Free Web NovelChapter 192: Chapter 182: Lurking 2
The Shadow Dogs themselves were giant monsters from the Fog Area. Compared to races like the Python Race and the Lion-men, their clan was extremely weak. They typically only dared to scavenge on the outskirts, collecting the carcasses of monsters slain by exploration teams, which they would detoxify and take back to eat.
They were part of the Fog Area’s scavenger ecosystem.
Many Shadow Dogs lived this way, barely surviving on the monster corpses that exploration teams left behind.
But the Shadow Dog royalty were not content with this fate. From a very early time, they began sending a few of their royal bloodline to live among the Human Race, learning all of their knowledge and skills.
Now, Qingfeng Temple’s reputation was growing, and it had started to affect the supply of provisions for many small, neighboring clans. Under these circumstances, as a princess of the Shadow Dog royalty, it was only natural for her to come and investigate the situation.
After a period of observation, she found Qingfeng Temple’s attitude toward its disciples and students rather strange. Unlike other places, which mostly exploited their students and disciples, here, everything was instead about fairness and justice.
Although this was extremely difficult to achieve, they had, for the most part, actually managed to maintain a general sense of fairness and justice.
Stepping out of the courtyard, Li Yuanyuan glanced at Xue Yanshuo, who was hastily ducking away. She didn’t hurry off herself. Instead, after a moment of thought, she turned around and went back into the courtyard.
"Observatory Master, I have actually been hiding something. I’ve thought it through now and plan to tell you the truth," Li Yuanyuan said in a low voice.
"What is it? Are you talking about hiding the fact that you’re not of the Human Race?" Lin Hui said flatly, wiping the drawn Ruyi Sword Body with a silk cloth before dabbing a bit of Sword Oil onto a special piece of fur and gently applying it.
!? Li Yuanyuan shuddered, her heart pounding. Before she could speak again, she heard Lin Hui continue.
"What’s the problem with not being from the Human Race? I only care if your heart is with my Qingfeng Temple. Nothing else matters."
"Observatory Master... Do you truly not care about us Non-human Races?" Li Yuanyuan asked in disbelief.
"Of course not. Or do you want me to care?" Lin Hui said impatiently.
He felt he had made himself perfectly clear.
"I’m sorry... Actually, I’m a Shad—" Li Yuanyuan immediately tried to confess, but before she could finish, Lin Hui interrupted her again.
"I don’t care about your origins. Here and now, I only care about your aptitude for sword practice, your perseverance, and your dedication. Nothing else is important, understand?"
Looking at Lin Hui’s impatient expression, Li Yuanyuan suddenly felt a poignant sorrow.
She had been discriminated against because of her identity far too many times. She had also been treated differently because of her looks and figure. But never had anyone regarded her differently simply because of her effort and aptitude.
This respect, which completely ignored her identity, background, and origin, and focused solely on her as an individual—on her aptitude, dedication, and perseverance—let her feel, for the first time in her life, what equality truly meant.
"I understand!" Li Yuanyuan bowed her head deeply. "It is my great fortune to meet an Observatory Master like you. I will work hard to become your disciple."
She gave another deep bow, then turned and left.
Lin Hui gave her an unreadable glance before looking away, paying her no mind.
Having dealt with that, he got up and returned to the dispensary, took out the newly acquired Yun Lingzhi, and began to chew on it raw.
There were twelve stalks in this new batch of Yun Lingzhi. Each one could shorten his evolution time by three to four months.
The evolution for the Extreme Cold Heaven Ginseng King had a little over a year left. Lin Hui just needed to chew on a little more than three stalks indoors to complete the Ginseng King’s evolution.
A cloud of white, chilly air slowly dissipated.
The Cold Ginseng in the box was quickly dyed pure white, its surface covered in a thick, frosty layer.
At the same time, dense new rootlets began to sprout from the Cold Ginseng’s end, and a network of faint, blue, vein-like lines slowly rose to its surface.
’Looks like it’s done.’ Lin Hui reached out and touched the Extreme Cold Heaven Ginseng King.
HISS.
The Purgatory Aura within him suddenly jolted, as if provoked, violently trying to surge from his finger to destroy the Extreme Cold Heaven Ginseng King.
’It’s working!’
Lin Hui simply picked up the Ginseng King, examined it for a moment, and then placed it in his mouth, biting off a tiny piece.
Instantly, a bone-chilling cold spread from his mouth throughout his entire body.
The restless flames of Purgatory within him were instantly frozen over.
’This stuff seems a little too potent...’ Lin Hui recalled that the Purgatory Aura he first enhanced came from a single lamb skewer. This time, he had evolved an entire Ginseng King; its medicinal effects were clearly far beyond that of a lamb skewer.
He thought for a moment, then focused his gaze on the Ginseng King.
The Blood Seal appeared in his vision. freewebnøvel.coɱ
’Extreme Cold Heaven Ginseng King: One of Extreme Cold Heaven’s unique products, evolved from a Cold Ginseng. It can improve Inner Strength and convert it to the cold attribute, alter the user’s constitution, and grant the user partial characteristics of an Extreme Cold Heaven creature. Evolvable Branches: 1.’
’So it really is edible.’ Seeing the Blood Seal’s appraisal confirm it was safe to eat, he breathed a sigh of relief. He picked up the Ginseng King and took another small bite.
Bite after bite, in just two minutes, the entire sweet and crunchy Extreme Cold Heaven Ginseng King had entered Lin Hui’s stomach.
While waiting for the medicinal effects to kick in, he took out another stalk of Yun Lingzhi, aimed his Blood Seal at it, and imagined it evolving.
The Blood Seal on the back of his hand transformed into a loose, crimson pattern that covered his forearm.
Soon, a new information prompt appeared.
’Yun Lingzhi: Replenishes yang energy and aids in procreation. A mountain Treasure Medicine that harmonizes yin and yang and nurtures essence. Evolvable Branches: 3.’
’1—Yun Lingzhi King.’
’2—Earth Lingzhi.’
’3—Heaven Lingzhi.’
Discovering that it could indeed be enhanced, Lin Hui, surprised, immediately opened the first option.
’Yun Lingzhi King: Evolved from Yun Lingzhi. Entirely emerald green. The user’s spirit will enter a state of extreme excitement, and their internal energy will be slightly and continuously enhanced for twenty-four hours.’
’Earth Lingzhi: Ingesting this grants earth-attribute Inner Strength.’
’Heaven Lingzhi: Ingesting this grants heaven-attribute Inner Strength.’
All three branches had the same evolution time: nineteen years.
"The evolution effects aren’t very appealing." Lin Hui shook his head slightly.
He had already been mentally prepared for the evolution of energy-type Treasure Medicines. This just confirmed his suspicions.
He wanted to evolve one to see the effects, but nineteen years was still too long.
Dismissing the information from his vision, he stood up again, then squatted down and pressed his hand gently on the ground.
’Evolve the ground of Qingfeng Temple.’
He focused his mind, clarifying this thought.
Soon, the Blood Seal contracted back into its diamond-shaped mark, then a second later, it spread out again to cover his forearm.
New information appeared.
’Qingfeng Temple Ground: The land beneath the feet of everyone at Qingfeng Temple. Evolvable Branches: 5.’
’It can actually evolve?!’
Lin Hui was amused. ’This Blood Seal really is omnipotent!’
He opened the evolvable branches.
’1—Ground (Reinforced).’
’2—Ground (Purified).’
’3—Ground (Cursed).’
’4—Ground (Fertile).’
’5—Ground (Suppressive).’
He could roughly guess the effects of the five branches from their names alone.
Lin Hui nodded slightly and casually opened the last one. ƒгeewebnovёl.com
’Ground (Suppressive): Can apply a certain degree of life force suppression to outsiders. Suppression strength: 10%.’
’This one’s good...’ Lin Hui nodded. ’If the percentage could be increased, it would definitely be a trump card for securing the home base.’
He withdrew his hand, stood up again, and made a gentle grasping motion in the air.
At the same time, he mentally targeted the air of Qingfeng Temple for evolution.
Soon, the Blood Seal once again repeated its process of contracting and expanding.
New information appeared.
’Qingfeng Temple Air: The air that the people of Qingfeng Temple breathe in and out during their cultivation. Evolvable Branches: 3.’
’1—Air (Spiritual).’
’2—Air (Nourishing).’
’3—Air (Wind).’
As usual, Lin Hui opened them one by one to take a look.
’Air (Spiritual): The evolved air is saturated with spiritual energy. It can slowly form a primary spiritual vein within a thousand years. Those who cultivate with Spiritual Power will receive a boost to their cultivation speed.’
’Air (Nourishing): The evolved air contains special factors that can extend the lifespan of those living within it. The longer one lives here, the greater the life extension, up to a maximum of ten years.’
’Air (Wind): The evolved air possesses a high concentration of an unknown wind-related power. Cultivating a Cultivation Technique of the same attribute will grant a significant speed boost.’
Lin Hui quickly checked the required time. All of them were forty years.
This was longer than any of the previous evolutions. He let out a breath and gave up the idea of evolving the air right away.
Finally, he turned the target to himself!
’Lin Hui: Human Race, Purgatory Race, Extreme Cold Heaven Bloodline, Wind Disaster Bloodline. Proficient Martial Arts: Gale Swordsmanship, Typhoon Swordsmanship. Evolvable Branches: 0.’
"Wind Disaster Bloodline? What the hell is that? When did I get this? Looks like there are no shortcuts; I can’t evolve myself. It’s like trying to fly by stepping on your own feet."
After testing a bunch of things, Lin Hui once again took out the Silencing Stone, the relic Tao Xuehai had given him.
With a practiced motion, he focused his gaze.
The Blood Seal prompt appeared.
’Silencing Stone (Relic): A relic that can eliminate sound within a certain range. A condensation of a Fog Spirit. Evolvable Branches: 3.’
He opened the branches.
’1—Isolation Stone: A relic that isolates all auras and sounds within a certain range.’
’2—Silence Stone: A relic that forces all life within a certain range to be unable to speak or make a sound.’
’3—Stone of Divine Silence: A relic fragment containing a trace of the Mother of Myriad Silences’s divinity. Collect nine fragments to obtain a sliver of the Mother of Myriad Silences’s divinity and become a Divine.’
The first two were straightforward enough, but Lin Hui’s attention was focused on the third.
’Mother of Myriad Silences?’
He rushed to his study, pulled all the books about Fog Spirits from the shelves, and began flipping through them one by one.
Before long, he found a relevant record.
’Mother of Myriad Silences: A powerful Fog Spirit that once brought chaos to a city before being slain by the Fog People. Its divinity scattered and was lost, transforming into countless related relics.’
’There’s a lot of mystical stuff in this place,’ Lin Hui mused.
He then went around trying to evolve everything he could touch.
Most things were as expected; they just became more refined, sturdier, or higher-grade.
But there were also some rather speechless-making results. For example, one of the study’s walls offered an evolution branch called: Wall of Absolute Sighs. According to the description, it was formed from a single sigh of the Queen of the Netherworld, possessed the absolute attribute of being indestructible, and could not be broken unless one’s power and divinity surpassed that of the Queen.
The evolution time was also "touching": one thousand five hundred years...
This gave Lin Hui a new appreciation for the randomness of the Blood Seal’s evolutions.
After more than ten minutes of testing, the medicinal effects of the Extreme Cold Heaven Ginseng King had gradually been digested and were fading away.
Lin Hui felt that something was off, so he took a decorative mirror from a bookshelf and looked at his reflection.
At a glance, the person in the mirror had completely lost the restless aura from his Purgatory Transformation. His disposition had completely returned to how it was when he first started practicing the sword.
Everything seemed normal, but what truly felt wrong to Lin Hui was his Inner Strength.
It seemed the Purgatory Transformation of his Inner Strength hadn’t disappeared, but rather had been forcefully encased in a restrictive shell by the chill of the Extreme Cold Heaven.
It seemed he could once again absorb the flames of Purgatory without worrying about the Purgatory Transformation spiraling out of control.
But this layer of Inner Strength was bizarre; it used only a very thin layer to lock down the Purgatory flames and aura.
It was as if... as if the Inner Strength had a second, mysterious source of energy supporting it, apart from him.
It was being continuously consumed by the Purgatory flames, yet it showed no signs of diminishing.
