Chapter 179

After dealing with the portal, Lin Hui wandered the ruins for a while. He discovered quite a few Purple Crystal Elementals hiding in the corners, though these elementals had long since undergone Purgatory-ization.

Strangely, whenever any of the elementals saw him, they would unconsciously attempt to turn and flee. If they couldn't escape, they would lie prostrate on the ground, shivering uncontrollably.

Lin Hui guessed this was because he had absorbed too much Purgatory Fire, placing his existence on a level far superior to these rudimentary forms.

Upon careful observation, he discovered that Purgatory-ization could be divided into several stages: germination, incubation, and outbreak.

The weaker the creature, the more obvious the purgatory characteristics. Conversely, the more powerful the purgatory creature, the fewer purgatory characteristics appeared on its body.

After wandering for a few minutes, he soon found the Purple Crystal Purgatory Tyrannosaurus that had fled and hidden in a corner.

Thump, thump, thump.

Unexpectedly, it didn't even resist; it simply kneeled and prostrated itself on the ground, adopting a posture of complete submission.

"What should I do with you?"

Standing inside the cavern, Lin Hui gazed at the Purple Crystal Purgatory Tyrannosaurus, which was over ten meters long. His hand tightened and relaxed repeatedly on his sword hilt.

"Right. Is there any more of that purple crystal from before? If you can find it for me..." He wasn't sure if the creature could understand him, but trying wouldn't waste much time.

The next second, the Tyrannosaurus raised its head, turned around, and charged into a side cavern with heavy, booming steps.

Soon, it returned.

In its mouth, it held a large bundle of purple-red raw crystal ore, which it spat out with a whoosh, accompanied by quite a few sparks.

Lin Hui glanced at the raw ore in front of him. He used his sword to flick a piece up to examine it.

This ore looked somewhat different from the previous raw purple crystal. The previous crystals were a translucent purple; this one was purple-red, slightly turbid, and faintly radiated a scorching heat from its surface.

Reaching out to gently grasp the ore, Lin Hui clearly felt a wave of scorching heat transmit from his palm into his body.

He tried circulating the Typhoon Sword Technique. Immediately, all color was sucked from the raw ore in his hand, turning it into a semi-transparent crystal. As for the Body Tempering effect, after careful assessment, he found it almost useless—extremely weak. Instead, it merely increased the total amount of Purgatory Fire within his body.

He sighed, released his hand, and looked at the prostrate Purple Crystal Tyrannosaurus elemental.

"Good work."

In the end, he didn't kill the Tyrannosaurus. Instead, he let it remain in the cave, effectively serving as a guard.

After fully recharging the Nine Eyes, Lin Hui returned to the Clear Wind Temple. After waiting for another few days, the Purple Cloud Reishi he had been longing for finally arrived, albeit late.

…

Wild Wind Plains.

Lin Hui stuffed the last fragment of the Purple Cloud Reishi into his mouth, chewing slowly as he watched the remaining years of evolution time on the Blood Seal reset to zero.

He finally let out a long sigh of relief.

[Star Breath Sword Canon evolution complete.]

The Blood Seal's prompt floated into his field of vision. At the same time, the Blood Seal pattern on the back of his hand suddenly dispersed, transforming into root-like veins that covered Lin Hui’s entire forearm.

Soon, a new prompt appeared.

[Star Breath Sword Canon: A universal sword canon evolved from the Typhoon Sword Technique. It possesses a fixed control effect over most flowing gases. Divided into four layers, each layer can independently condense a Sacred Form. When the four great Sacred Forms unite, one obtains the special effect: Breath of the Multitude Stars.]

At this moment, accompanied by the emergence of the Blood Seal's prompt, waves of incredibly vast and ancient cultivation memories frantically flooded into Lin Hui's mind.

In this instant, it was as if he had experienced hundreds of years of sleepless, bitter practice and comprehension. Finally, just before his lamp oil ran dry, he comprehended the ultimate profundity of the Star Breath Sword Canon.

Countless pieces of information regarding the Star Breath Sword Canon surged and roiled in his mind.

[The Star Breath Sword Canon is divided into four layers: Origin One, Luminous Two, Stable Three, and Return Four.]

[From the beginning of cultivation, one can convert Typhoon Internal Force into a special power named Wind Force. Wind Force can condense a Wind Force Sacred Form at different levels that closely resemble the cultivator.]

[Wind Force Sacred Form: A thoughtless Wind Force clone possessing all of the cultivator's strength. It disperses on its own after losing half its body. Once condensed, there is no time limit. Compared to the main body, the Sacred Form possesses a more violent Wind Force circulation speed, does not fear death, and has tremendous lethality. After damage, it must be re-cultivated to condense again; condensation time is seven days.]

[Combining the four great Wind Force Sacred Forms with the main body can trigger the final special effect profundity: Breath of the Multitude Stars.]

[Breath of the Multitude Stars: Mobilize the rhythm of the stars' exhalation to deal a fatal, destructive strike to the enemy. Duration: One second.]

The heap of information prompts slowly came to a stop.

Lin Hui clutched his head, suppressing the urge to vomit rising in his heart.

Good lord. This is even more exaggerated than the Typhoon Sword Technique. And this special effect... what is 'mobilize the rhythm of the stars' exhalation'? What the hell is a 'fatal destructive strike'? And it can only be maintained for one second...

At a glance, this was an offensive special effect, a complete contrast to the pair of enhancement and defensive special effects from before.

The duration was extremely short, and the descriptive text was vague. Only when he actually used it would he know how effective it was.

Standing on the Wild Wind Plains, Lin Hui looked all around, confirming that he hadn't lost control and released Purgatory-aura due to the headache and nausea. Only then did he check the remaining Purple Cloud Reishi.

Of the Purple Cloud Reishi bought from the Benevolent Heart Sect, four stalks remained.

A single stalk of this stuff could offset two years of evolution time. Essentially, it was a treasured medicine with even better effects than the Phantom Dragon Lotus. However, looking at it comprehensively, the Phantom Dragon Lotus was actually more cost-effective because the Purple Cloud Reishi placed a greater load on the body and would occupy space for other medicinal intakes, whereas the Phantom Dragon Lotus wasn't as heavy.

As a breeze brushed his forehead, Lin Hui looked at the Blood Seal evolution bar, which hadn't been clear and clean for a long time, and felt a burst of carefree pleasure in his heart.

He had been evolving the Star Breath Sword Canon for so long that he had somewhat adapted to seeing the Star Breath Sword Canon's evolution time whenever he opened the Blood Seal. But at this moment, it was finally over, and he felt his entire being loosen up.

Now, the Star Breath Sword Canon is clearly far more than enough. It will take a long time just to complete the cultivation of the Typhoon Sword Technique, let alone what follows. It is time to build a safe station that belongs solely to me.

He gently stroked the patterns on the hilt of Ruyi. The cool, exquisite metal patterns always allowed him to slowly settle his mind and ponder his next move.

He had actually already decided on the next thing for the Blood Seal to evolve: the sect station.

Yes, if he wanted to gain a firm foothold in this decaying, chaotic mist world, relying solely on his own strength was clearly unrealistic. He needed to absorb the strength of more people, gather them together, alternate watches when needing rest, protect each other's safety, and condense everyone's power into a single force. Only in this way could they resist the ubiquitous chaos, war, and corruption of the outside world.

Just as the Mistborn needed ordinary people to share the burden of corruption.

He was not a sleepless machine; there would always be times when he was exhausted and wanted to relax. At such times, he needed other forces to take his place in upholding and guaranteeing safety.

And a large-scale sect could satisfy this need. At the same time, it could help him collect resources, money, and other necessities.

Since the Blood Seal can evolve conceptual things, then...

Lin Hui closed his eyes, striving to focus his attention on the concept of the Clear Wind Temple sect.

Everything about the Clear Wind Temple—buildings, manpower, heritage, martial arts, pills, logistics, and so on—formed a massive whole in his mind.

After the whole was formed, Lin Hui finally issued a command to the Blood Seal.

[Clear Wind Temple—A Swift Sword sect founded by Daoist Clear Wind, later carried forward and expanded by Formless Sword Lin Hui. Evolvable Branches: 5.]

Hmm? Changes appeared? Lin Hui was stunned. He had thought it would still be the previous three routes, and he had been prepared to choose the final Clear Wind Temple (Secret). After all, that path had absolutely no negative effects.

But now, two more branches had actually appeared.

It seems that the more energy I provide, the more branches of evolution are available to choose from.

He had a realization in his heart. The evolution of the Blood Seal was not static; rather, it would continuously change with the passage of time and the amount of reserve energy and mind-spirit he provided. After all, as his cultivation time grew longer, the energy and mind-spirit he could provide also became increasingly vast.

Given that he was providing more and more energy, it would be abnormal if the evolutions remained just those original few.

The more Lin Hui used it, the more he felt that the Blood Seal was actually very much like a search-and-filter deduction device. At the cost of consuming his energy and mind-spirit, it searched for various evolution routes suitable for him, then screened, deduced, and modified them, finally providing perfect, compatible branches.

At this moment, looking at the newly appeared [Evolvable Branches: 5]...

With a trace of anticipation, he used his mind to click and view them.

[1—Wind Aspect Sect.]

[2—Sacred Wind Temple.]

[3—Formless Sect.]

[4—Empty Nether Sect.]

[5—Nine Skies Gate.]

"???"

Lin Hui looked at the Blood Seal prompts floating in his vision with slight astonishment, unsure how it had turned out like this. The previous evolution branches, like Clear Wind Temple (Immortal), had completely vanished.

He blinked and clicked on the first one. Information immediately flowed into his mind.

[Wind Aspect Sect: An ancient sect way traced back via the skills contained in the Clear Wind Temple martial arts. Disciples entering the sect can obtain Wind Aspect Protection once. It protects the mind-spirit from invasion by external evils. After use, one can return to the sect station to cultivate for one year to recharge it.]

[Sect Special Effect: Cultivation speed enhanced by 50%, sect buildings reinforced.]

This is clearly much more magnificent than before... Lin Hui recalled the introduction and effect of the previous Clear Wind Temple (Secret) and sighed with heartfelt emotion.

Then, he clicked on the second.

[Sacred Wind Temple: A lost sect way traced back via association with Clear Wind Temple martial arts.]

[Disciples entering the temple must undergo a mind-spirit will appraisal. After passing, they obtain Sacred Wind augmentation. Body and mind may undergo non-directional evolution, ultimately evolving into a Sacred Embryo. After the embryo falls and one is reborn, one naturally masters a type of Wind Force ability.]

[Note: The Sacred Embryo can only be reborn once. Mental abnormalities and physical abnormalities may occur during the Sacred Embryo incubation process.]

[Sect Special Effect: Sacred Embryo Life Extension (After the Sacred Embryo is reborn, regardless of previous age, one restores youth and lives another life. However, if the mind-spirit falter halfway, what emerges after rebirth might no longer be the cultivator's original self...)]

[Warning: The Sacred Wind Temple was ultimately besieged and annihilated by a collective group because it incubated multiple Evil God Sacred Children. Although Sacred Embryo rebirth allows one to live another life, it is extremely susceptible to erosion by mysterious external forces.]

...

Lin Hui was left speechless. Anything touching the word "Sacred" was indeed “heretical”. This looked absolutely strong, but it was too wicked, so he skipped it directly.

He looked at the third one.

[Formless Sect: A sect way traced by extending the martial arts of the Clear Wind Temple. All disciples who enter the Formless Sect receive a Formless Tribulation Seal augmentation. When a disciple suffers a fatal strike, this seal can forcibly block all damage once.]

[Sect Special Effect: Cultivation speed increased by 50%; Righteous Heart (For those with firm mind-spirits and righteous wills. The more righteous the mind-spirit, the faster the cultivation speed and the weaker the bottlenecks).]

[Note: The Formless Sect still exists in an extremely distant spacetime. The Formless Tribulation Seal blocks damage by transferring the injury into the Formless Tribulation Realm. This method is highly likely to be detected by the powerhouses of the Formless Sect, introducing unpredictable variables.]

This... This was the first time Lin Hui had seen an evolution given by the Blood Seal where the target itself still existed.

If the Formless Sect discovered it, what would happen?

A trace of speculation flashed through his heart.