339: Level 5 Spiritual Water and Spiritual Soil (three-in-one thanks to the romantic fish in the rain the next day)

Inside Laiyue Restaurant.

Lin Shiming suddenly froze, and this pause immediately made Lin Houwei confused.

"Shiming?"

"Thirteenth Uncle, if possible, try your best to become his Disciple!" Lin Shiming was roused by Lin Houwei, his mind still filled with pleasant surprise.

One must know that the Lin Family currently only had two Earth Rank Cultivation Techniques: his Kui Wood Sword Scripture, and the Star Body Tempering Art. Both of these had many restrictions.

Now, the System's prompt pointed to Nine Heavens Hermit, and becoming his Disciple would grant a water-attribute Earth Rank Cultivation Technique.

How could he not be surprised!

Moreover, he suddenly recalled the anomaly after Nine Heavens Hermit drank last time. Perhaps Nine Heavens Hermit wasn't simply drinking.

After all, no matter how much he loved spirit wine, exchanging a Third-Order spirit wine for refining a Fourth-Order Magic Treasure was a bit strange.

The spirit wine he sought might even be related to his Cultivation Technique.

This would explain why Nine Heavens Hermit was looking for new spirit wine, and didn't care whether the spirit wine was delicious or not!

Otherwise, he could have continued to exchange for Fourth-Order spirit wine.

"Shiming, it's not good for me to become a Disciple. It would be better for Shizhong to become one, he is an Artifact Refiner!" Lin Houwei frowned.

He was used to being lazy, so he naturally wasn't willing to find a Master to restrain him.

Even within the Lin Family, he sometimes felt unable to do as he pleased.

"Thirteenth Uncle, are you sure? The other party is Nine Heavens Hermit, and his Cultivation Technique might even be related to spirit wine!" Lin Shiming couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"Perhaps he can Cultivate just by continuously drinking!"

"Is that so?" Lin Houwei's eyes lit up. He had naturally heard of Nine Heavens Hermit's reputation—one of the Ten Great Daoists, and also a Fourth-Order Artifact Refiner. Many Families and Sects wanted to bring Nine Heavens Hermit into their forces.

It was just that the demands he made were too outrageous.

Few forces in the Eastern Region could meet them, and for those large Sects, who even had Fifth-Order Artifact Refiners, they naturally wouldn't rely too much on Nine Heavens Hermit!

"It's still simple to find spirit wine that Nine Heavens Hermit hasn't drunk in the South Sea!" Lin Shiming spoke again.

Lin Houwei, like Nine Heavens Hermit, was extremely fond of alcohol. Sending him to the South Sea Cultivation World would naturally allow him to find enough spirit wine. Then, going to find Nine Heavens Hermit, there was a high probability of becoming his Disciple.

What's more, Lin Houwei also had Three Spiritual Roots of metal, earth, and water, making him perfectly suited to Cultivate a water-attribute Earth Rank Cultivation Technique.

Seeing Lin Houwei nod, Lin Shiming finally relaxed.

After discussing some more details, becoming a Disciple and retrieving the treasure naturally couldn't happen simultaneously; it had to be gradual.

Otherwise, with the cautiousness of a Loose Cultivator, he would never agree to the Lin Family's request.

Of course, he only needed to point the direction; with his Thirteenth Uncle's intelligence, he could naturally handle the specific details.

"Oh right, Thirteenth Uncle, the Family now needs to buy land within the Spirit Talisman Sect to create the illusion of migrating there!" After Lin Shiming gave a few more instructions, he then considered the Family's fallback plan.

While disrupting the perception of demonic and blood Cultivators could work, only a multi-faceted approach could truly stabilize the Heavenly Demon Sect!

As long as Lin Shiming was in the Qingxuan Sect for one day, he wouldn't need to worry about the Qingxuan Sect attacking the Lin Family. However, True Person Liuhe of the Heavenly Demon Sect was not in this category!

If Lin Shiming did such a dangerous thing without the Lin Family having a good fallback plan, the Heavenly Demon Sect might instead believe that the Lin Family and the Qingxuan Sect were colluding.

That would be counterproductive!

Before that, he had to consider whether his main body should enter Qingxuan Mountain!

If he didn't enter Qingxuan Mountain, the blood demon disc Magic Treasure might not be concealed. If he did enter Qingxuan Mountain, he had to consider how to retreat from Qingxuan Mountain unscathed.

However, after considering it, Lin Shiming helplessly realized that he had no choice.

If he didn't bring the blood demon disc in, True Person Liuhe wouldn't give him a chance to leave Qingxuan City, and might even directly activate the blood demon disc.

Even if he stayed in Qingxuan City until Immortal Master Divine Machine broke through, he wouldn't have any good outcome.

Entering, however, could offer a sliver of hope, and that sliver of hope was precisely Yan Yang, the Spirit Communication Sword.

He naturally couldn't place all his hopes on the Demonic Sect and the blood demon disc.

Feeling a seed within the sword dao seed in his body desperately absorbing Sword Intent, he felt a slight sense of peace.

The moment the Sword Grass seed germinated, he would be able to fully communicate with Yan Yang, and with the power of the Spirit Communication Sword, escaping from the chaotic Qingxuan Sect should not be difficult!

With only three days left at Laiyue Restaurant, Lin Shiming continued to control his Clone, browsing the various shops in Qingxuan City.

Although the Spirit Gathering Platform's duration was ten years, he didn't think he actually had ten years.

Even if he had ten years, the time was still a bit short, and the fastest way for him to improve his strength was to Cultivate the Star Body Tempering Art.

Purchasing enough spirit water and spirit soil became his most urgent task at the moment.

However, after most of the day passed, Lin Shiming's expression wasn't good. Fourth-Order spirit soil and Fourth-Order spirit water were truly too rare; he hadn't found much even after visiting all the markets.

He even had a few tails appearing behind him.

He had indeed purchased a lot of Third-Order spirit water and Third-Order spirit soil, but for Cultivating the Star Body Tempering Art, it was still somewhat insufficient.

Lin Shiming shook his head, ignoring the tails behind him. Finally, he gritted his teeth and made a decision.

He came to Tianxiang Tower and found the manager from that day again.

"Fellow Daoist, would you like something?" The manager had a smiling face.

Lin Shiming didn't know if the other party had seen through his identity, but he knew that True Person Liuhe definitely knew.

"Just looking around!" Lin Shiming's tone was unhurried, not directly answering, but choosing to enter Tianxiang Tower.

He ordered a private room again, took the Tianxiang Tower's menu Jade Slip, and waved his hand, signaling the waiter to order.

The door opened, and the waiter walked in.

He raised his head and smiled slightly, only to see that the waiter who entered was the manager from just now.

"What would Fellow Daoist like to order? A private room requires a minimum spend of three thousand Spirit Stones!"

The manager still had the same expression as before, not caring about Lin Shiming's soft chuckle. He skillfully spread out the menu Jade Slip and handed it to Lin Shiming.

"This will do!" Lin Shiming's Divine Sense moved, ordering a few Spirit Cuisines and a spirit wine, then returned the Jade Slip.

Finally, he closed his eyes slightly, waiting quietly.

"Fellow Daoist, please wait!" The manager took the Jade Slip and bowed before retreating.

The door closed, and Lin Shiming also let out a long breath. Just now, he had already carved 'spirit soil' and 'spirit water' onto the Jade Slip.

Since True Person Liuhe was willing to pay a damaged Spirit Treasure, he naturally wouldn't be stingy with some spirit soil and spirit water.

Of course, if True Person Liuhe was indeed stingy, then he would just consider it a trip to Tianxiang Tower to drink a pot of spirit wine and eat a Spirit Cuisine.

Even a condemned man gets a last meal!

Lin Shiming relaxed, looking at the sky of Qingxuan City outside the window, and suddenly felt a sense of openness.

His body also felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

White clouds, blue sky, and a pot of fine wine—it was perfect for enjoying the long-awaited dusk.

The spirit wine and Spirit Cuisine were served quickly. As the second-best restaurant in Qingxuan City after Laiyue Restaurant, the spirit wine and Spirit Cuisine were all excellent in color, aroma, and taste, and the Spiritual Qi was even more abundant.

The spirit wine was Third-Order Seven Night Fragrance, but Lin Shiming was hesitant because there were two wine pots.

He pondered for a moment, picked up the second wine pot, and instantly felt the spatial sensation of a Storage Ring appear.

Lin Shiming nodded slightly, and began to drink and eat the Spirit Cuisine with increasing composure.

He didn't leave until he had drunk three rounds of wine.

As soon as he returned to Laiyue Restaurant, he found that Lin Houwei, Lin Zewen, and Lin Zeli had already departed.

However, none of the three rooms had been checked out.

Lin Shiming entered his room, activated the Formation, and continued to rest with his eyes closed, not immediately entering the Grotto-heaven World to check.

Facing True Person Liuhe, he dared not rashly open it and enter without a System prompt.

Otherwise, if there were a hidden trap like with the blood demon disc, he would regret it endlessly!

It wasn't until dawn that Lin Shiming exhaled a turbid breath and put the jade pot into the Grotto-heaven World.

Lin Shiming's main body also stepped down from the high platform and took the jade pot.

His Divine Sense probed in, and Lin Shiming immediately beamed with joy. He saw that in the small storage space, there were fifty catties of Fourth-Order spirit water and ten square meters of Fourth-Order spirit soil.

Of course, what surprised him the most were the two jade boxes in the corner.

Within one of the jade boxes, the flowing spirit water was like living water, extraordinarily agile.

And within the other jade box, there was an even more miraculous spirit soil, glowing brightly.

Lin Shiming took out the spirit water and spirit soil, his heart filled with extraordinary excitement. He opened the jade boxes.

Boom!

Soaring Spiritual Qi surged out, actually transforming into countless anomalies that rose up.

"Fifth-Order spirit water and Fifth-Order spirit soil!"

Lin Shiming's breathing was a little hurried, and almost as soon as the spirit water and spirit soil were revealed, a sudden, urgent Divine Sense fluctuation from the Star Spirit Shell came from his mind.

Desire, intense desire!

It was a desire even more excited than when Wang Jiao found a High-Grade Spirit Stone mine!

With a swirl of starlight, the Star Spirit Shell also arrived before Lin Shiming.

Countless tentacles surged out from the spirit shell, wanting to devour the Fifth-Order spirit water and spirit soil!

Lin Shiming flicked his sleeve, putting away the Fifth-Order spirit water and Fifth-Order spirit soil.

From the Star Spirit Shell's emotional fluctuations, Lin Shiming estimated that this Fifth-Order spirit water and spirit soil could definitely allow the Star Spirit Shell to break through to a Fourth-Order Great Demon.

But at this moment, it was not the time for the Star Spirit Shell to break through. He needed a large amount of star spirit floss to assist him in Cultivating the Star Body Tempering Art.

After a good while of appeasing the Star Spirit Shell, Lin Shiming finally took out the Fourth-Order spirit water and spirit soil, handed them to the Star Spirit Shell, and for the first time, let the Star Spirit Shell eat to its heart's content.

The Star Spirit Shell was extremely satisfied, letting out a few gurgling cries.

It began to devour the Fourth-Order spirit soil and spirit water. However, it was still daytime, so the Star Spirit Shell couldn't produce star spirit floss yet.

But judging from the Star Spirit Shell's consumption, these Fourth-Order spirit water and Fourth-Order spirit soil were definitely enough.

Lin Shiming finally relaxed, and once again looked at True Person Liuhe's boldness with renewed admiration!

He took out the recently produced star spirit floss and began to slowly practice the Star Body Tempering Art.

Time flowed like water, and night quietly arrived!

Inside the Grotto-heaven World, the stars were like a sea, exceptionally beautiful!

Lin Shiming looked up, his expression a little strange, because in his eyes, the starry sky above, at some unknown point, had become like the star map in the Star Body Tempering Art's Jade Slip.

Dazzling, boundless!

And at some unknown point, the Star Spirit Shell floated in the air. Its shell also began to show individual star points, these star points were exceptionally bright, and corresponded one by one with the stars in the sky.

The entire spirit shell fully opened, revealing the Star Spirit Shell's tentacle-like head and countless tentacles, and at the very center of the spirit shell, clusters of extremely dazzling star spirit floss slowly drifted out!

Lin Shiming only felt his heart rate accelerate, overjoyed. As expected, the star spirit floss produced by the Star Spirit Shell devouring Fourth-Order spirit water and Fourth-Order spirit soil was completely different.

As soon as the star spirit floss appeared, countless Spirit Fish leaped out of the water, leaping towards the Star Spirit Shell.

Starlight descended, Star Spirit Shells opened, and Spirit Fish leaped from the lake, creating a spectacular scene that made Lin Shiming's eyes momentarily freeze!

Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

Not only the Spirit Fish, but the Golden Winged Mantis resting nearby also unfurled its six wings, transforming into a golden streak of light, ready to devour the star spirit floss.

Roar!

The Dragon roared, baring its fangs and claws, flying towards the star spirit floss.

However, when they both arrived, they only saw Lin Shiming's figure standing at the very front.

This star spirit floss was essential for Lin Shiming's Cultivation of the Star Body Tempering Art, so he naturally wouldn't give it up.

The Dragon and the Golden Winged Mantis immediately roared and squeaked, quite agitated. Lin Shiming soothed them with his Divine Soul, then gave them a large amount of Beast Nurturing Pills and Mianyang Pills to eat. He also promised them an early bath before they finally calmed down.

Lin Shiming finally absorbed the star spirit floss into his body. He immediately felt a massive surge of Spiritual Qi pouring into his entire body, then injecting into every inch of his skin!

That feeling of fullness was unprecedented!

Lin Shiming dared not delay and quickly circulated the Star Body Tempering Art.

At this moment, if one were to look from the outside, Lin Shiming's body would resemble an ancient star map, magnificent, mysterious, and vast!

Two days passed in a blink of an eye. Lin Shiming opened his eyes, feeling as if starlight shot out from them.

Countless Spiritual Qi overflowed, as if propelled by a force.

Lin Shiming stood up, feeling the powerful strength within his body and was overjoyed.

At this speed, it wouldn't be long before he could Breakthrough to the Mid Purple Mansion Realm for Body Cultivators!

In the future, when he needed to escape, he would have an extra chance of success!

If it weren't for today being the day to enter the spirit platform, Lin Shiming would not have stopped.

True Person Liuhe had truly given him a great gift this time.

Lin Shiming's main body, after a long absence, walked out of the Grotto-heaven World, put the Book of Hidden Paths into his body, switched his Cultivation Technique path to the illusion of the Purple Wood Heart Sutra, and then applied dozens of Seals to the Storage Pouch containing the blood demon disc before placing it inside the five-colored silkworm coffin, and finally putting it into the Grotto-heaven World!

Besides this, he spent another half an hour organizing everything, making sure there were no issues.

Only then did Lin Shiming leave Laiyue Restaurant and head towards Qingxuan Mountain.

After ascending the Ascension Ladder, he reached the Sect gate of Qingxuan Sect. In front of the Sect gate, Xie An was already waiting, as if he had been there for a long time.

"Senior Brother!" Lin Shiming looked at Xie An and cupped his hands in greeting.

"Shiming, Master was worried you wouldn't know the location of Shenji Peak, so he specifically asked me to come and guide you!"

"This spirit platform is a Fifth-Order spirit platform. You must cherish the ten years you have there; it's entirely possible to Breakthrough to another level!" Xie An said with a smile, introducing it.

Lin Shiming also nodded with a smile, indicating his understanding and expressing his gratitude.

The two arrived at Shenji Peak. The four main Peaks of Qingxuan Sect each had their own characteristics.

Tianjian Peak was perilous, towering into the clouds, and incredibly steep.

Shenji Peak was also towering but appeared much broader, even resembling a Bagua disc from afar, quite peculiar.

The two passed through several checkpoints and ascended Shenji Peak. The Spiritual Qi that washed over them made Lin Shiming's expression relax considerably.

And this was just on Shenji Peak; when they truly reached the spirit platform of the Fifth-Order Spiritual Vein, the Spiritual Qi would likely be even more like a surging tide!

While Lin Shiming was contemplating, they quickly arrived in front of a grand hall.

In the hall, there were already many Cultivators, and what made Lin Shiming somewhat surprised was that many of them were new Cultivators who had just joined Qingxuan Sect. Being arranged to the spirit platform so soon after joining made him feel a bit strange.

Lin Shiming even saw Xuanfeng Sanren, who was also on the inner side of the hall, apparently waiting to be led.

Lin Shiming looked at Xie An, but Xie An clearly had no intention of speaking at the moment, so Lin Shiming calmed down, remaining silent and waiting quietly.

While waiting, Cultivators continuously entered the hall, including Named Disciples from several Foundation Establishment Families and Purple Mansion Families.

Lin Shiming had paid attention to them before, and it was clear that these Cultivators also practiced special Cultivation Techniques.

After another half an incense stick's time, a Cultivator wearing the robes of a Shenji Peak Elder walked out from the inner side of the main hall.

"This is Senior Brother Li Qing!" Xie An's voice transmission echoed in Lin Shiming's mind.

Lin Shiming nodded. He had heard of Daoist Li Qing; he had long reached the Peak Purple Mansion Realm and was ready to Breakthrough to the Golden Core Realm at any time, but due to insufficient foundation and confidence, he had not yet made the Breakthrough!

"Everyone, follow me. The spirit platform is within the Shenji Peak's core, connected to the Dragon Vein. Remember not to carelessly release your Divine Sense, or you will bear the consequences!"

After Daoist Li Qing briefly explained some precautions, he led the Cultivators into a side of the hall.

Lin Shiming followed among them. From his sleeve, a miniature Spirit Devouring Ant subtly peeked out its head, then retracted it.

His expression was normal, and he let out a sigh of relief, but he did not immediately put the Spirit Devouring Ant into his spirit beast pouch.

The Spirit Devouring Ant could sense the strength of Formations and, through the spirit contract, feed it back to him, forming a map of Formation strengths in his mind.

He could even sense some Formation cores.

He subtly exposed the Spirit Devouring Ant to test the System's prompt. Since the System didn't prompt, he could continue probing with confidence.

Time quickly passed, and they arrived at a large hall within the mountain.

A massive hall space had been excavated within the mountain, with countless Immortal Caves densely packed like a honeycomb.

This spirit platform clearly ascended from inside the mountain to the top, with each level isolated by Formations.

Through the hollow in the center, the Spiritual Qi of the Spiritual Vein ascended, forming the spirit platform Cultivation chambers.

Before entering the spirit platform space, there was a towering stone gate. On the stone gate, countless spirit runes were intricately carved, so dense that they made one dizzy.

"Everyone, take out your Qingxuan Tokens!" Daoist Li Qing spoke again.

Lin Shiming and the other Cultivators all took out their tokens.

"Hold your tokens and pass through the gate. Of course, if any Cultivator harbors ill intentions or malice towards the Sect, they should cut ties early, for this gate is a Fifth-Order Magic Treasure!" Daoist Li Qing sneered.

However, these words did not cause any commotion among the Cultivators. Even if they truly harbored ill intentions, Cultivators who could reach this point would not be foolish enough to show it.

Everyone lined up and entered one by one. Upon entering the stone gate, the torrential Spiritual Qi, like a storm, surged up from underground, one after another, causing many Cultivators' eyes to gleam with wonder.

Lin Shiming was equally astonished. This was the foundation of a Golden Core Sect; just this Spiritual Vein alone...

The Lin Family would probably need hundreds or even thousands of years to catch up!

The speed of Cultivation within it was absolutely incomparable to the outside world.

And this was still the upper part of the spirit platform. He couldn't imagine how dense the Spiritual Qi would be in the depths of the spirit platform, near the Spiritual Vein.

After all the Cultivators had entered, Daoist Li Qing again began to introduce:

"Qi Refining Cultivators stay on the first and second levels and quickly specialize in their Cultivation Techniques!"

"Foundation Establishment Cultivators go to the third and fourth levels below!"

"Purple Mansion Cultivators, the fifth and sixth levels!"

"Once you enter a stone chamber, it will close and will not open again for ten years!"

"Additionally, if a stone chamber has Spirit Light, it means there is a Cultivator in seclusion inside. No Spirit Light means no Cultivator. Remember to move lightly, no loud noises, offenders will be executed without mercy!"

After Daoist Li Qing finished speaking, he led the way down to the lower levels.

And Lin Shiming indeed saw many Cultivators in quite a few rooms.

This made Lin Shiming hesitate.

If Divine Machine was a place for Breakthrough, there wouldn't be so many Sect Disciples, unless these Cultivators also practiced special Cultivation Techniques.

Lin Shiming was utterly perplexed. Moreover, he found that the stone gate hadn't even collected the Spirit Devouring Ant, nor had there been any sound or System prompt!

Although extremely puzzled, he quickly found a stone chamber, entered it, and began to Cultivate.

Several days quietly passed again, and just then, his Qingxuan Token suddenly lit up.

And with a burst of light, the glow of a Teleportation Array actually appeared.

Lin Shiming's heart immediately pounded. He understood that this teleportation was the true one that would send them to the place where Immortal Master Divine Machine would Breakthrough.

The Qingxuan Token was also a teleportation token.

The teleportation Spirit Light came and went quickly. Lin Shiming opened his eyes again, finding that his surroundings were completely unchanged, and the Spiritual Qi density was also almost the same!

He pushed the door, but it still wouldn't open.

"Please hide the Spirit Devouring Ant, circulate the Book of Hidden Paths to modify your Cultivation Technique fluctuations, empty your Divine Sense, and circulate the Purple Wood Heart Sutra!"

The System prompt suddenly appeared, and Lin Shiming immediately straightened up. He knew that the inspection was coming.

He put away the Spirit Devouring Ant, circulated the Book of Hidden Paths, and completely concealed his Cultivation fluctuations and everything else.

The next moment, Lin Shiming felt a special Divine Sense pass through, and the feeling of being seen through instantly surged.

Lin Shiming had experienced this feeling once before, when Immortal Master Divine Machine had probed his Divine Sense and Storage Pouch in the World Tower.

That Divine Sense fluctuation came and went quickly.

Lin Shiming's expression remained unchanged on the surface, but inwardly, he let out a huge sigh of relief.

He then, as per usual, took out a sound-insulating Formation and a detection Formation.

These Formations, even if a Golden Core Cultivator passed through them, could only be forcefully penetrated.

They could not observe him through the Formations.

After setting up ten of them, he took out the peach blossom river scenery painting. The five-colored silkworm coffin was also taken out, but the Storage Pouch containing the blood demon disc was not.

At this moment, even if the Grotto-heaven World was exposed, it wouldn't matter!

After completing all preparations, Lin Shiming returned to his calm state and did not immediately enter the Grotto-heaven World or release his Clone, but continued to close his eyes and rest.

He waited for the System prompt to refresh again!

The waiting time was incredibly agonizing, but he had to wait!

Otherwise, if his main body was discovered entering the Grotto-heaven the moment he entered, he would surely die.

Another day passed. Lin Shiming finally found an opportunity: his main body entered the Grotto-heaven, and his Clone emerged.

Only when the Clone truly began to circulate the Purple Wood Heart Sutra did Lin Shiming truly relax!

He just needed to wait for the seed to sprout, and for Divine Machine to Breakthrough!

To give him a Spirit Treasure!

!