Following the direction in his memories, Lin Xiao arrived at a spot on what had once been the back mountain of Spring Return Valley. Looking at the equally flat ground piled with broken stones, his face could not help twitching. Daoist Yi Yi of Origin Sect, who had followed behind him, glanced at Lin Xiao and asked slowly, "Attendant Lin, what is here?" There was nothing here. Only, following an extremely narrow crevice between two mountain rocks, one could descend three hundred zhang underground, where there was a wondrous limestone cave. Within the cave was a pond, and within that pond grew a strange lotus.
This place held the most wonderful memories of Lin Xiao's short eighteen years of life. This place had been the secret world belonging wholly to Yao'er and him.
But the green peak had collapsed, the cave was gone, and the lotus in that pond had likely been carried off by those demonic cultivators as well. Gazing sadly at the flat land before him, Lin Xiao gently shook his head and said indifferently, "Nothing. There is nothing here anymore." Raising his head and forcing himself to gather a little spirit, Lin Xiao asked with a bitter smile, "When are we going to Qi Yuan Star?"
Yi Yi gave Lin Xiao a somewhat worried look and nodded. "The Blood God Ancestor led those demonic cultivators away to parts unknown. They did not use the only Interstellar Teleportation Array here, and we do not know how they left. The Sect Master has already assigned the various senior brothers and sisters to investigate the whereabouts of those demonic disciples. I imagine..." Yi Yi shook his head. If the tracks of demonic cultivators were so easy to find, the cultivation world would have long since slaughtered them all. He sighed softly. "It will take some time to find them. Therefore, we will return to Qi Yuan Star shortly."
"Oh!" Lin Xiao answered blandly. Expressionless, he looked around in every direction, his face utterly blank.
The so-called Interstellar Teleportation Array lay in the great mountain more than twenty thousand li north of Spring Return Valley, where Lin Xiao had raced all the way under the Black Tortoise Ring's guidance. The mountain spanned a hundred li, its four sides sheer cliffs thousands of zhang high, utterly severing any thought mortals might have of entering it. Within the mountain was an enormous valley, its ground entirely paved with precious Purple Corundum. Etched upon it was a circular formation diagram more than a thousand zhang in diameter, embedded with several hundred fist-sized top-grade spirit stones. This was the sole Interstellar Teleportation Array through which the planet of the Great Luo Pill Dao connected with the outside world.
Several Origin Sect cultivators of the Yi generation protected Lin Xiao in their midst as the group entered the teleportation array. Origin Sect disciples naturally activated the formation, and a seven-colored stream of light shot skyward. Lin Xiao felt enormous pressure descend over his entire body. His vision went black, and he immediately lost consciousness. He had not mobilized the true essence in his body to protect himself at all; the moment the teleportation array activated, the immense pressure crushed him unconscious. Fortunately, the Origin Sect cultivators had prepared for this. Seeing that something was wrong, they immediately pressed a palm against Lin Xiao's body and sent a mouthful of pure true essence into him, helping him withstand the crushing pressure that could have flattened steel into thin sheets.
Everyone's bodies jolted violently as waves of radiance flowed before their eyes. After an unknown length of time, the light before them suddenly brightened, and they had arrived atop a mountain of clear waters and beautiful scenery.
This mountain was likely tens of thousands of zhang high. Boundless white clouds drifted only about its waist, several colossal eagles circling lightly above them, while enormous immortal cranes carrying lingzhi mushrooms flew slowly through the blue sky. The mountaintop was flat as a whetstone, as though someone had forcibly sliced off the mountain's summit and left behind this empty stretch of land spanning tens of thousands of mu.
Several dozen gigantic teleportation arrays had been set atop the mountain. At this moment, every array continuously flashed with lights of different colors. Cultivators kept hurrying into the arrays, while others flew out on sword-light, presenting a bustling scene. At the edge of the level ground stood rows of two-story wooden buildings. Countless banners had been raised outside them, bearing such characters as "wine," "tea," "pills," "artifacts," and "talismans." Cultivators came and went from every small building, making it resemble a flourishing marketplace.
After Lin Xiao's group, Yi Xing and Yi Xin also emerged from the teleportation array with several hundred Origin Sect cultivators. Yi Xing looked at the rows of buildings and said with a bitter smile, "The Great Luo Pill Dao was actually destroyed just like that! What a pity, what a lament. The pills in this market will likely not last even half a month before they run out." Yi Xing let out a long sigh and looked somewhat helplessly at Lin Xiao, who still lay unconscious in Yi Yi's arms.
Yi Xin swiftly shot Yi Xing a glance, then calmly instructed a female disciple behind her, "Go. Convey my decree: from today onward, the prices of all medicinal pills are doubled!"
Yi Xing did not look at Yi Xin. He merely nodded lightly, summoned a patch of white cloud, stepped onto it, and flew into the distance. Origin Sect disciples followed one after another, some riding clouds, some wielding sword-light, some controlling magic treasures, all trailing after Yi Xing. The moment Yi Xing and the others appeared, the several dozen busy teleportation arrays abruptly ceased transmitting people, because every Origin Sect disciple overseeing the arrays was bowing in salute to Yi Xing and the others. Only after they had flown more than ten li away did lights of every color begin flashing through the arrays again.
Unlike the Great Luo Pill Dao, Origin Sect was an absolute behemoth in the cultivation world.
The entire Qi Yuan Star and the thirteen nearby inhabited planets all lay within Origin Sect's sphere of influence. Origin Sect's mountain gate was on Qi Yuan Star, while branches were stationed on each of the other thirteen planets. Across those fourteen planets lived more than thirty billion ordinary people, all ruled by a single dynasty supported by Origin Sect: the Qi Dynasty. From the sovereign down to the most ordinary soldier in the military, all were nominal disciples of Origin Sect. Among the common people, half directly or indirectly served Origin Sect.
Origin Sect had over a million direct disciples. Only with such an enormous foundation of disciples could it have thrown open its mountain gates more than seven years ago and recruited over twenty thousand new disciples in one go. Only Origin Sect possessed such a vast population base and such powerful strength that it could make so grand a gesture. And only Origin Sect, upon receiving the Great Luo Pill Dao's message, would dispatch three thousand elite disciples at once to charge toward the Great Luo Pill Dao merely to investigate a demon that had triggered a transformation of heaven and earth, frightening the Blood God Ancestor into fleeing with his people at top speed.
This was Origin Sect, one of the three foremost sects in the cultivation world.
Yet even Azure Nether Palace and Hidden Source Hall, the other two sects ranked among the three great sects, admitted that their ability to stand shoulder to shoulder with Origin Sect was only because Origin Sect was too modest and their fellow cultivators in the cultivation world gave them too much face. At the very least, in terms of disciples alone, the combined disciples of Azure Nether Palace and Hidden Source Hall did not even amount to a fraction of Origin Sect's.
This was Origin Sect: Origin Sect, whose immense power was enough to make one shudder, Origin Sect that occupied Qi Yuan Star, said to be the source of the cultivation world.
Above the boundless sea of clouds, dozens of white clouds drifted past carrying thousands of streaks of colored light. From time to time, elegant spiritual peaks rose above the clouds, and dozens or hundreds of those colored streaks would continuously descend toward each mountain. In the end, only Yi Xing, Yi Xin, Yi Yi, and the other Origin Sect elders remained, continuing onward atop their clouds.
Origin Sect's mountain gate covered a vast area, enclosing more than fifty thousand li as its territory. Among its famous sites were Three Manors, Three Courtyards, Three Residences, Three Caves, Eighteen Spiritual Peaks, Eighty-One Spiritual Waters, and one thousand seventy-two spiritual mountains of varying sizes. Origin Sect disciples were stationed throughout these places, while the residences of sect masters and elders such as Yi Xing were concentrated in Qi Yuan Cave, one of the Three Caves.
Qi Yuan Cave, Origin Sect's most important core ground, lay halfway up Sky-Supporting Cliff, which stood more than thirty-seven thousand zhang high. Strange peaks and beautiful waters surrounded it on every side, making it a paradise cave of peerless scenery. Moreover, the spiritual vein within Qi Yuan Cave was exceptionally strange. In these times, when Spiritual Energy throughout the cultivation world was rapidly dissipating, the Spiritual Energy within Qi Yuan Cave was also slowly fading, yet it remained more than ten times denser than outside. This gave Origin Sect far more highly accomplished experts than many other sects, allowing it to stand firmly at the summit of the cultivation world.
Thirty li northwest of Sky-Supporting Cliff was a hot spring erupting from the earth's core. Its waters brimmed with Spiritual Energy and pooled upon the surface into a small lake over fifty zhang across. Strands of white Spiritual Energy visible to the naked eye drifted from the lake, nourishing the vegetation within a dozen li until it grew especially lush. Beside the lake stood a bamboo grove, and within it was a small retreat where Lin Xiao had been arranged to stay. After all, he was merely an externally hired Attendant of Origin Sect, not one of its direct elders, and thus was not qualified to enjoy Qi Yuan Cave.
Even so, the Spiritual Energy concentration near this spiritual spring was several times greater than at Spring Return Valley. Cultivating here would save him quite a few spirit stones at the very least.
For such a Spiritual Energy-rich place to still exist in the present cultivation world, Origin Sect's fortune was flourishing enough to make others green with envy!
When Lin Xiao awoke upon the jade couch in the retreat, he smelled a faint, elegant fragrance. Familiar with a hundred medicines, he easily identified it as the scent of Calming Spirit Grass. Calming Spirit Grass could clear one's heart, soothe and steady the mind, and expel inner demons. Origin Sect's arrangements had been thoughtful. Knowing that Lin Xiao had exhausted his mind excessively over the past two days and was even somewhat mentally unstable, they had lit a brazier of the precious Calming Spirit Grass to nourish and restore his spirit. In particular, Lin Xiao could smell a faint trace of Thousand-Year Sandalwood mixed into the Calming Spirit Grass fragrance, making it all the rarer.
Stiffly sitting upright, Lin Xiao examined the furnishings of the retreat.
The retreat's inner walls were pieced together from green bamboo strips, whose natural patterns formed an immense ink-wash landscape painting, fresh, natural, and full of charm. Within the retreat was a jade couch—the one Lin Xiao currently occupied—made from warm jade over ten thousand years old, which also possessed marvelous effects in calming the mind and stabilizing one's breath. In a corner stood a crane-shaped purple-gold incense burner, wisps of milky-white smoke drifting from its crane beak. Beneath the window opposite the jade couch stood a long sandalwood table, upon which rested a five-string zither. Beside it was a palm-sized blue toad-shaped incense burner with three incense sticks inserted into it, though they had not been lit. Bamboo leaves carpeted the floor of the retreat. These leaves seemed to have been refined through some artifact-forging method; although they looked like separate leaves, they were as one whole. Lin Xiao rubbed his foot against them several times, yet the leaves did not shift in the slightest.
Turning around, Lin Xiao saw his Crimson Dragon Sword hanging on the wall behind the jade couch. On a bamboo nail beside it hung another short sword in a sharkskin sheath. Lin Xiao casually drew the short sword and waved it lightly. Though it was purely decorative, the short sword flashed with brilliant light and emitted a biting chill. In an ordinary person's hands, it would still have been an incomparably valuable peerless weapon.
Casually sheathing the short sword, Lin Xiao took down the Crimson Dragon Sword and hung it at his waist before slowly rising to his feet.
The organs compressed by the teleportation array still ached faintly, but there was a light medicinal taste in his mouth. It seemed that the people of Origin Sect had given Lin Xiao some kind of pill. He walked around the retreat several times. As the medicinal power gradually spread, the slight discomfort in his body faded away.
After standing blankly in the room for a while, Lin Xiao looked around, unsure what he ought to do now. He saw the zither and casually walked over to the long table, lightly brushing its strings.
"Ding dong, ding dong." The zither gave off clear, melodious notes. A timid voice immediately sounded from outside the retreat. "Attendant Lin, are you awake?"
The retreat door was carefully pushed open, and half a fair little face appeared through the crack. It was the face of an exceedingly elegant and adorable young girl, with a clean oval face and neat twin-bun hairstyle, a thin little braid hanging beside her cheek and making her appear all the more lively and charming. Her small nose was pert and delicate, her little diamond-shaped mouth rosy red, and her large, lively eyes held several traces of restraint and even two or three parts fear, making the little girl especially pitiful and endearing.
Lin Xiao gave the girl outside a blank look and said indifferently, "What instructions does Senior Yi Xing have for me?"
The instant he spoke, even Lin Xiao startled himself. His vocal cords seemed to have been too severely injured. His voice was hoarse, like two stones grinding against one another, indescribably unpleasant, even carrying a fierce and savage undertone. Upon hearing Lin Xiao's voice, the little girl outside gave an "Ah!" of fright and abruptly slammed the door shut.
Lin Xiao froze. Closing his eyes, he examined his body with divine sense and discovered that all his other injuries had healed. Only his vocal cords were far too delicate; after being injured by Skyfire True Essence, a small section of them had been burned away. Though the wound had now closed, it had left a tiny scar, which was why his voice had become so unpleasant. Lin Xiao turned to look at the tightly shut door and gently shook his head. "A Three-One Bone-Regenerating Pill can heal this injury, but refining one requires Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivation."
After coughing lightly, Lin Xiao slowly walked to the door. Just as he was about to pull it open, the little girl outside cautiously pushed it open again by a crack, one large eye peering through the gap and rolling as it watched Lin Xiao. Looking down at the strip of her face revealed through the crack, Lin Xiao said blandly, "My voice... has a slight problem. Do not be afraid. Did Senior Yi Xing leave any instructions?"
The large eye outside blinked hard several times. The little girl seemed to realize that Lin Xiao was not some fiendish, terrifying person, and only then carefully pushed open the door and tiptoed inside. Clasping her hands tightly before herself, she lowered her head and bowed deeply to Lin Xiao. "This servant is Qingchu. Greetings, Attendant Lin."
"You are Qingchu?" Lin Xiao tilted his head and pondered for a long time before asking blankly, "Which characters?"
The little girl, who stood only a little over four chi tall, lowered her head another three cun. Her head had nearly dropped lower than Lin Xiao's waist. Qingchu said in a tiny voice, like the humming of a mosquito, "Qing as in green grass, chu as in medicine hoe. Qingchu used to help Uncle Li, who managed the medicinal garden, tend the herbs there, and I memorized the Hundred Herbs Scripture, so I was specifically transferred here to serve the Attendant." The more Qingchu spoke, the further she bent at the waist, until Lin Xiao feared that her head might touch the ground.
"Enough. Raise your head. Do not be so overly formal in the future." Lin Xiao said heavily, "You look thirteen or fourteen at most. I am not much older than you."
As she raised her head, Lin Xiao thought of Shen Xiaobai, whom he had rescued from Shen Family Fortress years ago. Shen Xiaobai had seemed to be about the same size as Qingchu before him. He said quietly, "You may call me Brother Lin. As for Attendant..." Lin Xiao suddenly coughed violently. He muttered to himself with some desolation, "I would rather not be this Attendant."
Qingchu slowly straightened up. Her fingers twisted fiercely together, and she still kept her head lowered as she said softly, "The one who sent Brother Lin here was Patriarch Yi Yi. He... he said that Brother Lin should rest and recuperate properly for a while, and you may do whatever you like. Patriarch Yi Yi said that they will soon gather the various seniors of the righteous path to join hands and eradicate the demons. Brother Lin's cultivation is insufficient, so... so you need not participate. You should remain on Qi Yuan Star and rest well."
His cultivation was insufficient? Lin Xiao's body trembled slightly. He looked inward at his dantian, where the soybean-sized purple golden core slowly revolved. The Black Tortoise Ring floated above the golden core, constantly absorbing every strand of true essence transformed by it, leaving not even a scrap for Lin Xiao. The Black Tortoise Ring had changed in appearance. Its once smooth body was now covered in tortoise-shell patterns, while a Black Tortoise head protruded from the ring, mouth wide open as though prepared to bite something apart.
"Oh, I understand." Lin Xiao said no more. Naturally, he understood that this was Origin Sect's goodwill. They also feared that once he died, the Great Luo Pill Dao would truly be annihilated. Given the relationship between Origin Sect and the Great Luo Pill Dao, Origin Sect had an obligation in righteousness to help the Great Luo Pill Dao restore its mountain gate.
A glimmer of life passed through Lin Xiao's eyes. Yes, restore the mountain gate!
Find his fellow disciples who had been reincarnated, especially Yao'er! Then refine Reincarnation Pills and Dream Return Pills, allowing them to recover the memories and cultivation of this life!
He was the Great Luo Pill Dao's only surviving disciple. He had the obligation to rebuild the Great Luo Pill Dao! Above all, he had to bring Yao'er back to his side!
This was the oath Lin Xiao, an eighteen-year-old young man, swore on this day!
To refine Reincarnation Pills and Dream Return Pills required vast quantities of precious medicinal ingredients! The Great Luo Pill Dao's stored herbs had all been plundered by demonic cultivators. He had to rely on Origin Sect to provide every kind of raw material! But Origin Sect would not provide these incomparably precious herbs to him for nothing, so he had to make contributions to Origin Sect!
Refining Reincarnation Pills and Dream Return Pills required cultivation of extraordinary depth! Therefore, he had to cultivate with all his strength! Whether one hundred years, two hundred years, one thousand years, two thousand years, even ten thousand years or twenty thousand years, he would certainly attain the realm of cultivation required to refine those two pills!
No matter how many generations the Great Luo Pill Dao's elders and fellow disciples had reincarnated through, no matter how many times Yao'er had reincarnated, he would find them and let them recover the memories and cultivation of this life!
Lin Xiao placed a heavy burden upon his own shoulders. Suddenly, he had motivation again. He had hope!
Two wisps of exceedingly fine purple light shot from Lin Xiao's eyes. He, who had originally been like a mummy without the slightest hint of life, suddenly roused himself, clenched his fists tightly, and gave a great shout. Rings of invisible airwaves surged from his body, shaking the retreat until it howled. Unable to bear the invisible pressure emanating from Lin Xiao, Qingchu staggered backward.
Qingchu was a little unsteady on her feet. Flailing her arms, she tried to grab the jade couch or the long table to steady herself. In her panic, she suddenly raised her head, and Lin Xiao saw her face clearly.
No wonder this little girl was so cautious in speech and action. No wonder she had kept her head lowered whenever she spoke with Lin Xiao!
The right side of her face was exquisitely beautiful and adorable, clearly the face of a budding little beauty. But on her left cheek was a palm-sized blue birthmark, forcibly turning her face as savage and hideous as a yaksha's.
Qingchu raised her head and saw Lin Xiao staring fixedly at her, his eyes carrying several traces of astonishment. Sensitive as she was, she immediately covered her face with her hand, stared blankly at Lin Xiao, and great tears came rolling down her cheeks in streams.
Seeing Qingchu silently weep, Lin Xiao's heart suddenly ached faintly. He seemed to see Shen Xiaobai again, curled up and trembling in his arms, as well as Yao'er, hungry and pitifully looking at the roasted chicken in his hand. He even felt that Qingchu before him was like the little dog he had owned in childhood, so painfully endearing.
Lin Xiao walked gently to Qingchu's side and forcibly pulled away the small hand covering her cheek. His fingers lightly traced that blue birthmark.
The birthmark was icy cold to the touch, and a faint chill seeped from within her cheek.
Qingchu looked at Lin Xiao in panic. Her two small hands wanted to cover her face, yet she did not dare offend Lin Xiao. Her hands fluttered at her sides for a while, then she suddenly burst out crying with a "Waa!" Her body slowly crouched to the ground, both hands covering her little head as she wept in utter grief.
"Ah, it is only a thread of cold poison brought from the womb. It is very easy to treat." Lin Xiao slowly crouched before Qingchu, gently patting her little head as he said calmly, "I am a physician who prescribes medicine and treats people. Your face may seem difficult to cure in other people's eyes, but to me, it is nothing difficult."
Yes, nothing difficult.
When it came to the medical arts and pill arts, who could surpass Lin Xiao, who had memorized the complete Great Luo Pill Scripture in his mind?
Before you continue