Lin Xiao Tian also knew he couldn't take risks, but this time, he had his own plans.
"Don't worry, I won't take reckless chances."
In the following period, Lin Xiao Tian continuously dispatched exploration teams.
The Wang family prohibited the exploration teams from carrying any firearms. Their only weapons in the sand sea were daggers, which were utterly useless against cultivators at the Qi Refining stage.
Yet, despite this, Lin Xiao Tian still sent people in.
In the eyes of the Wang family, Lin Xiao Tian's actions were nothing short of a waste of personnel and resources.
Some members of the Wang family even approached Lin Xiao Tian, inquiring when he intended to enter the Death Sand Sea.
"When?"
"In a few more years?"
"I'm definitely not going this year."
Lin Xiao Tian answered decisively.
Upon hearing Lin Xiao Tian's words, the Wang family became extremely frustrated.
Especially the few old monsters in the Wang family, who were almost driven mad at the thought of having to wait several more years before they could feast on Lin Xiao Tian's flesh.
"Why don't we lower the conditions for Lin Xiao Tian a bit? As long as he's willing to go in, we can talk about anything," the red-haired elder urged anxiously.
But the white-haired elder at the forefront interrupted him.
"What's the hurry? He'll have to go eventually. If we lower the conditions now, it will only arouse his suspicion. Waiting a few years is better than not getting him at all!"
"What a pity. The flesh and blood of Lin family cultivators, if we could obtain it, our cultivation would undoubtedly increase by a large margin."
The elder sighed.
"Indeed! We are all descendants of ancient immortals, and only their spiritual roots can allow us to grow rapidly," the red-haired elder's brother chimed in.
It turned out their obsession with Lin Xiao Tian was not because he was a cultivator, but because of his special bloodline.
The so-called hidden families all had significant backgrounds, with formidable ancestors.
Take the Wang family's ancestor, for instance. Tracing back, he was an extremely powerful being.
The Xiao and Qin families were the same, sharing the same origin as the Wang family.
The Lin family, unlike them, shared a common origin with the Yang family.
Besides them, the other few families were in similar situations.
However, due to the immense passage of time, the ancestral bloodline within them had become quite diluted. Furthermore, some of the inheritors in between even lacked spiritual roots, making it impossible to inherit the ancestral bloodline.
By their generation, the power remaining within them was already very little.
But within the Wang family, a secret technique had been passed down, which allowed them to strengthen their own bloodline by absorbing the power of other bloodlines.
Over the years, the Wang family had been secretly hunting cultivators from various families. Unfortunately, cultivators were extremely scarce. Apart from Lin Xiao Tian's grandfather's generation, when the Lin family produced some cultivators, other families had almost no cultivators appear.
Leveraging the bloodline of Lin Xiao Tian's grandfather, the elders of the Wang family had significantly improved their strength, reaching a relatively high level in the Wang family's cultivation history. But this was still far from enough.
The lifespan of those at the Qi Refining stage was neither short nor particularly long. For example, the current strongest member of the Wang family was nearing the end of his lifespan. If he didn't improve further, only death awaited him.
"Great-Grandfather, don't worry. After I consume Lin Xiao Tian, you can consume me. That way, you can protect the Wang family for a few more centuries. If we can reach the Foundation Establishment stage, our Wang family will undoubtedly become the strongest family!" the red-haired elder exclaimed excitedly.
The elder at the forefront sighed.
His cultivation technique could only be strengthened by devouring his own kin. To become stronger, he had to make those around him sacrifice.
However, his sigh was not due to the other's generosity, but a sense of worry.
"I hope this Lin Xiao Tian goes to the sand sea before I die."
What he worried about was always himself.
"If that doesn't work, we can trick Lin Xiao Tian out. We don't necessarily have to make a move on him in the sand sea."
"No, that would be too dangerous. Once discovered, the Wang family would surely be besieged by other families. The sand sea is more secure. At worst, I'll consume Wang Lie first, and when Lin Xiao Tian reaches the sand sea, I'll imprison him and wait for another person in the family capable of cultivating the Bloodthirsty Great Law to appear."
"Haha, that works too," the red-haired elder, Wang Lie, roared with laughter.
...
This continued for several months. During this period, Lin Xiao Tian stayed at the Lin family. The old lady also lowered her guard considerably towards Lin Xiao Tian, as he had family affairs to attend to and couldn't stay at the Lin family forever; he would eventually have to leave.
But Lin Xiao Tian always returned, which put the old lady's mind at ease.
Now, whenever Lin Xiao Tian went out, if he didn't return, the old lady would call, fearing that he might sneak off to the Death Sand Sea like he did with the Kunlun Valley last time.
Lin Xiao Tian also promised the old lady that he would never go to the Death Sand Sea secretly, but he did frequent Black Mountain, as he had promised Xiao Bai.
And after Xiao Bai learned to speak, Lin Xiao Tian also understood why Xiao Bai always waited for him to go to the Thunder Pool together.
It turned out that although Xiao Bai could drive away the demonic beasts there, it was still affected by the restrictions of Black Mountain.
Unlike other demonic beasts in Black Mountain, Xiao Bai's range of activity was limited to the outer perimeter of Black Mountain, yet the things it needed were deep within Black Mountain.
But while Xiao Bai couldn't go deep into Black Mountain, Lin Xiao Tian could.
One could drive away powerful demonic beasts, and the other could move freely within Black Mountain. They were a perfect match for cooperation.
However, Lin Xiao Tian was also filled with doubt: why could Xiao Bai drive away those powerful demonic beasts?
Xiao Bai also appeared bewildered.
It had only been born for a few months and was completely unfamiliar with this world, with no one to teach it.
Hearing this, Lin Xiao Tian felt a pang of shame.
In a way, he was Xiao Bai's enemy, as Bai Kui had died at Lin Xiao Tian's hands.
Lin Xiao Tian couldn't quite figure out Xiao Bai's identity for the time being, but the effects of the Thunder Pool were excellent, and Lin Xiao Tian would not give up easily.
With the baptism of the Thunder Pool, Lin Xiao Tian's physical body grew even stronger. Now, facing cultivators of the same level, even without using skills, he could fight them on equal footing with his physical body alone.
This continued for a few more days until, one day, good news arrived from the Lin family.
"She gave birth?"
Lin Xiao Tian rushed back.
But it wasn't Qin Yu Xiang who had given birth; it was Lin Li Wen.
The Lin family had a dedicated medical team, so there was no need to go to the hospital for childbirth. However, the old lady was extremely nervous at this moment and called Lin Xiao Tian back.
In the end, there were no risks. Lin Li Wen gave birth to a baby boy, and the old lady was overjoyed.
In the following days, the old lady stayed by Lin Li Wen's side. Lin Li Wen experienced postpartum anxiety, and having the old lady there helped her feel much more at ease.
Meanwhile, the affairs of the Lin family gradually shifted into Lin Xiao Tian's hands.
However, the Lin family had a meticulous team for handling matters. Lin Xiao Tian didn't have much to do other than make decisions on major issues. Recently, the Lin family had been relatively low-key, with fewer meetings to attend, so Lin Xiao Tian's role was mostly supervisory.
And this gave Lin Xiao Tian time...