“Senior, what do you need from us?” Lin Qiang asked first.
Jana spoke of its plight as before. Lin Qiang and Lin Dong couldn’t understand why such a magnificent being would enlist their help. Members of a sixth-ranked influence in the Lower Realms, how could they decide the fate of people from the Upper Realms?
General knowledge of the existence of the Upper Realms was available even to them, but details and how to get there were away from their reach. Many considered them a myth, with the Heavenly Palace Realm being the apex. The Upper Realms were an unreachable dream, but Lin Dong was not a fool. Seeing how Ming Ren favored Lin Qiang and persuaded this senior to help, this girl had great potential. She rose above the patriarch in importance in his mind.
“Do not hesitate!” Ming Ren couldn’t help but yell, “How many people you know would kill for this opportunity?” Ming Ren didn’t need to go far for an example. Lin Yin, Lin Shu, and Little Fu still laid there sleeping. They would rip their own hair out after knowing such a heaven-sent opportunity got away.
“I, Lin Dong of the Forest Clan, swear to the Heavens, I will do my utmost to help save the Sacred Tree Clan descendants! If I go against this vow, may I be condemned by the Heavens!” Elder Lin Dong was a determined person, speaking without wavering, impressing even Jana.
Lin Qiang also decided, “I, Lin Qiang of the Forest Clan, swear the same! If I go against this vow, may I be condemned by the Heavens!”
Jana’s smile grew behind the veil. Cutting itself once more, several drops of blood flew in front of the humans.
“Lin Qiang, focus on absorbing everything you can, don’t worry if it burns and you can’t handle the influx of power. If there’s danger, I’ll make a move!” Ming Ren reassured her, and the girl nodded, “Even if you can, don’t break through right away. Tempering the body is important, but you shouldn’t skip this opportunity to find true elements and rare energies. No matter what, don’t break through before doing so!”
Lin Qiang looked stunned. A breakthrough to the Spirit Sea Realm all the way from the seventh layer of the Body Tempering Realm? Was that even possible?
Lin Qiang’s cultivation law, like Lin Dong’s, required large amounts of spiritual energy to progress, but the Beast God’s Blessing allowed her to absorb much more than Ming Ren from Jana’s blood.
“Elder, temper the body as much as possible, then break through right away. Reach as far as you can!”
Elder Lin Dong stayed too long on the Body Tempering Realm peak. He already knew his true element and had no rare energy. He could go straight for the Spirit Sea Realm, unlike Lin Qiang.
“Benefactor, you call me Lin Dong directly!” He sat to cultivate. Called talentless, unable to go any higher, and relegated to a small spot in a small clan, everything changed after meeting the youth. Ming Ren experienced many things and already had his own view of the Dao of cultivation.
Talent? Even if you’re talented, if you’re unlucky, you’ll die without reaching greater heights!
Talent? Even if you’re talented, if your Dao heart is weak, you won’t be able to pass any challenges!
Talent? Even if you’re talented, if your will isn’t indomitable, you will give up right away!
Ming Ren didn’t settle on Lin Dong because of talent. He didn’t have high comprehension, but a strong will and righteous disposition. His Dao heart was a mountain.
“Good!” Ming Ren nodded. Jana once again dissipated the blood and sent it to the cultivators, who did their best to absorb everything. The blood overflowed with spiritual energy and power. Lin Qiang grasped the improved cultivation law recently, but her talent was far above a common cultivator, and she had no problems adjusting to it.
Spiritual energy circulated through her body, tempering each important corner and organ. The law guided the cultivator, but instinct, experience, and comprehension helped adapt to any surprises. Talented cultivators such as Lin Qiang had an advantage over Lin Dong, but it was not the only deciding factor in cultivation.
Lin Qiang hit no shackles when breaking through this time. Eight layer of the Body Tempering Realm. And it didn’t stop there, a small cloud of impurities evaporated from her body due to the extreme heat produced by the blood, and her muscles became much stronger and flexible. Peak of the eight layer.
Lin Qiang passed this bottleneck in a few minutes. Ninth layer!
Her body still brimmed with spiritual energy. She reached the peak of the ninth layer, then half-step into the Spirit Sea Realm, and could complete the spirit sea at any time. She didn’t break through and focused on finding true elements and rare energies.
Lin Dong’s body received greater impact without the Beast God’s Blessing. The holy wood spiritual energy of the place caused no harm because of the True Element of Wood, and Jana’s blood also carried the strength of wood.
Without the element and heaven-grade cultivation law, Lin Dong would have died. It was still a heavy burden to bear, even more to a wounded man. Compared to the smoothness of Lin Qiang’s cultivation, Lin Dong felt his whole body burn from the inside, as if his entire organs would burst into flames.
“It was too much for a common cultivator,’ Jana admired his determination.
“It’s not enough to stop him,” Ming Ren smiled.
Lin Dong gritted his teeth. He almost passed out, but if he did, this opportunity would disappear. He would go back to being no one. Revolving the [One With The Wood] cultivation law at its maximum power, he tempered the body to the limit of pain and consciousness. His formerly incomplete spirit sea became stronger, well-built, and solid.
Half-step Spirit Sea Realm. The True Element of Wood integrated with his consciousness as if always there.
Not even Ming Ren’s knowledge could explain whether the element came from another plane or if it laid dormant in the body. It was a secret pertaining to primordial chaos, far away from his grasp. This subject sparked great interest in the boy. Even with the Bright Eyes, he couldn’t see the true elements and rare energies on Lin Qiang or his own body, yet he saw the True Element of Wood on Lin Dong.
Lin Dong had no more steps to take at that level, and the world changed for him. He saw the spiritual energy in the air much clearer and it flew from his body with a mere thought. The small true element connection within his law resonated with the holy wood element in the air.
Lin Dong’s body healed quickly, visibly to the naked eye. The shackles of the Body Tempering Realm that plagued him for years were gone and he finally stepped into the Spirit Sea Realm. From the muscles to the marrow, everything changed. And yet the spiritual energy still flowed abundantly within his body. The pain lessened with the breakthrough, and his absorption rate soared.
The peak of the first layer of the Spirit Sea Realm. Lin Dong entered a trance and showed no signs of stopping.
Second layer of the Spirit Sea Realm.
“Acceptable!” Jana praised.
“Heh, he is not done yet, senior!” Ming Ren said.
Lin Dong never felt like this before, the forest itself became part of him. Laws from a higher realm worked in different ways and molded the body according to their principles.
The One With The Wood law seemed to turn the cultivator into a beacon of nature, a forest with deep roots. He reached the peak of the second layer of the Spirit Sea Realm.
By now, Lin Dong already began absorbing the spiritual energy in Jana’s place.
“That side is interesting too!” Ming Ren pointed to Lin Qiang. The young woman cultivated diligently, comprehending the mysteries of the world and her own body. It felt as if she became immovable as a mountain, the soil turned into dust floating around her.
“True Element of Earth!” Jana pointed out.
The air around Lin Qiang howled furiously, sending dust everywhere.
“True Element of Wind! Dual elements!” Jana became excited once again.
A purple streak of rare energy flew from Lin Qiang’s head and coiled around her body.
“Mental energy!”
A thousand spirit beasts forms floated from inside her body in pinkish energy.
“The mark of a true beast summoner, summoning rare energy!” Jana stared dumbfounded.
“… Even mental energy!” Ming Ren also didn’t expect Lin Qiang to have dual elements and even mental energy. Summoning energy had a good chance to appear because of the Beast God’s Blessing.
True elements formed connections that the cultivator used to transform pure spiritual energy with ease. Earth techniques would be effective with the True Element of Earth since their power and speed increased.
Rare energies were different spiritual energy. Lin Qiang possessed three types of energy inside her body: spiritual energy, summoning energy, and mental energy.
Each of them corresponded to a different source. Spiritual energy was abundant in the world, but rare energies required different steps to cultivate, only special places and treasures would be helpful.
Mental energy became stronger by training the heart and mind and summoning energy was linked to the power of stars. A mind technique activated using mental energy would be much more powerful than with spiritual energy.
Having felt all her true elements and rare energies, Lin Qiang didn’t hold back, consolidating the spirit sea and entering the Spirit Sea Realm.
As Ming Ren said, as soon as she reached the Spirit Sea Realm everything changed. The Beast God’s Blessing awakened a little, allowing her to move the hearts of spirit beasts without effort. Even Jana felt an intense attraction to the girl.
Rare energies were an innate power, so mental energy could directly attack someone’s mind, even without a specific art. Summoning rare energy invoked spirit beasts with no additional techniques needed.
A few hours passed while Ming Ren and Jana waited patiently, and the final results pleased them. Lin Dong, Spirit Sea Realm, third layer peak, True Element of Wood. Lin Qiang, Spirit Sea Realm, second layer peak, True Elements of Wood and Earth, mental energy, summoning energy.
“This…” Lin Qiang and Lin Dong barely contained their excitement.
Jana reminded them, “There’s not much time, people already came to the forest.”
Ming Ren nodded, “Lin Qiang, try to summon something. Don’t think too much about how only focus on a creature.”
Lin Qiang nodded, and pinkish energy floated from her hands to the air. A pink version of Little Red appeared, with a cultivation base at the second layer of the Spirit Sea Realm. The ease at which she summoned the spirit beast left her speechless as if she had done so many times in the past.
“… This!” Jana and Lin Dong felt the sudden surge of power and exclaimed in surprise. Natural, without effort, as easy as snapping one finger. Lin Dong thought this was the might of a beast summoner, but Jana knew it was the power of a spiritual beast oracle!