Only after the many Demon Beasts present had left did Ye Lin make his way, step by step, into Purple Deep Spring. He gazed at the crystal-clear water and pondered for a moment.
According to the panel, Huang Xiong seemed to have found the Sword Talisman at the bottom of the spring.
With that, Ye Lin no longer hesitated. He plunged into the water and swam toward the deepest part. Once he reached the bottom, he searched all around.
He had the clear water to thank for it; he could see the entire bottom of the spring.
"Found it."
Ye Lin punched a Stone. In an instant, it crumbled to dust, revealing a Sword Talisman lodged behind it.
Ye Lin snatched up the Sword Talisman and swam toward the surface. Once he reached dry land, green Spirit Fire enveloped his body, and his clothes dried in the next moment.
"I didn't know Spirit Fire could be used for this, too."
Ye Lin exclaimed in admiration and took out the Sword Talisman.
It was triangular, made from an unknown material. A faint trace of Sword Intent seemed to ripple from it.
"I didn't expect it to be Sword Intent."
Ye Lin was stunned. All weapons and martial arts in the world could be divided into the stages of entry, profound, mastery, intent, domain, law, and Dao.
Anyone capable of cultivating Sword Intent was an immensely powerful expert.
"To condense Sword Intent into a Sword Talisman, its creator must have been beyond the Foundation Establishment Realm. A cultivator at that level wouldn't have had the ability. Perhaps this Sword Talisman was placed here long ago, and its Sword Intent has faded."
"Even faded Sword Intent can unleash a strike at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage. It's truly formidable."
Ye Lin put away the Sword Talisman, glanced around, and quickly left.
Humans and Demon Beasts belonged to different races, and they had a deep-seated hatred for each other. If he stayed here too long, he might attract the attention of a high-level Demon Beast. Then he'd be in serious trouble.
Demon Beasts were everywhere in the Hundred Thousand Mountains. As the overlord sect within a radius of ten thousand li, the Azure Cloud Sect only dared to keep them in check; it didn't dare enter the mountains to hunt them. The fundamental reason was simple: they couldn't win.
The journey was uneventful, and he finally made it back to the Azure Cloud Sect. Even with the strength of Qi Refining Level 8, he had to tread carefully in the outer reaches of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, let alone in its central regions.
"Right, I almost forgot about this."
Ye Lin suddenly stopped and headed toward his old servant's quarters.
When he arrived, he looked around and breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, no one had been inside.
Then he retrieved the Blood Soul Tree from beneath the bed. The most valuable things he owned were this Blood Soul Tree and the Post-Heaven Breath Soil. If this thing went missing, he wouldn't even know where to cry.
Ye Lin tucked the Blood Soul Tree against his chest and hurried toward the Inner Sect. He walked so quickly that no one could make out what he was carrying.
After reaching his residence, Ye Lin put the Blood Soul Tree beneath his bed and breathed a sigh of relief.
The sect took the privacy of its Inner Sect disciples very seriously. Anyone caught entering another person's residence without permission would be lucky to escape without ending up half-dead.
That was why Ye Lin dared to bring the Blood Soul Tree into the Inner Sect. No one would dare barge into his residence.
A day passed in the blink of an eye. Ye Lin got up, dressed, and washed before heading to the administration office.
Today was the day he was scheduled to take a medicinal bath.
When he arrived at the office, he saw Zhao Li sitting with his eyes closed, resting.
"Senior Brother, I'm here for my medicinal bath today."
Ye Lin spoke. At the sound of his voice, Zhao Li slowly opened his eyes.
"So it's Junior Brother Ye. Everything's ready. Come with me."
Zhao Li nodded and led Ye Lin toward the back door.
A medicinal bath was a benefit reserved exclusively for Inner Sect disciples. The ingredients were all carefully portioned, and the entire treatment was worth one hundred Low-Tier Spirit Stones.
It could be said that the Azure Cloud Sect truly raised its Inner Sect disciples like its own sons.
That made sense. Once they matured, Inner Sect disciples would become the backbone of the Azure Cloud Sect, so they had to be nurtured with care. Outer Sect disciples, on the other hand, were little more than peripheral figures.
If an Outer Sect disciple died, the Azure Cloud Sect would at most look into it.
But if an Inner Sect disciple died, even the sect's top brass would take the matter seriously.
The difference was clear as day.
"Junior Brother Ye, please get into that medicine tub. I'll prepare the mixture for you."
Zhao Li pointed to a tub standing as tall as a person. Ye Lin fell silent for a moment.
"Senior Brother, do I really have to take my clothes off?"
After thinking it over, Ye Lin finally managed to ask.
"How could you not? Your clothes would get in the way and reduce the effects of the medicine. Think carefully."
"Junior Brother Ye, we're both men. What are you worried about? I'm not going to take advantage of you."
Zhao Li answered matter-of-factly. He was long used to this sort of thing. Ye Lin wasn't the only one; the previous five had all fidgeted bashfully like girls.
It's not like you have anything I don't. What's there to be so shy about?
"All right."
Ye Lin nodded, stripped, and climbed into the tub. A stinging pain immediately swept over him.
"Ugh, Senior Brother, is this boiling water?"
Ye Lin asked Zhao Li in surprise.
"That's right. Only boiling water can draw out the medicinal properties more effectively. Besides, if you could defeat Lin Ziyou, you must be at least at Qi Refining Level 9, right?"
Hearing Zhao Li's explanation, Ye Lin nodded. Once a cultivator broke through to Qi Refining Level 5, boiling water could no longer harm them at all.
They could even bathe in it.
"All right. Close your eyes in a moment and circulate your cultivation method. Absorb the medicinal effects with all your strength. Once you've absorbed this medicine, it'll lay a foundation for your breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Realm."
"The benefits will be endless. If every Inner Sect disciple weren't allowed just one medicinal bath in their lifetime, I'd want to soak in it several times myself."
Zhao Li looked at Ye Lin enviously, then placed the ingredients in his hands into the water one by one. Each ingredient had a set amount, and every measure used had to be recorded, leaving him no chance to steal any.
As the medicine began to seep into his body, Ye Lin's face flushed red. Stinging pain covered him from head to toe, as if ants were crawling over him. It was unbearable.
His internal organs felt as if they were being roasted over a fire. The intense pain made him grit his teeth.
Ye Lin quickly circulated the Star Art and began refining the medicine bit by bit.
He had endured the tremendous pain of refining a Demon Core. This pain, though intense, couldn't shake his Dao heart.
In the blink of an eye, three hours passed. Zhao Li, standing guard nearby, grew more and more astonished.
"Ugh, not one of the previous disciples lasted even an hour in there. Junior Brother Ye has endured for three hours. That's unheard of!"
Zhao Li was utterly stunned. The medicinal power in the bath was incredibly fierce; few disciples could last even an hour.
They simply couldn't endure the pain.
But Ye Lin had already endured the agony of refining a Demon Core. This pain was nothing to him.
Just then, the medicine tub in front of them suddenly exploded. Water sprayed in every direction. As if he'd expected it, Zhao Li immediately grabbed the table in front of him and used it as a shield.
The first time any of the previous disciples took a medicinal bath, this had happened. The tub exploded every time.
After absorbing all the medicinal power, they were filled with strength and desperate to let it out. And the way they let it out was by blowing up the tub.
He'd become extremely experienced at handling it.
"Ah, that feels incredible!"
After absorbing all the medicine, Ye Lin had felt as if something were clogging his chest. Now that he'd released the excess energy in his body, he felt completely refreshed.
His whole body brimmed with power, and the mass of spiritual energy in his dantian had grown more condensed.
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