77: Refining Spirit Technique, Level 1

Lin Jingyu was like a shadow blending into the night, silently sliding back to his small courtyard. The moment his feet touched the ground, the heavy stone in his heart seemed to sink a few more inches, pressing down on him until he could barely breathe.

The threat of those jackals from Black Wind Stockade was like a guillotine hanging overhead, its cold blade flashing, ready to fall at any moment and completely shatter the already dilapidated small boat of the Lin family, sinking it into the abyss.

He took a deep breath of the air damp with cold dew, trying to suppress the burning irritability and lingering unease in his chest. Sitting cross-legged on a cold prayer mat, he forced himself to circulate the Evergreen Art.

Spiritual Power flowed with difficulty through his Meridians, attempting to soothe the anxiety that gnawed at his mind like a venomous snake bite. However, the heavy night outside, as solid as a block of lead, seemed to carry an invisible weight, pressing heavily on his chest, preventing him from calming down no matter what.

Every time the Spiritual Power reached a critical node, that anxiety would grow wildly like weeds, almost breaking through the dam of reason.

"No, it can't go on like this..." Lin Jingyu abruptly opened his eyes, a flash of determination in them. He closed his eyes again, his mind sinking into the depths of his Sea of Consciousness, a lake of Mental Energy as clear as a mirror.

The profound methods of the first level of the "Spirit Refining Art" flowed slowly through his heart like a clear stream. That strange oscillating ripple originating from the Soul's Origin quietly surfaced again at the core of his Mental Energy, like a stone thrown into a lake, stirring up layers of ripples.

Buzz... buzz... A strange buzzing sound, seemingly from the depths of his Soul, echoed in his mind. This time, he felt it even more clearly.

The oscillation was not chaotic but carried a unique rhythm, like countless tiny, invisible forging hammers, repeatedly striking and tempering his spiritual Origin with extremely high frequency and precise rhythm.

Every time an oscillating wave swept through, it brought an indescribable tingling sensation, as if the dust deposited in the depths of his Soul was being stripped away layer by layer, leaving behind a purer and tougher core.

Time passed quietly in focused Cultivate. After an unknown amount of time, the oscillating ripples suddenly intensified! The buzzing sound instantly rose, like thousands of tiny thunderclaps exploding in the depths of the mental world!

Lin Jingyu felt his entire Sea of Consciousness shake violently, as countless mental ripples spread, collided, and reached Fusion frantically! A strong tingling sensation swept through his body like an electric current, making him tremble involuntarily.

He exhaled a long, deep breath of turbid Qi, as if to expel all the frustration in his chest. In the darkness, he slowly opened his eyes, which shone with a sharp light, keen as a cold star piercing the night sky, without a trace of his previous confusion and anxiety.

It's done! The first level of the Spirit Refining Art is completely mastered!

From now on, this never-fading oscillating ripple would be engraved deep within his spiritual Origin like a brand, day and night ceaselessly cleansing, condensing, and sublimating his Mental Energy.

What surprised him even more was that on top of this basic oscillating ripple, another faint but distinctly different vibration seemed to be faintly superimposed.

If the previous oscillation was like rising and falling waves, then this new vibration was like an undercurrent surging back and forth!

The two vibrations did not cancel each other out but intertwined and resonated in a profound way! Like two invisible carving knives, one vertical and one horizontal, they sculpted his spiritual Origin with even greater precision!

Although the total amount of Mental Energy still grew slowly, like a trickling stream, the clearly perceptible increase in "density" and enhancement in "toughness"...

...as well as the subtle changes of his mental perception becoming more acute and his control becoming more proficient, made his heart pound, and he could hardly contain his excitement.

"This Spirit Refining Art... is simply a Heaven-Defying object that can change one's fate!"

Lin Jingyu couldn't help but marvel in his heart!

If this thing were to be leaked, let alone the tiny Southeast Market Town, perhaps the entire Qingzhou, or even a broader region, would be swept into a bloodbath!

Mental Energy is the key cornerstone that determines how far a Cultivator can go in the future! There had long been rumors in the streets that if one could condense a prototype of Divine Sense in advance during the Qi Refinement Stage, the success rate of Foundation Establishment could increase by twenty percent out of thin air!

And on the market, Mental Energy cultivation methods had long since disappeared, likely only existing within the core Legacy of great Sects and ancient families!

He once again picked up that heavy, cold-to-the-touch "brick" Jade Slip, holding it like a rare treasure, and pressed it solemnly to his forehead.

Once again, he found the Supreme Visualization Technique in "Seven Cultivation Methods for a Trainee Alchemist" and fixed his attention.

His consciousness was instantly drawn by a gentle but irresistible force, descending once again into that cold, dead Universe Void Realm where stars rotated.

It felt as if a website hyperlink was hidden inside; with just a click, he would arrive here.

Nine ancient stone tablets, reaching from heaven to earth and emitting an aura of eternal vastness, stood quietly like the backbone of the Universe.

Lin Jingyu felt that calling them stone slabs was a bit disrespectful; it was more appropriate to call them Ancient Desolate Stone Tablets.

His gaze, with a hint of awe and determination, locked onto the stone tablet engraved with that seemingly weak flame that contained the power to burn the heavens and boil the seas.

Taking a deep breath and clenching his teeth, he prepared to be burned half to death again by that Soul-incinerating flame until his consciousness became blurred.

Let it hurt! As long as he could become stronger! As long as he could protect himself and his sister in this man-eating world of cultivation!

Anyway, his consciousness was here; no matter how miserable he looked, it couldn't be seen from the outside!

He stared fixedly at the flickering little flame that seemed like it could go out at any moment yet burned eternally, his eyes unblinking and his mind highly focused.

However, the expected fire Dragon did not appear.

The little flame continued to burn quietly, like an eternal star, emitting faint but constant light and heat.

It floated quietly on the surface of the stone tablet, as if it were just an eternal carving, showing no reaction to Lin Jingyu's "affectionate gaze."

"Huh?" Lin Jingyu was stunned, a hint of doubt rising in his heart.

He tried to concentrate his thoughts and chanted in his mind: "Fire? Flame? Great power of fire?" — No reaction.

He tried to recall the painful feeling of being struck by the fire Dragon before, trying to evoke a resonance — still nothing.

He even made a few self-created, haphazard "communication hand signs" at the stone tablet — the cluster of small flames remained motionless, so quiet it was unsettling.

"What's going on? Is there some kind of time limit for this fire burning? Or... does it require specific trigger conditions?"

Lin Jingyu was completely baffled. He could only squat helplessly on the cold ground of the Void Realm, staring blankly at the cluster of flames out of boredom.

Time seemed to lose its meaning here; only that eternally burning little flame was the only dynamic element in this dead Universe.

After an unknown amount of time, a line of cold, small golden characters appeared on the stone tablet again: "Today's visualization has reached one hour. Please return after twelve shichen."

Immediately after, an irresistible force struck!

As if hit hard in the face by a maddened Primordial Bull, Lin Jingyu's vision went black, and his consciousness was brutally kicked out of this mysterious space.