49: Inner Sect Secret Realm, Five Elements Spirit Pool

Three days later, in the early morning, the mist in the back mountains of the Star Moon Sect's inner Sect had not yet dissipated. Su Qingyue already held a jade token inscribed with Five Elements runes, standing before the cliff face, the ice silk on her fingertips still damp with morning dew. Lin Yang followed behind her, clutching the 'Secret Realm Access' token personally bestowed by the Sect Master after the Outer Sect Grand Competition. His chaos star core occasionally trembled slightly—three days ago, he was ambushed by the Xuantian Sword Sect in Luoxing Gorge. Although he escaped the Spirit Sealing Array by relying on Zhao Kun's Primal Gang Qi, it made him even more eager to use the Five Elements Spirit Pool to enhance his strength, especially with Elder Wu's threats still echoing in his ears.

"The Spirit Pool is divided into five areas according to the Five Elements, and you must refine them in the order of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth." Su Qingyue pressed the jade token against the cliff face, and the five colored crystals embedded in the stone wall instantly lit up. Red-gold, emerald-green, dark-blue, flaming-red, and brownish-yellow lights intertwined. "In ancient times, this was the Five Elements Formation Eye. The spiritual liquid was very impure, and if the order was disrupted, you would suffer a backlash from the spiritual liquid. Even inner Sect Elders have experienced losses." She paused, her gaze sweeping over the fading spirit sealing chain marks on Lin Yang's forearm, then added, "I will guard the entrance. When six hours are up, the jade token will glow as a reminder. If there's any unusual activity, immediately crush the communication talisman."

As the jade token embedded into the crystal crevice, the stone wall slowly split open with a 'rumble.' The Spiritual Qi gushing from behind a stone door carried a sweet, herbal fragrance, instantly enveloping both of them—this Spiritual Qi was ten times purer than the topmost layer of the Outer Sect Spirit Qi Tower. Lin Yang's pores couldn't help but open up, and his chaos star core within his Dantian sent a comfortable tremor, as if responding to something. He recalled the Spatial Core in the Qingmeng Secret Realm; the aura behind this stone door was somewhat similar to that core. Bai Wanqing's earlier statement about the 'Spirit Pool containing space Origin' seemed to be true.

After stepping through the stone door, a path paved with bluestone slabs stretched before them. On both sides grew Spiritual Plants he had never seen—their leaves were multi-colored, and the dewdrops hanging on their edges fell to the ground, transforming into tiny spiritual liquid droplets that seeped into the cracks of the stone slabs. Lin Yang followed the direction of the most concentrated Spiritual Qi for about half an incense stick's time, and his vision suddenly opened up: a circular pool occupied the center of the Secret Realm. The pool water was divided into five distinct areas by an invisible barrier, each radiating a completely different luster.

The Metal-element spiritual liquid on the east side flowed like liquid red-gold, exuding a sharp luster. When approached, a faint 'clanging' sound could be heard, subtly resonating with the Metal-element dantian core in his Dantian, which had condensed Sharp Metal Sword Qi. The Wood-element spiritual liquid on the south side was emerald-green and misty, entwined with vine-like Spiritual Qi. When it landed on his skin, he could clearly feel vibrant vitality, reminding him of the 'Plant Affinity' passive ability activated in the Qingmeng Secret Realm. The Water-element spiritual liquid on the west side was a dark-blue, icy color. Although it emanated bone-chilling coldness, it did not harm him; instead, it reminded him of the cold true essence he fused with Bai Wanqing while bathing in the cold pond. The Fire-element spiritual liquid on the north side churned like leaping flames, yet there was no burning pain; instead, it carried warm energy, perfectly able to dissolve the lingering stagnation from previously absorbing Zhao Qian's Burning Gold Art. The Earth-element spiritual liquid in the center was brownish-yellow, thick and heavy like melted amber. Touching it, he could feel a stable power, identical to the Earth-element insights brought by Chu He's black iron shield.

Lin Yang walked to the Metal-element spiritual liquid and sat down cross-legged, slowly extending his hand into the red-gold liquid. The spiritual liquid rapidly poured into his body through the Meridians in his palm, carrying a Metal-element Origin purer than Zhao Kun's Protective Aura. The Metal-element dantian core in his Dantian, originally only the size of a grain of rice, instantly lit up. Under the nourishment of the spiritual liquid, it slowly expanded, its surface patterns becoming clearer and clearer. Even his fingertips faintly glowed with a pale golden light, and the Sharp Metal Sword Qi he had previously condensed became even more refined. Half an hour later, the Metal-element dantian core had grown to the size of a soybean, and most of the Metal-element Origin in the spiritual liquid had been absorbed. Only then did he get up and walk towards the Wood-element spiritual liquid area.

The moment the emerald-green mist enveloped his body, the newly condensed Wood-element dantian core in his Dantian began to resonate. The mist seeped into his body through his pores, interacting with the 'Plant Affinity' passive ability. The surrounding Spiritual Plants suddenly moved without wind, their leaves gently tilting towards him, as if showing affection. The Wood-element dantian core rapidly reached Perfection under the mist's nourishment. Lin Yang could even vaguely perceive the emotions of the Spiritual Plants, and when his fingertips moved slightly, several low-lying Spiritual Plants swayed gently according to his will.

Next was the Water-element spiritual liquid. When the dark-blue liquid entered his body, Lin Yang shivered lightly, but not from cold—the Water-element Origin circulated through his Meridians, thoroughly repairing the Meridians that had been burned by the Spirit Sealing Array and Protective Aura during the ambush in Luoxing Gorge. The Water-element dantian core in his Dantian glowed with a soft blue light, and even his exhaled breath carried a faint coolness. The Water-element spell 'Ice Condensing Art' he had previously mastered unexpectedly broke through to Minor Achievement unconsciously, with tiny ice crystals occasionally condensing on his fingertips.

Following that was the Fire-element spiritual liquid. After the flame-like liquid entered his body, the Fire-element dantian core in his Dantian rapidly expanded. The lingering stagnation from previously simulating Zhao Qian's Burning Gold Art completely disappeared, and even the Fire-element energy stored within the chaos star core became more docile and controllable. Lin Yang tried to mobilize a trace of Fire Elements True Essence; the flame that ignited on his fingertip no longer flickered erratically as before, but could change shape at will, deepening his understanding of the Burning Gold Art.

Finally, it was the Earth-element spiritual liquid. When the brownish-yellow liquid entered his body, Lin Yang only felt his Dantian become incredibly stable. The Earth-element dantian core resonated with the aura of Chu He's Thick Earth Shield, actually forming a pale brown protective shield around the outside of his Dantian—this was the prototype of 'Thick Earth Vein Protection,' which could resist external impacts on the Meridians, being more subtle and robust than ordinary Earth-element defensive spells. He tried to strike the shield with True Essence; the shield merely flickered slightly, then dissolved the impact into nothingness.

When most of the Five Elements spiritual liquids had been absorbed, and the five dantian cores were arranged in a pentagram shape in his Dantian, radiating corresponding multi-colored lights, the chaos star core suddenly erupted with a dazzling gray-gold light. The energy from the five dantian cores surged towards the star core through the Meridians, forming a multi-colored vortex around the star core. The vortex spun faster and faster, gradually evolving into a fist-sized miniature world—inside were golden mountains, emerald-green forests, blue lakes, red volcanoes, and brown plains. Although small, it exuded a complete Five Elements circulation rhythm.

Lin Yang's heart stirred, remembering the Wood-element spiritual butterfly Liu Hongluan had previously given him—it was a small spirit pet cultivated by the sisters, specifically used for early warning. He tried to send the spiritual butterfly into the miniature world. The moment the spiritual butterfly entered, it actually survived in the emerald-green forest, flapping its wings and flying without any discomfort. He then placed an essence condensing pill inside; the Medicinal Pill floated above the Earth-element plains, and no Spiritual Qi leaked out. It seemed this 'five elements small world' could indeed store living things.

Just then, the Earth-element spiritual liquid in the center of the Spirit Pool suddenly stirred. The brownish-yellow liquid began to rotate, forming a small vortex, with a pale purple light emanating from the center of the vortex—the chaos star core instantly emitted a strong resonance. This aura was even more concentrated than the Spatial Core in the Qingmeng Secret Realm. Lin Yang quickly approached, reaching his hand into the vortex, his fingertips touching a cool fragment—it was half a fist-sized stone, with fine star patterns embedded within its translucent body, precisely where the space Origin he had previously sensed was located.

As soon the space stone was in his hand, the chaos star core suddenly vibrated violently. The previously incomplete star map on its surface (which had appeared after absorbing the Qingmeng Secret Realm's Spatial Core) began to light up with new patterns—the star map, which was only one-third complete before, was now nearly half complete, clearly displaying several unfamiliar coordinates. Next to one of these coordinates, there was a subtle overlap with the 'Misty Forbidden Land' mark on the Forbidden Ground map given by Elder Mo.

"So, space stones can complete the star map." Lin Yang gripped the space stone, his mind suddenly clear. The 'coordinates of all the heavens and myriad worlds' that the star core had pointed to now had a concrete direction, and the location of the Misty Forbidden Land was no longer a vague 'southeast.'

When the jade token in his palm began to flash white light, Lin Yang realized that six hours had passed. He stood up and looked at the Spirit Pool; the five spiritual liquids had diminished by nearly half, and the Spiritual Qi of the Secret Realm was also somewhat thinner than when he arrived. However, the perfected five dantian cores in his Dantian, the space stone in his palm, and the completed star map in his star core were all tangible gains. More importantly, the deduction power of the chaos star core had doubled, and he could even decipher some of the chain patterns on Elder Mo's map now—it was an ancient space Formation that required the power of the space stone to break.

As he walked out of the stone door, Su Qingyue was waiting with a palace lantern. Seeing him emerge, a flash of surprise instantly crossed her eyes: "Your aura... your Five Elements True Essence has actually reached Perfection?" She had cultivated for many years and had never seen anyone in the Xiantian Realm simultaneously cultivate all Five Elements True Essence to Perfection, let alone in just six hours.

Lin Yang smiled and revealed a corner of the space stone—the pale purple star patterns were particularly noticeable under the palace lantern's light. Su Qingyue's pupils instantly constricted: "This is... a space stone? The Sect's ancient texts mentioned that it's key to activating ancient space Formations. I didn't expect it to actually be hidden in the Spirit Pool."

"It was a fortunate gain," Lin Yang said, putting the space stone back into his embrace. Remembering Elder Mo's instructions, he did not mention the star map.

Su Qingyue withdrew her gaze, her tone filled with relief: "Your inner Sect residence has been arranged; it's in Wangyue Courtyard, right next to mine. Tomorrow, you can go to the Inner Sect Deacon's Office to collect your identity token."

Lin Yang nodded his thanks and walked towards the inner Sect, holding the space stone. He didn't notice that after he turned and left, in the shadows deep within the Secret Realm, a figure slowly emerged, crushing a communication talisman inscribed with the cloud pattern of the Misty Immortal Palace with their fingertips—as the pale golden talisman paper burned out, a faint voice dissipated into the mist: "Target has acquired the space stone, star map complete. Requesting next instructions."

The mist once again enveloped the Secret Realm, but this time, Lin Yang knew that he was one step closer to the Misty Forbidden Land where his mother was trapped.