In the dim Space, two massive crystal grinding discs rotated at a constant speed. As they turned, a strange ripple spread outward.
A figure of light stood where the two crystal grinding discs met, gritting its teeth. Its face was twisted into a terrifying grimace, and its body shuddered as if it were enduring indescribable pain.
Yes, immense pain!
As the crystal grinding discs turned, they ground the figure of light down inch by inch. Whenever it completely collapsed, White Radiance spread out and restored the shattered figure, which the discs then crushed again.
During this process of shattering and reforming, the figure's entire form was also visibly becoming more solid and dense at a rapid pace.
Once, twice, three times...
"Tsk, tsk, this Lin Dong kid is a complete cultivation madman. He doesn't even treat himself like a human being for the sake of cultivation. How can he torment his own Spiritual Body like this? Pain that reaches the depths of the soul is unbearable."
Not far from the Mental Grinding Disc, a jet-black rat stood with its arms crossed and watched the figure of light collapse and reform, muttering to itself.
"The eighty-eighth time!"
A voice rang out through gritted teeth. At some point, the figure of light had stepped down from the Mental Grinding Disc.
"How is it? Still no sense of breakthrough?"
Perhaps craning its neck to look up at Lin Dong had become uncomfortable. Little Marten lightly stomped its right foot, and its palm-sized body floated into the air.
"No. Right now I'm at most at the half-step Four-Seal realm. I always feel like I'm still missing something from the true Four-Seal Talisman Master realm."
Lin Dong's body still twitched involuntarily as he carefully sat down cross-legged. He was exhausted.
Several more months had passed since Lin Zhentian and the others left for Flame City. Lin Dong had spent that time cultivating in seclusion at the estate—more precisely, tempering his Spiritual Power with the Mental Grinding Disc in the Ancestral Stone Space.
For some reason, however, his Spiritual Power Cultivation remained stuck at the Three-Seal Talisman Master realm. It was baffling.
"Don't lose heart. For one thing, cultivating Spiritual Power is more difficult than cultivating Yuan Power. For another, the Four-Seal Talisman Master realm is the peak of the elementary Talisman Master stages, comparable to a Martial Artist at the Perfected Yuan Dan Realm. Beyond that, the Five-Seal Talisman Master realm belongs to the Spirit Talisman Master level, comparable to a Martial Artist in the Three Creation Realms."
Seeing that Lin Dong's cultivation had shown no progress for months, Little Marten, worried that he might lose heart, gently began offering words of comfort.
"Hah~ Of course I know. If eighty-eight times wasn't enough, I'll do it one hundred and eighty-eight times, or two hundred and eighty-eight."
Lin Dong stood up and charged into the towering Mental Grinding Disc again without hesitation. His cultivation resumed.
"......"
Watching Lin Dong's blazing determination, Little Marten's eye twitched as it muttered, "I knew it. I knew it. This kid never needed comforting."
In general, Spiritual Power was weaker than Yuan Power in the early stages but stronger in the later stages.
Spiritual Power was more difficult to cultivate than Yuan Power and required greater talent. Its power was also somewhat weaker than Yuan Power's vast reserves.
The Talisman Ancestor stage was a watershed in Spiritual Power cultivation. Once someone entered it, the true might of Spiritual Power would unfold completely.
A Lesser Talisman Ancestor could display power no weaker than that of an ordinary Zhuanlun Realm Expert. After entering the Grand Talisman Ancestor stage, one's strength stood firmly above that of some ordinary Reincarnation Realm Experts.
Beyond that, anyone who could condense a Divine Palace and enter the Divine Palace Realm would possess power comparable to that of a Reincarnation Realm Expert who had reached the Peak of the Third Reincarnation Tribulation—nearly the level of a Half-Ancestor.
In the room, Lin Dong sat cross-legged on the couch. He opened his eyes and shook his head, trying to dispel the intense dizziness in his mind.
This was an aftereffect of cultivating with the Mental Grinding Disc. It consumed a large amount of Spiritual Power in the Niwan Palace, but it also made the Natal Spirit Talisman denser and accelerated its splitting.
"The Four-Seal Talisman Master realm, huh. It seems it'll still take several more months of effort to break through."
Lin Dong rubbed his aching brow, got out of bed, and stretched his limbs.
"Young Master Lin Dong, something seems to be wrong at the Mine Cave. A worker suffered burns from heat that seeped out while he was digging for Yang Yuan Stones. Would you like to take a look?"
A knock sounded outside the door, followed by the voice of the guard Commander, Qin Ying.
Over the past few days, Lin Zhentian and the others had gone to Flame City again to exchange for Yang Yuan Pills. Lin Ken remained behind to guard the estate. Since Lin Dong had "broken through" to the Heavenly Yuan Realm a few days earlier, he had also been entrusted with guarding the Mine Cave.
"Heat burns? Fire Ancestor Demon Flower? My chance for a breakthrough might have arrived."
Lin Dong's eyes lit up. He opened the door and hurried toward the Mine Cave with Qin Ying, who had come to report the incident.
Inside the dim, narrow Mine Cave, a bare-chested, burly man pointed to a crack in the wall and said, still shaken, "Young Master Lin Dong, it's here. The heat seeped out from this crack."
"Make sure this area stays sealed off. Don't let anyone in. I'll go take a look."
With that, Lin Dong's figure flickered, and he shot toward the depths of the crack with Little Flame in tow.
Two or three minutes later, a stretch of crimson, scorching broken rock terrain came into Lin Dong's view. The most eye-catching thing was undoubtedly a massive beast skeleton lying at the center of the broken rocks—an enormous skeleton roughly dozens of zhang in size.
Behind the massive beast skeleton, a nearly enchanting crimson flower bloomed, with faint red mist curling around it.
"A Yuan Dan Realm Demon Beast, the Heavenly Fire Jiao, and a seventh-grade Spirit Medicine, the Fire Ancestor Demon Flower."
Seeing the two objects he expected, Lin Dong smiled with satisfaction. The Fire Ancestor Demon Flower in particular had a remarkable effect on a Talisman Master's Spiritual Power Cultivation—enough to help him break through to the Four-Seal Talisman Master realm.
"Whoosh!"
Just as Lin Dong was surveying his surroundings, Little Flame beside him, as if drawn by something, suddenly shot forward, rushed to the head of the Heavenly Fire Jiao, and swallowed a fiery red bead whole.
"Boom!"
"Boom!" A wave of violent energy swept outward. After Little Flame swallowed the Heavenly Fire Jiao's Demon Crystal, its body rapidly expanded and filled most of the Mountain Cave before shrinking back to its original size.
"No wonder it's a mutated physique—the first mutation has already begun."
Lin Dong stepped forward and patted Little Flame's head. Its fur was glossier, its tiger claws sharper, and even its Python Tail had developed a large bulge.
"Roar, roar~"
Startled by its own transformation, Little Flame quickly roared twice at Lin Dong for comfort.
"Heh, let's see if you dare go eating random things again after this. All right, off you go. I need to go collect the Fire Ancestor Demon Flower."
Lin Dong gave the startled Little Flame an exasperated pat, then strode toward the enchanting flower in full bloom.