The surface of the black wooden box appeared to be nothing more than that—a simple container holding three portions of Immortal Source. In reality, however, it was formed by layer upon layer of sealing methods, completely isolating the inside from the outside.
Time, space, and even causality were all blocked off, in order to minimize the dispersal of the Immortal Source. In terms of value alone—leaving aside the contents inside—the box itself was worth at least a hundred thousand top-grade Immortal Crystals, equivalent to the entire net worth of an ordinary Jade Immortal.
Buzz.
Inside the black wooden box lay a crystal roughly the size of a fist. Pinpoints of light flickered within it, seemingly like endless stars. As soon as the box’s seal was opened, the crystal began emitting wisps of aura, spreading outward in all directions. These threads of aura faintly shrouded Lin Yuan in a mysterious realm.
And in that realm—
Countless fluctuations of rule-based grand dao came rushing in like waves.
“This—” Lin Yuan’s heart trembled. The sensation he felt in that moment was like a man dying of thirst for dozens of days who suddenly plunged into a body of water. The precious water he had longed for now flooded him in near-endless supply.
[Your Unrivaled Insight allows you to observe the mysterious origin, enhancing your comprehension of the essence of numerous rules.]
Practically in an instant, Lin Yuan dove into cultivation. His grasp of the fusion of space and time rules, along with his many other foundational fused rules, advanced at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Half a day later.
Lin Yuan glanced at the portion of Immortal Source before him, which had already shrunk a size, and immediately closed the box. The moment it was sealed, the dispersal of aura ceased, and his surroundings reverted to their original state.
“This Immortal Source comes from the origin of the Immortal Realm, condensed from that primal aura. Once it’s taken outside the origin and no longer has that environment to bind it, it begins to ‘evaporate’ or ‘disperse,’” Lin Yuan noted.
“And the aura that disperses from the Immortal Source temporarily re-creates the environment of the Immortal Realm’s origin.”
His gaze shone.
It was akin to how water freezes into ice in subzero temperatures, yet once the temperature rises, the ice returns to water. Immortal Source followed a similar principle.
Put simply, for that short while, Lin Yuan had effectively been cultivating in the Immortal Realm’s origin. The sensation of grand dao rules falling like rain had benefited him more than it would other Jade Immortals studying Immortal Source. Thanks to Lin Yuan’s Unrivaled Insight, his speed of gaining mastery far surpassed that of others.
It’s like being struck on the head by the same apple. Some people merely note that apples are hard or not very tasty, while others perceive the fundamental laws of the world in that very instant. Such is the difference that aptitude can make.
The transient environment formed by Immortal Source’s dispersal had yielded gains so vast as to defy belief. In just that small fraction of a day, Lin Yuan felt his understanding of time-space fusion take a clear step forward, and the same held for his many other foundational fused rules.
If it were merely accelerating his comprehension of the rules, that alone wouldn’t have stunned Lin Yuan so thoroughly. With his Unrivaled Insight, he would eventually grasp what he was destined to grasp anyway. All that changes is the time required. But—
In that brief period of sensing Immortal Source, Lin Yuan’s rule-based insights, including time-space fusion, had advanced in unison, giving him a glimmer of all rules returning to one—a sense of Chaos.
“Chaos Rule?” Lin Yuan’s eyes blazed with excitement. Until now, he wasn’t at all certain he could comprehend the Chaos Rule at the eleventh rank, lacking any guidance from figures like His Majesty the Mysterious Sovereign or the master of the Devil Jade Tower. All he could do was dive into as many rules and grand dao as possible. But finally, he had caught a hint of everything reverting to Chaos.
“Immortal Source… it can help me reach the Chaos Rule,” Lin Yuan thought to himself. If he could grasp the Chaos Rule while still at the eleventh rank, his power would soar, and it would also dramatically raise his odds of ascending to the ultimate rank in the future. For him, the latter advantage mattered most.
“It’s a shame that Immortal Source gets used up so quickly,” Lin Yuan mused, eyeing the box before him. He’d left it open for barely half a day, yet it had visibly shrunk by a size. If he used it freely, he estimated that in ten days or so, all three portions of Immortal Source would be gone.
“No wonder the Palace Master of Feixian Palace advised me to only open it when I’m ready to cultivate,” Lin Yuan thought. Even a brief opening must have depleted it by a millionth or ten millionths of its substance—an undeniable loss.
“Henceforth, in my cultivation, I’ll reserve this Immortal Source for the most pivotal moments. Otherwise, I’ll just pursue my insights the normal way.” Lin Yuan glanced up at the irregular fissure in the sky overhead.
“And in addition, I need to get more Immortal Source if I can.”
If he amassed enough Immortal Source, his cultivation speed would soar, and achieving the Chaos Rule needn’t remain a distant dream.
In another part of the dwelling’s main hall, Yun Zhenzi was skimming through letters from numerous factions.
“The Heavenly Water Temple also wants Master to refine a batch of Nine-Turn Golden Pills, but they’re only offering twenty million top-grade Immortal Crystals? Too stingy—reject them outright.”
“The Cangliu Palace is requesting a Life-and-Death Reincarnation Pill for thirty million top-grade Immortal Crystals? That pill is even rarer than the Nine-Turn Golden Pill, and refining it requires the alchemist to personally undergo a perilous cycle of life and death. Only thirty million? Not even worth a reply.”
“But the Sun-Moon Sect is willing to pay a portion of Immortal Source for a single furnace… that might be worth considering. Master said anything involving Immortal Source isn’t to be refused too hastily.”
Ever since Lin Yuan had successfully refined his first batch of Nine-Turn Golden Pills—complete with the tribulation lightning’s descent and the resulting success—his name as a top-tier alchemy master spread far and wide.
Factions from all corners of the Thirty-Three Immortal Domains, and even beyond, now sought his help. After all, in the Immortal Realm, the importance of an alchemy master could not be overstated. Immortals at every level need various pills for cultivation or other purposes. Indeed, for most immortals, pills are more critical than immortal weapons.
“What sort of power level does Master really possess?” Yun Zhenzi wondered as he finished reading the letters. The memory of trying to possess Lin Yuan, intruding upon Lin Yuan’s mental world, sprang to mind: he had seen that towering, supreme, hazy figure.
His first thought back then had been, 'Am I attempting to seize the Dao Ancestor himself?' Because short of a Dao Ancestor, what Jade Immortal could have such an overwhelming spiritual will?
“Even so, having pledged loyalty to Master has helped my strength advance markedly,” Yun Zhenzi told himself, calming down. Over the past five hundred years, he’d benefited a great deal merely from the scraps Lin Yuan let fall through his fingers. Especially the so-called “trash pills” Lin Yuan occasionally produced while refining. What Lin Yuan considered waste already struck Yun Zhenzi as high-quality.
Meanwhile, in the depths of the cave dwelling, Lin Yuan was meditating cross-legged. Space and time subtly warped around him. Even though he strove to minimize his interference with the surroundings while comprehending the grand dao of rules, he could not completely prevent some influence.
Over five centuries, under his subtle impact, the entire cultivation zone had expanded by an immeasurable factor, becoming a vast labyrinth of space-time, with Lin Yuan at its center, filling every inch. Only Lin Yuan could freely enter this area. Yun Zhenzi could occasionally approach, but he bore Lin Yuan’s aura imprint and thus wasn’t affected.
One day, the Palace Master of Feixian Palace came calling again.
“Hahaha, Master Yun Zhenzi, any chance you’d be interested in refining another batch of Nine-Turn Golden Pills?” he asked with a warm smile. After taking those fifty pills Lin Yuan produced and examining them carefully, he found them even better than expected.
“My pleasure,” Lin Yuan replied with a grin. Trading with the Palace Master was easy, and moreover, the latter was offering Immortal Source as payment. Lin Yuan had no reason to refuse.
The two discussed the details of alchemy for a while, then Lin Yuan asked, “Palace Master, I wonder if you happen to know of any way to purchase more Immortal Source?”
For Lin Yuan, there could never be too much Immortal Source. Other than the Palace Master and a handful of factions willing to use Immortal Source as currency, most who approached him with requests for pills were only prepared to pay in Immortal Crystals or some other resources.
“You want Immortal Source?” The Palace Master was surprised. Based on the Immortal Source he’d already given Lin Yuan, it should have been more than enough for any ordinary Jade Immortal to train with.
One can’t simply assume that “more is better.” When Immortal Source disperses, it creates a temporary environment potent enough that even a Jade Immortal risks “becoming one with the dao” if they linger in it too long.
“Becoming one with the dao,” or “Dao-ification,” means returning entirely to the world’s grand dao, body and all. Resisting that for any extended period requires extraordinary spiritual will—even among top-tier Jade Immortals, few dared cultivate too long under the effect of Immortal Source. Nevertheless, even short exposure was a tremendous boon. That’s why Immortal Source is so coveted.
“I’ll help inquire around on your behalf,” the Palace Master said with a nod.
“Thank you,” Lin Yuan replied.
They spoke for a while longer. Then the Palace Master seemed to recall something. Leaning in, he remarked in a low voice, “By the way, Master, have you thought of hiring any top-tier Jade Immortals as personal guardians?”
“Guardians?” Lin Yuan blinked.
“Yes,” the Palace Master explained.
“With your current refinement skills attracting so many petitioners, it’s bound to draw some ill intent as well.”
Although he did not state it outright, his meaning was clear: a top-tier alchemy master is bound to be unimaginably wealthy, and that fortune is tempting to certain high-level Jade Immortals. One only need slay such an alchemist and seize his riches to fund one’s own cultivation for a very long time. Since ancient times, looting has been the fastest route to wealth.
Lin Yuan himself disliked robbery, but only because alchemy is an even more efficient, and far safer, means of accumulating resources. That logic doesn’t necessarily apply to other Jade Immortals.
“Would they really dare strike within the Immortal City?” Lin Yuan asked. Cangwu Immortal City is laced with countless killing arrays; even Jade Immortals must tread carefully, especially in the cave dwelling area. And Lin Yuan’s is a A-grade dwelling, the highest tier, which obviously places great emphasis on safety.
“Indeed, the city is shrouded by killing arrays, but they’re not flawless. They were built by Jade Immortals too, so they can be broken,” the Palace Master admitted. The Immortal Realm was vast and brimming with myriad means. Yes, the Dao Ancestor founded the city by opening the irregular fissure to the Immortal Realm’s origin, but stepped away from direct management afterwards.
The establishment and perfection of the city, as well as its arrays, came from generation upon generation of Jade Immortals. Under such conditions, there’s always a possibility of circumventing them.
For an ordinary Jade Immortal, there’d be no need to consider that scenario—anyone strong or resourceful enough to crack the city’s defenses would face enormous cost, and the risk of detection by the city’s protective arrays, prompting a coordinated Jade Immortal response.
But Lin Yuan—who knows what wealth he possessed at this point? Even the spoils from refining Nine-Turn Golden Pills alone would vastly exceed most Jade Immortals’ fortunes.
“I see,” Lin Yuan said.
“I’ll think it over.”
Truthfully, he had no intention of hiring Jade Immortals for protection. Too much hassle, and it might expose his own secrets. The Palace Master only suggested it because he didn’t know Lin Yuan’s true strength. Outsiders believed Lin Yuan excelled at alchemy and recognized him as a supreme pill refiner; in reality, his true specialty was combat—especially after awakening his sixth fleshly-body divine ability, “Tear the Sky.”
Would someone actually attempt to rob him? Lin Yuan almost hoped so. Who would rob whom might be an open question. Although his plan here was to keep a low profile, if some fool came knocking, he could hardly refuse their “offering.”
Within the Thirty-Three Immortal Domains was the Northern Daylight Immortal Domain, an expanse just as vast as the Xuantian Immortal Domain next to it. There, deep in an ancient mountain range, sat a person in a hide made from beasts, giving off a savage and terrifying aura.
“Killed just one of your offspring, and you hunt me like this? You’re a city lord with countless children, so what’s the big deal if I kill one of them?” the man in the hide grumbled. Recently, inside Beihan Immortal City, he had taken the life of the city lord’s child for some vital resource.
Infuriated, the lord instantly activated countless arrays, blanketing the city. If not for this man’s innate gift for merging with arrays, he would never have escaped. Even so, he earned a massive bounty from Beihan Immortal City, and now every city in the Northern Daylight Immortal Domain had been ordered to arrest him on sight.
“This can’t go on,” he murmured.
“I guess there’s no staying in the Northern Daylight Immortal Domain now.”
While it was true that he could keep fleeing, there was no end to it. Besides, as a Jade Immortal, he needed resources for his cultivation. Being under a blanket order from every city in this domain, he couldn’t easily slip inside one to make purchases.
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