129: Chapter 129 Reflection

Lin Xuan returned to the depths of the rocky cave, sat down cross-legged, and began to inspect the condition inside his body.

The strength of his internal organs had clearly improved.

The heart fire was vigorous, the liver wood was sprouting, the spleen earth was thick, the lung metal was sharp, and the kidney water was abundant.

Guided by the Thunder Spiritual Energy, these five forces formed a delicate balance, circulating endlessly in a continuous cycle.

Moreover, he could feel that the strengthening of his internal organs in turn nourished the other parts of his Physical Body.

His blood was purer, carrying a faint trace of Thunder Spiritual Qi.

His bones were tougher, with faint thunder patterns appearing on their surface.

His muscles were tighter, and both his explosive power and endurance had significantly improved.

This was the benefit of a Body Refining Cultivation Technique—as his cultivation level rose, his Physical Body was simultaneously strengthened.

Lin Xuan opened his eyes, took out the largest sea spirit ginseng from his Storage Pouch, and cradled it in his palm to look at it.

The golden body of the ginseng glowed with a soft halo in the dim light of the cave.

Its quality was even better than the medium-sized one.

After some thought, he put it back into the jade box and carefully stored it away.

He would keep it for now.

He would consume it after his Body Refining cultivation had adapted for a while.

Lin Xuan stood up and walked to the cave entrance.

It was already early morning outside.

The sun had just risen from the sea level, casting golden-red sunlight across the water, dyeing the sea into a sheet of shattered gold.

The sea breeze was gentle, carrying a salty, fishy scent, blowing against his face very comfortably.

The Herb-Seeking Mouse was squatting on a rock next to the cave entrance, washing its face with its paws.

Seeing Lin Xuan come out, it squeaked, jumped onto his shoulder, and rubbed its head against his face.

"Alright, alright, stop rubbing," Lin Xuan said with a smile, pushing its head away. "I know you're hungry."

He took out a peiyuan pill from his Storage Pouch, broke it in half, fed one half to the Herb-Seeking Mouse, and threw the other half to the Pangolin at the cave entrance.

The two little fellows each held their own portion and ate with relish.

Lin Xuan leaned against the cave entrance, gazing at the distant sea.

Those few small black dots on the horizon were still there.

Two days ago, he had flown in that direction, only to encounter a Tier 3 Demonic Beast.

But now, he still had to go in that direction.

Because that sea area was the only place within a hundred-mile radius where Cultivators might gather.

He decided to take a detour next time; he couldn't be as reckless as before.

Lin Xuan calculated in his mind.

First, he had to wait for the cloud-piercing shuttle to fully recover.

Flying with a cracked Magical Artifact did not feel secure. If he encountered danger again and his speed couldn't keep up, he would really be finished.

Second, he had to be well-prepared.

He didn't have many Tier 2 Talismans left—he had one Vajra Talisman left, his God-Speed Talismans were used up, but he still had Thunderstorm Talismans, earth-escaping talismans, and illusion talismans.

He had to find a way to replenish them.

But now that he was trapped on this deserted island without even a market, he couldn't buy Talismans even if he wanted to.

He could only draw them himself.

Lin Xuan took out a stack of purple-patterned paper from his Storage Pouch and flipped through them.

There were still over thirty sheets left.

That would be enough for a while.

He then took out his talisman brush and thunder-patterned cinnabar, sat cross-legged at the cave entrance, and began crafting Talismans.

First, he would draw the Thunder Shield Talisman.

This was his specialty Talisman, with a success rate of over ninety-five percent; he could draw it even with his eyes closed.

With a single stroke, the Talisman runes flowed smoothly, and Thunder Spiritual Energy was steadily infused.

In less than half a cup of tea's time, a Thunder Shield Talisman was completed.

Its quality was superb.

Lin Xuan stored it away and continued drawing.

The second one.

The third one.

The fourth one.

He drew ten in a row, and all of them succeeded.

He stretched his wrists and switched to the Thunder Spear Talisman.

The difficulty of the Thunder Spear Talisman was much higher than that of the Thunder Shield Talisman, with a success rate of only about sixty percent.

The first one failed.

The Talisman paper spontaneously combusted, burning into ashes.

Unfazed, Lin Xuan took out a new sheet of purple-patterned paper and started over.

The second one succeeded.

The third one succeeded.

The fourth one failed.

Out of the ten Thunder Spear Talismans he drew, six succeeded.

He was already very satisfied with this success rate.

Lin Xuan categorized and stored the completed Talismans, stood up, and stretched his limbs.

The sun had already risen high into the sky, casting its light straight down, making the sea shimmer.

He walked to the shore, squatted down, scooped up a handful of seawater, and washed his face.

The seawater was very cold; splashing it on his face cleared his mind significantly.

Lin Xuan shook the water off his hands, stood up, and gazed at the distant sea.

That was where the Tier 3 Demonic Beast lurked; he memorized that direction and vowed to stay far away from that area in the future.

Lin Xuan turned back to the cave and continued crafting Talismans.

The Breakthrough in his Body Refining cultivation also raised the upper limit of his Talisman-crafting abilities.

By evening, he had drawn three more Thunder Shield Talismans and four more Thunder Spear Talismans.

He had consumed quite a bit of Talisman paper, but he felt much more secure.

With Talismans in hand, he could at least hold out a bit longer if he encountered danger.

Lin Xuan put away his talisman brush and cinnabar, took out a peiyuan pill from his Storage Pouch to consume, and began to Cultivate.

Night fell.

On the sea, scattered spots of fluorescent light began to glow, as if someone had sprinkled a handful of crushed diamonds across the water.

It was beautiful.

But Lin Xuan was in no mood to appreciate it.

Closing his eyes, he circulated the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Art, guiding his spiritual energy to flow slowly through his Meridians.

His cultivation was also rising bit by bit.

Though slow, it was indeed rising.

After his Body Refining Breakthrough, his affinity for Thunder Spiritual Energy seemed to have increased slightly.

Thunder Spiritual Qi that used to take a lot of effort to capture could now be easily drawn in.

Perhaps because his internal organs were strengthened, his body's overall quality had improved, making his perception of Spiritual Qi sharper.

Or perhaps the medicinal power of the sea spirit ginseng was still taking effect, subtly improving his Physique.

Regardless, this was a good thing.

Lin Xuan cultivated for two hours and opened his eyes, feeling the spiritual energy in his Dantian become a bit fuller.

He stood up and walked to the cave entrance.

The Herb-Seeking Mouse was squatting on a rock keeping watch; seeing him approach, it squeaked.

"Thanks for your hard work," Lin Xuan said, patting its head. "Go rest, I'll keep watch for a while."

The Herb-Seeking Mouse shook its head and squeaked twice, meaning "I'm not tired."

Lin Xuan smiled and didn't urge it further.

He leaned against the cave entrance, gazing at the distant sea.

The moonlight was faint, mostly obscured by the clouds, revealing only a hazy, dim white glow.

The sea was pitch black; nothing could be seen.

Only the sound of waves crashing against the shore and the wailing of the sea breeze sweeping through the bushes could be heard.

Lin Xuan closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

The sea breeze filled his lungs, carrying a salty, fishy scent.

In his mind, the dark shadow he had seen in the mist that day surfaced once more.

Over ten zhang tall.

Scales as large as door panels.

An overwhelming pressure.

What on earth was that thing?

Was it a snake? A Jiao-dragon? Or something else?

Why was it in that sea area?

Did it happen to pass by, or was it guarding something?

Was that mist a mirage it released, or was it an innate ability?

He didn't know.

He would figure it out in the future.

Lin Xuan opened his eyes, a flash of determination in his gaze.

Once the cloud-piercing shuttle recovered, he would set off.

This time, he would not be reckless.

One step at a time.

First, he would map out the outer perimeter.

Then, he would slowly probe deeper.

One day, he would uncover the secrets of that sea area.

And he would also find his way back.