The valley was shrouded in dense Spiritual Qi, and the Spirit Gathering Array Disk rotated slowly, sprinkling down pure Spiritual Rain. Qing Xue had already entered deep cultivation inside the Scripture Conveying Hall, faint ice-blue light flowing around her body. After her Profound Yin Absolute Meridian was initially opened, her cultivation speed could be described as advancing by leaps and bounds.
Chu Yang stood beside the Sect Foundation Stone, yet his Divine Sense was like an invisible net, enveloping the entire Qingyang City, meticulously sensing the pull of that "Hidden Dragon in the Abyss" Fortune. Qing Xue was the first, but definitely not the only one. The repetitive nature of the System tasks and the subtle induction told him there were at least other suitable targets within the city.
Suddenly, his mind stirred, and his Divine Sense locked onto the eastern district of the city.
That area was where the prominent families of Qingyang City resided, and the Lin Family mansion was situated there. However, that unique Fortune fluctuation did not originate from the magnificent core area of the Lin Family, but from a somewhat remote and even dilapidated courtyard on its periphery.
"It's actually in the Lin Family?" A hint of surprise flashed in Chu Yang's eyes, but he immediately understood. A Hidden Dragon in the Abyss often hides in the most inconspicuous corners, enduring hardships incomprehensible to ordinary people.
He took a step out, his figure merging into the Void Space. The next moment, he was silently standing beneath an ancient tree's shadow outside that remote courtyard.
The courtyard was not large, and the wall plaster was peeling. Inside, there were no rockeries or flowing water, only a small patch of cultivated land planted with ordinary flowers and plants, yet it was meticulously maintained. At this moment, a muffled argument could be heard coming from within the courtyard.
"...Yu Yin! Don't mistake kindness for weakness!" A sharp female voice rang out, filled with undisguised mockery. "The Family Pill Refining Room is a place you can enter? Based on you being a waste material who can't even cast the lowest-grade Fireball Technique?"
Chu Yang's gaze penetrated the courtyard wall. Inside, three people were standing. The speaker was a delicate and beautiful girl, about fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a brocade dress, but her eyebrows were sharp and unkind. She was at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, followed by two maids. Opposite her stood a girl wearing a simple, elegant light green dress.
That green-robed girl had a slender figure and a delicate, gentle appearance, like an orchid in a secluded valley. But at this moment, her face was pale, her lower lip tightly bitten, and her clear eyes were filled with humiliation and stubbornness. She showed no Spiritual Power fluctuation. This was the "Hidden Dragon in the Abyss" Fortune holder Chu Yang had sensed—Yu Yin.
"Sister Lin Yu," Yu Yin's voice was soft, yet carried an almost imperceptible resilience. "I don't intend to enter the core area of the Pill Refining Room. I just... I just want to borrow the outermost Earth Fire vent to try refining the most basic 'Calm Heart Powder.' I promise I won't disturb any of the Alchemists, and I have prepared the Medicinal Herbs I need myself..."
"Calm Heart Powder? Hahaha!" Lin Yu laughed exaggeratedly, as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world. "You can't even summon fire, what will you use to refine pills? Your tears? Or some unorthodox method you learned from who knows where?"
She stepped forward, confronting Yu Yin, her tone becoming even harsher. "Don't think that just because your mother was an Alchemist, you can claim any association! Your mother is dead, and you've become a waste material who can't even sense fire-element Spiritual Qi! If the family weren't sentimental, you would have been kicked out long ago! You still want to touch Pill Dao? Dream on!"
Yu Yin's body trembled slightly, her eyes turning red, but she stubbornly refused to let the tears fall. Her mother had been a rather famous Alchemist in the Lin Family, but she passed away unexpectedly when Yu Yin was young. After it was discovered that Yu Yin couldn't sense any fire element, she was branded a "Pill Refining Waste Material" and suffered bullying from her peers in the clan, especially from Lin Yu, the Second Elder's granddaughter.
"I... I just want to try..." Yu Yin's voice lowered, tinged with despair. She was obsessed with the Pill Dao, having read all the notes left by her mother; her theoretical knowledge was deeply ingrained, but she simply couldn't practice it. This was the greatest pain in her heart.
"Try? You think you're worthy?" Lin Yu scoffed, her gaze sweeping over a small, somewhat aged medicinal pouch hanging at Yu Yin's waist. A hint of greed flashed in her eyes. "Hand over that shabby medicinal pouch your mother left behind! Maybe there are some Pills or formulas inside that haven't been looted yet. Leaving it with you is just a waste!"
Saying that, she actually reached out to snatch it!
"No! This is the only relic my mother left!" Yu Yin's face changed drastically. She fiercely protected the pouch and retreated backward.
"Give it to me!" Lin Yu's face twisted into a vicious expression. She activated her Spiritual Power and grabbed Yu Yin's wrist forcefully, trying to snatch it away. With her Qi Refining Fourth Layer strength, how could a mere "mortal" like Yu Yin resist?
Seeing the medicinal pouch, which carried the memory of her mother, about to be snatched away, Yu Yin's eyes filled with despair and helplessness.
Just then, a calm and indifferent voice abruptly sounded at the courtyard entrance:
"Robbing by force, is this the upbringing of a Lin Family disciple?"
The voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears, carrying an invisible pressure that made Lin Yu's movement freeze abruptly.
The few people looked toward the sound and saw a young man wearing an ordinary Green Robe with a mundane face standing at the courtyard entrance at some unknown time, looking at them faintly. It was Chu Yang, who had used the Breath Concealment Technique.
Lin Yu was startled at first. After clearly seeing Chu Yang's "Qi Refining First Layer" Cultivation Level and unfamiliar face, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief, then her anger intensified: "Where did this brat come from? How dare you meddle in my Lin Family's affairs? Get lost!"
Chu Yang ignored her, his gaze falling directly onto Yu Yin, as if he could see through all illusions to the vigorous vitality and extreme desire for the Pill Dao, heavily shackled deep within her Soul.
【Target confirmed: Matches the "Hidden Dragon in the Abyss" Fortune: Yu Yin.】
【Physique: Wood Spirit Sacred Body （ Unawakened ）.】
【Status: Innately close to flora and all spirits, with a keen Divine Soul, but due to the inability to balance the Five Elements, especially repelling Fire Spirit, she is regarded as "Waste Material."】
【Potential Assessment: Extremely High （ Upon awakening, she will possess astonishing affinity and creativity in the path of Pill Dao and Medicine Dao ）.】
Wood Spirit Sacred Body! A once-in-ten-thousand-years genius physique for Alchemy! Buried here simply because of Five Elements imbalance! Chu Yang understood in his heart. This was clearly a seedling for the Pill Dao tailor-made for his Reincarnation Sect!
"You... who are you?" Yu Yin looked at the strange man who had suddenly appeared. She felt somewhat flustered under his deep, calm gaze and subconsciously stopped struggling.
Lin Yu felt insulted when she saw Chu Yang dare to ignore her and stare directly at Yu Yin. She shrieked, "Fine! Yu Yin, I knew you had the guts to talk back to me because you found a wild man to back you up? And he’s a Qi Refining First Layer weakling! Birds of a feather flock together!"
She let go of Yu Yin, turned to point at Chu Yang, and ordered the maids behind her, "Break his legs and throw him out!"
Both maids were at the Qi Refining Second Layer. Hearing this, they immediately showed fierce looks and lunged toward Chu Yang.
Chu Yang's eyes turned slightly cold; he didn't even move.
Just as the two maids rushed close and reached out to grab him, an invisible, intangible aura, heavy as a mountain, spread out from him almost imperceptibly, enveloping only the two maids.
"Thud!" "Thud!"
The two maids seemed to have slammed into an invisible steel wall. They flew backward faster than they had rushed forward, crashing heavily onto the ground. They didn't even let out a groan before passing out instantly.
The vicious smile on Lin Yu's face froze instantly, her pupils contracting sharply! She hadn't even seen what happened! The two Qi Refining Second Layer maids just collapsed inexplicably?
"You... who exactly are you?!" Lin Yu's voice trembled. She subconsciously took two steps back and shouted fiercely, "I'm warning you! This is my Lin Family's territory! My grandfather is the Second Elder! If you dare touch me, the Lin Family will never let you go!"
Chu Yang still didn't look at her, as if she were just a buzzing fly. He walked toward Yu Yin, his voice softening slightly. "You want to refine pills?"
Yu Yin looked at this mysterious and unfathomable man, then at the unconscious maids on the ground and the pale-faced Lin Yu. She was utterly shocked. Although she couldn't cultivate, she knew that a Qi Refining First Layer cultivator absolutely could not possess such means!
"I... I want to." She mustered her courage and nodded, a faint spark of hope reigniting in her eyes.
"It's not that you can't refine pills," Chu Yang looked at her, uttering astonishing words. "It's that your physique is special; ordinary fire methods are unworthy of you."
"What?" Yu Yin was stunned.
Lin Yu on the side was also dumbfounded, then she sneered: "Nonsense! What special physique? She's just..."
Her words cut off abruptly.
Because Chu Yang slowly raised his right hand, palm facing up. The next moment, a strand of emerald-green flame, filled with infinite Vitality and spirituality, ignited out of thin air in his palm!
That flame carried no scorching heat; instead, it exuded a refreshing fragrance of flora that delighted the mind and spirit. In the center of the flame, it seemed as if countless tiny lives were cheering joyfully!
It was the Wood Spirit Heart Fire, which Chu Yang had exchanged from the System Store not long ago, spending his remaining 500 Points—the most suitable fire for a nascent Wood Spirit Sacred Body!
"This... this is..." Yu Yin's eyes widened, staring intently at the strand of green flame. An unprecedented tremor and longing surged from the depths of her Soul! It was as if that flame was her innate companion!
Lin Yu was also dumbfounded. She had never seen, nor even heard of, a flame of this color! No scorching heat, only Vitality?
"This is the Wood Spirit Heart Fire, born from the heart of ten thousand woods. It does not burn all things, only refines the essence." Chu Yang looked at Yu Yin, his voice carrying an undeniable power. "You are not Waste Material, but possess the 'Wood Spirit Sacred Body.' You were born to wield this kind of spiritual fire and walk a unique path in the Pill Dao!"
Wood Spirit Sacred Body?!
Yu Yin stood frozen as if struck by lightning. This unfamiliar term was like a key, instantly unlocking the shackles long sealed in her heart! Many childhood affinities for plants and strange perceptions of Pills, which she couldn't understand before, now had answers!
"I... I really can?" Her voice trembled, and the tears she had been holding back finally streamed down, but this time, they were tears of joy and relief.
"Are you willing to follow me in cultivation?" Chu Yang extended his hand, the strand of Wood Spirit Heart Fire in his palm flickering gently, as if calling out to her.
Without the slightest hesitation, Yu Yin suddenly knelt on the ground, her voice choked but incredibly firm:
"Disciple Yu Yin, I wish to take Master as my Master! I beg Master to guide me onto the Dao!"
【Ding! Detected that the "Hidden Dragon in the Abyss" target, "Yu Yin," willingly seeks discipleship!】
【Shall she be recruited as the Second Disciple of the Reincarnation Sect?】
"Yes."
【Ding! Congratulations to the Host for successfully recruiting the Second Disciple: Yu Yin!】
【Task "Recruit Disciples" completed!】
【Disciple Potential Assessment: S-Rank!】
【Rewards issued: Integral Points! Special Lottery Chance × 1! Great Emperor Realm Cultivation Exchange Card × 5!】
【Sect Destiny +150!】
【Passive feedback obtained by Host: When Disciple Yu Yin refines pills, the Host will gain a 1% bonus to Pill Dao comprehension!】
The rewards arrived again! Points recovered, and five more Great Emperor Cards added!
Chu Yang reached out to help Yu Yin up, guiding that strand of Wood Spirit Heart Fire into her glabella to temporarily nurture her Divine Soul.
"Rise. From this day forward, you are the Second Disciple of the Reincarnation Sect."
Only then did he turn his gaze toward Lin Yu, who stood there with a ashen face, trembling all over.
"Go back and tell the person in charge of your Lin Family," Chu Yang said plainly, yet with a heart-palpitating authority, "Yu Yin is now a disciple of my Reincarnation Sect. She has no further connection with the Lin Family. If there is any further unwarranted entanglement..."
His gaze turned cold. Although he released no aura, it made Lin Yu feel as if she had fallen into an ice cellar. She nodded repeatedly in terror, unable to even speak, and scrambled away from the small courtyard, forgetting even the unconscious maids.
Chu Yang watched Lin Yu's pathetic retreat, his eyes deep.
Accepting Yu Yin meant directly slapping the Lin Family in the face. Coupled with the Chu Family before... the conflict between him and these two major families in Qingyang City would likely surface soon.
Moreover, Yu Yin's Wood Spirit Sacred Body... could it also have some connection with that Spirit Transformation Stage or higher existence that previously spied on the Reincarnation Sect?
Fated encounters are opportunities, but also potentially the beginning of turmoil.
（Chapter Eleven End）