After downing several cups of spirit tea to calm his mind,
Lin Changheng took a deep breath and immersed his awareness once more. The Origin Cauldron remained unchanged in his sea of consciousness, and those utterly terrifying images did not appear again.
Yet the mouth of the cauldron was markedly different. Where the crimson treasure seed had once been, an illusory Dao Fruit now floated up and down.
[Fire Crow Treasure Seed · Fifth Stage] [Spirit Seizure: 1/100] [Transformation: 0/10] [Effects: mixed-grade Demon Beast bloodline, innately fire-aspected. Upon completing Spirit Seizure, Transformation nurtures the Dao, allowing the true intent of the ancestral bloodline divine ability, "Fire Control," to be refined into the bloodline.]
"The next thing to take shape is a Dao Fruit? Not another treasure seed?"
That was the first thing Lin Changheng noticed. The form of the object within the cauldron was entirely different.
Before, it had been a "seed"; now, it was a "fruit." The distinction was as clear as the waters of the Jing and Wei rivers.
With a shift of his thoughts, he continued reading. "Spirit Seizure" was unchanged, and he naturally knew what it meant.
But the "Transformation" immediately after it made his pupils contract.
It finally appeared...
Lin Changheng thought.
But he soon fell into confusion again. If Spirit Seizure means taking fire crow essence blood, then what does Transformation require?
It was the same problem as before. There was no instruction manual; Lin Changheng had to figure it out himself.
After pondering for a while without finding any leads, Lin Changheng finally turned his attention to the last entry, "Effects."
The first half was unchanged, but the latter half filled him with both surprise and delight.
"Ancestral bloodline reversion! The divine ability [Fire Control]!"
Could it be... that enormous flaming bird I glimpsed in my daze was what the fire crow's bloodline would become after reverting to its ancestry, tracing its origins back to that primordial being?
What kind of bloodline power was that? It was truly terrifying.
Even now, recalling it made Lin Changheng's heart tremble with fear. He had been far too insignificant before it.
Then came excitement! Utter, overwhelming excitement!
The more terrified he had been then, the more excited he was now.
"Could someone at the mere qi refining stage like me really touch such a divine ability? Even if it is only the Divine Ability True Intent..."
Emotion surged through Lin Changheng. He strolled around the courtyard, letting the night breeze soothe his feelings.
Once he had calmed down completely, Lin Changheng noticed something amiss.
He seemed to have taken the wrong turn in his thinking.
If the [Origin Cauldron] truly could grant him the flaming bird's innate divine ability through a treasure seed, that would naturally be wonderful.
But from what he had learned about the Origin Cauldron over the years, one measure of essence blood generally yielded one measure of return.
It could not provide rewards beyond those limits, much less create something from nothing.
Its role was more one of conversion or cultivation.
Thus, obtaining a true divine ability that could awe the ages and shake heaven and earth through a fire crow with a mixed-grade bloodline was essentially impossible.
Even if he did obtain it, how could his qi refining mana and body possibly wield it?
It would be no different from an ant swinging the Golden-Hooped Staff, or a soup spoon draining an endless sea... utterly unrealistic.
"But through this trace of ancient inheritance, through the bloodline passed down to this day, awakening the power hidden deep within and grasping a sliver, or even a portion, of the divine ability's true intent and Dao resonance should still be possible. And that would benefit me endlessly."
Having thought it through, Lin Changheng felt his body and mind clear, leaving him refreshed.
Although he had always kept his feet firmly on the ground and shunned lofty, unrealistic ambitions, he could not help imagining that someday, perhaps he could truly stand before that nameless firebird, borrow its essence blood for his own use, and transform its essence blood into a divine ability!
Then he began considering his plans going forward. Without question, the most important task was to discover what [Transformation] required.
"Since Spirit Seizure extracts essence blood, Transformation might follow the same vein. I'll focus my attempts on Demon Beast essence blood."
"Yes, fire-aspected ones first."
After pondering for some time, Lin Changheng had formed a preliminary idea.
If all else failed, he could only resort to the clumsy method of elimination. Slow, but effective.
He had also prepared himself mentally. This process of exploration would be no easier than fishing in muddy waters. If things went quickly, he might see immediate results and succeed on his first attempt; if slowly, it could take years.
But he had patience enough.
It was worth mentioning that, because the [Greenwood Snake Treasure Seed] had reached the fourth stage, Lin Changheng's wood spiritual root had produced another strand of spirit resonance.
That meant his wood spiritual root now possessed eleven strands of spirit resonance, officially entering the ranks of low-grade spiritual roots.
From then on, his cultivation of Wood Element cultivation methods and spells would far surpass his previous pace, yielding twice the results for half the effort.
Of Lin Changheng's five-element spiritual root, two aspects had already transformed into low-grade spiritual roots. The other was his fire spiritual root, which already possessed fourteen strands of spirit resonance!
That was nearly half the spirit resonance required for a middle-grade spiritual root.
His progress could hardly be called slow.
As for the standoff outside the Savage Wastes Valley, over the past year, the scales had slowly begun tipping toward the Xu Family.
The most crucial reason behind the breaking of the deadlock was that,
The Xu Family High Council commanded effectively, while its members were united from top to bottom, fighting courageously for their lives on the battlefield as those in the rear gave their full support.
Through several bitter battles, both sides had won and lost.
Yet their resolve remained unchanged. The will of the Xu Family High Council ran through the entire family, and no one questioned it.
The Chen Family, however, suffered a major defeat, after which some who had lost past power struggles and lain low began launching attacks against others, intent on striking back. They actually seized the opportunity to fight for power and profit.
They stirred up storms, and the leadership splintered.
Although the Chen Family's leadership came to its senses fairly quickly, cutting through the tangled mess in less than a month, reaching a consensus, and suppressing those fighting for power, the damage could not be erased in a short time. From there, their fortunes plunged like a torrent cascading a thousand miles.
By now, the Xu Family held a substantial advantage.
Yet the Xu Family High Council was not as relaxed as one might imagine, nor did they display the composure of those certain of victory.
At the leadership meeting, every brow was furrowed.
Reliable intercepted intelligence indicated that, after secretly seeking patrons far and wide, the Chen Family had finally persuaded a Foundation Establishment Family called the Qiu Family of Flying Cloud Valley, which might intervene and exert pressure.
Long before this, Pill Master Mo, having received word from Mo Zhaoli, had already warned the family that the Chen Family was seeking support from upper sects and aristocratic clans everywhere.
But the Chen Family had met rejection at every turn and never succeeded, merely making itself a laughingstock, so they had not paid it too much heed.
In the end, the Chen Family had lowered its sights again and again, from sects to aristocratic clans, then to established Foundation Establishment Families. Now, it had actually approached a newly risen Foundation Establishment Family.
From the Xu Family's perspective, the Chen Family had simply lost its mind. Anyone seeking a backer would look for one on a much higher level. Choosing one only a step above itself was instead spinning a cocoon around itself.
The two families' resource needs would overlap considerably.
Those resources could easily be seized in their entirety, leaving nothing worthwhile to slip through the backer's fingers.
It would severely squeeze the Chen Family's room for development.
Yet even so, the Chen Family had "thrown caution to the winds" and gone ahead.
Before the harmful consequences of this maneuver had even manifested within the Chen Family, the Xu Family had already been placed over a fire to roast.
Against a Foundation Establishment Family, even a newly risen one, the Xu Family would struggle to cope.
One misstep, and all the advantages they had paid so dearly to gain over these years might vanish in one fell swoop.
For the Xu Family, that was unacceptable under any circumstances.
Of course, these were matters for the leadership to consider,
For the recruited immortal seedlings and ordinary Xu Family members, all they wanted was for the war to end sooner.
During this year-long tug-of-war, Lin Changheng and the others had lost two immortal seedling friends they would never see again. They had fallen amid the battle formations, and only their ashes had returned.
Before those two urns of cold ashes, Fugui grieved, Feng Xian sighed softly, and Lin Changheng remained silent, dimly seeing,
Their first meeting, when they had just stepped onto the immortal path, mere youths brimming with spirit;
More than a decade later, when they had become close friends, passing cups and drinking together, speaking freely of grand matters;
And now, only two cups of unfinished wine remained, cold upon the table, with no one left to share them...