It was not until two months later.
Only then did Xu Fugui bring back useful information from his inquiries.
A Xu Family caravan planned to head to the Desolate Ruins Market soon, and it could take passengers along.
As its name suggested, the Desolate Ruins Market had ties to the Savage Wastes: it stood on the ruins of land that had once belonged to them.
The area had once been part of the Savage Wastes, but had later been opened up, cleared of Demon Beasts, and thoroughly smashed apart before a market ward was established there.
By now, it was run as tightly as an iron barrel, and had become entirely human territory.
This market lay neither too near nor too far from the Savage Wastes front lines. It could not compare with the border Mutual Trade Posts that the top powers controlled and treated as their private preserves, but it was still bustling, with plenty of cultivators passing through and many factions coming and going.
It was a good destination that suited Lin Changheng's needs.
Xu Fugui had been shrewd enough not to mention Lin Changheng's name, merely calling in favors to squeeze someone in.
He had actually succeeded. The caravan would depart in five days.
As for the possible reward Xu Fugui had been yearning for-the one for dragging that Chen Family cultivator at the sixth layer of Qi Refining into the poisonous miasma-the Xu Family had never mentioned it again.
Xu Fugui had sighed over that for a long time. He had also apologized to Lin Changheng; after all, he had made grand promises back then.
Lin Changheng merely shook his head, unconcerned.
No one besides Xu Fugui knew that Lin Changheng planned to leave.
To that end, he had specifically requested a month's leave from the Xu Family, saying that he had sensed something stirring within and intended to enter secluded cultivation to break through to mid-Qi Refining.
The Xu Family had no reason to refuse. After all, Lin Changheng was a Registered Guest Advisor, not a beast of burden for the family.
Especially given his considerable talent in the Pill Dao and his chance of becoming a mid-grade Pill Master, they were even less likely to treat him harshly.
Lin Changheng was confident of that.
In fact, after Xu Xuzhong, the steward of the General Affairs Hall, reported the matter to the family's higher-ups, they not only approved his leave but also waived his pill-refining assignment for the month.
Just as expected, Lin Changheng thought. He did not forget to thank Xu Xuzhong, and even added with great conscientiousness, "I'll finish disposing of the Defective Pills before taking my leave."
Xu Xuzhong was deeply impressed. This young man truly devoted himself to the family, and possessed talent besides. Such people were rare indeed.
What a pity he has no emotional ties here. Otherwise, he would be fully integrated into the family-a great blessing for our Xu Family.
Perhaps we could marry him to the daughter of one of the higher-ups, using that bond to strengthen this one. That would be a fine arrangement.
As he thought this, he had already ordered someone to bring out the Defective Pills accumulated over just half a month and hand them to Lin Changheng.
Lin Changheng had no idea what exactly Xu Xuzhong was thinking.
He had only done this because he did not want to waste the essence blood of these Demon Beasts in the discarded pills.
He extracted the essence blood from the Defective Pills using the usual method.
[Fire Crow Treasure Seed · Fifth stage] [Spirit Seizure: 100/100] [Transformation: 0/10] [Effect: Mixed-grade Demon Beast bloodline, innately possessing a fire nature. Spirit Seizure complete; Transformation nurtures the Dao. Can refine and incorporate the true intent of the ancestral reversion bloodline Divine Ability "Fire Control."]
"Spirit Seizure is complete, but I still have no leads on [Transformation]. Once I leave the market ward this time, I'll experiment properly."
After all, he dearly coveted the true intent of [Fire Control] that this ancestral reversion bloodline Divine Ability would bring.
The [Greenwood Snake Treasure Seed] had likewise completed Spirit Seizure and reached the fifth stage.
[Refined: Poison Transformation Art · Transformation mastery] [Effect: The body briefly coexists with poison, slowly refining mid-grade toxins.]
This also meant that no toxin, however deadly, could immediately take his life, and mid-grade toxins were now essentially harmless to him.
The first part was especially important.
Many toxins in the cultivation world did not poison people to death directly. Instead, they caused dazedness, rigidity, and similar effects, creating openings for a killing strike.
The poison did not kill; the magic artifact did.
Thus, "the body briefly coexists with poison" could temporarily suppress a toxin's effects, preventing him from falling victim to an underhanded move during battle. Once he had a moment to spare, he could refine it.
His ability to stay alive had increased yet again!
But what Lin Changheng had not expected was this:
He had already prepared himself, tightly guarding his mind as he awaited the changes in the [Origin Cauldron] that would come when the fifth-stage treasure seed performed Spirit Seizure again.
Instead, all remained calm. The Origin Cauldron merely trembled faintly.
There was no ringing of bells or crashing of cauldrons, no ancient beast patterns writhing across its surface as though coming alive, and certainly no heaven-shaking beast cries.
"Huh?"
Lin Changheng was stunned.
At the mouth of the cauldron in his sea of consciousness, where the emerald-green treasure seed had once been, an illusory true core had taken its place, flickering in and out of view amid azure clouds.
[Greenwood Snake Treasure Seed · Fifth stage] [Spirit Seizure: 3/100] [Transformation: 0/10] [Effect: Mixed-grade Demon Beast bloodline, innately possessing a wood nature. Spirit Seizure complete; Transformation nurtures an art. Can refine and incorporate the ancestral reversion bloodline sorcery "Poison Transformation."]
"Ancestral reversion bloodline sorcery? Not a Divine Ability?"
Lin Changheng immediately seized on the key point.
"And it's still called 'Poison Transformation'? The name hasn't changed?"
The lack of any unusual change in the Origin Cauldron had already prepared Lin Changheng mentally, but he still could not help sighing inwardly. Sure enough, not everyone's ancestors had their day of glory...
That was true of humans, and just as true of Demon Beasts.
The Greenwood Snake clearly belonged to the sort whose ancestors had been ordinary.
The term "sorcery" alone told him it was inferior to a "Divine Ability." As for the actual gap between them, he would have to wait until Transformation succeeded to find out.
By now, Lin Changheng's spiritual roots had also undergone an earth-shaking transformation.
His fire spirit root had fifteen wisps of spirit resonance! The additional wisp had come from the [Origin Treasure Seed] advancing to the second stage.
His wood spirit root came next, with a full twelve wisps! That change had come from the [Greenwood Snake Treasure Seed] reaching the fifth stage.
His earth spirit root followed, having already increased to eight wisps!
His metal and water spirit roots had not changed, remaining at five wisps each!
He now possessed genuine low-grade spiritual roots in both fire and wood.
The appointed time finally arrived.
For the first time since arriving at the Xu Family Base nearly five years ago, Lin Changheng was heading out, his heart filled with countless emotions.
During that time, Lin Changheng had also made a special visit to Commandery Princess Tantai, giving her several premium pills and explaining that he was about to enter secluded cultivation, so she might be unable to find him then.
"Congratulations, Brother Lin."
At his words, Tantai Feiyue studied Lin Changheng with her star-bright eyes for a few moments, then suddenly broke into a smile.
There was something slightly unusual about her expression. Lin Changheng noticed it, but could not make sense of it for now. He did not linger long before taking his leave.
By the time Lin Changheng crossed the river and boarded the packhorse carriage, he had already altered his appearance. He wore a loose robe and a bamboo hat, and had fitted a human-skin mask over his face. With his looks so utterly changed, who could recognize him?
This Xu Family caravan was small and exceptionally lean: just four carriages and a little over ten people.
Lin Changheng sat inside a packhorse carriage toward the rear, resting with his eyes closed.
Two others shared the carriage with him: a woman wearing a Veil Hat, and an old man who likewise wore a bamboo hat.
Both had concealed their faces to varying degrees, making their features hard to discern.
The three did not converse, each pretending to doze.
The journey passed without incident. Six days later, after they crossed the mountains, a sprawling, drab gray market ward appeared before the travel-worn group.
"We've reached the Desolate Ruins Market!"
A caravan cultivator's voice came from outside the carriage, carrying a little relief and delight.
Lin Changheng stepped down and looked around. It seemed to him that a colossal beast lay crouched between the boundless heavens and earth.
Clear traces of shattered hills still remained around it.
They had forcibly smashed the terrain apart, pounding out a stretch of flat ground,
To serve as a market ward.