Chapter 27: Yantian Island’s Forced Breakthrough of the Formation

“Haha, little brother, why didn’t you let me know you were coming? The defenses suddenly dropped, startled me for a moment—I thought the defenses had been breached.”
Although cultivators at the Heart of the Zither stage can fly using magical artifacts, it’s only at low altitude and not very fast. But Flamefield Island itself wasn’t very large, so as soon as Lin Qingyun stepped out of the flying car, he saw Lin Qingfeng descending on his sword.
“Hey, cousin, what are you doing here? I haven’t seen you for over a year, and when I asked Second Uncle, he said you were out on business. Turns out you’ve been here on Flamefield Island all this time.” Lin Qingyun’s surprise was genuine.
Yet, at this moment, Lin Qingyun felt more and more that something wasn’t right. Flamefield Island was indeed strange—but was it because they were greedy for some benefit, or was there another reason?
“Haha…” Lin Qingfeng, having received a hint from Lin Kunshan, continued to laugh. “I’m here to guard the area for the group. There are risks in the sea, so why did you come alone? And who is this Daoist?”
As he asked, Lin Qingfeng glanced at Master Banyue. He’d never met Master Banyue, but he knew that the core of the Lin Pharmaceutical Group’s research institute was the Red Peak Temple, and that there were Daoists there. Seeing Master Banyue’s attire, he had his suspicions.
“This is Uncle Banyue. He needs a fire-type herb for his alchemy, and it’s usually sourced from Flamefield Island. I brought him over specifically to collect it.” Lin Qingyun didn’t hide anything; Lin Qingfeng could easily confirm it with Lin Kunshan, so there was no need to conceal.
No need to hide their identities; the purpose of the visit was casually invented.
“Oh, Uncle Banyue, if you need any materials, you just need to tell the group. Why trouble yourself to come in person? Here, just let me know what you need.” Lin Qingfeng stepped forward, speaking with great enthusiasm.
Master Banyue nodded and smiled at Lin Qingfeng; he didn’t know the details and had no way to respond, nor was it necessary.
“Alright, I’ll make a list later—just help me find everything, cousin.” Lin Qingyun responded cheerfully, but he’d already sidestepped Lin Qingfeng and strode straight onto the island.
“Qingyun, I can help you find the herbs, but for now, you shouldn’t enter Flamefield Island. It’s best to leave as soon as possible.” Lin Qingfeng shifted his steps skillfully, managing to block Lin Qingyun again.
When Lin Qingyun looked at him, Lin Qingfeng wore a helpless yet earnest expression. “You don’t know, but Flamefield Island underwent a mutation a year ago. The original geothermal fields were destroyed by fierce fire energy.”
“I’m stationed here to help the group transfer the undamaged herbs—it's a complicated process. Also, I’m cooperating with the research staff to investigate the cause of the mutation.”
“Recently, we’ve discovered that there’s a risk of explosive eruptions from the underground fire. It’s extremely dangerous; most personnel have evacuated. I’m just finishing up here. It’s really too dangerous. You should leave soon.”
Seeing Lin Qingfeng here only made Lin Qingyun more curious. Now that he was blocking his way, it became even more interesting.
“Leave? Sure, you can leave now.” Lin Qingyun smiled at Lin Qingfeng.
“Hmm…” Lin Qingfeng was momentarily confused by Lin Qingyun’s words. His first thought was that Lin Qingyun was agreeing to leave, but then he realized what Lin Qingyun meant.
His expression darkened, feeling as if the younger man was mocking him.
“Why should I leave? Did you not understand me? I’m thinking of your safety, so you should leave.” Lin Qingfeng was no spoiled young master; he had once joined mercenary teams and hunted monsters many times. Now his tone became stern.
“This is my home; I’m perfectly safe. If you’ve nothing more to do, please leave. I’ve already taken over my parents’ business, and I don’t like outsiders here.” Seeing Lin Qingfeng raise his voice, Lin Qingyun stopped arguing and simply asked him to leave.
Lin Qingfeng felt a surge of anger, his eyes widened, but he didn’t know what to say. He’d known that Lin Qingyun had disabled the island’s defensive attacks and had the highest authority, but for him to openly tell him to leave was infuriating.

“Lin Qingyun, how can you speak to me like that? Even if Uncle were here, I could come and stay as long as I like, not to mention I’m here on group business. This concerns the group’s medicinal research. If you want to take over, wait till the group’s research is done.” Lin Qingfeng’s face hardened, wielding his authority as the elder and the group’s representative to suppress Lin Qingyun.
Lin Qingyun laughed. “You must have been on this island for a long time and somewhat isolated. I doubt you know what’s happened outside; otherwise you wouldn’t speak like this. Still, I’m curious—what kind of research would require you to cut off all outside communication?”
What did he mean?
Had something happened outside?
Lin Qingyun’s smile and words made Lin Qingfeng’s heart sink; he wasn’t sure what was going on, especially the last sentence, which clearly hinted at something.
“This is a high-level internal research project. It’s not convenient to disclose details to outsiders. You can ask the chairman.” Despite his doubts, not knowing what Lin Qingyun meant by “not understanding the outside world,” Lin Qingfeng’s smile made him suspect trouble and he avoided the subject.
“Do you know where this is?” Lin Qingyun didn’t bother with asking Lin Kunshan, but instead his gaze turned cold and stern toward Lin Qingfeng.
Without waiting for a reply, Lin Qingyun gave the answer.
“This is Flamefield Island, now my private property. The group’s research project is none of my concern, and you want me to ask the group? If you have the ability, go change the national law, then you can seize private property. Now get out.” Lin Qingyun was no longer polite.
“Who are you telling to get out…” Hearing Lin Qingyun tell him to leave, Lin Qingfeng’s sword vibrated behind him, and he raised his hand to grab Lin Qingyun’s collar.
“Bang…” But before his hand could touch Lin Qingyun, he was flung away, flying ten meters before landing and rolling on the ground.
Upon landing, Lin Qingfeng was trembling with rage, glaring at Lin Qingyun and Master Banyue.
Clearly, Master Banyue was a Cloud Ascension stage expert, and not a novice. With him protecting Lin Qingyun, Lin Qingfeng couldn’t even touch him.
Lin Qingyun ignored Lin Qingfeng entirely, not so much as glancing at him, and walked away from the helipad.
He didn’t rush to the Red Rock Mansion, but first went to inspect the conditions on Flamefield Island.
Leaving the formation-protected building, he was immediately met by a heat wave. The special Flamefield ground, once shaped by the unique geography, had mostly solidified and cracked, turning the entire island’s soil into rock.
Even fire-type herbs, unless they were exceptionally rare, couldn’t grow here anymore.
The environment was so harsh that anyone below the Heart of the Zither stage would struggle to walk here alone.
“You’ve seen the state of things here; no one wants to take your property. Since you’ve inherited it, you’re a major shareholder in Lin Pharmaceutical Group. You should understand how important the group’s interests are.”
“When Uncle agreed to supply most of the herbs from here, if something happened, the group naturally needed to investigate. Besides, there’s an important research project going on.”
Unable to forcibly stop Lin Qingyun, Lin Qingfeng suppressed his anger and quickly followed, constantly trying to persuade him.
After the earlier experience, he’d learned his lesson and dared not get too close to Lin Qingyun.

Lin Qingyun picked up a chunk of the fire-baked, rock-solid earth and crushed it in his hand.
The island wasn’t large, originally divided into several planting zones, but now all had turned to rock.
It was clear that before the fiery transformation, most of the herbs had been transplanted. The intact pits left by the extraction of herbs were easily recognizable to Lin Qingyun.
In his previous life, when Lin Qingyun retook everything and inspected Flamefield Island, its condition was even worse than now.
It had become like an active volcanic eruption in the sea, and even the Red Rock Mansion hadn’t existed then. The island was small, and with all planting zones like this, he quickly finished his inspection and headed toward the Red Rock Mansion.
The helipad and mansion area were still protected by formations, and upon entering, the temperature dropped immediately.
Seeing Lin Qingyun ignore him and go about his own business, Lin Qingfeng grew ever more anxious, secretly contacting Lin Kunshan repeatedly.
Lin Qingyun was not familiar with Flamefield Island, but that didn’t stop him heading straight for the core area.
When he inherited his parents’ business, he was given full information about the island’s geography, formations, and defenses. If the group was hiding anything, it would be at the core of the island’s formation, which also guided the underground fire.
All technological defenses yielded to Lin Qingyun as he walked; Lin Qingfeng tried several times to block him, but was flung away before he could get close.
“Buzz…”
But just as he reached the last door to the core area, a flash of formation light stopped Lin Qingyun outside.
“This is a formation you added later, isn’t it? It’s not very strong. Uncle Banyue, I think this is the work of a Cloud Ascension stage formation master, fourth or fifth level. Can you break it?” Lin Qingyun, already familiar with the island’s interior, immediately recognized the formation as a recent addition by Lin Qingfeng and his team.
“Lin Qingyun, have you thought this through? Are you really going to sabotage your own group’s research project…” Lin Qingfeng shouted in fury.
“Bang, bang… boom…” Master Banyue, friendly and easygoing with Lin Qingyun, was unmoved by Lin Qingfeng’s angry shouting, and simply began attacking the new formation.
Every formation has its limits. If there’s a power source at the base, its strength increases. But generally, if the attack exceeds the formation’s tolerance, it breaks.
“There’s no continuous energy supply. The backlash won’t reach Cloud Ascension stage, seventh level or above. Each attack damages it, but I’m not skilled in formations—normal attacks will take at least ten hours to break through…” Even after only one wave of attacks, Master Banyue had already made his assessment.
Master Banyue didn’t hide his words; Lin Qingfeng heard them and secretly breathed a sigh of relief, a look of joy in his eyes. Ten hours—his father would have time to arrive.