Chapter 58: The Escape

“Fools!” Lin Yanghao muttered under his breath as he watched their actions.

“Brother Lin, shouldn’t we go in as well?” Lu Gaotong asked in confusion when he noticed Lin Yanghao hadn’t followed the others.

“No, come with me.” Without waiting for further questions, Lin Yanghao grabbed Lu Gaotong and hurried away.

“Country bumpkins—serves them right if they die.” Seeing the pair leave, someone sneered.

“Exactly. I have no idea how such people have survived until now. Let them be, it’s just two useless fools,” another chimed in.

“We’ll see who dies first. Self-important idiots.” Paying them no mind, Lin Yanghao led Lu Gaotong swiftly to the other side of the Golden Sun Roc’s back.

“Brother Lin, what’s going on? Can you tell me now?” Lu Gaotong asked once Lin Yanghao finally stopped.

Lin Yanghao let out a wicked laugh. “Take a look at those spirit beasts—each of them has at least the strength of the Core Formation stage. And still, those people think they can resist, all huddled together. I bet a single swipe from any of those beasts would be enough to kill them all.”

“Thank goodness you’re clever, Brother Lin. Otherwise, I’d be done for,” Lu Gaotong said, shuddering at the thought.

Just as Lin Yanghao had predicted, it wasn’t long before a spirit beast charged toward them. The rest of the beasts swarmed the inner sect elders.

Faced with opponents two entire realms above them, those who clustered together were cut down by a single blow from the Fire Dragon Beast—over half of them were dead or injured instantly. The survivors were scattered, fleeing in all directions.

“This can’t go on. There’s only so much space here. If things continue like this, we’ll end up just like them,” Lin Yanghao said anxiously.

He looked up at the sky, where the Shadow Moon Phantom Wolf and Master Chong Ling battled with such force that the sky seemed to roil. Lin Yanghao was deeply shaken; it was his first time witnessing such power. His eyes brimmed with envy.

There was no time for further thought. Lin Yanghao racked his brain for a way out. But suspended in midair, where could he possibly run? Suddenly, inspiration struck, and he glanced downward.

“Ha! Thank the heavens! Brother Lu, we’re saved.” After the chaos, the Golden Sun Roc now soared above a vast ocean.

Just then, a spirit beast lunged at them. Without hesitation, Lin Yanghao pulled Lu Gaotong with him, leaping off into the void.

“Ah! Lin Yanghao, what are you doing?” Lu Gaotong cried out in terror.

But with the wind rushing past as they fell, Lin Yanghao couldn’t answer.

Splash.

Splash.

Moments later, Lin Yanghao and Lu Gaotong landed safely in the water. Lin Yanghao quickly formed a shield of spiritual energy around himself.

“Lu Gaotong! Lu Gaotong!” He looked around but Lu Gaotong was nowhere to be seen.

After searching for a long while with no success, Lin Yanghao had no choice but to give up and began swimming south at full speed.

“There’s a small island over there. I’ll rest and figure things out.” After traversing the waves for some time, Lin Yanghao finally came across a small island.

It was no more than a thousand square meters, with only a single hill at its center. Beyond that, there was nothing else. Finding a small cave, Lin Yanghao settled in and, having nothing better to do, began to study the “Chaos Divine Spirit Art” anew.

With his spiritual sense, Lin Yanghao could now observe his own body. Staring at the thumb-thick thread of spiritual energy in his dantian, he felt a rush of excitement. Every time he cultivated the “Chaos Divine Spirit Art,” the spiritual energy in his body diminished, but rather than worry, Lin Yanghao was delighted. He found that his spiritual power was becoming purer, refined from an entire dantian full of energy to a single, concentrated strand.

Yet, a new frustration arose. With his dantian now reduced to that thumb-thick strand of energy, Lin Yanghao wasn’t sure what realm he’d reached. If he claimed to be at the peak of the Qi Refining stage, his spiritual reserves didn’t match the realm. If he said he was at the third layer of Qi Refining, he still possessed the strength of someone at the peak.

“Could it be that I need to fill my dantian again before I can build my Foundation?” The thought startled Lin Yanghao. If that was the case, he would progress even slower than others, since his spiritual roots were already weak.

But he set the thought aside and began his cultivation.

He circulated the “Chaos Divine Spirit Art,” drawing the spiritual energy from his dantian into his meridians, letting it flow through the eight extraordinary vessels.

For cultivators, the dantian is the foundation for storing spiritual power, but the eight extraordinary meridians are just as important. When spiritual energy makes a complete circuit through these meridians, it is called a cycle. With every cycle, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is drawn into the meridians.

Though each cycle gathers little energy, over time it accumulates. The better one’s spiritual roots, the more energy can be gathered; with poor roots, the process is slow. This is why spiritual roots are so highly prized by cultivators.

After several cycles, the spiritual energy in his meridians returned to his dantian. Even if just a sliver had been gained, Lin Yanghao was satisfied.

Although he had not yet reached the first layer of the “Chaos Divine Spirit Art,” his persistent practice had brought him to a minor achievement. Through careful study and repeated research, Lin Yanghao finally understood the art. It was not about quickly increasing one’s cultivation, but about tempering the heart and mind. What truly delighted him was that, once a breakthrough in his state of mind was achieved, there would be no bottlenecks. In this way, his weak spiritual roots would no longer be a hindrance; as long as he raised his mastery of the “Chaos Divine Spirit Art,” ascension would only be a matter of time.

Just then, Lin Yanghao remembered he hadn’t practiced his Fireball Technique in a long while—his most vital means of survival. He resolved to focus on it next.

Retrieving a fire-element beast core, he sat cross-legged, formed a series of hand seals, and began to cast the Fireball Technique. As the fire-element spiritual energy from the beast core was drawn forth, the cultivation began in earnest.