Chapter 6 - Divine Transformation

Having collected the Yaksha’s corpse, Leng Yan quickly pulled out some hemostatic powder and applied it to his bleeding wounds, internally regretting not having asked Shui Yunyao for some healing elixirs.

Enduring the pain of his wounds, he crushed a black spirit crystal. Wrapped in a dark light, he vanished from the demon caverns of the underlands.

“Elder, the mission is complete. Here are the corpses of three rune-marked wild boars. Please inspect them,” Leng Yan said as he opened his storage bag. An azure light flickered, and the three boar corpses appeared on the ground.

The elders, surprised by Leng Yan’s swift completion of the mission, inspected the boar corpses. Upon seeing the first boar’s wounds, they looked at Leng Yan with a peculiar gaze and then cleared their throats, saying, “Hmm! The mission is complete. Here is a sect robe, a magical sword, and an elementary cultivation method, and from today, you will go to the master’s pavilion and follow the arrangements of Senior Sister Shui Yunyao.”

Accepting a treasure bag, Leng Yan thanked them and left the outer attendant pavilion.

“Back already. Here are ten healing elixirs; take them and change out of your clothes. From today, you will guard the medicinal garden for me,” Shui Yunyao’s voice greeted him as he entered, and a small bottle flew towards him.

Catching the elixirs, Leng Yan sighed internally, appreciating the thoughtfulness of women-if only there weren’t chores involved, it would be perfect.

After swallowing a healing elixir, his wounds began to itch as they rapidly healed, leaving no scars behind.

Arriving at the room Shui Yunyao had arranged for him, he shed his tattered garments and donned a white robe, striking a figure reminiscent of a scholarly young master, elegant and poised.

“Ah! What’s this? Oh! It even comes with a manual!” Leng Yan exclaimed as he noticed a small booklet among the items in the treasure bag, prominently labeled “Manual.”

He read through the manual, which detailed the features of the robe and the fundamentals of the elementary cultivation technique. However, Leng Yan, already a practitioner of the Star Refining Technique, knew that the items Shui Yunyao provided would surely be superior to these generic offerings, so he tossed it aside.

Although the magical sword wasn’t particularly useful, it served well as a facade. After all, his supreme-grade spiritual weapon and middle-grade treasure tool were of much higher quality. As the saying goes, it’s best to keep one’s wealth hidden, to avoid unnecessary trouble.

“Sweet rain!” Leng Yan exclaimed softly and immediately, his robe flickered with azure light. Following that, a stream of clear water condensed from the air, washing over his body and providing him immense relief.

“Change your clothes and come find me,” suddenly, the gentle voice of Shui Yunyao echoed in his mind, a manifestation of spiritual sound transmission.

After gathering his belongings, he approached Shui Yunyao and smiled, “What do you need? Miss me?”

“Humph! Smooth talker, you’re not even embarrassed!” Shui Yunyao retorted with a laugh.

“That’s only because I’m not embarrassed around you! Others wouldn’t even have the chance to see!” Leng Yan, now open and candid with Shui Yunyao, joked.

“I’m taking you to the medicinal garden; you’ll help me tend to the spirit herbs from now on,” Shui Yunyao stated as she stood up.

“Are you sure you want me to work?” Leng Yan said, feigning a pitiful look.

“Who said anything about working? Many wish to enter the medicinal garden, but I don’t allow them. You don’t need to lift a finger; just focus on your cultivation there,” Shui Yunyao explained with a tone of tough love.

“I see now! I was wondering why you’d have me do the heavy lifting, give me a kiss!” Leng Yan realized, following with a cheeky grin.

“Really want a kiss?” Shui Yunyao’s response was a large palm hanging in the air in front of her, her lips curved in a slight smile.

“That? Maybe we should head to the medicinal garden first! We can talk about that matter later,” Leng Yan, breaking out in a cold sweat, thought to himself that it’s better to be assertive as a man, and it also gave him a goal to strive for strength-not for anything else, but for the freedom to kiss whenever he wished.

…

“Take this white jade token, drip a drop of blood for recognition, and then you’ll be free to enter and exit the medicinal garden as you please,” Shui Yunyao handed a jade token to Leng Yan.

Looking around at the wilderness, filled with exotic herbs and plants, with millennia-old ginseng and century-old lingzhi mushrooms everywhere, Leng Yan found it odd that there were no walls or gates, and asked, “Is there something blocking the way here? Why do we need a token?”

“Try it yourself and see if there’s any hindrance!” Shui Yunyao stepped back, seemingly waiting to enjoy the show.

After pondering for a moment and sensing a scheme, Leng Yan decided to act cautiously. He cut his hand and dripped blood on the spirit token, which immediately summoned a light shield encircling the medicinal garden.

“This is the legendary formation! Lucky for me I’m clever,” Leng Yan quietly rejoiced, grateful that he hadn’t blundered into it, which would have surely been to his detriment.

“Why don’t you barge in? I wanted to see your misfortune unfold.”

Seeing Shui Yunyao’s disappointed expression, Leng Yan exclaimed, “A woman’s heart is most poisonous; you’re planning to murder your own husband, do you realize that?”

“Murder? Is that really necessary? I can kill openly, so what?”

“Alright, you’re formidable,” Leng Yan acknowledged, seeing Shui Yunyao’s fierce demeanor, which reinforced his belief in her strong nature. However, he thought it wiser to stay cautious for now, noting that being cautious doesn’t equate to impotence.

“That’s more like it. Go in and cultivate! It looks like you’re on the verge of a breakthrough. Also, when you have time, head to the outer attendant pavilion to take on missions. Once you accumulate ten thousand Contribution Points, you can apply to become an inner disciple and gain access to the true methods of cultivating dao. Until you’re an inner disciple, I can’t teach you dao magic,” Shui Yunyao said with a smile, then turned and walked away.

Watching her graceful figure disappear into the distance, Leng Yan could feel Shui Yunyao’s care for him, even though he was still in a period of observation and often found himself intentionally avoiding her, perhaps for fear of becoming too deeply involved.

Holding the spirit token, he walked into the medicinal garden, where various fragrant herbs greeted him, refreshing his spirit immediately. No wonder Shui Yunyao mentioned how many coveted this task.

Indeed, cultivating among such an abundance of spirit herbs and precious plants truly doubled the effect. Moreover, the dense spiritual power in the area, even if not absorbable at the moment, could extend life and refine the body.

Seated cross-legged, Leng Yan began practicing the Star Refining Technique. Above the clear skies, he felt a mysterious connection, as countless threads of star power descended, refining his mental power.

Leng Yan could feel his mental power growing stronger, even sensing the movement of water droplets on the spirit herbs.

Initially, Leng Yan thought it was an illusion, but as his cultivation deepened and his mental power condensed further, this sensation became increasingly clear.

On the third day, although Leng Yan had his eyes closed, his mind was no longer engulfed in darkness but illuminated by a glimmer of light.

This strand of light seemed like a bright lamp in the night, driving away the darkness.

As days passed, the light gradually expanded, and Leng Yan’s mind became clear and bright.

He became increasingly sensitive to his surroundings, even feeling the spirit herbs swaying in the wind and a thousand-year-old ginseng transformed into a chubby child in a red bellyband watching him.

This chubby child in a red bellyband seemed quite fearful of Leng Yan, yet also very curious. He attempted to step forward several times but never mustered the courage.

Day after day, Leng Yan had been in this state of mental refinement for half a month, and strangely, he felt no hunger.

His mind was no longer just filled with white light but now visualized a scene-a medicinal garden, which was actually the scenery within three meters around him.

Leng Yan had read the Compendium of All Things and knew that this ability was a result of divine transformation, which he achieved after his mental refinement reached a certain level, allowing him to observe his surroundings with his mind.

Although he had successfully undergone divine transformation, Leng Yan was so engrossed in this state that he didn’t want to wake up. It seemed there was still room for further refinement, so he decided to continue in one go, hoping to enter the realm of divine power and magic, which would mark the true beginning of his cultivation journey.

The images in his mind became clearer; the entire flower field, within a kilometer radius, was visible in Leng Yan’s mind. The chubby Ginseng Baby was still watching him, and next to it was a girl who was a transformation of a ten-thousand-year-old lingzhi mushroom. She was very mischievous but also a scaredy-cat.

The girl was running around playfully, having a great time, while Leng Yan felt he had reached the peak of the divine transformation realm, yet he could not make a breakthrough. It seemed continuing to cultivate was futile, so he decided to open his eyes and stand up.

This sudden movement frightened the two children terribly, and they screamed and burrowed into the ground, disappearing from sight.

“It’s also time to take on a mission and increase my sect Contribution Points. Perhaps I can break through this bottleneck in battle,” Leng Yan muttered, watching the two children flee.