Earth Escape Added

Indeed, cremation is prevalent in the world of immortal cultivation. Unless a family or sect has the power to protect a gravesite, most cultivators will choose to be reduced to ash upon death, lest they be dug up and refined into corpses, leaving them no peace even in the afterlife.

As of now, among the Bing-Gui Immortal Seeds that Lin Changheng was close to, aside from himself and Dantai Feiyue, almost everyone else had been to the battlefield, either wounded or dead.

Those like Bai Fengxian, who only suffered disfigurement without sustaining fundamental damage, could be considered fortunate.

Lin, Xu, and Bai took it upon themselves to handle the funerals at the request of the widows and orphans of the two deceased.

After some deliberation, they did not scatter the remains into the Black Water River, but instead buried them on a high point of the green mountains, planting a young pine tree over each grave.

One day, when the trees grow tall and lush like a canopy, they can watch over the changes in the path of immortality and the shifting of the seas into mulberry fields on their behalf.

"The path of immortality is heartless. I wonder if, when our time comes... there will be anyone to find us a good place to rest?"

Xu Fugui suddenly sighed.

"Why don't the three of us make a pact here? No matter who falls on the path of immortality, the others must find a good place to bury them," Bai Fengxian said after a long silence, looking at the two of them.

"Agreed." Lin Changheng nodded after a moment of thought.

"Fine by me." Xu Fugui also consented.

Three hands stacked together; the pact was made.

"Brother Lin."

That day, a call suddenly rang out outside Lin Changheng's small courtyard, accompanied by a soft knocking on the door.

Yet, if anyone were to enter at that moment, they would find that there was not a soul to be seen, neither in the house nor in the courtyard.

"Coming."

A response suddenly echoed from within the courtyard.

Was there actually someone there?

Then, a miraculous scene unfolded. On a patch of soft, yellow soil in the corner of the courtyard, a certain earth-type fluctuation faintly emerged.

Following that, the yellow soil rippled like flowing water, and a figure wavered before appearing out of thin air.

If one had a sharp eye, however, they would notice that the figure seemed to have been spat out by the earth, stirring up a few wisps of dust in the process.

It was none other than Earth Escape...

[Earth Escape Art: Path Glimpse]!

A long-awaited and highly practical life-saving technique had finally been mastered!

About a month ago, the Rock Mountain Turtle Treasure Seed had finally completed the Spirit Snatch under the continuous supply of talisman ink from Dantai Feiyue.

The Origin Cauldron had also, for the first time, gestured an earth-yellow treasure seed.

The spiritual essence of his Earth Spirit Root had also increased by one wisp, bringing the total to eight.

At the same time, [Earth Escape] was directly refined into his being without a second thought.

In an instant, the pulse of the earth surged like a tide. Lin Changheng immediately felt that strange rhythm, and his breathing unconsciously synchronized with it.

There was also the flow of terrestrial energy—

It was not chaotic or disorganized, but followed a rhythm more ancient than breath itself.

From this moment on, the solid soil beneath his feet was no longer an obstacle to Lin Changheng; it had transformed into a flowing "river," and he could tentatively borrow the "tides" of the earth to travel through it.

[Effect: Preliminary perception of the earth's rhythm; briefly merge into soil layers to travel.]

Overjoyed, Lin Changheng went directly to a nearby uninhabited mountain to test it out.

After mastering this strange art, as long as any part of his body touched the ground, he could burrow into the earth with a single thought.

It was an extremely profound state. The hard soil beneath his feet merely fluctuated, rippling with water-like patterns.

It was not broken or destroyed, yet he had already entered the earth.

From Lin Changheng's perspective, his entire form was like a drop of ink falling into a lake, gradually sinking into the rippling, earth-yellow spiritual power.

Soon, he disappeared completely from the surface, leaving no trace of a figure.

"Truly profound!"

Lin Changheng was filled with both surprise and delight. With this skill alone, he could evade many sudden crises from the outside world.

He could sense that he was located seven or eight feet beneath the soil layer.

He could continue to go deeper, but at the depth of one zhang, it became incredibly hard, as if his feet were stepping on solid ground, and he could not sink any further.

But after all, this was [Earth Escape Art: Path Glimpse], the most elementary version, so Lin Changheng was satisfied enough.

"Let me try moving."

With a thought, Lin Changheng began to test further.

His eyes narrowed as he began to perceive, and soon he caught the rhythm of the earth. At the same time, he unleashed the art and began to travel through the underground.

Carried forward as if by a flowing current, he arrived ten zhang away in an instant.

The dense rock and soil surrounding him ceased to be an obstacle, parting naturally like water only to close silently behind him, leaving behind nothing but the faintest of traces.

"Tsk tsk, even though it is pitch black underground, in my perception, it is like scattered stardust with faint, hazy yellow glimmers... it is quite magnificent, a scenery I have never experienced before."

After about five breaths, Lin Changheng, who was swimming through the earth like a fish, began to feel a sense of discomfort.

His physical body felt the pressure of the earth, and his breathing began to feel obstructed.

He immediately picked a spot and burst out from the ground.

Not a speck of dust or dirt clung to his robes.

"Truly miraculous."

After resting for a while, Lin Changheng continued his testing.

Soon, he reached a conclusion.

This [Earth Escape Art: Path Glimpse] allowed one to enter upon touching the ground, with a depth limit of one zhang and a duration limit of five breaths.

He could travel a distance of approximately fifty zhang.

When encountering danger, although one could not rely solely on the earth escape to flee, its strength lay in its silence and stealth, its directionless movement, and its unpredictable shifting. By combining it with other methods, such as breath concealment techniques or a Hiding Talisman, one could slip away from the battlefield and vanish without a trace.

It would be extremely difficult to track him down in a short time.

The mental agility Lin Changheng had cultivated through years of solving problems quickly led him to think of ways to patch the gaps.

He firmly believed that problems were static while people were dynamic; there was always a suitable solution.

Since the earth escape was still weak, he would amplify its strengths and compensate for its flaws—would that not yield the optimal solution?

Once he continued to accumulate [Rock Mountain Turtle Treasure Seed] and the [Earth Escape Art] improved further, the duration, distance, and depth would change, and naturally, there would be no need for such tricks.

The courtyard gate opened.

Dantai Feiyue walked in, sat down brazenly on a stone stool in the courtyard, and pushed a wooden box toward him, all while eyeing Lin Changheng with suspicious, starry eyes; it was clear he had taken far too long to open the door.

The two had been close for many years, and the initial reserve between them had long since vanished.

"Could this be..."

Lin Changheng did not take the bait; he smiled warmly and pulled the wooden box over, opening it.

Inside lay four talismans, their silver-hooked, iron-drawn strokes radiating a dense spiritual glow.

"As per the instructions of Master Alchemist Lin, two low-grade [Breath Concealment Talisman]s and two low-grade [Hiding Talisman]s, all of premium quality."

Seeing this, Dantai Feiyue gave a light huff, picked up her teacup, and said while sipping, "You are welcome, Immortal."

Lin Changheng flicked his sleeve, and the wooden box along with the talismans vanished. He then looked at the princess, who was busy sipping her tea, and could not help but show a strange expression.

"What? Is there a flower on this young lady's face?"

Dantai Feiyue noticed this, subconsciously paused her cup, and asked in surprise.

"The Princess's beauty is enough to put the moon to shame and make flowers blush; ordinary flowers cannot compare to even half of it..."

As Lin Changheng's voice reached her, Dantai Feiyue felt a secret joy, though she maintained an unmoved, indifferent appearance on the surface.

But when Lin Changheng pointed to the teacup in her hand, his next sentence made Dantai Feiyue's pretty face flush a dazzling, brilliant red:

"It is just that I used that cup earlier. If you are truly thirsty, Immortal, you can just say so; I will pour you a fresh one. There is no need to save those few leaves of spiritual tea on my account."