"By the way, Mom, this bracelet is handmade by me. Remember to wear it at all times."
Lin Chen then took out a bracelet and handed it to his mother.
He had previously made a protective charm for Zhang Fang, but his mother always forgot to wear it.
Learning from this lesson, he had used the Nine Dragon Ring to forge a bracelet incorporating the protective charm on his way back.
This way, if his mother were ever in danger, he would be able to sense it immediately.
"Okay, okay, I'll wear it."
Seeing the bracelet in her hands, Zhang Fang's face lit up with joy.
Regardless of anything else, her son had grown up and was now giving her gifts. It was truly something to be happy about.
"Ring ring ring."
Just as Zhang Fang was putting on the bracelet, Lin Chen's phone rang again.
And this time, it was Shangguan Ling'er, whom Lin Chen had been eagerly awaiting!
"Hello, Lin Chen. I've found the medicinal herbs you asked me to look for. Do you want to come and get them, or should I deliver them to you?"
Shangguan Ling'er on the other end of the phone was clearly in a good mood, her tone of voice much more cheerful.
"I'll come over to find you."
Hearing that the herbs were found, Lin Chen was immediately excited.
It seemed that his plan to break through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment this time had a chance!
"Mom, you rest well at home. I have something to do and need to go out now."
After settling his mother, Lin Chen immediately left the house.
He knew that Director Zhou had started investigating him, and Zhong Shanhe was certainly in Director Zhou's hands now.
He had to prepare in advance!
As long as he broke through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment, even if he faced Director Zhou head-on, he would at least have the ability to protect himself, even if he couldn't win.
Not long after, Lin Chen drove his car to the Shangguan family's villa.
At this moment, Shangguan Ling'er was already standing at the door, eagerly awaiting his arrival.
Seeing Lin Chen get out of the car, she became even more excited. "Lin Chen, long time no see!"
"Uh, cough, cough, well, it's only been a few days, hasn't it?"
Seeing Shangguan Ling'er's enthusiastic demeanor, Lin Chen rubbed his nose, feeling a little flustered.
"Hmph, a day apart feels like three autumns. Don't you miss me at all?"
Shangguan Ling'er pouted, looking very displeased.
In her opinion, as a girl, her open confession now was already quite embarrassing.
But why was this Lin Chen like a block of wood, showing no response at all?
Was she really that unattractive?
"Shall we look at the medicinal herbs first?"
Lin Chen was helpless and could only change the subject.
Being so close to her, how could he not sense Shangguan Ling'er's feelings for him?
But for Lin Chen at this moment, his most important task was to uncover the truth of what happened that year and resolve his master's inner turmoil.
Otherwise, he would be trapped in that cage for his entire life!
"I knew you'd dodge the topic."
Hearing Lin Chen's words, Shangguan Ling'er pouted, unhappy, but still led Lin Chen into a guest room. "Here, all the medicinal herbs you need are in here."
"Good, thank you, Ling'er."
Seeing the room full of medicinal herbs, Lin Chen was overjoyed.
With these herbs, he would surely be able to break through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment this time!
"Ling'er, I need to go in and prepare the medicine. For the next three days, do not let anyone disturb me."
After explaining to Shangguan Ling'er, Lin Chen didn't hesitate and immediately entered the room.
After locking the door from the inside and setting up a restriction on it, he finally sat down on the bed with peace of mind and merged his consciousness into the Nine Dragon Ring.
The entire Nine Dragon Ring was still the same as before, surrounded by mist, making it impossible to see even at arm's length.
Even with Lin Chen's current mid-Foundation Establishment divine sense, he could only perceive an area of three meters around him.
However, his intuition told him that what he currently possessed was merely the tip of the iceberg within the Nine Dragon Ring.
Without further thought, Lin Chen directly used his divine sense to move all the medicinal herbs into the Nine Dragon Ring and began refining them according to the pill recipes.
Fortunately, time flowed differently within the Nine Dragon Ring. A day inside was equivalent to just over an hour outside.
And this time flow would increase as his cultivation advanced.
As one pill after another was refined by Lin Chen, the medicinal herbs worth over a hundred million yuan, prepared by Shangguan Ling'er, were directly used up by Lin Chen.
"Cultivation is truly a costly endeavor."
"To break through to the mere late stage of Foundation Establishment requires over a hundred million worth of herbs. Then, what about the Golden Core stage and Nascent Soul stage in the future?"
Looking at the dozens of pills in his hand, Lin Chen couldn't help but sigh.
It seemed he still had a long road ahead of him!
"Come on, let's break through my cultivation first!"
With that said, Lin Chen sat cross-legged again and directly popped a Spirit Guiding Pill into his mouth.
The Spirit Guiding Pill was a relatively basic type of pill, its sole purpose being to guide Qi into the body and accelerate the speed of cultivation.
Soon, Lin Chen's aura began to gradually increase.
At the same time, outside.
The originally peaceful Shangguan family villa welcomed an uninvited guest.
Shangguan Xiong's face was solemn as he looked at the repulsive fatty standing before him.
"Hahahaha, Patriarch Shangguan, have you been well!"
Hao Shan was all smiles at this moment, looking smug and triumphant.
Previously, when he tried to divine the identity of Zhong Hao's killer for Zhong Shanhe, he suffered a backlash. He then went to Zhejiang Province to find medicine for his injuries and unexpectedly met a renowned expert from Zhejiang, Yang Yong!
One had to know that Yang Yong was the enshrined guest of the Liu family, the most prominent family in Zhejiang Province. His cultivation was unfathomably deep, rumored to have reached the ninth level of Qi Nourishment!
Just one step away from entering the legendary Qi Refining stage!
"Patriarch Shangguan, allow me to introduce Mr. Yang Yong, an enshrined guest of the Zhejiang Liu family," Hao Shan said with great pride, introducing Yang Yong to Shangguan Xiong.
"Oh? So you are the enshrined guest Yang. May I ask why Mr. Yang has graced our Shangguan family with his presence and what guidance you have for us?"
Hearing that it was an enshrined guest of the Liu family, Shangguan Xiong frowned and inquired proactively.
He could sense that this Yang Yong was not here with good intentions!
"It's nothing major. Patriarch Shangguan, I heard that your Shangguan family has unexpectedly acquired a batch of aged medicinal herbs. I have come specifically to ask the Patriarch Shangguan for some medicine."
Yang Yong's expression was arrogant, but his lecherous gaze kept glancing at Shangguan Ling'er next to him.
"Oh? Hehehe, asking for medicine? Does a respected enshrined guest of the Liu family need to ask a third-rate family like ours for medicine?"
Upon hearing Yang Yong's words, Shangguan Xiong's face showed curiosity.
While the Shangguan family was considered a first-class family in Hangzhou, when compared to the entire Zhejiang Province, they could hardly be considered even third-rate.
What exactly was Yang Yong trying to achieve?