Back then, Jiang Youfu used to eat roasted beans one by one, but now he was tossing them into his mouth by the handful.
His joy was doubled!
Both of them were using concealment techniques, and once they were sure that there were no people around, Lin Xiao took out his peachwood sword and began flying on it with Jiang Youfu.
They didn't fly very fast, keeping a close eye on the ground below for any sign of demonic beasts.
However, to their surprise, the first group of demonic beasts they encountered didn't come from the ground as they had expected but from the sky.
Ahead of them, five birds with bright sapphire-blue feathers were flying in their direction, seemingly unaware of their presence.
"Xiao Ge'er, Xiao Ge'er, those birds up ahead are so beautiful!" Jiang Youfu, who was seated behind Lin Xiao, marveled at the sight of the birds.
These five birds resembled peacocks in their size and vibrant plumage, with their shiny feathers reflecting a beautiful luster. They were quite large, each about two meters in length, but their flight pattern resembled that of wild geese.
Seeing these large birds, Lin Xiao made a decision—these would be the first creatures to be raised in the Lingxian Sect's yet-to-be-built breeding ground!
The birds were only at the Qi Refining stage, making them easy prey for Lin Xiao, who was already at the Golden Core stage.
With a simple flick of his left hand, threads of spiritual energy shot out from his palm, weaving through the air as if they had eyes, swiftly encircling the birds.
In the blink of an eye, the spiritual threads had tightly bound the five birds. By the time the birds realized they were trapped, it was already too late.
The dense threads contracted instantly, wrapping the birds tightly like mummies.
As they lost their ability to fly, they began to plummet, dragging the spiritual threads taut until they were suspended in mid-air, still connected to Lin Xiao's palm.
Watching this, Lin Xiao suddenly felt like a spider.
He pulled the spiritual threads back, bringing the birds closer before storing them all in the living storage area of his private storage.
Then, he turned to Jiang Youfu and said, "We'll take them back and raise them."
Jiang Youfu was surprised. "Really, Xiao Ge'er! Can I take care of them? I'll feed them every day!"
At this moment, Liao Pantao's voice echoed from the soul-nurturing pendant: "Do you two even know what these Blue-Yin Birds eat? Do you think they're so easy to raise?"
At the same time, a system notification sounded in Lin Xiao's mind:
[Ding—Congratulations to the host for capturing five Blue-Yin Birds. The system has determined that they meet the standards for breeding beasts and has permitted them to be stored in the living storage area. As a small reward, the host is granted twenty Mushroom Fruit saplings, a favorite food of the Blue-Yin Birds.]
Lin Xiao then noticed that his private storage now contained twenty small, somewhat peculiar saplings.
He asked, "Do Blue-Yin Birds eat Mushroom Fruits?"
Hearing Lin Xiao's sudden question, Liao Pantao was momentarily surprised. "How did you know?"
"Uh…" Lin Xiao made a noncommittal noise in response but offered no explanation.
After a moment, remembering Lin Xiao's unique abilities and how he always seemed to accomplish whatever he set his mind to, Liao Pantao cleared his throat and said, "As long as you know what to feed them, go ahead and raise them. They're quite useful."
With that, he settled back into the soul-nurturing pendant, intending to stay quiet.
Having successfully captured five Blue-Yin Birds, Lin Xiao was in high spirits. He lowered the altitude of the flying sword slightly and continued his hunting journey.
Meanwhile, in Banshang City…
Yuan Zhiyun had arrived a few days earlier.
As the young master of the Yuan family, she naturally couldn't miss an event as significant as the Fu Master Conference.
She, too, was staying in one of the mountain caves that had been converted into residences. Although she was known to be a bit stingy, she was still willing to spend generously on her living conditions. After all, as the young master of the Yuan family, she couldn't afford to lack in appearance.
Moreover, she was still hoping to find someone who had an Ice Elemental Spirit.
Given that no one in Yuanling City had been willing to sell one for even ten thousand spirit stones, it was clear that they were in short supply. Offering a higher price wouldn't help.
The Yuan family had been searching for the Ice Elemental Spirit not only in Yuanling City but also in other places without any luck.
The Ice Elemental Spirit was something rare and hard to come by. Its effects were well-known, but it was also incredibly elusive, adept at hiding and very agile. Without a stroke of luck, it was nearly impossible to catch.
Low-level cultivators struggled to capture one, while high-level cultivators wouldn't waste their time searching the snowy wastelands for it.
And even if someone did manage to catch one, they would immediately bind it to themselves to prevent others from taking it, making the spirit extremely rare on the market. Even after a year of searching, the Yuan family had yet to acquire one.
If they still couldn't obtain one, Yuan Zhiyun planned to venture into the Ice Plains Secret Realm again this year to try her luck.
As she pondered this, Yuan Zhiyun left her rented cave dwelling, intending to gather more information.
Just as she turned, she suddenly noticed a familiar figure.
The figure turned a corner not far ahead and disappeared from view, but Yuan Zhiyun furrowed her brows.
Recalling the figure, a deep sense of familiarity spread through her, and she felt certain she knew the person.
However, she couldn't immediately place who it was.
As Yuan Zhiyun hurried after the disappearing figure, she thought that this must be someone she hadn't interacted with recently; otherwise, she would have recognized them right away.
But given how familiar the figure felt, her intuition told her that this was indeed someone she knew well.
Someone she hadn't seen in a while but was still very familiar with…
Could it be…
But no, the figure didn't give off any spiritual energy, as if they were a mere mortal…
Maybe they were using something to conceal their cultivation, or perhaps… they had been stripped of their spiritual power?
Yuan Zhiyun continued to follow the figure in the direction they had gone.
But as she watched the person's movements, it seemed they were trying to remain unnoticed, as if they didn't want to be discovered. So she quietly trailed behind, not rushing to confront them and confirm their identity.
Yuan Qing, unaware that someone was following him, didn't sense anything amiss. After all, the gap between his cultivation and Yuan Zhiyun's was significant.
In his view, he was just a Qi Refining stage cultivator, and as long as he remained cautious in a city full of cultivators like Banshang City, no one should take notice of him.
Walking along the bustling streets, Yuan Qing exhaled softly, then began to discreetly listen for any news about the Tianxuan Sect, while also keeping an eye on the patrol teams maintaining order in the city.