Chapter 52: Sanctuary

That pile of powder was precisely what remained after the spiritual energy within the spirit stone had been exhausted earlier... When the spirit stone in Lin Hao’s hand had finally disintegrated, the stone bead ceased absorbing the spiritual energy from his body. Suddenly, it transformed into a stream of light and appeared within Lin Qing’s dantian, merging into the vortex of energy swirling there!

This caused the vortex within Lin Qing’s dantian to differ slightly from that of ordinary people. Though diminished in size, the vortex now faintly emanated an extraordinary aura. Upon careful sensing, it was no less potent than the vortex he had previously condensed.

“Oh well… I’ll ask Bai Li another day and see if I can find a way to get more spirit stones… But…” Lin Hao sighed, gazing worriedly at the shrunken vortex within him, his eyes full of hesitation, “Could this… cause some trouble…”

Meanwhile, in the vast eastern region of Yunzhou, atop an eerily black mountain peak…

At the summit, a figure in black robes sat cross-legged, seemingly immersed in cultivation. Suddenly, the figure slowly opened his eyes, a calculating light flickering within them as he raised his head to gaze toward the distant eastern horizon, his brow furrowed as if lost in thought.

Back with Lin Hao, after stabilizing the vortex within, he fixed his gaze intently on a technique recorded in the Qi Condensation Scroll.

This technique was called the Guiding Qi Art.

The Guiding Qi Art was the precursor to the Art of Object Manipulation—a simple technique only cultivators at the first layer of Qi Condensation could perform. As the name implied, it allowed one to channel spiritual energy to manipulate objects in a basic manner.

Time passed swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had gone by…

“The spiritual energy within me seems to have become much purer… Soon, I should be able to break through to the second layer of Qi Condensation…” Lin Hao murmured in his heart as he sensed the far denser spiritual power within him compared to before.

Over this half-month, aside from meditating and cultivating, he spent his time practicing the Guiding Qi Art. The reserves of spiritual energy at the first layer of Qi Condensation were meager to begin with, and through his repeated practice, he quickly exhausted them, forcing him to continually absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth before he could practice again.

This cycle greatly increased his rate of absorption; though the vortex within him remained unchanged in appearance, the spiritual energy it contained had grown far more refined.

A deep, lingering bell rang out, and Lin Hao slowly opened his eyes. He saw many outer sect disciples in blue robes running toward a certain spot, and his heart sank. He knew today was the monthly distribution of pills for the outer sect. In the past half-month, he had witnessed two disciples brawling over half a spirit stone, and another who, for a single pill, had slain two others without hesitation.

For this distribution, even those in the first layer of Qi Condensation among the outer disciples dared not leave their abodes. If he went, he feared…

“Don’t dawdle, or there’ll be nothing left.” Suddenly, a clear, ringing voice called out. Looking over, he saw it was Bai Li!

“But…” Lin Hao hesitated, wanting to protest, but Bai Li grabbed his arm, pulling him along with the others toward the distribution site.

“Did you hear? Senior Brother Mingchen is handling the pill distribution today.”

“That’s odd. Usually, Elder Xuan does it himself. Why is Senior Brother Mingchen doing it this time?”

“One of the two great inner sect disciples, Senior Brother Mingchen is distributing pills and you’re not pleased?”

“Really? Then we’d better put on a good show and try to make a good impression on Senior Brother Mingchen!”

“But Senior Brother Mingchen is at the seventh layer of Qi Condensation—he can already fly. Would someone like him care about mere outer sect disciples?”

“Hey, that’s not—”

“Silence!” As the crowd’s discussion grew, a clear and gentle voice spread out. Everyone looked up to see a figure in white descending from the sky, landing gracefully on the high platform at the center of the square.

“Greetings, Senior Brother Ming!” At once, all ceased their private conversations and bowed respectfully to the newcomer. Lin Hao hurriedly followed suit.

“For this distribution, there are two newcomers. Both are specially granted a Sanyuan Pill and a mid-grade spirit stone.” Mingchen’s gentle voice carried over the crowd as, with a wave of his hand, countless pills and spirit stones floated precisely above their intended recipients.

Lin Hao stared at the two pills—one large, one small—and the spirit stone that was much larger than the one he had received before, a look of panic flashing in his eyes. Bai Li, standing beside him, looked equally disturbed.

“A Sanyuan Pill! That’s ten times as effective as a Qi Condensation Pill!”

“Heh, looks like we’ve struck it rich this time…” The crowd openly discussed the matter, and Lin Hao felt as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, a chill creeping up his spine.

“Boy, hand over your Sanyuan Pill. With my cultivation at the fourth layer of Qi Condensation, I can protect you.” Suddenly, a cold voice rang out behind Lin Hao. He turned to see a shockingly ugly man, spiritual energy surging within him—clearly a fourth-layer cultivator.

Hearing this, Lin Hao’s face fell. Looking around, he realized everyone was eyeing him with open hostility; it was as if the moment this distribution ended, they would tear him apart alive.

“Senior Brother Mingchen!” Lin Hao, desperate, called out loudly.

“Oh? What is it?” Mingchen was just about to leave but paused, looking at Lin Hao with interest, his gentle voice drifting over.

“Senior Brother Mingchen, we two have heard of your recent breakthrough. After some thought, we have decided to offer you both the Sanyuan Pill and the mid-grade spirit stone to help consolidate your cultivation!” It was Bai Li who spoke, her words quick and her hand pulling urgently at Lin Hao’s sleeve, signaling for him to agree.

The surrounding crowd was stunned—they hadn’t expected such decisiveness from this girl. Lin Hao, too, was taken aback, a look of struggle crossing his face; he understood that if they didn’t hand them over now, once Mingchen left, survival would be in question.

“We hope Senior Brother will accept them!” The words were almost forced through Lin Hao’s clenched teeth, his eyes bloodshot, a wave of sorrow welling up within him.

“You two are quite interesting.” Mingchen, seeing their expressions, shook his head with a soft laugh. “If you wish for my protection, two mid-grade spirit stones are sufficient. Keep the Sanyuan Pills and cultivate well.”

As he spoke, Mingchen waved his hand, using the Guiding Qi Art to draw the spirit stones from above their heads, then sat cross-legged atop the dais, overseeing the scene for their sake.

“Thank you, Senior Brother!” The two naturally understood his intent and immediately sat down to meditate, swallowing the pills.

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances.

“Why is Senior Brother Mingchen protecting two newcomers…”

“At past distributions, did any of you ever think to offer your pills?”

“Now that you mention it… no…”

The crowd’s expressions were mixed—some regretful, some hesitant, but most resigned to their fate.