180: Natal Magic Treasure

Without the slightest hesitation, the Slug swiftly crawled onto the damp rocks on the shore, a flash of light shimmering around its body as it gently spat out Lin Feng.

Lin Feng’s figure stumbled, but he immediately steadied himself.

His face was pale, his aura weak, and his clothes were tattered; it was clear his injuries were not light.

He looked back one last time at the faint, rolling mountain range shrouded in dark clouds in the direction of the Heavenly Demon Palace, without a shred of lingering attachment.

After retracting the Slug and summoning the wine immortal gourd, his figure flickered, transforming into a pale golden Escaping Light.

He dove into the vast mountain range in the direction opposite to the Heavenly Demon Palace without hesitation, disappearing into the dense primeval forest in an instant.

Several days later, deep within a remote mountain range, Lin Feng excavated a simple, temporary Immortal Cave.

After setting up a few warning Restrictions, he began his closed-door cultivation to focus entirely on healing his injuries.

He consumed some Qi-replenishing Medicinal Pills, guiding the medicinal power to nourish his damaged Meridians while circulating the Nine Profound Sword Heart Art to slowly wear away the residual Demonic Path power within his body.

Days passed, and Spiritual Qi circulated endlessly within the Immortal Cave; his complexion gradually returned to a healthy glow, and his aura grew stronger by the day.

Two months later, Lin Feng slowly opened his eyes. The sharp light in his gaze was restrained, and the Spiritual Qi throughout his body flowed smoothly and effortlessly.

His injuries had finally fully healed, and his cultivation had completely recovered to the Peak of the Late Foundation Establishment Stage.

With his injuries gone, his mind had leisure.

He could not help but recall the bits and pieces of his discussion on the Dao with the Saintess at the Illusory Moon Sect, especially the profound insights regarding how the "Five Elements divide into Yin and Yang."

This insight was like a seed planted in his heart; now that he was calm, it began to quietly sprout.

His Nine Profound Sword Heart Art could derive Sword Essence of different attributes.

In the past when facing enemies, he mostly relied on the mutual generation and Restriction of Sword Essence attributes, condensing multi-attribute Sword Essence into a single sword, but he always felt he hadn't fully utilized its wondrous potential.

"The Saintess once said that all things carry Yin and embrace Yang. This is true for Spiritual Qi, and surely it must be the same for the Dao of Artifact Refining.

If I could refine multiple Flying Swords, each perfectly attuned to a strand of Sword Essence I have condensed, and even further contain the changes of Yin and Yang... when facing an enemy, all the swords could be unleashed together, resonating with each other to form a sword Formation..."

Once this thought arose, it was like a spark setting a prairie ablaze, impossible to contain.

He thought of the extreme softness and entanglement of the water sword, the explosive attack power of the fire sword, the indestructibility of the metal sword, the vitality and binding of the wood sword, and the heavy defense of the earth sword... If they could all be unleashed together, what a sight that would be?

"If subdivided according to the Five Elements and Yin and Yang, the number of swords required would likely not be small..." He calculated secretly, "If I conceive it initially according to the numbers of the Heavenly Spirits and Earthly Fiends, perhaps... seventy-two? Would that not fit the mystery of the movement of the heavens?"

Thinking of this, Lin Feng felt his mind suddenly open up, as if he had seen an unprecedented path to the heavens.

This path of the Lifebound Treasure was actually so magnificent!

This was no longer a simple matter of a single sword or a single artifact, but about creating a Lifebound sword Formation belonging to himself—one that could grow and evolve.

However, after careful consideration, he could not help but let out a long sigh.

Setting aside the monumental task of collecting Materials to refine seventy-two Flying Swords of varying attributes and superior quality, even the secret techniques in the Nine Profound Sword Heart Art regarding how to deeply integrate Sword Essence with Magic Treasures were beyond his current Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation to fully grasp.

"It seems that to refine this Formation, the primary task remains Core Formation." Lin Feng suppressed the excitement in his heart and calmed down. "Only after Core Formation will the subsequent content of the Cultivation Technique appear, allowing me to know how to nurture and refine this set of Lifebound sword Formation."

Just as Lin Feng was planning his future path of cultivation and his mind slightly relaxed, a faint fluctuation came from one of the warning Restrictions he had set up outside the Immortal Cave.

Lin Feng instantly became alert, suppressing his aura completely, and cautiously extended his Divine Sense.

He saw that in the forest outside the Immortal Cave, two Foundation Establishment Mid-stage Cultivators had appeared at some unknown time. Their movements were furtive, and they were holding a compass-shaped Magical Artifact, searching all around.

"Are they passing by, or are they coming for me?" Lin Feng’s heart tightened.

He believed he had concealed his tracks well; how could someone have tracked him here?

The two lingered outside the Immortal Cave for a moment, and the short, stout one scratched his head and said, "The compass points to this vicinity, so why is there no trace at all? Could it be a mistake?"

"It cannot be wrong." The other Tall, Thin Cultivator stared intently at the compass, his tone certain. "This 'Qi-Seeking Compass' was bestowed by Master, specifically for finding the aura of that object. Since it points here, there must be something strange. Search carefully; perhaps there is a hidden mystery."

The Tall, Thin Cultivator holding the compass walked closer and closer, then suddenly let out an "Eh," a look of uncertainty and surprise appearing on his face.

The needle on the compass in his hand stopped spinning wildly and instead trembled slightly, pointing toward an area of scattered rocks behind and to the side of the entrance to Lin Feng’s Immortal Cave.

"Senior Brother, look! The needle is fixed there! The aura is much stronger than before!" the Tall, Thin Cultivator lowered his voice.

The short, stout Cultivator heard this and also leaned over, and the two began to carefully rummage around the pile of rocks.

A moment later, the short, stout Cultivator suddenly dug out a strange, palm-sized, pitch-black stone covered with natural holes from a crevice in the rocks.

As soon as the stone was unearthed, it emitted an extremely subtle yet exceptionally pure Yin-cold Qi.

"It's Profound Yin Stone! And it's a Medium Grade Profound Yin Stone of excellent quality!" the short, stout Cultivator said with pleasant surprise. "No wonder the Qi-Seeking Compass reacted! It must be that someone fought here before, or a Yao Beast died, leaving this item buried here, and it has just been revealed due to changes in the earth's Qi!"

Lin Feng saw this clearly from within the Formation, and he understood immediately.

So these two were here for this accidentally revealed Artifact Refining material, not because they had discovered him.

This Profound Yin Stone contained pure Profound Yin Qi and was indeed a good material for cultivating Yin-cold Cultivation Techniques or refining certain special Magical Artifacts; it was no wonder it had attracted covetous attention.

He breathed a slight sigh of relief, but his heart immediately tightened again.

Because the Tall, Thin Cultivator was holding the Profound Yin Stone, but there was not much joy on his face; instead, his gaze swept over the surroundings even more sharply, especially in the direction of the entrance to Lin Feng’s Immortal Cave.

"Something is not right..." the Tall, Thin Cultivator pondered. "Although the aura of this Profound Yin Stone is pure, it seems... a bit too fresh, as if it was just taken from deep underground not long ago. Moreover, the flow of Spiritual Qi in the vicinity seems slightly abnormal, as if it has been slightly disturbed by something."

As he spoke, he raised the compass again. This time, he did not search the ground but slowly injected his own Spiritual Qi into it. The compass light flickered slightly, and the needle began to shift slowly, finally trembling as it pointed toward the location of the Restriction at the entrance to Lin Feng’s Immortal Cave.

"Here! There is a concealment Formation!" the Tall, Thin Cultivator let out a low shout, a fierce look flashing in his eyes.

Lin Feng cursed inwardly.

This compass Magical Artifact was so sensitive that it could even detect the faint Spiritual Qi disturbance caused by the Restriction he had carefully set up.

It seemed this would not end peacefully.

Although he did not want trouble, trouble seemed to always find him.

Since he could not avoid it, he would strike first.

Lin Feng flashed out from the Restriction. Before the opponents could react, a strand of Geng-metal Sword Qi from his right hand shot toward the Tall, Thin Cultivator holding the compass like lightning.

However, the Tall, Thin Cultivator was, after all, at the Foundation Establishment Mid-stage. Although startled, he was not flustered, and in his haste, he summoned a bone shield to block in front of him.

However, Lin Feng’s Geng-metal Sword Essence focused on slaughter, was peerlessly sharp, and had been gathered for a long time. With a soft "chi" sound, the bone shield was pierced through.

The remaining momentum of the Sword Qi did not fade, striking the right arm of the Tall, Thin Cultivator holding the compass directly.