Jingyun's Bad News, Innate Lifespan Exhausted

"Ding, successfully refined 10 Yellow-grade low-tier True Spirit Pills, 5 with Pill Patterns, proficiency +2000."

Another batch of True Spirit Pills successfully refined; each successful pill grants +100 proficiency.

With the birth of Pill Pattern-grade pills, each one provides an additional 200 proficiency.

After refining several batches in a row, relying on the success rate and pill quantity bonuses from the extra buffs.

After another two months of hard work.

Lin Cheng finally managed to push his Alchemist level to a Mysterious-grade low-tier Alchemist.

Host: Lin Cheng.

Alchemist Level: Mysterious-grade 1-star Alchemist.

Proficiency: 11,312,600/100,000,000.

To reach the next level, he would need a full hundred million proficiency, enough to make anyone despair.

What was even more despairing was that Lin Cheng had run out of medicinal herbs for refining.

All the herbs he had obtained had been refined into pills, and they all had only one effect.

That was to increase his True Qi reserves.

He had prepared these specifically for himself, aiming to boost his True Qi to ultimately raise his cultivation base.

However, looking at the small mountain of Yellow-grade and Mysterious-grade pills, Lin Cheng still felt somewhat satisfied.

These pills should be enough to sustain him until the Golden Core stage.

As for what to do after he finished them, that was a problem for later.

Enjoy the wine while you have it.

He would first convert the benefits before him into his own foundation; once his strength grew, he wouldn't have to worry about the source of his pills.

After two months of continuous, high-intensity alchemy.

Lin Cheng's control over his True Qi had improved significantly, and being constantly exposed to the aura of medicinal herbs, combined with the continuous consumption of high-grade pills.

His cultivation had risen by a small level in these two months.

He had reached the sixth level of Foundation Establishment.

He was now considered a peak existence in the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.

As for his true combat power, it far exceeded this level.

If the current Lin Cheng were to fight the five great Foundation Establishment demon beasts of the Mist Forbidden Land again.

Lin Cheng believed... the outcome would likely be about the same.

At most, he wouldn't be quite as disheveled.

"No, my strength is still too weak. I must continue to improve. This time, I absolutely will not leave until I reach the Golden Core stage and master the third transformation of the Nine Transformations of the True Spirit!"

Lin Cheng hated things that were out of his control.

He hated even more having his life outside of his own control; this was something he absolutely could not tolerate.

For now, the Library Pavilion was still the safest place.

When he eventually became invincible, he would consider traveling the world and changing his sign-in location.

As for now, he was clearly still far from that.

"Unknowingly, it has been nearly five years since I arrived in this world."

Lin Cheng stuffed a handful of Pill Pattern-grade True Spirit Pills into his mouth, washed them down with a gulp of 100% pure Spirit Qi Liquid obtained from signing in, and sighed with emotion—time really flew.

Five years.

From a lowly sweeping servant in the Jingyun Sect's Library Pavilion when he first transmigrated, to a master at the sixth level of Foundation Establishment today.

One had to admit, the change was truly massive.

"Success is not yet achieved, I must continue to work hard!"

With another handful of pills in his stomach, feeling the boiling medicinal power within, Lin Cheng dozed off on the long bench.

The Nine Transformations of the True Spirit operated automatically.

The surging medicinal power was continuously converted into his own True Qi, rapidly filling his meridians and Dantian.

Gradually, he began his seventh Foundation Establishment compression.

Once his True Qi was fully saturated and the compression was complete, Lin Cheng would successfully step into the Foundation Establishment Late Stage.

Meanwhile.

Suddenly, in the forbidden area behind the Jingyun Sect, a white light shot into the sky, piercing ten thousand feet into the clouds before bursting and dissipating like fireworks.

The next second, the bells of the Jingyun Sect rang nine times, and a wave of intense sorrow surged throughout the entire sect.

Lin Cheng, who was cultivating in the Library Pavilion, suddenly opened his eyes a crack, a complex light flickering within them. He let out a slow sigh and closed his eyes once more.

He knew what had happened.

The Jingyun Sect's pillar of support, the Supreme Elder, Old Lady Xu, had finally been unable to hold on any longer and had passed away just moments ago.

That streak of white light was the innate true qi dissipating after the natural death of an innate expert.

The Jingyun Sect was about to fall into chaos.

Sure enough, not long after, all the disciples of the Jingyun Sect seemed to have received an order, rapidly pulling back their defensive lines.

The Jingyun Sect was going into lockdown.

At the same time, a series of orders were swiftly dispatched throughout the Jingyun Sect's sphere of influence, summoning all elders and disciples stationed abroad to return with all possible speed.

Furthermore, a top-secret letter was personally and rapidly escorted by an elder toward the front-line battlefield, without attracting any attention.

The Sect Master had to be informed; the Jingyun Sect was about to face a seismic shift!

The Supreme Elder had passed away.

Without an innate expert to hold the fort, the Jingyun Sect might follow in the footsteps of Beast Taming Mountain at any moment.

They were set to become the second of the Ten Great Sects to be wiped out.

In the current Southern Region, the original Ten Great Sects had already become the Nine Great Sects.

Beast Taming Mountain had already been struck from the list.

And the Ten Thousand Beast Canyon, which Beast Taming Mountain was originally responsible for guarding, was temporarily being garrisoned by men sent by the Five Elements Sect.

Very quickly.

The Jingyun Sect's movements were detected by interested factions.

Some lurking spies had even witnessed that streak of white light shooting into the sky with their own eyes; they took one deep look toward the Jingyun Sect before departing rapidly to report the news.

The commotion caused by the fall of a human innate expert was too great to be concealed.

Moreover, the Jingyun Sect was not located in some remote corner, but in the heart of the bustling Southern Region, where eyes were everywhere.

The white light from the innate expert's passing had already been seen by countless people, and within half a day, the news had spread across the entire Southern Region, fueled by those with ulterior motives.

The upper echelons of the Jingyun Sect had never intended to cover it up.

First, the commotion was too great; with their strength, they simply could not hide it.

Second, the Ten Thousand Alliance Assessment was imminent, with less than a year remaining; one could hide for a moment, but not for a lifetime.

Even if they managed to keep it secret for a while, it would be of little use.

The Jingyun Sect's decision to let the news spread allowed the major factions to receive the information immediately.

For a time, the entire Southern Region was surging with undercurrents.

Five Elements Sect.

An old man in coarse cloth looked up at the sky, a hint of a sigh in his eyes.

"Ancestor, the news is confirmed. The Jingyun Sect's innate expert passed away half a day ago."

"Is the news reliable?"

"Reliable!"

"You may go."

"Yes!"

The old man was none other than the Five Elements Sect's Foundation Establishment Ancestor, the Five Elements Venerable, the strongest expert in the Southern Region.

"Junior Sister Xu, I promised you I would protect the Jingyun Sect and ensure it would not be destroyed... but whether it can maintain its status as a first-star sect will depend on the Jingyun Sect's own fortune."

Before Old Lady Xu died, she had contacted the Five Elements Venerable.

She had used a favor owed to her from the past to trade for his protection, ensuring the Jingyun Sect's lineage would not be broken.

But that was all.

As a major sect of the Southern Region, it would count as the lineage continuing.

Even if they fell to become a third-rate minor sect with only a few disciples left, it would still count as the lineage continuing.

Everything would depend on the Jingyun Sect's own fortune.

Blood-Oath Sect.

"Hahaha, Jingyun Sect, oh Jingyun Sect, the cycle of heaven is fair, and retribution is swift!"

"This time, it is finally your turn to be unlucky!"

The moment Elder Tian received the news from his subordinates, he laughed heartily on the spot, cold light flickering in his eyes.

"What a pity."

He glanced toward the depths of the sect, a trace of regret appearing in his eyes. "The Old Ancestor is on the verge of a breakthrough, and I must remain here to hold the fort and prevent any petty villains from causing trouble. Otherwise, I would have personally avenged Third Elder and Fourth Elder!"

However, the Old Ancestor's breakthrough outweighed everything else.

The mere Jingyun Sect, now without an Xiantian expert to anchor it, was no longer a threat.

There was no need to lose sight of the bigger picture just to vent his anger at a time like this; a Jingyun Sect without an Xiantian expert was destined to wither away on its own.

Perhaps before long, it would be completely wiped off the face of the earth.

Elder Tian gazed in the direction of the Jingyun Sect and offered a cold smile.

"It is a pity that you might not live to witness the day the Blood-Oath Sect rises to power."

"I do hope you struggle a little longer, so that I might have the chance to avenge them myself..."

With that, Elder Tian ceased to concern himself with the matter.

A sect destined for decline was not worth the expenditure of his thoughts; it was meaningless.

This was a world where the strong preyed on the weak, and only the fittest survived.

The Jingyun Sect, once an object of his hatred, now left him feeling utterly indifferent at the mere mention of its name.