Ten hours had passed since the Emptiness State ended.
Yet Lin Sheng remained standing in exactly the same position inside the cave, his eyes tightly shut as thick veins bulged across both arms and neck. His body trembled ever so slightly, not from instability, but because every part of him was still adapting to the transformation that had just taken place.
The dragon blood had finally been completely refined.
A deep breath escaped from his lungs.
The moment he circulated the newly perfected Rank 3 Body Strengthening Method, he immediately noticed the difference.
His meridians no longer resembled the narrow channels they once were. They had widened considerably, becoming tougher and denser, while the flow of Gangqi through them became far smoother than before. Every circulation carried tremendous explosive power without the slightest obstruction, making even ordinary movements feel incomparably natural.
At the same time, an intense warmth spread throughout every inch of his body.
Rather than the burning sensation from before, it now resembled an endless furnace quietly operating beneath his flesh.
"So this is the feeling..."
Lin Sheng slowly clenched his fist.
The instant he did, his Qi and Blood erupted.
Boom!
The cave echoed with a muffled explosion.
It wasn't caused by Gangqi.
It wasn't Spiritual Qi either.
It was purely the terrifying vitality contained within his flesh.
Only now did he truly understand why high-ranking yao beasts instinctively inspired fear in cultivators.
It wasn't merely because they were stronger.
It was because the difference in life level itself created suppression.
When an ordinary cultivator stood before a powerful yao beast, their instincts would scream at them to flee. Their hands would tremble, their breathing would become disordered, and some would even lose the courage to fight before a battle had begun.
That...
Was suppression through Qi and Blood.
And now...
He possessed it as well.
If he released his Qi and Blood without restraint, cultivators below Rank Three would instinctively feel fear. Those in the early and middle stages of Rank Two would likely lose the will to fight entirely unless they possessed exceptionally strong mental fortitude.
Lin Sheng couldn't help smiling.
"It really is a qualitative change."
He slowly stood upright.
Crack.
Crack.
Crack.
His bones produced sounds like distant thunder.
The cave itself seemed to shake slightly beneath his feet.
Immediately afterward, his brows furrowed.
"My body..."
"...became heavier."
He wasn't referring to fatigue.
Rather, every movement felt as though he had suddenly gained several thousand kilograms.
Fortunately, he already knew the reason.
Body refinement continuously compressed flesh, bones, organs and blood into increasingly denser forms. Although one's appearance barely changed, the actual mass contained within the body increased dramatically.
That was why powerful body refiners often needed several days after a breakthrough simply to relearn how to control their own strength.
Otherwise...
Something as simple as picking up a teacup might reduce it to powder.
Fortunately for Lin Sheng, the Spirit Platform breakthrough had strengthened his mental power tremendously.
His control over his body now bordered on perfection.
Within only a few breaths, he had already adjusted to the increase in strength.
Satisfied, he opened the Chip interface.
---
Name: Lin Sheng
Cultivation: Late Xuan Gang
Body Refinement: Rank Three
Mental Cultivation: Spirit Platform Realm
Mental Field: 79 li
---
Seeing the number, Lin Sheng raised an eyebrow.
"So much?"
He had expected growth.
He simply hadn't expected this much.
Extending his Mental Field outward, everything within seventy-nine li instantly appeared inside his mind with astonishing clarity.
Every tree.
Every bird.
Every insect crawling beneath the earth.
Even the subtle movement of underground spiritual veins couldn't escape his perception.
It felt...
Natural.
Almost effortless.
He couldn't help recalling what Elder Liang once said.
Purple Palace cultivators didn't experience an explosive increase in the quantity of Divine Sense after opening their Niwan Palace. Instead, the quality improved tremendously because the Purple Palace continuously nourished the spirit itself.
Peak Purple Palace experts generally reached around ninety-five li.
Only after forming a Golden Core would one's perception surpass one hundred li.
That was the beginning of what cultivators called...
A Domain.
Within a hundred-li radius, a Golden Core cultivator could perceive everything in every direction simultaneously.
Unless another Golden Core expert deliberately concealed themselves...
Sneak attacks were nearly impossible.
Thinking of this, Lin Sheng couldn't help smiling.
"My Spirit Platform cultivation is already approaching that level..."
Although he still fell short of a true Purple Palace cultivator in terms of spiritual refinement, the foundation of the Yellow Origin Visualization Method was simply too terrifying.
Its advantages were becoming increasingly apparent. The Contemplation method focused on mainly the mind and worked its way until all of Shen has being refined and strengthened.
After dismissing the thought, Lin Sheng slowly raised his right hand.
"I almost forgot..."
His breakthrough had given him something else.
The Yellow Sun.
He focused slightly.
The miniature Yellow Sun floating above the White Dwarf within his Sea of Consciousness rotated once.
Immediately—
A small flame appeared above his palm.
Unlike ordinary fire...
This flame possessed a strange yellow-orange color.
Its appearance wasn't particularly violent.
Instead, it radiated pure warmth.
Yet the surrounding Spiritual Qi instinctively retreated from it.
Lin Sheng stared quietly.
"So..."
"...these are Solar Flames."
The flames danced gently upon his palm.
He could clearly feel their Yang nature.
Anything Yin, ghostly or demonic would naturally be suppressed by them.
More importantly...
Unlike before, these flames could now directly affect physical matter.
The previous White Dwarf Flames mainly targeted souls and spiritual entities.
The Yellow Sun Flames...
Could burn both body and spirit simultaneously.
Lin Sheng couldn't help wondering.
"If I continue evolving this Visualization Method..."
"...could these flames eventually resemble the legendary Immortal Sun Flames?"
The thought only lasted a moment before he laughed softly.
"One step at a time."
He extinguished the flame.
Only then did he finally notice just how much time had passed.
Almost...
Two months.
No wonder the Bright Yang Stone had long since become nothing more than ordinary grey rock.
The dragon blood had also been completely refined.
Standing quietly inside the cave, Lin Sheng expanded his Mental Field once more.
The numerous formations surrounding the mountain remained completely untouched.
No one had discovered him throughout the entire breakthrough.
Satisfied, he waved his hand.
Formation flags flew out one after another before returning to his storage ring.
The Spiritual Eye beneath the cave also dimmed as its connection to the earth vein was severed.
Within moments...
The temporary cultivation cave had become an ordinary mountain once more.
Before leaving, Lin Sheng took out his Sound Transmission Jade.
Still nothing.
"It seems Sister is still in seclusion."
He wasn't particularly surprised.
Ever since returning from the Heaven Seal Gate Secret Realm, Lin Yan had followed the Head Elder to cultivate.
If she hadn't replied after nearly two months...
She was probably still cultivating.
Putting the jade away, Lin Sheng stepped out of the mountain cave.
Fresh air greeted him immediately.
The Chip quickly projected the route toward the nearest city.
Since he had already decided on his destination...
There was no longer any reason to remain in Dragon Yuan Province.
The South Sea Province awaited him.
Without another glance behind, Lin Sheng circulated his movement technique and disappeared into the distance, heading straight toward the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, where the regional teleportation formation would take him one step closer to the sea.
-------------
Nearly a month later, the once quiet mountain range remained exactly as it had been.
The cave had already collapsed after someone forcefully dismantled it from within, the formations had long since been recovered, and even the traces of spiritual energy left behind had gradually been erased by the passage of time. Only a faint residue of scorching Yang aura still lingered deep within the rocks, so weak that even an ordinary Purple Palace cultivator would dismiss it as nothing more than the remnants of someone cultivating a fire-attributed technique.
A figure silently descended onto one of the peaks.
No fluctuations and no sounds. Only the breeze stirred the hem of his robe.
His gaze swept across the mountain before finally settling on the ruined cave.
He stepped inside.
The collapsed stones slowly floated aside under an invisible force, revealing the place where someone had once cultivated in seclusion.
For several moments, he remained motionless.
Then he extended a finger and lightly brushed it across one of the shattered rocks.
A faint, unfamiliar aura emerged.
It was almost imperceptible.
Yet the moment it appeared, the insect Gu sleeping inside his sleeve stirred slightly before becoming quiet once more.
His eyes narrowed.
"It led here....."
His voice was calm, but there was an unmistakable chill behind it.
The remaining aura was incredibly weak. Whoever had cultivated here had been unusually cautious, cleaning away almost every trace before leaving. Even so, no matter how careful one was, it was impossible to erase everything completely.
He slowly closed his hand.
The lingering aura disappeared into his palm.
"A cultivator..."
"...and yet not quite."
There was something strange about it.
The aura carried an intense Yang attribute, but beneath that was another feeling he couldn't quite describe, something that made even the Gu insect react differently.
He looked toward the distant south.
"It seems you've already left."
There wasn't the slightest hint of urgency on his face.
To someone like him, a month meant very little.
If the trail had existed once, then it could be followed.
Sooner or later...
Their paths would cross again.
Without another word, the figure stepped into the air and disappeared beyond the horizon, leaving the silent mountain range behind once more. The breeze continued to blow through the shattered cave as though no one had ever been there.