Green Jade Lotus

[Congratulations, Host! The cultivation method The Origin Core Scripture has improved in quality. The Origin Core Scripture has been upgraded to mid-grade Heaven Tier. Keep up the good work, Host—possessing a high-grade Heaven Tier cultivation method is just around the corner!]

[Congratulations, Host, on successfully forming a supreme-grade Dao Pill! Your path to immortality is bright. Keep up the good work, Host—transcending the tribulation and ascending to immortality is no longer a dream!]

[Congratulations, Host, on successfully converting spiritual power into origin energy. You have escaped the shackles of borrowing the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth, transforming your power entirely into origin power. A mere ordinary Jishi can no longer absorb your energy.]

The moment Lin Xiao opened his eyes, before he had time to sense the changes within himself, he heard the system announcing one message after another.

After thinking it over briefly, he understood.

Who would have thought that his spiritual power could fuse with his soul and, through the interaction of all three, give birth to the so-called origin energy?

His dantian was now brimming with origin energy. With the slightest perception, Lin Xiao could clearly tell that it was far easier to use than spiritual power—not just by a little, but by an enormous margin.

He could distinctly feel that he had much greater control over this origin energy than he had previously possessed over his spiritual power!

Moreover, the energy contained within it was many times greater than that of spiritual power.

To put it simply, the amount of origin energy in his body was the result of compressing his spiritual power to the extreme. If the origin energy within him were converted back into spiritual power on an equal basis, one unit of origin energy could be exchanged for at least ten times as much spiritual power.

That alone demonstrated how powerful origin energy was.

Lin Xiao even felt that if he faced Wei Hai again now, he might not need to rely on external forces such as the Two Forms Life-and-Death Formation. He could probably execute Wei Hai on the spot all by himself.

He looked at his hand and silently clenched it into a fist.

As his cultivation and abilities continued to grow stronger, he had to pay even more attention to holding fast to his original intentions.

He absolutely could not lose himself in the intoxicating thrill of overwhelming power.

He cultivated immortality for longevity, for freedom, and so that when he encountered the weak in need of help, he would not be powerless to do anything.

Of course, the cultivation world as it existed now was inevitably filled with struggles for supremacy and the rule of strength. Deception, intrigue, and scheming were unavoidable as well.

But weakness was not a sin.

That was merely the law by which animals survived.

Humans and animals had to be different. Only by pursuing higher ideals could one truly be called human.

Otherwise, human evolution would have no meaning at all.

One day, he would strive to become the person who made the rules.

He would make the world change because of him—to reshape the land and rewrite the rules!

After letting out a long breath, Lin Xiao meditated for a while.

Once he had consolidated his cultivation and circulated his cultivation method another time, he sensed someone entering through the entrance of the sealing formation.

There were twenty people in total: three Nascent Soul cultivators and seventeen Golden Core cultivators.

In the interest of speed, the Alliance Army had not brought its main forces. Instead, it had dispatched some of its strongest combatants directly.

They could not send everyone out, after all. The main camp still needed to be guarded—and what if their intelligence was mistaken?

For this campaign against the former imperial family of the Huanyou Kingdom, every country had dispatched roughly half of its forces.

That was already a sign of considerable importance.

After all, Lin Xiao had opened the entrance for them, and it was located quite close to where he was. Thus, as soon as the group entered and sensed someone in the area, they immediately hurried toward him.

Seeing the Lingxian Sect uniform he wore, the Pushi Kingdom cultivator who had communicated with Lin Xiao via a voice-transmission talisman stepped forward, clasped his hands, and asked, “May I ask if you are a fellow cultivator of the Lingxian Sect?”

Lin Xiao rose and returned the courtesy with an exceedingly agreeable attitude. “I am Lin Xiao of the Lingxian Sect. Greetings, fellow cultivators.”

When they saw that he was a teenager barely in his teens, the group was astonished. Nevertheless, they returned his greeting with a simple salute.

A few cultivators who knew one another even exchanged several private voice transmissions, marveling at the fact that this newly emerged Lingxian Sect in Pushi Kingdom actually had such a young Golden Core disciple.

They simply did not know whether he possessed some special technique that allowed him to preserve his youthful appearance.

Lin Xiao did not immediately reveal that he was the sect master. He wanted to avoid everyone being shocked by his age, exchanging more pleasantries, and wasting time. At a moment like this, it was best to minimize such unnecessary trouble.

He briefly explained the situation to everyone, including his encounter with Zhao Yunzhong, the new ruler of the Huanyou Kingdom, and Yuan Jinsheng, who had come searching for his son.

Everyone present knew the two men. They had also heard that Yuan Jinsheng’s son had been abducted by the Jishi remnants.

Golden Core cultivators were not particularly numerous to begin with, and Yuan Jinsheng was an exceptionally formidable member of their ranks. Ever since he had appeared alongside the Zhao imperial clan and begun cooperating with the Alliance Army, cultivators from the other countries had held him in high regard.

Now that they heard Yuan Jinsheng had descended into the mine, everyone grew deeply anxious.

“The Jishi remnants have holed up inside this mine. They likely won’t come out again anytime soon. If we want to wipe them out completely, we’ll have no choice but to descend into the mine ourselves. Do any of you have a way to counter the Jishi?” asked a Nascent Soul cultivator who appeared to be the leader of the group.

Although he was a Nascent Soul cultivator, he was not the only one present. Moreover, the situation was urgent, and everyone knew that cultivators from the mortal world were sensible enough. No one put on airs or played petty games.

However, upon hearing the question about whether they had any means of countering the Jishi, everyone furrowed their brows and fell silent.

It was not that they were unwilling to speak. The truth was that they had no solution.

If everyone had a way to counter the Jishi, they would not have hated the Jishi so bitterly, nor would they have joined forces to launch a campaign against the Huanyou Kingdom without regard for the cost the moment they heard the news.

War burned money.

And this was a war being funded by several countries at once.

Even if every citizen of the Huanyou Kingdom were squeezed dry, the country would not provide enough to make up for the expenses of all the nations involved.

After all, to cultivators of the mortal world, every resource was precious. Using them in battle was practically a waste.

At that moment, a soft, timid voice came from the back of the group.

“Um… our sect’s inheritance may contain a method worth trying…”

At the sound of her voice, everyone turned to look at her.

It was a fellow cultivator from the Qinglian Sect of the Jinyuan Kingdom, a woman named Jiang Sisi.

She appeared to be in her twenties. Dressed in a blue-green gown, with ribbons fluttering in the breeze around her, she possessed an almost ethereal air.

However, it was said that the Qinglian Sect’s cultivation method naturally preserved one’s youthful appearance. Its disciples therefore looked far younger than ordinary cultivators, making it impossible to judge their age accurately from their appearance alone.

With everyone’s eyes turning toward her, her face reddened slightly. She then immediately explained, “Before I left, our sect master gave me an old relic passed down through the sect. It had never been of any use, and even our sect master didn’t know what it did. However, according to a few fragmentary records left behind by the ancestors of the Qinglian Sect, she suspects that it may be related to the Jishi.”