Cultivating immortality begins with discerning the secrets of heaven.

A powerful surge of fire-attribute spiritual energy erupted from Huangzhu Mountain.

Many of the Lin family cultivators on the mountain showed expressions of surprise and delight, exclaiming, "This aura...it must mean Miss Hongye has broken through!"

"Ninth level of Qi Refining, a twenty-seven-year-old at the ninth level of Qi Refining!"

"As expected of someone with dual spiritual roots, such a cultivation speed is truly astonishing."

On the hilltop, in a simple bamboo hut, Lin Jinnan emerged, leaning on a bamboo cane.

At this moment, the wrinkles on the old man's face smoothed out; he hadn't been this happy in a long time.

Immediately afterwards, the commotion within the cave, which had been emanating a powerful aura of spiritual energy, quickly subsided.

A tall woman with a high ponytail walked out, her waist tied with a bright red ribbon. A gentle breeze blew, and her hair and the ribbon danced in one direction, exuding a heroic and dashing aura.

Lin Hongye's rosy lips curved into a stunning smile as she gazed at the scenery outside the cave, feeling an immense sense of joy.

Before long, she lightly stepped forward, and a piece of black cloth appeared beneath her feet, carrying her to Lin Jinnan's side.

"Hongye greets Grandpa!"

Lin Jinnan showed a look of satisfaction: "Not bad, you've reached the ninth level of Qi Refining at the age of twenty-seven. Even the old ancestor Qingya back then didn't do it as fast as you."

"Ancestor Qingya is a Foundation Establishment cultivator; how dare I, Hongye, compare myself to him?" Lin Hongye said modestly.

"Is there anything else about the sect that requires the family's assistance? Please feel free to ask. If there are any tasks that need to be done to accumulate contribution points, the family will certainly do its best to help," Lin Jinnan said.

Lin Hongye shook her head and parted her red lips slightly: "With the help of my family, I have collected three thousand sect contribution points."

"If things go as expected, Lingxu Peak should be able to get six Foundation Establishment Pills this time. Three of them will be distributed to several senior brothers who have been working on Lingxu Peak for decades. It is only right and proper for them to receive them."

"Of the remaining three, the whereabouts of one have already been determined. One of the disciples under the deputy peak master is still unwilling to give up and plans to attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage again."

"The last two Foundation Establishment Pills will be contested by me, Wu Tong, and Li Tianhe. I have now reached the ninth level of Qi Refining and am 70% confident that I can win the right to exchange one of the Foundation Establishment Pills."

As long as one joins the Taiyuan Sect, each disciple will have one chance to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill.

However, even within the Taiyuan Sect, the competition for Foundation Establishment Pills remains fierce, with some disciples often having to wait twenty or thirty years to finally receive one.

Disciples with exceptional talent like Lin Hongye naturally don't need to endure that long.

They joined the sect during the previous Taiyuan Ascension Assembly, and by this Ascension Assembly, they had already gained a pivotal position on the peak, and were naturally qualified to compete for a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Lin Jinnan nodded and said, "Well, it doesn't matter if we fail this time. We can just wait another ten years."

"The flowing water does not compete to be first, but to flow endlessly."

Lin Hongye whispered, "Hongye will remember Grandpa's teachings."

"By the way, Lin Yun of the Ji lineage met a member of a branch of the Chen family named Chen Guan while learning martial arts in Fire Cloud Valley."

"This person hopes to use the miraculous techniques of Lingxu Peak to heal the spiritual trauma he suffered in his early years."

As he spoke, Lin Jinnan took out two letters that Lin Yun had sent back and handed them to Lin Hongye.

After receiving the letter, Lin Hongye scanned it with her divine sense and quickly read through its contents.

  

"My cousin Lin Yun actually speaks so highly of this Chen Guan. Grandfather, has the family investigated Chen Guan's background?"

Lin Jinnan then nodded solemnly and said, "Because this person is from a branch family, he has a very low profile in the Chen family, and we haven't found out much useful information about him."

"He had been cultivating in the Northern Region for several years and only returned to the Chen family this year. It seems that he had other opportunities and encounters in the Northern Region. Now he has also received great attention from the Chen family and has been given a spot to study at Fire Cloud Valley."

"In short, this person is quite mysterious."

Upon hearing the description of "mysterious," even Lin Hongye couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

After a moment's thought, he said, "The information about a fire-attribute spiritual object is worth the trip."

"Alright, then I'll find some time to go to Fire Cloud Valley."

...

Seven days later, in Fire Cloud Valley, Lin Yun was inscribing spirit patterns on the fine iron longsword he had forged for him in the courtyard.

Pfft!

"Tsk, failed again."

Looking at the long iron sword that was about to be scrapped, Lin Yun couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

If it fails again, this low-grade magic artifact prototype will completely lose its spirituality and will no longer be able to be inscribed with spiritual runes.

"Keep going. Which weapon refiner hasn't grown through countless failures? I'm still no match for you."

After taking a sip of chicken soup, he prepared to continue engraving the sharp metal pattern and the earth-covering pattern.

His reason for inscribing these two basic spirit patterns was based on the principle of earth generating metal in the Five Elements theory. By using the earth-covering pattern to enhance the sharp metal pattern, he aimed to give this fine iron longsword an inexhaustible sense of sharpness.

It's just damaging a rough prototype of a fine iron magic weapon; it's entirely within my means.

He has now mastered how to smelt and forge mixed iron and ordinary iron ore into iron essence, and he has also become much more proficient in the Basic Tempering Technique. He can forge a low-grade magic weapon prototype like this in ten days to half a month.

Lin Yun placed a finger on the blade, and the spiritual power at his fingertip drew upon the remaining spiritual energy within the refined iron longsword, first outlining a pale golden spiritual pattern.

With the initial engraving of the sharp gold pattern completed, the entire fine iron longsword exuded a sharp aura, and the blade gleamed with a cold light.

But that wasn't enough. Lin Yun's spiritual energy shifted again, and he began to depict patterns on the earth.

This time, he focused to the extreme, immersing himself completely in the task, and meticulously inscribing the earth-covering patterns.

However, just as the earth-covering pattern was about to take shape, the two spiritual patterns clashed, and the spirituality of the refined iron longsword was completely extinguished.

Sizzle!

It failed, and the fine iron longsword was now completely ruined.

"How could this happen..." Lin Yun frowned, his eyes revealing resentment.

He carefully recalled the situation before the spirit runes were destroyed and fell into deep thought.

"Logically speaking, both of these spirit patterns are basic five-element spirit patterns, and there shouldn't be any conflict between them."

"Could it be that the material of this refined iron magic artifact is substandard? That shouldn't be the case..."

Suddenly, as if he had just realized something, Lin Yun's eyes lit up with understanding.

"No, the order is wrong. Earth produces metal, so naturally the earth-covering pattern should be engraved first."

"Furthermore, since the fine iron longsword is mainly for offensive purposes, it should naturally have sharp metal patterns as the main feature and earth-covering patterns as the secondary feature."

"I see... I understand now."

After thinking for a long time, Lin Yun's brows finally relaxed, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Hahaha, I was so wrong just now! I actually thought I could inscribe both the offensive Sharp Metal Pattern and the defensive Earth Covering Pattern on a mere fine iron longsword!"

"This is merely a refined iron magic weapon. Even after tempering and refining, the spiritual energy it contains is far from sufficient to support the two types of spiritual runes. If it were truly forged, wouldn't this blade then be capable of both offense and defense?"

He figured out the key point: the next step was to try inscribing the earth-covering pattern as an auxiliary spiritual pattern.

Just as Lin Yun was about to pick up his tools and continue forging a prototype of a refined iron magic weapon, a clear voice came from outside the courtyard:

"Is my cousin Lin Yun here?"

Upon hearing the voice, Lin Yun was taken aback at first, then quickly recalled: "Sister Hongye?"

Lin Hongye arrived so quickly. It seems she has already emerged from seclusion, refined the Fire Marrow Heart, and entered the ninth level of the Qi Refining stage.

...