Chapter 783: Opportunity (I)

Inside the Evilheart Sect's main hall, Kong Yujing said respectfully, "Master, the inventory of resources in the sect treasury and the number of spirit stones are all recorded here. Please take a look."

As the first person to follow Lin Zheyu, she had grown accustomed to calling him Master rather than Sect Master like the other demonic cultivators did. Besides being a habit, this was also a small calculation of her own. Lin Zheyu had never specifically asked her to change how she addressed him.

"Mm." Lin Zheyu acknowledged her softly, took the jade slip, and began examining it.

Kong Yujing was not particularly talented at managing sect affairs, but fortunately, Wu Di had proven unexpectedly well-suited to the task. With Lin Zheyu backing them, the two worked together to keep everything in good order. With the powerful Cao Hongchang holding the fort as well, the Evilheart Sect was gradually beginning to flourish.

Seemingly afraid that Lin Zheyu would be displeased by the meager inventory recorded in the jade slip, Kong Yujing hurriedly explained, "The sect is currently expanding, so our consumption of various resources has been enormous. As a result, we haven't managed to accumulate many spirit stones or other resources."

"Mm," Lin Zheyu replied softly, his expression unchanged.

After finishing his examination and finding no problems, Lin Zheyu stored the jade slip away with a thought. He then turned toward Wu Di, who promptly stepped forward.

"Sect Master, this is the catalog of techniques and texts kept in the sect's library. Please take a look." Wu Di respectfully handed him a jade slip.

The two were responsible for different affairs. Management of the sect's library and the formulation of its contribution-point system had ultimately been entrusted to Wu Di. As a formation cultivator, Wu Di was far more meticulous and rigorous than Kong Yujing, making him better suited to handling such matters.

"Since the contribution-point system was revised, most of the sect's cultivators have willingly submitted the techniques they've learned and their cultivation insights to the library. The exchange costs and ratings assigned to the techniques, cultivation insights, and other texts listed here were determined by the vice sect master," Wu Di explained from the side.

Lin Zheyu carefully reviewed the names and summaries of every technique and text in the library. Their quality was fairly good, and the collection had grown to a respectable size. After nearly half a year, the Evilheart Sect was becoming increasingly well established and gradually taking on the shape of a proper sect.

"You've done well. You'll each receive five hundred sect contribution points as a reward. You may leave now," Lin Zheyu said calmly with a wave of his hand.

"Yes, Sect Master!"

"Yes, Master!"

Delight appeared on their faces as they excitedly took their leave.

Lin Zheyu's figure blurred slightly before vanishing from the spot. A moment later, he appeared outside the library.

The Golden Core realm cultivator guarding the library bowed respectfully upon seeing Lin Zheyu arrive. "Greetings, Sect Master!"

Lin Zheyu acknowledged him softly and walked inside. After carefully examining the library with his senses, he found its various formations and restrictions far too crude. This was true not only of the library, but of the formations and restrictions throughout the entire Evilheart Sect.

Lin Zheyu had never felt this way before. In the past, he had judged a formation primarily by its overall power, strength, defensive capabilities, flaws, stability, and other such qualities.

Now, however, after his experience on the Path to Heaven, the rudiments of a complete Formation Dao system had begun taking shape in Lin Zheyu's mind. He no longer evaluated a formation solely from those few perspectives. Instead, he began with the more fundamental restriction runes that composed it.

There were many ways to construct formations that served the same function, and formations composed of different restriction runes would produce different results. When dismantling a formation, the simplest and most effective method was to begin with the restriction runes from which it was built.

"These formations are far too crude. Once my Formation Dao abilities improve, I'll have to refine them all. Otherwise, any cultivator from an orthodox Formation Dao sect could easily identify their flaws, even if they were only a third-tier formation cultivator," Lin Zheyu thought.

This was the greatest difference between cultivators from orthodox Formation Dao sects and self-taught formation cultivators. The methods of self-taught formation cultivators were simply too haphazard. Even if they could set up third-tier formations, most knew only a handful. They had not even thoroughly mastered second-tier formations. The only reason they had managed to learn third-tier formations was by brute-forcing their way through them with vast amounts of time and effort, along with a measure of luck.

Wu Di was precisely such a person. Although he could set up several crude third-tier formations, if he went to the Formation Hall to have his Formation Dao proficiency assessed, he would probably struggle to qualify even as a second-tier formation master. His methods were simply too unorthodox, and his foundations in the Formation Dao were extremely weak. The Formation Hall required second-tier formation masters to have mastered a certain number of restriction runes. Wu Di would likely fail that requirement alone.

After entering the library, Lin Zheyu went straight to the fourth floor. The techniques and texts on this floor were all at the Nascent Soul realm, and nearly all of them had been contributed by Cao Hongchang himself. Only a few came from Golden Core-realm demonic cultivators.

Whenever a cultivator exchanged contribution points for a technique or text from the library, the contributor also received a percentage of those points. Thus, even Cao Hongchang was extremely enthusiastic about contributing.

After all, as a Nascent Soul realm demonic cultivator, he needed no small number of contribution points to ask Lin Zheyu to resolve the erosion of yao will within him.

With a thought from Lin Zheyu, a jade slip containing insights on advancing from the Golden Core realm to the Nascent Soul realm flew out and landed in his hand. Nascent Soul realm cultivators possessed the ability to teleport over short distances. This ability had nothing to do with a Nascent Soul realm cultivator's strength or their attainments in any particular aspect. Even if a formation cultivator managed to master fourth-tier formations comparable to the Nascent Soul realm while still in a lower realm, they would remain incapable of using the short-range teleportation available to Nascent Soul realm cultivators.

This ability could only be truly mastered after one's cultivation realm reached the Nascent Soul realm or an equivalent realm in another cultivation system. Lin Zheyu had coveted the Nascent Soul realm's short-range teleportation ability for a long time. His combat strength was formidable enough to rival an ordinary mid-stage Nascent Soul realm cultivator. However, because he had not mastered short-range teleportation, there was nothing he could do even against an early-stage Nascent Soul realm cultivator if his opponent desperately teleported away to escape.

"Short-range teleportation... How exactly does this ability arise, and how can it be mastered?" Lin Zheyu murmured.

Extending his spiritual sense, Lin Zheyu began reviewing the insights on advancement that Cao Hongchang had recorded in the jade slip. He had previously studied Cao Hongchang's Nascent Soul while resolving the erosion of yao will within him. However, he had failed to discover why Nascent Soul realm cultivators could master short-range teleportation. The reason they possessed this ability was very likely connected to the process of advancing to the Nascent Soul realm.

***

Time passed slowly. Lin Zheyu immersed himself completely in Cao Hongchang's insights on advancement. The account was extremely detailed. Cao Hongchang had omitted nothing, recording the entire process by which a Golden Core realm demonic cultivator advanced to the Nascent Soul realm, including the resources required, the precise methods involved, his insights into the Dao, and much more.

The number of contribution points required to exchange for these insights was frighteningly high, but such a detailed account of advancing to the Nascent Soul realm was well worth the price.

Lin Zheyu, who had been immersed in the jade slip, suddenly opened his eyes and murmured, "So that's how it is..."

Excitement gleamed in his eyes. After repeatedly and thoroughly studying Cao Hongchang's account of his advancement to the Nascent Soul realm from beginning to end, Lin Zheyu found a possible answer.

An immortal cultivator's Nascent Soul was formed by fusing their entire cultivation into a vessel closest to the Great Dao and best suited to comprehending it. Thus, the Nascent Soul in the Immortal Dao was also known as the Dao Body, the vessel for the Dao that an immortal cultivator cultivated.

"No matter how formidable a cultivator's combat strength or how great their power, even if it far surpasses the Nascent Soul realm, they cannot obtain the 'authority of the Nascent Soul' as long as their cultivation realm has not reached that level. That is probably because they have yet to cultivate a 'Dao Body' like the Nascent Soul," Lin Zheyu murmured.

He speculated that the so-called authority available only to Nascent Soul realm cultivators was likely an exceptionally profound form of Dao Origin. An ordinary cultivator's body and soul were simply incapable of perceiving or bearing this Dao Origin. Only a Dao Body such as the Nascent Soul, which contained the cultivator's entire cultivation and stood closest to the Great Dao, could perceive and bear it.

"If that is indeed the reason, then how can I master short-range teleportation while still in the Shackles realm?" Lin Zheyu frowned slightly and sank into deep thought.