Lin Xuan slowly returned to his residence. It was a humble dwelling, surrounded by a dark forest with a small stream flowing nearby. The faint fragrance of flowers drifted through the air.
Not only could he not fit in with the Lin Family, but even his home was in a remote location. In fact, he was the only one who lived here. It wasn't the Lin Family that made him live here; he had chosen this place himself.
Gently pushing open the door, Lin Xuan tapped lightly with his wooden staff, located a chair, and sat down. He took the medicine bottle from his robes. A faint scent wafted into his nose, making his entire body tremble slightly.
'This… this isn't a Body Refining Pill…' Lin Xuan sniffed it and knew at once. He had been receiving Body Refining Pills for so many years that he could tell by the smell alone. After losing his sight, Lin Xuan had forced himself to heighten his senses of smell and hearing. Otherwise, all that would have awaited him was true despair.
Still not entirely certain, he tipped one out and put it in his mouth. The moment he swallowed, a warm current surged toward his Dantian, instantly causing the Elemental Power within him to become more condensed!
"This… this is a Solid Essence Pill!" After he swallowed it, his expression was one of complete shock, as if he had never expected it to be a Solid Essence Pill.
The Solid Essence Pill, as its name implied, was an elixir pill for stabilizing Elemental Power. Body Refining Pills were most effective during the Body Refining Stage, which, after all, focused on training the muscles and sinews to make the body stronger. As for the Solid Essence Pill, it merely stabilized Elemental Power. Its effects weren't particularly noticeable when taken during the Body Refining Stage, but that didn't mean it was inferior.
On the contrary, the Solid Essence Pill was several tiers more valuable than the Body Refining Pill! After consuming a Solid Essence Pill, the Elemental Power in one's body would stabilize, which was a great help in breaking through to the next stage, the Spirit Refining Stage! The more stable the Elemental Power, the easier the breakthrough. Many people reached the Peak of the Body Refining Stage quickly but could never break through to the Spirit Refining Stage. This was precisely because their Elemental Power was unstable or insufficient, leading to failure!
Thus, the Solid Essence Pill was exceptionally important. He never imagined that this entire bottle was filled with them, and there were quite a few.
Lin Xuan's hand, holding the medicine bottle, began to tremble slightly. He believed the Lin Family would never make a mistake in distributing Elixir Pills. This could only mean that Lin Xue's true purpose in coming here wasn't to say goodbye, but to give him these Elixir Pills.
'I never expected this, I truly never expected this...' Lin Xuan put the stopper back in the bottle. Just then, he felt something unusual about the cloth strip tied to the stopper.
He spread it flat and ran his hand over it, feeling some characters written on it. After he had carefully traced them out, his whole body shook. Tears streamed from his eyes down his cheeks, pooling in his palm without him even noticing.
Embroidered on the cloth that had served as the bottle's stopper were two raised words—Await me!
Two words stirred up memories of his past. The outside world believed that Lin Xuan had been bitten by a Fierce Nether Snake during his training. The truth was, he had been bitten while shielding Lin Xue!
Only a few people knew about this, including Lin Xue and the Clan Leader, Lin Feng. Lin Xuan had protected Lin Xue. Logically, Lin Feng should have done everything in his power to have him treated, even if it meant sacrificing his own Cultivation to heal his eyes. But Lin Feng hadn't done that. Not only did he cover up the incident, but he also gave him the cold shoulder.
At first, Lin Xue had cared for him meticulously, but then, for some inexplicable reason, she stopped coming. Though he had lost his sight, her care had made him feel no regret. But then she was gone. That was what truly plunged him into darkness...
It made him wonder, 'What did I fight so desperately for? And what did I get in the end?'
There was no fairytale ending, only a lonely one.
The Lin Family's neglect wasn't completely heartless; they still provided him with Elixir Pills on time every month. Enduring scorn and isolation, he was helpless, but he didn't give up. Instead, he cultivated desperately in his own way!
'Since no one is willing to help me, I'll heal my eyes with my own strength!' If he could just break through to the Spirit Pill Stage, it might be possible to heal his eyes. But it was only a possibility. If too much time passed, it would be useless even if he reached the Spirit Pill Stage. He could feel the poison still lingering in his eyes, slowly corroding them.
No matter the final outcome, he cultivated with all his might. It was this indomitable heart that allowed him to far surpass others.
The Sixth Layer of Body Refining Stage was his current Cultivation. When he heard that Lin Xue had been recruited by Qingcheng Mansion today, he couldn't help but mock his own ordinary talent. No matter how hard he worked, he couldn't compare to them.
Now, those two words had swiftly set his cold heart ablaze. 'Could it be that Lin Xue is cultivating so desperately just to quickly break through to the Spirit Pill Stage and then heal me?'
Perhaps it was true. At least, that was what Lin Xuan felt from those two words. He didn't know what Lin Xue had gone through these past few years, why she never came to see him. Perhaps something had happened on her end.
Lin Xuan covered his eyes and suddenly burst into loud laughter. The sound carried outside, filled not with pain, but with pure, unadulterated release.
"Letting a woman fight so desperately for me while I do nothing but wait here… am I even a man?"
He stood up resolutely. A flicker of light seemed to flash in his vacant eyes. He picked up his wooden staff and strode outside. Once out the door, he didn't need the staff at all, moving swiftly into the forest as if his sight had been restored.
As he went deeper, the sound of water grew louder in his ears—it was unmistakably the sound of a waterfall. Just as expected, Lin Xuan arrived at the edge of a pool. A towering waterfall cascaded down from above, making a loud, CRASHING sound.
Upon reaching the pool's edge, he used his wooden staff to prod the ground, found the sandbags he was looking for, and strapped them to his body. The heavy sandbags were of great benefit to his Body Refining.
After strapping them on, he began to swing his staff. A powerful Qi Force surged out of him continuously, and the Vitality within his body was released in a constant stream. With each swing, a faint Qi Force swept out, vibrating the air with a HUMMING sound, while his feet moved in a constant, shuffling dance.
The spot where he stood, once a patch of jagged rock, had been worn smooth over the years. It was now a slightly concave floor—a testament to his hard work.
BANG!
Suddenly, the wooden staff in his hand exploded, scattering splinters to the side. Lin Xuan frowned and said, "A wooden staff really is useless. It can't withstand my Elemental Power at all."
He walked to the side where a pile of prepared wooden staffs lay waiting; he had gotten them all ready long ago. Some were just branches. He tapped a few with his foot, then bent down and felt a few more before grabbing one and resuming his practice of the more basic Martial Techniques.
This spot by the pool was his training ground. He came here every day. He didn't know how many tens of thousands of times he had swung his staff to practice this Low Tier Cloud-Entering Form to the point of perfection.
With his sight gone, it was nearly impossible for him to learn any new Martial Techniques. Without eyes to see, study, and comprehend, learning Martial Techniques was incredibly difficult. Even if he wanted to learn, no one would let him into the Library Pavilion. 'What use is a blind man feeling a Martial Technique scroll?'
Therefore, he could only practice the Martial Techniques he had learned before, pushing them all to their absolute limits. But in the end, they were just Low Tier Martial Techniques; achieving anything significant with them was far too difficult.
He didn't know how long he trained. He'd shatter one wooden staff and immediately pick up another, cultivating as if his life depended on it, his clothes soaked with sweat. But he didn't stop; he just kept swinging.
There are no shortcuts in Cultivation. His ability to break through to the Sixth Layer of Body Refining Stage was directly related to his tireless efforts.
After nightfall, Lin Xuan finally stopped. It wasn't that he wanted to, but the Elemental Power in his body was almost completely depleted. He had to rest before he could continue his Cultivation.
Just as he was about to rest, he suddenly remembered the words Lin Xue had left for him. A warmth spread through his heart, and he declared in a deep voice, "If I'm going to cultivate, I'll cultivate beyond my limits!"
He immediately began swinging again. He had already performed the monotonous Cloud-Entering Form countless times, yet he continued. What little Elemental Power he had left in his body, he continued to release without pause.
The Body Refining Stage was about refining the body; only by exceeding one's limits could one break through more easily! After his Elemental Power was exhausted, he kept swinging. This time, he didn't use Elemental Power, relying purely on physical strength. Whenever a sliver of Elemental Power recovered, he would immediately release it.
He continuously overexerted and squeezed himself dry. His body felt like it was on the prelude to surpassing its limits.
"Go!"
Lin Xuan roared, thrusting the wooden staff forward viciously. An astonishing power erupted from his body in an instant. A surging Qi Force violently rolled out, stirring the once-calm surface of the water in front of him and creating ripples.
In that instant, he felt a new power welling up inside him. His Cultivation had advanced again, bringing him to the verge of stepping into the Seventh Layer of Body Refining Stage!
Before he could be happy, a wave of dizziness washed over him. His footing became unstable, and he collapsed to the side.
SPLASH! He sank directly to the bottom of the water!
After sinking to the bottom, he struggled for a moment before quickly calming down and removing all the sandbags strapped to his body. He was blind and could see nothing. If he struggled blindly, he would only sink deeper!
He could only wait to slowly float back up to find his way out. As he waited to rise, he suddenly saw a bright light at the bottom of the water!
Ever since he went blind, he had never seen the slightest glimmer of light—only pitch-black darkness. Yet now, he could actually see a bright light, right there at the bottom of the water. It was like the sun he remembered seeing, but without its dazzling glare or scorching heat.
'What is this...?'
He hesitated for a moment, but then, without a second thought, he started paddling with his hands, swimming actively toward it. He no longer intended to surface. If there was one thing most important to a blind man, it was undoubtedly light!