The space around him infinitely expanded, as if layers of dominoes were toppling over, and in the blink of an eye, the world turned a monotonous gray, leaving only him standing in the center, time seemingly frozen in place.
There was clearly nothing in the endless Void ahead, yet Lin Shan could distinctly feel a pair of ancient, still eyes observing him. They pulled at his gaze like a magnet, rendering him unable to think or speak.
The terrifying will did not stir up monstrous waves, but an immense pressure filled the Void.
His body trembled like a sieve at this moment, his flesh and blood seemingly unable to bear the weight. It was merely a gaze from hundreds of millions of miles away, yet what it conveyed was an indifference that pierced through eternity, judging life and death cycles.
The surrounding space constantly shattered and reformed. Silver serpents flickered in the chaotic nothingness outside the mirror, nebulas appeared and disappeared, and wisps of mist seeped out from the spatial cracks, cold and desolate, like a nightmare.
Lin Shan faced the terrifying will directly ahead, staring across Realms!
...
It felt like thousands of years had passed, or perhaps just a single instant.
A cold wind blew into the desolate mountain temple, and Lin Shan shivered all over, finally waking up as if from a dream.
Coming back to his senses, it seemed something had happened just now, yet also nothing had happened.
The Buddha statue still sat on the high platform, the candle flickered with the wind, and the temple windows creaked in the mountain breeze.
That terrifying will had long since vanished.
Lin Shan looked at the 2 points of Ancient rhyme added to the top right corner of the panel, his back already soaked with sweat.
The Buddha of the Immortal Realm might have noticed him just now, or perhaps it was just a casual glance across Realms, but the terror of falling into the endless Void left him unable to recover for a long time.
This was a warning!
The Buddha has billions of Incarnations and trillions of followers spread throughout the myriad Realms. Naturally, he would not expend energy targeting an ant. In the million years of time, a mere Mortal with a lifespan of only a few decades is but a mayfly in the vast ocean and would certainly not be on his mind.
But that doesn't mean he would be indifferent to having his power of vows stolen.
This time, the power of vows, equivalent to a mere two points of Ancient rhyme, might be less than a drop in the bucket in his eyes, so this time it was just a warning glance.
Lin Shan didn't dare to gamble on what kind of severe countermeasure he would face if he were to snatch food from the Buddha again.
"I was careless!"
With a look of lingering fear, Lin Shan couldn't help but secretly curse himself for being arrogant. Ever since tasting the sweetness from the Ancient Tomb and coming out, he had become complacent. Not to mention almost falling into Scarface's hands earlier, this time he acted recklessly without considering the consequences, rashly provoking a terrifying great being like the Buddha of the Immortal Realm!
"The waters in this world are very deep. There are people beyond people, and Heavens beyond heavens. Above the Nine Heavens is the Immortal Realm, and in the Immortal Realm, there are great beings like the Buddha. Crushing me is no different from crushing an ant.
From now on, I must be careful and cautious, and absolutely must not repeat the same mistakes."
Lin Shan bowed towards the Buddha's golden statue again, expressing his reverence for the Buddha, hoping that the old gentleman, the Lord, would be magnanimous and not bother with him, although the other party might not care at all.
'As for the Ancient rhyme, you want me to spit out something that's already in my mouth? Impossible!'
After lying down and resting for a while in the ancient temple, Lin Shan tossed and turned, feeling awkward. It was truly uncomfortable staying under the Buddha's nose. In the end, he picked up his pack and went down the mountain overnight.
...
Two days later, Lin Shan returned to Zangke City.
Dust-covered, he returned to the small courtyard he rented. The first thing he did was collapse and sleep, because he was truly too tired.
First, in the Ancient Tomb of Yelang, he was nearly killed by the aftermath of the cultivators' battle. Then, he fought a battle with Scarface, who was ambushing at the thief hole entrance on the mountainside. Later, in the desolate mountain temple, he was intimidated from across the Void by the Buddha of the Immortal Realm, who was hundreds of millions of miles away.
Lin Shan expressed that his heart felt very bitter.
He slept until the next morning, finally recovering. The first thing Lin considered was how to handle this batch of Ancient rhyme in his hands and how to quickly turn it into strength.
After experiencing the cultivators' battle, the more Lin Shan thought about it these past few days, the more he felt that since cultivation is possible in this world, why bother practicing martial arts? A mere Mortal Martial Artist, even if he becomes an Innate Expert, will still turn to dust when his hundred-year limit arrives.
Longevity!
Cultivation is not for anything else; longevity alone is enough to ignite a raging fire in Lin Shan's heart.
Before, in the Lin Mansion, he had no Foundation and no cultivation talent, spending his days being meek and muddleheaded.
But now that he had a cheat that could be infinitely enhanced, and could even snatch food from the Buddha, he was naturally ambitious.
Now, he already had a bold hypothesis in his heart: Cultivation Techniques might be able to be enhanced!
After all, his Enhancing panel could forcibly raise levels by ignoring rules, and it seemed it could keep increasing indefinitely.
Moreover, based on his speculation in the tomb, Innate Skill corresponds to the Low Grade Magical Artifacts used by cultivators, so it should be very close to the cultivators' Realm.
Then, Enhancing it again would very likely result in a Cultivation Technique.
The Ancient rhyme in Lin Shan's hand turned into 16 points after coming out of the Ancient Tomb. He used 2 points during the life-and-death battle with Scarface but later absorbed 2 points back from the Buddha's golden body. With one going out and one coming in, he still had 16 points.
Lin Shan picked up Eternal Spring Skill from the bedside and opened the Enhancing panel:
[Eternal Spring Skill]
Quality: Innate Skill
Description: Can be cultivated up to Innate Consummation, greatly increases cultivation speed, and has some effect on prolonging life. Upon completion, True Qi is long and dense and can heal internal injuries to Meridians.
Derived Secret Skill: Broken palm. When struck on a person, it can destroy the enemy's vitality. When applied to plants, it can extract vitality to aid healing.
Enhancing requires: 8 points
...
"Success or failure depends on this one move!"
Lin Shan's heart surged. Whether his hypothesis was right or wrong would depend on the result of the next Enhancing.
"Enhance!"
Streaks of dazzling green light illuminated the entire room. The book in his hand began to 'rustle', turning pages automatically without wind. The lectures written on it also disappeared, and in the blink of an eye, it turned into a wordless heavenly book.
After flipping to the last page, the entire book began to become Void. It started flipping backward again from the end, and silver tadpole-like characters reappeared on the chapter pages, abstruse and profound, easy to read but difficult to understand.
"Snap!"
This time, the new book truly closed, and the light vanished in an instant.
The transparent Enhancing panel before his eyes shimmered, and the description changed accordingly.
[Azure Wood Longevity Art]
Quality: Qi Refining Stage Technique
Description: A wood-attribute cultivation scripture can be cultivated up to the ninth layer of the Qi Refining Stage. The spiritual power is relatively gentle, with a slight effect on nurturing herbs and a stronger healing effect.
Enhancing requires: 16 points
...
"Qi Refining Stage technique!"
Lin Shan couldn't help but laugh heartily.
Just as he expected!
If one can Cultivate, why practice martial arts? Who doesn't yearn to fly with a sword across the Nine Heavens, or even achieve immortality!
Coming back to his senses, he quickly sat down cross-legged, picked up the Azure Wood Longevity Art, and read it with relish. The technique wasn't long, only three to five thousand characters in total, but each character needed careful consideration, requiring him to stop and ponder repeatedly.
By the time he had finally read through the entire text, night had already fallen.
Lin Shan carefully recalled the entire content, committing it to memory. To become a cultivator, the first step is to find the sense of qi.
Unlike practicing martial arts, where Martial Artists circulate blood and qi to condense True Qi, cultivation involves first sensing the spiritual energy between heaven and earth and then gathering it in the Dantian to transform it into one's own 'spiritual power'.
After feeling that there were no issues, Lin Shan began to sense the spiritual energy between heaven and earth. This was the first step of cultivation.
A ten-thousand-foot building starts from the ground. Step by step, he would eventually embark on the path of pursuing longevity.
...
An hour passed.
Lin Shan remained unmoved. If he couldn't even sit still through this bit of loneliness, what cultivation was he doing!
...
Two hours passed.
This is just the beginning. Cultivation requires even more willpower. Lin Shan remained as steady as a fisherman on his platform.
...
Three hours passed.
Hmm, it seems this sense of qi is a bit mysterious and not easy to capture. Lin Shan got up to move around, then tirelessly began sensing again.
...
A night passed.
Only by enduring hardship can one become superior!
...
Half a day passed.
Persistence is victory!
...
A day passed.
Lin Shan's eyes were bloodshot. This was just the first hurdle on the path of cultivation. He refused to believe he couldn't pass it!
...
Three days passed.
Looking haggard, with cracked lips, Lin Shan, who hadn't eaten for three full days, weakly collapsed onto the ground. It seemed he truly couldn't pass this first hurdle.
"Could it be that I have no talent for cultivation?"