Mountain Venerable and Sea Immortal

The cheers from the fishing village gradually faded, and the surface of Qingdao Bay was bathed in a warm golden glow under the bright sun.

After settling the grief-stricken Yi Azhu, Lin Yan bid farewell to Yun Xi amidst the villagers' fervent gazes, and headed towards a secluded spot by the sea outside the village. The spirit turtle slowly climbed down from his shoulder, its limbs paddling on the soft sand. Its beady black eyes gazed at the surging waves in the distance, occasionally letting out a few light, cheerful croaks. The wariness that had intimidated the Jiang family thugs had long since faded, leaving only a touch of liveliness.

Walking on the shallow beach, listening to the sound of waves crashing against the shore, Lin Yan unconsciously rubbed the Sea Spirit Pearl worn close to his chest with his fingertips. The pearl was warm and slightly cool, and a faint blue light shone through his clothes. His thoughts instantly drifted back to those lonely yet hopeful childhood years.

The villagers had only heard about the past of the Taoist Guanhai, and only Lin Yan himself knew who this "immortal" was. Rather than calling the Taoist Guanhai Lin Yan's "mentor," it would be more accurate to say that he was Lin Yan's half-godfather. Since he could remember, he had lived with the Taoist Guanhai in that dilapidated stone house on the back mountain of the fishing village. He had no relatives or friends and grew up entirely on the food that the Taoist occasionally brought back and the help of the villagers.

Guan Hai Dao Ren was a free spirit, spending his life traveling the world, seeking the great Dao in the sea and mountains, never lingering in one place. Of the 365 days a year, he spent very few in his dilapidated house, sometimes five or six days, sometimes only one or two. Often, he would step into his home and then disappear again into the mountains and seas; some times, he would vanish for two or three years without a trace. Young Lin Yan could only guard the empty house, waiting for his return day after day. Lin Yan remembered New Year's Eve when he was four years old. Outside, the wind and snow raged, and inside, only a dim oil lamp shone. The Daoist returned early, unusually, prepared a simple meal, invited the old Mr. Lin, the village tutor, to quietly eat the New Year's Eve dinner with him, and then took a yellowed, ancient book from his robes and placed it in his arms.

The book's cover bore the inscription "Laoshan Guanhai Jue" (The Secret of Watching the Sea from Laoshan), the characters bold and vigorous, carrying a faint scent of seawater and pine ink. The Guanhai Daoist left only one sentence: "Study this secret diligently. Go to Elder Lin's place in the future." After patting Lin Yan's head, he turned and stepped into the swirling snow, disappearing without a trace, never to return to that dilapidated house. To this day, whether the Guanhai Daoist was a Daoist master, or which temple he belonged to, remains a blank in Lin Yan's mind.

Over the years, during the day, Lin Yan would do odd jobs at Old Lin's place, and at night or in his spare time, he would hold this book of mantras and stare into the distance. When he was hungry, he would go to the back mountain to pick tea to exchange for food, or go to the sea to catch some fish. When he was tired, he would return to his dilapidated house to meditate. He lived a simple and carefree life, but he never dared to neglect his cultivation for even a day.

After wearing the Sea Spirit Pearl, the pure spiritual energy of the sea that continuously flowed from within it nourished his meridians at all times, perfectly matching the mental cultivation method of the "Laoshan Sea-Viewing Technique." The originally obscure and difficult Qi Refining Realm gradually became more abundant in his dantian with the help of the Sea Spirit Pearl, laying an extremely solid foundation in just a few years. If it weren't for this Sea Spirit Pearl, he wouldn't have been able to easily subdue Jiang Hu, who possessed evil power, with his rudimentary Dao techniques.

Just as Lin Yan was about to step into the stone house with his right foot, the spirit turtle on his shoulder suddenly jerked and leaped to the ground. He hurriedly turned around and saw that the spirit turtle had short, strong, and exceptionally agile limbs, slowly crawling towards the sea. Its rough, blunt claws struck the hard rocks, producing a series of deep, clear tapping sounds. Before long, it quietly stopped beside a rock where the current was turbulent and the waves were lapping gently. It raised its neck high, nodded repeatedly at the water, and gently pawed at the sand with its limbs, emitting a deep, solemn hiss, completely devoid of its previous leisurely demeanor.

"Did you find anything else?" Lin Yan followed. The spirit turtle was intelligent, as evidenced by the sea spirit stone Lin Yan had picked up earlier.

Lin Yan's heart stirred, knowing that there must be some mystery hidden underwater, and he immediately followed the spirit turtle and slowly stepped into the shallow sea.

The seawater reached above the turtle's ankles, then down to its knees, and the turtle swam straight toward a hidden sea cave.

The sea cave was hidden by reefs and was usually difficult to find. The seawater inside was clear, and the deeper one went, the richer the spiritual energy became. A pale blue sea mist surrounded one, refreshing the mind and body. After about half an incense stick's time, the view suddenly opened up, and a hidden sea spirit realm appeared before one's eyes.

The secret realm was a hidden paradise. Instead of seawater, it was filled with a dense, almost liquefied, marine spiritual energy. The ground was covered with tiny, shimmering white seashells, and the surrounding stone walls glowed with a soft blue light. Many kinds of marine spiritual herbs that he had never seen before grew there. The spirit turtle slowly swam to the stone platform in the center of the secret realm and nudged the two jade scrolls placed on the platform with its head. Lin Yan stepped forward, picked up the jade scrolls, and slowly probed them with his divine sense. His eyes immediately flashed with surprise and delight.

One jade slip records the Golden Finger Technique, which allows one to condense the sea energy around the body into the fingertips. It can both enlighten spiritual objects and destroy evil and injure enemies. The force of the finger can penetrate metal and stone. The other slip records the Wall-Passing Technique, which uses sea energy to conceal one's form and can pass through ordinary stone walls and obstacles to escape from dangerous situations.

Excited, Lin Yan quickly sat cross-legged on the stone platform and devoted himself to studying the secret techniques in the jade slip. With the help of his Qi cultivation foundation and the spiritual energy of the Sea Spirit Pearl, Lin Yan memorized both techniques in less than an hour. He could feel the mystery of the secret techniques by slightly circulating spiritual energy in his fingertips.

Following the spirit turtle deeper into the secret realm, they hadn't gone far when a colossal, seven-colored coral reef suddenly appeared before them. This reef, several meters high, was entirely crystalline, its surface etched with dense, winding, crisscrossing sea patterns. The lines were intricate yet orderly, piecing together to form a complete map of the sea. The map marked the locations of numerous unknown islands, spiritual veins, and secret realms. Although some of the sea patterns were slightly blurred by the erosion of time, their immense value was still evident. If they could decipher them in the future, they would surely find even more opportunities in the sea.

Passing the coral reef, a soft, blue light came into view. A massive, pure white stone bed, about ten feet wide, sat quietly—the supreme treasure of this Sea Spirit Secret Realm: the Sea Spirit Core Bed. The entire bed was formed from pure sea spirit cores, containing boundless and powerful sea energy. Wisps of blue light emanated from the bed, swirling around it. Anyone standing beside it could feel the spiritual energy stirring within their dantian, their meridians widening. With such a treasure, one could cultivate diligently, their cultivation progressing rapidly, breaking through barriers with ease.

Lin Yan eagerly leaped onto the Sea Spirit Core Bed, his eyes filled with excitement and solemnity. Without the slightest hesitation, he reached out and firmly grasped the exposed core of the Sea Spirit Core Bed.

In an instant, a surge of violent yet pure sea energy rushed into their bodies through their palms, causing their meridians to swell and expand under the influence of the Sea Spirit Pearl. The energy accumulated in their dantian surged wildly like a volcanic eruption, constantly compressing and condensing, instantly breaking through their original cultivation barriers.

"break."

Lin Yan's aura suddenly surged, the pale blue sea energy surrounding him became increasingly dense, the spiritual energy fluctuations around him were several times stronger than before, and a sense of abundant power permeated his bones and muscles. Even his eyes became clearer and brighter.

"Qi Refining Level Two!" Lin Yan couldn't hide his joy, his voice trembling slightly. This was an opportunity he had never encountered before in his cultivation.

Lin Yan slowly curled the corners of his lips, withdrew his palm, and felt the surging spiritual energy within his body. He could clearly perceive that his strength and spiritual sense had been comprehensively enhanced.

Suddenly, the sea turtle, which had been lying quietly to the side, stiffened, its shell tightened slightly, and it let out a sharp and wary low hiss. It turned its head sharply towards the entrance of the secret realm, its black bean-like eyes full of vigilance, and a faint defensive aura emanated from its body, as if it had sensed an extremely dangerous aura.

Lin Yan's expression changed drastically. He instantly withdrew his spiritual energy, focused his gaze on the entrance to the secret realm, and asked in a deep voice, "Spirit Turtle, have you discovered anything?"

The sea turtle nodded repeatedly, letting out a low roar, its voice carrying a strong warning. Lin Yan focused his senses and instantly detected a faint, sinister aura drifting from outside the entrance, mixed with a familiar fluctuation of spiritual energy belonging to the Jiang family.