The Dragon Yuan Mountain remained as tranquil as ever.
Morning mist drifted lazily between the mountain peaks while disciples carrying swords hurried towards their respective training grounds. Since the Head Elder's successful Golden Core Realm breakthrough, the Lin Family's prestige throughout Dragon Yuan Province had risen to an entirely new level. Even the surrounding cultivation families had begun acting considerably more respectfully whenever the Lin Family was mentioned.
Within the Head Elder's residence, Lin Yan had just finished tending to the spiritual herbs planted outside the courtyard.
Her master had entered closed-door cultivation shortly after stabilising her Golden Core Realm, leaving Lin Yan with considerably more free time than before. Even so, she had not relaxed her own cultivation, spending almost every waking moment either cultivating or studying sword techniques.
Just as she was about to return indoors...
A voice sounded outside the residence.
"Fairy Lin."
She turned around in slight confusion.
Standing outside the gate was a rather ordinary-looking Foundation Establishment cultivator dressed in travelling robes. His cultivation was only at the early Foundation Establishment stage, and judging from the weathered appearance of both his clothes and complexion, he appeared to be an itinerant cultivator who had travelled a great distance.
Lin Yan frowned slightly.
"I don't believe we've met."
The man respectfully cupped his fists.
"We haven't."
"I merely accepted a commission."
"A commission?"
He nodded before producing an ordinary storage bag.
"The employer instructed me to deliver this personally into Fairy Lin's hands."
"And..."
"He specifically instructed that I must not open it."
Lin Yan's vigilance immediately rose.
"Who was your employer?"
The cultivator lowered his head.
"I apologise."
"I truly don't know."
"The employer remained concealed throughout the transaction."
"He merely paid me generously and instructed me to travel to Dragon Yuan Mountain."
"I have fulfilled my task."
With those words, he respectfully handed over the storage bag.
Lin Yan hesitated briefly before extending her Spiritual Sense over it.
There were no hidden restrictions.
Nor any malicious fluctuations.
Only after confirming its safety did she slowly accept it.
The Foundation Establishment cultivator smiled faintly.
"My task is complete."
He bowed once before immediately leaving the residence without showing the slightest intention of lingering.
Lin Yan quietly watched his departing figure.
Something...
Felt rather strange.
Returning to her room, she carefully opened the storage bag.
The first thing that caught her attention wasn't a treasure.
Instead it was a jade slip.
Curiosity immediately surfaced within her heart as she pressed it gently against her forehead.
A familiar voice echoed softly within her mind.
"Senior Sister."
The moment those two words sounded...
Lin Yan froze.
"...Little Sheng."
Her breathing unconsciously quickened.
Although the voice had matured considerably compared to several years ago, she recognised it instantly.
Lin Sheng's recorded message wasn't particularly long.
He simply informed her that he was safe, currently cultivating elsewhere, and had obtained several opportunities. He apologised for being unable to reveal his current location before reminding her to cultivate diligently and avoid worrying about him.
The message ended as calmly as it had begun.
Yet...
Lin Yan stood motionless for a long time.
A gentle smile gradually appeared on her face.
"You little brat..."
"You really know how to make people worry."
Only after composing herself did she continue inspecting the storage bag.
Inside...
Lay numerous cultivation resources, spirit Stones and several medicinal pills. Although she couldn't identify everything, she could at least recognise one of the pills.
It was a Heaven Mending pill .
She immediately understood one thing.
Her younger brother...
Had truly encountered extraordinary opportunities.
The smile upon her face gradually transformed into determination.
"If you're cultivating so diligently..."
"...I can't afford to fall behind either."
She carefully stored everything away before immediately entering her cultivation room once more.
Outside...
The quiet courtyard returned to its previous tranquility.
...
Far away in the Southern Archipelagos...
Time quietly flowed onward.
Three months passed in the blink of an eye.
Deep beneath Ridge Mist Island, the ancient Dharma Altar had undergone astonishing changes.
Compared to when Lin Sheng first discovered it, nearly seventy percent of the damaged formation pathways had already been restored. Numerous new formation nodes had been constructed while Crystal continuously refined the ancient structure after every monthly inspection with its counterpart on the opposite side.
Each successful check-in allowed Crystal to compare both formations directly, rapidly identifying weaknesses before proposing increasingly efficient repair solutions.
The restoration speed...
Had exceeded every previous estimate.
Meanwhile...
Lin Sheng's own cultivation had advanced just as rapidly.
The residual dragon blood hidden within his body had yet to be fully exhausted. Combined with the abundance of Rank Three sea yao beasts surrounding Ridge Mist Island, his Body Refining cultivation steadily progressed until it finally reached the peak of the early Rank Three realm.
Every movement carried noticeably greater explosive power than before.
Even his physical resilience had increased dramatically.
His Spirit Platform cultivation likewise experienced remarkable growth.
The numerous Rank Three Sea Jades collected from the serpent's territory proved unexpectedly beneficial. Although they didn't directly strengthen his mental power, they continuously refined and stabilised his Sea of Consciousness, allowing his Spiritual Sense to grow at a much faster pace.
After three months of uninterrupted cultivation...
His Spirit Platform Realm had quietly approached the mid-stage.
His Mental Perception now extended nearly eighty-five li.
Such perception...
Already rivalled that of ordinary mid-stage Purple Palace cultivators.
Even after confirming the extent of his Mental Perception several more times, Lin Sheng couldn't help but feel satisfied.
At such a range, almost everything occurring around Ridge Mist Island lay within his senses. Unless someone deliberately concealed themselves using formations or possessed cultivation far above his own, escaping his perception had become exceedingly difficult.
Crystal had likewise completed another comparison.
[Mental Perception equivalent to an ordinary mid-stage Purple Palace cultivator.
Scanning efficiency increased by 31.8%.
Detection accuracy increased by 18.4%.]
Lin Sheng slowly nodded before withdrawing his perception.
His cultivation had advanced steadily.
The teleportation formation was nearly complete.
The Heaven Pill Shop continued expanding beyond his original expectations.
Everything...
Should have been moving in a favourable direction.
Yet...
His brows gradually furrowed.
That strange feeling...
Still hadn't disappeared.
Instead, it had quietly grown stronger over the past three months.
Whenever he cultivated, his thoughts occasionally became restless without warning. During meditation, he would sometimes unconsciously awaken despite entering deep concentration, almost as though something invisible was constantly watching him.
At first, he believed it merely resulted from excessive caution.
However...
As his Spirit Platform advanced and his Sea of Consciousness became increasingly refined through the Sea Jades, that feeling only intensified.
It wasn't fear.
Nor was it anxiety.
It resembled...
An instinctive warning.
A warning that something capable of threatening his very existence was quietly approaching.
Lin Sheng trusted his instincts.
Ever since he began practicing the contemplation method, those instincts had saved his life countless times.
Ignoring them would only invite disaster.
He quietly walked towards the underground chamber's exit before looking at the calm sea stretching endlessly into the distance.
"I've delayed long enough."
His voice remained calm.
Yet the determination within his eyes steadily deepened.
Originally...
He had planned on keeping every Heaven Mending Pill.
Such treasures capable of improving Spiritual Roots couldn't simply be purchased with Spirit Stones. Even throughout the entire Southern Region, opportunities of that calibre were almost impossible to encounter.
However...
Resources only possessed value once converted into strength.
Keeping them hidden forever accomplished nothing.
The teleportation formation still required an enormous quantity of Mid-grade Spirit Stones to operate safely.
The opposite side likewise needed sufficient reserves in case he ever had to return unexpectedly.
More importantly...
If his instincts proved correct...
Then time was no longer on his side.
Selling one Heaven Mending Pill would provide enough wealth to support everything that followed.
As for the remaining four...
He had no intention of touching them unless absolutely necessary.
Crystal immediately projected several calculations.
[Current probability of successful long-distance survival after additional resource investment:
89.6%.]
[Probability without additional investment:
62.1%.]
Lin Sheng didn't hesitate.
The difference alone justified his decision.
His thoughts soon shifted towards the auction itself.
Selling such a heaven-defying treasure privately would undoubtedly invite countless problems. No matter how carefully he concealed himself, the buyer would inevitably investigate his identity afterwards.
The Thousand Isle Auction House...
Was different.
It possessed something far more valuable than its reputation.
Protection.
The Thousand Isles Archipelago stood under the rule of the Thousand Isle Monarch, a genuine Nascent Soul cultivator whose influence spread throughout the surrounding seas. Few people dared provoke an organisation directly protected by such an existence.
Even if someone coveted the Heaven Mending Pill...
They wouldn't dare act recklessly within the auction itself.
Furthermore...
Golden Core cultivators generally wouldn't care much about improving Spiritual Roots.
Once one reached that realm, cultivation relied increasingly upon comprehension rather than innate talent. More importantly, the descendants of Golden Core cultivators almost always inherited excellent Spiritual Roots naturally.
Only Purple Palace cultivators remained desperate enough to compete over such a treasure.
They represented the final group still struggling before Golden Core formation.
For them...
Improving Spiritual Roots even slightly could determine whether they ultimately formed a Void Core, a True Core or perhaps failed altogether.
Naturally...
Those same cultivators would also become the most likely to investigate the pill's origin afterwards.
Lin Sheng had already considered that possibility.
Which was precisely why he intended to reveal just enough.
Neither too much...
Nor too little.
Showing the cultivation of a powerful Rank Three body refiner would make ordinary Purple Palace cultivators think twice before acting. Without certainty of overwhelming victory, very few would willingly provoke someone whose physical strength alone rivalled theirs.
Especially...
When nobody knew what other trump cards that individual might possess.
Thinking everything through one final time, Lin Sheng quietly returned to his residence.
His appearance gradually changed beneath Crystal's precise control.
His facial muscles shifted subtly.
His aura likewise transformed before finally stabilising around the late Foundation Establishment stage.
Nothing appeared exaggerated.
Merely...
Ordinary.
After confirming that no flaws remained, Lin Sheng calmly looked towards Thousand Isle City beyond the horizon.
"It's time."
Without another word, he transformed into a streak of light before flying steadily towards the city where the greatest auction the Southern Archipelagos had seen in years was about to begin.