Chapter 376 - 248: Like Crushing an Egg, Information Converges

Chapter 376: Chapter 248: Like Crushing an Egg, Information Converges

All told, it was a little over ten thousand Lower Grade Spirit Stones.

There was also a Tier Two Lower Grade Attacking Spiritual Artifact that he didn’t even have a chance to bring out.

A Lower Grade Bone Shield Defense Spiritual Artifact had been directly cracked by the Black Seal Platform. Lin Changheng examined it and realized with some annoyance that it would need repairs before it could be used again.

Not rich, but not poor either.

After all, one spent a considerable amount of Spirit Stones to reach this stage. Resources only counted as your own once you’d absorbed them; otherwise, they were just spoils for someone else.

Lin Changheng had never been picky about unexpected windfalls.

In fact, he wished a few more of them had come; he would have been thrilled if they had lost their minds and tried to surround him.

If they had dared, he would have made sure they regretted it.

He had previously received a letter from Mo Zhaoli. She knew Lin Changheng’s identity and the Huang Family’s current situation.

She had written specifically to explain things.

If anyone dared to make a move, he was to record it with a Memory-Recording Spiritual Artifact and send it to her. She could then exert her influence within the Sect and request its forces to strike.

When Lin Changheng read this, his eyes lit up. Attacking a leased territory was an offense that could be treated as either minor or major.

Treated as a minor issue, it would be considered a simple squabble between Cultivators to be resolved privately. But treated as a major one, it could be escalated to a matter of... the Purple Extreme Sect’s dignity.

And the judgment of which it was depended not on outsiders like Lin Changheng and his enemies, but on the Sect’s internal politics.

If Mo Zhaoli, as a Middle Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, were to raise the issue, and no one with strong ties to the perpetrators moved to stop her, it could be deemed an affront to the Purple Extreme Sect’s dignity and a threat to the Sect’s stable rule. In that case, the consequences would be extremely severe.

Thus, Lin Changheng felt completely at ease.

’Bring it on if you’ve got the guts.’

This was the confidence that came from having a powerful backer, even an indirect one!

In fact, Lin Changheng had initially written to Mo Zhaoli asking about the Huang Family’s situation, and whether there was any precedent for the Purple Extreme Sect to intervene.

But the answer he received was no.

Mo Zhaoli’s words had been veiled, but the cruel reality was plain to see.

To a certain extent, the Purple Extreme Sect actually approved of and condoned these wars between families.

It came down to two main points.

First, the eruption of internal conflicts between the various families prevented them from uniting into a solid bloc that could influence or even threaten the Purple Extreme Sect’s rule.

It was an effective way to vent internal pressures.

In such times, the Purple Extreme Sect played the part of a lofty, impartial judge, watching from the sidelines without a care in the world.

As long as families weren’t being exterminated in large numbers, leading to a drastic reduction in overall power, the Purple Extreme Sect couldn’t care less.

...

Second was the reduction of the families’ strength.

War meant death, and death bred grudges.

Hatred was hard to dispel. Mired in mutual resentment, they would do everything in their power to stop their rivals from growing stronger.

Even if a family was wiped out, there was no need to worry about the victor absorbing the loser’s assets and becoming too powerful.

Because in such a situation, "this type of war" would become leverage in the Purple Extreme Sect’s hands, allowing it to firmly grasp the initiative.

If there was any risk or hidden danger of a family’s power exceeding its bounds, the Sect would have a legitimate reason to strike.

This was also why the Huang Family, despite having the upper hand at one point, did not press on to completely annihilate their enemy.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to, but that they couldn’t.

Their ultimate goal was to become a Noble Family. To ambitiously take even one step further would be to invite annihilation.

...

Having received Mo Zhaoli’s hints, Lin Changheng now understood the situation.

The Purple Extreme Sect’s ass would always be sitting on the side of its own interests. That was perfectly normal.

Even mortals couldn’t expect to find a truly just official—they were as rare as a phoenix feather or a qilin’s horn. How much less so in the even more brutally competitive Cultivation Realm?

Anyone who actually believed in such a thing would probably have weeds growing over their grave by now.

But regardless, with Mo Zhaoli as his "backer," Lin Changheng had no fear of any overt schemes.

...

It was worth mentioning that Lin Changheng had also received two more letters from the Xu Family.

They were, once again, from Tantai Feiyue and Xu Hanji.

With the support of a Tier Two Spiritual Land, the resource supplements from the war, and having cultivated for a long enough time, Tantai Feiyue had finally broken through to the Third Layer of Foundation Establishment.

She now had a chance of glimpsing the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment.

And this had taken her nearly seventeen years.

Time had slipped by. If not for Tantai Feiyue’s resolute Dao Heart and Lin Changheng’s encouragement, she would have likely given up long ago.

The difference in one’s Spirit Root had such a profound impact; this was a prime example.

Fortunately, her talent in the Talisman Dao was not bad—much better than her Spirit Root—and she had also advanced to become a Tier Two Middle Grade Talisman Master.

Her status in the Xu Family had become even more transcendent.

...

The other letter was from Xu Hanji.

Her Middle Grade Spirit Root was clearly much better. Aside from the usual pleasantries, she also mentioned her cultivation; she had now touched the Realm of Perfection of the Second Layer of Foundation Establishment.

She could finish her accumulation and attempt a breakthrough at any moment.

And now, only nine years after she had broken through to the Second Layer of Foundation Establishment, it seemed she would be able to enter the Third Layer in about ten years total.

She would catch up to Tantai Feiyue.

...

Lin Changheng picked up his brush to reply, expressing his congratulations and encouragement to both women, hoping that one day they could both reach Core Formation.

After all, in the Cultivation Realm, there was no more sincere blessing than "May your cultivation advance forever."

...

「Back to the present.」

Killing one foolish Cultivator didn’t bother Lin Changheng in the slightest. He continued to cultivate and go about his business with steady calm.

「On this day.」

Lin Changheng was drinking tea alone at the Lake View Pavilion by the island’s edge, watching his three Spirit Beasts play. It was a rather pleasant sight.

Suddenly, a faint fluctuation emanated from the cave-dwelling.

"Oh? Finally reached the Peak of Ninth Level Qi Cultivation?"

A trace of approval flashed in Lin Changheng’s eyes.

This cultivation fluctuation was clearly coming from Yan Mingyi, who was not present.

He immediately pinched his fingers to make a quick calculation.

Yan Mingyi was now fifty-six years old.

She still had four years to polish her foundations, which was more than enough time.

If not for the time and energy she had spent moving and renovating the cave-dwelling, she would have reached the Peak of Ninth Level Qi Cultivation even sooner.

Then, he began to ponder.

He currently had two Foundation Establishment Pills.

One was a new Masterpiece Foundation Establishment Pill, and the other was the Genuine Foundation Establishment Pill he had been saving as a last resort.

This Masterpiece Foundation Establishment Pill came from Talisman Master Chu.

A year and a half ago, the man had brought him a main ingredient for the Foundation Establishment Pill, a stalk of Seven-Star Spirit Moon Grass.

According to Talisman Master Chu, he had expended a great deal of face and called in many favors just to purchase this one stalk, and it hadn’t been easy.

Furthermore, he had also brought along a fellow Daoist who was crowdfunding a pill refinement with him.

This person possessed a Celestial Crystal Spirit Lotus.

Adding to that the Nine-leaf Purple Ginseng that Lin Changheng had previously claimed a "Sect friend" possessed—this friend, of course, was entirely fictional, but the claim served to deter troublemakers, so it didn’t hurt to say it.

The Celestial Crystal Spirit Lotus in his own hands was not yet mature, but because ripening so many Spirit Grasses would slow down the efficiency for each one, he decided not to wait when this opportunity arose.

After that, Lin Changheng went straight to refining.

Two Masterpiece Pills, one Genuine Pill.

Talisman Master Chu and the companion he had invited were overjoyed. They paid their Spirit Stones and left in high spirits.

...

This Masterpiece Foundation Establishment Pill could be given to Yan Mingyi when the time comes.

In addition, she had been continuously polishing her Body Refining. Although it hadn’t reached the strength of Tier One Late Stage, it was at Tier One Middle Stage, which would provide some help.

When the time came, Lin Changheng could also use the Poison Transformation Demon Technique to help sort out her system a bit.

Furthermore, since she had never borne children, her fundamental life essence was mostly intact and not severely depleted.

There shouldn’t be a major problem.

But to be safe, it would be best to get his hands on a Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object.

A Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object only cost eight or nine thousand Lower Grade Spirit Stones; he just had to wait for an auction.

...

In the time that followed, Lin Changheng focused on Alchemy.

Fortunately, he could divide his attention, allowing him to comprehend many other things at the same time, effectively splitting his time in two.

But his progress in the Alchemy Dao was terrifying. He could now produce ten pills in a single furnace, with two of them being Masterpiece Middle Grade Elixirs.

After a bit more practice, he had a good chance of achieving Tier Two Upper Grade Alchemy.

For Lin Changheng, this kind of progress was incredibly steady.

So-called Cultivation wasn’t all about fighting and killing; steady management was another path.

After all, who could guarantee they would never get their feet wet, never see their ship capsize?

...

During this period, Lin Changheng paused his Alchemy and came out of seclusion once.

It was because the Isle Master of the neighboring Floating Star Island, Cheng Suling, had invited him to a banquet.