Lesser Withering and Flourishing Art
The reason why the Azure Wood Seal can become a true Sacred Artifact is that it has this precious Azure Wood Power as its core material. And in order to truly refine the Azure Wood Seal, one must leave one's own imprint within this Azure Wood Power.
"Phew!" Lin Ming took a deep breath.
He immediately bit his tongue, and an Essence Blood spurted out.
The Essence Blood shot out from his mouth, containing extremely pure Spiritual Energy and Origin Power, like a miniature sun drawing a short arc in the void.
This mouthful of Essence Blood shot out, directly landing on the wisp of Azure Wood Power Azure Wood Seal.
The droplet of blood landed precisely on the trunk of the slender divine tree, but it did not merge into it; it merely floated on its surface.
It looked as if there was some kind of resistance preventing the Essence Blood from merging, like a drop of oil being dropped into water, the oil droplet rolling on the surface but never quite dissolving.
That layer of resistance is the culmination of millions of years of power contained within the Azure Wood Power, a force of exclusion naturally formed by the origin of heaven and earth over countless years, like an invisible armor that keeps all foreign things out.
Seeing this, Lin Ming remained calm. He had long anticipated that refining Sacred Artifact wouldn't be so easy. He then closed his eyes again and began to activate the Emperor Flame.
Brilliant flames surged from his body, gradually scorching the wisp of Azure Wood Power that gathered in his palm.
The heat of the flames seeped into the gaps in the barrier of power, gradually eroding and disintegrating the repulsive force within.
And it was under this slow, intense heat that the Essence Blood floating on top seemed to begin to slowly seep into it.
The dark, dazzling drop of blood gradually thinned and dispersed under the combined effects of the Emperor Flame's Flame and the Azure Wood Power, like a piece of heated wax slowly melting.
Fine, hair-like tendrils began to appear along the edges of the blood droplets, spreading and burrowing into the surface of the sacred tree.
Each tendril's integration was accompanied by an extremely faint hum, the Azure Wood Power accepting Lin Ming's imprint.
This process was extremely slow and difficult, like a protracted tug-of-war, but the drop of Essence Blood was eventually merging into it little by little.
A faint, dark, and dazzling halo began to appear on the surface of the sacred tree. The halo, like a winding golden thread, slowly meandered along the dark green trunk, etching Lin Ming's presence into every part of it.
Lin Ming closed his eyes, his consciousness closely connected with that drop of Essence Blood, feeling every change as it merged, guiding the dark and brilliant imprint to slowly take shape at the core of the Azure Wood Power.
Lin Ming's Emperor Flame continued to scorch the barrier from the side, using precise temperature control to soften, disintegrate, and penetrate it little by little.
This process is extremely slow. The Essence Blood seep into the Azure Wood Power, but it still takes some time for it to fully penetrate.
So Lin Ming waited patiently and calmly. He sat cross-legged in front of the Emerald Pool, holding the ancient Azure Wood Seal in his hands, his eyes slightly closed, his breathing long and steady.
His mind was intimately connected with that drop of Essence Blood, sensing every subtle change as it merged. Once the Essence Blood was completely integrated with that Azure Wood Power and left its mark within it, then this Azure Wood Seal would truly belong to him, Lin Ming.
Even if it is forcibly taken away, unless it is a powerful expert several levels above him, it will be very difficult to erase his Essence Blood mark.
The Origin Power contained within Sacred Artifact is extremely stable. Once an imprint is made on them, it is like words carved on Jin Shi, which cannot be erased by ordinary wiping.
Furthermore, if pushed too far, Lin Ming could directly activate the Essence Blood imprint and detonate the core of the Azure Wood Seal.
Once the Azure Wood Power contained within for millions of years is detonated, it will be like a star that has been compressed for ten thousand years releasing all its energy in an instant. Such power would be too much for even a true Earth Sovereign to handle.
This is the most important reason why Lin Ming is willing to spend time and energy to refine the Azure Wood Seal at this moment.
Now that many steps have been completed, all we need to do is wait patiently.
Lin Ming's mind sank into that eerie green light, like a small boat drifting on a slow river.
He sensed the drop of Essence Blood seeping and spreading little by little within the Azure Wood Power, as if sensing a seed slowly sprouting in the soil.
Time lost its meaning in this ethereal green light. The mist and clouds in the Emerald Pool in the main hall continued to rise slowly, and the swirling emerald fog rolled and flowed around the two of them, enveloping their figures in a hazy and peaceful light and shadow.
While Lin Ming was refining the Azure Wood Seal, Zi Yan was on the other side with her eyes slightly closed.
Zi Yan sat cross-legged on the other side of the main hall, with the Emerald Jade Scroll unfolded in front of her. The Spiritual Runes on the scroll gleamed with a warm luster in the dim green light.
Even the fluctuations of Spiritual Energy around Zi Yan completely dissipated, like a lake that was extremely calm, without a single ripple on its surface.
She stretched out her slender hands, palms up, and placed them on her knees, her ten fingers naturally spread out, as she circulated the incantation of the "Lesser Withering and Flourishing Art".
Zi Yan's breathing became extremely long and subtle. Each inhale was like taking in a breath of spring's vitality, and each exhale was like expelling a breath of autumn's desolation.
As she quietly contemplated this moment, leaves would occasionally fall around her.
Where did those leaves come from? There are no trees in this hall; the leaves seem to have condensed from thin air.
The leaves were initially only the size of rice grains, and were a very pale yellow color, like a newly sprouted bud, with a kind of softness and fragility.
Then they slowly grew within the faint Spiritual Energy surrounding Zi Yan.
The leaves gradually unfolded, widened, and lengthened, their color changing from pale yellow to tender green, and then from tender green to deep emerald, as if a leaf had completed its life journey, which would normally take months, in just a few breaths.
As time went on, the leaves changed rapidly, beginning to wither and turn yellow.
After the leaves swelled to the size of a palm, they stopped growing. The emerald green on the leaves faded quickly, like ink that had been drained of moisture, and was replaced by a dry, dark brown.
The edges of the leaves began to curl, and the veins became shriveled and raised, like a withered leaf that had been swaying in the autumn wind for a long time, finally reaching the end of its life.
The withered leaves detached from the Spiritual Energy surrounding Zi Yan, swirling gently in the air as they drifted down, like a silent autumn rain.
However, later on, a hint of green began to seep out from the withered yellow leaves.
That touch of green began to spread from the leaf stalk, like a drop of green ink falling into clear water, slowly spreading across the withered yellow leaf surface.
Green spreads along the veins of the leaves, from the main vein to the branch veins, and from the branch veins to the leaf tips, like the roots of a tree taking root anew in the barren earth.
The curled leaves unfurled again, the veins refilled, and the dark brown on the leaf surface was gradually covered, replaced, and dispelled by bright emerald green.
As the leaves fell, they were revitalized, turning from withered yellow to tender green, and from tender green to deep emerald, like a reversed flow of autumn and spring.
The leaves swirled and fell around Zi Yan, like a miniature cycle made up of countless leaves slowly rotating around her.
The withering and flourishing of each leaf is like a miniature life and death, and each cycle deepens Zi Yan's understanding of the "Lesser Withering and Flourishing Art".
Her face was calm and serene, with a faint smile playing on her lips, as if she were contemplating some profound yet simple truth.
Prosperity and decay are intertwined, flourishing and decline are inseparable; at the end of decay lies new life, and behind prosperity lies withering.
Meanwhile, while Lin Ming and Zi Yan were refining a Sacred Artifact and cultivating supernatural powers in the main hall, the North King and Xia Jia were also ransacking the Lin Residence.
Those side halls, secret chambers, and Stone Chamber whose protective formations were broken by Lin Ming contain the accumulated wealth of the Lin Residence over ten thousand years.
Although most of the spiritual materials and elixirs have decayed and dissipated over time, the artifacts that were protected by layers of seals remain intact.
The North King found a heavy sword, entirely black, in a secret underground chamber of a side hall. The sword was about four feet long, with a blade as thick as a palm. It was forged from some unknown Mysterious Iron, and ancient inscriptions were engraved on its spine.
He tried to infuse his Spiritual Energy into it, and the heavy sword emitted a deep and powerful sword cry. A layer of dark and dazzling light surged from the sword, illuminating the entire secret room.
This was clearly a Half-Sage Artifact Tier artifact, though not as precious as Lin Ming's Azure Wood Seal, it was still a gain far exceeding the North King's expectations.
He carried the heavy sword on his back; his towering physique paired with the jet-black sword exuded a calm yet domineering aura.
Xia Jia found a pair of short swords in a hidden compartment in a side hall. Each of the short swords was about one and a half feet long, with a soft silver-white blade. They were made of some kind of lightweight metal, with a cold light flowing around the edge and dense Spiritual Runes engraved on the surface.
She twirled the two short swords in her palms, and the swords flew around like two silver snakes, light and agile, perfectly matching her nimble movements.
Those were also a Half-Sage Artifact Tier. Although the power of a single sword was not as great as the North King's heavy sword, the combination of the two swords had its own exquisite features.
Xia Jia sheathed her twin swords in her sleeves, her bright eyes filled with satisfaction.
The two then searched several other side halls and Stone Chamber, finding several high-grade pills, several well-preserved Jade Slip containing Cultivation Method, and some precious spiritual materials.
At this moment, both of them had added a lot of items to their storage spaces, including some that were at the Half-Sage Artifact Tier.
The North King and Xia Jia returned to the main hall satisfied. From afar, they saw Lin Ming and Zi Yan sitting on either side of the Emerald Pool with their eyes closed, their bodies shimmering with light, clearly still immersed in refining and cultivating.
Not daring to disturb them, the two found a place to sit near the entrance of the main hall, took out their newly acquired magical artifacts and examined them carefully, exchanging a few words in hushed tones from time to time, their faces beaming with undisguised joy.