Obtaining the Sword Talisman, Medicinal Bath

With the various spirit beasts having departed, Ye Lin stepped into the Purple Deep Spring. He gazed at the crystal-clear water before him, lost in thought for a moment.

According to the system panel, it was at the bottom of this spring that Huang Xiong had obtained the Sword Talisman.

With that, Ye Lin hesitated no longer. He dove into the spring and swam toward the deepest point. Upon reaching the bottom, he began to search everywhere.

It was fortunate that the spring water was exceptionally clear, allowing him to see every inch of the basin.

"Found it."

Ye Lin threw a punch at a rock. In an instant, the stone shattered into powder, revealing a Sword Talisman wedged right behind it.

Ye Lin snatched up the Sword Talisman and swam back to the surface. Once he climbed onto the bank, he enveloped his body in green spirit fire, and a moment later, his clothes were completely dry.

"I never expected the spirit fire to have such a use."

Ye Lin's face was full of admiration as he took out the Sword Talisman.

The Sword Talisman was triangular in shape and crafted from an unknown material; one could faintly perceive a trace of sword intent fluctuating from it.

"To think it's sword intent."

Ye Lin was shocked. In this world, all weapons and martial arts could be categorized into: Entry-level, Profound, Great Accomplishment, Intent, Domain, Law, and Dao.

Anyone capable of cultivating sword intent was, without exception, a powerhouse of great renown.

"Whoever was able to condense sword intent into a Sword Talisman certainly wasn't a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator; they wouldn't have had the ability. Perhaps this talisman has been placed here for so long that the sword intent has faded."

"Even if the sword intent has faded, it can still unleash a strike equivalent to the Foundation Establishment Early Stage. It is truly formidable."

Ye Lin tucked the Sword Talisman away, scanned his surroundings, and departed quickly.

After all, humans and spirit beasts were two different races, and the hatred between them was deep. If he lingered here too long, there was no guarantee he wouldn't attract the attention of high-level spirit beasts, and that would spell big trouble.

The Hundred Thousand Mountains were crawling with spirit beasts, and while the Azure Cloud Sect was the hegemon within a radius of ten thousand miles, they only dared to deter the beasts, never venturing deep into the mountains to slaughter them. The fundamental reason was simple: they couldn't win.

The journey back was uneventful, and he finally arrived at the Azure Cloud Sect. With his strength at the eighth level of Qi Refining, he had to be extremely cautious even in the outer regions of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, let alone the central areas.

"Right, I almost forgot about this thing."

Ye Lin suddenly stopped in his tracks and headed toward his former servant quarters.

Upon arriving, he looked around and let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, no one had entered.

He pulled the Blood Soul Tree from beneath his bed. This tree and the Post-Heaven Breath Soil were the most valuable things he possessed; if these were gone, he wouldn't even have a place to cry.

Ye Lin tucked the Blood Soul Tree against his chest and hurried toward the Inner Sect. He moved with such speed that no one could see what he was carrying.

Once he reached his residence, he placed the Blood Soul Tree under his bed and finally relaxed.

The sect maintained excellent privacy for Inner Sect disciples. Anyone caught entering another's residence without permission would be left either dead or crippled.

This was why Ye Lin dared to bring the Blood Soul Tree into the Inner Sect; no one dared to trespass in his quarters.

A day passed in the blink of an eye. Ye Lin rose, dressed, and after washing up, headed toward the administrative office.

Today was the day for his medicinal bath.

Upon arriving at the office, he saw Zhao Li sitting with his eyes closed, resting his mind.

"Senior Brother, I am here for my medicinal bath today."

Ye Lin spoke up, and at his words, Zhao Li slowly opened his eyes.

"So it's Junior Brother Ye. Everything is prepared; follow me."

Zhao Li nodded and led Ye Lin toward the back door.

The medicinal bath was a benefit reserved only for Inner Sect disciples. The various medicinal herbs were pre-allocated, and the entire process 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 children.

And rightly so; once these disciples matured, they would become the backbone of the sect's combat power, so they had to be cultivated with care. As for the Outer Sect disciples, they were merely peripheral figures.

It was no exaggeration to say that if an Outer Sect disciple died, the Azure Cloud Sect would, at most, conduct a cursory investigation.

But if an Inner Sect disciple died, even the top brass of the sect would treat the matter with gravity.

That was the stark difference.

"Junior Brother Ye, please step into this medicinal barrel. I will prepare the medicine for you."

Zhao Li pointed to a barrel as tall as a man, and Ye Lin fell silent for a moment.

"Senior Brother, is it possible not to take my clothes off?"

After thinking for a long time, this was all Ye Lin could manage to squeeze out.

"How can that work? If your clothes block the medicine, the efficacy might be reduced. You should think carefully."

"Junior Brother Ye, we are both men. What are you afraid of? I'm not going to take advantage of you."

Zhao Li spoke quite naturally. He was long accustomed to such things; he had seen the five disciples before him act just as coy and bashful as young girls.

It wasn't as if he didn't have the same equipment; why be so shy?

"Alright."

Ye Lin nodded, stripped off his clothes, and jumped into the barrel. Immediately, a sharp, stinging pain washed over him.

"Hiss, Senior Brother, is this boiling water?"

Ye Lin asked Zhao Li with some surprise.

"That's right. Only boiling water can better extract the medicinal properties from the herbs. Besides, to be able to defeat Lin Ziyou, your strength must be at least at the ninth level of Qi Refining, right?"

Listening to Zhao Li's explanation, Ye Lin nodded. Once one breaks through the fifth level of Qi Refining, so-called boiling water causes absolutely no harm to a cultivator.

One could even take a bath in boiling water.

"Alright, close your eyes in a moment and circulate your cultivation technique to absorb the medicinal effects with all your might. Once this medicine is absorbed, it will lay the foundation for you to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm."

"The benefits are truly infinite. If it weren't for the fact that every Inner Sect disciple only gets one chance for a medicinal bath in their lifetime, I would want to soak in it a few times myself."

Zhao Li looked at Ye Lin with some envy, then placed the herbs in his hands into the water one by one. These herbs were in specific quantities; every bit used had to be registered, leaving him no chance to steal any.

As the medicinal effects began to enter his body, Ye Lin's face turned beet red, and his entire body felt incredibly stinging, as if ants were crawling all over him—it was agonizing.

Furthermore, his internal organs felt as if they were being roasted over a fire, and the intense pain forced him to clench his teeth.

Ye Lin quickly circulated the Star Art and began to refine the energy.

He had been able to endure the immense pain of refining a demon core; this pain, while severe, could not shake his Dao heart in the slightest.

In the blink of an eye, three hours passed, and Zhao Li, who was guarding him from the side, grew more and more alarmed.

"Hiss, not a single disciple in the past has lasted more than an hour in there. This Junior Brother Ye is actually able to hold on for three hours; it is simply rare."

Zhao Li was full of shock. The medicinal power within this bath was incredibly savage, and few disciples could endure it for more than an hour.

They simply could not withstand the pain.

But as for Ye Lin, having experienced the pain of refining a demon core, this level of agony was nothing to him.

Just then, the medicinal water in front of him suddenly exploded, and countless splashes scattered in all directions. Zhao Li, as if he had known this would happen, immediately picked up the table in front of him to block it.

This was how it always went when disciples soaked in the medicinal bath for the first time; they would blow up the tub every single time.

After absorbing the medicinal power, their bodies would be filled with strength and an urgent desire to vent it, and the way they chose to vent was by blowing up the tub.

This had already made him incredibly experienced.

"Ah, what a comfortable feeling."

After absorbing all the medicinal effects just now, Ye Lin had felt a sense of congestion in his chest. Now that he had released the excess power from within his body, he felt incredibly refreshed all over.

Moreover, his body was brimming with strength, and the mass of spiritual energy at his Dantian had become much more condensed.