Heart-Refining Path

The harvest had been quite plentiful. He had received no small number of spirit pills, wondrous medicines, rare treasures, and exotic artifacts.

Any one of them, if brought into the cultivation world, could draw the covetous eyes of countless cultivators and set off a storm of bloodshed. Yet to Lin Xiaoyao, most of them were utterly useless.

Take the Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure before him—he could not even be bothered to look at it.

The same went for many of the pills.

Treasures others dreamed of possessed no more value to him than a stone. Though his cultivation was still low, he possessed the Saint Fruit Position. How could ordinary rare treasures possibly catch his eye?

Of course, he had not gained nothing. Every so often, he could still sign in for something useful.

His cultivation was the most useful of all.

Next came sacred items capable of increasing magical power.

For example, he had once signed in for an Immortal Origin Pill at Treasure Pill Valley.

This immortal pill was famous throughout the cultivation world. It was said that if a Qi Refining Realm cultivator consumed one, they could cleanse their marrow and remold their bones, directly cultivating all the way to the Nascent Soul Realm.

Yet after Lin Xiaoyao swallowed it, though he did sense a surge of vigorous spiritual power, his cultivation had only risen by a small amount in the end.

It was not that the pill had an undeserved reputation. Anything produced by the system was undoubtedly of the highest quality. Rather, because he possessed the Saint Fruit Position, the magical power he needed for each advancement was on an entirely different scale from the cultivation required by cultivators of the same realm.

Though the difficulty seemed to have increased by an unknown number of times, this was in truth the treatment a Saint ought to receive. Standing head and shoulders above all others, how could he be compared with ordinary people?

Although he needed more magical power and would face greater difficulties in advancing, the benefits would only be greater.

Not to mention anything else, his foundation was solid and his power profound. Even without wielding the three thousand Great Daos or endless laws, cultivators of the same realm were no more than ants before him.

"Alas, it took me a whole year just to reach Nascent Soul Late Stage. This advancement speed is far too slow."

Lin Xiaoyao sighed, deeply dissatisfied.

At this rate of cultivation, it would take him at least another ten years to become immortal—and that was a conservative estimate.

As for restoring cultivation matching the Saint Fruit Position, that was even more distant than a star beyond the horizon.

"Cultivation really is hard!"

He sank into melancholy reflection.

But soon, he rallied himself again.

He knew the road ahead was arduous, yet he would never give up. In any case, until he had cultivation worthy of the Saint Fruit Position, he would never lightly venture outside.

Fortunately, the Feathering Sect truly was a paradise for him.

Aside from the Founder's Shrine, places such as Sword-Flying Peak, the Library Pavilion, the Spirit Herb Garden, and Treasure Pill Valley could all be signed in at repeatedly.

Of course, there were also certain important places, such as Sanqing Main Hall, where he could sign in only once.

Lost in his thoughts, Lin Xiaoyao strolled away from the place.

The next day.

After cleaning the Founder's Shrine, Lin Xiaoyao went out for another walk.

Over the past year, he had signed in at the Founder's Shrine more often than anywhere else. Though the gains had been plentiful, he was starting to grow tired of it.

So he went out to take a look around. Though he had traversed most of the Feathering Sect's mountains and rivers, several forbidden areas still remained unexplored. On a sudden whim today, he decided to visit one of them.

Perhaps he would find an unexpected reward.

Before long, he arrived at the Feathering Sect's rear mountains.

Mountain after mountain rose and fell here, twisting and winding as they stretched toward the distant horizon.

After walking a little farther, Lin Xiaoyao came to an enormous, precipitous peak.

Unlike the other mountains around it, this one was not only taller and more dangerous, but covered with jagged rocks and sparse vegetation. It carried a faint air of desolation, utterly unlike the lush green mountain ranges surrounding it.

"Hmm?"

As his divine sense swept over the area, a trace of surprise appeared on Lin Xiaoyao's face.

Before the mountain stood quite a few disciples of the sect, whispering among themselves.

Though this was not a forbidden area of the sect, it was quite remote, and people rarely came here under normal circumstances. The scene before him was truly strange.

Then their discussions drifted into his ears.

"Senior Brother Liang has really emerged from seclusion?"

"Hmph, why would I lie to you? I heard he emerged only yesterday."

"Senior Brother Liang is truly incredible. He has only been in the sect for thirty short years, yet he has already formed a Golden Core Realm. He is a genius seen once in a thousand years."

"Isn't that so? I heard even the Sect Master praised him without end. Several Elders fought to take him as a disciple and pass on their legacies to him. Supposedly, they nearly came to blows over it."

"Gasp..."

Hearing this, someone could not help drawing in a sharp breath. "Forming a Golden Core Realm in thirty years truly makes him a role model for our generation. I entered the sect a little later, but it has still been twenty years. Forget forming a Golden Core Realm—I am still far from Foundation Establishment."

"Hmph, the immortal path is difficult. How can people like us compare to Senior Brother Liang? I heard he has come to challenge the Heart-Refining Path this time. I wonder if that is true?"

"How could it be false? If the news were not certain, why would we come all this way just to watch the excitement?"

Senior Brother Liang?

Lin Xiaoyao raised an eyebrow, and a person quickly came to mind.

Liang Xiaotian!

He was a genius praised by all the great figures in the sect.

He had entered the sect before Lin Xiaoyao.

Unexpectedly, he had formed a Golden Core Realm in only thirty years, while Lin Xiaoyao himself had spent more than a year merely cultivating to Nascent Soul Late Stage.

He was only a little more than one major realm above him. Looking at it that way, the other man's cultivation speed really was astonishing.

No wonder he was called a genius unseen in a thousand years!

Lin Xiaoyao felt somewhat impressed as well.

However, Liang Xiaotian was still being somewhat overconfident by coming to brave the Heart-Refining Path.

Though this place was not a sect forbidden ground, it was not somewhere ordinary disciples could set foot.

At the very least, only outer sect Elders in the Nascent Soul Realm—and outstanding ones among them—would dare barely attempt it. Otherwise, they would only be asking for humiliation.

The Heart-Refining Path had quite an origin as well. It was said that more than ten thousand years ago, one of the sect's senior Founders had accidentally discovered an ancient cultivator's ruin, supposedly with the slightest connection to the Primordial Era...

The Heart-Refining Path contained endless illusions: mountains of blades and seas of fire, wind, flowers, snow, and moon. If one's will was even slightly unsteady, one would become lost within it.

In mild cases, one's vital energy would be severely damaged. In worse cases, one might even suffer cultivation deviation.

But if one could pass through it, the benefits would be numerous.

It could temper one's Dao heart and elevate one's state of mind.

The sect did not forbid disciples from coming here, but everyone knew the dangers of the Heart-Refining Path. None of them dared court death by trying it lightly.

Yet among the disciples of their generation, someone was actually attempting the Heart-Refining Path. In the past thirty years, this had never happened before.

No wonder so many people had crowded here to watch the spectacle.

Having understood the twists and turns behind the matter, Lin Xiaoyao stood silently amid the crowd.

He had originally come here because the Heart-Refining Path counted as an important place within the sect, and he wanted to see whether he could sign in here.

If he could, what would he receive after signing in?