Returning to his cave abode, Lin Tianming sat on the cushion in the secret chamber, holding a golden jade cylinder in his hand—it was the secret technique for which he had paid over a thousand spirit stones.


    After carefully reviewing the secret technique, Lin Tianming fell into a contemtive state.


    ording to the method recorded in the secret technique, one had to draw a small portion of spiritual power from the Dantian and cultivate it into a strand of sword qi, nurturing it within the Seven Sea Dantian. The longer it was nurtured, the more powerful the sword qi would be when unleashed; it was indeed a secret technique.


    Unfortunately, this secret technique was only a fragment, merely halfplete, and its grade was unclear. It only recorded the condensation method of the Great Sun Sword Qi andcked the mental cultivation technique for deploying the secret technique. Without finding thetter half, it was fundamentally unusable, making it somewhat of a white elephant.


    No wonder so few cultivators at the auction were willing to bid. If it were aplete secret technique, it certainly would not be put up for auction.


    Lin Tianming pondered over the condensation method of the secret technique several times and decided to first condense the sword embryo before anything else. He could nurture it within the Dantian; if he could find thetter half in the future, he would have to obtain it no matter what. This could potentially be the first secret technique the Lin Family had acquired since its founding, greatly enhancing the strength and foundation of the family''s cultivators.


    After fullyprehending the method of condensation, Lin Tianming began to cultivate the secret technique; his first step was to sessfully condense the sword qi.


    Following the method recorded in the secret technique, he had to strip a portion of the spiritual power formed in the Dantian. This process was both dangerous and painful. If one did not handle the timing and amount correctly, it was easy to damage one''s foundation, making it extremely difficult to cultivate.


    Lin Tianming circted his cultivation technique, deployed his Divine Sense, and with the aid of the Eye of Five Colors, attempted to separate a portion of spiritual power—about ten percent of the total.


    After three days of cultivation, he still hadn''t seeded in separating it. Each attempt brought immense suffering, even more so than when he cultivated the Tiangang Body Art.


    At this moment, Lin Tianming''s face was pale, and he was drenched in sweat, the very picture of excessive energy depletion.


    Just as he began to entertain the thought of giving up, he sessfully separated a small portion of spiritual power, which gathered near the Dantian and remained stationary. Lin Tianming was overjoyed at this and focused his Divine Sense, mastering the amount of spiritual power until it met the requirements of the cultivation process, and then stopped extracting.


    With the help of the Eye of Five Colors, he sessfully extracted the spiritual power very precisely, exactly ten percent of the total. The first and most difficult step was finallypleted; what remained was to cultivate the spiritual power into a strand of sword qi and nurture it in the Dantian, warming it daily with spiritual power until his task was aplished.


    Two days hastened past, and during this time, Lin Tianming''splexion remained pale, a listless figure as though he had suffered a severe illness—all a consequence of cultivating the secret technique.


    Separating ten percent of his spiritual power had turned half a year''s worth of diligent cultivation to ashes, his strength now diminished rather than increased.


    Lin Tianming started circting his cultivation technique again to go into closed-door healing and recover from his injuries.


    After a total of eight days in seclusion, having sessfully condensed the sword qi three days earlier, there now rested a small golden sword quietly in his Dantian, surrounded by spiritual power that constantly nourished the sword qi. During thest three days, Lin Tianming had been cultivating and recovering from his injuries, eventually regaining most of his strength.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    A message suddenly flew into the secret chamber, and after reading it, Lin Tianming revealed a trace of a smile—it was news that Fifteenth Grandfather had hurried back.


    With a smile on his face, Lin Tianming prepared to go out and wee him.


    It had been over forty days since Lin Shilu had left Qianchuan Market on his own. Having only rested at the family for two days, and not yet fully recovered, he had set out again, worried about Lin Tianming.


    Hurrying back over this forty-day journey, Lin Shilu also looked greatly fatigued, but he had finally made it back in time.


    Having lifted the prohibitions, Lin Shilu walked in, and Lin Tianming was already waiting in the yard.


    "Fifteenth Grandfather, you''re back. Was everything smooth on your way?"


    Lin Tianming asked anxiously.


    Seeing Lin Tianming''splexion, Lin Shilu asked in anger, "Tianming, why do you look like this? Are you injured?"


    Lin Tianming recounted the whole story about the auction of the secret technique, including how he sessfully refined the Sword Qi, telling it like it was.


    Upon hearing this, Lin Shilu chastised him with palpable rm:


    "Youd have quite the nerve, taking up a cultivation technique of dubious authenticity for direct cultivation; if there were any problems, it''s entirely possible you could have exploded and died on the spot."


    "Alright, remember not to be reckless in the future. Keep matters regarding the secret technique quiet for now; we will look for it in secret. Should we find it, it would naturally be a fortunate discovery for the Lin Family. If we don''t, let''s just consider the money spent as a lesson."


    The grandfather and grandson sat in the yard as Lin Shilu recounted his experiences of the past forty-plus days.


    "I''ve been on the move for over forty days, basically following the same route I took to the market, though I took some detours. The journey was rtively smooth, and having the Purple Gold Eagle for transportation certainly sped things up considerably; otherwise, it wouldn''t have been possible to return so quickly."


    "After I delivered the three elixirs to our n, the members of the Lin Family with the character ''Shi'' in their generation''s name discussed and have already decided on the distribution of the elixirs. Your grandfather, Elder Wu, and Twelfth Grandpa are all at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining Stage and are among the most suitable candidates. Given their significant contributions to the family over the years, they naturally received priority, requiring eight thousand merit points in exchange for one pill. With their umtions over so many years, it shouldn''t be a problem. If nothing unexpected has urred, they should be in seclusion by now!"


    After listening, Lin Tianming asked with concern:


    "Fifteenth Grandfather, can they be sessful?"


    "Tianming, cultivation is fundamentally an act of defying the heavens and changing fate. Nobody can be absolutely certain of sess. They are not young; the youngest, your Twelfth Uncle, is already over eighty years old. With the Minor Foundation Building Pill, he should have a thirty percent chance of sess. Your grandfather and Elder Wu will have a slightly lower chance, but there should be a bit over twenty percent chance for them as well. This is far stronger than those who try to break through without any external aid. Even if they don''t sessfully enter the Foundation Establishment Stage, they won''t be in any danger. Without a heaven-defying opportunity, this is as far as they can go in this life. It''s an unavoidable circumstance."


    "Worrying now is useless; we can only hope they are sessful!"


    After some thought, Lin Tianming realized that indeed no one could be of help in the matter of making a breakthrough, they could only pray for their sess.


    Setting this topic aside for the moment, the two discussed Ye Pinghai''s alchemy matters.


    Since Lin Shilu left the Qianchuan Market, Lin Tianming spent close to half a month cultivating and attending auctions, spending his other time diligently practicing alchemy in Ye Pinghai''s cave dwelling.


    Ye Pinghai had just started refining Minor Foundation Building Pills, with a sess rate of about thirty percent. With multiple refining sessions, this rate should improve; how much it would improve would only be clear once all the materials were processed.


    After half an hour of conversation, the grandfather and grandson continued their cultivation in Qianchuan Market, settling on their next steps. Lin Shilu then instructed Lin Tianming not to ck off before they each returned to their secret chambers for secluded cultivation, nning to wait until Ye Pinghai''s alchemy wasplete before returning to the n.