Chapter 15: Diligent Cultivation

Time flew by, and several months passed.

In the secluded chamber, Lin Tianming sat motionless on the meditation mat. Tiny starlike specks of spiritual energy floated around his body, slowly entering through the top of his head and his fingertips, spreading throughout his entire being.

After a quarter of an hour, Lin Tianming finished his meditation. He opened his eyes, and a sharp gleam flashed through them. His breath was steady and substantial.

Scattered around the chamber were several jade bottles, lying haphazardly. The bottles were empty, only faint traces of spiritual energy and medicinal fragrance lingering within.

Lin Tianming had been in seclusion for several months. During this time, he had been fervently refining pills and cultivating. Each time he refined pills until he was utterly exhausted and his spiritual energy depleted, he would then switch to meditating, restoring his energy and spiritual consciousness.

The long hours of alchemy drained not only his spiritual energy but also heavily taxed his spiritual consciousness. Each time, he pushed himself to the limit, exhausting both his energy and spirit.

Though it was grueling, the rewards were substantial. In these few months, he had refined all fifty-five sets of Spirit Origin Pill ingredients. The difficulty level of refining Spirit Origin Pills was many times higher than that of Qi Consolidation Pills.

Out of the fifty-five sets of Spirit Origin Pill ingredients, only sixteen sets were successfully refined, barely achieving a success rate of thirty percent. The number of pills per successful batch ranged from three to four, ultimately yielding fifty Spirit Origin Pills.

Combined with the remaining fourteen Spirit Origin Pills from before, he now had sixty-four pills. During these months, he had diligently consumed two Spirit Origin Pills each month, leaving him with fifty-four pills.

Luckily, the process of refining pills also consumed a significant amount of energy; otherwise, solely relying on the pills, he might not have advanced to the late stage of the sixth level of Qi Refining so soon.

Although he now had an ample supply of pills for cultivation, Lin Tianming decided not to continue his seclusion. Instead, he planned to go out and train in the mountains near Qingfeng Town, honing his skills and consolidating his recent advancements before seeking the right opportunity for another breakthrough.

Cultivating immortality was a path against the natural order. Although Lin Tianming had excellent talent, he was not a heaven-grade root or a special attribute root cultivator, but rather a middle-to-upper grade. Even those with the highest talent needed experience and grounding to avoid excessive bottlenecks.

Over-reliance on pills could pose significant obstacles during the stages of forming a core or a nascent soul. To travel further on the path of immortality, he had to train and temper himself.

During these months, Lin Tianming continued his monthly patrols around Qingfeng Town. It was now the eighth patrol, and he stepped out of the chamber, appearing on the pavilion's plaza.

Lin Shan and Lin Hai, the two Lin family members assigned to serve him, had been alternating shifts outside the pavilion, never leaving their post for more than half a year. Upon seeing Lin Tianming emerge, Lin Shan rushed forward.

"Lin Shan greets the Ancestor. Congratulations on your great achievement!"

The brothers had shown commendable dedication, awaiting orders day and night, even though Lin Tianming had scarcely given them any tasks since his arrival.

Lin Tianming, with a calm expression, responded, "No need for such formalities. Take these pill residues; they still contain some medicinal essence. Although useless to cultivators, they can be boiled into medicinal broth for mortals to strengthen their bodies and cure ailments. These are enough for several dozen people."

With a wave of his hand, a pile of medicinal residues flew into Lin Shan's hands, enough to fill his palms. Lin Shan, overjoyed, expressed his gratitude profusely.

Although the residues were useless to cultivators, the residual medicinal essence was highly beneficial to mortals. Lin Tianming's act of giving them away was a simple gesture, but it showed his generosity towards his kin. The town leaders of the five major mortal towns of the Lin family were all descendants of cultivators, albeit many generations removed and with diluted bloodlines. Even so, they had a slightly higher chance of producing cultivators than ordinary mortals.

Without further delay, Lin Tianming summoned his Qingfeng Sword, flying out of the town for his patrol.

In half a day, he meticulously patrolled the hundred-mile radius around Qingfeng Town, killing over a dozen wild beasts along the way. With his spiritual sense expanded to its fullest, he scanned every plant and animal within a ten-mile radius.

"Interesting," he muttered.

In his half-year tenure, Lin Tianming had never encountered a demon beast. Yet today, he spotted a striped crocodile, a mid-stage first-level demon beast. This juvenile striped crocodile was likely an early-stage one, given its size.

Striped crocodiles were social creatures, with small groups consisting of a dozen and large groups numbering in the hundreds. It was peculiar to find a solitary one here.

The location was a hundred miles west of Qingfeng Town, within a hundred miles of the outskirts of the Ziyun Mountain Range. Logically, there shouldn't have been any demon beasts here.

Since he had found it, he wouldn't let it go. It was an opportunity to test his skills, as it was his first encounter with a demon beast.

Driving his Qingfeng Sword, he turned into a green light and sped toward the demon beast a few miles away.

In less than a quarter of an hour, Lin Tianming arrived at a small valley, about ten miles long. Dense forests flanked the valley, and a river, ten feet wide, flowed through its base. The river originated from the Ziyun Mountain Range upstream.

The striped crocodile, sensing Lin Tianming's formidable presence, was attempting to hide in the river and flee.

"Do you think you can escape just by hiding?" Lin Tianming scoffed.

This excursion was planned to last anywhere from half a month to several months. He had to clear out the beasts within a hundred-mile radius to ensure the safety of Qingfeng Town during his absence.

Summoning his Qingfeng Sword, he infused it with spiritual energy, transforming it into a green light sword. With a loud crash, the green sword split the river open, heading straight for the striped crocodile.

The crocodile, sensing the impending danger, twisted its massive body and shot a water sword from its mouth, meeting the green sword mid-air. The two attacks collided, exploding and sending shockwaves through the water, scattering fish and debris onto the banks.

The crocodile's agile movements allowed it to dodge Lin Tianming's initial strike. Undeterred, Lin Tianming quickly slashed three more times, sending three green swords toward the beast.

The crocodile, now on the offensive, spewed water swords while maneuvering toward Lin Tianming. The water swords clashed with the green swords, exploding and creating cover for the crocodile's approach.

Without panic, Lin Tianming unleashed his most potent technique, Fire Origin Slash, forming a flaming sword that struck the crocodile's gaping maw. The resulting explosion sent the beast into a frenzied death roll, its lifeless body floating to the surface.

Lin Tianming's unreserved strike had shattered the crocodile's internal organs, ending the battle swiftly. He quickly skinned the beast, retrieved its pure white demon core, severed its four claws and tail, and then flew back on his sword.