“How could this be…”

His consciousness frantically swept over every detail of the formation patterns, like the most precise probe, instantly locking onto the source of the crack—an extremely faint yet viciously poisonous aura of resentment and filth, filled with hatred and curses, clung stubbornly to the most fragile part of the formation’s structure like the most tenacious grime, continuously eroding and corrupting it.

It was the residual poison from that Wailing Woman Lantern!

Although he had used every means to seal and suppress that main soul, trapping it deep within his consciousness, during the process of devouring and refining it, he was ultimately inevitably contaminated by that trace of the most fundamental, most pure resentment and baleful energy. It had seeped in like a virus, even polluting this foundational Spirit Gathering Array!

This venomous resentment was like gangrene clinging to the bone, slowly yet unshakably destroying it, and worse, it was continuously absorbing the Spirit Gathering Array’s own power to strengthen itself.

Even more dire, the shaking and weakening of the Spirit Gathering Array had severely affected the stability of the entire ring’s internal space. The six bloody patterns on the inner wall, formed from the intense resentment and essence-blood condensed at the moment of the previous host’s death, were now glowing with an eerie light. Like sharks that had caught the scent of blood, they faintly resonated with the crack, restless and stirring. Their power, filled with ferocious balefulness and ill omen, was seeping in strand by strand, taking advantage of the situation to accelerate the final collapse of this life-saving array!

(Inner thoughts: “This is utterly screwed! When it rains, it pours! The house is about to collapse, and there are termites living in the load-bearing walls! This damn ring is completely uninhabitable now! If I don’t move out soon, I’ll be buried alive! Not even a chance for reincarnation!”)

Lin Yu’s inner world was in utter turmoil, a tempest of shock and waves, but the voice transmitted to Su Ming’s mind forcefully suppressed all panic and despair, leaving only a deliberately amplified, heavy and solemn gravity.

“Disciple.”

“Your disciple is here.” Su Ming keenly sensed that his Master’s tone was different from usual; there seemed to be something in that voice that was being intensely suppressed.

“This Master asks you,” Lin Yu’s voice slowed, each word seeming to have been deeply considered, “Do you wish… to go and see beyond the mountains? To see what kind of world this vast land truly is?”

Su Ming was taken aback, completely pulled away from the village’s troubles.

Beyond the mountains?

This thought had occasionally surfaced in his mind like bubbles from the water’s depths, but he had never dared to dwell on it, always feeling it was a distant and hazy dream. The village elders often said over tea that beyond the mountains were county towns, prefectural cities, with high city walls, countless blue-brick and tile-roofed houses, bustling streets with endless traffic, and tales of those immortal masters from operas who could summon wind and rain, soar through the skies, and dive into the earth.

But he had never thought of going now. He was only just fourteen. His family’s situation had just begun to improve. His parents and elder brother were all by his side. Leaving his hometown sounded like a fantasy.

“Master, why bring this up so suddenly?” he asked, puzzled, feeling deep down that his Master was exceptionally different today.

“The time is approaching.” Lin Yu’s voice grew heavy and slow, carrying an unquestionable certainty, as if stating an established fact. “You should know that the path of cultivation is like rowing a boat against the current; if you do not advance, you will retreat. The crucial barriers are none other than the four elements: Wealth, Companions, Methods, and Land. None can be easily lacking.”

“Wealth is the sustenance for cultivation; without wealth, one cannot nurture the Dao. Companions are fellow practitioners for mutual support; walking alone easily leads one astray. Methods are the fundamental inheritance; without methods, one is like a blind man feeling an elephant. Land is the blessed land, the pocket dimension; without land, one is like duckweed without roots.”

“Now, although you have just glimpsed the threshold, received the Aura Concealment Art, and your temperament has been tempered to a degree of steadiness, this place—” Lin Yu’s voice deliberately paused here, emphasizing his tone, “Su Family Village, has become a deadlock, shackling your hands and feet.”

“First, the spiritual energy here is thin and barren. For your cultivation, it is truly like trying to put out a cartload of burning firewood with a cup of water. You should have sensed it recently. Is the meager spiritual energy you absorb daily gradually feeling insufficient, unable to support the consumption of Refining the Spirit and tempering the body?”

Su Ming fell silent, instinctively looking inward at that faint glimmer in his Dantian. His Master’s words precisely pinpointed the vague unease and confusion in his heart. Indeed, he felt his body was like a container almost full yet always lacking that final bit, becoming increasingly “hungry” for the thin spiritual energy of heaven and earth around him.

“Second,” Lin Yu continued his analysis, his voice as calm as if discussing something unrelated to himself, “the hearts of the villagers are restless, undercurrents surge, interests are entangled, and killing intent lies hidden. Remaining long in such a quagmire and whirlpool is not only unbeneficial for cultivation but also easily entangles one in mundane trivialities, wearing down one’s upward ambition and wasting precious time. You have witnessed with your own eyes the schemes and methods of Zhao Dequan. This is absolutely not a place for long-term residence.”

(Inner thoughts: “Listen to reason, kid! This lousy place has nothing! The spiritual energy is so thin it’s a joke, and there’s a pile of messy affairs and rotten human relations! If you stay any longer, forget about your cultivation increasing, you’ll be lucky to maintain what little you have now! The issue with Zhao Dequan will explode sooner or later, and when it does, you won’t be able to leave even if you want to!”)

Su Ming pressed his lips together. His Master’s analysis was clear and logical, every point hitting the mark. He could feel the invisible crisis tightening around him like a net. But…

“Father and Mother, they…” Su Ming’s throat tightened, the words that followed stuck in his throat. He couldn’t imagine the expressions on his parents’ weathered faces, which had just begun to hope for better days, if he proposed traveling far. In this land where people were deeply attached to their native soil, a son traveling far with an uncertain future was almost equivalent to a living separation. How worried and anxious it would make his elderly parents.

“Foolish!” Lin Yu’s tone suddenly sharpened, like a stern warning blow to the head. “Do you want them to keep you tied to their apron strings forever, watching with fear and anxiety as you flounder and struggle for survival in this ever-deepening quagmire? Or do you want one day for them to stand tall and straight, receiving the respect of their fellow villagers, simply because their son is an extraordinary person, bringing glory to the family?”

“True filial piety is not about morning and evening greetings, being inseparable from their side, but about becoming their true pillar of support! Only by becoming a towering tree that can shelter them from wind and rain can you protect their safety and security. If you are just a vine that can only cling to others, when the storm comes, you yourself will be hard-pressed to survive, so how can you talk about protecting your family?”

Word by word, like heavy drumbeats, cold and hard, they struck Su Ming’s heart, shaking his very soul. That hesitation born of familial affection was almost smashed to pieces.

Yes…

If he stayed here, could he truly protect his family? Facing the increasingly inscrutable and controlling Zhao Dequan, he still needed to tread carefully, as if walking on thin ice. If that evil cultivator who refined the Wailing Woman Lantern one day truly followed that bizarre tracking mark to his door, what could he do with his meager skills? Wouldn’t that just bring greater disaster directly to his family’s doorstep, implicating them in the calamity?

Seeing Su Ming’s spirit violently shaken, the struggle on his face growing more intense, Lin Yu’s tone subtly softened, even deliberately tinged with a trace of imperceptible weariness and helplessness.

“Furthermore, this Master… *sigh*… am ultimately just a remnant soul, in a very peculiar state. Many of the more profound and mysterious methods are not that I am unwilling to teach them to you, but rather, they truly cannot be performed without the assistance of specific external spiritual materials. Within a hundred miles of this place, the mountains and wilderness are barren; the required items simply cannot be found. Even the cleverest housewife can’t cook without rice.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep