The next morning, at the crow of the golden rooster.
Lin Che slowly opened his eyes, having finished his cultivation. Li Muwan had already woken up and was refining pills in the next room.
For her, who was extremely dedicated to alchemy, being able to refine the best pills was more important than anything else.
Lin Che did not disturb Li Muwan. Instead, he went to the Inner Courtyard of the Hengyue Sect, preparing to see if Wang Lin was still within the Hengyue Sect.
The Hengyue Sect was divided into five auxiliary and one main, making six courtyards. The five auxiliary courtyards were for Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, each housing registered disciples.
Inner disciples and elders mostly resided in the main courtyard.
The area where Wang Lin was located was the Inner Courtyard for inner disciples' cultivation. Although they had the ability to cultivate techniques, they had to complete daily tasks assigned by the sect before they could cultivate.
When Lin Che arrived there, he did not find Wang Lin's location. Instead, he saw a corpse being carried out of a room.
"What happened?"
Lin Che landed steadily on the ground, looked at the Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall, and asked in a calm tone.
The Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall of the Hengyue Sect had seen Lin Che before, so upon hearing his question, he immediately ran over respectfully, cupping his hands in a salute: "Reporting to Senior, this person is Sun Dazhu, a Foundation Establishment cultivator of our Hengyue Sect."
"Sun Dazhu?"
Lin Che's mind conjured that figure. According to the original work, Sun Dazhu was an inner disciple steward of the Hengyue Sect, possessing an early Foundation Establishment cultivation.
However, he coveted the tian ni bead of the male protagonist, Wang Lin, and was controlled by Wang Lin with the Three Corpse Threadworm Grass, ultimately being killed by Wang Lin with a slap in his room.
The Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall continued: "After our investigation, it seems to be done by a disciple named Wang Lin. We are currently tracking him and should have news soon."
Upon hearing that Wang Lin had already left the Hengyue Sect, Lin Che raised an eyebrow. It seemed that even if the Hengyue Sect still existed in Zhao Country, Wang Lin would still kill Sun Dazhu. And he would then meet up with Zhang Hu, who had left the sect, and kill Teng Li, the grandson of Teng Huayuan.
"It is indeed karmic retribution."
Lin Che waved his hand and said indifferently: "You don't need to investigate this matter. Sun Dazhu's death was his own doing, and there's no need to trouble Wang Lin."
"This..."
The Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall hesitated for a moment, but upon seeing Senior Lin Che's chilling expression, he immediately agreed.
"This junior obeys."
Lin Che stood with one hand behind his back, gazing at Sun Dazhu's corpse, and murmured to himself: "It seems that even if the Hengyue Sect still exists in this world, Wang Lin will still kill Sun Dazhu."
Originally, Lin Che thought that with the Hengyue Sect still present, Wang Lin wouldn't leave here, nor would the massacre of the entire Teng Family occur. Now, it seemed he had been mistaken.
Thinking of this, Lin Che turned and returned to the bamboo forest to continue his closed-door cultivation. After all, Wang Lin had already chosen to cultivate nearby and would only go to Teng Family City to start the main storyline four years later.
...
Time flew by, and two months later.
Lin Che, who was cultivating deep in the bamboo forest, was attracted by a rich pill fragrance.
Not far away, Li Muwan, holding a golden pill, happily ran to Lin Che, "Senior Brother, I successfully refined a third-tier pill!"
Lin Che took the pill Li Muwan handed him and praised: "As expected of an alchemy prodigy rarely seen in a thousand years. To be able to completely remove impurities from the pill immediately after stepping into a third-rank alchemist, your future achievements are immeasurable."
Li Muwan smiled sweetly and said: "When there's an opportunity, Senior Brother, accompany me back to Luo River Gate. The sect has a third-rank Heavenly Separation Pill. If we can obtain it, I can directly enter the Core Formation stage."
"Heavenly Separation Pill..."
This Heavenly Separation Pill was no ordinary pill. In the eyes of many, it was more precious than many magical treasures.
Because this Heavenly Separation Pill could increase the probability of the user breaking through to the Core Formation stage. Many people had insufficient talent and little chance of breaking through to the Core Formation stage, but taking the Heavenly Separation Pill changed that.
If he had obtained a Heavenly Separation Pill when he was in the False Core Realm, he probably wouldn't have been sucked into a spatial rift and teleported to a dreadful place like the Ancient God Land.
"Muwan, come with me to Teng Family City."
"Teng Family City?" Li Muwan asked curiously: "Senior Brother, why are we going there?"
"The resources of the various sects have already been handed over to Teng Huayuan, the Old Ancestor of Teng Family City. This time, we'll first retrieve those things, and there's also something else to discuss."
Before Li Muwan could react, Lin Che grabbed her wrist, and they instantly appeared tens of thousands of miles away.
If he were to break through to the Dao Querying Realm in the future, teleporting a hundred thousand miles would be extremely easy, and traversing the entire Zhao Country would be effortless.
Teng Family City, as a rather famous cultivation family in the northern part of Zhao Country, had its founding ancestor, Teng Huayuan, who had only recently broken through to the Nascent Soul Stage, making him a top-tier expert.
Because of this, Teng Huayuan did not participate in the Outer Battlefield activities, which was why he did not perish in the Outer Battlefield.
Not only that, but to better manage himself, Teng Huayuan personally ordered that all those within Teng Family City were strictly forbidden from fighting within the city.
Upon the issuance of this order, the entire Teng Family City became solemn. Many cultivators who were initially quite dissatisfied with this were directly killed by Teng Huayuan, and thus, for so many years, no cultivator dared to act presumptuously within Teng Family City.
Li Muwan followed beside Lin Che, her eyes, like stars, constantly scanning the shops on both sides of the street. At the same time, she was somewhat curious as to how a Nascent Soul Stage Old Ancestor could manage the cultivators in the city to be so timid.
"Senior Brother, with your cultivation, why are we still walking? We could completely travel by sword, couldn't we?"
Li Muwan asked curiously.
"It's been a long time since I experienced walking. Moreover, I haven't seen such a vibrant atmosphere of human activity in a hundred years."
Lin Che replied with a wistful sigh.
Looking at the street before him, which felt like a world away, Lin Che sighed deeply. He had been in this world for over a hundred years, and only before the age of thirteen had he known a period of happiness.
Now, recalling the ups and downs of his journey, he had no choice but to kill.
"So that's how it is. Then Muwan will accompany Senior Brother for a good stroll in Teng Family City. Muwan also wants to buy some hairpins~"
Li Muwan naturally took Lin Che's hand and walked towards a distant stall, collecting all the things she liked, and also purchasing many precious herbs for her upcoming alchemy needs.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, a five-story building suddenly appeared before them. Even in Teng Family City, this was considered a very tall building.
The first impression this building gave was one of elegance.
The overall architectural style was slightly ancient, and the Plaque only had three simple characters: Xuan Dan Pavilion.
This must be a place specializing in selling pills and herbs needed by cultivators.