The World of Darkness

"We'll talk about it later."

Ling Yang didn't agree, but he didn't refuse either. He only gave an ambiguous answer.

Hearing this, Ling You didn't press him further.

Though the two had been friends for many years, they held fundamentally different views on the Ling Clan.

Ling Yang had an almost devout faith in the Ling Clan. Although he was somewhat dissatisfied with the clan's strict bloodline hierarchy, he still hoped it would become better.

Ling You, on the other hand, couldn't care less about the Ancient Races or Dou Di Bloodline. The only things he valued were talent in cultivation and alchemy.

The two sat there for an entire day.

Throughout that day, Ling Xi's body remained as still as a statue.

If not for the slight rise and fall of his chest, Ling You and Ling Yang might have thought something had gone wrong during his inheritance.

"This kid actually chose to absorb the entire inheritance within the Inheritance Crystal."

Ling Yang couldn't help clicking his tongue.

"Although our Ling Clan is renowned for its powerful soul strength, at his age, his soul power is truly exceptional."

"If his soul power weren't up to par, how could he become a qualified Alchemist? And why would I have taken an interest in him?"

Hearing this, Ling You rolled his eyes.

"Our Ling Clan is still somewhat different from the Yao Clan. Their innate soul power may not be as strong as ours, but almost all of them have the aptitude to become Alchemists."

As he spoke, a hint of envy entered Ling You's voice.

"Though we share Dou Di Bloodline passed down from ancient times, some innate gifts really are impossible not to envy."

It was much like how most Yan Clan members were born with an affinity for fire, while the Shi Clan had physiques comparable to Magical Beasts.

Most members of the Ling Clan had wood-attributed Dou Qi and exceptionally powerful souls.

But to become an Alchemist, one needed a physique with fire-attributed Dou Qi as the main attribute and wood as the secondary one.

"Mm!"

As the two were talking, Ling Xi let out a faint, indistinct groan, and his eyes slowly opened.

"You're awake?"

When Ling Xi opened his eyes, Ling You quickly stood up and asked with concern.

Ling Xi remained frozen in place, apparently still sorting through the vast amount of information in his mind.

Only after quite some time did he shudder, and a glimmer of life slowly returned to his vacant eyes.

"Teacher?"

Ling Xi gathered himself, quickly rose, and cupped his hands toward Ling You.

"Mm. Looks like you've absorbed everything in the Inheritance Crystal. Good."

Ling You nodded with satisfaction, then flicked his hand.

"You need somewhere quiet for your first attempt at cultivating the method. Let's go."

With that, he didn't even bother to say goodbye to Ling Yang, and headed straight downstairs.

"Thank you, Elder Ling Yang."

Ling Xi bowed slightly to the silent Ling Yang, then hurried after Ling You.

Ling Yang said nothing. He simply stood there, watching them leave with a complicated expression.

Ling You didn't take Ling Xi anywhere else. Instead, he led him back to a room in the Medicine Hall.

"Though the Myriad Spirits Returning to Origin Art is extremely difficult to cultivate, it's the best Foundation Establishment Cultivation Method in our clan. Few methods among the other Ancient Races can match it."

"The greatest advantage of this method is that it isn't restricted by attribute. It can be cultivated with Dou Qi of any attribute."

Ling You had never cultivated this method himself, but he had studied it extensively.

"Changing your Dou Qi is easy, but you still need to be careful when circulating the method for the first time."

After a pause, Ling You added, "This is the room in the Medicine Hall with the richest concentration of heaven and earth energy. Stay here and focus on converting your Dou Qi. I'll go prepare a few things for you."

"Yes, Teacher."

Ling Xi nodded.

Through the Inheritance Crystal, he had received the complete Myriad Spirits Returning to Origin Art, along with the insights of its past practitioners.

Though it was only a High Yellow Tier cultivation method, its complexity and power were in no way inferior to a low- or even mid-level Profound Tier method.

Unlike other methods that focused solely on cultivating Dou Qi, the Myriad Spirits Returning to Origin Art could even sense the incredibly faint traces of Spiritual Qi in the world during cultivation.

By absorbing Spiritual Qi, it continually nourished the cultivator's soul power.

Spiritual Qi was not the same as the heaven and earth energy of the Dou Qi Continent. It was an entirely different, higher-grade form of energy.

Although Spiritual Qi was everywhere on the Dou Qi Continent, it was extremely sparse and difficult to absorb.

In the original story, after Xiao Yan obtained Spirit Nurturing Dust, he could sense Spiritual Qi, but after spending the entire night trying, he had only absorbed a few wisps.

Even those few wisps had significantly strengthened his soul power.

Because Spiritual Qi was so difficult to sense and absorb, very few people in the Ling Clan cultivated the Myriad Spirits Returning to Origin Art.

After all, it was only a Foundation Establishment Cultivation Method. With such a high barrier to entry, it was bound to put many people off.

Who would waste their golden years of cultivation on a mere foundation-building method?

"Even in decline, a clan with such a miraculous cultivation method... The Eight Ancient Clans really are no simple matter."

Watching Ling You leave the room, Ling Xi sat cross-legged on the floor and gave a quiet laugh.

"Forget the cultivation method for now. I didn't expect my second sign-in to get me the Devouring Ancestral Symbol from the Tian Xuan Continent in Martial Universe."

"This is a supreme treasure of the Tian Xuan Continent. On the Dou Qi Continent, it would be powerful enough to rival Nihility Devouring Flame."

The two were, in fact, very similar.

Both possessed the innate ability to devour and could assimilate and fuse with various powers.

The only difference was that the Devouring Ancestral Symbol didn't have a consciousness of its own, unlike Nihility Devouring Flame, which could even reach the level of a Nine-Star Dou Sheng.

"System, fusing with the Devouring Ancestral Symbol shouldn't cause any unusual phenomena, right? And it won't be unbearably painful, will it?"

Once bitten by a snake, one feared the rope for ten years. Ling Xi cautiously asked the system.

[This fusion will not cause any unusual phenomena or physical pain to the host. Please proceed with confidence.]

The system's voice sounded in Ling Xi's mind.

"Then fuse it!"

Without much hesitation, Ling Xi immediately gave the system the order.

With Ling You gone, he wanted to fuse with the Devouring Ancestral Symbol as quickly as possible, then cultivate the Myriad Spirits Returning to Origin Art.

The moment Ling Xi finished speaking, a mass of darkness appeared before his eyes without warning.

Not only his sight, but his other six senses were almost simultaneously cut off.

Darkness. This was a world of darkness, without a trace of light or sound. The entire world was like chaos before creation!

It was impossible to describe how terrifyingly tormenting such an environment could be. Beneath that darkness, it seemed that even one's own existence had vanished.