The next day, Elder Luo Cheng sent a message to Meng Shi.
There was no explanation in the message, no polite wording, and certainly no warmth. It only told him to come to the western slope residence.
That matched Luo Cheng's nature perfectly, so no one questioned it.
By afternoon, Meng Shi arrived.
Compared to the broad-shouldered youth who had entered the Demon Sealing Ruins, Meng Shi looked thinner now. His black-brown disciple robe hung heavily on his frame, and a faint medicinal smell clung to him. His face was still firm, but there was a pale weakness beneath his skin that had not fully faded.
The Demon Sealing Ruins had injured him deeply.
Not only his body.
His confidence too.
Meng Shi entered the courtyard and cupped his hands toward the stone hall.
"Disciple Meng Shi greets Elder Luo."
Fang Lin sat inside the hall wearing Luo Cheng's face. The black-brown elder robe rested heavily around his shoulders, dark stone embroidery lined his cuffs, and the black mountain crest on his chest looked cold beneath the dim light. The dark iron elder token at his waist released faint spiritual pressure, enough to remind any disciple that the person before him was not someone to offend lightly.
Fang Lin looked at Meng Shi calmly.
"Sit."
Meng Shi hesitated.
Luo Cheng rarely allowed disciples to sit before him. Most disciples preferred to finish their reports while standing and leave quickly, as if staying too long in the same room might make their bones heavier.
But Meng Shi did not dare refuse.
"Yes, Elder."
He sat on the stone chair opposite Fang Lin, his posture stiff.
Fang Lin studied him quietly.
Late Qi Conjunction.
No.
Peak Qi Conjunction.
Meng Shi had improved after the ruins, but he had not yet broken through to Spirit Foundation.
Good.
Fang Lin's expression did not change.
"I called you here because of the Demon Sealing Ruins."
Meng Shi's body stiffened slightly, and his eyes lowered.
"Yes, Elder."
Fang Lin's voice remained cold, but not harsh. "Speak. What happened inside?"
Meng Shi was silent for a moment before he began.
He spoke of the recruitment, the recruited cultivators, Qin Yuesheng, Huo Lan, the ruined hall, the black vine passage, the underground altar, and the hidden cultivator who had appeared before them.
He did not know that the man in the underground hall had been Fang Lin.
He did not know that he was now speaking to that same person.
To Meng Shi, that figure had only been a mysterious cold sword cultivator who had obtained some opportunity beneath the ruins.
"He was strong," Meng Shi said quietly.
Fang Lin looked at him. "How strong?"
Meng Shi's fingers tightened on his knees.
"At first, I thought he was only hiding his Qi Conjunction cultivation. Later, I felt he might have been a Spirit Foundation cultivator suppressing himself."
His voice became heavier.
"He fought Qin Yuesheng, Huo Lan, and me at the same time. Huo Lan died. Qin Yuesheng and I survived only because he did not kill us immediately."
Fang Lin's eyes remained calm.
"Why did he spare you?"
Meng Shi lowered his head further.
"I do not know."
That was true.
Meng Shi still did not understand it. Even now, he could not forget the underground hall, the corpses, the black altar, the cold sword, and the man's eyes.
They had not been arrogant.
They had not been wild.
They had a frightening calm to them.
That calm had frightened him more than killing intent.
Fang Lin said, "The sect believes Guo Zhen died inside the ruins."
Meng Shi's expression changed. "Senior Brother Guo..."
"You did not see him?"
"No, Elder."
"Lu Han? Yan Chi?"
Meng Shi shook his head. "No."
Fang Lin leaned back slightly.
"Then the three sects hid things even from you."
Meng Shi's face became ugly.
He had already guessed this, but hearing an elder say it made the feeling colder. It meant his suspicion was not only fear speaking after the fact. It meant there had truly been another layer inside the ruins, and disciples like him had been pieces on a board they were not allowed to see.
Fang Lin looked at him for a long moment.
Then his voice softened slightly.
Not gentle.
Only less cold.
"You survived. That is not shameful."
Meng Shi froze and looked up.
Fang Lin continued, "A person who dies for pride is only a corpse. A person who survives can still grow stronger."
Meng Shi's eyes trembled faintly.
For months, he had lived under strange gazes. Some pitied him. Some mocked him secretly. Some blamed him for surviving when Guo Zhen did not. Others looked at him as if the ruins had left something dirty on his body.
No one had said this to him.
Especially not an elder like Luo Cheng.
Meng Shi lowered his head.
"Thank you, Elder."
Fang Lin said nothing.
Silence settled between them for several breaths.
Then Fang Lin asked casually, "Your foundation is close to Spirit Foundation."
Meng Shi nodded. "Yes. I am preparing."
"What method?"
Meng Shi answered honestly, "The sect's Black Mountain Earth Vein Art."
Fang Lin's eyes moved slightly.
Black Mountain Earth Vein Art.
It was one of Black Mountain Gate's core earth cultivation methods. The technique focused on forming a stable Spirit Foundation by using heavy earth Qi to strengthen the dantian, bones, and meridians at the same time. It suited body cultivators and disciples with earth affinity.
Fang Lin had seen the name in Luo Cheng's memories, though Luo Cheng himself had not cultivated it deeply.
He said, "Your foundation was damaged in the ruins. Breaking through carelessly will leave hidden cracks."
Meng Shi's expression became serious.
"I know."
"Do you have support resources?"
Meng Shi hesitated.
Then he nodded.
"I still have one old vitality leaf from a reward batch. Senior Brother Guo once said such leaves should not be used normally. They are best consumed just before breaking into Spirit Foundation. When used together with the Black Mountain Earth Vein Art, they help stabilize the foundation and repair the damage caused by heavy earth Qi."
Fang Lin's heart moved.
One leaf.
Meng Shi still had one.
His expression did not change.
"Only one?"
Meng Shi nodded. "I originally had two. One was consumed after the ruins to heal my internal injuries. The last one is being saved for breakthrough."
Fang Lin looked at him silently.
So that was how Black Mountain Gate understood the leaf.
A stabilizing herb.
A supporting vitality material.
Useful for earth cultivation breakthroughs.
They did not know its true nature. They did not know it could awaken a grey seed. They did not know that one old vitality leaf had pushed Fang Lin's cultivation method called Nine Nether Phantom Body into Greater Mastery.
Meng Shi continued, "I plan to enter seclusion after one more mission. If I can gather enough contribution points for a Foundation Stabilizing Pill, I should have a good chance."
Fang Lin said, "A mission?"
"Yes. The Mission Hall recently posted a task near the northern stone forest. A small ore caravan disappeared. The danger should not be too high, but the contribution reward is decent."
Fang Lin's eyes lowered slightly.
A mission outside the sect.
Meng Shi had one old vitality leaf.
And he was still at Peak Qi Conjunction, not Spirit Foundation.
Fang Lin's thoughts became cold.
Meng Shi was not his enemy in the same way Huo Lan had been. He had not been the cruelest person inside the ruins, nor had he chased Fang Lin with the determination of Lu Han, Yan Chi, and Guo Zhen.
But Meng Shi had entered the Demon Sealing Ruins as part of the three sects. He had stood among those who pressured the recruited cultivators. He had helped block the underground opportunity. If the situation had gone differently, he would not have spared Fang Lin out of kindness.
More importantly, the leaf mattered.
The grey seed mattered.
The faint path toward his parents, Uncle Wei, and the truth behind his own existence mattered far more than Meng Shi's life.
Fang Lin would not hesitate.
He looked at Meng Shi.
"You will not take that mission."
Meng Shi was startled. "Elder?"
Fang Lin said coldly, "I have another task for you."
Meng Shi immediately lowered his head.
"Please instruct me."
"There is an abandoned watch post near the Black Ridge Road. It belongs to one of our old ore routes. Recently, several reports mentioned strange movements there. I need someone to inspect it quietly."
Meng Shi hesitated. "Only me?"
"You are preparing for Spirit Foundation. A quiet inspection mission is better than chasing missing caravans with a group of noisy disciples."
Meng Shi thought for a moment.
That made sense.
The mission sounded safer. It was quiet, direct, and came from an elder who had just advised him about his foundation. Perhaps this was a form of hidden care.
Or at least, that was how Meng Shi understood it.
He cupped his hands.
"Disciple accepts."
Fang Lin's gaze remained cold.
"Leave tomorrow morning. Do not bring many people. One attendant at most. Too many footsteps scare away useful clues."
"Yes, Elder."
Meng Shi stood and bowed again.
This time, his respect carried a trace of sincerity.
"Thank you for your guidance, Elder."
Fang Lin looked at him.
"Survive first. Break through later."
Meng Shi nodded heavily.
Then he left.
The stone hall became silent.
Fang Lin sat alone beneath the dim light.
After a long time, a faint black shadow curled beneath his sleeve and vanished.
The old vitality leaf was not in the archive.
It was not in the mine.
It was in Meng Shi's storage treasure.
Fang Lin closed his eyes.
Tomorrow, Meng Shi would leave the sect.
And Luo Cheng would follow.
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