Spirit Grinding Mill

"I know a little about the effects and side effects of this Spirit Grinding Mill, but there's no time to worry about that now."

"Improving one's strength has always come with risks and pain. Cultivation is about breaking through one's own limits—fighting oneself, fighting fate..."

Looking at the two enormous crystal millstones before him, Lin Chen spoke calmly to Little Marten, without the slightest hint of retreat in his words.

"That's not wrong. I just hope you can hold on, kid. Master Diao has no intention of harming you..."

"If you die or something goes wrong, Master Diao will probably be finished too."

Hearing Lin Chen's resolute words, Little Marten could not help nodding. A trace of admiration appeared in his tiny eyes, but when he thought of the possible mishaps beneath the Spirit Grinding Mill, as well as the person behind Lin Chen, his eyes became uneasy again.

Little Marten was also deeply curious as to why Lin Chen, who came from the tiny Great Yan Dynasty, knew so many secrets about him, the Heavenly Demonic Sable Clan, and even some of the Stone Talisman's uses.

But Lin Chen refused to say anything, and Little Marten's questioning proved useless. He could only speculate in secret. It was precisely because of this that, without realizing it, he came to believe there was a mysterious existence behind Lin Chen.

Although this was merely Little Marten's wishful thinking, in his eyes, Lin Chen's many mysteries could only be explained by this one answer.

As for whether Lin Chen was an unmatched expert who had reincarnated and retained some memories of his past life, Little Marten had not failed to consider that possibility. But according to his established understanding and the common knowledge of Tianxuan Continent, he naturally discarded the thought.

Before Reincarnators reached a certain level of strength, they might possess some unusual spiritual qualities, but they could not awaken the memories of their past lives. They were not much different from ordinary people.

In other words, being a Reincarnator could not explain why Lin Chen knew so much.

"You don't need to worry. Success or failure is determined by man. Besides, the risks of the Spirit Grinding Mill aren't enough to be fatal."

Lin Chen replied faintly, then leaped into the ball of light at the point where the two enormous millstones met.

Seeing this, Little Marten spread his paws and muttered to himself in the dark spiritual space.

"I really don't know which madman came up with this method of cultivating Spiritual Power and engraved it within the Stone Talisman. Back then, I only tried it once and couldn't keep going."

"I hope this kid can endure it and come through unharmed. After all, not everyone can withstand the excruciating pain of having their spirit crushed..."

Meanwhile, beneath the Spirit Grinding Mill.

"Hiss..."

The instant Lin Chen shot into the junction between the two massive crystal millstones, an irresistible force immediately enveloped his entire body. Under that terrifying power, he instantly lost control of his spiritual body.

Then, Lin Chen felt his nearly corporeal spiritual body begin to crack apart inch by inch.

As his body fractured, an indescribable agony invaded him, making even Lin Chen let out a hoarse cry.

Time trickled by, bit by bit.

The two crystal millstones slowly rotated at a constant speed, as though nothing in heaven and earth could stop that seemingly sluggish motion.

Beneath the two enormous crystal millstones, Lin Chen's spiritual body was continually crushed, helpless as an ant. The agony curled his body tightly, while visible cracks covered nearly every part of him.

Yet after personally experiencing this so-called agony, Lin Chen did not lose heart. He gritted his teeth, kept his mind clear, and did everything he could to prevent himself from being drowned by the flood-like pain.

"Crack... crack..."

Who knew how long passed? As Lin Chen persevered through the drawn-out ordeal, the cracks across his body grew more numerous. Moments later, his body suddenly trembled and exploded apart in an instant, turning into countless motes of spiritual light...

His spiritual body had been directly crushed apart by the Spirit Grinding Mill.

Just as Lin Chen's spiritual body exploded, a gentle white radiance suddenly poured out from the two crystal millstones and enveloped those motes of spiritual light.

A trace of Lin Chen's consciousness drifted among the motes. He could sense that the white radiance flowing from the crystal millstones was filled with a strange energy.

Under that energy, the scattered motes of spiritual light unexpectedly began converging toward that trace of his consciousness once more.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

As more and more motes of spiritual light gathered, Lin Chen discovered that his spiritual body, which had just been crushed apart, was restored and condensed in an instant.

This scene, which unfolded in the blink of an eye, brought a flash of delight to Lin Chen's dark, bright eyes. But before he could rejoice, the maddening agony from before surged at him again from all directions.

Boom!

Outside the crystal millstones, Little Marten folded his paws across his chest as he watched Lin Chen's spiritual body get crushed apart once more. His tiny eyes were filled with disbelief and shock.

"This kid really is a freak. Even under such spiritual crushing, his spiritual body remains as pure and stable as ever..."

"But Master Diao wants to see just how many times you can endure it..."

Within the space where pale white radiance flowed, the two crystal millstones continued rotating slowly at a constant speed. With every turn, waves of terrifying force poured down upon the young figure at their junction.

"Bang... bang..."

The faint sounds of spiritual bodies being crushed apart echoed softly through the space. Yet whenever those sounds rang out, Little Marten's paws could not help trembling slightly.

The Spirit Grinding Mill turned slowly, as if caught in an endless cycle. Beneath it, the figure of a youth, like an unrivaled expert, calmly tempered himself amid destruction and restoration through sheer will.

"Twenty times already..."

At some point, Little Marten stared at the youth between the millstones in extreme shock. He could feel that Lin Chen's Spiritual Power had clearly grown stronger, while his spiritual body remained as stable as ever.

And so, in the blink of an eye, a month passed.

With Lin Chen repeatedly using the Spirit Grinding Mill to cultivate his Spiritual Power, his Spiritual Power had become vastly stronger than it had been a month ago. Although he had not yet reached the point of breaking through to a Five Symbol Master, his progress was already quite rapid.

Unlike ordinary cultivators of Spiritual Power, Lin Chen possessed an Innate Primordial Spirit and could form a corporeal spiritual body. Under the crushing of the Spirit Grinding Mill, he only had to endure the agony of his spirit being shattered; his true spiritual essence suffered no harm.

After discovering this, Lin Chen only rested occasionally. For the most part, he remained beneath the Spirit Grinding Mill, continuously condensing his Spiritual Power and enduring an increasing number of crushing cycles.

It was not until Lin Dong arrived that he finally withdrew completely from that prolonged state of cultivation.

"It seems the cold energy inside Qingtan has erupted again..."