Chapter 344 : Yun Yao Arrives
Chapter 344: Yun Yao Arrives
Celestial Spring Peak.
Suddenly, a painful and shrill scream erupted from a Sword Attendant. The sound was extremely sharp, as if her throat were being torn apart. The extreme agony contained within it made one’s scalp go numb.
The scream lasted only a brief moment before abruptly stopping, as if all her strength and soul had been completely drained in that single cry. Only a broken trailing echo trembled faintly in the air.
Soon after, silence returned inside the Celestial Spring Peak Cave Abode.
However, the Azure-Horned Ox inside the pool widened its bell-sized eyes and stared fixedly toward the direction of the cave abode.
“Moo!”
With a low bellow, the Azure-Horned Ox revealed a trace of anxiety, seemingly worried about the situation inside the cave abode.
But in the next moment, the cave abode’s gate opened and a spirit fruit flew out.
“Stupid ox, nothing’s wrong.”
Hearing Lin Changan’s irritated voice, the Azure-Horned Ox finally looked toward the cave abode with lingering concern in its large eyes.
The Sword Attendant had fed it for so many years; that scream had sounded as painful as when a demon beast had its demon core forcibly dug out.
Meanwhile inside the cave abode, the Wind-Chirp Bird flapped its wings, and even its eyes revealed a rare trace of anxiety.
“What? Should I use this same method to refine a magical artifact for you as well?”
When Lin Changan’s voice echoed by its ears, the Wind-Chirp Bird immediately panicked and shook its head repeatedly.
It possessed a demon beast body—there was no need to use such a painful method.
“Master…”
Inside the cave abode, the Sword Attendant’s face was pale, and she had no strength left in her body. Even speaking required tremendous effort.
“Calm your mind. I will assist you in circulating your cultivation method to recover. The pills refined from Thunder Flood Dragon blood essence will help stabilize your realm and allow you to recover quickly.”
Lin Changan gently comforted her. The Sword Attendant lay limply in his arms, and there was a wound at the back of her neck.
What made the scene horrifying was that floating in front of them was a blood-stained spinal bone radiating spiritual light.
The Sword Attendant had used her own spiritual bone as the foundation to refine her life-bound magical artifact. But unlike demon beasts, she did not possess naturally shed materials that were perfectly suited for artifact refinement.
Therefore, she could only resort to such an extreme method.
Among all the bones in a cultivator’s body, only the spine possessed the greatest spirituality.
Lin Changan took a deep breath and slowly circulated the Mysterious Sky mana within his body to help the Sword Attendant stabilize her realm and heal her injuries.
Although Core Formation cultivators could not compare with demon beasts in terms of physique, they far surpassed ordinary understanding. Injuries like this were merely severe wounds; their natural recovery ability was still very strong.
However, in order to refine the life-bound magical artifact most suited to herself, the Sword Attendant had injected a large amount of her own blood essence while extracting her spiritual bone.
For an ordinary Core Formation cultivator, a drop in cultivation would have been the lightest consequence. Falling an entire major realm was not unusual.
But now, with the abundant materials obtained earlier from the Thunder Flood Dragon, Lin Changan’s Mysterious Sky mana, and the Sword Attendant’s own bloodline recovery ability, her cultivation had merely become unstable—it had not fallen to a lower realm.
“Mas…ter…”
The Sword Attendant lay across Lin Changan’s knees. Although her face was pale, a warm smile appeared on her lips.
At this moment, despite being seriously injured, she felt extremely relaxed.
Gradually she fell unconscious, though she did not forget to continue circulating the mana within her body.
Lin Changan quietly looked at the spiritual bone floating before him and could not help but sigh as he gently stroked the Sword Attendant, who lay docile like a sleeping kitten.
“With this spiritual bone, and supplemented with the Thunder Flood Dragon’s twin horns, it will be enough to refine the most compatible magical artifact.”
The two horns on the Thunder Flood Dragon’s head were the hardest and sharpest parts of its entire body—top-grade materials for refining magical artifacts.
…
Half a year later, Yun Yao’s Voice-transmission Talisman finally lit up.
On this day, in the pavilion, the peach blossoms had already withered. Yun Yao sat silently on a stone stool.
“Brother Lin, you already know.”
“Yes. I encountered Huang Tianxiao at the trading gathering in Sea Abyss City and obtained He Yan’s body through a transaction.”
Hearing this, Yun Yao sighed softly. When facing Lin Changan’s gaze, she rarely showed a trace of avoidance.
It was not guilt over He Yan.
After all, in the world of cultivation, one’s life had long ceased to belong to oneself.
“I entrusted Xuanyin Pavilion’s merchant ship to send He Yan’s ashes back to Bamboo Mountain Marketplace, to be buried together with Old He.”
Lin Changan had lived for more than two hundred years and had long grown accustomed to life and death. Yet when he saw the fall of a fellow cultivator again, a sense of loneliness still rose within his heart.
The longer the path of cultivation, the greater the loneliness.
“But I think if Old He knew in the afterlife, he would be grinning from ear to ear. After all, his grandson He Yan became a False Core Cultivator.”
Suddenly Lin Changan’s tone changed, and a relaxed smile appeared.
Back then, Old He’s greatest hope had simply been that his grandson He Yan would succeed and become a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
In the world of cultivation, life and death had long been taken lightly.
“I wonder if one day we may end up like this as well. Hopefully when that time comes, someone will gather our bones.”
Yun Yao felt this even more deeply. She was in the center of a vortex; perhaps one day she might perish and vanish.
“Yun Yao, there are many things you haven’t told me.”
Lin Changan sighed and stepped forward. Looking at the hairpin in Yun Yao’s hair, he revealed a faint smile.
“Brother Lin.”
Under the bright sunlight, the two sat in the pavilion overlooking the beautiful mountains and rivers. Yun Yao was rarely able to lower her guard and lean against this reassuring chest.
Along the road they had traveled, some fellow Daoists had died peacefully of old age—such as Li Erniu, Shen Lie, Lu Qingqing, and Wei Buyi.
Others had been buried in foreign lands, like He Yan.
The Golden Crow sank in the west, and the Jade Rabbit rose in the east.
“Brother Lin, that Mystic Yin Ancestor is ruthless and extremely cunning. He has been plotting for hundreds of years to obtain a treasure from the number one secret realm of the Beast Sea Abyss.
When the time comes, he will certainly clash with several other old monsters inside the secret realm. That will be our opportunity.”
This time Yun Yao carefully explained the situation of the Mystic Yin Divine Sect, and Lin Changan gained a deeper understanding of the cruelty within the demonic sect.
“After this secret realm, it seems we must start planning our retreat.”
Lin Changan and Yun Yao discussed their escape plans with serious expressions.
They could return to the Seven Kingdoms.
Or go to the Wanli Desert region, which connected to Shayun Kingdom of the Seven Kingdoms. Although spiritual energy there was thin, the territory was vast.
There were still several spirit veins with rich energy, and the overall strength was not weaker than the Seven Kingdoms.
Or they could change their identities and remain in the Beast Sea Abyss. After all, in terms of resources and territory, nowhere in the cultivation world was larger than the Beast Sea Abyss.
“Brother Lin, so the one responsible for that ‘Number One Below Nascent Soul’ incident was actually you.”
While discussing matters, when Yun Yao learned that Lin Changan had been the mastermind behind the incident, she laughed uncontrollably.
She had suspected it before, since the location of the Thunder Flood Dragon had been provided by her.
But she had never expected it to truly be her Brother Lin’s doing.
“Huang Tianxiao is now extremely famous—but also burdened by that fame.”
When Yun Yao mentioned Huang Tianxiao, she revealed a gloating smile.
The Mystic Yin Divine Sect was extremely ruthless. Although she was the Saintess, no one would ever complain about having more cultivation resources.
And Huang Tianxiao, as the old demon’s direct disciple, was naturally her rival for those resources.
“The Huang Clan of the Palace of Blazing Fire from back then has already been turned into Yin-baleful Corpse Puppets. Only Huang Tianxiao remains, and that old demon plans to cultivate him as a puppet incarnation.”
Listening to Yun Yao’s words, Lin Changan shook his head. He had already experienced the cruelty of demonic sects.
But thinking about it, it was understandable.
For a Nascent Soul cultivator, anyone below them was merely a convenient resource to increase their own strength.
Taking whatever they wished—that was all.
“Yun Yao, the Thunder Flood Dragon incident is no small matter. This armor was refined from its scales.”
Lin Changan took out a dark inner armor. At the dantian position, there was even a reverse scale of the Thunder Flood Dragon.
Yun Yao did not act shy. She smiled generously and accepted the armor.
Between the two of them, there was no need for words of thanks.
Lin Changan also smiled lightly. Along their journey, Yun Yao had helped him greatly.
After receiving the armor, Yun Yao’s face was full of joy. But soon she thought of something and said with a smile:
“Since this matter was done by Brother Lin, and this Thunder Flood Dragon clearly had an extraordinary background, give me a few more bottles of its blood essence…”
A trace of cold light flickered within Yun Yao’s smile.
If the Thunder Flood Dragon’s elder brother truly managed to break through to the Fourth Rank and transform, then she could use the opportunity to create a troublesome enemy for the Mystic Yin Ancestor.
Lin Changan was delighted as well.
After all, he had selflessly helped Huang Tianxiao gain fame—surely the other party would be grateful.
As for the spiritual items in his storage pouch that carried the aura of the Thunder Flood Dragon, he would dispose of them as soon as possible.
Anything he could not dispose of would be purified using his Mysterious Sky mana to completely erase that aura.
Afterward, the two spent several days cultivating together in dual cultivation. Lin Changan used his mana to help Yun Yao purify the Mystic Yin Spirit Fire within her body.
Several days later, Yun Yao left Celestial Spring Peak.
In the eyes of outsiders, Lin Changan returned to his usual routine of bitter cultivation.
…
Time passed like a shuttle.
In the blink of an eye, three years had passed.
【Lifespan: 215 / 786】
【Realm: Mid Core Formation (29/100)】
Inside the cave abode, Lin Changan looked at his cultivation progress and revealed a smile.
Over the past two years, with the assistance of Ice Marrow Spirit Liquid, his cultivation had improved steadily. Although three years had only increased his progress by one extra point compared with before, he could clearly feel the water spiritual energy within the Ice Marrow Spirit Liquid constantly nourishing his wood-attribute mana.
“If cultivation continues at this rate, even considering the bottleneck after the mid Core Formation stage, I am confident I can break through to the Late Core Formation stage around the age of two hundred sixty.”
A cultivator who could reach the Late Core Formation stage at around two hundred fifty years old possessed good potential and had hope of impacting the Nascent Soul Realm.
“In the world of cultivation, one may hide one’s abilities—but not too much. Otherwise, suddenly revealing strength will easily attract covetous eyes.”
A calm glint flickered in Lin Changan’s eyes. As for his cultivation realm, he had no intention of hiding it.
After all, many factors determined a cultivator’s combat power. Cultivation realm was merely the foundation.
Crunch!
A sharp chewing sound echoed inside the cave abode.
Lin Changan slowly stood up. Holding a high-grade spirit stone in his hand, he actually began chewing it like a demon beast.
This was a brutal method used by demon beasts or powerful body cultivators to temper the body.
Thanks to the generous “gift” from the Thunder Flood Dragon years ago—its dragon blood and dragon flesh nourishing him—his progress in body cultivation had advanced rapidly.
“Master!”
When Lin Changan walked out of the cave abode, the Sword Attendant happened to be feeding the Azure-Horned Ox. She immediately approached and respectfully cupped her fists.
“Mm, not bad. It seems your cultivation progress over these three years has been quite good.”
Three years earlier, the Sword Attendant had extracted her spiritual bone. Even with Lin Changan’s Mysterious Sky mana and dragon blood nourishment, she had still suffered severe damage to her vitality.
It took half a year before she fully recovered.
“Master.”
Hearing Lin Changan’s praise, a faint smile appeared on the Sword Attendant’s usually cold face as she skillfully stepped forward to brew tea.
Using her spinal bone and the Thunder Flood Dragon’s horns, two treasure swords had been refined.
“Has anything happened recently?”
“Master, the Beast Sea Abyss remains the same. Friction between the major forces continues. However, as the secret realm is about to open, there has been considerable chaos in the outer seas.
But news has come from the Seven Kingdoms—the miasma seems to be weakening, and spiritual energy appears to be gradually becoming richer than before…”
Listening to the Sword Attendant’s report, Lin Changan revealed a rare expression of curiosity.
“The miasma in the Seven Kingdoms is weakening. In that case, many cultivators within the Seven Kingdoms Alliance must already be preparing to return.”
“As Master predicted, many cultivators are indeed preparing to return. However, according to intelligence, it will take at least one hundred years for the miasma in the Seven Kingdoms to completely dissipate.”
Hearing this, Lin Changan fell into deep thought.
After all, not every force in the Beast Sea Abyss had developed like Xuanyin Pavilion.
The former Seven Kingdoms Alliance had long changed. Some sects had weakened and were barely maintaining themselves.
Some had even been completely destroyed—such as the Palace of Blazing Fire and Divine Sword Sect of Yue Kingdom. Now, few in the Seven Kingdoms Alliance even remembered them.
These middling forces, hearing that the miasma in the Seven Kingdoms was fading, would naturally be unable to suppress their excitement.
“What secret lies deep within the Cloudmist Mountain Range?”
Lin Changan could not help but think of that mystery.
But he soon sighed and dismissed the thought.
He neither had the time nor the strength to investigate it.
For now, the most important matter was planning for the secret realm.
“The Four-Phase Dragon Scale Armor has been partially repaired, but it still requires the power of the four elements—wind, fire, water, and earth. Water and earth are easy enough, but fire and wind are troublesome.”
Lin Changan frowned.
A Third-rank High-grade demon core of water or earth attribute could be obtained as long as sufficient resources were offered.
But while low-rank fire-attribute demon beasts were easy to find, high-rank ones were extremely rare.
Thus, the price difference among Third-rank demon cores became more obvious at higher grades.
“Especially wind attribute—it is extremely difficult to find. And the secret realm will open in less than seventy years.
Those wishing to seek Nascent Soul opportunities or longevity treasures are all preparing.”
Thinking of this, Lin Changan could not help but frown.
Even if a Third-rank High-grade wind-attribute demon core appeared, it would be extremely difficult to obtain.
“According to the records of the secret realm, powerful treasures are not strictly necessary to survive there. But this ancient treasure of mine is not merely for resisting heavenly winds.”
If possible, he also hoped to seek a Nascent Soul opportunity.
Naturally, the stronger his preparation, the better.
“Right now, the entire Beast Sea Abyss is probably searching for these attribute treasures. I can only take things one step at a time. Even in Treasure Pavilion, such strategic resources would not easily be sold to outsiders.”
Moreover, the Four-Phase Dragon Scale Armor was his trump card. He did not wish to expose it easily.
“Cultivation, magical artifacts, and divine abilities—these three determine a cultivator’s combat strength.”
The cultivation methods and divine abilities he practiced were already top-tier in the cultivation world and inferior to none at the same realm.
As for magical artifacts, once this ancient treasure was fully repaired, he was confident he would not be inferior to the geniuses of the great sects.
“I recently heard that the black market in the Fog Sea of Tongtian is selling several high-grade demon cores. I should go take a look.”
Lin Changan pondered silently.
Whether it was to obtain demon cores or prepare certain methods for himself in the Fog Sea of Tongtian, he would have to make a trip there.
Cough, cough. Finally managed to restore two consecutive updates at noon today. Please vote with your monthly tickets.