When Ye Lin arrived at the Scripture Depository, no one tried to stop him. He stepped inside with ease.
He was now an Inner Sect disciple, one of the Azure Cloud Sect's pillars. No one dared to block him.
Inside the Scripture Depository, Ye Lin passed over the cultivation techniques and martial skills. They were all Yellow Grade, and none of them could attract his attention now. He headed to the back.
"This is the one."
Ye Lin picked up the cultivation manual before him and opened it to read.
The manual recorded common problems encountered during cultivation, as well as various secrets.
The book was free to read, which was why Ye Lin could browse it safely inside the Scripture Depository.
Half an hour later, Ye Lin closed the book.
"So that's how it is."
Ye Lin murmured to himself.
It turned out that there were different levels of strength within the Foundation Establishment Realm. For instance, upon breaking through to Foundation Establishment, the qi in one's dantian turned into spiritual liquid, allowing one to store far more qi than during Qi Refining.
That was the main reason Foundation Establishment cultivators could fly on swords.
The second reason was the Dao Platform. When one broke through to Foundation Establishment, the dantian changed into a Dao Platform to contain the spiritual liquid. This Dao Platform was immensely important.
It determined a cultivator's future limits and combat strength.
Dao Platforms were divided into five grades: First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth. The Fifth-Grade Dao Platform was the perfect Dao Platform.
Once someone broke through to Foundation Establishment and forged a Fifth-Grade Dao Platform, their combat strength could surpass that of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators with First- through Fourth-Grade Dao Platforms.
"With my current foundation, I'd form a Third-Grade Dao Platform as soon as I broke through. But that's not enough. If I want to go further, I need to forge a Fifth-Grade Dao Platform."
Ye Lin murmured. From the book, he'd learned that a Fifth-Grade Dao Platform made it possible to become an immortal. Once someone forged a Fourth-Grade Dao Platform, the road to immortality was cut off.
In the Azure Cloud Sect, ninety-nine percent of the disciples had First-Grade Dao Platforms.
"I wonder what kind of Dao Platform Lin Zisheng has. But as a Child of Destiny, his Dao Platform probably isn't that simple."
Ye Lin closed the book, stood, and headed outside. To forge a Fifth-Grade Dao Platform, he needed to temper his cultivation and refine his Qi Refining Realm cultivation until it was perfected.
Moreover, forging a Fifth-Grade Dao Platform required two other things. First, one had to use the blood of a divine beast as an aid. Second, one needed a Nine-Turn Dragon Chant Flower.
This flower was extremely rare and difficult to find. It was as precious as an Earth Grade spiritual herb.
But if one's cultivation hadn't been tempered to the utmost, then even with divine beast blood and a Nine-Turn Dragon Chant Flower, it would all be for nothing.
"Temper my cultivation to its limit, then get divine beast blood and a Nine-Turn Dragon Chant Flower? But Little Phoenix is descended from a divine beast, isn't she? Once she hatches, I can just take a little of her blood."
A look of delight appeared on Ye Lin's face. Wasn't this requirement tailor-made for him?
At that moment, Ye Lin no longer cared about breaking through to Foundation Establishment. It wasn't time yet. The day Little Phoenix hatched would be the day he broke through to Foundation Establishment.
Beaming with delight, Ye Lin headed back to his residence.
"Time to cultivate."
Ye Lin took out five Low-Tier Spirit Stones and began absorbing their energy. When the Phoenix Fire in his dantian sensed the incoming qi, it began circling around the dantian, bubbling with excitement.
In the blink of an eye, a day passed. Ye Lin opened his eyes. Now that he'd started focusing on his own cultivation, he'd realized there were still many flaws.
Fortunately, he hadn't rushed to break through yesterday. Otherwise, he would have regretted it bitterly.
"Today, I should go claim Lin Zisheng's opportunity. First, I'll take the Geng Metal Essence, then head to the Fire Cloud Mountain Range to absorb the Earth Vein Fire Qi. By then, I should be able to temper my cultivation to the limit."
"After that, I'll focus on hatching Little Phoenix. Once she's born, I'll definitely break through to Foundation Establishment."
"But I'll need to be careful about the Inner Sect Grand Competition a month from now. That mysterious Tenth Elder—I wonder just how mysterious he is."
Ye Lin rose and headed outside, pondering to himself.
The Inner Sect Grand Competition was simply a contest where Inner Sect disciples fought one another. The sect would give generous rewards to the top ten, and those who performed exceptionally well might catch an elder's eye and be accepted as a personal disciple.
Ye Lin made his way down the mountain and headed toward Green Mountain City.
"Something's not right."
Ye Lin suddenly stopped, remembering the Destiny on his status panel from earlier.
The surroundings were also strangely quiet. There wasn't a single Rogue Cultivator, and there weren't any Demon Beasts either. Something was definitely off.
Just then, a fierce streak of sword light appeared behind him. Ye Lin immediately used Demon Shadow No Trace to dodge it. But the sword light was too fast, and it still tore a small gash in his right arm.
In the next instant, Ye Lin used Demon Shadow No Trace again. He moved with incredible speed, and his figure vanished.
Only after Ye Lin had disappeared did Lin Zisheng step out from the bushes.
"A movement technique that increases speed? But how is this kid so alert? I'm a Foundation Establishment cultivator, yet even with a sneak attack, I couldn't kill him in one strike?"
"But now I know what he's got up his sleeve—a low-grade movement technique. Just you wait."
With that, Lin Zisheng disappeared.
"The gap between Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining really is huge. Even though I was prepared, I barely managed to dodge."
Ye Lin looked at the faint wound on his arm and spoke.
"I need to break through to Foundation Establishment as soon as possible."
Ye Lin set off toward Green Mountain City. It was the Azure Cloud Sect's most important city, though he didn't know why.
Over the past few days, Ye Lin had visited several cities. But from the moment he entered Green Mountain City, it had given him a mysterious feeling.
Although it looked much like any other city, there was something about it that made Ye Lin uncomfortable.
People hurried about in all directions, as if every one of them had somewhere to be. Even the roadside vendors looked uneasy, leaving Ye Lin utterly baffled.
Normally, entering a city gave people a lively feeling. Green Mountain City, though, was strangely quiet despite the occasional cry of a street vendor.
Everyone on the streets seemed to have a purpose. They hurried along without speaking to anyone.
Ye Lin looked away and headed straight for the city center, knowing the pleasure houses were always located there. After all, this wasn't like his previous life: pleasure houses were legal in this world.
And where could you make the most money? Of course, in the city center, where crowds gathered.
Guided by his extensive experience, Ye Lin reached the city center and spotted a pleasure house.
Two scantily clad women stood at the entrance, holding round fans and giggling at the people passing by.
Ye Lin headed for the pleasure house.
"Well, aren't you a handsome young master?"
The woman at the entrance looked at Ye Lin and laughed.
Ye Lin ignored her and stepped inside. As soon as he entered, a thick scent of rouge and powder filled his nose.
To be honest, it smelled awful.
"Well, well, young master, where are you from? Is there a girl you've taken a fancy to?"
A plump, middle-aged woman leaned against Ye Lin, blinking at him.
"I hear you have a Heaven-Grade No. 1 Private Room here. I'll take it."
Ye Lin pushed the heavyset woman aside and got straight to the point.
"The Heaven-Grade No. 1 Private Room? Of course we have one. There are two ways to get in."
"First, compose a poem. If our Miss Ru Yan likes it, you can stay in the Heaven-Grade No. 1 Private Room for free."
"Second, you can pay a hefty price: one hundred taels of silver per night."
Hearing this, Ye Lin pondered. Opportunities were random things.
Then Lin Zisheng was...
A smile tugged at Ye Lin's lips. Lin Zisheng sure had some colorful tastes.
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