The atmosphere at Yongzhou Pass was tense.
They not only had to defend against the Great Shun Dynasty but also guard against the Demon Mountain at their backs.
"AH! AH! AH!"
Yu Sheng finally stopped pacing and flopped into a seat at the table, pouting.
She banged her forehead against the tabletop—THUMP, THUMP—then her eyes widened as she said blankly, "It’s over. Is he planning on abandoning me?"
"..."
Yan Jin sat down, feeling a headache coming on.
Good thing there was no one else around. For a Master to say the word "abandon"—it was just utterly bizarre.
"Do you think he’s with that big-chested woman?" Yu Sheng suddenly asked, her brow furrowing in suspicion.
"Who... You mean Gu Nanzhi? Didn’t she return to Anren Prefecture?" Yan Jin asked, looking puzzled.
"Forget it. It’s too complicated to explain to you."
Yu Sheng waved her hand dismissively, got up, and charged for the inn’s exit, only to cry out in pain, "Ow! Ow!"
Yan Jin quickly stood up, just in time to see Senior Brother Lin sauntering in, pinching the girl’s cheek and dragging her back into the inn.
"Are you done spouting nonsense?"
"I was wrong! I was wrong!"
After the little chick’s pleas for mercy, Lin Shu came and sat down at the table.
Yu Sheng rubbed her cheek aggrievedly and obediently poured him a cup of Spirit Tea, muttering, "It really is dangerous outside."
"Senior Brother Lin, it seems something has happened at the Demon-slaying Bureau."
Yan Jin quietly explained on Yu Sheng’s behalf, "I overheard some people chatting. The Demons in the mountains seem to be far more vicious than expected. Even a low-ranking Demon General managed to inflict a major loss on that Vice General. I hear he still hasn’t returned."
"I’ve heard," Lin Shu nodded and took a sip of hot tea. "We need to be extra careful and find a way to leave as soon as possible."
With that, he glanced at the girl beside him. "How are things now?"
"No problem!"
Yu Sheng suddenly remembered something and exclaimed in delight, "I can separate out my Primordial Cyan Qi now, and I’ve learned a lot of other things too!"
Immortal Descendants could grow by drawing from their Inheritance Spiritual Light, gradually comprehending Divine Techniques. This was also the origin of Immortal Techniques.
She first produced a wisp of Primordial Cyan Qi and offered it to him. "Here, for you... Look at me, quick, look at me."
Under Lin Shu’s expectant gaze, Yu Sheng closed her eyes. A Spiritual Light surged around her, and then her body visibly began to shrink.
She reverted to the tiny, infantile form she’d had before, hopping onto the table and raising her arms with a look that begged for praise. "Ta-da!"
"..."
The corner of Lin Shu’s eye twitched.
He shot out a hand and, just as the little porcelain doll lunged at him, grabbed the back of her neck and lifted her up sideways.
On his fair and handsome face, his eyes narrowed. "Dozens of wisps of Spiritual Light, and this is what you learn?"
’Changing size whenever you feel like it?’
Yu Sheng flailed her limbs in mid-air. Seeing that she was about to get a spanking, she hurriedly shouted, "There’s more! There’s more!"
She hastily channeled her Magical Power.
A murderous intent suddenly filled the inn. The sound of the wind vanished, replaced by a dense Sword Intent—a tier higher than Xie Yutang’s Core Formation Sword Formulas—that enveloped the area like a vast ocean.
Yan Jin’s face turned deathly pale.
Even though the Divine Technique had deliberately avoided her, it was still suffocating for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
"That’s more like it."
Lin Shu set her down. If all she had learned was how to change her size, he really would have had to reconsider investing his Merit Coins into this Cyan Qi.
"Are we leaving now?" Yu Sheng asked, sitting on the table and secretly scooting closer to the young man.
"Mhm."
Lin Shu retracted his aura.
Now that Yu Sheng possessed the foundation of an adult Immortal Descendant, once he finished absorbing these six hundred-plus Sin Coins, he would have respectable combat strength at least within the Mid-stage Core Formation Realm.
He had also accumulated a lot of merit.
He just needed Yu Sheng to display her normal state and report it to the Yu Family. Then he could smoothly withdraw from a troublesome place like Yongzhou Pass.
While waiting for the Yu Family’s arrangements, he could also wait for Elder Xu’s return.
As long as nothing unexpected happened, he should be able to avoid this calamity.
"I’m going up to rest for a bit. We’ll talk more tomorrow."
Lin Shu stood up and walked toward his room on the second floor.
Back in his room, he summoned the Merit and Sin Coins.
Beside the large pile of pitch-black silver ingots, he had also accumulated quite a few of the jade-colored ones.
He had saved sixty taels initially, then earned another twenty for saving Lu Yun and the others from the Great Shun Dynasty Cultivators’ array, plus eighty from that group of Little Demons.
Bit by bit, he had gathered a total of one hundred and sixty taels.
This was still far from enough to deduce a Core Formation Technique on his own, but things would be different with Immortal Qi.
"I finally got my hands on it."
Lin Shu twirled the wisp of Cyan Qi, his gaze falling on the faint Cyan Simurgh illusion within it.
The Yu Family of the Mountain God was famous for their swordsmanship.
But only those with the aptitude of a Mountain Master could comprehend Sword Essence.
Of course, he was a little envious of the sword formula Xie Yutang had once channeled. With just a Dao Essence Perfection cultivation, she could unleash such a razor-sharp aura.
However, what he lacked most right now was a Core Formation Inner Technique.
Only with a sufficient foundation to support him could he bring out the maximum effect of his many methods.
’Whatever it is, I just hope it’s not the kind Feng Yinglong uses.’
Lin Shu would accept either Sword Formulas or an Inner Technique, but if it was just an ordinary Core Formation Immortal Technique, it wouldn’t be very meaningful to him.
The next moment, all the Merit Coins dissolved into a dense white light that surged into the wisp of Cyan Qi.
"Hah."
Lin Shu let out a long breath, his eyes flickering. He was, for once, actually nervous.
An Immortal Technique deduced step-by-step from the Foundation Establishment Stage would, even if successful, definitely start at Core Formation Ninth Grade. There was nothing special about that.
But comprehending one from Immortal Qi was different.
It might just hold a surprise for him.
In an instant, he was involuntarily pulled into a state of introspection.
He saw that atop the flawless Jade Tower, on that small, square platform, the motes of light that had originally gathered were gradually coalescing into a cluster.
"Hm?"
As Lin Shu watched, the cluster of light gradually grew larger.
His gaze penetrated it, and a look of shock appeared on his face.
The cluster of light was no bigger than a soybean, yet peering through the mist on its surface, he could see a gradually forming Mountain and Sea Immortal Mansion inside.
It was like a master craftsman carving a boat into a peach pit with the most delicate of techniques.
The crimson Dao Essence churning in the nine-layered Spirit Sea of the Jade Tower was all surging toward the cluster of light, gathering inside the Immortal Mansion and brimming with vigorous life.
The entire mansion was like an outer shell.
The truly precious thing within had not yet manifested.
[Core Formation Sixth Grade. Cyan Simurgh Nourishing Yuan Palace: Entry-level]
RUMBLE—
The cluster of light suddenly enveloped the entire Jade Tower.
At the same time, his original bottleneck was finally broken.
Fueled by the Merit Coins, the amount of Dao Essence multiplied by dozens of times. It surged out of the Jade Tower, transforming into a crimson ocean that crashed against the mountain rock.
Then it reversed its flow, rising like nine colossal dragons stretching across the sky, connecting to the Immortal Mansion on the summit!
"..."
A Mid Third Grade Immortal Technique, at just the entry-level, caused Lin Shu’s aura to skyrocket, allowing him to successfully step into the early-stage of Core Formation.
At this moment, the Spiritual Power within his body was already on par with the Filthy Moon Wolf Lord!
He was in a completely different league from a Core Formation cultivator like Gong Yue, who had barely managed to break through.
"I didn’t raise her for nothing after all."
Lin Shu slowly opened his eyes, his face filled with emotion.
With this new, abundant Spiritual Power to support him, he would no longer have to be so stingy when using his techniques in a fight.
It was a pity. If he could have obtained the Divine Soul of an adult Cyan Simurgh, these hundred-odd taels of Merit Coins could have helped the Calamity-Crossing Cyan Simurgh Illusion advance even further.
By then, he would have possessed a foundation of Spiritual Power three times that of other Practitioners of the Same Realm. He could have just blasted away with any Immortal Technique or Magical Treasure he pleased.
Unfortunately, all adult Immortal Descendants cherished their lives far too much.
They would never step outside Yongzhou Pass.
If he were to make a move against them within the pass, he would have to directly face Yu Qiheng, a Golden Core Powerhouse, as well as that treasure called the Mountain God Mirror.
Forget about him; even if he called upon every Demon in the mountains, they probably wouldn’t make it out alive.
’What am I thinking?’
Lin Shu sensed something was amiss and quickly suppressed his greedy thoughts.
In addition to the Immortal Descendant’s Divine Soul, he had actually started coveting the Mountain God Mirror he had only seen once.
After all, he possessed a profound Divine Technique like the Soul-Splitting Thousand Threads Guide, yet he could only use it for surveillance. It felt like a terrible waste of talent.
Whenever he saw a Treasure, he couldn’t help but entertain certain ideas.
But he had to consider the circumstances.
The Mountain God Mirror wasn’t like the Ink Flood Dragon Sword Bracelet, something someone would casually toss into a river.
It was rumored to be situated atop a peak in the mountains, protected by a tight formation of arrays.
It absorbed the essence of the mountains and rivers, growing stronger with every passing moment.
Even the Yu Family, who were Half-Life Immortals, regarded it as a priceless treasure.
He had worked so hard to accumulate his current strength; he should escape if he could. Any more greedy thoughts, and he would surely become entangled in calamitous qi.
At this thought, Lin Shu subconsciously glanced out the window.
In the skies above Yongzhou Pass, the red mist was growing ever thicker.
It was like layers of stacked clouds, waiting only for a bolt of lightning to tear them asunder and release a torrential downpour of blood.
A storm was bearing down on the city, an unstoppable force!
"Tsk."
A wary look appeared in Lin Shu’s eyes.
He obediently retracted his gaze and looked back at the Sin Coins before him.
’Better to improve my techniques first.’
Come dawn, both Yongzhou Pass and the Demon Mountain would likely react violently to Xu Zhonglin’s death.

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