157: Cultivating Linglian

Lin Yan returned to the Small Valley and planted several types of Spirit Lotuses in the near-shore and mid-shallow water zones of the small pond where he raised the Dragon Carp.

As the lotus roots entered the mud, he flicked his finger, and Wood-element life force as thin as silk seeped into the root fibers.

After a round of resonance catalysis, the hearts of the Spirit Lotus leaves trembled slightly, as if they had just woken from a dream, and their vitality revived.

For the next few days, Lin Yan used the Azure Emperor Longevity Art every day to stimulate the lotus leaves' breathing until the spirit plant system panel appeared.

[spirit plant Name: Dust-Cleansing Lotus]

[Growth Progress: 457/10000]

[Plant Characteristic: Can significantly improve water quality]

[Growth State: Continuous catalysis, experience +3]

[Absorbing a small amount of Spiritual Qi, experience +1]

...[spirit plant Name: Jade Dew Lotus]

[Growth Progress: 537/10000]

[Plant Characteristic: Can secrete spirit dew to activate the water body]

[Growth State: Continuous catalysis, experience +3]

[Absorbing a small amount of Spiritual Qi, experience +1]

...The Spirit Lotuses one by one took root thoroughly in the pond.

Strands of shimmering light radiated from the surface of the lotus leaves, turning into wisps of Spiritual Qi mist that hung without dissipating.

The small pond looked like an immortal pond.

The water purification effect of the Spirit Lotuses was also very obvious.

In just a few days, the small pond became crystal clear to the eye.

The originally slightly murky water now seemed as if an invisible hand had swept over it; all suspended particles were gone, and the fine sand and pebbles at the bottom of the pond were perfectly visible.

The dissolved Spiritual Qi in the pond rose significantly, thoroughly joining the ranks of Spirit Springs.

The pond water had contained quite a bit of Spiritual Qi before, but it always felt like something was missing compared to a true Spirit Spring.

Now, Lin Yan finally understood.

For the improvement of a water body, Spiritual Qi is only one aspect; all factors must complement each other to become a true Spirit Spring.

Several Dragon Carp broke the surface from the depths, their mouths brushing the edges of the lotus leaves and splashing tiny droplets of water.

The golden scales of the Dragon Carp shined in the sun, appearing even more spirited than before.

Lin Yan sat cross-legged on a bluestone by the pond, his palm resting on the water's surface as he silently circulated the Azure Emperor Longevity Art to continue catalyzing the Spirit Lotuses... Time flowed like water, and the various spirit plants in the Small Valley grew prosperously.

Lin Yan's cultivation was also rising rapidly.

Every time he catalyzed a spirit plant, it was a form of efficient Dual Cultivation.

If a spirit plant underwent mutation or evolution, it would even provide a significant boost to his cultivation.

Lin Yan's spiritual power cultivation unknowingly broke through to the fifth level of Foundation Establishment.

Even more pleasing was that his control over Sword Intent had progressed further, reaching the level of fifth-turn Sword Intent.

Comprehending Sword Intent in the Foundation Establishment Realm already made one a Genius swordsman; raising Sword Intent to the fifth-turn Realm was impossible for an ordinary Foundation Establishment swordsman.

Let alone relying on oneself, even with a fifth-turn Sword Grass, it might not be possible.

That Lin Yan could achieve this was naturally thanks to his Innate Sword Bone.

Over the past year, he had continuously buried Flood Dragon fertilizer for the Dragon Blood Grass in the spirit field, and had successfully grown five more stalks of Dragon Marrow Grass.

[spirit plant Name: Dragon Marrow Grass]

[Growth Progress: 3436/10000]

[Plant Characteristic: Contains Water-element Dragon Marrow power; refining it can improve Water Spiritual Root]

[Growth State: None]

...Now, there were a total of six stalks of Dragon Marrow Grass in the spirit field.

Every stalk of Dragon Marrow Grass bestowed a strand of True Dragon Bloodline upon Lin Yan.

Thanks to these True Dragon Bloodlines, Lin Yan's Innate Sword Bone was further activated, and it now possessed remarkable power.

Not only did it increase Lin Yan's affinity with the Dao of the Sword, but it also directly granted him a powerful force of Innate Sword Qi.

Although this Innate Sword Qi could not yet compare to Blood Without Trace's Blood Domain power, it was enough to sweep away ordinary Cultivators of the same Realm.

Lin Yan's combat power ceiling was raised accordingly.

Unfortunately, there was still too little Dragon Marrow Grass.

The True Dragon Bloodline in Lin Yan's body was still relatively weak, completely incomparable to Gong Chenlong's Dragon Blood Battle Body; they were not on the same level.

Moreover, the fertilizer made from Flood Dragon flesh and blood seemed to have lost its effect on the Dragon Blood Grass.

No new Dragon Marrow Grass had appeared for several months.

According to the System's description, Dragon Blood Grass favored dragon blood the most.

[spirit plant Name: Dragon Blood Grass]

[Growth Progress: 687/1000]

[Plant Characteristic: Watering with dragon blood can significantly increase growth progress and mutation probability]

[Growth State: None]

...Most of the blood qi in that Flood Dragon had dissipated before it died, and Lin Yan had sucked dry its Dragon Essence, so the effect was greatly reduced.

"Now my only hope is the Dragon Carp." He placed his hopes on the Dragon Carp... Striking while the iron was hot, Lin Yan planned to refine that stalk of sixth-turn sword grass he had obtained from the Sword Tomb.

Sitting cross-legged under the Azure Blade Willow, he took out the sixth-turn sword grass, whose leaves were like slender swords, and placed it across his knees.

He activated his spiritual power to refine the Sword Grass and strip away the impurities.

The sharp leaves emitted a very faint humming sound and slowly turned to ash, finally leaving behind only pure Sword Intent spiritual charm.

He decisively absorbed the spiritual charm into his body.

Suddenly, the willow's shadow darkened, and an invisible sword seemed to descend from the Nine Heavens, hanging above Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness.

The spiritual charm of the Six-fold Sword Intent and Lin Yan's own Sword Intent clashed violently within his Sea of Consciousness.

One moment was like a ten-thousand-foot ice cliff collapsing, the next like a spring river breaking through the ice to return to the sea.

Every clash shaved away redundancy from his insights into the Dao of the Sword, extracting the essence.

Every ebb and flow polished the newly born Sword Intent to be even purer.

Before long, everything returned to tranquility.

In an instant, Lin Yan's Aura rose by ten feet, his sleeves fluttered, and his eyes seemed to contain a reversing river of swords.

His fifth-turn Sword Intent broke through to the sixth turn.

"I wonder if my current strength is enough to fight against Prodigies like Gong Chenlong and Blood Without Trace?"

A confident expression appeared on Lin Yan's face.

Judging by the combat power shown that day in the True Dragons Nest Secret Realm, even if he wasn't as strong as those two Prodigies, he wasn't far off.

At least he wouldn't be crushed and would have the power to fight.

As Lin Yan progressed rapidly, the Azure Blade Willow, which was connected to his Origin, also received feedback and accelerated its growth.

[Heaven and Earth Spiritual Root: Azure Blade Willow]

[Growth Progress: 340579/100000000]

[Dao Fruit Progress: 2.3%]

[Spiritual Root Characteristic: Significantly increases a Cultivator's sword Dao Comprehension Ability]

[Growth State: None]

The growth progress of the Dao Fruit finally showed a significant increase.

The Dao Fruit, which was originally as small as a pinpoint of light, was finally visible in its specific form.

Although it was only the size of a mung bean, upon closer inspection, one could see fine Dao patterns shimmering with a faint light, exquisite and profound.

Lin Yan also discovered a pattern: the improvement of his own sword Dao cultivation could significantly accelerate the growth of the Dao Fruit.

The growth of the Azure Blade Willow itself was even greater than that of the Dao Fruit.

It had now reached the fourth-tier level, acting like a fourth-tier Spiritual Vein, continuously gushing out dense Spiritual Qi.

The improvement of the Azure Blade Willow caused the Thousand Wood Spirit Raising Formation arranged by Lin Yan to improve as well.

Now, this Formation had reached the fourth-tier level, linking over a hundred Spirit Woods in the valley.

Although the other Spirit Woods had not yet grown up, the Azure Blade Willow itself was simply too powerful.

Lin Yan's Small Valley could now block Purple Mansion Cultivators; even Golden Core Cultivators would have to expend some effort to force their way in.