Chapter 50: Cultivation of the Immortal Path, The Sublime Power of Time

The horizon was tinged with the faintest light.

Lin You sat in his quiet chamber, beginning to tally the gains from his latest transaction.

He took out three jade volumes and placed them before his knees, sinking his consciousness into them.

These three cultivation techniques were precisely what he lacked most at the moment, and would be the crucial step for him to embark upon the path of immortality.

Within his sea of consciousness, the little tree of verdant jade swayed gently, as if rooted in the boundless void.

When the inheritance from the three cultivation methods transformed into streams of light and entered Lin You’s mind, they were immediately devoured by a single root of the jade tree.

The verdant tree seemed to refuse nothing; even the faint traces of Dao contained within the jade books were thoroughly absorbed.

Only after this did it lightly shake its branches and leaves, sending streams of information back into Lin You’s mind. At once, clarity and insight blossomed in his heart, and he comprehended the essence of these techniques directly.

As he pondered the new knowledge in his mind, Lin You’s expression grew thoughtful.

Just as the burly man had said, all three cultivation techniques required a corresponding Dao Seed to be practiced.

Or rather, each of these paths had been founded based on the unique properties of their respective Dao Seeds!

Yet cultivation based on a single Dao Seed, while the mainstream path, was no longer suitable for Lin You.

For once a Dao Seed was chosen, the path was set; from then on, one’s life would be bound to that seed, cultivating together until the ultimate Dao was attained.

But Lin You was in possession of the mysterious jade tree, capable of nurturing Dao Seeds by devouring different Dao essences—an unrivaled opportunity.

If he truly must choose a single thing to entrust his fate to, he would, without hesitation, choose the little tree!

To contain a single Dao, or to master the myriad of Daos—the choice was obvious.

With this in mind, he immediately began to commune with the tree in his mind.

In response to his intent, the tree swiftly provided feedback.

Discarding the dross and preserving the essence, the three disparate cultivation methods were soon extrapolated and fused into a profound scripture.

The scripture was not complete; it contained only the first stage—Refining Qi—while the most crucial Foundation stage was incomplete.

According to the tree’s feedback, this was because all three techniques were too elementary, each only detailing their paths up to the Core Formation stage. Thus, the tree could not derive a more complete scripture.

To supplement the scripture, there was only one way: to seek out more immortal cultivation methods and let the tree continue its derivation.

Looking at the scripture before him, though brief, it seemed to resonate with the very principles of the Great Dao. Rather than a mere cultivation method, it felt more like the little tree’s own ritual of refinement.

Even with only the Qi Refining stage, it was sufficient for Lin You’s current needs.

He exhaled gently, choosing not to begin cultivation at once, but to inspect his other gains.

Cultivation shunned great elation and deep sorrow; this was not the ideal moment for practice.

He picked up the Wind-Summoning Spirit Banner and examined the treasure with care.

With his newly acquired understanding of cultivation techniques, he also now had some grasp of the hierarchy of spiritual treasures.

Spiritual treasures were divided into three grades, distinguished by the divine powers and Dao essence they contained.

This Wind-Summoning Banner was a lower-grade spirit treasure, forged by a Core Formation cultivator, and imbued with the power to summon the wind.

Above spirit treasures were Dao Treasures, crafted and wielded only by Nascent Soul immortals—objects to which they entrusted their very lives.

As for the legendary Immortal Treasures, it was said that each was on par with a Nascent Soul true immortal; genuine treasures that had attained sentience and could be addressed as “Daoist friend” by even the ancient immortals.

After a moment’s reflection, Lin You decided to feed this spirit treasure to the little tree.

It was of little use to him as it was; while he could wield it in battle, it would not offer him much aid. Better to transform it into nourishment for his cultivation.

With Lin You’s permission, the verdant jade tree promptly extended a root, wrapping the Wind-Summoning Banner.

Before the treasure could even react, it was reverted to its essence, becoming a jade leaf of divine power and a purple Dao Seed dangling from a branch.

The Dao essence within, Lin You chose not to let the tree absorb, but instead channeled it all back into the Dao Seed. He intended, once it matured, to plant it in his spiritual field.

This was the fastest way to enhance his Dao Field.

And once the field was elevated, it would produce more vital energy to nourish his cultivation in return.

Seeing that the Dao Seed was still a step away from maturity, Lin You took out the rest of his acquisitions and arranged them on his desk.

There was a jade cup, two jade books, and a gourd seed that might be a spiritual seed.

As for the gourd seed, he had already tested it with the little tree and found it of little interest, so he put it away without further thought.

The two jade books were immediately absorbed by the little tree, turning into two white jade leaves that hung from its branches.

A torrent of information flowed into Lin You’s mind, granting him instant mastery of the two Daoist arts.

He hadn’t expected that the “True Explanation of Talismans” would also be categorized by the little tree as a Daoist art.

Its profundities were as vast as the sea; had the tree not simplified them directly, Lin You could not have grasped them so swiftly.

The scroll “Crafting the Divine” was, as Fu Nishang had said, extremely similar to Jiang Liunian’s art of paper-cutting.

Its greatest use was to animate jade, stone, or wooden figurines as Dao Soldiers for protection—the better the materials, the more powerful the Dao Soldiers.

Having finished all this, Lin You turned his attention to the jade cup.

With a thought, the jade cup was enveloped by a root of the little tree, and its Dao essence was steadily drawn out.

To Lin You’s surprise, the Dao essence within the cup was exceptionally dense, lasting even longer than the Wind-Summoning Banner.

Yet, as its essence was absorbed, the cup itself seemed to be worn away by the passage of time, losing all spiritual luster before crumbling to dust.

On the little jade tree, a new jade leaf of divine power had appeared.

Divine Power—Flourishing of the Years!

Under the catalysis of this Dao essence, the purple Wind Dao Seed matured instantly, transforming into a flawless purple-gold Dao Seed.

Upon the verdant jade tree, four jade leaves of divine power shimmered with a gentle, pure light, echoing with the hazy glow of two Dao Seeds—an enchanting sight.

A mere brush of the leaves, and Lin You understood the use of the divine power, a smile rising to his lips.

That friend with the spiritual gourd had truly given him a delightful surprise!

Though he did not know the origins of the jade cup, he was certain its original owner had been a figure of great power.

Had it not been for the tree’s ability to trace Dao essence, this heaven-defying divine power might truly have vanished in the river of time.

The Flourishing Years Divine Power—decay and renewal through the ages!

With sufficient vital energy, this divine power could cause plants to complete cycles of growth and decay in an instant.

In other words, if Lin You had enough vital energy, he could make a single seed grow into a thousand-year-old giant tree in the blink of an eye.

And so too with spiritual herbs!

But there was another condition: his cultivation had to be sufficient to support the continuous use of such a divine power—both spiritual power and vital energy were indispensable!

Even with these constraints, this divine power was still utterly miraculous.