Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Lin Shiming

    Zhao Kingdom, Yunzhou, Xing County.

    Within the expanse of Xing County, where the population was sparse, there lay numerous mountains and hills.

    Among these mountains, Fangmu Mountain stood supreme, shrouded in clouds and mist all year round, its height known to all but its peak unseen.

    ...

    At this time, inside a small building within the peak.

    A youth clad in a white robe was intently staring at a glowing Spirit Method Array.

    In the center of the array lay an insect egg the size of a bowl, clearly at the moment of hatching, its surface already covered in cracks.

    Amidst a flash of Spirit Light, with a crack, two scythe-like golden legs burst from the shell.

    Then, a pale golden mantis head emerged.

    "It''s finally hatched!" Lin Shiming was overjoyed.

    What others couldn''t see was a line of text in Lin Shiming''s eyes.

    A benefit exclusive to him as a transmigrator, a prompt he saw daily.

    "Please feed it with First Rank Spirit Water, and you will acquire a Spirit Beast that can grow into a Third Rank, a variant of the Green Winged Mantis, the Golden Winged Mantis."

    Lin Shiming was a transmigrator, a calamitous IT homebody from his previous life, now reborn as the son of Lin Houyuan, the Family Head of the Lin Family in Fangmu Mountain, bearing the seventh rank within his generation''s characters.

    With this transmigration, Lin Shiming was quite satisfied. Aside from his lineage and status, just being able to see the system prompts made him believe that Immortal Cultivation was within reach.

    And it was precisely because he could see these prompts that he had purchased this half-dead egg from a stall in the market, spending ten Spirit Stones on it.

    It should be known that the Lin Family of Fangmu Mountain, as one of Yunzhou''s Foundation Establishment families, currently only had one Foundation Establishment great cultivator.

    An egg capable of nurturing a Third Rank Demonic Insect, even if put up at Yunzhou''s grand auction, would fetch a sky-high price beyond the Lin Family''s wildest dreams.

    Normally, aside from their wings bearing a thin layer of pale golden color, Green Winged Mantises appeared mostly in a regular green hue.

    But the Golden Winged Mantis before him had not only its wings fully covered in gold, its entire body too was resplendent with golden color. Ree?ad latest novels at novelhall.com

    Especially those forelegs, as dazzling as gold, with exceptionally large sickle teeth, looking extremely sharp.

    The mantis was also about twice the size of a normal Green Winged Mantis, having just hatched and already the size of a baby.

    "Squeak!" The Golden Winged Mantis flapped its wings and flew onto Lin Shiming''s shoulder, rubbing his pale golden triangular head against Lin Shiming incessantly.

    Before the egg had hatched, Lin Shiming had used his own essence blood to lay down a Blood Covenant Array secret technique, also nurturing the Spirit Insect with Spiritual Energy.

    The Golden Winged Mantis naturally regarded Lin Shiming as its parent.

    Suppressing his elation, Lin Shiming took out a Jade Bowl from his Storage Bag, then cautiously extracted a Jade Bottle and painfully poured a full bowl of First Rank Spirit Water into it.

    The council hall was located halfway up Fangmu Mountain, facing south from the north, with an excellent view.

    As a place for the Lin Family to discuss matters, assign tasks, and entertain guests from outside, the entire hall was constructed from marble. Skilled craftsmen were employed in its creation, giving the hall an imposing and grand atmosphere.

    Entering the hall, two middle-aged men were in conversation, their brows showing a touch of solemnity.

    The younger-looking of the two was Lin Shiming''s father, Lin Hou Yuan, while the other robust man was Lin Shiming''s great-grandfather and the Lin Family''s Great Elder, a powerhouse in body cultivation, Lin Yu Qing.

    Yes, despite resembling Lin Hou Yuan with middle-aged features, Lin Yu Qing was actually in his nineties.

    For cultivators in the Qi Refinement Realm, it was common to live around 120 years and maintain a youthful appearance with just a bit of spiritual power.

    If desired, one could even retain the appearance of a child. Of course, most elders in the Lin Family also chose a middle-aged appearance to maintain their dignity without seeming too old.

    "Greetings, Father, Great Grandfather!" Lin Shiming hurriedly stepped forward and paid his respects, holding considerable admiration for these two elders.

    "Shiming, you''ve arrived. Good, good, the fifth level of Qi Cultivation at only seventeen years of age!" Lin Yu Qing clearly didn''t expect that with a Third Spirit Root talent, Lin Shiming would reach the fifth level of Qi Cultivation in just nine years; this pace was on par with dual-spirit-root geniuses.

    Beyond his surprise, a hint of skepticism also crossed his face.

    "Great Grandfather jests, it''s all thanks to the family''s support that your nephew has reached his current level of cultivation."

    "Excellent, humble and polite, and diligent in cultivation, Family Head, what a fine son you have!" Lin Yu Qing couldn''t stop praising, bringing great joy to Lin Hou Yuan.

    "Family Head, since Shiming''s cultivation progress is comparable to Shijie''s, about that matter of guarding Qingtao Mountain..." Lin Yu Qing spoke again.

    At that, Lin Hou Yuan hesitated. Qingtao Mountain backed onto the Qingyun mountain range, which was infested with fierce wild beasts, and there were even cases when demonic beasts roamed out from the Qingyun range.

    Especially now, with the second-rank, inferior-grade Spirit Peach Tree on Qingtao Mountain nearing maturity, it was highly likely to attract birds and demonic beasts.

    Lin Hou Yuan originally didn''t want his son to descend the mountain prematurely and guard such a dangerous place. However, Lin Shiming had taken the initiative to ask him several times about taking up guard duty earlier.

    The latter''s conviction to contribute to the family had touched him, and indeed, the family did lack sufficient manpower.

    But now it seemed his son was talented enough, diligently focusing on cultivation without being mired in worldly matters was the greatest contribution he could make to the family.

    "Father, Great Grandfather, Shiming is willing to take up the guard duty!" Lin Shiming, hearing about the task of guarding Qingtao Mountain, immediately became excited.

    This was precisely what he wanted. Merely possessing a hint-giving system while confined to Fangmu Mountain, unable to access those clearly untouchable resources, had long made him dissatisfied.

    He had seen all the treasures of the old clan head in the system''s hints, but what good was that? He couldn''t possibly steal them.

    Now that he had an opportunity to venture outside, he naturally wanted to seize it; Qingtao Mountain might be dangerous, but with the hints, he could anticipate hazards in advance.

    "Father, my recent cultivation has also reached a bottleneck, and I need to gain experience in the outside world!" Urging his hesitant elders, Lin Shiming added eagerly.

    "Very well, but before you go to Qingtao Mountain, head to the family vault to collect a second-rank superior-grade attack talisman and a superior-grade defense talisman! This is the family''s advance on your contribution value." Seeing Lin Shiming''s firmness, Lin Hou Yuan didn''t want to say much, but as the Family Head, he could still secure some benefits for his son who was about to undertake guard duty.

    "Additionally, fetch ten jin of Spirit Water and fifty jin of Spirit Rice. Put it on my account!" Lin Yu Qing also chimed in, increasingly pleased with Lin Shiming.

    If the family members were all like Shiming in their mindset, why wouldn''t the Lin Family thrive?