An unknown amount of time passed before Lin Xun awoke from his meditation.
Huu~
The breath he expelled turned into a stream of white steam as it shot forth with great momentum, cutting through the air like a sharp blade!
In the end, it smashed into the wall several dozen feet away with a loud bang.
Breath akin to a blade when expelled by inner force!
It was a sign that he was close to reaching the Heaven Dipper stage.
Lin Xun was stunned, not daring to believe that absorbing a mere root strand of the Snow Infant Jade Ginseng had boosted his cultivation all the way to the perfect Earth Dipper stage!
Still in disbelief, Lin Xun submerged his senses into his body to verify.
The dipper force in his body churned like a mighty sea, giving off a pure and boundless aura of stability and heaviness.
Its original sky-blue glow had turned into a pure, soothing, and unblemished jade-green!The Earth Dipper stage consisted of creating a connection to the land’s qi: comprehending the might of the earth, gathering its qi, and using it as a link like duckweed that had taken root and would not be washed away by the water.
These changes in his body were proof that Lin Xun had indeed reached the perfect Earth Dipper stage!
It’s real…
Lin Xun was still dazed and shocked by the enormous medicinal power of the Snow Infant Jade Ginseng. If a single root strand contains such terrifying power, consuming the entire thing…
Lin Xun immediately shook his head. His body had nearly been unable to bear the power from a single root strand.
If he were to consume the entire ginseng at once, his body would explode!
Not bad, my foundations are stable despite the rapid growth in cultivation, and my power seems to have grown as well…
Lin Xun could not help but smile in satisfaction as he carefully felt the changes in his power.
When he ascended to the Earth Dipper stage, he slaughtered an army of Heaven Dipper cultivators from the Chi Clan. He looked forward to finding out how much his combat abilities had grown now that he possessed perfect Earth Dipper cultivation.
All of a sudden, Lin Xun recalled Little Sword Lord Xie Yutang and the scene of him holding a sword to Lin Xun’s throat.
He recalled Chi Cangfeng who possessed the Purple Sea Golden Lotus bloodline and the scene of him flying through the air to kill Lin Xun.
The happiness in his heart immediately scattered.
It’s still not enough!
Lin Xun might be pretty much unrivaled in the Spirit Dipper stage but he was still sorely lacking compared to the Spirit Sea stage!
An unyielding will to fight began to burn in Lin Xun’s heart. A person did not live merely to breathe. Wasn’t the path of cultivation the same?
Fight the heavens, fight the earth, fight others, and fight oneself!
If a cultivator did not fight, he or she would lose the drive to keep bravely advancing and would never amount to anything.
The day will come when all of you will feel the taste of being subdued by me!
Lin Xun took a deep breath, his clear, black eyes filled with determination.
This marked a change in his dao heart. A single thought, a single decision, a single memory, or a single tribulation was all it would take sometimes to affect a cultivator’s dao heart.
This change of mindset was undoubtedly one of the most mysterious and unexplainable phenomena of cultivation.
Eh?
Lin Xun suddenly noticed a mysterious black halo on the ceiling above him.
It resembled a painting that had been woven from light. Strange and cryptic symbols silently floated within, painting an extremely mysterious sight.
Lin Xun’s attention was immediately drawn in.
He was certain that this strange thing had not been here when he entered the room.
In other words, it had appeared while he was cultivating!
Lin Xun stood up from the prayer mat and frowned in thought. This was a restricted zone that only the Lin Clan Leader could enter, and it was indeed rather strange for such a seemingly mysterious place to contain only a single prayer mat.
After all, the Lin Clan once possessed the wealth of one of the almighty high clans. How could they possibly be unable to afford a top-tier cultivation paradise?
The mysterious black halo was evidence that there were secrets in this room that he was unaware of!
After pondering for a long time, Lin Xun had reached a decision. He leaped into the air and reached out to grab the black halo.
However, before Lin Xun could get closer, the black halo suddenly disappeared as if it had been frightened.
Oh?
Lin Xun's keen senses noticed that a tiny black shadow had fallen from the black halo as it disappeared.
He instinctively reached out and caught it as his body gracefully landed on the ground. Without reaching the Spirit Sea stage, he could only briefly move through the air and was still incapable of flight.
Lin Xun opened his hand, revealing a black ring.
It looked extremely ordinary, like a small strip of black metal that had been welded into a circle. The entire ring was jet-black and barely had any weight.
The most disappointing part was that it wasn't a storage artifact and contained no aeth power.
Lin Xun raised his head and looked at the roof again only to find it empty. The black halo seemed to have evaporated from existence, leaving no trace that it had ever been there.
“Strange…”
Lin Xun fiddled with the ring as he walked out of the room.
To his surprise, he saw Lin Zhong waiting outside the door. "Uncle Zhong, is something the matter?"
Lin Zhong was about to answer when he caught sight of the black ring in Lin Xun's hand. His eyes immediately widened as his face flooded with all sorts of emotions.
In a trembling voice, he said, "The ancestral ring! It…so it wasn't stolen but hidden here by the old clan leader!"
His voice was filled with unconcealable joy as if he was on the verge of crying due to happiness.
This 'ancestral ring' was clearly of great importance to Lin Zhong and had made him lose control of his emotions.
Realization dawned upon Lin Xun. The seemingly ordinary and aeth-power-less ring was likely a treasure passed down by the Lin Clan ancestors. Moreover, it was probably made such that outsiders could not discover its secrets.
Lin Xun waited until Lin Zhong recovered before he asked, "Uncle Zhong, please tell me about the ring."
“Young Master, this ring is called Chaotic Void and is a treasure that has been passed down by the Lin Clan founder. Only a successor with direct blood ties to the Lin Clan has the qualifications to possess it"
"Other branch clan members and outsiders will not be able to gain true ownership over it because only the bloodline of a direct descendent can awaken it and make it submit!"
There was a sliver of reminiscence in Lin Zhong's voice as he explained the origins of the Chaotic Void Ring.
"The true reason why this old servant has stayed in Mind Cleansing Peak all these years is to safeguard the private cultivation room on the third level of Mind Cleansing Hall. I knew that even though the old clan leader and the others are gone, the Chaotic Void Ring would not be lost.”
Chaotic Void Ring!
An item that had been passed down from the founder!
Only a direct bloodline successor had the qualifications to wield it!
Lin Xun could not help but feel shocked by these revelations. Although he had already guessed that it was no ordinary item, he had not expected it to once belong to the founder.
"Young Master, obtaining it is equivalent to being acknowledged as the clan successor by the Lin Clan ancestors! In the future, no one will dare to question your identity!"
Lin Zhong excitedly looked at Lin Xun.
"So it's an acknowledgment of my identity."
Lin Xun's interest waned somewhat. What was the point of obtaining such acknowledgment? It would not make the four branch clans obediently bow their heads in submission.
"Young Master, you've misunderstood."
Lin Zhong said, "Strictly speaking, this ring is the true reason why the Lin Clan has been able to survive till today!”
Lin Xun's body froze as his expression changed. "What do you mean?"
Lin Zhong took a deep breath and said, “Because only through the ring’s power can you be able to obtain the Lin Clan’s ultimate sacred text, the Chaotic Void Dao Scripture!”
"It is a secret art that only the Lin Clan Leader has the qualifications to learn!”
Lin Xun was completely stunned as a myriad of emotions heaved within him. He had not expected the ring to hide such an astonishing secret. If not for Lin Zhong, Lin Xun would have never realized this in his lifetime.
“Young Master, our Lin Clan was one of the eight high clans five hundred years ago! The Chaotic Void Dao Scripture is the reason why we’ve been able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the other seven high clans!”
Lin Zhong could not help but sigh. "It was regrettable that the old clan leader was unable to comprehend the Chaotic Void Dao Scripture’s true secrets despite investing an entire lifetime of effort. His cultivation was stuck at the Cycle Derivation stage and he was unable to become a true Life Death Stage King.”
"Originally, the master, your father, had been the most likely person to master the Chaotic Void Dao Scripture due to his outstanding talent and amazing comprehension abilities. However, he met his unfortunate demise in that incident a dozen years ago…”
Lin Zhong’s voice had become downcast and his expression gave off an indescribable feeling of loneliness and melancholy.
Only then did Lin Xun realize that he had not only come into possession of an empty shell that was Mind Cleansing Peak, but also the biggest inheritance left by the founder!
Lin Xun suddenly asked, "Uncle Zhong, how do I activate the Chaotic Void Ring's power? Why do I sense nothing special from it?"
Lin Zhong explained, "Young Master, I once heard the old clan leader mention that you would only be able to begin accessing the ring’s secrets after stepping into the Spirit Sea stage."
“I see.”
After some consideration, Lin Xun carefully kept the Chaotic Void Ring. After all, it was the ultimate treasure of the clan. Once he advanced to the Spirit Sea stage in the future, he would be able to have a peek at the Chaotic Void Dao Scripture!
Lin Zhong suddenly slapped his forehead as if he had recalled something and said, “Young Master, I was too excited earlier and forgot that I had something to report.”
Lin Xun was taken aback. "What is it?"
Lin Zhong's expression darkened slightly. “The four branch clans will each be sending a representative to meet you at Mind Cleansing Peak tomorrow afternoon.”
Lin Xun raised his brow and icily chuckled. “It’s only been two days since I returned to Mind Cleansing Peak. So they’re finally unable to sit still any longer?”