Chapter 182

The true form of the Shadowhound Clan was the Shadowhound, a giant monster of the Mist Zone. Compared to the Python Clan, the Lion-men, and other races, their clan was extremely weak. They usually only dared to scavenge the monster corpses left behind by exploration teams in the periphery, detoxifying the carrion before consuming it.

They were the scavengers of the Mist Zone’s food chain.

Many Shadowhounds barely scraped by on these discarded scraps. However, the Shadowhound royal family was unwilling to accept this fate. Long ago, they began sending members of the royal bloodline to infiltrate human society, intent on learning humanity’s knowledge and skills.

Recently, the reputation of the Clear Wind Temple had grown thunderous, impacting the supply of living materials for many small surrounding clans. Under these circumstances, as the Princess of the Shadowhound Royal Family, it was only logical for Li Yuanyuan to investigate.

After a period of observation, she discovered that the Clear Wind Temple’s attitude toward its disciples and students was strange. In a world where exploitation was the norm, this place genuinely emphasized fairness and impartiality.

Although achieving absolute fairness was impossible, in the vast majority of cases, they managed a rough approximation of justice.

Walking out of the courtyard, Li Yuanyuan glanced at Xue Yanxiu, who was hurrying away. She did not leave immediately. After a moment of thought, she turned around and returned to the courtyard.

"Temple Master, this disciple has been hiding something. I have thought it through and intend to speak plainly," Li Yuanyuan said in a low voice.

"What is it? You mean hiding the fact that you aren't human?" Lin Hui asked calmly. He held a silk cloth, gently wiping the blade of the drawn Ruyi, then dabbed a bit of sword oil onto a special piece of fur and applied it to the steel.

Li Yuanyuan trembled, her heart shaking violently. Before she could speak, she heard Lin Hui continue from across the yard.

"Is there a problem with not being human? I only care whether your heart is with my Clear Wind Temple. Nothing else matters."

"Temple Master... are you serious? You don't mind us non-human races?" Li Yuanyuan asked in disbelief.

"Of course. Or are you saying you want me to mind?" Lin Hui said, sounding impatient. He felt he had already made himself quite clear.

"Apologies... actually, I am a Shadow..." Li Yuanyuan began to confess, but before she could finish, she was interrupted again.

"I don't care about your origins. Here, at this moment, I only care about your aptitude for the sword, your perseverance, and your intent. The rest is unimportant. Understand?"

Li Yuanyuan looked at Lin Hui's impatient expression and suddenly felt an overwhelming, bewildered sourness in her nose.

She had faced too much discrimination because of her identity. She had been treated differently because of her appearance and figure. But no one had ever judged her solely on her effort and aptitude.

This kind of respect—which truly negated her background and focused only on her personal merit—made her understand, for the first time, what "equality" really meant.

"Disciple understands!" Li Yuanyuan bowed her head deeply. "It is Yuanyuan's fortune to meet a Temple Master like you. I will work hard to become your disciple."

She bowed deeply once more, then turned and left.

Lin Hui gave her a strange look, then withdrew his gaze, paying the matter no further mind.

Having dealt with these distractions, he stood up and returned to the pharmacy. He took out the Spirit-Enriching Reishi that had just arrived and began chewing it dry.

This new batch of Spirit-Enriching Reishi consisted of twelve stalks. Each stalk could shorten his evolution timer by three to four months.

The evolution of the Extreme Cold Heaven Ginseng King had about a year remaining. Lin Hui only had to gnaw through a little more than three stalks to complete the process.

As a burst of white cold air slowly dispersed from the container...

The Cold Ginseng in the box rapidly turned pure white, its surface covered in a thick layer of frost. At the same time, the tip of the ginseng began to sprout dense new rootlets, and blue veins resembling blood vessels slowly bulged on its surface.

Looks like it's done. Lin Hui reached out and touched the Extreme Cold Heaven Ginseng King.

Hiss.

The Purgatory-aura inside his body shook abruptly, as if stimulated, and surged violently toward his fingers, attempting to extinguish the cold energy of the Ginseng King.

It’s effective!

Lin Hui picked up the Ginseng King, examined it, and then put it in his mouth, gently biting off a tiny piece.

Instantly, a bone-piercing chill spread rapidly from his mouth to his entire body. The restless fire originally burning within him was instantly frozen.

This kick seems a bit too strong... Lin Hui recalled that the Purgatory-aura he had initially strengthened came from just a single lamb kebab. This time, having evolved a Ginseng King, the medicinal potency was obviously far beyond that of a mere snack.

He thought for a moment and focused his gaze on the root. The Blood Seal emerged in his vision.

[Extreme Cold Heaven Ginseng King: One of the specialty products of the Extreme Cold Heaven, evolved from Cold Ginseng. It can improve Internal Force by converting it to the Cold attribute, alter the constitution, and grant the consumer partial characteristics of Extreme Cold Heaven creatures. Evolvable Branches: 1.]

It really is edible. Seeing the Blood Seal confirm it, he breathed a sigh of relief. He picked up the Ginseng King and took another gentle bite.

Bite after bite. Within two minutes, the crisp and sweet Extreme Cold Heaven Ginseng King was completely inside Lin Hui’s stomach.

While waiting for the medicine to take full effect, he took out another Spirit-Enriching Reishi, aimed the Blood Seal at it, and visualized evolving it.

The Blood Seal transformed into a loose, blood-colored pattern on the back of his hand, covering his forearm. Soon, a new prompt emerged.

[Spirit-Enriching Reishi: Can supplement Yang energy; beneficial for reproduction. A mountain treasure that harmonizes Yin and Yang and nourishes essence. Evolvable Branches: 3.]

[1—Spirit-Enriching Reishi King.]

[2—Earth Reishi.]

[3—Heaven Reishi.]

Discovering that it really could be strengthened, Lin Hui immediately clicked on the first option to view details.

[Spirit-Enriching Reishi King: Evolved from Spirit-Enriching Reishi. Emerald green. The consumer's spirit will fall into a state of extreme excitement, and their internal energy will be continuously strengthened by a small margin for twelve hours.]

[Earth Reishi: Consumption grants Earth-attribute Internal Force.]

[Heaven Reishi: Consumption grants Heaven-attribute Internal Force.]

Three branches. The evolution time was the same for all: nineteen years.

"The evolution effect isn't that attractive." Lin Hui shook his head slightly.

He was actually mentally prepared regarding the evolution of energy-replenishing precious medicines. This just confirmed it. Although he wanted to evolve one to test the effect, nineteen years was simply too long.

Dismissing the information from his vision, he stood up again, squatted down, and pressed his hand on the floor.

Evolve the Clear Wind Temple grounds.

He focused his mind, clarifying the intent. The Blood Seal retracted into the rhombus -shaped mark, then dispersed a second later to cover his forearm.

[Clear Wind Temple Land: The earth beneath the feet of everyone in the Clear Wind Temple. Evolvable Branches: 5.]

It can actually evolve?!

Lin Hui was amused. This Blood Seal was truly somewhat omnipotent. He clicked open the evolvable branches.

[1—Land (Reinforced).]

[2—Land (Purified).]

[3—Land (Cursed).]

[4—Land (Reproduction).]

[5—Land (Suppression).]

The names alone gave a rough idea of their effects. Lin Hui nodded slightly and casually clicked on the last one.

[Land (Suppression): Against outsiders not belonging to this sect, it can exert a certain degree of life suppression. Suppression intensity: 10%.]

This is good. Lin Hui nodded. If the percentage could be increased, it would be a massive asset for stabilizing his base.

Withdrawing his hand, he stood up again and reached out to gently grasp the empty air. He targeted the atmosphere of the temple for evolution.

Soon, the Blood Seal repeated the change of gathering and dispersing.

[Clear Wind Temple Air: The air breathed and cultivated by everyone in the Clear Wind Temple. Evolvable Branches: 3.]

[1—Air (Spirit).]

[2—Air (Health Regimen).]

[3—Air (Wind).]

As usual, Lin Hui clicked through them one by one.

[Air (Spirit): The evolved air is full of spiritual Qi. Within a thousand years, it can slowly form a primary Spirit Vein. Those who cultivate spiritual power gain a boost in cultivation speed.]

[Air (Health Regimen): The evolved air is full of special factors that can extend the lifespan of life within it. The longer one lives here, the longer the extension, up to a maximum of ten years.]

[Air (Wind): The evolved air possesses a high concentration of unknown power related to wind. Cultivating same-attribute techniques grants a significant speed boost.]

Lin Hui quickly glanced at the required time. All of them required forty years.

This was longer than the evolution time for anything he had seen before. Exhaling, he abandoned the idea of evolving the air immediately.

Finally, he shifted the target to himself.

[Lin Hui: Human, Purgatory Race, Extreme Cold Heaven Bloodline, Wind Disaster Bloodline. Skilled Martial Arts: Wild Wind Sword Technique, Typhoon Sword Technique. Evolvable Branches: 0.]

"Wind Disaster Bloodline? What the hell is that? When did I get that?" Lin Hui muttered. "Sure enough, there are no shortcuts; one cannot evolve oneself. Just like stepping on your left foot with your right foot won't make you spiral up into the sky."

After testing a variety of targets, Lin Hui took out the Relic given by Tao Xuehai, the Silencing Stone.

He skillfully focused his gaze.

[Silencing Stone (Relic): A Relic capable of eliminating sound within a certain range. A condensation of a Mist God. Evolvable Branches: 3.]

He clicked on the branches.

[1—Isolation Stone: A Relic that isolates all aura and sound within a certain surrounding range.]

[2—Silence Stone: Forcibly prevents all life within a certain range from speaking.]

[3—Soundless Divine Stone: A Relic fragment containing a sliver of the divinity of the Mother of All Sounds. Collect nine fragments to obtain a wisp of the Mother of All Sounds' divinity. Become a Divine Nature entity.]

The first two were straightforward; Lin Hui focused mostly on the third.

Mother of All Sounds?

He quickly rushed to the study, took down all the books regarding Mist Gods from the shelves, and looked through them one by one. Before long, he found the relevant records.

Mother of All Sounds: A powerful Mist God that once brought disaster to a city. Later slain by a Mistborn. Her divinity was scattered and lost, turning into countless related Relics.

This place has quite a lot of mystical, god-ghost stuff, Lin Hui thought with a sigh.

Next, he tried evolving everything he could touch. Most things were mediocre—becoming more exquisite, sturdy, or higher grade. But there were also some rather speechless ones. For instance, a wall in the study offered an evolution branch called “Wall of Absolute Sighs.” The explanation said it was condensed from a sigh of the Nether Queen, possessing an absolute attribute of indestructibility. Unless one's power and divinity surpassed the Nether Queen, it could not be broken.

The evolution time was equally touching: it took 1,500 years.

This gave Lin Hui a new understanding of the randomness of the Blood Seal's evolution.

After testing for ten minutes or so, the medicinal effect of the Extreme Cold Heaven Ginseng King gradually faded and was digested.

Lin Hui felt something was different, so he took a decorative mirror from the shelf and looked at himself.

At a glance, the person in the mirror had completely lost the previous restless Purgatory-aura. His temperament had reverted to how it was when he first began practicing the sword.

Everything looked normal, but what truly made Lin Hui feel something was wrong was his Internal Force.

The Purgatory-ization of his Internal Force hadn't disappeared; rather, it had been forcibly encased in a sealing shell by the chill of the Extreme Cold Heaven.

It seemed he could continue absorbing Purgatory fire without worrying about the Purgatory-ization spinning out of control.

But this layer of Internal Force was weird. It only used a very thin layer to lock in the Purgatory part of the flame and aura. It was as if... aside from him, the Internal Force had a second mysterious source providing energy support.

It was constantly being consumed by the Purgatory fire, yet it showed no sign of decreasing.