Chapter 307 - 215: Taking Stock of Methods, First Entry into the Wilderness
Chapter 307: Chapter 215: Taking Stock of Methods, First Entry into the Wilderness
"It was precisely because I thought you might need it that I agreed to fire up the furnace and refine it for him. Otherwise, I would have moved on to another Elixir. In recent years, your Brother Lin has built quite a name and reputation for himself. My prices aren’t exorbitant either, so naturally, there are many Pill Seekers, and I can afford to be selective about which pills and medicines I refine."
Lin Changheng smiled.
"Thank you, Brother Lin."
Mo Zhaoli immediately expressed her thanks, but Lin Changheng gestured for her not to be so polite. She then couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. "No wonder everyone envies Pill Masters and wants to become one. Not only is your status high, but you can bestow favor upon so many. For an outstanding Pill Master in the Alchemy Dao like Brother Lin, I’m afraid people will soon have to offer extra gifts just for a chance to see you..."
"Haha, I hope so."
Lin Changheng was also looking forward to that day.
Advancement for a Pill Master was incredibly difficult. Lin Changheng himself had invested decades of time and effort to reach his current Realm, so it was only right that he reaped some rewards.
With their official business concluded, Mo Zhaoli and Lin Changheng spent the rest of the time chatting about various observations and trivial matters. Of course, Lin Changheng felt as if his horizons were being greatly expanded.
As the saying goes, the higher your position and the larger your platform, the more you can see and experience.
This was something Lin Changheng lacked, and he could make up for some of it through Mo Zhaoli.
Afterward, Mo Zhaoli was invited to stay for a meal in the cave abode. She also spent a long time playing with the Black Armored Earth Turtle and the Deep Lake Spirit Clam before taking her leave.
She politely declined Lin Changheng’s offer to have her stay the night.
She glanced at the poised and graceful Yan Mingyi, pursed her lips, and said it was "not convenient," which made Lin Changheng give a wry smile.
He saw Mo Zhaoli to the door and watched her transform into a streak of light and disappear before he turned back.
...
「That night.」
Lin Changheng sat cross-legged on a stone bed in his secret chamber.
He began to take stock of his own techniques and Artifacts.
After all, he had promised Mo Zhaoli he would go on this long journey. It would be his first time entering the Wilderness and his first time Demon Hunting. He needed to make thorough preparations, identify and shore up any weaknesses, and get his offensive and life-saving supplies and techniques in order.
One could be scornful in strategy but must be serious in tactics. For Lin Changheng, however, he took both strategy and tactics with utmost seriousness!
First, he assessed his Divine Sense and Magical Power.
These were his foundation and the source from which he drove all techniques and Artifacts.
In terms of Cultivation and Magical Power, he was only about two years of accumulation away from the Peak of the Third Layer Foundation Establishment.
Once he obtained the Ice Pool Jade Spring, he could enter seclusion for another three or four years to complete this accumulation, polish and refine his Magical Power, and then begin his breakthrough to the Middle Stage Foundation Establishment.
As for his Divine Sense, its detection range was two hundred zhang—double the one-hundred-zhang range of an ordinary Early Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator!
This range did not increase with advancements through the minor Small Realms of the first, second, and third layers.
This was because those divisions were, in essence, distinctions made by a Great Power of the past based on differences in Magical Power. They were meant to give Cultivators a more detailed understanding of their Cultivation level and did not involve any transformation of the Divine Sense.
Only breaking through the bottlenecks to the Middle Stage and Late Stage would bring about a change in one’s Divine Sense.
But Lin Changheng had a feeling that after he reached the Middle Stage Foundation Establishment, this transformation would preserve his current advantage. His Divine Sense would continue to evolve from this higher baseline rather than being reset to the norm.
In other words, his Divine Sense strength had already begun its journey of surpassing that of Cultivators at the same rank.
However, because the base level of Divine Sense would increase exponentially for everyone after a breakthrough, the relative gap between them would shrink.
But Lin Changheng wasn’t concerned. As long as his Spirit Stealing and Metamorphosis abilities remained, the growth of his Divine Sense would never stop.
The gap would slowly widen once more.
...
As for the Divine Power True Intents he possessed, there were three: Fire Manipulation, Rongsheng, and Carrying Mountain.
The True Intent of the Fire Manipulation Divine Abilities was an extremely high-level control over flames. It could be used in Magical Combat to unleash terrifying power and could be combined with his Tier Two Upper Grade Red Sky Profound Flame. Furthermore, it provided a massive boost to his Alchemy Skills.
This was the core foundation upon which Alchemist Lin’s resounding fame was built.
The True Intent of the Rongsheng Divine Abilities was mainly for support. It could hasten the growth and ripening of Spirit Medicine, cleanse the air of Withered Silence, and also provided a boost to Repair and health preservation. However, when used on High Tier existences, it required him to expend his own Lifespan.
The True Intent of the Carrying Mountain Divine Abilities was a buff to his physical body, primarily focused on strength, granting a two-and-a-half-times power boost. As his physique improved and his tolerance increased, this multiplier would also rise.
In addition, he possessed various Demon Techniques.
From his Mortal Filth Mixed Grade Bloodline, he had three in total: the Poison Transformation Demon Technique, the Fire Extinguishing Demon Technique, and the Earth Escape Demon Technique.
From his Muddy Evil Bloodline, he had five in total: the Red Sky Profound Flame, the Illusionary Appearance Shifting Demon Technique, the Limb Hardening Demon Technique, the Fire Poison Demon Technique, and the Concealing Breath Demon Technique.
And from the Metamorphosis of his Profound Spirit Bloodline came the Longevity Demon Talent.
As for Abnormal Techniques, he had the one Lin Changheng had long lamented as a dead end—the Third Layer Self-healing Strange Skill from the Wood Puppet Fox. He also had the First Layer Nourishing Spirit Technique from the Profound Spirit Level Deep Lake Spirit Clam, and the First Layer Bathing Fire Technique provided by the Eclipse Crow.
All in all, the five Species Positions of his Mortal Filth Bloodline were completely used up.
His Muddy Evil Bloodline came with five of its own Species Positions, and with the five Species Positions from the Mortal Filth Bloodline now freed up after its Metamorphosis, he had a total of ten. He had used seven of them, leaving three empty.
His Profound Spirit Bloodline, however, was still in its initial stages and had plenty of empty slots.
He had offense, Defense, escape methods, healing, and support abilities. It was quite comprehensive, but their strengths varied, and the gap between them was not small.
For escape methods, for instance, he only had the single Earth Escape Demon Technique, which felt somewhat lacking.
His healing-type Abnormal Techniques were all half-baked and not very effective. Moreover, Rongsheng couldn’t be used to heal himself—Lin Changheng had tried. Otherwise, he could have exploited a loophole. With his abundant Lifespan, it wouldn’t have pained him in the slightest to burn as much of it as he needed, since it would all be gone if he died anyway.