Chapter 18：Ambush

After all the summoned people had arrived, Lin Dong assumed the posture of a big senior brother and scanned everyone with his gaze. He then spoke to them, "Fellow junior brothers, you have all been following me, Lin Dong, for several years now, and I consider you all as my own brothers. I have a small matter that needs to be dealt with urgently, but it will take a lot of time to handle properly. Therefore, I have decided to give you all an opportunity to help me with this task. If anyone does not want to, you can leave now."

"Big senior brother, there's no need to beat around the bush. We will listen to your orders and do whatever you need us to do," said a young man dressed in a robe, with a similar build to Ao Qing and carrying a heavy sword on his back, as soon as Lin Dong finished speaking.

This young man, ranked ninth among the youngest generation of disciples, was named Gu Junlin. He had reached the late stage of the Transformed Mortal Realm and was only one step away from shedding his mortal body and entering the Magic Power Realm, where he could fly with treasures.

As soon as Gu Junlin spoke, all the disciples present nodded in agreement, expressing their willingness to serve Lin Dong and help him with whatever he needed.

Seeing that everyone was willing to help him, Lin Dong nodded in satisfaction and said with a smile, "I went to visit Elder Gu today, and I met a smelly brat who had just joined the sect. Not only did he disrespect me, he also insulted me. If it weren't for Elder Gu's protection, he would probably be dead by now. This matter has passed, but if I go to his residence and kill him, it would greatly damage my reputation. What I want you to do now is to find a way to stop him from completing his basic tasks, without killing him, so that he will not be able to receive basic living supplies next year and will be expelled from the sect."

"So, big senior brother means that we'll play with him first, torture him, and then take him out after he's expelled from the sect?" Gu Junlin asked with a smile.

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean," Lin Dong nodded.

"Big senior brother, don't worry. We will definitely complete this task for you. You can rest assured and focus on your cultivation. When you come out of seclusion at the end of the year, I believe you will hear the good news of that smelly brat being expelled from the sect," Gu Junlin said confidently.

"Okay, everyone, discuss how to handle this matter." Lin Dong smiled and waved his hand to the junior brothers, indicating that they could leave. After that, he didn't pay attention to anyone and turned to the place where he closed himself for cultivation.

...

Early the next morning, Mu Xuyang planned to quickly go to Elder Gu's place to get the spirit valley seeds and then hurry back to plant them. But he was surprised to find that the piece of spirit farmland he had cultivated was covered with green grass. He was puzzled and wondered, "What's going on? It was bare land yesterday, how did it become so green today?"

Walking quickly to the edge of the farmland, Mu Xuyang vaguely sensed that there was a weak spiritual energy fluctuation on the lush young grass. He immediately realized that someone was secretly doing something and felt very angry.

He also knew very well that the person who did this to hinder him from completing his task must be related to Lin Dong. Even if he told Elder Gu about someone doing something secretly without evidence, Elder Gu would not offend Lin Dong, whom he didn't want to offend.

So this time, he endured it and didn't bother to report it to Gu Zhenfeng.

Mu Xuyang looked at the green farmland in front of him and sighed helplessly. Then he turned around, took a sickle and a hoe from the yard, and returned to the farmland to work.

At first, Mu Xuyang didn't pay attention to the grass he was cutting. However, he later realized that the weak spiritual energy contained in the cut grass was directly absorbed by his body. He was overjoyed and thought, "These grasses were condensed by those despicable people using their magical powers. Although they have turned into plants with growth ability, the power they contain hasn't disappeared. When I cut these grasses, the power in them will be released because they have lost their carriers. And my body seems to have the ability to directly absorb spiritual energy. The spiritual energy that has lost its carrier from the plants will be absorbed by my body. Great! I was just worried about not having enough contribution points to exchange for spirit stones for cultivation. You fools spent spirit stones to plant grass for me, which is equivalent to giving me the spirit stones I need for cultivation!"

After absorbing all the faint spiritual power contained in the cut grass, Mu Xuyang's resentment disappeared without a trace, and he became even more energetic in his work. While Mu Xuyang was busy in the spiritual field, Gu Junlin and several others under Lin Dong's orders were secretly observing from a hidden location in the distance. They were amused to see that Mu Xuyang did not go to complain to Gu Zhenfeng but instead worked hard in the fields, even thinking that Mu Xuyang had not figured out that someone was secretly messing around.

After observing for a while from their hidden spot, Gu Junlin nodded in satisfaction, then told his fellow disciples who had similar martial arts skills to Ao Qing and Nie Yifan, "Starting today, you will take turns to come to this spiritual field at night to perform the ritual and make the grass regrow where he cut it. If there are not enough spiritual talismans or spiritual stones, come directly to me to get them."

After giving this instruction to his fellow disciples who followed him, Gu Junlin did not linger in the hidden spot and left in a hurry. In the following days, Mu Xuyang spent his days cutting grass and absorbing spiritual power in the spiritual field, and at night he focused on cultivating the "Indestructible Golden Body Technique" in his residence.

Perhaps because his body had absorbed a lot of spiritual power while cutting grass, Mu Xuyang found that his progress in practicing the "Indestructible Golden Body Technique" had improved, and he noticed that his physical body had become more sensitive, resilient, and his strength had increased rapidly without him realizing it.

"If I had a large amount of spiritual stones to assist my cultivation, my cultivation level would improve even faster, and my physical body would become even more potent due to the absorption of a large amount of spiritual power. Unfortunately, I am currently just a poor person who cannot even contribute to the basic requirements of the sect. I will take it slowly. When my martial arts skills reach a certain level and I no longer need anyone's help to protect myself, I will figure out a way to obtain spiritual stones to aid my cultivation."

A week later, in the early morning, Mu Xuyang, who was in a state of cultivation, keenly sensed the influx of the spiritual energy absorbed through cultivation into his blood vessels. A faint smile appeared on his face as he thought to himself, "The reason I was able to enter the level of refining blood so quickly is all thanks to those guys who wanted to plot against me! I wonder what their expressions will be like when they find out? I believe their faces will look very nice, won't they?"