Financial Freedom

Time ticked away, drop by drop.

I do not know how much time had passed, but within the spring, the look of agony on Jiang Lin's face gradually faded, replaced by a steady, profound calm.

Across the surface of his skin, ice-blue and crimson patterns appeared in alternation; they were the external manifestation of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well circulating within his body.

His aura climbed incessantly—not an increase in Soul Power Level, but a qualitative transformation of his physical foundation.

Finally, Jiang Lin opened his eyes.

He slowly floated to the surface, then immediately vaulted out of the spring.

The frost and scorch marks that had congealed on his skin flaked off simultaneously, revealing the brand-new flesh beneath.

That skin looked no different than before, yet under the sunlight, it shimmered with a faint, golden luster.

His bones crackled with crisp pops, and the soul power in his meridians surged like a river, far more potent than it had been before.

Although his soul power had not broken through to the next level, his physical strength had been elevated once again.

Relying solely on this golden body tempered by ice and fire, he dared to claim invincibility among his peers.

No, that was wrong—calling it "among his peers" was a bit too much of a bully.

Jiang Lin took a deep breath, the unique air within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well rushing into his nose and mouth.

After retrieving the clothes he had prepared in advance from a storage Soul Tool on the ground nearby, Jiang Lin finally took a good look at his surroundings.

He did not know how long had passed, but it could not have been another day yet, because the items in the System Mall had not refreshed...

Thinking of this, Jiang Lin realized it in an instant.

He immediately rushed to purchase the random talisman from the System Mall.

He had been too excited earlier, which was why he had only just remembered to buy it.

Now, only the Nuclear Weapon and the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum were hanging in the mall.

The former had great destructive power, but it was completely unnecessary, and so expensive to boot.

With that kind of money, wouldn't it be better to just keep hacking?

As for the latter, there was even less need to buy it.

At this moment, the result of the random talisman draw appeared.

"Ding, congratulations to the host, you have obtained the Rat Talisman."

The Rat Talisman?

The one that could bring inanimate objects to life?

A bit of a pity.

To be honest, what Jiang Lin wanted most was the Dog Talisman.

After all, of all things in the world, staying alive was the most important.

Sighing slightly, Jiang Lin began to ponder how the Rat Talisman could be utilized on the Douluo Continent...

Just then, he suddenly heard Elder Chen transmitting his voice, telling him that the three of them were in the small cabin where Dugu Bo was in seclusion, and that he should just call out to them if he needed anything.

Jiang Lin stopped thinking, curious about what the three of them were actually doing.

But after a moment's thought, he decided to attend to his business first.

Jiang Lin's gaze was resolute as he went straight for his target—the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew.

Crouching before this immortal herb, Jiang Lin carefully drank the dew upon it.

An extremely crisp and cold aura rushed straight into his mind, as if an icy spring had been poured in through the crown of his head, instantly cleansing his entire spiritual world.

At first, it was a bone-chilling cold, followed immediately by a sharp, intense pain, as if countless fine needles were simultaneously piercing deep into the center of his brow.

Not long after, the stinging pain slowly subsided, replaced by an unprecedented clarity.

Jiang Lin opened his eyes, and every detail of the world became distinct—he could see the texture of every strand on the spiderweb in the corner, hear the soft sound of fallen leaves touching the ground in the courtyard, and even sense those three formidable auras in the wooden cabin above.

With a flick of his will, his spiritual power spread outward like a tide.

Everything within a radius of several hundred meters was brought into his perception; Tang Yuan raised his eyebrows slightly, evidently having noticed this probe of spiritual power.

Jiang Lin retracted his spiritual power, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth—this Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew truly lived up to its reputation.

Unfortunately, after the dew was sipped from the immortal herb, it withered away directly, as if its life had been sucked dry.

Jiang Lin stood up, his eyes flickering with a flame unlike any he had shown before.

The person he was now was vastly different from the one yesterday.

The ice and fire tempering had made him immune to both elements.

The Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew had shored up his weakness in spiritual power.

"Hoo..."

Jiang Lin took a deep breath, then retrieved several jade boxes from his storage Soul Tool.

Inside were those immortal herbs that had not yet been sold.

Lovesick Heartbreak Red, Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid, Blood Swan Kiss, Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, Aromatic Silk Beauty...

Beyond the immortal herbs familiar from the original work, there were several immortal-grade medicinal herbs that had never appeared before.

One could only say that it was worthy of being the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, the place that had cultivated seven deities.

This was not some hasty cultivation, but a solid foundation laid for achieving godhood.

After pondering for a moment, Jiang Lin kept the Earth Dragon Golden Melon, Aromatic Silk Beauty, Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, Lovesick Heartbreak Red, Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower, and... one immortal herb he reserved for himself.

He sold all the rest to the system.

"Ding, +15,000 points."

"Ding, +18,000 points."

"Ding, +16,000 points."

The system's notification sounds came one after another, and Jiang Lin's point balance quickly reached 400,000.

Both waves of sales consisted of immortal-grade items, along with some medicinal herbs that were of high age but not quite immortal-grade.

Thus, Jiang Lin began a third round of selling.

"Ding, +11,000 points."

"Ding, +8,000 points."

"Ding, +6,700 points."

Time flew by, and it was soon the next day.

By now, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well had changed drastically.

Various medicinal herbs had been reduced to dirt pits, though the root systems remained.

Jiang Lin sat cross-legged in an open space.

His face was full of happiness.

700,000!

His balance had reached a massive sum of 700,100 points.

Although those herbs below the immortal grade were not as high-quality as the immortal herbs, their value fluctuated between 3,000 and 12,000 points.

But there were simply so many of them.

He stared at his point balance in a daze.

It wasn't until his eyes grew sore that he reluctantly closed the system page.

He intended to consume another immortal herb.

In the original work, the reason Tang San did not consume more immortal herbs was not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't.

When absorbing the immortal herbs, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass spirit had not yet evolved into the Blue Silver Emperor.

At that time, his ordinary Blue Silver Grass spirit was extremely fragile and could not support his absorption of the medicinal power of more top-tier immortal herbs.

If he had forced it, not only would he have gained no benefits, but he might have exploded and died from being unable to withstand the immense energy.

Furthermore, every immortal herb contained vast energy that seized the fortune of heaven and earth.

Even for a god-level spirit, the number that could be consumed simultaneously was limited; of course, this limit was certainly higher than that of an ordinary spirit.

For the Tang San of that time, his body and spirit could barely refine the medicinal power of three immortal herbs; consuming any more would have highly likely led to serious consequences due to the medicinal powers conflicting or becoming too violent within his body.

Moreover, for the vast majority of spirit masters, immortal herbs emphasized "compatibility" rather than "quantity."

But Jiang Lin was different; he was far stronger now than Tang San was back then.

With his physical body and mental power both enhanced, how could his spirit power and spirit lag behind?

Therefore, Jiang Lin had prepared an immortal herb suitable for himself—the Thunder Prison Blood Dragon Vine.