Yuanwu

Outside an unnamed hill in the Yuanwu Kingdom.

High in the air, Lin Yun stood on a streak of sword light, his gaze sweeping over the seemingly unremarkable, deserted hill. After a moment's thought, a faint smile touched his lips.

He then merged with the sword light and used Formless Sword Escape to slip straight into the hill.

Halfway up the hillside, sword light flickered gently before a cluster of rebuilt bamboo cottages, and Lin Yun appeared before them.

A small flower garden had been cultivated in front of the cottages. In it, Xin Ruoyin sat at a stone table, absorbed in her formation calculations. Sometimes she frowned in thought; sometimes she smiled in understanding. She remained wholly unaware of Lin Yun's arrival.

A pretty little maid of fourteen or fifteen stood beside her, however, nodding off out of boredom, her eyes repeatedly opening and closing. During one of those fleeting glances, she caught sight of Lin Yun's sudden appearance. Her drowsiness vanished at once, and she cried out, "Miss, watch out!"

Hearing the little maid's startled cry, Xin Ruoyin turned to look and immediately rose to her feet, a delighted smile spreading across her face. "Brother Lin, you're here."

Then she said to the little maid beside her, "Xiao Mei, don't worry. This is Brother Lin. He could also be considered the master of this place."

Lin Yun glanced at Xiao Mei. He had never met her before. The little maid had probably only just begun cultivating, as she was merely at the first level of qi refining.

"Ruoyin, who is this?" Lin Yun asked.

"This is Xiao Mei," Xin Ruoyin said. "She's staying with me and cultivating now."

Lin Yun merely nodded and sat down, without asking further about Xiao Mei's background.

Once seated, Lin Yun saw the formation Xin Ruoyin was working out. After a moment's thought, he understood how far she had progressed, and could not help marveling at how her talent in formations truly soared above the mortal world.

"It's only been a few months, yet you've already worked out the fifth layer of restrictions in the Seven Wonders Formation, Ruoyin. Truly impressive!"

The formation Xin Ruoyin was studying was precisely the Seven Wonders Formation that Lin Yun had previously taught her, to serve as a reference for restoring and improving the Five Elements Reversal Formation. It contained an innate wondrous five elements escape art and was divided into seven layers of restrictions. It could reverse the flow of five elements spiritual energy and harness it for its own use, making it exceptionally compatible with the Five Elements Reversal Formation.

Xin Ruoyin picked up the teapot beside her and poured Lin Yun a cup of spirit tea. "You flatter me, Brother Lin," she said gently. "I've only managed to work out the fifth layer of restrictions thanks to your earlier instruction."

Lin Yun lifted the cup, lightly inhaled the tea's fragrance, and took a sip. "There's no need to belittle yourself, Ruoyin," he said with a smile. "To work out the fifth layer of restrictions in the Seven Wonders Formation with your current cultivation already makes you a rare genius."

"By the way, I noticed that the five elements in the Five Elements Reversal Formation outside were reversing and intertwining without any discernible pattern. I take it you've already incorporated part of the Seven Wonders Formation into it?"

Xin Ruoyin lifted her cup and took a small sip, her eyes shining as she said with buoyant enthusiasm, "Yes. It's thanks to the Seven Wonders Formation that I've been able to make a few adjustments to the Five Elements Reversal Formation. Its power has now risen another level!"

But a moment later, she said with some disappointment, "It still couldn't stop you, though, Brother Lin."

"There aren't many formations under heaven that can stop my Formless Sword Escape. Your current formation could halt a core formation cultivator without much difficulty. Stopping core formation with qi refining-no one would believe it if you told them," Lin Yun said with a smile.

He then added, "You're now at the twelfth level of qi refining, so it's time you established your foundation. Here, take this."

As he spoke, he took out a pill bottle containing a Refined Foundation Establishment Pill.

Xin Ruoyin accepted the bottle and asked curiously, "Is this a Foundation Establishment Pill? Don't you need it, Brother Lin?"

In the Yue Kingdom and the neighboring countries, all Foundation Establishment Pills were controlled by sects and cultivation clans, which never distributed them to outsiders. The rogue cultivators in these countries had never even seen a Foundation Establishment Pill, let alone taken one. That was why Xin Ruoyin asked out of curiosity.

"That's right. This is a Foundation Establishment Pill, but I refined it myself. Its effects far surpass those of other Foundation Establishment Pills." Lin Yun nodded with a smile. "As for me..."

Lin Yun relaxed the concealment of his cultivation slightly, and a spiritual pressure far beyond the thirteenth level of qi refining flashed past.

Xin Ruoyin and Xiao Mei, who stood groggily beside her, both cried out in surprise.

"Brother Lin, you've established your foundation?" Xin Ruoyin asked delightedly.

Lin Yun nodded with a smile, then said, "Oh, take these pills as well. The Flowing Moon Pills I gave you before probably won't have much effect after you establish your foundation. Taking one of these pills each year will suppress your Dragon-Yin Body."

As he spoke, he took out several more pill bottles and handed them to Xin Ruoyin.

By now, Lin Yun had more or less figured out what the Dragon-Yin Body entailed. This constitution was not merely a problem with the physical body; its root lay in the soul. Without extraordinarily cold primordial qi to temper and cleanse both body and soul, she would have to wait until forming her core or nascent soul for an opportunity to resolve the root of the problem.

Taking pills only treated the symptoms. For now, Lin Yun could only use pills refined with a trace of Three Lights Divine Water to temporarily suppress the problems Xin Ruoyin would encounter while cultivating in the foundation-building stage.

As for how to cure the Dragon-Yin Body in the future, there was the question of whether to improve her constitution through a special cultivation method, address the problem directly in her soul, or leave both alone and suppress it with cold yin energy all the way to soul transformation.

For the moment, Lin Yun did not know which of these methods would be best. He would need to study them carefully before deciding.

Fortunately, once Xin Ruoyin established her foundation, they would have nearly two hundred years to explore a final solution.

After putting the pills away, Xin Ruoyin looked at Lin Yun with a complicated expression. "Brother Lin, why do you always help me so much?"

Xin Ruoyin understood that without Lin Yun's help over the years, she could never have cultivated safely to her current realm, on the verge of foundation establishment, much less obtained a Foundation Establishment Pill so easily when she needed one.

Yet she could not understand why Lin Yun would help her so selflessly.

If he coveted her formation inheritance, the formations Brother Lin had produced were all more powerful than the ancient formations she had inherited.

And if he coveted her beauty, that made even less sense. Over the years, Brother Lin had never shown the slightest trace of desire for her.

Unable to make sense of it, Xin Ruoyin lowered her lovely head slightly and cradled her teacup in both hands. Watching the fragrant steam drift from its rim, she lost herself in a tangle of wandering thoughts.

Lin Yun did not notice Xin Ruoyin's expression. At her question, he merely chuckled softly. "With your talent, Ruoyin, I really couldn't bear to let it go to waste. I just want to see how far you can go in the art of formations."

At his words, the light in Xin Ruoyin's eyes dimmed a little, but she soon broke into a radiant smile. Holding the teacup tightly against her chest with both hands, she looked at Lin Yun and said, "Then watch closely, Brother Lin, and see how far I can go!"

Lin Yun glanced at Xin Ruoyin's graceful, poised expression and nodded with a smile. "All right, let's

see how far you can go!"

Lin Yun stayed on the hill for a few days, offering Xin Ruoyin and Xiao Mei guidance on the problems they had encountered in cultivation. Xin Ruoyin also completed her preparations for foundation establishment.

After Xin Ruoyin entered seclusion to begin establishing her foundation, he took his leave.

With a formation protecting Xin Ruoyin, there was no need for Lin Yun to stand guard.

He still needed to travel from place to place in search of that Ancient Teleportation Formation.