Chapter 203

The Outer Mist Zone.

Endless Mist engulfed the region. The massive maze ruins lay embedded within the fog of the Outer Mist Zone like a colossal oval egg. Like water striking a reef, the surrounding Mist parted and retreated of its own accord as it neared the structure.

The ruins were immense. By Lin Hui’s estimation after circling the perimeter, the complex was roughly the size of three Xinyu Towns combined—and that didn’t account for the floating islands suspended above.

Standing at the edge of the maze, he noted that it lacked a specific entrance; one could breach or exit the perimeter at any point. The chaotic gray wreckage was simply a sprawl of stone debris and collapsed structures.

Adjusting his bundle, Lin Hui determined his bearings, made a familiar turn, and dashed several hundred meters along the boundary. Beneath a massive, twisted dead tree—black as charcoal—he found a gray stone entrance. Without hesitation, he slipped inside.

Surrounding Wind, enhanced by his Wind Disaster Affinity, quietly enveloped him, wrapping protectively around the large bundle at his side.

Once inside the stone passageway, Lin Hui sped forward at a steady pace for several minutes.

Suddenly, the path opened.

A small, irregularly shaped clearing appeared within the ruins. Large wooden barrels packed with supplies were scattered about the space. Towering gray stone walls enclosed the area, and traces of ruined masonry marked the ground. Clearly, this clearing was not natural; someone had used a powerful force to expand it.

This sanctuary was the result of a year of Lin Hui’s labor.

Using the terrifying deconstructive power of the Wind Disaster, he had forcibly carved out a hidden base deep within the maze. The area was slightly larger than a soccer field.

As soon as he entered, Lin Hui let out a sigh of relief. He turned back and shifted a large boulder to seal the entrance he had just used. Although the perception interference of the maze made it impossible for ordinary people to navigate the passage, he habitually ensured his tracks were covered.

There were over ten forks along the route. Coupled with the maze’s inherent disorientation, a single wrong turn at any intersection meant the base would remain lost forever. Only because his Wind Disaster Affinity shielded his senses from the mysterious interference could he enter so quickly.

He strolled around the clearing for a moment.

The food stockpile is enough to feed a hundred people for a year. Drinking water is scarce, but there’s a subterranean stream inside the maze. I can check if the water is potable when I have time. If not, I’ll have to haul in more.

Only here did a profound sense of security wash over him.

The powerful interference mechanism of the ruins ironically provided the greatest safety net he had ever known. Ever since he learned the true nature of the Moon Tower, the methods used by the Mistborn and Truebloods to rule, and the cold systemic rules of the Taisu Alliance, he had been plagued by worry. He feared becoming nothing more than reserve medicine for some terrifying, hidden monster.

Even though his strength was vastly superior to what it once was, the unease of the unknown and the looming threat grew daily. But here, for the first time, Lin Hui’s heart found peace.

He set down the large bundle, found a corner by the stone wall, and sat cross-legged. As he opened the pack, he summoned the Blood Seal interface at the bottom of his vision.

He withdrew a stalk of Spirit-Enriching Reishi, took a deep breath, and began.

The Nine Skies Gate evolution will be completed today!

Crunch. He bit off the Spirit-Enriching Reishi, chewed a few times, and swallowed. Thus began a frenzied session of consumption. Since he no longer worried about medicinal toxicity, his speed in devouring precious medicine was far greater than before. His teeth were strong enough; he simply chewed and swallowed.

In a single minute, he wolfed down a full sixty stalks of Spirit-Enriching Reishi!

Due to his built-up resistance, a single stalk now reduced the evolution timer by less than four months. Therefore, it took sixty stalks to offset the final nineteen years of waiting.

While the last piece of Reishi was still sliding down his throat, Lin Hui watched the remaining time on the Blood Seal drop to zero.

As the timer hit zero, the text designating the Nine Skies Gate flickered and blurred. Immediately after, a torrent of data—far exceeding anything he had experienced before—flooded into his mind.

It was the entire history of the Nine Skies Gate, a sect that had existed in some unknown, distant place.

Simultaneously, new text surfaced on the Blood Seal.

[Clear Wind Temple — Nine Skies Gate Sect Template beginning integration...]

[Prompt: You have obtained the Master Bestowal Seal for the Clear Source Law Seal.]

[Prompt: You have obtained the Master Bestowal Seal for the Righteous Body. You have obtained the Master Bestowal Seal for the Righteous Heart. You have obtained the Master Bestowal Seal for the Righteous Virtue.]

[Prompt: In the Nine Skies Gate template, all formal disciples must be personally bestowed one of the three seals by the Sect Master as their qualification. The number of bestowed seals corresponds to the disciple's authority and status. The more seals bestowed, the greater the strength amplification and the higher the status.]

Lin Hui groaned. It felt as if an entire library of history had been forcibly crammed into his brain in an instant.

The powerful sect had long since perished in the vast, unknown space. Its demise began with the loss of the Master Bestowal Seals, which caused a break in their inheritance. Coupled with internal power struggles and severe infighting, the sect eventually split into three branches before slowly dying out due to natural disasters. They had held on for several thousand years, and the Blood Seal had shoved the entirety of that history into Lin Hui's head at once.

There’s too much useless information... I just want the template. Why should I care about its history?

Lin Hui clutched his forehead helplessly. He quickly filtered out the noise and extracted the key points from the memories: the internal details regarding the Master Bestowal Seals.

The Nine Skies Gate possessed four great seals. The Clear Source Law Seal is a powerful law seal that amplifies and grants Wind Disaster power to all sect members. It is the most dangerous and potent seal; generally, only the most elite core disciples receive it. Then there are the three foundational seals: Righteous Body, Righteous Heart, and Righteous Virtue. Each of these amplifies the corresponding attribute of a disciple by fifty percent. It’s extremely powerful.

And the sole condition to acquire these effects is that I, as the Sect Master, must personally bestow the seal upon them.

Lin Hui raised a hand and pointed a finger upward. A complex golden character materialized, hovering a centimeter above his fingertip. It did not belong to any language he knew; it was a Source Text created by the Nine Skies Gate, imbued with special power.

The golden character rapidly morphed, shifting sequentially from 'Body' to 'Heart', to 'Virtue', and finally into 'Clear'—the Clear Source Law Seal.

So this is the sect template for the Nine Skies Gate? Then what about me? By controlling the Bestowal Seals, I hold the position of Sect Master or Grand Elder. Shouldn't I receive a corresponding amplification?

A trace of doubt arose in Lin Hui's mind.

The second the thought appeared, a massive boom exploded in his consciousness.

Three golden law seal characters surfaced silently behind him, forming a triangle and flashing with radiant light. At the same time, waves of massive Wind Disaster Force, surging from the void, frantically flooded into Lin Hui’s body.

His physique expanded uncontrollably, inflating like a balloon. He grew larger and taller, and before long, large patches of sky-blue markings began to spread across his skin. His height shot up to three and a half meters.

Bizarrely, despite his immense stature, he maintained his normal physical proportions. He wasn't bloated; it was as if he had been perfectly scaled up.

Lin Hui shook his head and stood straight, only then realizing how towering he had become. Meanwhile, the long hair cascading down his sides had turned a semi-transparent blue, emitting a faint luminescence. Thick strands draped to his waist like seaweed, moving independently of the wind.

When he reached out to touch them, his hand passed right through. Upon closer inspection, he realized they weren't hair at all, but rather countless conduits endlessly drawing Wind Disaster Force from an unknown void. Spliced together, they formed a special organ resembling hair.

This change is... a bit drastic.

Lin Hui looked down at his clothes, which had burst apart, exposing the sky-blue markings on his skin. He could feel the seemingly endless Wind Disaster Force pouring into him.

Wind Disaster Force was distinct from standard Internal Force or Wind Force. In his perception, it was tyrannical—a boiling, surging mass of spikes and blades. It was incomparably sharp, capable of deconstructing and shredding everything around it. Most terrifying was that it seemed inexhaustible.

But how can there be an inexhaustible power? Every power has a source. He simply didn't know the root of the Wind Disaster Force yet.

Assessing his body, Lin Hui sensed that his total Internal Force had more than doubled.

He drew Ruyi and gave it a casual swing.

Boom!

He had used only a fraction of his strength, a simple wave without channeling Internal Force. Yet the air before him tore open, birthing a blackish-blue rift. With a sharp hiss, it slashed into the gray stone wall ahead like lightning.

The wall split silently, marked by a black fissure over five meters long.

Lin Hui stared blankly at Ruyi. He hadn't put any effort into the swing; he was merely testing the sword's weight in his new form.

Is this the power of the Clear Source Law Seal?

He searched his memories for how Nine Skies Gate disciples appeared when using the seal. It wasn't much different. All disciples who used the Clear Source Law Seal grew in size, their hair transforming into sky-blue, intangible filaments. They called this form the Clear Source Law Body.

Retract.

Following the method in his memories, Lin Hui used his mind-spirit to weave the Source Text for 'Clear' in reverse. Instantly, his body blurred, dissolving into a cloud of blue motes of light. A second later, the light dispersed, and he returned to his original size and state.

Clear Source Law Body... not bad.

That state not only increases Wind Disaster’s destructive power, but it also provides an additional boost to pure physical strength—roughly three to four times my normal state.

This sect's evolution yielded incredible benefits. With his current cultivation realm, stacked with the Clear Source Law Body and the Typhoon Sword Technique, even he couldn't gauge the upper limit of his power.

He had certainly surpassed High Divine Officers. As for Palace Masters, he had yet to face one, so he couldn’t be sure. The Palace Master realm was one of deep waters and vast disparities in strength.

He dared not grow careless.