82: A flash of inspiration, a choice of the path.

Su Ming walked out of the study, letting out a long breath.

The autumn sun shone on him, warm and comforting.

Lin Yu's voice echoed in his mind, carrying a trace of imperceptible weariness and solemnity, "Disciple, Zhou Wenhai is a man of deep schemes. In front of him, we must be even more cautious. His agreement to let you stay is both a sign of valuing you and perhaps an intention to keep you under his watchful eye."

"He agreed, didn't he?" Su Ming's mood was surprisingly light.

"He did agree, but the way he looked at you was like an old farmer looking at a cabbage that could grow golden ingots—both satisfied and calculating!" Lin Yu grumbled, "Anyway, we're safe for these three years. Hurry up and drain this well for your Master!"

With the commotion settled, Su Ming's life returned to peace, even purer than before.

Zhou Yulin left for the Prefecture City in October. With one less person frequently visiting him at the County School, Su Ming enjoyed the quiet, dedicating his entire being to Cultivation and study.

The sense of Qi within Su Ming, nourished by the spiritual well water, had grown from a wisp of flame into a warm, gentle light. He could even guide this Qi to flow slowly through his Meridians; wherever it passed, he felt a pleasant tingling, an indescribable comfort.

After achieving Major Achievement in the Breath Concealment Art, his five senses became even sharper. During meditation, he could even clearly 'hear' the footsteps of the night watchman outside the courtyard and 'smell' the aroma of food wafting from the neighboring courtyard.

He began to try concentrating that Qi at his fingertips.

This was an incredibly difficult process; the Qi was as playful as a loach, scattering into his limbs and bones if he wasn't careful.

For several nights in a row, he ended in failure.

On a snowy night, after countless failed attempts, he gently enveloped the ball of Qi with his powerful mental will and successfully guided it to his fingertip.

Su Ming slowly opened his eyes and extended his right index finger.

A tiny, rice-grain-sized, faint white speck of light quietly illuminated his fingertip in the dark, snowy night.

Though the light was weak, it was unwavering.

"Master, I..."

"Shh." Lin Yu's voice carried an unprecedented solemnity, "Don't move, don't let it dissipate. Feel it, remember this sensation. This is... your first wisp of spiritual power."

The snowy night was silent, all things hushed.

Su Ming stared blankly at his fingertip. That tiny, rice-grain-sized white light was a color that had never appeared in his life. It wasn't the warm yellow of candlelight, nor the cool clear light of the moon; it was a pure radiance, originating from within himself, as if the farthest and brightest star in the night sky had been plucked down and placed upon his fingertip.

"Puff."

With a soft sound, as if a tiny bubble had burst, the light on his fingertip flickered violently and instantly extinguished.

His fingertip returned to its original skin tone, and the warm sensation connected to his Bloodline vanished without a trace. In its place was an emptiness and weakness that spread from the depths of his Dantian, making him feel as if he had run ten miles uphill, with fatigue seeping into every bone.

"Master!" Su Ming's voice held a hint of panic and deep disappointment, "It... it's gone!"

Lin Yu's voice leisurely echoed in his mind, "If it's gone, it's gone. Did you want to frame it and hang it on the wall or something?"

Su Ming choked for a moment, then stammered, "That's not what Disciple meant. It's just... Disciple wanted it to stay a little longer."

"Remember this feeling; this is your first seed of spiritual power. But also know that this is just the beginning. Without subsequent cultivation methods, this state is difficult to solidify and will ultimately be like flowers in a mirror or the moon in water."

Lin Yu stretched comfortably in the ring.

Su Ming carefully savored his Master's words, and the disappointment in his heart was indeed soothed considerably. Yes, he had been too impatient. On the path of Cultivation, one wrong step leads to many. To be able to condense the first wisp of spiritual power was already a great blessing; how could he hope to reach the heavens in one step?

"Disciple understands," he respectfully replied.

"Mm." Lin Yu responded with satisfaction, "That's enough for tonight. Your spiritual power is nascent, and your Divine Soul has consumed quite a bit. Rest well. Remember the feeling from just now, and continue tomorrow."

In the following days, Su Ming fell into a cycle of pain and joy.

Every night, he meditated by the well, repeating the process of condensing spiritual power. But that wisp of spiritual power was like a mischievous child, coming and going unpredictably.

Sometimes, he would sit in bitter meditation all night, with no movement in his Dantian, as if everything before had been a dream.

Sometimes, as soon as he entered meditation, that speck of light would appear at his fingertip as if in response to his thoughts. But just as he tried to do something, even just to make it stay for one more breath, it would mercilessly 'puff' out, taking away most of his vital energy and spirit.

"Master, it ran away again!"

"Master, this time it lasted for three breaths!"

"Master, I think I can make it a little brighter today... ah, it's gone again."

Lin Yu, who had initially been patient and advised him with various grand principles of "Dao follows nature," eventually entered a semi-hibernation mode, letting Su Ming struggle on his own.

In truth, he was more anxious than Su Ming.

While Su Ming was outside "repeatedly failing and repeatedly fighting," Lin Yu's soul body sank deep into the ring, beginning the most serious strategic planning in his five hundred years of Transmigration.

Before him lay two paths.

The first path: his 'gaze' fell upon the three Jade Slips in the space. One of them recorded the Green Wood Longevity Art.

This thing was right in his home, within reach.

He hadn't dared to give it to Su Ming before because Su Ming barely knew any characters and had no spiritual power, making it impossible to activate the Jade Slip, let alone understand the profound Cultivation Technique incantations within.

But now it was different.

Su Ming had spent more than half a year in the County School's library, reading more books than Lin Yu had in both his lifetimes combined, and his comprehension ability was no longer what it used to be. Most crucially, he could now condense spiritual power! Although it was just a wisp, and extremely unstable, it was ultimately the 'key' to activating the Jade Slip!

As long as he could successfully inject that wisp of spiritual power into the Jade Slip, he could read its contents.

This seemed to be the safest and only option currently.

But Lin Yu was still a bit nervous.

The huge hidden danger was that Lin Yu himself knew nothing about the Cultivation system of this world! He had Transmigrated as a remnant soul, and his only 'experience' came from the chaotic, evil memory fragments he gained from devouring the vengeful womans lamp, which were completely incompatible with the orthodox Green Wood Longevity Art, and might even conflict with it. He simply didn't understand the crucial points of the Cultivation Technique and couldn't discern whether Su Ming's breathing was correct during Cultivation. If Su Ming made a mistake, it could lightly damage his Meridians or severely lead to Qi Deviation. And he, as the Master, might not even notice, let alone guide and correct him. This was akin to a blind man teaching another blind man to walk a tightrope.

On the path of Cultivation, there are no second chances.

Lin Yu turned his gaze to the second path.

Leading to the dilapidated temple where the vengeful womans lamp was buried.

Lin Yu closed his 'eyes,' and the memory fragments from that night resurfaced. From the vengeful spirit's memories, he knew that the dilapidated temple was the ruin of a small immortal sect, with something hidden inside the mountain. The owner of the vengeful spirit had placed the vengeful womans lamp there, clearly valuing the Yin Qi of the earth veins in that location.

Perhaps there were some Cultivation insights left by Senior experts inside the mountain.

Moreover, after this period of 'digestion,' Lin Yu was pleasantly surprised to find that the purest Yin Qi from the vengeful womans lamp had been completely absorbed by him and transformed into nourishment to strengthen his soul body. As for those resentful, mad memory fragments and the so-called 'tracking imprint,' he had used newly comprehended techniques to package and compress them into a walnut-sized black sphere, thrown into a corner of the ring space, unable to stir up any more trouble.

He could feel that the person who refined the vengeful womans lamp was very, very far from here, so far that the faint, almost imperceptible sense could be ignored.

Going on a treasure hunt seemed like a good option. High risk, high reward.

This path carried extremely high risks. That place was eerie and strange, a site arranged by an evil cultivator. Heaven knew what residual traps or evil creatures might still be there. Actively going there was equivalent to putting oneself in danger.

But the only hope and basis lay here: he possessed partial memory fragments of the vengeful womans lamp. In these chaotic memories, there was a vague indication that something was hidden deep within that lair, perhaps a Legacy or resource left by that evil cultivator, different from the Green Wood Longevity Art.

Although these memories were fragmented, they were the only 'advanced information' he had in this world besides the Jade Slips.

More importantly, Su Ming's long-term meditation and Cultivation had shaped a mental perception and calm Heart-Nature far beyond ordinary people. This might not be an absolute guarantee for survival in combat, but in terms of detecting danger, avoiding traps, and noticing subtle abnormalities, it might be more useful than a half-baked offensive technique.

But this thought lasted only three seconds before Lin Yu himself extinguished it.

What a joke? Going to explore a place marked as a "Great Omen Land"? That place had been occupied by the vengeful womans lamp for over a hundred years; who knew how many strange things had bred there besides Yin Qi. If some old zombie who had Cultivated for hundreds of years popped out, or some great Devil Head was still sleeping underground, his little Disciple wouldn't even be enough for a snack.

The first principle of The Way of Cautious Survival: never actively explore red danger zones on the map!

This path, Pass!

"This is difficult..." Lin Yu's soul body sat cross-legged, adopting the posture of a profound expert deep in thought, but in reality, he was so worried he was almost pulling out his ethereal hair.

Soon after, a letter from Anyuan Prefecture City arrived at Small Courtyard Alpha.

It was from Zhou Yulin.

In the letter, Zhou Yulin described the grand occasion of the Provincial Examination and the prosperity of the Prefecture City with flowing prose. He had, without suspense, passed the exam and was taken as a Disciple by a great Confucian scholar of the Prefecture School, deciding to stay in the Prefecture City for further studies.

At the end of the letter, he wrote with a hint of emotion: "Junior Brother Su, Father often writes that you are more devoted to learning than I. At first, I was unconvinced, but now I understand your ambition. Three years from now, we shall meet again in the capital. Your foolish elder brother awaits your good news."

Su Ming finished reading the letter, silently folded it, his face devoid of joy or sorrow.

"Master, what do you think he meant by 'ambition' in his letter?"

"He meant you'd win first place in the metropolitan examination and pass with flying colors. But your Master knows your ambition is to achieve immortality," Lin Yu replied languidly. "Different Daos, no need to conspire. He walks his broad road, you Cultivate your single-plank bridge. That's fine."

"That's fine." Su Ming nodded, putting away the letter.

His life, from the moment he became a Disciple, had turned onto a completely different path.

"Disciple."

Just then, Lin Yu's voice suddenly grew serious.

"Hmm?"

"You've been condensing spiritual power for three months now. You've failed repeatedly; do you know why?"

Su Ming said in a deep voice, "Disciple's Heart-Nature is impure, too eager for success."

Lin Yu unceremoniously scolded, "If your Heart-Nature is impure, then there aren't many honest people in this world. The reason you're failing is because you lack one thing."

"Please instruct, Master."

"A Cultivation Technique!" Lin Yu enunciated each word. "You are now like a strong man with immense strength, but who only knows how to wildly swing his fists. Each time you condense spiritual power, you are forcibly squeezing your vital energy and spirit, achieving half the result with twice the effort, and damaging your Foundation. You need a Cultivation Technique to teach you how to breathe, how to guide, and how to truly convert the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi for your own use."

Su Ming's heart trembled, and his breathing quickened slightly.

A Cultivation Technique! He had waited too long for these words!

"Then... Master..."

"I do have one here," Lin Yu's tone became profound and mysterious. "However, this method is no small matter. I need to observe you for a while longer to see if your Heart-Nature can truly control it."

In reality, Lin Yu wanted to use this last period of time to break down the first three hundred characters of the Green Wood Longevity Art, think of a hundred possible errors, and formulate a hundred corresponding solutions.

He wanted to ensure nothing went wrong.

"Disciple understands!" Su Ming suppressed the excitement in his heart and nodded heavily.

Lin Yu 'hmm'ed with satisfaction, then changed Su Ming's Cultivation plan.

"From today onwards, temporarily set aside the matter of condensing spiritual power. Your Cultivation focus will be only one thing—meditation!"

"Meditation?" Su Ming was somewhat puzzled.

"Precisely," Lin Yu explained. "Your soul is the 'vessel' that carries everything. If the vessel isn't strong, how can it hold rivers, lakes, and seas? Your Divine Soul has been overly consumed during this period, showing signs of depletion. You must replenish it and make it stronger, more resilient!"

"Your Breath Concealment Art has reached Major Achievement, and your five senses and six consciousnesses far surpass ordinary people. Next, you must use meditation to strengthen your 'Divine Soul'!"

Lin Yu's voice carried a strange allure.

Su Ming no longer had any doubts. He immediately sat cross-legged and began his new Cultivation.

Days flew by in monotonous meditation.

A month later, his perception range expanded to the entire Small Courtyard Alpha area. He could 'hear' the taciturn scholar in the neighboring courtyard softly chanting scriptures repeatedly in the dead of night.

This feeling was as if he possessed a pair of invisible eyes and ears, able to freely traverse every corner of the County School.

And his Divine Soul, through this daily expansion and perception, became solid and powerful, far beyond what it once was. The sense of Qi in his Dantian, though not intentionally Cultivated, also grew increasingly warm and substantial as his Divine Soul strengthened.