"You dare to mock me now, boy." Poisonous Commander Dong WuMing glared at Li Lin unhappily.

  "Old immortal, did Lin'er say anything wrong?" Ghost Fairy Bai Ying glared back at Poisonous Commander Dong WuMing, causing his face to darken as he lowered his head, though his gaze darted back to Li Lin once more.

  Li Lin observed this interaction, noting that over the past few years, the relationship between the Old Poisoner and the Ghost Fairy had indeed improved significantly.

  "Lin'er, this auction has unexpectedly brought Qinghuo LaoGui and Lushan Laoren to join Flying Spirit Gate, which is beyond my expectations. However, this is good. With these two in Flying Spirit Gate, I can retreat with peace of mind for a while," Ghost Fairy Bai Ying said.

  "Does Sister Ying plan to break through to the rank of Martial King?" Li Lin asked.

  "I have been at the peak of the Nine Heavy Martial Commanders for some time now. After taking the Martial Spirit Holy Fruit, I feel capable of breaking through, so I plan to retreat and attempt to break through to Martial King. I hope it goes smoothly," Ghost Fairy Bai Ying explained.

  "Sister Ying, rest assured in your retreat. Everything else is still under my watch. When Sister Ying successfully breaks through to Martial King, that will be the time for Flying Spirit Gate's official rise," Li Lin said, thinking to himself that if Flying Spirit Gate had a Martial King to oversee it, things would indeed be very different.

  In the evening, within the great hall of Flying Spirit Gate, Zheng Ying and Chen XinJie stood before Li Lin. "Sect Leader, the team headed to TianYi Men has already departed, led by Elder Zhou YuHou and Protector Liu YaLei, with a total of eight hundred Flying Spirit Gate disciples," Zheng Ying reported.

  "I know," Li Lin frowned, thinking that excluding the six halls Flying Spirit Gate has outside, their strength was still quite weak. The team to TianYi Men, led only by Zhou YuHou and Liu YaLei, with other elders and protectors staying to guard the Misty Mountain Range. Even though Jing WenKun had been killed by him, Zhou YuHou and Liu YaLei's strength was not enough to annihilate TianYi Men.

  "Sect Leader, I think it might be difficult for Elder Zhou and Protector Liu to annihilate TianYi Men," Chen XinJie said softly.

  "It takes four days to reach TianYi Men at full speed. I will personally make a trip there," Li Lin said lightly.

  "Zheng Ying, how are things at Misty Mountain Range?" Li Lin asked.

  "Sect Leader, I just came back yesterday. Basically, no one dares to cause trouble anymore, but many mercenaries have gathered, probably numbering five or six thousand," Zheng Ying reported.

  "That's not a problem. Inform all the elders and protectors in Misty Mountain Range that anyone who comes out should have all their medicinal herbs confiscated. Those who resist shall be killed without mercy," Li Lin said sternly, then proceeded to give a few more instructions before leaving the great hall.

  As night fell, a loud boom suddenly echoed through Misty Mountain Range, followed by a large flock of flying beasts rising into the night sky, disappearing into the darkness.

  At night, stars hung in the sky, a late breeze swept through, and all creatures gradually fell into a deep sleep.

  In his room, Li Lin sat cross-legged, soon enveloped in a yellow glow. Having broken through two levels consecutively recently, Li Lin didn't dare to be careless. Next, he planned to stabilize his cultivation before heading to TianYi Men, estimating that it would only take half a day with the TianChi Snow Lion. It wouldn't be too late to go after Zhou YuHou and others were nearly there.

  A night passed in silence. The next morning, before the waterfall on the back mountain, Li Lin sat cross-legged on a smooth rock, surrounded by five types of elemental forces.

  The five-colored energy swirled in front of Li Lin, who seemed to reach an extremely profound state.

  Moments later, Li Lin's eyes suddenly opened, a flash of sharpness passing by, as he muttered, "It feels like I've got a bit of an insight."

  Instantly, various hand seals were formed, with strong fluctuations of energy occasionally producing explosive sounds. Li Lin was then immersed in the practice of martial arts techniques.

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  In the great hall of Ghost Martial Sect, all the elders and the two, Dai DaoZi and Dai GangZi, sat with extremely serious expressions.

  "Sect Leader, Flying Spirit Gate is rebelling. It looks like we shouldn't have tolerated Flying Spirit Gate these past two years. Now, Flying Spirit Gate doesn't put our Ghost Martial Sect in their eyes at all," a Ghost Martial Sect Martial General elder exclaimed angrily, one of the elders who had gone to HuaMen Town with Dai DaoZi.

  "Indeed, we have been too tolerant towards Flying Spirit Gate. Since they annihilated LuoSha Men, they've been ambitious and have never truly submitted to our Ghost Martial Sect. Sect Leader, it's time to let Flying Spirit Gate know that they are just an external force of our Ghost Martial Sect," a blue-clad Ghost Martial Sect elder said.

  Dai DaoZi, with a very serious expression, responded after hearing this, "It's not difficult to deal with Flying Spirit Gate, but there's a Spirit Marshal in Flying Spirit Gate whom we haven't been able to identify. That's the key. If we act rashly, we might invite bigger troubles."

  "The Sect Leader has considered thoroughly. However, Flying Spirit Gate is clearly provoking our Ghost Martial Sect now. They've declared their intention to annihilate TianYi Men, which is essentially declaring war on us. If TianYi Men is really annihilated, our Ghost Martial Sect will lose face," the first elder said with a raging momentum.

  "Second brother, what's your opinion?" Dai DaoZi turned to Dai GangZi.

  "Big brother, you're the Sect Leader. You have to make the decision on this matter," Dai GangZi replied lightly, seemingly indifferent.

  Dai DaoZi's face subtly darkened, then he addressed the elders, "Regarding Flying Spirit Gate, I will consult the old Sect Leader. As for TianYi Men, if Flying Spirit Gate dares to annihilate TianYi Men, I want to see what Flying Spirit Gate is capable of."

  He continued, "Elder Zhou, take a hundred elite disciples to TianYi Men to defend. Let's see if Flying Spirit Gate truly dares to attack. With your strength, no one under Martial Marshal should be able to defeat you. As long as the Spirit Marshal of Flying Spirit Gate doesn't appear, you should be able to counter Flying Spirit Gate. Moreover, Jing WenKun is dead, and TianYi Men is likely in chaos now. To avoid unnecessary trouble, it's better for you to be stationed at TianYi Men. From now on, TianYi Men will also become a branch of our Ghost Martial Sect. Those who resist shall be killed without mercy."

  "Yes, Sect Leader," a yellow-clad elder in his fifties responded, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "If Flying Spirit Gate dares to go to TianYi Men, then I'll make sure they can never return."

  In HuaMen Town, with the auction featuring high-grade level six medicinal pills and beginner-level Xuan techniques, the news spread, attracting even more attention. With Misty Mountain Range locked down for over ten days, the supply of medicinal herbs within has been cut off, causing the prices of medicinal materials to soar. Now, only HuaMen Town occasionally has a small supply of medicinal herbs, drawing countless merchants.

  The originally bustling TianXing Town saw a sudden drop in its supply of medicinal herbs, causing the flow of people to gradually shift towards HuaMen Town, reducing the bustle of TianXing Town day by day.

  In the back mountain of Flying Spirit Gate, the sounds of sonic booms only quieted down at night. After tidying up, Li Lin showed a satisfied smile and returned from the back mountain. The day's cultivation seemed quite effective.

  Li Lin returned to the courtyard, spent some time with Li XinTong, and then resumed his cultivation in his room, soon enveloped in a layer of yellow light.

  In the deep of the night, a large flock of flying beasts approached from afar, entering Misty Mountain Range and disappearing into the darkness.

  The next morning, as the sky brightened, Li Lin appeared in the branch of Flying Spirit Gate, now the base of the Dark Hall.

  Inside the great hall, everyone was seated, including Huangfu QiSong and Li ChiZheng, both of whom also appeared, still with a faint aura of killing intent lingering around them.

  Apart from them, there were three people bound by restraints, looking terrified at everyone in the hall. Among these three, one was a fourth-level Martial General, one a second-level Spirit General, and another a fifth-level Spirit Soul. The fourth-level Martial General was none other than the head of QianShan Men, Sun ZiShan.

  "Sect Leader, we've captured QianShan Men's leader Sun ZiShan and two of the sect's spiritual practitioners. Most of the QianShan Men disciples were killed, with a few escaping in the chaos. Please instruct us," Huangfu QiSong reported to Li Lin.

  "Sect Leader, there were only two Spirit Masters in the Ghost Martial Sect branch, both of whom were killed in the chaos by me, and the entire branch was destroyed. Out of about five hundred Ghost Martial Sect branch disciples, probably only a few dozen managed to escape. Several Martial Souls and a third-level Martial General were all killed. We've gained quite a lot this time," Li ChiZheng reported.

  "Good, hard work, Hall Master Huangfu and Hall Master Li. The gains from this operation will be entirely allocated to your Martial Hall for development," Li Lin said with a satisfied smile, his gaze having already swept over Sun ZiShan and the others.

  "Thank you, Sect Leader," Huangfu QiSong and Li ChiZheng both said.

  "Head Sun, we meet again," Li Lin's gaze fell on Sun ZiShan.

  "You... you are all together..." Sun ZiShan's face was filled with shock. He never expected the mysterious force that descended upon QianShan Men last night, wreaking havoc, to be from Flying Spirit Gate.

  "Indeed," Li Lin's gaze did not linger on Sun ZiShan, considering a fourth-level Martial General beneath his concern.

  "Master, the flow of people in HuaMen Town is increasing day by day. With so many people and limited personnel from Flying Spirit Gate, it's difficult to maintain order," Li XiaoBai reported.

  Li Lin's eyes darkened, then he said, "XiaoBai, start building a city. Connect Tuan Mountain Town and HuaMen Town to form a large city. This will be the foundation of Flying Spirit Gate from now on. Also, it's time to massively develop Flying Spirit Gate."

  ...