Spirit Gathering Array

Each Purple Smoke Wisteria fruit was as large as a longan, suffused with a rich purple glow and nearly transparent. Inside each fruit was only a soft seed the size of a sesame grain. Fine purple veins extended from that seed, directly linking it to the tough peel. Purple Smoke Wisteria fruits could automatically absorb the scattered Spiritual Energy in the surroundings. The Spiritual Energy drawn in through the peel gathered within the seed through those exceedingly fine purple veins. The seed contained the entire essence of the fruit. The flesh outside was merely exceptionally crisp, sweet, and refreshing, while the seed could increase one's true essence cultivation by a tiny amount.

Back when Spiritual Energy had been abundant in the cultivation world, Purple Smoke Wisteria ripened once every three months. Each fruit was as large as an infant's fist, and its seed was the size of a finger. A single seed could increase a normal cultivator's true essence cultivation by nearly half a year. But now, Purple Smoke Wisteria needed three years to ripen. Not only had the fruits shrunk considerably, but a single seed could only increase one's true essence cultivation by three to five days. Even so, Purple Smoke Wisteria was still a rare spirit fruit nowadays, because the true essence cultivation it increased came with no side effects whatsoever. There was absolutely no risk of one's body exploding.

As for the Cold Osmanthus Brew, Daoist Master Yizhen had brewed it from cold-fragrant osmanthus blossoms harvested from trees over a hundred years old, combined with mountain fruits. It had then been buried for more than sixty years underground, where fire-attributed Spiritual Energy was abundant. The liquor was thick as paste. After being blended with the juices of various spirit fruits and spirit spring water, it carried a faint, secluded fragrance. Once it entered the mouth, it was like a stream of fire rushing straight into the belly, swiftly turning into currents of heat that circulated throughout the body. Sweat immediately poured from every pore like rain, while coolness arose beneath the arms as though a gentle breeze were blowing there. It truly was an experience beyond words.

Lin Xiao sat on a stone stool, carefully tasting the Purple Smoke Wisteria spirit fruits and sipping the marvelous Cold Osmanthus Brew a mouthful at a time. From time to time, he handed several fruits to Qingchu standing behind him, while watching the old Daoist Master Yizhen order the Artifact Hall's Daoists about until they spun like tops. The Artifact Hall's storerooms for all manner of refining materials were all located in these underground caverns. Storeroom doors opened one after another, and the Daoists carried out mountains of materials in every color, piling them inside an immense cave dwelling.

Slowly drinking a cup of Cold Osmanthus Brew, Lin Xiao stared blankly at the mountains of rare materials before him and could not help nodding lightly. "Origin Sect's foundations truly run deep. The Pill Frying Furnace that the patriarch who invented the 'art of pill frying' failed to forge even after spending several hundred years on it—they can gather its materials so casually. Perhaps there is hope after all?"

Pinching up a purple-glowing fruit, Lin Xiao slowly placed it in his mouth and gently bit through its peel. Sweet, clear honeyed juice swirled through his mouth. The instant the tiny sesame-sized seed touched his tongue, it transformed into an exceedingly fine current of heat and burrowed into his body. Without realizing it, Lin Xiao ate nearly a hundred Purple Smoke Wisteria fruits, increasing his true essence cultivation by roughly a year.

An odd sound came from behind him. Lin Xiao turned and happened to see Qingchu carefully nibbling, bit by tiny bit, at a Purple Smoke Wisteria spirit fruit. Her face was full of emotion, delight, and reluctance to part with it. As she looked at the spirit fruit, it was as though she were gazing upon some peerless treasure. Seeing Lin Xiao looking at her, Qingchu hurriedly lowered her hands, cautiously tucked both hands behind her back, hid the half-eaten spirit fruit behind her, and lowered her head with a faint blush on her face. Lin Xiao saw that her waist bulged noticeably. Clearly, she had carefully hidden the several fruits he had given her close against her body.

"Hmm, why are you being like this?" Lin Xiao had meant to ask Qingchu why she needed to be so cautious over nothing more than eating a fruit.

"Th-this is a rare spirit fruit." Qingchu's head nearly drooped to her chest as she said in a voice as soft as a mosquito's hum, "Qingchu... Qingchu hid a few because I wanted Uncle Li to taste them."

"Oh!" Lin Xiao nodded, then turned to the young Daoist attendant standing nearby. "Fellow Daoist..."

The young Daoist hurriedly performed a respectful salute. "Attendant Lin may simply call me Qing Feng."

Lin Xiao nodded and pointed at the half plate of Purple Smoke Wisteria spirit fruits beside him on the stone table—roughly more than a hundred in all. "Are there any more of these fruits?"

Young Daoist Qing Feng nodded with a smile. "Our patriarch likes the sweetness and fragrance of Purple Smoke Wisteria best, so he planted a large patch along the underground spirit vein. There are still more fruits."

"Good." Lin Xiao swept his left hand over the jade plate, storing both the fruits and the plate in his bracelet. He glanced at young Daoist Qing Feng, whose expression had grown slightly stiff, then turned back to Qingchu and said calmly, "Eat in big bites. There are plenty more here." His brows furrowed faintly, and Lin Xiao continued, "Senior Yizhen has many more here. Mm."

Young Daoist Qing Feng felt his heart twitching again and again. This Attendant Lin really did not treat himself as an outsider, did he? If he were simply frivolous by nature, that would be one thing. Yet his face was cold as ice, and his gaze sharp as a blade. He did not seem like that sort of person at all. Young Daoist Qing Feng was somewhat dumbfounded. Just what kind of temperament did this Attendant Lin Xiao possess?

Daoist Master Yizhen had stripped off his Daoist Robe and stood at the entrance to the cave dwelling in nothing but a blue cloth undershirt, jumping about wildly. Waving his arms, he shouted, "Hurry! Hurry! There are still thirty thousand jin of fire jade! Hurry, hurry! Mm, mm, why haven't the five hundred jin of purple wind copper on the materials list been delivered? What are you useless fools doing? We're also three hundred jars short of the Essence Condensation Crystal Fluid used to trace the spirit formations—damn it, since when did Essence Condensation Crystal Fluid have to be counted by the hundred jars? What kind of monstrous pill furnace is this?"

This was the Artifact Hall's largest artifact-refining cave dwelling in Origin Sect, one that might not be opened even once in several centuries. In the past, it had only been used to refine colossal core formation artifacts for the halls, archways, and other offense-and-defense structures of sects close to them. Those were enormous architectural artifacts with complex constructions. Opening this cave dwelling to refine a single item was truly the first time in Origin Sect's history! An ordinary pill furnace standing three to five zhang tall was already astonishing, yet the pill furnace proposed by Lin Xiao stood a full hundred zhang tall!

A specially made pill furnace a hundred zhang tall, capable of producing one hundred thousand pills in a single batch!

Whenever Daoist Master Yizhen thought of the pill furnace Lin Xiao had described to him, his entire body tingled with unbearable excitement. No matter how profound his cultivation or how steady his state of mind, his heart nearly leaped into his mouth. His whole body trembled, streams of sweat flowed down him, and his blue cloth shirt was soaked through, its blue already turned black.

Several streaks of spiritual light descended outside the cave entrance. Daoists Yi Xing, Yi Xin, Daoist Yi Yi, and several others hurriedly landed and strode into the cave dwelling. Yi Xing casually pushed aside two disciples saluting before him and shouted, "Junior Brother Yizhen, what are you doing? The materials mentioned in the order you sent earlier—those ordinary refined metals are one thing. We can spend some effort and refine tens of thousands of jin every year. But the rare materials, you're using thousands and hundreds of jin at a time. What exactly are you trying to refine?"

Daoist Master Yizhen was frantically comparing the delivered materials against the list Lin Xiao had given him. Hearing Yi Xing's question, he casually gestured toward Lin Xiao and shouted, "The person responsible is over there, so ask him! Mm, we're still missing forty-nine Fire Flood Dragon Pills, each with over five thousand years of refinement, to serve as the furnace core! Go fetch them quickly! Mm, heavens, forty-nine Fire Flood Dragon Pills! Does the storeroom even have that many? Also, the one hundred and eight Ten-Thousand-Year Red Smoke Cloud Mica Pillars, each ten zhang and eight chi long, needed to stabilize the flames... Mm, the furnace lid... heavens, must the furnace lid be made from Heavenly Gold Sand? Even if it must, does it really need thirty-six jin? Wouldn't three jin and six liang do? Th-this is simply far too much!"

When Yi Xing, Yi Xin, and Daoist Yi Yi heard the materials Daoist Master Yizhen muttered out, along with the quantities that followed, Lin Xiao strangely noticed that these top Nascent Soul Stage experts seemed to be walking on air. He stared in astonishment at the three people approaching him and thought with some confusion, The patriarch of my Great Luo Pill Dao spent several centuries of painstaking effort without gathering these materials, which was why the Pill Frying Furnace he designed could not be refined. But Origin Sect has such vast resources—could they really begrudge this little bit of material?

At the cave entrance, Daoist Master Yizhen suddenly let out a shrill scream. "Heavens! Thirty-six liang of Solar Essence Crystal! That is exactly the entire stockpile!"

Amazingly, Daoist Yi Xing, who already possessed Nascent Soul Stage cultivation and even showed faint signs of breaking into the next realm, had his legs go weak. He nearly staggered and fell to the ground. Fortunately, Yi Xin's attention had almost entirely been on him. The instant she saw that something was wrong with Yi Xing's expression, she immediately reached out and embraced his arm, barely steadying him. Yi Xing shot a somewhat embarrassed glance at Lin Xiao, who was slowly rising to his feet, then awkwardly pulled his arm from Yi Xin's tight embrace and coughed forcefully.

Yi Xin slowly withdrew her hands and lowered her head in gloom. Daoist Yi Yi and the other two Origin Sect elders raised their heads high, as though they had not seen that small exchange between Yi Xing and Yi Xin at all. Lin Xiao merely performed a calm salute and greeted Yi Xing simply, "Junior Lin Xiao greets Sect Leader Yi Xing."

Daoist Yi Xing quickly walked before Lin Xiao and was about to say something when Daoist Master Yizhen suddenly screamed again from the entrance. "Ah—save me! How did I fail to see this just now? To connect with the underground spirit vein and provide enough Spiritual Energy to the pill furnace to gather its furnace fire, we need a cylindrical pillar three cun thick and ten li long, forged from Red Agate over ten thousand years old, to connect the earth veins? Heavens!"

Daoist Yi Xing's face twitched violently, and a trace of a ferocious smile appeared upon his kindly, benevolent features. He gave Lin Xiao a dry smile. "Little Friend Lin, Attendant Lin, the list you submitted to the Medicine Hall was somewhat excessive in quantity, but Origin Sect could bear it. Yet the materials list you submitted to the Artifact Hall is truly shocking beyond belief. What exactly do you intend?"

Lin Xiao looked at Daoist Yi Xing and said blandly, "The Pill Frying Furnace is also called the Flowing Pill Furnace, or it may be called the Pill Sea Furnace. It was created by Patriarch Luo Yu of my Great Luo Pill Dao twenty-seven hundred years ago."

Luo Yu? Daoist Yi Yi's expression tightened as he urgently asked, "The Senior Luo Yu who created the formula for the Infant Nurturing Pill?"

"Indeed." Lin Xiao nodded lightly and said calmly, "Patriarch Luo Yu's accomplishments in the pill dao were one thing, but his true expertise lay in improvements to pill-refining spirit formulas and techniques, as well as the paths of pill furnaces and pill formations. The Pill Frying Furnace gathered the culmination of Patriarch Luo Yu's lifetime of pill dao, pill formulas, and pill formations. Its mysteries were boundless. It was not merely a treasure for refining pills, but a spirit artifact integrating both offense and defense."

"A spirit artifact!" Yi Xing, Yi Xin, Daoist Yi Yi, and the others sucked in a cold breath. Yi Xing smiled bitterly. "In today's cultivation world, I fear no one can refine a spirit artifact any longer." His eyes shone brightly as he stared at Lin Xiao, wanting him to provide a reasonable explanation. With so many precious materials consumed, it would be enough to refine even an Immortal Artifact, let alone a spirit artifact. Yet there was no longer anyone in the cultivation world capable of refining spirit artifacts. Would that not be wasting all these materials for nothing? Rather than waste these supremely precious materials on a single magic treasure, it would be better to combine them with ordinary materials and forge tens of thousands of more practical flying swords and treasures.

"This pill furnace can absorb the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth and continuously evolve." The icy gaze in Lin Xiao's eyes became incomparably deep, carrying a strange force that seized the soul. Although Daoist Yi Xing knew perfectly well that Lin Xiao's cultivation was weak, he still had the illusion that he did not wish to meet Lin Xiao's eyes. Lin Xiao's gaze held the depth that belonged only to an elder who had seen countless experiences and endured countless changes. There was something in his eyes called the wisdom of accumulated years—and that impression should not have appeared on Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao was, after all, only a young cultivator barely over eighteen. How could his eyes be so profound?

Daoist Yi Xing felt something stir within him and instead overlooked Lin Xiao's claim that the pill furnace could absorb the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth to evolve itself. He stared blankly at Lin Xiao, then only after a long while asked slowly, "You... have actually comprehended the Great Luo Pill Scripture? But how could you possibly have such a fated opportunity? The Great Luo Pill Scripture is a sacred tome that only the core executive elders of Great Luo Pill Dao are qualified to comprehend. You..."

Daoist Yi Yi was stunned as well. He muttered to himself, "The Great Luo Pill Scripture? The sole piece of Soul Condensing Jade in the cultivation world was made by Great Luo Pill Dao into the vessel for the Great Luo Pill Scripture. Only Soul Condensing Jade could preserve the divine senses of tens of thousands of Great Luo Pill Dao forebears, retaining their lifetime realizations and experience. And only those pill-refining madmen of Great Luo Pill Dao would rack their brains to do such a thing!"

Great Luo Pill Dao had no expertise beyond pills. What they pursued throughout their lives was only "pills." Every disciple of Great Luo Pill Dao possessed only one "dao"—the pill dao! Therefore, Great Luo Pill Dao's forebears could use Soul Condensing Jade to preserve the realizations and experience of tens of thousands of people, then stuff all of it into their descendants' minds at once, allowing them to slowly absorb and digest it. Other cultivation sects rarely did such things. Take Origin Sect, for example: Origin Sect had dozens of cultivation methods, divided into countless lineages. If they did the same, they could only burst their descendants' heads apart!

Besides, no other sect possessed a piece of Soul Condensing Jade like this!

Lin Xiao merely nodded lightly. His lips pressed together slightly as he said in a low voice, "The Great Luo Pill Scripture. Yes."

Lin Xiao's words stunned all the Origin Sect elders. A Great Luo Pill Dao disciple with the Great Luo Pill Scripture in his mind and a Great Luo Pill Dao disciple without it in his mind had completely different values. Without Great Luo Pill Dao, Lin Xiao was merely someone Origin Sect supported under the title of Attendant out of its friendship with Great Luo Pill Dao; they had fulfilled their goodwill, and that was enough. But Lin Xiao, who possessed the Great Luo Pill Scripture in his mind, was fully qualified to become Great Luo Pill Dao's highest-ranked Attendant!

This singular marvel of the cultivation world, the Great Luo Pill Scripture, was enough to transform Lin Xiao from an ordinary pearl or jade into a priceless treasure of heaven and earth brimming with Spiritual Energy!

Daoist Yi Xing's heart twitched violently as well. He had merely found Lin Xiao's gaze strange; those profound eyes should not have belonged to an eighteen-year-old youth, so he had made a casual guess. Unexpectedly, his guess was true! He did not understand how Lin Xiao had obtained the Great Luo Pill Scripture, but what did that matter? In any case, Lin Xiao had inherited the Great Luo Pill Scripture and received all the realizations and experience in the pill dao left by tens of thousands of Great Luo Pill Dao forebears with profound cultivation and exquisite pill arts. That was what mattered most!

It was merely one pill furnace! Even if it were ten or a hundred, Origin Sect would grit its teeth, smash its pots, sell its iron, and forge the pill furnace no matter what!

Especially since... what had Lin Xiao just said?

Daoist Nun Yi Xin cried out, "What did you say? This thing called the Pill Frying Furnace, the Flowing Pill Furnace, the Pill Sea Furnace—it can automatically absorb the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth and evolve?"

The enormous cavern instantly fell silent. Even Daoist Master Yizhen, who had been hopping about at the entrance, blankly turned around and looked over.

Absorbing the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth to evolve on its own was an ability only found in those legendary ancient treasures! With Daoist Master Yizhen's artifact-refining level, he could at most refine a mid-grade Precious Artifact. But if even mid-grade Precious Artifacts could automatically absorb the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth and slowly evolve, then... what if that function were applied to the flying swords and magic treasures used by Origin Sect disciples?

Lin Xiao nodded lightly. Having prepared in advance, he took a thick stack of paper from his bracelet.

"This is the Spirit Gathering Array that Patriarch Luo Yu comprehended from a fragment of a magic treasure in an ancient ruin somewhere on the Great Mystic Star. If the Spirit Gathering Array is refined into the core of a magic treasure, that treasure can automatically absorb the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth and gradually improve its grade." Lin Xiao gently placed the thick stack of paper into Daoist Yi Xing's trembling hands and said in a low voice, "However, the Spirit Gathering Array can only absorb and refine Spiritual Energy. It cannot alter the material of the magic treasure itself. That is why I selected only the finest materials for forging the Pill Frying Furnace."

Daoist Yi Xing instinctively stuffed the thick stack of paper into his sleeve. Only afterward did he realize how improper his action had been, and he could not help laughing awkwardly a few times.

Yet no one in the cavern laughed. Even Qingchu vaguely understood that if this Spirit Gathering Array was truly so marvelous, the flying swords and magic treasures Origin Sect disciples used in the future would gradually rise in grade as the years passed. There was no need for too great an improvement. As long as those flying swords and magic treasures rose by an average of one grade, Origin Sect's strength would soar by several tens of percent!

And consider this: the flying swords and magic treasures wielded by Origin Sect's elders had all been refined from the finest materials. If the Spirit Gathering Array could be added to their flying swords and magic treasures as well, then what grade could they rise to? Peak-grade spirit artifacts? Or Immortal Artifacts, which had vanished from the cultivation world thousands of years ago?

"This formation diagram is too precious." Daoist Yi Xing took a deep breath and looked at Lin Xiao with some embarrassment, smiling bitterly. "This poor Daoist receives it undeservedly."

Lin Xiao waved his hand lightly and said blandly, "Senior need say no more. The Spirit Gathering Array has been stored in the Great Luo Pill Scripture for over two thousand years. Since it was a formation, no one had ever taken an interest in it. Only after this junior recently suffered a great change and organized the Great Luo Pill Scripture recorded in my mind did I discover this Spirit Gathering Array."

Daoist Master Yizhen, who had hopped over, had his face twitch fiercely. He roared furiously, "This is simply blind nonsense! Such a miraculous formation was left idle for over two thousand years! You Great Luo Pill Dao pill-madmen really deserve to be—"

Daoist Yi Yi clapped a hand over Daoist Master Yizhen's mouth. Together with the other two elders, he dragged Daoist Master Yizhen backward.

Lin Xiao smiled faintly and nodded. "As for the pill dao arts within the Great Luo Pill Scripture, this junior would not dare reveal the slightest bit. But some minor things left behind by the patriarchs that have nothing to do with the pill dao, this junior will slowly sort out and hand over to Sect Leader Yi Xing."

Daoist Yi Xing hurriedly waved his hands. "Th-this absolutely cannot be!" Though he said so, his heart began pounding violently again. Lin Xiao had arrived at Origin Sect for only a single day, yet he had already offered up the Spirit Gathering Array, a wondrous formation whose value could not be measured. Who knew what good things he might uncover after sorting through things for a while longer? These were all things that could greatly raise Origin Sect's hidden potential! As for Great Luo Pill Dao's pill arts, Origin Sect had never coveted those in the first place. But these marvelous methods truly were...

Lin Xiao suddenly dropped to his knees before Daoist Yi Xing and forcefully slammed his forehead to the ground.

In a hoarse voice, he said heavily, "This junior's cultivation is weak. I know I am powerless against those demonic disciples. I must trouble Sect Leader Yi Xing to keep my sect's vengeance in mind. This junior is also alone and weak, so I must trouble all seniors with searching for the reincarnated bodies of my fellow disciples."

Bang, bang, bang! Lin Xiao heavily knocked his head against the ground, and a bright red stain of blood appeared on the floor.

Qingchu behind Lin Xiao was startled badly. In a fluster, she stuffed the half-eaten Purple Smoke Wisteria spirit fruit into her mouth and swallowed it whole. Then she too fell to her knees, repeatedly kowtowing alongside Lin Xiao to Daoist Yi Xing and the others.

Daoist Yi Xing raised his head and gave a long sigh. With a sweep of his large sleeve, he lifted Lin Xiao and Qingchu from the ground and said in a deep voice, "Little Friend Lin, rest assured. Origin Sect will certainly shoulder this matter in full." His words were firm as iron, without the slightest hesitation. Given Daoist Yi Xing's position and status, the two matters Lin Xiao had raised left Origin Sect no choice but to mobilize the strength of the entire sect.

The conditions Lin Xiao had offered gave Origin Sect no room to refuse, and the friendship between Great Luo Pill Dao and Origin Sect gave Origin Sect no need to say anything further. Under Origin Sect's all-out efforts, the Pill Frying Furnace—a marvelous treasure that would consume the greatest quantity and most precious materials in cultivation history, yet whose finished grade might prove to be the lowest—began to be forged.

The red light atop Skyfire Peak withdrew, and all the heat gushing from underground was gathered by formations into that vast forging cave dwelling. Led by Daoist Master Yizhen, eighty-one Origin Sect elders with attainments in artifact refinement worked together. Eighty-two artifact-refining experts, along with nearly a thousand old and young Daoists, threw themselves wholeheartedly into the unprecedented project of refining this enormous pill furnace.

Skyfire Peak truly became a peak of heavenly fire. The immense amount of fire-attributed Spiritual Energy gushing from the underground spirit vein transformed into roaring flames and poured into the cave dwelling where the furnace was being forged. Blazing violet fire surged into the heavens. The excess flames were absorbed by formations and erupted wildly from the mountain itself. Skyfire Peak burned crimson from top to bottom, wrapped in a hundred-zhang-thick layer of violet flames. Heat waves rolled outward, scorching the land for a hundred li around until no ordinary birds or beasts dared remain there.

Standing atop the Crimson Dragon Sword, Lin Xiao stared blankly at Skyfire Peak engulfed in blazing flames. There was neither sorrow nor joy in his heart, and at that very moment, he entered a state of enlightenment that cultivators might only enter once in several years.

The Skyfire Peak before his eyes was like an enormous flame. Its fire soared into the sky, its tongues of flame billowed and danced. In every movement and stillness, it demonstrated the essence of fire to him, describing the true face of the hottest, most passionate, and at the same time most violent force between heaven and earth.

Lin Xiao stood so close to Skyfire Peak that the rising flames nearly licked the soles of his feet. Heat scorched his body. Within him, threads of Spiritual Energy transformed from Lotus Seeds continuously rolled forth, passed through the fire's conversion, and fused into his body. The golden core in his dantian greedily devoured the pure fire-attributed Spiritual Energy outside. Violet light flickered over the golden core as threads of thunderfire surged fiercely from it.

The Black Tortoise Ring, tightly wrapped around the center of the golden core, also stirred with excitement. A thumb-sized phantom of a black tortoise suddenly appeared upon the ring. This northern spirit beast circled the Black Tortoise Ring several times, then suddenly opened its mouth and inhaled fiercely toward the outside. Lin Xiao's dantian contracted, and an immense invisible suction force surged rapidly from it.

Whoosh! A whirlwind suddenly rose over Skyfire Peak. It enveloped Lin Xiao's body, sweeping up the fire-attributed Spiritual Energy within dozens of zhang around him and pouring it into his body in gushing streams.

"Wonderful. Little Friend Lin is indeed a remarkable person." Standing far away on a white cloud several li distant, Yi Xing smiled. "With such flames, even we would need to stand here with fire-avoiding spirit formulas protecting us before we could endure that heat. Yet he can actually regulate his breath and cultivate amid such blazing fire. He truly is a rare genius."

Qingchu stood timidly behind Yi Xing, looking in panic at Lin Xiao wrapped in blazing flames. The ten fingers of her two little hands were twisted tightly together.

"Big Brother Lin, he won't be roasted alive, will he..." As the thought terrified her, large crystalline tears continuously rolled from Qingchu's eyes.

Yi Xin, standing behind Yi Xing and staring blankly at him, slowly turned her head to glance at Qingchu. She drifted over to Qingchu's side, reached out, and gently wiped the tears from Qingchu's face with her sleeve.

"Do not worry. Little Friend Lin possesses a pure fire-attributed constitution. This fire-attributed Spiritual Energy will not harm him. This is normal cultivation; there is no danger." Gently stroking Qingchu's little head, Yi Xin sighed softly. "Poor young lovers everywhere... the word 'love' wounds people most deeply..."

Yi Xing stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance at Lin Xiao as though he had heard nothing.

A wisp of clear wind drifted over, lifting several strands of black hair from Yi Xin's head.

A pale crane slowly glided across the sky.

A crystalline teardrop slowly fell, though no one knew whether it had rolled down Qingchu's face, or belonged to someone else...

The hands hidden within Yi Xing's great sleeves suddenly twitched faintly.