Chapter 279 – Heaven-Rank Sha: The Reason to Visit the Grave Lord's Tomb

“Buzz!”

The moment he successfully advanced, the first thing Mu Lin felt was relief and expansion.

He could clearly sense that it was as if he had shed a layer of armor, becoming more closely connected to heaven and earth.

This was not an illusion. As cultivation level increased and one’s status elevated, the connection between a person and heaven and earth naturally grew closer.

The so-called ‘immortal’, when broken down, is a person leaning against a mountain.”

“But as is well known, many terms in ancient metaphysics are often metaphorical. For example, ‘three’ represents infinity, ‘nine’ represents the ultimate number, and ‘Dao’ represents the principle of all things.”

“And ‘mountain,’ as a natural landscape, symbolizes heaven.”

“Thus, an immortal is not so much a person leaning against a mountain, but rather a person gradually climbing the mountain, drawing closer to heaven.”

“Those atop the mountain are the highest and closest to heaven.”

Being closer to heaven brought Mu Lin many benefits. Even in combat alone, it left him satisfied.

“With a closer connection to heaven and earth, for every unit of my mana, I can now mobilize three units from the world. Moreover, in my current state, it has become easier for me to manifest a Domain… No wonder lower cultivation levels are generally no match for higher ones. With the same amount of mana, higher cultivation levels can draw more spiritual energy from heaven and earth, making spells more vast. More is better, bigger is more beautiful—how could lower-level cultivators possibly compete?”

…

Advancing to Sha Refinement, Mu Lin’s first sensation was relief.

His second sensation was expansion.

Previously, having reached the peak of Spirit Sea, Mu Lin had felt as though he had reached his limit, with no further room for growth.

But now, upon attaining Sha Refinement, he discovered that his upper limit had been broken, and his capacity had broadened.

His body could now contain more mana, and his physical form could continue to strengthen and evolve.

Apart from these two changes, however, Mu Lin found that after advancing to Sha Refinement, his other transformations… ended there.

“???”

“Why is that all?”

After carefully sensing his body and confirming there were indeed no further changes, Mu Lin’s brow furrowed tightly.

His worried expression also stirred concern in Meng Rui, Yan Yunyu, and the other women.

“Mu Lin, what’s wrong? Is something amiss?”

Meng Rui was the first to ask. She was counting on Mu Lin growing stronger to help her deduce the cultivation methods of the Puppet lineage, so her concern was genuine.

Mu Lin felt this care, and since he also wanted guidance, he directly voiced his question.

“There is indeed something off. My improvement upon advancing to Sha Refinement is too minimal. Yet, as far as I know, Sha Refinement is a crucial milestone in the path of cultivation. My current gains seem somewhat inadequate…”

Upon hearing Mu Lin’s words, the women initially tensed up. But after listening, Si Ye, Dongfang Ya, and Meng Rui exchanged odd glances, and then they all laughed.

Of course, even as they laughed, they explained to Mu Lin:

“Hehe, Mu Lin, you’re right about one thing—Sha Refinement is indeed a very important stage in cultivation, and it marks the beginning of a cultivator’s qualitative transformation.”

“In cultivation, the first three realms (Sensing, Qi Drawing, Spirit Awakening) involve attracting spiritual energy and opening the dantian—this is the foundation of cultivation. The second step (Gushing Spring, Spirit Pool, Spirit Sea) focuses on continuously increasing mana until no further growth is possible.”

“And the third step is about achieving a qualitative change in mana and gaining some extraordinary abilities.”

The first to speak was Dongfang Ya, followed by Master Meng Rui, who added, “However, starting from Sha Refinement, although our physical bodies and mana undergo a qualitative transformation, this transformation is not achieved overnight. You need to find baleful qi yourself and refine it into your body.”

The last to speak was Si Ye: “There are many types of baleful qi in the world. There is Peach Blossom Sha, which can imbue mana with illusory and seductive properties. There is Extreme Ice Sha, which can imbue mana with extreme coldness, as well as Earth Fire Sha, Geng Metal Sha, Central Wuji Sha… The quality of the sha directly affects the quality of your mana, so the choice of baleful qi must be made with great care.”

“Moreover, baleful qi is not necessarily better just because its grade is higher. It must also be compatible with the attributes of your cultivation method, and you must be able to withstand it…”

The way of heaven is to diminish the excessive and supplement the deficient; the way of humanity is to diminish the deficient and serve the excessive.

As the three women explained, Mu Lin gradually understood the essence of the Sha Refinement stage. It involved continuously refining the baleful qi of heaven and earth into his body, using the natural world to perfect himself.

‘This is completely different from Divine Path cultivation. In Divine Path cultivation, one continuously elevates their status, expands their Divine Law Domain, and gains control over more authority in the world.’

‘Refining baleful qi into the body? There is no such step in Divine Path cultivation.’

Setting aside the merits and drawbacks of the two cultivation paths, refining baleful qi into the body undoubtedly imposed the least constraints on Mu Lin, allowing him to exert his full strength wherever he went.

However, precisely because of this, this step was extremely difficult.

Baleful qi was by no means a gentle substance. Its very name, “sha,” indicated its extreme danger and difficulty to refine. A single misstep could cause uncontrollable damage to the body and meridians.

Moreover, the more powerful the baleful qi, the longer it took to refine, and the higher the physical requirements for the refiner.

In addition to the difficulty of refinement, high-quality baleful qi that was also compatible with oneself was extremely hard to find.

Just as Mu Lin was frowning, Yan Yunyu noticed his dilemma and whispered, “Brother Mu, the Jade Lake Dao Palace has baleful qi within it. Our negotiations with them aren’t completely over yet. If you’re interested, we could ask the Jade Lake Dao Academy for Thunder Spirit Sha. However, this sha is only Earth Grade High Rank, not the best.”

“There’s also the Demon Suppression Division. They are willing to provide you with baleful qi as well—Human Dao Dragon Vein Sha, which is Heaven Grade Low Rank. But you would need to sign a rather harsh contract, committing to serve the Demon Suppression Division for twenty years.”

“As for my Yan Family, we also control many powerful types of baleful qi… You could freely choose from Earth Grade ones, but as for Heaven Grade…”

At this point, she glanced at Mu Lin’s expression before cautiously adding, “Heaven Grade baleful qi is too precious. If you want it, Brother Mu, you would need to sacrifice some of your freedom…”

Sacrificing freedom, even just a little, was something Mu Lin was unwilling to do.

However, he understood the demands of the Demon Suppression Division and the Yan Family. Heaven Grade baleful qi was the finest resource anywhere, and since they had no personal ties to him, they naturally wouldn’t hand over such a precious resource for free.

As for his relationship with Yan Yunyu… she was not a major figure in the Yan Family and could not represent them.

Similarly, Si Ye and Chu Lingluo could not represent the Chu Family either.

While pondering, Mu Lin inquired, “Aside from the royal family, aristocratic families, and some major powers, are there no other sources of the highest-grade Baleful Qi?”

“There are, but they are extremely rare. Eighty percent of the ordinary Baleful Qi in the world, and ninety-nine percent of the top-grade Baleful Qi, are controlled by large factions.”

“Through this, they control the path of advancement for cultivators.”

“To obtain it, rogue cultivators must either pledge allegiance to a major power or venture into remote mountains, wilderness, and dangerous places such as forbidden lands or ancient tomb ruins, spending long periods searching. Beyond time, ordinary cultivators also need exceptional luck to acquire high-quality Baleful Qi…”

The speaker at this moment was Meng Rui, who, as a rogue cultivator herself, understood well the hardships they faced in seeking Baleful Qi.

After expressing her sentiments, she offered some advice to Mu Lin: “In life, eight or nine out of ten things do not go as one wishes, Mu Lin. Temporary patience is nothing. Even some True Lords faced constraints in their weaker days. Even the emperor of our Great Spirit Imperial Dynasty cannot have everything go his way. So, you could consider accepting the terms of a major power—it is not a disgrace.”

“Many people lack the qualifications or connections to even have the chance to pledge allegiance to a major power.”

She was trying to persuade him, but Mu Lin’s mind was elsewhere.

Upon hearing her words, his eyes lit up.

“Does Baleful Qi exist in ruins as well?”

“Baleful Qi requires centuries to slowly condense. So, even if a sealed ruin originally had none, over centuries of nourishment, Baleful Qi can emerge.”

Halfway through her explanation, Master Meng Rui caught on.

“Do you have a target in mind?”

“Indeed, I do.”

At this, Mu Lin’s gaze turned toward the direction of Ping’an Ancient Town.

Originally, he had not considered the Grave Lord’s inheritance a must-have.

But now, things were different.

“It seems I must go for the Grave Lord’s inheritance. It’s highly likely to contain the Baleful Qi I need.”

“No, it definitely will… Besides time, the formation of Baleful Qi requires the involvement of high-quality energy.”

“And within the Grave Lord’s Tomb lies a True God. The grade of that energy is undoubtedly among the highest in the world, so the Baleful Qi there must be of the top grade.”

The more he thought about it, the more Mu Lin felt the Grave Lord’s inheritance was perfectly suited to him.

However, despite his desire to go, one problem troubled him.

“With my current strength, can I truly obtain what I want in the Grave Lord’s inheritance?”

Among cultivators of the same rank and age, Mu Lin feared no one.

Unfortunately, the world was not fair. This time, the cultivators he would be competing against had over a year more cultivation experience than him.

For top prodigies, one year could be worth ten. Thus, the gap between Mu Lin and the others was unimaginably vast.

In Ping’an Ancient Town, Mu Lin could rely on the Earth Veins’ power to barely hold his own against others.

But once inside the Grave Lord’s inheritance, without the Earth Veins’ support, his advantage would vanish, and his weaknesses would become glaring.

…

This sense of difficulty was what occupied Mu Lin’s thoughts.

But soon, he cast aside these negative thoughts.

“It’s not yet time for despair…”

Under normal circumstances, Mu Lin stood no chance of surpassing the other prodigies.

After all, having cultivated for longer than Mu Lin, the prodigies from major sects mostly possessed Gang Condensation, or even Gang Sha Unity.

At such realms, not only could they more easily mobilize the spiritual energy between heaven and earth, but their mana had also undergone two transformations through the tempering of Gang Sha.

At that time, a single strand of their mana could rival ten, or even a hundred strands of Mu Lin’s.

For cultivators, mana is the foundation of everything.

Now, those prodigies not only possessed more abundant mana than Mu Lin, but its quality was also superior. Consequently, the gap in their strength was dozens, even hundreds of times greater. Under such circumstances, it was naturally very difficult for Mu Lin to fight.

“But difficult does not mean there is no possibility of victory.”

“I also have advantages over other prodigies.”

Mu Lin’s strengths naturally lay in the realms of his cultivation method and mystical arts.

“Although mana is the foundation of everything, the realm of mystical arts is also crucial. After all, mana must be condensed into spells to unleash its greatest power.”

“And for the same mystical art, the difference between the Master Realm and the Proficient Realm is like heaven and earth.”

At the Proficient Realm, one strand of mana could only unleash power equivalent to one.

But with a Master Grade mystical art, one strand of mana could unleash power equivalent to a hundred.

With this, Mu Lin could erase the gap in cultivation level between himself and those cultivators.

“No, Master Grade is not enough… As prodigies, and prodigies from major forces, those cultivators’ comprehension would definitely not be lacking. In a short time, they might not be able to elevate their mystical art realm to the Master Realm, but with various resources piled up, reaching the Expert level would be effortless.”

Thinking this way, Mu Lin was not placing confidence in the prodigies of major forces, but rather in items like enlightenment tea leaves, tranquil Bodhi Beads, and wisdom spring water.

(End of Chapter)