Origin Sect Enshrined

Within Spring Return Valley, the peaks were broken, the rivers had ceased to flow, and the lakes had all dried up. Every medicinal field had been completely uprooted, not a single blade of grass remaining. Countless medicinal cauldrons, large and small, had been moved away by immense magical power, leaving behind only a scene of devastation. The Spring Return Valley, spanning over a hundred miles, was now a flat expanse of rubble, with no valuable items left. Even the cold pond water from the back mountain had been collected in containers and taken as material for refining Yin Sha magical treasures.

The demonic cultivators had scoured the Spring Return Valley to a depth of three hundred zhang. The meager savings accumulated by hundreds of generations of ancestors from the Great Luo Pill Dao were completely plundered.

When Lin Xiao awoke, he found himself lying on a flat bluestone slab about ten feet square. A layer of soft long grass was beneath him, and two green Taoist robes were covering him. A wisp of ethereal pill qi lingered in his mouth. To his left and right, a young male and female cultivator, both dressed in moon-blue Taoist robes, were sitting cross-legged beside him, gazing at him intently.

The young male cultivator was handsome and heroic, his eyes like lightning. He possessed double pupils, with wisps of cloud qi faintly swirling within his irises, clearly indicating his profound cultivation. He had also cultivated some wondrous technique specifically for his eyes. The female cultivator was as elegant as a dew-kissed lotus. A faint, almost visible wisp of clear qi encircled her, leaving not a speck of dust on her person. Her gentle smile was like water. Upon seeing her, even Lin Xiao, whose heart was now like withered wood, couldn't help but be momentarily stunned. She was a woman who made one involuntarily want to draw closer.

Seeing Lin Xiao open his eyes, the male cultivator nodded slightly and smiled at him. However, when he noticed Lin Xiao's gaze linger only briefly on the female cultivator before returning to his face expressionlessly, the male cultivator couldn't help but be slightly taken aback. The corner of his mouth twitched, and he secretly smiled at the female cultivator.

The female cultivator glared at the male cultivator and spoke in a melodious voice, "Junior friend Lin Xiao, I am Yi Xin from Origin Sect. This is my senior brother, Yi Xing. This place… is Spring Return Valley."

Lin Xiao stiffly pushed himself up, staring blankly at the ravaged landscape of Spring Return Valley, now flattened into a plain. White rubble and broken tiles covered the ground everywhere, devoid of any green. Not only the spiritual herbs in the medicinal fields, but even the plants and trees that were slightly older had been plundered by the demonic cultivators. Even the slightly valuable jade tiles and golden bricks from the Pill Qi Lingxiao Hall had been completely searched.

Looking at the unbearable scene before him, Lin Xiao's numb face twitched. Yi Xin and Yi Xing raised their eyebrows, about to say something, when Lin Xiao slowly raised his hands and asked faintly, "Where is my senior sister… Yao'er?" Lin Xiao looked at Yi Xin blankly. The corner of his eye, which had just healed, burst open again, and a stream of blood dripped down.

Yi Xin's expression turned somber. She cast a slightly resentful glance at Yi Xing.

Yi Xing glanced at Yi Xin impassively, then turned to nod at Lin Xiao. "That young girl is Yao'er, I presume? Her body was infected by the demonic art's 'Thousand Gu Evil Poison.' In just three hours, she would have transformed into a hundred-poison zombie. Therefore, I ordered someone to refine her with true fire just now." Yi Xing looked at Lin Xiao with some concern, his tone gentle as he comforted him, "Junior friend, do not be sad. When we arrived, we happened to encounter Blood God Ancestor leaving with a group of demonic disciples. However, we heard him say that the souls of everyone in your sect were preserved. This is indeed fortunate amidst misfortune."

"Souls!" A flicker of light appeared in Lin Xiao's eyes. He stared intently at Yi Xing and said in a deep voice, "The souls are still there, what does that mean?"

The vast information from the Great Luo Pill Scripture flashed rapidly through Lin Xiao's mind. He looked at Yi Xing dazedly and asked, "The souls still exist, meaning they can still reincarnate, right?"

"Yes!" Yi Xing remained silent, but Yi Xin interjected, "Moreover, the souls of cultivators are stable. After reincarnation, they are very likely to retain some memories from their previous lives."

"They don't need memories of their previous lives!" A hint of a smile appeared on Lin Xiao's face. He lowered his head and chuckled, "As long as they can reincarnate, it doesn't matter. With the 'Reincarnation Pill' to awaken their past life memories, and the 'Dream Return Pill' to stabilize their cultivation and mental state in this life, and then various elixirs to enhance their cultivation. As long as I can find the people who reincarnated, I can save them! I can save them!" Lin Xiao suddenly leaped up as if driven mad, waving his hands and roaring to the sky, "Heavens! I can save them!"

Yi Xing and Yi Xin exchanged worried glances.

The names Reincarnation Pill and Dream Return Pill were familiar to them, but they were only mentioned in the highest texts of their Origin Sect. These were treasures even more precious than the legendary Heaven-grade spiritual pills, true Immortal Pills! Setting aside whether Lin Xiao remembered the formulas and spiritual techniques for refining such Immortal Pills, even if he knew them, where in the current cultivation world could one gather the materials to refine Immortal Pills? Those rare materials, even during the peak of the cultivation world thousands of years ago, were rarely seen even once in ten thousand years!

However, Yi Xing and Yi Xin, in unspoken agreement, did not speak to disturb the somewhat delirious Lin Xiao.

Yi Xing stared blankly at several streaks of sword light flashing across the sky in the distance. Yi Xin, on the other hand, gazed absently at Yi Xing and murmured to herself, "Having a glimmer of hope makes life, even if difficult, a little easier than having no hope at all, right? Even if that hope is slim, having it is better than not having it."

Yi Xing seemed not to hear Yi Xin's soft murmur. Three golden sword lights, tens of feet long and accompanied by faint thunderous sounds, rapidly flew from afar. Three middle-aged Taoists, dressed in moon-blue Taoist robes, landed about ten feet in front of Yi Xing and cupped their hands in greeting. "Sect Leader Senior Brother, we have searched the entire Spring Return Valley. Apart from Junior friend Lin Xiao, all other fellow disciples of the Great Luo Pill Dao have perished."

One middle-aged Taoist stepped forward a few paces and placed a charred and incomplete scripture and several broken wooden boards before Yi Xing. Yi Xing picked up the scripture and the wooden boards, flipped through them, and sighed softly. He then said kindly to Lin Xiao, "Junior friend Lin Xiao, please take a look. Is this your family tree and… the memorial tablets of your father and relatives?"

Lin Xiao stared blankly. He lunged forward and grabbed the incomplete family tree and the memorial tablets. He couldn't even cry. He just held these items tightly, large drops of bloody tears rolling down from the corners of his eyes, dripping onto the family tree and tablets, staining them crimson.

Yi Xing and the other Taoists quietly watched Lin Xiao, not a single person speaking.

After a long while, Lin Xiao slowly put the family tree and memorial tablets into his bracelet and asked in a hoarse voice, "How did Senior know my name?" Lin Xiao finally reacted slightly. These Yi Xing and Yi Xin were from Origin Sect, and those Taoists actually addressed Yi Xing as Sect Leader Senior Brother. Didn't that mean Yi Xing was the current Sect Leader of Origin Sect? In terms of seniority, Yi Xing was on the level of Lin Xiao's Grand-Master-Uncle.

Yi Xing calmly replied, "Fellow Daoist Dan Ling sent a letter of command to our Origin Sect via the formation a few days ago, stating that demonic entities in the Great Luo Pill Dao region were being eliminated by heavenly lightning and requesting us to investigate. The letter also included your portrait and introduction, describing you as a rare genius of the Great Luo Pill Dao in a thousand years, achieving Golden Core at eighteen years old. The letter praised you highly."

"So that's how it is," Lin Xiao said blankly. "But, Martial Uncle Dan Ling..."

Yi Xing lowered his head and said softly, "If nothing unexpected happened, it is likely that the entire Great Luo Pill Dao sect has… only you remaining."

Lin Xiao fell silent. He stood there motionless, his earlier excitement and fervor long gone. He recalled the records of the Reincarnation Pill and Dream Return Pill in the Great Luo Pill Scripture and realized how arduous it was to refine such pills! Furthermore, how much more difficult was it to find the reincarnated disciples of the Great Luo Pill Dao in the boundless cultivation world than to find a needle in a haystack?

It was like a traveler dying of thirst in the desert, who suddenly discovered a clear lake less than a hundred meters ahead. As he excitedly rushed towards the lake, he was shocked to find a bottomless chasm tens of meters wide separating him from the lake!

Hope, and then sudden despair.

This was another heavy blow. Lin Xiao opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Yi Xing frowned, while Yi Xin's expression dimmed. She hurriedly advised, "Junior friend, having hope is better than complete despair. Spring Return Valley is no longer suitable for habitation. If Junior friend agrees, would you be willing to become a guest elder of our Origin Sect? You would only need to refine some pills for our Origin Sect annually, and our Origin Sect will provide you with various medicinal ingredients, and even help you search for the whereabouts of your reincarnated fellow disciples. Are you willing?"

Origin Sect! One of the three most powerful orthodox sects in the cultivation world! The Origin Sect, whose territory encompassed almost the entire Qi Yuan Star!

A faint glimmer flashed in the depths of Lin Xiao's eyes. He slowly and stiffly raised his hand and cupped his hands in greeting to Yi Xin, saying, "If that is the case, this junior is naturally willing. I will have to trouble all of you greatly in the future!"

Yi Xing raised his head and looked at Lin Xiao with a hint of pity, nodding gently. Then, he glared at Yi Xin with a touch of annoyance, as if blaming her for making arrangements without his consent.

Yi Xin raised her eyebrows and glared back at Yi Xing, almost defiantly.

Yi Xing fell silent and lowered his head again.

The youngest guest elder of Origin Sect on Qi Yuan Star was thus born. (To be continued)