381: Chapter 381 Stealing the Spiritual Root

【Year 23,】

【On the highest peak of a secluded mountain range on Shattered Star Continent, mist perpetually shrouded the area.】

【Deep within the mist, an hidden Immortal Cave was concealed.】

【Inside the Immortal Cave, you sat cross-legged with eyes closed on a jade platform, reviewing the 'Heaven-Seizing Creation Technique, Lower Volume' in your mind.】

【Every word, every step on it, you had long committed to memory, having repeatedly deduced and pondered it no less than a thousand times.】

【This thing was simply too perilous.】

【One misstep and the outcome would be the complete destruction of one's Spiritual Root and the collapse of one's Dao Foundation.】

【You had always been on edge, not daring to try it easily.】

【Until today, after repeated deliberation and countless simulations, you finally felt you had a seventy percent chance of success.】

【For this seventy percent chance, you had made many preparations.】

【The most important part was to have Zhong Linger go into seclusion and Breakthrough to the Golden Core Stage.】

【You even specifically used the xuantian treasure mirror to speed up the flow of time in her secluded cultivation chamber by a hundredfold.】

【A few months outside, she had already Cultivated for decades inside.】

【Not only that, you also gave her a pile of Heaven And Earth Treasure you had collected, enough for her to Cultivate to the Golden Core.】

【This day,】

【From the tightly sealed stone chamber, a Golden Core aura suddenly spread out, stirring up the Spiritual Qi within the Immortal Cave into a chaotic state.】

【You opened your eyes, the corners of your mouth twitching.】

【It's done.】

【She finally Broke through to the Golden Core.】

【Rumble—】

【The heavy stone door was pushed open, and Zhong Linger walked out quickly.】

【Her face carried irrepressible joy and a blush from her Breakthrough. She walked up to you, her voice soft and light, with a hint of coquettishness:】

【"Senior, I... I've Broke through to the Golden Core! I didn't let down your expectations."】

【She paused, then quickly glanced at you, her eyes full of gratitude and adoration:】

【"Senior's methods are truly heaven-reaching... It's only been a few months outside, but I've spent decades in the secret chamber."】

【"If it weren't for Senior bestowing this Opportunity, I..."】

【You waved your hand, interrupting her. Then, without warning, you raised your right hand and pointed a finger at her glabella.】

【A wisp of Primordial Spirit Power, like an ice needle, silently pierced into her body, instantly traveling through all her meridians, laying an invisible restraint in her Dantian Qi Sea and major acupoints.】

【The joy on Zhong Linger's face instantly froze.】

【She found that the spiritual power in her body suddenly stagnated, like a frozen river, unable to be mobilized in the slightest.】

【Even her limbs became heavy and stiff, making it difficult to move a single finger.】

【Her pupils constricted slightly, and she looked at you with surprise and uncertainty, trying to force a smile, but her voice was uncontrollably tinged with a hint of joy:】

【"Se-Senior... Why... why bother with this? I... I won't resist..."】

【She thought you were finally going to do something to her, and her tone even held a trace of anticipation.】

【You ignored her nonsense. With a flick of your sleeve, a gentle force enveloped her, lightly sending her to the center of the Immortal Cave.】

【There, an extremely complex and eerie grand Formation, emitting a dark red glow, had already been inscribed.】

【The core of the Formation happened to have an empty spot.】

【Zhong Linger was steadily placed at the core of the Formation.】

【She looked down, clearly seeing the dizzyingly complex Formation patterns beneath her feet, subtly emitting a terrifying aura. Her face instantly turned pale.】

【Only then did she realize that things were not as she had imagined.】

【A warm tear silently streamed down her cheek, then fell with a 'plop' onto the Formation patterns.】

【She looked up, her usually charming eyes now only filled with a clear, water-soaked gaze, staring straight at you, her voice trembling uncontrollably:】

【"Senior... Before I die, can you... grant me one wish?"】

【"Speak," your voice was calm.】

【"Help me... avenge myself."】

【"Who?"】

【"Feng Yu, Young Lord of Huanling Sect on Tianxuan Star."】

【Feng Yu?】

【Your brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.】

【This name surprised you a little.】

【You clearly remembered that during the tenth simulation, Zhong Linger had confessed to you that her parents were harmed by Jade Dragon Immortal Master because of a piece of tai bai profound gold.】

【How did her enemy now become the Young Lord of Huanling Sect on Tianxuan Star, someone completely unrelated?】

【Was she lying to you then?】

【You looked at her.】

【Tears were still streaming down her pale face; it didn't look faked.】

【How many truths did this woman actually speak?】

【You were too lazy to delve into those convoluted stories.】

【Truth or falsehood, it made no difference to what you were about to do.】

【You nodded calmly:】

【"Alright."】

【Upon hearing this word, Zhong Linger's taut body relaxed almost imperceptibly.】

【The deliberately maintained coquettishness, calculation, and fear on her face receded like a tide, leaving only an extremely complex expression – like relief.】

【She tried to pull at the corners of her mouth, forcing out a smile that was uglier than crying.】

【Then, she slowly closed her eyes.】

【"Thank you... Senior."】

【You no longer looked at Zhong Linger, who was closing her eyes and awaiting death in the Formation. Your mind completely immersed itself in the profound steps recorded in the 'Heaven-Seizing Creation Technique'.】

【First step, building the cauldron.】

【With a sweep of your sleeve, dozens of auxiliary Spiritual Materials you had prepared earlier—Thousand-Year Jade Marrow, Wind Thunder Stone Essence, Profound Yin Kui Water, Sun Gold Powder...】

【One by one, they flew out of your storage ring, suspended in mid-air.】

【You formed hand seals, your ten fingers flying, casting out streaks of rhythmic spiritual incantations.】

【Under the guidance of the incantations, these Spiritual Materials began to melt, decompose, and recombine, transforming into countless shimmering runes that flew like living things towards the grand Formation beneath Zhong Linger.】

【The Formation patterns absorbed these runes, flickering with light, forming the prototype of an invisible melting pot, firmly 'locking' Zhong Linger, who was at the core, in the center.】

【Second step, preparing the fuel.】

【The most important part of this step was the three core Materials: 'creation divine nectar,' 'five elements vital essence,' and 'world origin.'】

【You first took out a mutton-fat jade bottle, pulled out the stopper, and an aura containing endless vitality diffused out—it was precisely the 'creation divine nectar'.】

【You carefully poured it onto the Formation patterns; the milky white liquid spread along the Formation lines as if alive, emitting a warm luster.】

【Immediately after, your gaze fell upon Zhong Linger in the Formation, your eyes as cold as iron.】

【Next was to steal the five elements vital essence, which had to be extracted from the Origin essence of her five internal organs: heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys.】

【You pointed your fingers like a knife, making a slicing motion in the air.】

【Five extremely refined, distinctively colored threads of spiritual power, like the most precise surgical blades, ignored the obstruction of Zhong Linger's flesh and directly pierced into the corresponding positions of her five internal organs.】

【"Ugh...!"】

【Zhong Linger's body trembled violently. Even with her cultivation restricted, the intense pain emanating from her life Origin still made her let out a short, muffled groan.】