li Lin.

"Junior brother, where did you learn your martial skills? They are quite powerful," Fang Xin Qi asked casually.

"I learned them by chance before, not bad, and I'm quite satisfied with them," Li Lin replied.

"I heard that yesterday you took out several second-grade pills without blinking. What did you do before, junior brother?" Fang Xin Qi asked curiously. The fact that Li Lin had casually taken out five second-grade pills in the afternoon had spread among all the disciples of the Flying Spirit Gate.

"Before meeting my master, I used to look for medicinal herbs in the Misty Mountain Range to sell. I was quite lucky and always found quite a bit," Li Lin answered.

"The Misty Mountain Range? I heard that place is very dangerous. You dared to go there?" Fang Xin Qi was obviously surprised, having heard about the chaos there.

"It's not much, just need to be a little careful," Li Lin said after finishing breakfast. "Senior sister, I need to step out for a bit. Please take care of Xintong."

"No problem. It's a bit chaotic outside, but with your strength, you should be safe. Still, it's better to be careful," Fang Xin Qi advised.

"I know, thank you for your concern, senior sister," Li Lin said, then left the residence.