20: Chapter 20 Peeping Gaze

Lin Chen picked up his crying daughter and gently wiped the tear stains and dust from Su Qingyao's face with his fingertips. However, his gaze drifted past the broken courtyard wall, past those fearful eyes, and fixed upon the vast and inevitably more cruel world to the east.

The morning light was cold, illuminating the wreckage in the courtyard in stark detail.

The lingering shock of last night's thunderous sound, which had seemed capable of overturning the entire Black Stone Town, still remained.

The collapsed courtyard wall had been torn open, leaving a jagged gap. Broken bricks and roof tiles were strewn everywhere. The bloodstains on the ground had already congealed into a dark brown, and several scorch marks from Spiritual Power still emitted a faint, acrid smell.

In the distance, the town residents, like a flock of frightened quail, gathered in twos and threes at the mouth of the alley, craning their necks to peer toward the Lin Mansion.

Their voices were kept very low. The buzzing of their discussions mingled with the morning breeze, unable to reach the courtyard, but the expressions on their faces—a mixture of awe, fear, and curiosity—were clearer than any words.

No one dared to approach.

That sudden, mountain-heavy pressure that had erupted last night, though it had lasted only for a brief moment, had already been deeply etched into the bones of everyone who had perceived it.

They did not know what it represented, only that the Lin Master, who usually kept to himself within the Lin Mansion, had likely become an existence beyond their comprehension.

A-Tu and Old Zhou worked together to drag the remains of the courtyard gate, which had been blasted to pieces, back to the doorframe. They managed to cobble it together and braced it firmly with a thick, long wooden pole.

Old Zhou's face still bore the bruises and swelling left after being taken by Outer Sect Deacon Wang Heng, but his eyes had changed. The previous traces of humbleness and cowardice had vanished, replaced by a composure and determination born of surviving a disaster.

Without a word, he brought a stool out from the room and sat right behind the damaged gate, clutching a sharpened wooden stick he had prepared last night. Like a silent gate god, he guarded this home that had just been baptized by blood and fire.

Inside the Meditation Room, the scent of medicine mingled with the smell of blood.

Lin Chen sat cross-legged, his face still as pale as paper.

He had successfully achieved Foundation Establishment, but the price was that his body had been nearly torn apart.

That massive Spiritual Power, formed by the convergence of four different forces, had shattered the barriers while simultaneously battering his already heavily injured body into a ruinous state.

At this moment, the newly formed Foundation Establishment Stage Spiritual Power was gently and bit by bit repairing the shattered bones of his left shoulder and his damaged Meridians. Each inch of new flesh growing was accompanied by a needle-like pain.

He diverted a sliver of his mind into the Storage Pouch at his waist, inspecting Outer Sect Deacon Wang Heng's Legacy.

Seventy-three Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

A low-grade magic sword with several small nicks on the blade; it was clearly not a precious item.

Two labeled Medicinal Pill bottles.

Five Qi-Enhancing Pills; ten Bigu Pills.

They were all the most basic goods.

A few sets of change-of-clothes that had been washed until they were somewhat stiff.

Finally, there was that dull-colored Jade Slip that had previously caused his stone ring to react.

He took out the Jade Slip and held it in his palm.

A cold sensation came from it, just as unremarkable as the last time.

He attempted to probe into it with a sliver of his Foundation Establishment Stage Divine Sense.

This time, it was completely different.

As soon as his Divine Sense touched the Jade Slip, the rough stone ring on his right thumb proactively sent a faint yet clear warm current.

This warm current did not enter his body, but instead flowed along his fingertips directly into the Jade Slip.

As if the correct key had been inserted into a dust-sealed lock, the dusty gray luster on the surface of the Jade Slip rippled slightly. Several lines of ancient seal script, which had originally been blurry and seemed ready to dissipate at any moment, emerged on the inner wall of the Jade Slip, becoming clear and legible.

"...Those with impure Spiritual Roots struggle to bear the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth. However, close blood relatives are connected by energy; one can draw upon Bloodline Power and nurture Spiritual Essence to compensate for deficiencies... This is a remnant of the 'Spirit Nourishing Technique'..."

The writing stopped abruptly there, and the content that followed remained a chaotic blur.

The warm current then receded, and the Jade Slip returned to its dim, lusterless state.

Lin Chen closed his eyes. Before he could even begin to ponder the meaning of those few lines of ancient script, a more direct stream of information flowed through the connection between the stone ring and his mind, imprinting itself directly into his brain.

[Detected incomplete ancient technique Legacy 'Spirit Nourishing Technique' (Introductory Chapter), partially compatible with the System [Bloodline Feedback] mechanism.]

[Do you wish to consume 10 points of [Family Prestige] to attempt to complete the basic principles of this chapter?]

[(Family Prestige: Initialized, currently at "Awe" level, can be accumulated slowly. After completion, it can slightly increase the probability of direct descendants inheriting high-quality Spiritual Roots upon birth.)]

He took a look at the [Awe: 15/100] points on the panel, which he had just obtained from killing Outer Sect Deacon Wang Heng and intimidating the entire town.

Increasing the probability of his descendants' Spiritual Roots—this was exactly what he needed most.

He did not hesitate in the slightest and thought silently, "Yes."

The numbers on the panel jumped instantly, dropping from 15 to 5.

The next moment, a set of cultivation concepts, a hundred times clearer and more complete than those few lines of ancient script, mingled with simple diagrams of how to guide and nurture Spiritual Qi within the Bloodline, poured into the depths of his memory like a sudden enlightenment.

It turned out that this 'Spirit Nourishing Technique' did not directly improve the grade of Spiritual Roots. Instead, it used a secret method: at the very beginning of a descendant's conception, using the father's essence and blood as a guide, it would slowly and harmlessly transfer the "Spiritual Essence"—the most refined and pure part—from his own Spiritual Root into the descendant's body, thereby achieving the goal of optimizing the next generation's constitution.

Although it was only a remnant, this door had already been opened for him.

Just as he was immersed in this unexpected joy, a sound of light footsteps came from the direction of the pill room.

Su Qingyao injected the last trace of wood-attribute Spiritual Power into the furnace, then wearily withdrew her hand.

The furnace fire had long since extinguished. Inside the cold Pill Furnace lay a pale green Medicinal Pill with a pitted surface and uneven, mottled colors.

It had no pill fragrance, only a rich, herbal smell.

This was the first time in her life that, without any guidance from a Pill Formula, relying solely on her own understanding of the properties of various Spiritual Plants and her countless past experiences in processing Spiritual Plants, she had forcibly refined a "Medicinal Pill."

She carefully used a small wooden spoon to take out this failed product, walked outside the Meditation Room, and without pushing open the door, spoke softly through the door panel in a tone that was almost like talking to herself: "I... I tried to refine a pill. The Green Jade Grass and Dendrobium inside might be able to help you with pain relief and accelerate bone healing."

"Come in."

Lin Chen's slightly hoarse voice came from inside the room.

Su Qingyao pushed the door open and entered, seeing Lin Chen still sitting cross-legged, though his complexion seemed slightly better than before.

She stepped forward and handed over the ugly pill.

Lin Chen took it, without the slightest disdain, and put it directly into his mouth.

As soon as the pill entered his throat, it turned into a rough, astringent medicinal power carrying a strong wood-attribute Spiritual Qi. It was far from being as pure and gentle as a Rejuvenation Pill, but the vitality contained within it truly alleviated the piercing pain in his left shoulder by a fraction.

He raised his head and looked at Su Qingyao.

There was a faint ring of dark circles around her eyes, which were filled with fine bloodshot veins; she had clearly not slept all night.

On the hands that had been busy with Spiritual Plants and the Pill Furnace, a few small blisters had been scorched onto her fingertips by the pill fire, which she herself seemed not to have noticed.

Lin Chen did not say any words of thanks, but simply reached out his still-movable right hand and gently held her cold hand.

Su Qingyao seemed to have been scalded; she abruptly lowered her head, and her eyes instantly turned red.

She quickly withdrew her hand, turned around without a word, and went back to guard outside the door.

At the other end of Black Stone Town, in an abandoned shack surrounded by trash and weeds.

A skinny man with a scar on his face was crouching behind a crack in the wall, staring intently at the Lin Mansion in the distance.

He was one of the few lackeys under Hong Biao who had luckily escaped during that massacre.

He saw A-Tu and Old Zhou cleaning the courtyard, and saw Su Qingyao going in and out with a medicine bowl, but from beginning to end, he had not seen Lin Chen's figure.

He had also felt that Foundation Establishment Stage pressure. He did not know whether Outer Sect Deacon Wang Heng was dead or alive.

He hesitated and struggled on the spot for a long time, but in the end, the instinct for survival overcame everything.

He did not look back again, but hunched over, snuck out of Black Stone Town, and ran toward the direction completely opposite to the Qingmu Sect, never looking back.

He clutched the last few pieces of broken Spirit Stones he had scavenged from Hong Biao's den in his arms, with only one thought in his mind: never return to this place again.

By evening, Lin Chen's injuries had finally stabilized under the effects of Spiritual Power and Medicinal Pills, and he was able to move around for short periods.

He called A-Tu and Old Zhou to his side.

Seeing him able to get out of bed, A-Tu was so excited that his eyes turned red, while Old Zhou appeared much more composed, simply bowing his body and listening quietly.

Lin Chen's voice was calm and clear: "From today on, there is no more Black Stone Gang in Black Stone Town. Those few mu of Spiritual Fields in the south of the town are ours. In the future, the Spiritual Grain produced, aside from our own usage, can be taken to the market to be exchanged for Spirit Stones or supplies."

He looked at the two of them and assigned the first set of duties since the birth of the Lin Mansion.

"A-Tu, you are smart and diligent. From now on, the work in the fields is entrusted to you—watering, weeding, and guarding. I will teach you to identify several basic Spiritual Plants and their habits."

"Old Zhou, you are steady, literate, and know how to keep accounts. You will manage all expenses, procurement of supplies, and simple dealings with the townspeople for the manor. Every month, you can draw a fixed amount of Spirit Stones or gold and silver from the manor's treasury as wages."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the damaged courtyard wall, "The first thing to do now is to repair the wall and get a new, sturdy courtyard gate. The money will come from these Spirit Stones left behind by Outer Sect Deacon Wang Heng."

"Yes, Master!" A-Tu nodded vigorously, his voice loud and clear.

Old Zhou bowed deeply and responded with a "Yes."

The Lin Mansion, for the first time, had a clear internal structure, like a crude but functioning machine.

Late at night, everything was silent.

Lin Chen checked Outer Sect Deacon Wang Heng's Storage Pouch again in the Meditation Room, wanting to see if there were any overlooked details.

When he turned the pouch completely inside out and shook out all the contents, a black token the size of a palm, with a texture that was neither metal nor wood, slid out from the lining of the clothes and fell to the ground with a muffled thud.

He picked up the token; it felt slightly heavy in his hand.

On the front of the token was engraved a complex, somewhat blurred character "Qing", and on the back were a few extremely fine cracks that would be impossible to notice without careful inspection.

He attempted to input a sliver of Spiritual Power to investigate, but it was like a clay ox entering the sea—there was no reaction at all.

This token seemed to be just an ordinary mundane object.

He studied it over and over for a moment, but finding no leads, he casually set it aside and prepared to continue meditating to heal his injuries.

The very moment he turned around, a faint, almost invisible cyan light flashed from within the few fine cracks on the back of the token, which he had discarded in the corner.

The light vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Immediately, some extremely tiny Restriction structure inside the token, seemingly because it had completely lost the connection to the life aura of its original owner, Outer Sect Deacon Wang Heng, finally crumbled silently after being dormant for a whole day.

At the same moment, a thousand miles away, in the cloud-enshrouded Qingmu Sect.

In a side hall of the General Affairs Hall that never saw sunlight all year round, thousands of eternal soul lamps were arranged on rows of shelves.

In the most inconspicuous corner, the oil lamp labeled with the name "Outer Sect Deacon Wang Heng" had a long-cold wick, and its flame had been extinguished for a long time.

But at this moment, in a small groove under the base of the lamp that no one noticed, a black token fragment, identical to the one in Lin Chen's hand, quietly turned into a pile of fine powder after a soundless fluctuation.

The Outer Sect Disciple on duty in the hall was leaning against a pillar, dozing off, and was completely unaware of this subtle change.

The night grew deeper, and the chirping of insects outside the courtyard gradually thinned.

Lin Chen exhaled a breath of turbid air. A night of cultivation had allowed his injuries to recover slightly, but a full recovery was still a long way off.

He stood up, walked to the window, and pushed it open a crack.

Under the cold moonlight, the outline of those few mu of Spiritual Fields in the distance appeared and disappeared in the darkness, like a piece of silent black jade.

That was his only Foundation now, and also where the hope for the future of this newborn Family lay.