Chapter 12: Is Lin Cong Dead?

After putting away the talisman.

He Song turned and left the stall area, returning home.

However.

Just as He Song arrived home and was practicing spells while remaining vigilant, he suddenly heard faint footsteps.

The footsteps came from outside, immediately putting He Song on alert.

For a moment, He Song held his breath and focused his senses to the extreme, trying to determine where the footsteps were coming from.

At the same time, he quietly took out two Thick Earth Talismans.

If anything happened, He Song could ensure he activated the talismans to protect himself at the first moment.

After doing all this, He Song's mind finally settled.

Then, he heard the faint footsteps circling around the outside of the house next door several times, pausing for a long time in several places before gradually fading away.

When there was no more movement outside.

He Song's expression finally relaxed.

The two Thick Earth Talismans he had been holding were once again placed back into his sleeve.

"Why does that sound like scouting?"

With the alert lifted, He Song's mind immediately flashed to the route the footsteps had taken, and his gaze turned to the house next door where Lin Cong lived.

Next door to He Song lived Lin Cong.

Last night, Lin Cong had returned severely injured, and today someone was scouting around his house.

This made He Song think more.

Last night, he had heard low groans of pain and violent coughing from Lin Cong's room.

By the latter half of the night, the sounds from Lin Cong's room had gradually diminished, and now there was no sound at all.

If he could hear it.

Lin Cong's other neighbor could naturally hear it too.

In the rows of houses, each house had two neighbors, and the sounds between them were very clear.

Given this.

He Song's gaze towards the house next door became more profound.

It seemed that the person who had come to scout was Lin Cong's other neighbor.

Could it be that Lin Cong... had already died from his injuries in his room?

Otherwise, how could one explain the lack of sound from his room for so long?

A flash of eagerness appeared in He Song's eyes, but it was quickly dismissed.

Whether Lin Cong was dead or not.

It wasn't his place to take his things.

If Lin Cong wasn't dead, and He Song barged in, with Lin Cong's burly figure and third-level Qi Refinement cultivation, killing He Song would be no harder than killing a chicken.

Barging into someone's home and being killed by the owner would be seen as deserved, and even the law enforcement team wouldn't say anything.

Even if Lin Cong was dead, and He Song took his belongings.

Lin Cong's other neighbor had already set their sights on those things.

If He Song acted first and took them, he would likely be targeted by a cultivator of unknown strength.

The belongings of a third-level Qi Refinement cultivator weren't worth the risk of offending another cultivator of unknown strength.

Various thoughts flashed through He Song's mind. After some consideration, he finally closed his eyes again and continued practicing the three basic spells he had just learned.

Breath Concealment Technique.

Spirit Eye Technique.

Voice Transmission Technique.

The difficulty of practicing these three basic spells wasn't high.

Although they required more time than the Art of Spirit Rain and the Art of Spirit Arrows, it wasn't by much.

He Song had spent ten days practicing the Art of Spirit Rain to the point where he could perform it normally without losing power.

The same was true for the Art of Spirit Arrows.

As for the Breath Concealment Technique, Spirit Eye Technique, and Voice Transmission Technique, after trying them, He Song felt that each spell would take about half a month to perform normally without losing power.

Half a month was only five days longer than the ten days required for the Art of Spirit Rain and the Art of Spirit Arrows.

It seemed that the difficulty of practicing these three basic spells wasn't too high.

The first basic spell He Song practiced was the Breath Concealment Technique.

Not for any other reason.

But because the Breath Concealment Technique could hide his aura, preventing others from detecting him.

With a thoughtful glance at the house next door, He Song quickly immersed himself in practicing the Breath Concealment Technique.

Time flies.

In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.

During this half month, apart from practicing the Breath Concealment Technique, He Song took the time to visit the two seniors he had recently met in the immortal market.

Meng Guan from the Spirit Medicine Pavilion and Wei Fan from the Spirit Construction Pavilion.

These two were fellow disciples and had known each other for a long time.

As internal members of the immortal market, although He Song's cultivation level was low, his status as a spirit planter still held some value for forming connections.

Moreover, his character had been recognized by Wei Fan.

With both parties eager to befriend each other, He Song's interactions with them went smoothly.

After several visits, He Song's relationship with them gradually grew closer.

At the very least, in the absence of conflicting interests, it was easy for He Song to gather information from them.

On this day.

He Song sat cross-legged on a cushion in his home, his aura flickering in and out.

But then, in an instant, his aura completely disappeared, and he became like a rock, revealing no trace of his presence.

"The Breath Concealment Technique is complete!" Opening his eyes, a flash of joy appeared on He Song's face.

With the Breath Concealment Technique mastered, He Song could conceal all of his aura with just a thought.

As long as he wasn't seen with the naked eye, He Song would be like a rock, making it impossible for others to sense even a trace of his presence.

Having concealed his aura.

He Song stood up from the cushion, brewed a pot of tea, and enjoyed a few sips.

During these days of visiting Wei Fan and Meng Guan, He Song's tea-making skills had improved.

He had even been gifted a tea set and some tea leaves by Wei Fan, allowing him to enjoy tea alone at home.

However, just as He Song was savoring his tea, he once again heard faint footsteps.

For a moment, He Song's body froze, becoming like a rock within the room, with only the faint aroma of tea lingering in the air as he listened intently to the direction of the footsteps.

Half a month had passed, and Lin Cong's other neighbor was truly patient.

Until today, He Song had not heard them enter Lin Cong's room even once.

Every time the footsteps came, they would circle around Lin Cong's house, stand in a few places for a long time, and then quietly leave.

Every time it was the same.

They were cautious to the extreme.

Even He Song, in the face of such caution, had raised his own standards for being cautious in all things.

This was what true caution looked like!

For the sake of a small gain, they were willing to scout for half a month.

However, this time seemed different.

Perhaps because they didn't sense He Song's aura and thought he wasn't home, the person scouting this time was clearly bolder.

The footsteps circling the house were no longer as faint as before.

Listening to the changed footsteps, He Song thought deeply.

"Could it be that this person didn't act before because they sensed I was still at home? Now that I've mastered the Breath Concealment Technique and concealed my aura, they didn't sense my presence, so they're preparing to act?"

(End of Chapter)