The Spirit-Nurturing Method

The next day, Ling Yun slowly woke up.

Even without sleep, cultivators could restore themselves through seated meditation and cultivation, but an occasional natural rest still gave Ling Yun a long-missed sense of satisfaction.

"Time to get down to business..."

Muttering to himself, Ling Yun took out the crystal core he had bought at the auction.

The crystal core was transparent throughout. Only a wisp of crimson spirit flame lay within, radiating astonishing heat. One look was enough to tell it was no ordinary object.

Naturally, what was sealed inside was Crimson Gold Spirit Fire, a special flame born in crimson gold ore.

What Ling Yun needed to do now was not absorb it. Doing that would most likely waste this wisp of Spirit Fire.

He needed to use a special technique called the Spirit-Nurturing Method to cultivate a Spirit Fire origin!

"Special flames in the world are ranked as Spirit Fire, Profound Fire, and Heavenly Fire... Flames named for 'spirit' are the lowest grade of Spirit Fire, but even so, Spirit Fire is stronger than the pill fire most cultivators refine themselves."

Ling Yun had learned all this from the Pill Scripture. The Spirit-Nurturing Method could even nurture the origins of Spirit Fire and Profound Fire.

As for Heavenly Fire, it was a true flame of the world's origin. Even the Spirit-Nurturing Method could not nurture a Heavenly Fire origin from a single wisp of flame.

After all, every Heavenly Fire bore an imprint of the Great Dao, something even a heaven-defying technique like the Spirit-Nurturing Method could never replicate.

Legend had it that the Witchcraft and Gu Pill Physician had once possessed a flame called Nine-Witch Heavenly Fire, which was terrifying beyond measure.

But all that was far beyond Ling Yun's reach. He did not even possess the most ordinary Spirit Fire yet, let alone the kind of Heavenly Fire that would make even Great Emperors drool with desire.

Casting aside the stray thoughts in his mind, Ling Yun recalled the incantation for the Spirit-Nurturing Method and murmured it under his breath.

Gradually, a wondrous power gathered, and Ling Yun infused it into the Crimson Gold Spirit Fire crystal core.

This power was without form or shape, yet brimming with a special vitality. It came from a technique designed specifically for Spirit Fire, able to make it burst with life and burn without dying out.

Under the influence of this newborn power, the wisp of Crimson Gold Spirit Fire sealed within the crystal core seemed to grow a little hotter.

Next, I'll put the Spirit Fire in my dantian and nourish it with Spiritual Yuan day and night, cleansing it with the Spirit-Nurturing Method at intervals. If I keep that up, it will soon produce a Spirit Fire origin. Then I'll refine the Crimson Gold Spirit Fire as a whole, and I'll gain another powerful trump card.

With that thought, Ling Yun drew the Crimson Gold Spirit Fire crystal core into his body and let it sink into his dantian.

This was where all the Spiritual Yuan in Ling Yun's body converged, making it the perfect environment for the Crimson Gold Spirit Fire to develop its origin.

"It's somewhat like refining a lifebound treasure."

Ling Yun withdrew his attention and murmured.

Many cultivators chose to place their treasures in their dantians and nurture them with their own Spiritual Yuan. This was the lowest-grade method of refining a lifebound treasure. Once a faint spiritual connection formed between the treasure and its owner, the nurturing was considered successful.

"But I've heard it's different for Grotto-Heaven Realm experts. They can nurture their lifebound treasures in the grotto-heavens within their bodies. A lifebound treasure can unleash even more terrifying power then."

Ling Yun felt it would be best to choose a lifebound treasure as well, but he currently had only one supreme-grade sixth-tier artifact-the Three-Inch Flying Immortal.

"I'll think about it later."

Next, he plunged headlong into the ocean of cultivation. The last time he had broken through to the Middle Core Formation Realm in his Life Talisman cultivation, his spiritual sense had grown stronger once more, its range increasing from thirty li in diameter to forty.

That range was no different from a great cultivator in the Middle Primordial Spirit Realm, yet Ling Yun was still only in the Core Formation Realm. It was hard to imagine how powerful his spiritual perception would become once he transformed and gained a Primordial Spirit.

He began circulating the Myriad Dao Immortal Scripture and cultivating.

To tell the truth, even after cultivating this legendary supreme emperor scripture for so long, Ling Yun still had not gotten to the bottom of what made it truly heaven-defying.

It was said to fuse the myriad Daos, but the level of "Dao" was still far beyond Ling Yun's reach. The most immediate benefits he gained from the Immortal Physique of Myriad Daos were his top-tier comprehension and the ability to combine multiple cultivation systems.

There was also his extremely fast cultivation speed.

That was enough.

Ling Yun was progressing rapidly through the Core Formation Realm. If nothing unexpected happened, he could reach Core Formation Realm Perfection within a year.

So Ling Yun had no intention of wasting time. Instead, he began a daily routine of seated meditation and cultivation.

Sometimes he cultivated in the little wooden cabin, and sometimes atop the Royal Mausoleum, where the Spiritual Qi was densest in the entire mausoleum.

As Ling Yun cultivated ceaselessly day and night, news came that the Royal Mausoleum was to be sealed.

It was the seventh day after the Spirit King had awakened.

At the first light of dawn, the Spirit King arrived at the Royal Mausoleum with a group of the royal manor's senior figures.

From a distance, Ling Yun watched the man stand silently for a long time, knowing he was probably still mourning the dead "Ling Yun."

Then the Spirit King circulated his partially restored cultivation and sent formation patterns into the major formation cores throughout the Royal Mausoleum.

In an instant.

The Royal Mausoleum shook violently as hidden grand formations, which Ling Yun had never noticed before, sprang into action one after another. Several pillars of light shot into the sky, enveloping the entire Royal Mausoleum.

Once the terrifying restrictions were activated, they completely separated the inside of the Royal Mausoleum from the outside. Sensing the presence of those restrictive formations, even Ling Yun, who had already grown powerful to a certain extent, felt deeply alarmed.

Just as I thought, there are terrifying killing formations in the Royal Mausoleum, guarding the Ling Clan's Forbidden Heart. No matter how much effort those mysterious demonic cultivators put in, they could never break through the restrictive formations and obtain it.

Ling Yun watched the scene in indescribable shock, countless thoughts racing through his mind.

But what exactly is this Forbidden Heart, that the royal manor and the demonic cultivators value it so highly? If I'm right, the other royal manors must have sealed their royal mausoleums too.

Ling Yun had long known that the Spirit King would notice signs of the demonic cultivators' emergence without needing a warning from him. After all, King Chen's remains that day had been enough to show it all.

Although the Spirit King had not yet recovered to his peak, that no longer prevented him from taking back authority over the royal manor and contacting the other three kings and the imperial family to discuss a way to deal with the situation.

"Your Highness, Azure King said that only you yourself know what she traded with you."

After returning to the royal manor, Madam Wang spoke to the Spirit King.

With the Spirit King awake, she now seemed to have shed a heavy burden and spoke much more cheerfully.

The Spirit King showed little expression, but his heart caught.

Supreme Yang Fire Essence. So be it. I can't keep it. Leaving it there was no use before, but now it can save my life. However I look at it, that's a good thing. It seems I'll have to find a chance to thank Azure King.

So thought the Spirit King.

"I already know about this. For now, I'll leave the manor's affairs in your hands, Madam. Next, I must enter the palace with the other kings to see the emperor."

So said the Spirit King.

Madam Wang's heart tightened. She knew this meant the heavens were about to change.

Once the Spirit King returned, she and everyone else in the royal manor would be told the details of the situation, and everything that had happened in the manor recently would also be fully accounted for.