Chapter 542: The Appearance Of Shackles (II)
A gentle breeze drifted by.
Lin Zheyu frowned slightly as he carefully examined the changes brought by the appearance of the shackle phantom. As he continued to observe, he found that aside from his cultivation feeling less smooth and his strength no longer increasing as effortlessly as before, there seemed to be no other issues.
"Shackles... shackles that lock the growth of strength? Then can I still open the three great divine repositories? Don't tell me I have to break the shackles first before I can open them?" Lin Zheyu muttered to himself.
He felt an urge to immediately use Origin Force to boost the Purple Firmament Repository Returning Art and see if it could still improve. But when he checked his storage pouch with his spiritual sense and saw that only a few spirit stones remained, he could only shake his head in resignation.
Too poor.
"The shackle phantom has already appeared. If it comes to it, I'll just break the shackle before advancing to the Divine Repository realm." Lin Zheyu shook his head, no longer dwelling on the nearly invisible phantom wrapped around him.
With a flick of his right hand, a low-grade spirit stone appeared in his palm, and he began absorbing it. Cultivating the Purple Firmament Repository Returning Art consumed an immense amount of blood qi, and his reserves were nearly depleted.
After restoring some of it, Lin Zheyu took out a jade slip containing formation knowledge and began studying it. Comprehending formation arts was far more difficult than martial cultivation.
For now, Lin Zheyu's main focus was on systematically understanding and thoroughly absorbing the basic formation knowledge he had gained from Wu Di. He had no immediate plans to actually use that knowledge to set up formations, as applying formation theory was highly costly. He barely had enough spirit stones for cultivation, let alone spending them on such an expensive venture.
His strategy was to incorporate formation arts into the third stage of the Primordial Golden Body. Once he mastered the basics, he would utilize his physique and the golden runes on his body to directly construct formations on himself, saving significant resources. Whether this approach—treating formation arts as part of the Primordial Golden Body—would be feasible could be assessed by observing the changes in his consciousness data.
Two days later.
A young martial artist appeared outside Lin Zheyu's courtyard and said respectfully, "Sir, the Hall Master requests your presence."
"The Hall Master is back? Did he mention what it's about?" Lin Zheyu asked.
"He said there is a task that requires you to carry it out," the young martial artist replied.
Lin Zheyu shook his head. "A task? Go back and tell the Hall Master that I'm currently at a critical stage of seclusion. I can't take on any tasks. Let someone else handle it."
Carrying out a task would take time and effort, and there was no telling how much time it would waste. With the threat of that old man Fan Hongwei weighing on his mind, Lin Zheyu had no intention of squandering his time on missions.
"But the other Vice Hall Masters are all occupied with tasks. You're the only one who can take this one," the young martial artist said with some difficulty.
Lin Zheyu shook his head and refused firmly. "Have the Hall Master borrow people from another hall. I'm truly at a critical juncture right now and can't leave. If he has any complaints, tell him to come to me directly."
At his current level, going into seclusion for half a year or even several years was perfectly normal. According to the Martial Alliance's rules, one only needed to complete a set number of tasks within a given period to earn the required points. There was no strict requirement to accept any specific task.
"Yes, sir."
Hearing this, the young martial artist could only respond and turn to leave.
Lin Zheyu watched his departing figure for a moment but did not dwell on it. After a brief pause, he turned and went back to continue his cultivation. After all, he had just said he was at a critical stage. If he went wandering outside and got seen by the Hall Master, it would be rather awkward.
In the blink of an eye, several more days passed. After he refused the Hall Master's task, no one else came looking for him. With his spirit stones nearly depleted, Lin Zheyu stopped cultivating the Purple Firmament Repository Returning Art. Over the past few days, he had immersed himself in formation arts and martial cultivation, to the point of forgetting about food and sleep.
One afternoon, Lin Zheyu came out of his contemplation and noticed that the Spirit Resonance Sphere had received a new message. It was from Ji Zitong. After replying with a few messages, he arranged to meet her the next day at the Profound Light Tower.
The next day, at the Profound Light Tower, Lin Zheyu had already reserved a private room and waited for Ji Zitong's arrival. He did not have to wait long.
A knock sounded at the door. With a slight movement of his spiritual sense, the door opened on its own.
"Fellow Ji, it's been a while. And this is?" Lin Zheyu greeted her with a smile, his gaze shifting to the woman beside Ji Zitong.
She was a strikingly beautiful woman, standing quietly at Ji Zitong's side with a faint smile on her lips. She wore a crimson long dress that clung slightly to her figure, accentuating her alluring curves.
The woman stepped forward and introduced herself with a smile. "I am Tu Mingzhen. Greetings, Fellow Xiao."
Tu Mingzhen? The Tu family? Lin Zheyu was slightly taken aback upon hearing the name.
"So it's Fellow Tu Mingzhen. Please, come in." Lin Zheyu quickly recovered and invited both Ji Zitong and Tu Mingzhen into the room with a smile.
"It's only been a few months, yet your strength has become even more unfathomable, Fellow Ji," Lin Zheyu said with a smile as he looked at her.
"I was fortunate enough to form a six-pattern Golden Core. I must seem laughable to you," Ji Zitong said with a slight smile, shaking her head.
To other cultivators, a six-pattern Golden Core was already far beyond reach, yet to Ji Zitong, it fell short of her expectations. Although Lei Yongtao was still in seclusion, he had a strong chance of forming a seven-pattern thunder Golden Core. Her talent was no less than his, yet she had only formed six patterns. When she emerged from seclusion, she had felt a trace of disappointment.
Lin Zheyu saw the faint trace of disappointment hidden behind Ji Zitong's smile and said with a gentle laugh, "The patterns on a Golden Core only reflect past effort. What you achieve in the future is not determined by something so limited. Cultivation is a path that defies the heavens. Follow the current, and you remain mortal. If you place too much importance on Golden Core patterns, you've already lost sight of the essence."
The words were spoken casually, yet they struck deeply. Ji Zitong froze slightly, the faint smile at her lips faltering as a swirl of emotions rose within her. She slowly let out a breath, and a look of relief appeared on her face.
"You're right. I was too fixated. Thank you for the guidance. I owe you a favor." Ji Zitong suddenly broke into a radiant smile, blooming like a flower, both beautiful and captivating.
"Haha, you're too polite. Everyone understands this principle. You just hadn't seen through it for the moment," Lin Zheyu said with a wave of his hand and a smile.
Sitting quietly to the side, Tu Mingzhen was also deeply moved by Lin Zheyu's words. She, too, was a prodigy. In pursuit of an eight-pattern Golden Core, or even a nine-pattern one, she had delayed her breakthrough time and again.
After chatting with Ji Zitong for a while, Lin Zheyu turned to Tu Mingzhen and asked with a faint, knowing smile, "Fellow, have we met before?"
Tu Mingzhen of the Tu family. Lin Zheyu could not help but think of the unknown cultivator who had once worked together with Tu Yuan.
"That person back then was me." Tu Mingzhen nodded, admitting it without hesitation.
Lin Zheyu was rather surprised and thought, Is she really this straightforward?
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