Spiritual Treasure Emerges

The Dao followed nature.

Lin Xiaoyao decided to cultivate on his own, but in truth, he merely took a breath.

Of course, unlike an ordinary breath, in that instant, he effortlessly established the most fundamental connection with everything within several hundred li.

Sure enough, some laws also permeated the heavens above and the depths below.

The workings of all things naturally had to follow certain rules.

Though compared to the myriad heavens and worlds, the laws before him were no more than minor branches and leaves.

Yet the withering and flourishing of plants, the propagation and survival of living beings, were inseparably tied to them. To put it more plainly, all were influenced and constrained by these laws.

Meanwhile.

At the Feathering Sect's headquarters.

All the cultivators stared, dumbfounded, at the scene before them.

It was clearly early spring, when all things came back to life.

Flowers bloomed, and the forests had once more donned their green robes.

Then suddenly...

Without any warning.

Streams ran dry, rivers froze, and the blooming flowers withered and fell. Yet some trees bore abundant fruit as though it were autumn...

It was as if the workings of heaven and earth had fallen into chaos at that moment.

Fortunately, the process came swiftly and departed just as swiftly. In but an instant, everything returned to normal.

It was as though what had just occurred had been nothing more than an illusion.

Founder's Shrine.

"Whew, that was close!"

A lingering fear appeared on Lin Xiaoyao's face.

He had never imagined that he had merely wanted to cultivate a little, casually taken a breath, and ended up causing such a result.

Was it because my realm was too high?

Though he possessed the Saint Fruit Position, his magical power was currently meager, and his cultivation was only at the Golden Core Realm. With his strength, he could not yet move any laws.

But that only meant he could not command them.

With his realm, he could still affect the laws.

It was only that such influence was beyond his control. One careless misstep could lead to unimaginable consequences.

For example, he had only wanted to cultivate a little just now.

Yet he had greatly affected the entire region for several hundred li around.

As a result, flowers withered, small rivers froze, while trees bore fruit as though it were the harvest season of autumn.

This was because the natural laws that had originally governed everything had been affected by him and become chaotic and disordered.

Fortunately, Lin Xiaoyao reacted quickly and stopped cultivating at once. Otherwise, no one could predict what might have happened had it continued.

Chaotic laws might have brought about the cataclysm spoken of in legends.

Even so, the cultivators of the entire Feathering Sect had been frightened out of their wits.

Cold sweat drenched their bodies!

Even some elders in life-and-death seclusion awakened from their meditation.

They looked at the scene before them in uncertainty.

They were utterly shaken.

Lin Xiaoyao had reacted quickly. The moment he saw signs of things slipping out of control, he stopped immediately, so the effects were limited to plants, water flow, and a handful of mineral veins.

Otherwise, if it had continued, it would have been difficult to say whether living beings would also have been affected by the chaos of the laws. By then, the Feathering Sect would surely have faced an unpredictable calamity.

Looks like I still can't cultivate on my own.

Within the Founder's Shrine, Lin Xiaoyao sighed inwardly.

He had not expected such a change to occur and had truly been startled.

More importantly, though the cultivation session had been brief, lasting only an instant, Lin Xiaoyao had keenly sensed many things.

For example... efficiency.

Other cultivators could absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and cultivate step by step.

Yet he could not.

The realm of a Saint was simply too lofty. Even though his current cultivation was still low, only at the Golden Core Realm.

Whenever he wished to improve even a little, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth he required was on an entirely different scale from that needed by cultivators with the same level of magical power.

By his estimate, even if he drained dry the enormous spirit vein beneath the Feathering Sect, the improvement to his cultivation would still be very limited.

I can't do this.

A person cannot be too selfish. How could I let all the Feathering Sect's cultivators lose the place they relied on to live, just for the slightest improvement in my magical power?

Besides, the outside world is still far too dangerous for me. Without the Feathering Sect, where would I find another place to sign in that is so peaceful and safe?

Lin Xiaoyao had already made up his mind. Unless he truly attained the cultivation of a Saint, he did not intend to emerge into the world.

So it seemed that, in the end, he still had to rely on the system's sign-ins to obtain treasures that could enhance his magical power.

A mere five hundred years of cultivation had raised him to the Golden Core Realm. As expected, the items produced by the system were of extraordinary quality, entirely unlike the concept of an ordinary person cultivating for five hundred years.

Time passed swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, more than a year had gone by.

"System, sign me in."

"Congratulations, Host. Sign-in successful. You have obtained the Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure, the Void Sky Ruler. Would you like to claim it now?"

"Claim it."

Lin Xiaoyao sighed, looking somewhat listless. Then an ancient-looking wooden ruler appeared before him.

The treasure was about half a foot long and seemed to exist somewhere between reality and illusion as it slowly rotated.

What was even more astonishing was that with every rotation, spirit patterns flickered into view upon it. Several pale silver lotuses also appeared around it, drifting slowly, seeming both real and unreal, while faint clear chimes rang out.

Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasures were known in the cultivation world as rare treasures beyond compare. Ordinary magic treasures and ancient treasures, when compared to them, were like fireflies vying with the bright moon, inviting only ridicule.

Even if the Feathering Sect's sect master were here, his expression would surely change drastically, and he would be consumed with desire.

Yet Lin Xiaoyao appeared utterly listless. He did not even spare the Void Sky Ruler another glance before casually tossing it into the System Space.

With his Saint Fruit Position, only the Pangu Axe, the Primordial Chaos Pearl, or the Creation Jade Disk might stir even a trace of interest in him if placed before his eyes.

A Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure?

Hmph, what was that? To him, it was scarcely more precious than a stubborn stone by the roadside. It would be a pity to throw it away, but the System Space was infinitely vast, so he casually tossed it inside.

Over the past year, he had traveled across mountains and rivers. Other than a few forbidden areas, his footprints had reached nearly every corner of the sect headquarters.

Though he still held the duty of cleaning the Founder's Shrine, it was a sect assignment, not confinement imposed as punishment. Thus, once he finished cleaning, no one questioned wherever he wished to go.

Lin Xiaoyao kept a low profile, striving to become an insignificant little figure in the sect. Everyone cultivated on their own, and with no reason to do otherwise, naturally no one came looking to trouble him.

Thus, he lived quite comfortably over the past year.

He merely swept the floors and arranged offerings upon the shrine altar.

As for places to sign in, aside from the treasure ground that was the Founder's Shrine, he naturally did not neglect any important locations such as Sword-Flying Peak, the Library Pavilion, the Spirit Herb Garden, and Treasure Pill Valley.

Sometimes he pretended to be passing by, and sometimes he came openly with a legitimate reason. In secluded places where no one paid attention, he quietly signed in and claimed his rewards.