The Lin Household's patriarch, Lin Xiye.
"Worldly affairs are but one great dream; how many times does life feel autumn's chill..."
Gazing at the old belongings scattered throughout the courtyard, Lin Xiye felt as though he had returned to his childhood.
A hundred years of cultivation, and his pursuit of the great Dao had come to nothing. Upon his return, the things remained, but the people were gone.
Rustle, rustle, rustle...
The autumn wind swept past, sending red leaves fluttering through the air.
Just as Lin Xiye's thoughts surged like a tide, an ancient mirror the size of a palm, carved with intricate runes, suddenly fell from the courtyard gate.
There was nothing unusual about the ancient mirror's appearance, but Lin Xiye picked it up instinctively.
The instant Lin Xiye touched the ancient mirror, strands of gentle moonlight happened to fall upon its surface...
In the moonlight, the ancient mirror suddenly bloomed with a profound and mysterious halo.
At the same time, a piece of information surfaced in Lin Xiye's mind:
"The Immortal-Appraising Treasure Mirror can appraise all things!"
"Given resources, it can elevate all things!"
Faced with the information that had suddenly appeared in his mind, Lin Xiye's expression remained relatively calm.
He was certain that this ancient mirror was a supreme treasure!! It might even be something that belonged to a true "immortal."
In this world, things associated with the word "immortal"... were almost all connected to the legendary "immortals."
But how could the Lin Household possess something belonging to an "immortal"? Could it be that his ancestors also had a mysterious history?
Holding the Immortal-Appraising Treasure Mirror, Lin Xiye once again fell into deep thought.
A hundred years of cultivation had left his state of mind extremely steady. Even after obtaining something belonging to an "immortal," Lin Xiye showed no sign of wild joy or excitement. Instead, he felt a faint trace of worry.
An ordinary man was innocent, but carrying a jade treasure made him guilty!
If other cultivators learned of the Immortal-Appraising Treasure Mirror, the Lin Household would surely face an overwhelming calamity.
The Lin Household's recorded history stretched back only a few hundred years... As for anything earlier, even Lin Xiye, the lineage patriarch, had no way of knowing.
If the Lin Household had not obtained this ancient immortal-appraising mirror by chance, but had inherited it from its ancestors, then the Lin Household's ancestors... had very likely been exceptionally illustrious.
For an immensely illustrious lineage to suddenly fall into decline, it must have experienced one earth-shaking upheaval after another along the way.
Lin Xiye's thoughts drifted farther and farther away. Only after a long while did he gradually come back to his senses and turn his gaze to the Immortal-Appraising Treasure Mirror once more.
According to the information that had surfaced in his mind, as long as he gave the Immortal-Appraising Treasure Mirror some resources, it could raise the quality of all things...
After pondering for a moment, Lin Xiye slowly took out the last Spirit Stone fragment he had on him and tried placing it on the surface of the Immortal-Appraising Treasure Mirror.
The instant it touched the Spirit Stone fragment, the light on the Immortal-Appraising Treasure Mirror's surface grew even more brilliant. Then, before Lin Xiye's somewhat astonished eyes, it "devoured" the fragment!!
At this, Lin Xiye felt a pang of loss.
For a lowly Mid-stage Blood Refining cultivator like him, even a year of hard work might not be enough to save up a single Spirit Stone fragment.
Spirit Stones were the common currency of immortal cultivators, as well as their most important cultivation resources!
Spirit Stones were divided into low, middle, high, and supreme grades.
The exchange rate between each grade was 1:10.
That was to say, one middle-grade Spirit Stone could be exchanged for ten low-grade Spirit Stones, and so on...
Spirit Stone fragments, meanwhile, were cut from low-grade Spirit Stones.
One low-grade Spirit Stone could usually be cut into 100 Spirit Stone fragments.
Just as Lin Xiye was mourning the loss of the Spirit Stone fragment, the Immortal-Appraising Treasure Mirror suddenly shot out a golden beam of light that landed squarely on him.
The instant the light touched him... Lin Xiye suddenly felt that his body seemed to be absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi at a faster rate.
With Lin Xiye's aptitude, even when he secluded himself for arduous cultivation, he normally found it difficult to absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.
Yet here and now, in the Lin Household, where Spiritual Qi was thin, Lin Xiye's body was actually absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi on its own! And not slowly, either!!
This was... his aptitude improving.
A trace of surprise appeared on Lin Xiye's face.
According to the records, only those with a Profound-grade Spirit Root could automatically absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.
When his Spirit Root had been tested at the age of three, Lin Xiye had been found to possess one, but it was only the worst kind: a False Spirit Root.
If not for his lineage's Immortal Ascension Token, Lin Xiye would have found it difficult even to enter the Falling Rosy Clouds Sect to cultivate.
Spirit Roots were divided into False Spirit Roots, True Spirit Roots, Profound-grade Spirit Roots, Earth-grade Spirit Roots, and Heaven-grade Spirit Roots!
A Profound-grade Spirit Root... would already be considered the mark of a top genius in the Falling Rosy Clouds Sect! Whenever someone with a Profound-grade Spirit Root appeared, the sect would make them a priority to nurture!
That was because anyone with a Profound-grade Spirit Root, as long as they grew to maturity, could cultivate to at least the Foundation Establishment level in the future.
After all, even across the entire immortal cultivation world of the Jin Kingdom, Foundation Establishment cultivators held considerable standing.
The head of the Falling Rosy Clouds Sect was an expert at Foundation Establishment Perfection!!
Clutching the Immortal-Appraising Treasure Mirror, Lin Xiye breathed a little faster... This supreme treasure was even more valuable than he had imagined.
In the world of immortal cultivation, anything that could improve aptitude was an exceedingly rare treasure. Whenever such a treasure appeared, it would stir up a terrifying storm of bloodshed.
And the Immortal-Appraising Treasure Mirror's ability was not limited to improving aptitude... "Given resources, it can elevate all things"! The weight of those words was frightening.
Given resources, perhaps it could raise the grades of Cultivation Methods, treasured herbs, pills, and treasured arts... all of them!!
But Lin Xiye no longer had any Spirit Stone fragments on hand.
For a moment, Lin Xiye found himself at a loss.
He still wanted to continue investigating the Immortal-Appraising Treasure Mirror's abilities.
After a moment of silence, a flash of inspiration suddenly struck Lin Xiye.
Although he had no more Spirit Stone fragments, the Lin Household had plenty of gold, silver, and other worldly treasures.
He wondered whether those gold, silver, and other treasures would count as "resources" to the Immortal-Appraising Treasure Mirror.
With that thought, Lin Xiye took out a gold ingot and placed it on the surface of the Immortal-Appraising Treasure Mirror with exceptional care.
Clatter!!
To Lin Xiye's delight, the instant the Immortal-Appraising Treasure Mirror touched the gold ingot, it once again bloomed with light.
This time, Lin Xiye aimed the light at a Body Tempering Pill, one of the most common pills in the immortal cultivation world.
The light enveloped the surface of the Body Tempering Pill. In the span of a single breath, the pill, which had originally been of extremely poor quality and possessed weak medicinal potency, suddenly became translucent and crystalline, filling the air with a medicinal fragrance.
Even from some distance away, Lin Xiye could feel the immense power contained within the Body Tempering Pill.
Lin Xiye had a faint feeling that if he swallowed this Body Tempering Pill and relied on his current Spirit Root aptitude, he had a strong chance... of advancing directly to the Bone Refining Realm!!
But what excited Lin Xiye most was that worldly gold, silver, and other treasures could also be consumed to raise the grade of all things...
Gripping the Immortal-Appraising Treasure Mirror tightly, Lin Xiye's weathered eyes flashed with brightness.
With this treasure in hand, even though he was already in the twilight of his life, he might yet have hope of claiming longevity, knocking at the door of the Dao, and becoming an immortal!