The Fireball Technique enhanced by [Fire Control] gave off an intensely dangerous feeling.
He raised his hand and fired it at the small pool inside his cave abode.
"Boom!"
A sudden blaze lit up Lin Changheng's vision. The fireball shot from his hand far faster than before, roaring through the air with a crimson tail of flame before exploding in the middle of the pool-
"Hiss-!"
The water instantly boiled and churned. Billowing white steam surged skyward like a frenzied dragon, creating quite a commotion!
Once the thick mist dispersed, three fish-shaped lumps of charcoal floated to the surface.
"The power is more than three times what it was before! And with the increase in casting and flight speed, landing a hit will be easier too!"
"I could even... layer the 'Fire-Control Art' onto it halfway through and make it suddenly accelerate! That might catch an enemy off guard and let me pull a nasty trick on them!"
Lin Changheng was very pleased with its power. He had even worked out when to use it.
Unfortunately, he had yet to master any other fire techniques. Otherwise, he would certainly have tested a few more.
"But there's no need to spend too much time practicing spells like this from now on. With the enhancements from various [demon beast treasure seeds], they might be even stronger than the results of years or decades of cultivation!"
What Lin Changheng did not know was that his Fireball Technique, which he had spent considerable time bringing to the proficient stage, now had an advantage over other people's expert-stage Fireball Techniques thanks to the enhancement of [Fire-Control Art]!
Getting started with basic spells was fairly simple, but advancing through proficiency, expertise, minor mastery, major mastery, and beyond was extraordinarily difficult. Each step severely tested one's affinity for the spell and cultivation talent, and required time to polish!
Lin Changheng, however, had a new path all to himself-a shortcut!
He could learn the basics in an extremely short time, then enhance them with treasure seeds and become stronger than the others!
"Right, my spiritual root!"
Something suddenly occurred to Lin Changheng, and he hurriedly cast [Spirit-Sensing Technique] on himself.
"Just as I thought, my fire spiritual root has... ten strands of spirit resonance now!"
"That's the limit of a mixed spiritual root. Just one more strand, and I can surpass ten and turn it into a 'low-grade spiritual root'!"
A low starting point was nothing to fear. Being able to make steady progress was the greatest promise of a bright future!
The road to immortality was long. How many prodigies had dazzled at first, only to perish halfway through in their haste for success? How many mediocre people had called themselves late bloomers, only to squander a hundred years and accomplish nothing?
But he was different.
One step, one footprint. Neither greedy nor impatient.
Today, his Fire Control grew a little stronger. Tomorrow, his spiritual root gained another strand. One day-
He abruptly raised his head.
The fiery clouds on the horizon suddenly rolled and surged, their glow making his eyes seem ablaze...
Brilliant beyond belief!
"Knock! Knock! Knock!"
Suddenly, knocking came from the entrance.
His soaring ambitions interrupted, Lin Changheng frowned slightly. It was nearly evening. Who would come looking for him now?
One hand formed the seal for the Fireball Technique, ready to unleash it, while the other opened the door a crack. He peered straight outside through the gap.
He was utterly alert!
At the slightest sign that something was wrong, he would bombard the visitor with the Fireball Technique without another word.
A female cultivator stood outside.
She was lovely, with cherry lips and rosy cheeks set in a delicate oval face.
Without a trace of makeup, she possessed a naturally alluring figure.
It was none other than the female cultivator who lived next door,
Su Shuangjiang.
At the sixth level of Qi Refining, she was a capable fighter and a Demon Hunter.
She had once had a fiancé who was also a Demon Hunter. Childhood sweethearts, they had come to Zichuan Market together to make their way in the world, intending to marry once they had built up some savings.
For that reason, they often hunted demon beasts along the edge of the Savage Wastes.
But four years ago, during a "Minor Wilderness Expedition" organized by the ruling Purple Pole Sect, her fiancé had let his guard slip. A demon beast ambushed him and bit his head off, killing him on the spot.
Ever since then, Su Shuangjiang had regarded herself as his widow and usually wore plain clothing.
They had been neighbors for years, after all, crossing paths whether they looked up or down. Even if they were not close, how unfamiliar could they really be?
"Fairy Su, what brings you to my door?"
Lin Changheng hid his outward wariness and pushed the door farther open. His other hand was now free, still ready to form a spell seal at any moment.
Su Shuangjiang's pretty face went blank for a moment at his words. Then she recovered and shook her head repeatedly. "Nothing, nothing. I just heard a tremendous commotion coming from your home and thought something had happened, so I came to see whether you needed help."
He had not expected his neighbor to be such a kindhearted person.
Lin Changheng immediately realized what had brought her here.
With his previous cultivation and skill, he had probably never caused such a disturbance at home. No wonder she was surprised. Had she thought a thief had broken into his home?
"Thank you for your concern, Fairy Su. I was merely testing a spell at home just now. Nothing else happened. I didn't expect to disturb you, so please forgive me."
A flicker of surprise passed through Su Shuangjiang's beautiful eyes as she glanced at Lin Changheng, but she nodded. "It's no trouble. Neighbors should help one another. Since you're all right, Fellow Daoist Lin, I won't disturb you any further."
"Would you like to come in and sit for a while, Fairy Su? Have a cup of spirit tea?"
Lin Changheng faintly caught an extremely subtle trace of blood on the female cultivator before him. Though masked by her delicate fragrance after bathing, it could not escape his nose, which was exceptionally sensitive to demon beast blood essence. An idea stirred in his mind, and he invited her with a smile.
"I only returned from the Savage Wastes at noon, and I'm still a little tired. I'll come trouble you another day, Fellow Daoist Lin."
Su Shuangjiang smiled slightly, letting a trace of weariness show at just the right moment.
"Of course."
Naturally, Lin Changheng would not insist. He watched the slender female cultivator leave.
Inwardly, however, he began considering whether he could obtain demon beast blood through her.
Meanwhile.
Su Shuangjiang was also deeply puzzled.
There were two particular points.
First, ever since the day she had moved in, Fellow Daoist Lin had always looked weighed down by worries. Over the past two years, this had grown even worse, his brow tightly furrowed and his manner exceedingly gloomy.
Lately, however, she had spent long stretches away hunting demons. Otherwise, she had stayed home recuperating and seldom gone out, so she had not run into him for some time.
Yet seeing him now, she felt as though Fellow Daoist Lin had become an entirely different person.
His whole bearing had changed. He was no longer so withdrawn and gloomy.
It left her quite surprised.
After all, rivers and mountains were easier to change than a person's nature. People rarely transformed unless they experienced some great upheaval, and even then, they generally changed for the worse, sinking lower...
Second,
The power of that spell... had truly been rather great.
Only someone at the middle stage of Qi Refining could have caused that, unless they had hurled a first-tier, middle-grade talisman.
But a middle-grade talisman was worth at least three or four spirit stones. Would anyone really be so wasteful? Only if a demon beast had clawed their brain.
Once that possibility was ruled out, the answer seemed obvious.
Yet she had clearly sensed just now that Fellow Daoist Lin's cultivation was still at the early stage of Qi Refining...
That led her straight into a dead end.
Her handsome neighbor, whose demeanor had changed so drastically, really did have something mysterious about him.
Perhaps she could not judge him by ordinary standards...
Unaware of Su Shuangjiang's thoughts, Lin Changheng had already cooked a pot of spirit rice porridge, its spiritual fragrance rich and heady.
As he drank the porridge, he counted something off on his fingers.
"In three more days, the [origin treasure seed] will start drawing on my blood essence again, leaving my qi and blood depleted. And I have no [Blood-Replenishing Pills] left. I'd better get a few more well in advance..."