"Father!"
Seeing the figure appear before him, Lin Dong was suddenly overjoyed and quickly cried out.
"You little rascal, I told you you were only allowed to watch, how dare you barge in here by yourself?" The person who appeared before Lin Dong was naturally Lin Xiao, who had seen the signal and rushed over. At this moment, he was also livid with anger, scolding Lin Dong.
"Third Master, please don't be so quick to blame Young Master Lin Dong. If he hadn't led us in here, I'm afraid the Ironwood Manor would have been completely destroyed by the Lei Family." Qin Ying, who was standing to the side, quickly walked over, pointing to the messy patch of land behind them as he spoke.
Hearing this, Lin Xiao was also startled. His gaze followed the direction Qin Ying pointed, and then he saw the Ironwood cultivation area covered in black liquid. His face immediately turned extremely grim.
"Lin Xiao, although this Ironwood Manor was lost to you by our Lei Family, it is still the property of the Lei Family until it is formally handed over. I can't believe you barged in today. Do you truly have no regard for our Lei Family?"
Lin Xiao's grim face looked up. Not far away, an angry roar also resounded. Immediately after, Lei Ying and his companion, leading over ten others, quickly rushed over.
"Hmph, if we hadn't forced our way in, I'm afraid your Lei Family would have completely destroyed the Ironwood Manor." Lin Xiao's face was gloomy as he stared at Lei Ying and his group, saying with a cold laugh.
Hearing these words, Lei Ying and his group's expressions changed slightly. Their gazes turned towards the Ironwood cultivation area, their brows furrowing, as they secretly cursed the incompetence.
"Third Brother, what happened?"
At this moment, Lin Keng also rushed in with the Lin Family's experts. Seeing such a scene, he asked in a deep voice.
Lin Xiao briefly recounted the events. When Lin Keng heard that the Lei Family intended to completely destroy the land here, even with his temperament, a surge of dark anger rose in his heart. This tactic was truly despicable.
"The Lei Family truly has its methods. Delaying for so long, it turns out they were thinking of 'removing the firewood from under the pot' to completely cut off the lifeblood of the Ironwood Manor." Lin Keng's eyes flashed with a cold light as he stared at Lei Ying and his group, saying coldly.
At this moment, the Lin Family experts on the side also gripped their swords tightly, their gazes unfriendly. Judging by their appearance, they clearly had a tendency to resort to violence if a single word was amiss.
Seeing their plan thwarted, Lei Ying and his group's expressions became somewhat unnatural. Then they simply stopped concealing it, giving a faint laugh and saying: "The Ironwood Manor is the fruit of many years of hard work by my Lei Family. You Lin Family members want to casually enjoy the fruits of others' labor? How can there be such a good thing in this world?"
Hearing these words, Lin Keng and his group became even more furious.
"The Lei Family's way of doing things truly makes one 'admire' them. From now on, this Ironwood Manor belongs to the Lin Family. Please leave. If anyone is unwilling, I will 'exchange pointers' with you." Lin Xiao's eyes suddenly flashed with a cold glint as he spoke.
"You!"
Hearing this, Lei Ying and his group's faces twitched. However, having just recalled that Lin Xiao's strength was at the Heavenly Yuan Stage, they could only swallow their anger. If a conflict were to break out now, they feared they wouldn't gain any advantage whatsoever.
“Heh, if the Lin Family is so interested in this Ironwood Manor, then we’ll give it to you. However, please manage it well, because one day, our Lei Family will take it back.”
Lei Ying’s gloomy gaze fixed on Lin Xiao and his group. He suddenly let out a cold laugh, said nothing more, waved his hand, and led his people away.
Watching Lei Ying and his group disappear into the distance, Lin Xiao and the others’ expressions remained unchanged, not improving in the slightest. The Ironwood Manor had been damaged to such an extent that even though Ironwood could still be harvested, the yield would likely decrease significantly.
“What a bunch of brainless idiots.” Lin Keng’s face was ashen as he cursed in a low voice.
Lin Xiao also let out a soft sigh and said, “First, let’s check the Ironwood within the Ironwood Manor and see how badly it’s been damaged.”
“Understood!”
Hearing his words, the Lin Family guards split up and rushed into the Ironwood cultivation area.
The inspection lasted for about half an hour before the group returned. Upon hearing their reports, Lin Xiao and Lin Keng’s expressions grew even uglier.
Lin Dong, standing to the side, also furrowed his brows. Although some mature Ironwood remained in the Ironwood Manor, the soil here had been destroyed by the Lei Family using a chemical solution. Even if Ironwood could still be planted in the future, the yield would decrease significantly.
“Sigh, report this to Father. He values this Ironwood Manor greatly. If he learns of this, he’ll likely be furious.” Lin Xiao sighed, looking at Lin Keng.
“Mm.” Lin Keng could only give a bitter smile and nod. For now, this was the only course of action.
Seeing the two men’s somewhat dejected and angry faces, Lin Dong secretly sighed. This move by the Lei Family was truly vicious.
After this news reached the Lin Family, within half a day, Lin Zhen Tian personally led people to the Ironwood Manor. Seeing the land filled with a foul stench, his face turned terrifyingly ashen.
Lin Dong sat atop a towering cliff, looking down at the grand hall below. At this moment, the angry roars of Lin Zhen Tian echoed from within. Hearing these furious shouts, even though Lin Dong wasn’t inside, he couldn’t help but flinch. This was the first time he had witnessed Lin Zhen Tian so enraged; it seemed the Lei Family had truly provoked him this time.
“How terrifying.”
To one side, Qing Tan stuck out her tongue and whispered. This time, she had followed Lin Zhen Tian and the others here.
Lin Dong gave a bitter laugh, stood up, and said, “Let’s go for a walk around. Grandfather’s anger won’t subside quickly, I’m afraid. Let the adults bear this suffering.”
“Mm,” Qing Tan secretly chuckled and nodded.
Lin Dong let Qing Tan sit on Xiao Yan’s back, then he walked ahead, leading the way deeper into the Ironwood Manor.
The Ironwood Manor was extremely vast, and its scenery was exceptionally beautiful. If not for the foul stench emanating from all directions, it would have been a wonderful retreat.
“The Ironwood Manor has a special black soil, suitable for growing Ironwood. It’s said that this area of the Ironwood Manor was once a volcano, and that black soil erupted from underground. However, the volcano has now disappeared, and the black soil is limited. Now, with the Lei Family destroying a good portion of it, the future Ironwood yield will be greatly reduced, which is why Grandfather is so angry.” Walking deep in the quiet forest, Lin Dong casually explained to Qing Tan.
"Oh." Qing Tan nodded slightly, her gaze sweeping around. "The temperature here is higher than outside."
"Hmm?"
Hearing this, Lin Dong was startled. He immediately sensed a bit, but didn't feel the same way. After a moment's thought, he suddenly understood. Qing Tan's body contained an incredibly terrifying Yin Sha Qi, making her naturally extremely sensitive to the temperature of heaven and earth.
"This place is very damp, how could it be warming up?" Suddenly startled, Lin Dong was a little surprised again. He pondered for a moment, then squatted down, his right hand scooping up a handful of black soil. As soon as his hand grasped the black soil, his body suddenly trembled, and a clear look of shock appeared in his eyes.
"This soil actually contains a trace of Gang Yang Qi?"
The moment Lin Dong scooped up the soil, he clearly felt the Stone Talisman in his palm emit a suction force. And under this suction force, the handful of soil in his hand almost imperceptibly emitted a faint stream of energy. Although this stream of energy was thin, it was scorching hot like the sun; it was a type of energy completely different from Yin Sha Qi.
This type of energy is called Gang Yang Qi, something that experts of the Tian Yuan realm absorb.
"How could this be?"
Lin Dong was a little surprised in his heart. Although the black soil contained an extremely faint Gang Yang Qi, if he didn't have the Stone Talisman, he probably wouldn't have been able to sense it. But no matter what, it truly existed.
Lin Dong raised his head, looking towards the deeper interior. He slightly furrowed his brows, then quickly walked several hundred steps forward, and once again scooped up a handful of black soil.
"The deeper one goes, the stronger the Gang Yang Qi contained in the black soil becomes." Noticing this change, Lin Dong was even more surprised in his heart. Although this intensity was only relative, how could Gang Yang Qi be contained in mud?
"Unless... beneath this ground, there's something permeating Gang Yang Qi, only then would this mud also contain a bit."
Lin Dong's eyes suddenly flashed, and his feet couldn't help but gently step on the ground below.