Lin Shiming watched quietly by the side, while Lin Xianzhi continued to caress the small stone door that felt as smooth as jade.
The stone door itself was a hidden compartment, only half a meter square in size; it didn't take long to examine it thoroughly in hand.
Lin Xianzhi placed the stone door on the table without speaking, and from his storage bag, he took out a green stone and set it aside.
Surprisingly, Lin Shiming's divine sense was also absorbed by the green stone.
Had he not seen it with his own eyes, Lin Shiming, confident in his divine sense, would absolutely not believe such an object existed before him.
"Shiming, this thing of yours is most likely the inheritance stone of another family, and moreover, at least a Purple Mansion inheritance!" Lin Xianzhi's mention of the Purple Mansion inheritance completely stunned Lin Shiming.
Purple Mansion inheritance, that's at least a Profound Rank superior grade cultivation technique or secret technique. It's said that the Lin Family only has two, one is a cultivation technique, and the other is a secret technique.
A secret technique, also known as a pseudo-divine skill, can be mastered by at least a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage. Moreover, mastering a secret technique makes the comprehension of divine skills in the Purple Mansion Realm clearer and more distinct, almost increasing the probability for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to advance to the Purple Mansion Realm by one level.
"Did you also obtain this stone in Peach Blossom Valley?" Lin Xianzhi asked Lin Shiming about the origin of the stone door; a Purple Mansion inheritance involved considerable stakes, and it could easily become the object of covetousness.
One must know that crimes of possessing precious treasures occur practically every day in the world of immortal cultivation.
"Yes!" Lin Shiming didn't hide anything and recounted the experience of how he obtained the stone door.
He even allowed the patriarch, Lin Xianzhi, to take a glance at the Golden Winged Mantis.
The patriarch Lin Xianzhi was so astonished by the Golden Winged Mantis that he asked about its origin.
He never expected Lin Shiming to possess so many treasures.
Naturally, Lin Shiming told everything, revealing the fact that he had come upon these items by pure chance.
"You're really lucky, this mantis has a great chance of reaching the peak of Second Rank among the Demonic Beasts in the future!" Lin Xianzhi commented, giving what he considered an extremely favorable evaluation.
Lin Shiming nodded and showed a surprised and delighted expression.
Although he knew that the potential of the Golden Winged Mantis was far beyond just the peak of the Second Rank—it was Third Rank.
But he could not show it; not only would it be hard to explain, but he also needed to maintain a certain respect for his elder.
"Shiming, every Purple Mansion Family, in order to prevent their legacy from falling into the hands of others, resorts to using secret spirit concealment techniques to create specialized inheritance stones. However, the ways to unlock these stones vary greatly, and even I have only seen two kinds. One involves using Spiritual Fire, and the other is our own Green Lotus inheritance stone, with unlocking methods related to the Green Lotus!" Lin Xianzhi once again turned the topic to the inheritance stone, naturally needing a solution for the origin of the treasure Shiming inquired about.
"Of course, it's not to say that it can't be forcibly opened—it would require at least an Array Master of one rank higher, namely, a Fifth Rank Array Master!"
"Mm, thank you, elder, for dispelling my doubts, Shiming understands!" Lin Shiming nodded, the excitement in his heart greatly reduced as he realized it was akin to a safe.
It's unknown which predecessor came up with such a method to protect an inheritance that can hide from divine senses.
Placed in some room, it would not attract attention at all, and without being members of the original family, it can't be unlocked with a secret technique.
Even if others obtained it, without the secret technique, they could only sell the inheritance stone.
Otherwise, it's not like they could just find a Fifth Rank Array Master of the Golden Core Realm to open it for them.
"You could try searching around Peach Blossom Valley again; perhaps there still are remnants or possessions of that family's descendants!" Lin Xianzhi suggested once more.
Lin Shiming simply nodded and agreed, as there were no other options available at the moment.
But at least he knew now that it was a Purple Mansion inheritance.
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After identifying the treasure, Lin Xianzhi gave Lin Shiming a few pointers and then left.
Lin Shiming remained in the pavilion, starting his cultivation and preparing for a breakthrough.
The breakthrough of Lin Shiming to the fifth rank of Qi Cultivation didn't take long, only about a year or so. Nevertheless, the fortuitous encounters he had these days, coupled with Spiritual Wine and Spirit Water, had filled his meridians with Spiritual Energy.
Settling his mind and closing his eyes, Lin Shiming immersed himself in the cultivation of Qing Mu Art.
...
Time passed unknowably, and when Lin Shiming opened his eyes, the Spiritual Energy surged within them, making them incredibly expressive.
This was because Lin Shiming had just made a breakthrough and still couldn't control his Spiritual Energy well, but he would adapt in a few days.
Indeed, Lin Shiming had successfully made a breakthrough to the sixth rank of Qi Cultivation. The next breakthrough would confront him with the significant hurdle of the latter stages of Qi Cultivation.
Many cultivators in the Lin Family with mediocre talent were forever stuck at the sixth rank of Qi Cultivation.
Never advancing any further, but the current Lin Shiming did not need to consider these matters as he was still young.
Lifting his head, Lin Shiming couldn't help but look towards the center of the pond, where he saw his seventh great-uncle sitting on a giant lotus leaf, with an immense amount of Water Spiritual Power surging into his body.
"Is this the strength of a Foundation Establishment stage expert?" Lin Shiming's heart shook tremendously, and the excitement of his breakthrough was somewhat diminished.
However, the thought of one day achieving a breakthrough to Foundation Establishment himself filled him with a great sense of motivation.
Lin Shiming reached to clasp his hands together in a bow, and without waiting to see if his great-uncle took notice, he quietly left.
After all, this was the clan's lotus pond, and the Patriarch was using this place to heal his injuries with the aid of Spiritual Wine.
It was better not to disturb them.
Upon returning to his residence at Fangmu Mountain, Lin Shiming released the Golden Winged Mantis and the Red-haired Demon Monkey.
He then took out the Spiritual Wine and Spirit Water. As for the meat of the Demonic Beast monkey, it was no longer needed. Instead, he took out some Spirit Rice he had purchased, steamed it into rice, and fed it to the two beasts.
After all, the Red-haired Demon Monkey was now his Spirit Beast, and giving it meat of its own kind would be inappropriate.
The Golden Winged Mantis, after a few days of deep sleep, had grown larger once more. It seemed as if the Supreme Grade Spiritual Wine had accelerated its growth.
Its body had become roughly the same size as the Red-haired Demon Monkey's and it could no longer perch on Lin Shiming's shoulder.
The Spiritual Power throughout its body had actually reached the strength of a Second Rank Inferior Grade Demonic Beast; with just a little more training, it could fight on Lin Shiming's behalf, providing him with an additional combatant.
The Golden Winged Mantis, being the number one foodie, chirped excitedly as it began to drink the Spiritual Wine and Spirit Water and eat the Spirit Food, gobbling it down so eagerly that one might think Lin Shiming was mistreating it.
The Red-haired Demon Monkey, however, cowered on the side. Due to the Spirit Contract, it wouldn't bare its teeth or grimace at Lin Shiming, but to become particularly affectionate all at once was clearly not possible.
Nevertheless, seeing the Golden Winged Mantis enjoying its food more and more and the diminishing supply of Spirit Food and Spiritual Wine, the Monkey became anxious.
It approached and pressed down on the Mantis's increasingly large forelimbs, seemingly wary of getting slashed by them.
Only after ensuring it was safe did it let out a couple of wails and begin to eat.
Naturally, the Golden Winged Mantis chirped angrily, but it stopped after being soothed by Lin Shiming.
After feeding the Spirit Food, Lin Shiming prepared to leave. After all, he was supposed to be on guard duty at Qingtao Mountain, and now he was spending more time on Fangmu Mountain than on Qingtao Mountain, which was indeed a bit embarrassing.
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