Gou cultivates martial arts and seeks immortality in the world of cultivation.

Chapter 102 Going with the Flow, Above the Innate

"What exactly happened just now? That terrifying spiritual sense... was it Tuoba Feng? But he's only at the peak of Foundation Establishment, how could he possess such a terrifying spiritual sense? Could it be... a Golden Core cultivator?"

Lu Lin felt a chill run down his spine, and a layer of cold sweat involuntarily seeped out from his back.

"And what was that little red light just now? It was clearly aimed at me!"

Thinking of this, Lu Lin's heart sank even further.

[High-level spiritual energy has been discovered. It can be exchanged for a thousand years of arduous cultivation. Would you like to exchange it?]

Just then, a notification appeared above the Martial Arts Furnace.

At the same time, a hazy glow emanated from the surface of the furnace, emanating from his sea of ​​consciousness and illuminating his heart.

Lu Lin immediately "saw" that there was a strange object deep inside his heart.

The thing was blood red all over, like flowing mercury, and it was constantly wriggling, extending countless thin tentacles that were closely connected to the blood vessels around the heart.

"What the hell is this? Could it be that which rushed into my body just now? Tuoba Feng? No... It can provide high-level spiritual energy, this must be the work of a Golden Core cultivator! What is his intention in injecting this into my body?"

Lu Lin's mind raced.

He was about to choose to redeem it, but then suddenly stopped.

If a Golden Core cultivator were to plant this item himself, it would surely become worthless once it was completely converted into cultivation time.

Will that Golden Core cultivator notice it immediately?

"Why don't we try exchanging for a hundred years first and see the reaction..."

With this in mind, Lu Lin composed himself and attempted to exchange for a hundred years.

He was extremely worried about leaving this strange thing in his heart.

Even a fool would know that the other party's act of injecting this substance into his body was by no means benevolent.

If it can be removed, it should naturally be removed as soon as possible.

The next moment, a notification appeared from the Martial Arts Furnace, indicating that the total training time had increased by one hundred years.

The strange object at the heart site had its spiritual light noticeably dimmed.

Lu Lin held his breath and waited, wary of whether the Golden Core cultivator would sense anything.

Above, Tuoba Feng looked at Lu Lin with great interest, then said, "Lu Lin, you've been a member of the Demonic Sect for less than two years, haven't you?"

"Yes, Sect Master," Lu Lin replied respectfully, his mind on high alert.

Nothing unusual.

The Golden Core cultivator behind Tuoba Feng seems unaware?
Lu Lin's courage grew a bit.

"Continue exchanging for another hundred years!"

With a thought, his cultivation time increased by another hundred years. And the light emanating from the object in his heart dimmed slightly.

"To have cultivated the 'Demon Ape Blood Qi Technique' to the mid-stage of the Innate Realm in less than two years is truly astonishing. In the history of our Demonic Sect, there has never been anyone with such outstanding martial arts talent as you. What level has your 'Demon Ape Mountain-Crushing Palm' reached now?" Tuoba Feng continued to ask.

—Still no response.

Lu Lin's spirits lifted.

At the same time, his mind raced: the other party must have discerned something from Liu Jingxuan's corpse. Although the palm strikes he used were multiplied to thirty-six or even more, they were weakened by layers of defensive light shields. The actual power that landed on Liu Jingxuan was roughly equivalent to twenty or so palm strikes. Plus, Luo Siqing later used demonic flames to cover up the traces…

"Not long ago, I mastered the 'Demon Ape Mountain-Crushing Palm' technique," Lu Lin replied truthfully.

"Wonderful, wonderful indeed..." Tuoba Feng clapped his hands and laughed, his eyes full of amazement. "Junior Sister Luo kept this from me for so long! She had such a brilliant and talented martial artist under her command, yet she kept it a secret until now. Fortunately, we've discovered it now, otherwise wouldn't that have been a waste of talent?"

Lu Lin sneered inwardly.

If he truly valued it so much, why would that Golden Core cultivator have planted that strange object inside his body?
"It seems the other side hasn't noticed... Let's wait another two hundred years!"

Emboldened, Lu Lin directly exchanged for two hundred years of cultivation time.

This time, the eerie object's aura dimmed further, and even its tentacles contracted, eventually transforming into a scarlet, slightly wriggling sphere.

"I was just lucky," Lu Lin replied, still feeling uneasy.

—No abnormal reaction was observed.

"My Demonic Sect never buries talent. Lu Lin, if you need anything in the future, just let me know. As the sect leader, I will do my best to meet your needs as long as it is within my power," Tuoba Feng said gently.

"That's so good?" Lu Lin was taken aback.

Could it be because of that strange thing in my heart?

Since that's the case, he wouldn't stand on ceremony. "Sect Master, the biggest difficulty I face during my cultivation is the scarcity of resources, such as Qi and Blood Pills and Blood Crystals," Lu Lin said casually.

“That’s easy.” Tuoba Feng took out a communication jade talisman and sent a message.

Soon after, a disciple in charge entered the hall to receive orders.

"Pass on my order: go to the treasury and fetch a batch of blood crystals and qi-blood pills..." Tuoba Feng gave a few instructions, and the disciple quickly left.

Lu Lin waited for a moment, and seeing that there was still nothing unusual, he had another thought and exchanged for another hundred years of cultivation time.

The eerie object's aura grew dimmer, and it shrank into a ball, motionless, as if it had lost all vitality.

At this point, Lu Lin dared not continue exchanging.

He worried that if he exchanged it again, the item would completely lose its spiritual power, which might really alarm the Golden Core cultivator behind it.

However, the current state should be sufficient.

This thing is curled up like a dead object, so it probably doesn't pose a threat for the time being.

If it "recovers" in the future, we can simply continue exchanging for it.

Not long after, a monk returned to the main hall carrying two gold-threaded cloth bags.

At Tuoba Feng's signal, he placed the cloth bag in front of Lu Lin and then respectfully withdrew.

"Open it and take a look," Tuoba Feng gestured.

Lu Lin picked up a cloth bag and opened it. Inside were crystal-clear blood crystals, weighing a good two hundred pounds.

In the other cloth bag were several white jade medicine bottles.

"Here are two hundred catties of blood crystals and one hundred Qi and Blood Pills, enough for an ordinary innate martial artist for a hundred years. Also, this is for you..." Tuoba Feng said, flicking his sleeve, and an ancient book flew into Lu Lin's hand.

"This is the cultivation experience summarized by generations of innate martial artists of my Demonic Sect. Take it and study it carefully. It will greatly benefit your breakthrough to the late innate stage or even the perfect innate stage."

"Giving me so many benefits... is this really a way to nurture me? No..." Lu Lin's mind raced, and he concluded that this must be related to the strange thing in his heart.

Otherwise, the other party would never have been so generous.

Two hundred catties of blood crystals and one hundred Qi and Blood Pills are already a large sum of money.

Furthermore, this manual, which encapsulates the experience of generations of innate martial artists from the Demonic Sect, is even more valuable to other martial artists than medicinal pills.

Such secrets are never easily passed on to outsiders.

"Could it be... that thing in my heart can control me?" Lu Lin had a flash of inspiration, and the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

The other party must have felt completely in control to invest so much resources in nurturing him.

Lu Lin felt a chill run down his spine.

This is the Demonic Sect!
It seems that his previous efforts to conceal his cultivation progress were indeed a wise move.

If their performance is merely that of an ordinary genius, they may receive special training; however, if they reveal an overly extraordinary talent, it may lead to unforeseen disasters.

"That's fine... Since they think they can control me with that strange thing, they'll be generous with their resources. I'll go with the flow, plunder as much as I can, and make good use of it." Lu Lin made up his mind.

"Thank you for the reward, Sect Master!" He showed a look of deep gratitude on his face at the right moment.

"Alright, go back and cultivate diligently. Strive to raise your cultivation to the peak of the Innate Realm as soon as possible and condense the thirty-six patterns of Blood Qi. At that time, I will bestow upon you the method to break through to the Innate Realm or above," Tuoba Feng said calmly.

"A method to break through beyond the innate level?" Lu Lin looked up in astonishment.

It was another method beyond the Innate Realm. He had heard Luo Siqing mention before that the Demonic Sect possessed methods that could allow martial artists to break through to the Innate Realm.

So it seems there really is one within the Demonic Sect.

"You are far from reaching that level, further words are useless, step back." Tuoba Feng waved his hand.

"Your subordinate takes his leave!" Lu Lin clasped his hands in a fist salute, bowed, and slowly withdrew from the main hall.

However, in his mind, Tuoba Feng's last words kept echoing—

Above the innate level!

Will Tuoba Feng really give it to him?

But why is it that in the history of the Demonic Sect, there has never been a martial artist who broke through to the Innate Realm?

Could this be just empty promises made by the Demonic Sect to encourage its warriors?

(End of this chapter)