The enemy needed a Spirit Meridian here as an energy source to control the Crimson Flame Demon Lord through a Formation.
But that did not guarantee they would not use the Spirit Meridian here.
Once the Spirit Meridian here was damaged, the seal on Heavy Mountain Path would inevitably suffer an energy imbalance.
Once the balance was broken, the seal would loosen or temporarily fail.
As long as the Devil Race in the Purple Demon Realm seized the right opportunity, they would certainly be able to break the seal.
At that thought, Zhao Qingshan's expression turned ugly beyond compare.
On one hand, he wanted to capture the enemy behind this.
On the other, he did not want the enemy to destroy the seal and release the Devil Race.
After weighing the pros and cons, he realized he could not simply wait for the enemy to appear again as he had imagined.
What if they destroyed this place?
The best solution now was to seal this place completely and prevent the enemy from entering again.
Though that would let them escape, it would eliminate future trouble.
"Master."
At that moment, Lin Chen suddenly spoke. "Are you caught in a dilemma?"
"Oh?" Zhao Qingshan was surprised. "Tell me."
To have considered matters at his level, Lin Chen must surely know something about the Purple Demon Abyss.
And he even knew the whole story from beginning to end.
Lin Chen had only joined the sect a few days ago. How could he know such things?
Lin Chen seemed to have seen through his thoughts. "Master wants to capture the enemy and eliminate future trouble forever.
But the environment here is easily damaged. If the seal is broken, it will release the Devilfolk."
Hearing Lin Chen's words, Zhao Qingshan overturned his previous judgment.
This kid definitely knew the inside story.
Lin Chen raised his head and glanced at the Crimson Flame Demon Lord. "Master, we actually have a way to have the best of both worlds."
Before the sect master, Lin Chen did not dare keep anyone in suspense and immediately laid out his plan. "We do this... then that..."
"You mean replace the beams and pillars, then lure the snake from its hole, and finally catch the turtle in the jar?"
At hearing such a novel plan, undisguisable delight appeared on Zhao Qingshan's face.
"Exactly!"
Lin Chen pointed at the Crimson Flame Demon Lord. "We replace him with one of our own and set an ambush around him. Then we can wait for the enemy to arrive and catch them all in one net."
"An excellent plan!" Zhao Qingshan finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Fourth, I'll credit you for this. Together with your reward for deciphering the Soul Forging Art, I'll give you both rewards later. Let's head back and gather people."
"Thank you, Master!" That was exactly what Lin Chen had wanted to hear.
The two quietly withdrew.
After rejoining Ming Bufan and Jian Rushuang, the four returned directly to the sect.
Lin Chen no longer needed to personally take part in what remained.
Over the following days, he focused on familiarizing himself with the power in his body, battling the Rabbit Doll every day.
After a full half month, he finally had perfect control over it.
Now, when he stood there, he did not emit even the slightest spirit power fluctuation.
Moreover, his spirit power was refined far beyond that of cultivators at the same realm.
He also had perfect control over his physical strength, which had even increased through tempering to 35,000 jin.
His physical defense had risen accordingly, and he was just short of being able to withstand attacks from a Top Grade Magic Tool.
It was just that he had too few Spirit Stones now. With Spirit Attachment, he could only reach the second layer.
"Brother Chen, come down the mountain."
At that moment, a voice transmission from Little Fatty Jin Yuanbao's Paper Crane arrived.
A streak of escape light flashed beneath Lin Chen's feet, and in the blink of an eye, he arrived at the foot of the mountain.
"Br... Brother Chen, you're so fast!" Jin Yuanbao jumped in fright when Lin Chen suddenly appeared.
With a grin, Lin Chen stepped forward and hooked an arm around his shoulder. "Junior Brother, remember this: never say a man is fast. Say he's fierce!"
"Haha... Brother Chen, you..."
Jin Yuanbao wore a lewd expression when he suddenly noticed that Lin Chen's clothes seemed different.
He reached out to touch them, then examined them closely before crying out in astonishment.
"Brother Chen, you're wearing an Inner Disciple's Purple Spirit Robe! A Top Grade Magic Tool!"
Little Fatty's words poured forth in an endless stream. "This treasure not only has seven Formations inscribed on it and incredible defense, but it can also actively draw in the surrounding spiritual qi to speed up cultivation. What a treasure..."
Jin Yuanbao's hands kept stroking Lin Chen's body, his gaze utterly infatuated.
"How about I give you one?" Lin Chen shoved away the lewd-looking Little Fatty.
Jin Yuanbao did not mind at all. He directly pulled out a Storage Pouch and waved it before Lin Chen's eyes as if showing off.
"Brother Chen, it's been half a month. Guess how much we earned?"
Lin Chen shot him a glare, casually swept it with his Spiritual Sense, then pretended to calculate with his fingers. "I guess it should be 218,796 pieces."
Upon hearing that number, Jin Yuanbao's eyes widened and his mouth fell open. Even the bag of Spirit Stones slipped from his hand.
Lin Chen caught it, weighed it in his hand, and asked with a smile, "So? Was my guess accurate?"
Jin Yuanbao vigorously rubbed his face as if trying to crush his shock to pieces. "Brother Chen, did you make that up or guess it? How could you be so accurate?"
"What's so difficult about that?"
Lin Chen tossed the Spirit Stone bag back to Jin Yuanbao. "I can even guess that you made another three hundred copies. With the discounts included, each volume sold for an average of four to five Spirit Stones. That is the net profit after all expenses were deducted."
After hearing Lin Chen's explanation, Jin Yuanbao was completely dumbfounded.
His urge to show off was utterly shattered.
He walked up to Lin Chen and stared straight into his eyes. "Brother Chen, did you send someone to watch me?"
"Get lost, get lost, get lost! If I had that kind of spare time, I'd rather sleep more."
Lin Chen shook his spirit power and sent Little Fatty flying back.
That only shocked Jin Yuanbao further. "Brother Chen, y-you-you-you... you're at the Qi Condensation Ninth Layer?"
This time, it was Lin Chen's turn to be shocked.
Though he had not used the Concealment Art, Little Fatty should not have been able to casually see through his cultivation, right?
With a flip of his hand, Jin Yuanbao produced a pearl. A dazzling red light flashed from it, round and full.
Jin Yuanbao glanced around before quietly explaining, "Brother Chen, this is called a Spirit Detection Pearl. Different lights represent different cultivation levels. The moment you revealed your spirit power just now, it detected it."
Lin Chen drew a deep breath and studied Jin Yuanbao closely. "Does your family have Dragon Clan blood?"
Cough, cough, cough...
Jin Yuanbao immediately broke into a fit of coughing and guiltily put away the Spirit Detection Pearl. "Brother Chen really knows how to joke."
He hurriedly opened the Spirit Stone bag. "Let's divide the money instead."
Lin Chen did not notice his expression and was immediately drawn to the Spirit Stones.
The two divided the money on the spot.
Each received 109,000, while the remainder was kept as startup funds for next time.
Lin Chen also took out the later portion of the storybook, which he had prepared over the past half month.
What he gave Jin Yuanbao was only one portion.
In truth, he had already copied both storybooks in their entirety onto Jade Slips.
He had split them into twenty-four portions, enough for Jin Yuanbao to sell for at least a year.
At this scale and speed, roughly 200,000 Spirit Stones would come into his hands every month.
For the time being, that could satisfy his cultivation needs.
After agreeing on the next stage of their plan, the two went their separate ways.
Lin Chen returned to the mountaintop. Looking at the Spirit Stones in his hand, he directly called for the system.
"System, purchase cultivation. Raise Spirit Attachment to the sixth layer."
[ Ding! 63,000 Spirit Stones deducted. Extreme Path Spirit Attachment advanced to the sixth layer. You are already invincible in the Qi Condensation Realm, Host. You may attempt to challenge the Return to Origin Realm. ]
As soon as the system's voice fell, thunderous roars erupted within Lin Chen's body.
Strands of powerful Five Elements Spirit Power twisted around one another like giant dragons, following the first six Qi Meridians as they rapidly surged upward.
The five-colored light around Lin Chen's body flashed in alternation. Waves of powerful spirit power burst from his body, stirring ring after ring of ripples that spread outward.
A gust of wind rose in the small courtyard. Leaves rustled, flowers and grass bent low, and ripples spread across the water's surface.
Lin Chen's aura continued to soar, long surpassing what the Qi Condensation Realm should possess.
Just then, Qi Ruming happened to walk into the courtyard.
At the sight, he froze on the spot.
"Not even a month since joining the sect, and he has advanced to the Return to Origin Realm?"
He had once been a genius himself, yet he had only advanced to the Return to Origin Realm more than two years after joining the sect.
Lin Chen had not even needed a month.
He watched for a long while, then felt that it did not seem to be the Return to Origin Realm either.
He was utterly bewildered.
Before you continue