Chapter Ninety-One: A Shard

“Stay here and watch. If anything seems wrong with Brother Lin, shout for me at once!” With that, Chen Chong left to search for suitable materials.

Watching Lin Xiaobao relentlessly refine the Netherworld Ghost Fire, Si Mengling grew faintly lost in thought. What kind of person was he? How could he know everything?

No matter. Since he was that man’s disciple, once they parted ways there would be no further connection between them. Why think so much about it?

And so, Lin Xiaobao continued refining the strange flames, while Chen Chong crafted a quiet chamber for the three of them. In the blink of an eye, half a year passed.

After refining the last strand of Subduing-Demon Black Flame, Lin Xiaobao slowly opened his eyes. With a thought, a pale blue flame sprang up at his fingertip. As the hand seals in his palm changed, the flame shifted into countless forms, supple and alive, as if it were part of his own body.

His innate true flame? Chen Chong and Si Mengling both stared in shock. One had to know that although the Spirit Path realm had already touched the threshold of the Way, one could only use the most elementary principles of the heavens to circulate spiritual power. Only upon reaching the Heart of the Dao realm could spiritual power be condensed into an innate true flame through comprehension of the Way.

Of course, that applied to those cultivating fire arts. Those who cultivated water arts would condense an innate frost; those of the wood path would gain an innate spiritual wood...

But in any case, one’s cultivation had to reach the Heart of the Dao realm. In the past half year, although Lin Xiaobao had devoured all manner of strange flames and his cultivation had surged all the way to the third stage of the Spirit Path, there was no way he could have condensed an innate true flame!

It seemed the little brother he knew truly was extraordinary. Looking at the flame dancing at Lin Xiaobao’s fingertip, Chen Chong could sense the immense destructive power hidden within it.

Although his cultivation had risen by two stages in half a year, a speed that both Chen Chong and Si Mengling already considered astonishing, Lin Xiaobao himself seemed rather unconcerned. By rights, after devouring more than ten kinds of strange flame, if Lin Xiaobao had not deliberately restrained himself, he could have raised his cultivation all the way to the peak of the ninth stage of the Spirit Path, and might even have been able to touch the Heart of the Dao. But when his cultivation reached the third stage of the Spirit Path, Elder Mo had warned him: “Do not rush to improve your cultivation. First refine the strange flames and store them within your body. Wait until your state of mind has improved before fully absorbing them!”

Elder Mo’s blunt admonition made Lin Xiaobao realize the flaw in his habitual thinking. Before entering the Spirit Path realm, raising one’s level required only the accumulation of power. But after entering the Spirit Path realm, improving cultivation required not only power, but comprehension of the heavens’ principles as well. If one was eager for quick success, the foundation would become unstable, and the consequences could be extremely terrifying.

At first, by Elder Mo’s intention, Lin Xiaobao was meant to stop once he reached the fifth stage of the Spirit Path. But worried that one day he might explode from within, Lin Xiaobao stopped at the third stage instead. In any case, he had already refined the strange flames; whenever he wished to increase his cultivation, he could do so at any time. There was no need to rush.

Chen Chong and Si Mengling were somewhat curious why Lin Xiaobao could condense an innate true flame at the Spirit Path realm, but since this concerned another person’s cultivation secrets, both of them wisely kept silent.

“This is the Azure Flame Sacred Sword I refined for you. It suits the fire-based techniques you cultivate perfectly. See if it works for you.” Seeing Lin Xiaobao withdraw the flame from his fingertip, Chen Chong immediately handed over the sword.

As for Si Mengling’s Rain-Coating Sword, it was already in her hand. She simply could not put this high-grade spiritual weapon down. Its flawless, flowing design seemed like the dream of countless maidens, and in battle it could increase spiritual power by as much as thirty percent. In times of danger, activating the defensive array embedded within the blade could even withstand a full-force strike from a cultivator at the perfect completion of the Heart of the Dao realm.

Taking the sacred sword, Lin Xiaobao infused it with spiritual power, and the sword released a clear dragon’s cry. At once, a glint flashed in his eyes. “A mid-grade treasure weapon?”

As he spoke, Lin Xiaobao withdrew the spiritual power he had infused and already gained a complete understanding of the sacred sword. With his current attainment in array formations, he could discern the power of the formation embedded in the blade even without activating it.

Seeing Lin Xiaobao obtain a mid-grade treasure weapon, Si Mengling revealed a look of envy, though there was not the slightest trace of jealousy. It was already quite good that she had obtained a high-grade spiritual sword. One had to know that among the elders of the Drifting Cloud Sect, those who possessed high-grade spiritual weapons generally held a certain standing. With her status, if not for a fortunate coincidence, who knew when she would ever have had a spiritual weapon of her own?

“All set. Now let us split the resources here!” Having refined the strange flames and obtained a mid-grade treasure weapon, Lin Xiaobao was in excellent spirits and turned his gaze fully toward the resources scattered everywhere.

“You can divide them among yourselves. I do not need any. For me, possessing the Yin Core is already enough.” Chen Chong seemed intent on thanking Lin Xiaobao.

“Fine. I suppose you would not deign to look at such trash anyway, so the two of us will accept it without ceremony.” Lin Xiaobao did not hesitate in the slightest at Chen Chong’s refusal. Pulling Si Mengling along, he began to divide the spoils.

Lin Xiaobao made no pretended refusal, which suited Chen Chong perfectly. Standing by, he watched the two of them busy themselves.

“One for you, one for me...” Perhaps wanting to make up for Lin Tian to Si Mengling, Lin Xiaobao stuffed quite a few pieces of excellent-quality resources into her hands.

“Wait...” Just as Lin Xiaobao was dividing things with great relish, the voices of Elder Wu and Elder Mo entered his mind at the same time.

“What is it?” Lin Xiaobao knew the two elders would never speak without reason.

“Pick up that palm-sized shard on the left!”

Following the elders’ reminder, Lin Xiaobao turned his gaze to the unremarkable shard on the ground. He bent down and picked it up, examined it, and found no trace of anything unusual. It seemed to be nothing more than an ordinary fragment of broken glass.

“Old Mo, what do you think?” This was the first time Lin Xiaobao had heard Elder Wu speak in such a grave tone.

Elder Mo nodded and said seriously, “If I am not mistaken, this should be a fragment of the Chaos Mirror. But how did it come to be lost in this world?”

“The Chaos Mirror? Is it that impressive?” Lin Xiaobao asked in some confusion.

“Compared with this fragment of the Chaos Mirror, everything here is trash. What do you think? Is it impressive enough for you?” Elder Wu seemed momentarily at a loss for how to describe the Chaos Mirror to Lin Xiaobao, and could only explain it by comparison.

Hearing this, Lin Xiaobao hurriedly put the shard into his storage bracelet. Half-distractedly dividing the spoils with Si Mengling, he sought guidance from the two elders.

The Chaos Mirror was a primordial treasure formed when heaven and earth first opened, a self-contained world of its own, capable of nurturing all things in existence. If a cultivator could refine it into their body, the benefits would be beyond counting.

Even after the two elders’ explanation, Lin Xiaobao still could not fully understand it. But one thing was certain: anything regarded so highly by those two elders was absolutely no ordinary object.