The shadow of the Law Enforcement cruiser vanished over the horizon, leaving Ghost-Sword Peak in tranquil solitude once more.
Adam stood in the center of the quiet courtyard, his blue robes rustling softly in the cool night breeze. He didn’t waste a second celebrating his victory over Elder Zhao and Senior Brother Ye. To him, repelling a few inner-sect flies was merely clearing administrative debris, a necessary chore before harvesting real assets.
He activated his Eyes of Divine Insight.
HUMMM—!
His pupils shifted into twin pools of luminous silver, casting light straight through the granite bedrock of the peak. The surface stone dissolved from his sight, revealing the intricate, glowing network of spiritual veins running through the mountain’s roots.
Most of the veins were dried, fractured channels of dull gray stone. But three hundred feet beneath the floor of his stone hall, nestled in a natural cavern of ancient quartz, lay a single concentrated node.
It was a glowing, cobalt-blue liquid sphere the size of a carriage wheel: an ancient Spirit Eye Node, slowly pooling high-density liquid Qi that had gathered undisturbed for over a thousand years.
"So this is why Senior Brother Ye was eyeing Ghost-Sword Peak," Adam murmured, his eyes reflecting the deep blue glow. "A dormant Spirit Eye. It’s hidden beneath ancient masking runes, which is why the sect elders assumed this peak was depleted."
He walked into his stone hall and stopped before the central meditation altar. He raised his right hand, a thread of black Chaos-Devouring Fire flickering on his index finger, and traced a precise three-foot circle on the stone floor.
Sizzle!
The granite melted like butter under the God-Grade flame, opening a smooth vertical shaft three hundred feet down through the mountain’s core and into the quartz cavern.
Adam stepped into the shaft and floated down with perfect grace.
The air in the cavern was so thick with spiritual energy that light mist clung to the walls in shimmering blue droplets. The pool of liquid Qi rippled softly at the center, giving off a clean, intoxicating aroma that sped the circulation of his Perfected Foundation.
He waited at the pool’s edge until midnight arrived, and the cold, mechanical chime of the system resonated inside his soul.
Ding!
[Notice: Daily Sign-In refreshed!]
[Current Location: Great Void Sect, Ghost-Sword Peak (Subterranean Spirit Eye Node).]
[Location Bonus Detected: Ancient High-Density Energy Node.]
[Would the Host like to perform today’s Daily Sign-In?]
Adam pushed back his hood, a cold, expectant smile touching his lips.
"Sign in."
[Sign-In Successful!]
[Congratulations to the Host! You have received: Body Refining Art, Nine-Turn Immortal Body Scroll (Mystic-Grade)!]
[Grade: Mystic. Rises with each Turn, up to Immortal at the Ninth.]
BOOM!
A golden torrent of primordial knowledge exploded into Adam’s consciousness.
Millions of golden runes shaped like ancient dragons streamed through his mind, mapping the forbidden meridian pathways of the Nine-Turn Immortal Body Scroll. Unlike standard physical arts that merely toughened the skin, the Nine-Turn Scroll used high-density spirit energy and celestial fire to forge the bones, organs, and blood into immortal steel.
Adam didn’t hesitate. He crossed his legs and rose to hover over the center of the cobalt-blue pool.
"Refine!"
WHOOSH!
The entire pool erupted. A massive blue vortex formed around him, drawing thousands of gallons of liquid energy through his pores at once. At the same time, the Chaos-Devouring Fire in his soul flared outward and wrapped his whole body in a cocoon of jet-black flame.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Every bone in his body shattered and reformed under the immense heat and pressure. His skin flushed gold, then translucent silver, as the raw spirit energy burned away the last impurities in his flesh. The remnants of Lin Chen’s old injuries were erased, replaced by tough, jade-smooth muscle fibers humming with physical power.
For four straight hours, the cavern echoed with roaring flames and rushing spirit water.
By the time the first gray light of dawn reached the mountain shaft above, the thousand-year pool had been drained to its last drop. The Spirit Eye itself remained, seeping a thin trickle of new Qi that would take years to rebuild.
Adam opened his eyes. The black flames sank into his body, leaving his skin with a faint metallic silver sheen before it returned to normal.
[1st Turn Complete: Skin and bone density tempered to Refined Star-Iron level. Physical Defense +100%. Resists mortal-grade poisons and low-tier weapon strikes.]
[2nd Turn Requirements: Star-Iron tempering bath (not owned). Foundation consolidation complete.]
He squeezed his fist.
A dull, compressed thump rolled out from his bare palm, a shockwave that cracked the quartz walls of the chamber. He hadn’t used a single strand of Qi. Raw physical strength alone had compressed the air.
"With the 1st Turn of the Nine-Turn Immortal Body, a low-tier blade would barely mark my skin," Adam evaluated coldly, inspecting his silver-tinged knuckles. "A Foundation Establishment artifact would still draw blood. Eight turns to go."
He floated up through the stone shaft and returned to the upper hall.
Outside, the morning mist was clearing.
Three low-tier outer-sect disciples in gray delivery robes stood nervously at the edge of the courtyard. Beside them sat three heavy iron-bound chests sealed with crimson wax, and ten delicate wooden boxes carved from spirit-wood.
When Adam stepped out of his hall, the three disciples dropped to their knees and bowed until their foreheads touched the dirt.
"E-Elder Hale!" the lead disciple stammered, his voice trembling. "On the orders of Senior Brother Ye and the Law Enforcement Hall, we’ve brought the compensation! Three thousand low-tier spirit stones and ten boxes of Mid-Tier Spirit-Nourishing Herbs!"
Adam walked down the steps, his hands tucked into his wide sleeves, and swept his gaze over the chests.
Using his Eyes of Divine Insight, he verified the contents in an instant: three thousand pure spirit stones, along with high-purity Dragon-Blood Grass, Nine-Leaf Snow Lotus, and Soul-Calming Jade Roots.
"Leave them and go," Adam said calmly.
"Yes, Elder!" The three disciples scrambled up and fled down the mountain path as if escaping a dragon’s den.
Adam raised his hand and swept all three chests and ten herb boxes into his storage pouch in a single motion.
’Three thousand spirit stones and ten boxes of top-tier ingredients,’ Adam calculated, his eyes flashing with a sharp, commercial light. ’With the Nine-Dragon Flame Furnace, I can turn these herbs into about thirty Supreme-Grade Foundation-Building Pills of full purity. I’ll release them slowly. Flooding a market halves the price.’
He turned toward the quiet interior of his stone hall.
’It’s time to launch the Void-Star Pavilion in the Great Void Sect’s shadow market.’
[Foundation consolidation: 4 / 30 days.]