"Here on Medicine Peak, are you the one responsible for cultivating the Thousand-Thread Spirit-Extending Root?" Lin Tian asked, gazing at the man before him with utmost sincerity.
"How do you know that?" The man was visibly startled, clearly unable to fathom how Lin Tian had come by such knowledge.
Drawing in a deep breath, Lin Tian forcibly suppressed the anger rising within him. Only now did he finally understand why that stingy fellow had spoken as he did earlier. Though he knew the man before him might not have acted out of malice, for reasons he could not quite explain, Lin Tian still felt an irresistible urge to give him a sound beating.
"Jiang Tao, is the Longevity Fruit I asked for ready yet?" At that moment, an extremely arrogant voice rang out. Lin Tian turned his head and saw three outer-disciples striding toward him with unabashed swagger.
The Jiang Tao they addressed turned pale at the sight of the three, as though he had seen ghosts. He immediately ducked behind Lin Tian, clutching tightly at the corner of Lin Tian's robe.
"What's this? Haven't seen you in a while, and you've already found yourself a new backer?" Upon noticing Lin Tian, a mocking glint flashed across the trio's faces. In their eyes, he was clearly not worth mentioning.
"Fathers, how would I dare?" Jiang Tao shrank back involuntarily, terror written plainly in his eyes.
The three before them were the Lu clan brothers: Lu Wen, Lu Wu, and Lu Yin. All three had reached the ninth level of Qi Refinement and were considered outstanding figures among the outer disciples of Medicine Peak. Jiang Tao, meanwhile, was their usual target of bullying.
At the mere sight of them, Jiang Tao began to tremble, afraid that even a single misplaced word might provoke their wrath.
"Who exactly are the three of you?" Hearing Jiang Tao's tone, a trace of disgust surfaced in Lin Tian's eyes. Though he was not one to meddle in others' affairs, he felt nothing but revulsion toward such blatant bullying of fellow disciples.
"Kid, we're disciplining our own obedient son. Since when is it your place to interfere?" Lu Wen replied impatiently, casting Lin Tian a cold glance. "Don't tell me you're actually the helper he hired?"
"Senior brother, please don't make things worse. You should leave—quickly," Jiang Tao said urgently, clearly unwilling to see Lin Tian dragged into trouble because of him.
Seeing the sincerity in Jiang Tao's eyes, Lin Tian felt a wave of helplessness. He turned and walked back toward the medicinal field assigned to him, though his attention never once left Jiang Tao. He wanted to see exactly what those three intended to do.
"Jiang Tao, it's been over a month now. Our Longevity Fruit should be ripe by this time, shouldn't it?" Lu Wen said bluntly, showing no courtesy whatsoever.
"Three fathers, it's not that I refuse to pick it for you," Jiang Tao replied helplessly. "It's just that the elders are watching the Longevity Fruit very closely now. If I were to take it, they would definitely find out."
Although Jiang Tao was currently in charge of tending the spiritual herbs and had easy access to them, stealing a Longevity Fruit—once discovered—would mean immediate expulsion from the sect.
"That's not what you said a month ago," Lu Wen's expression darkened instantly. In the next moment, spiritual energy surged forth from his palm.
Sensing the violent fluctuation of energy, Jiang Tao's face changed dramatically. Yet he neither dodged nor resisted, standing there dumbly as though waiting to be struck.
At this sight, Lin Tian could no longer hold back. Spiritual energy condensed, and a Storm Pear Blossom Needle shot forth at once. Noticing Lin Tian's attack, Lu Wen's expression changed sharply as he retreated again and again, narrowly evading it.
Seizing the opportunity, Lin Tian reached out and pulled Jiang Tao over to his side.
"The Longevity Fruit is a spiritual herb carefully cultivated by the elders. For a few outer disciples like you to attempt to steal it—isn't that rather inappropriate?" Lin Tian said coldly, shielding Jiang Tao behind him.
"Kid, this really has nothing to do with you," Lu Wen snapped, clearly irritated. He had already found Lin Tian's presence annoying enough; now that the boy had actually stepped in to interfere, it would be unacceptable not to teach him a lesson.
"Since you enjoy sticking your nose where it doesn't belong, we brothers will make sure you learn exactly who you can and cannot afford to offend." As his words fell, spiritual energy surged simultaneously from the palms of the three brothers.
In the next instant, a verdant vine burst forth and began to grow at a rapid pace. With the continuous infusion of their spiritual energy, the vine thickened and strengthened at an alarming rate.
"Senior brother, you really should leave now!" Jiang Tao cried anxiously, never having imagined that Lin Tian would be so reckless as to offend the three of them outright.
As triplets who cultivated the same technique, the spiritual energies within their bodies were nearly identical. Alone, the Green Vine Kill was not particularly powerful, but with the three of them merging their energy into a single vine, the force it unleashed far surpassed the sum of its parts.
In Jiang Tao's view, though Lin Tian was strong, he stood no chance at all against the combined might of the three brothers.
"Kid, if you kneel and apologize right now, we might consider sparing you," Lu Wen said arrogantly, the green vine hovering behind them in midair. In his eyes, the moment the vine appeared, the outcome of the battle had already been decided.
"And what if I refuse?" Lin Tian sneered. At the same time, a tiny flame flickered to life in his palm.
"So you cultivate a fire-type martial technique. No wonder you're so arrogant. Unfortunately, ordinary flames are completely useless against our green vine," Lu Wen said coldly. As his words ended, the massive vine descended like a gigantic hand, crashing toward Lin Tian.
At the same moment, the flame in Lin Tian's palm began to transform. In the span of just a few breaths, it took the shape of a lotus. With a gentle flick of his hand, Lin Tian sent the flame flying straight toward the oncoming green vine.