Tens of thousands of miles away, amidst rugged peaks, ancient trees towering to the sky, and vast green plains, in an unfamiliar valley, Lin Xiao carved out a cave dwelling dozens of feet deep, leading Mei Tianmo and the Blue Corpse Puppet inside.
This place was extremely secluded, and unless the Cao family had special methods, it would be difficult to find him.
Glancing at Mei Tianmo, Lin Xiao asked hopefully, “The Dragon Saliva Mid-Heaven Pill should allow you to break through two realms, right?”
“No problem, but…” Mei Tianmo nodded, then shook her head, “I’m not planning to break through using human methods, but rather the spirit beast method, directly advancing one level.”
Lin Xiao was slightly surprised, “Advance one level? Are you confident?”
The cultivation method of spirit beasts differed from that of humans. Spirit beasts cultivated the spiritual core in their minds, somewhat similar to spirit controllers. Once they broke through, it was by one level, equivalent to three realms of a Martial Lord.
However, just like spirit controllers, advancing one level for a spirit beast was sometimes more difficult than a martial artist breaking through three realms.
It was akin to a martial artist breaking through three realms consecutively, an extremely challenging feat.
The higher the level, the greater the difficulty, which was why many spirit beasts, upon reaching higher tiers, chose to transform into human form for cultivation.
The human form was the most suitable for cultivation. After transforming, spirit beasts could cultivate their spiritual core as humans do, progressing step by step, advancing one realm at a time. Advancing three realms would equate to breaking through one level.
Otherwise, high-tier spirit beasts found it nearly impossible to progress further.
Even for humans, breaking through a single realm at high levels was difficult. Some couldn’t break through for years, even a lifetime, let alone a high-tier spirit beast advancing one level in a single leap.
Of course, with sufficient opportunities, breaking through one level wasn’t impossible.
The Dragon Saliva Mid-Heaven Pill was a significant opportunity for Mei Tianmo. If cultivated using human methods, breaking through two realms would likely be achievable.
If cultivated using the spirit beast method, there was a chance to directly advance one level, though Lin Xiao wasn’t certain of the odds.
Advancing one level would equate to three human realms, surpassing the pill’s original effect, but failure would mean wasting a Dragon Saliva Mid-Heaven Pill.
Mei Tianmo nodded, “Sixty percent.”
“If I were you, I’d make the same choice!” Lin Xiao nodded back at Mei Tianmo.
The quality of the Dragon Saliva Mid-Heaven Pill could allow someone below the fifth realm of Martial Lord to break through two realms with a seventy percent chance. A sixty percent chance of advancing one level was worth the gamble. “When I refine the Dragon Saliva Mid-Heaven Pill, I’ll seal myself. Place me in a storage ring, and don’t let anyone disturb me. If it’s quick, I’ll break through in half a month; if slow, a month. You’d better use a separate storage ring, or when I break through, my aura might leak and destroy your ring,” Mei Tianmo instructed.
“Rest assured, I won’t let anyone disturb you!” Lin Xiao nodded solemnly.
At that moment, Mei Tianmo removed the storage rings from her hands and handed them to Lin Xiao. Then, sitting cross-legged, black energy emanated from her, and massive wings and venomous stingers emerged, revealing her spirit beast form.
A mysterious force enveloped her.
Mei Tianmo’s body condensed and shrank rapidly, transforming into a thumb-sized winged scorpion, then forming a solid black cocoon that sealed her tightly, not a trace of aura escaping.
Lin Xiao couldn’t help but marvel at the advantages of the Heavenly Demon Scorpion. Sealing herself in such a tiny form, she’d be nearly impossible to detect in any corner.
As long as he didn’t throw Mei Tianmo directly at an enemy, no one would disturb her.
“I hope you can break through within a month, or entering the Yuan Spirit Pool Secret Realm won’t be easy!” Lin Xiao sighed, placing the black cocoon in a separate storage ring. He then took out the Extreme Cold Yin Fruit and fed it to the Blue Corpse Puppet, commanding it to refine it.
The Blue Corpse Puppet immediately began refining the Extreme Cold Yin Fruit, with rolling yin energy emanating from it. Lin Xiao had to carve out another stone chamber, place the puppet inside, and seal it with rocks.
Otherwise, the yin energy would fill the entire valley, inevitably attracting attention.
“It’s time for me to advance too!” After settling Mei Tianmo and the Blue Corpse Puppet, Lin Xiao sat cross-legged and took out the Heavy Mountain Strange Rock from his storage ring.
The rock was extraordinarily heavy, almost too much for him to lift. “Truly a remarkable stone!” Lin Xiao exclaimed, activating the Heaven-Sealing Stone Hand. Every particle of flesh in his hand sea opened like a lion’s maw, frantically absorbing the rock’s energy. The Heavy Mountain Strange Rock transformed into a vast sea of stone energy, surging into his hand sea, tempering it, condensing into streams of power that fused into every particle of flesh.
Though small, the Heavy Mountain Strange Rock contained an immense amount of high-grade stone energy. As Lin Xiao began refining it, his hand sea, like a starving ghost after centuries, devoured it voraciously, advancing rapidly.
…
While Lin Xiao cultivated in his hidden retreat, outside the Cao family’s fourth city, battles raged, shattering mountains and destroying forests.
Eight Cao family Martial Lords besieged Lu Yu and Xu Yi, both seventh-realm Martial Lords, who eventually fled, gravely injured.
Lu Yu discarded his storage ring to escape.
However, Cao Ting and the others discovered that Lu Yu’s storage ring contained no Dragon Saliva Mid-Heaven Pill, infuriating them. The pill had indeed been taken by Mei Tianmo.
When Cao Ting sent people to search for Lin Xiao, he led Cao Gang and others to rush to the Cao family’s headquarters, the first city.
News of the massacre of Cao family members in their fifth city soon reached the Cao patriarch, who was enraged. While sending people to investigate, he dispatched forces to attack the Xu family.
The Xu family’s fifth city was breached, with countless casualties and two low-tier Martial Lords killed.
The Xu family retaliated, sending experts to hunt Cao family members. Cao family Martial Lords fell as well, and the two families spiralled into all-out war, destabilising the region.
The deaths of Cao Zheng, Cao Chen, Xu Qin, and Xu Wei were confirmed, but investigations revealed something suspicious, suggesting someone was instigating the conflict. Initially, both families suspected the Lu family was behind it. The war lasted only half a month before both sides began to restrain themselves, and with their strength, they soon uncovered the truth.
