"System, what's wrong with him?"
Faced with this sudden situation involving a cultivator from the Immortal Realm, Lin Xiao instinctively asked the system for its opinion.
[Host is now a Nascent Soul cultivator. Why not try investigating it yourself?]
"Isn't asking you quicker and more convenient?"
[Friendly reminder: As a Nascent Soul cultivator, Host should focus on mastering your own powers. Please practice regularly and refrain from over-relying on system functions.]
"Alright, you're right." Lin Xiao sighed, then started packing up the food and the mat they were sitting on. He first checked to ensure that He Yi had only fainted and wasn't simply asleep or poisoned.
After confirming He Yi's physical state was fine, Lin Xiao moved on to check his sea of consciousness and golden core.
These diagnostic techniques were things Lin Xiao had picked up after observing Senior Liao and Sun Yigao.
Since He Yi had fainted suddenly, Lin Xiao assumed the problem was likely with the mind, so he decided to start by examining the sea of consciousness.
As this was his first time probing into the consciousness of an unconscious and unguarded Golden Core cultivator, Lin Xiao proceeded with extreme caution, afraid of accidentally turning the man into an idiot.
He carefully separated a small strand of his divine sense and gingerly sent it into He Yi's sea of consciousness.
Unexpectedly, the moment Lin Xiao's divine sense touched He Yi's, a tremendous force repelled him, forcefully ejecting his divine sense completely.
It was clear that a powerful expert had left part of their own divine sense as a shield to prevent anyone from intruding on He Yi's consciousness.
Seeing this, Lin Xiao retracted his strand of divine sense and shrugged at the system.
"See? The guy has protection."
Lin Xiao wasn't too surprised. He Yi was clearly a prodigy. Even if he wasn't well-liked within the Talisman Sect, it was inevitable that he'd have some powerful figure backing him.
With someone like that supporting him, He Yi was bound to have plenty of life-saving measures.
This was no mere Nascent Soul cultivator that Lin Xiao could easily probe.
Moreover, Lin Xiao vaguely recalled hearing rumors during the Talisman Master Conference. Some said that He Yi was personally supported by none other than the Sect Master of the Talisman Sect, the top sect in the Northern and Southern Spiritual Domains. Though Lin Xiao hadn't bothered to verify this information at the time, it was still possible.
Regardless of whether it was true, He Yi clearly had some serious backing.
Just the strength of the force that repelled him indicated that the person protecting He Yi was at least at the Integration stage or higher.
While Lin Xiao had never encountered a Soul Transformation stage cultivator, the system and Senior Liao had assessed his own abilities, stating that due to his Yuan Qi infusion and his high-grade cultivation technique, he could likely hold his own against an average Soul Transformation cultivator.
But for He Yi's protector to deflect Lin Xiao's divine sense so easily with just a remnant of their power—clearly, they were far stronger.
"Man, having a powerful backer is just too good!" Lin Xiao couldn't help but sigh.
[Host, whether you succeed in investigating isn't important. The key is getting used to using your own abilities. This is a common method for cultivators.]
"Got it, I understand. Don't worry, I'll remember next time," Lin Xiao obediently replied.
The system fell silent, and Lin Xiao waited a moment, wondering why it hadn't responded. He then spoke up again.
"System, it's your turn."
The system: … Wasn't the promise to remember this for next time?
[According to the diagnostic process, after checking the divine sense, you should move on to the golden core.]
Lin Xiao was momentarily at a loss for words but quickly recalled what he had just promised.
The system was right. He really needed to develop the proper habits for a cultivator.
Grumbling under his breath, Lin Xiao muttered, "If the sea of consciousness is protected, how likely is it that the golden core will be left unguarded?" Nonetheless, he obediently continued, using his Yuan Qi to probe He Yi's golden core.
To his surprise, this time there was no resistance at all!
"Huh?" Lin Xiao was astonished. "What's going on?"
He quickly scanned He Yi's golden core with his Yuan Qi.
The system remained silent, but Lin Xiao soon figured it out on his own.
"Could it be that the protection on his golden core is based on spiritual energy, and my Yuan Qi bypasses it?"
The system offered no reply, but Lin Xiao was determined to test this theory.
After a thorough inspection of He Yi's golden core, he found nothing out of the ordinary, except for one peculiar detail: inside the core was an extremely tiny, perfectly round bead.
The bead was small and pure white, seemingly unfamiliar with everything around it.
When Lin Xiao's Yuan Qi touched it lightly, it trembled as if it might shatter. But after trembling, the bead seemed to like the Yuan Qi, sticking to it as if it were soft and gentle.
Since it seemed friendly to Yuan Qi, Lin Xiao determined it wasn't something harmful. He attempted to analyze it further, but discovered that the bead was neither pure spirit nor pure Yuan Qi, but rather something between the two.
Satisfied that He Yi's golden core was otherwise healthy, Lin Xiao withdrew his consciousness.
To confirm his earlier theory, Lin Xiao tried probing the golden core again, but this time using spiritual energy instead of Yuan Qi.
As expected, the spiritual energy was instantly blocked by a protective barrier around the golden core, just like before.
He couldn't help but chuckle. "I guess my Yuan Qi has a unique edge over spiritual energy cultivators."
When He Yi finally opened his eyes, he found himself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.
For a moment, he felt dazed, as if he had been in a completely different place for a very long time.
It took him some time to recall what had happened—the scene with Lin Xiao on the hill overlooking Shuishui Village.
But it felt strangely distant, as if it had happened ages ago, even though, when he counted, he realized it had only been three days since then.
He had spent three days unconscious in a foreign place, completely defenseless.
Sitting up, He Yi surveyed his surroundings. He was still in Shuishui Village, in a guest room of one of the village inns.
Walking over to the window, he stared at the bustling streets below, deep in thought.
The first thing he did upon waking was to inspect his own condition.
No one had taken advantage of his unconscious state.
But he did notice a significant change in his body.
It wasn't just the small white bead in his golden core.
The most striking difference was in his sea of consciousness.
Since He Yi had first opened his sea of consciousness during the Foundation Establishment stage, it had always been murky, with only a vague image of a talisman, transparent and flowing with spiritual energy.
But now, it had undergone a complete transformation.
He still remembered the teachings he had received when he first opened his sea of consciousness at the Foundation Establishment stage. It was normal for it to be hazy at first, with only a faint image inside.