Chapter 41  Ling Han

Shanxi County, Ling Family Residence in Red Maple City. The moon had passed the middle of the night sky.

Ling Han spent exactly one minute confirming one fact: he had truly been reincarnated.

Spending one minute just to confirm a fact was extremely inconceivable to a great expert, but at the same time, it also proved that what had happened to him was just as unbelievable.

In his previous life, he stood at the top of Cultivators and had unprecedented achievements in the art of pill refining. The "Three Fire Guide" he invented had caused a revolution in the theory of pill refining, earning him the respectful title of "Pill Refiner Emperor."

Still, he was unsatisfied and sought further advancement: to reach the legendary Law Realm, to shatter the void, and become immortal! He visited innumerable ancient sites and finally entered Black Blood Valley, overcoming various dangerous obstacles before discovering an ancient tower.

He was not disappointed, for golden words appeared on the ancient tower and revealed a scroll with supreme skills, named the <Indestructible Heaven Technique>. Training in it to the highest level would allow the creation of a body that neither ages nor decays, to coexist with the sky and the earth, and to have the same lifespan as the sun and the moon!

However, despite his cultivation at that time, it was still hard for him to comprehend the Indestructible Heaven Technique. Meanwhile, as he was trying to understand the technique, the ancient tower inexplicably exuded a pillar of heavenly light that instantly shattered his mortal body. The strange thing was that his spirit did not disperse but entered a state of semi-consciousness, which lasted for more than ten thousand years.

After ten thousand years, without knowing why, he managed to grasp the first level of the Indestructible Heaven Technique. This caused him to be reborn into the body of a trash Young Master of the Ling Family, one of the great families in Red Maple City.

"Em, although this body is trash, I could stand at the top and look down at the world in my previous life, and I was also a Pill Refiner Emperor. If the body's condition is poor, then I shall use pills to compensate for its shortcomings! I do not believe I will not be able to return to the top." Ling Han was full of inspiration.

This is the mentality of an old grandpa who has reincarnated into the body of a trash Young Master.

Argh!

Suddenly, a wave of memories flooded his mind. They belonged to the other Ling Han, the original owner of this body. Through this process, two completely different minds melded together and formed one, no longer separate from each other.

"So, it turns out that this body has a poor-quality physique, which is why he is still at level 1 Foundation Establishment Realm despite being 25 years old now," Ling Han nodded in understanding.

What is the talent of a Cultivator? It is none other than having a good physique. The better the physique, the more advantages in absorbing and refining essence.

There were four grades of physique: Warrior, Elite, Special, and Epic.

The previous Ling Han, despite being born into a great family in Red Maple City and being the son of the Ling Family Patriarch, had a mother who was just a mortal. He had the Five Elemental Illusions Physique, a warrior-grade physique, which meant his talent was lower than average. In the Ling Family, he was considered trash.

In his previous life, Ling Han possessed the True Blazing Sun Light Physique, an epic-grade physique. In addition to that, he had incomparable talent in the art of pills and used them to support his cultivation, reaching the top in just five hundred years—something hardly achieved by anyone else in the past.

"Five Elemental Illusions Physique is considered low-level among the warrior-grade physiques, but that is no problem. With my proficiency in pills, I can break through to the Core Formation Realm in five years. Hm?"

Ling Han exclaimed in his heart, his face showing an expression of disbelief and utmost surprise. Using his extremely strong mental prowess to peer at his physique again, he was stunned for a moment. Then, shock gave way to exuberant joy, which showed on his face.

"This is… Immortal Five Elemental Illusions Physique!" The Five Elements are actually in complete balance and form the shape of reality and unreality! That means… this is the Five Elements mixed with The Illusory, the best of the best, even rarer than the True Blazing Sun Light Physique.

"Good! With this immortal physique, my future achievements will surpass my previous life." Ling Han couldn't hide his excitement despite being an old grandpa.

…

Meanwhile, in the Xia Family.

Shangguan Yi was concentrating on absorbing the white flames. Thirty wisps of white flame floated and shone in his Sixth Sense Realm like fireflies in the darkness. Activating the Everlasting Firmament Flame Technique, the wisps of white flame winked a few times, their glow dimming until, ten minutes later, one of the white flame wisps completely dimmed. The next wisp began to wink and dim one by one until, six hours later, all of the white flame wisps had completely dimmed.

Shangguan Yi felt his body brimming with essence. Taking this chance, he began to condense his second core. Having experience from forming the first core, the process of building the second core went much smoother. In just an hour, a second core was formed. It was the size of an eye, colored with flame, but deep inside, the white color started forming. The heat it released could cover 1000 miles if it taken outside Sixth Sense Realm.

Shangguan Yi felt his core essence had doubled, and its quality had also improved. Before, he could use Solar Solitude at most three times; now, it had increased to ten times. This was due to the higher density of core essence. 

"Such a comfortable feeling, but…" Shangguan Yi quickly thought of another challenge. 

The increased density of core essence meant the requirement for core essence would correspondingly be denser.

Not wasting time, he took action. With the remaining ten white flame wisps, Shangguan Yi started absorbing them. An hour more later, the result was as he expected. He was supposed to progress by 10% in cultivation, but it was only 5% instead. This meant he needed to absorb the core essence of 200 false Core Formation Cultivators at least to make another breakthrough.

At this moment, he considered absorbing the genuine core of a Core Formation Cultivator. But he temporarily disregarded this thought; while he could trample a level 1 Core Formation Cultivator, it would take too much time to kill, which might lead to unexpected situations.

"Now that I have 2nd level Core Formation cultivation, it's not bad to increase the overall strength of the Xia Family." With that thought, Shangguan Yi took out hundreds of ingredients to refine pills.

He refined various kinds of pills like Blood Pill, Water Cleansing Pill, Blazing Dust Pill, Spider Poison Pill, and mostly Essence Pills.

Additionally, he developed techniques from the spoils he acquired when visiting other families, resulting in three supreme-grade techniques and ten high-grade techniques, all level 2.

As for level 3 techniques, he needed to find them through the great families. This could wait.

It took Shangguan Yi a full day to complete this. He then checked the system for a while before ending his seclusion. His most effective method to cultivate was to absorb the core essence of others, so he didn't want to spend much time in seclusion like before.

"I'll visit Shuang'er. Her cultivation technique needs development so that she can become a Core Formation Cultivator faster." With that decision, he left his room and headed towards Shuang'er's room.

The moonlight streamed softly through the intricately carved wooden lattice windows, casting delicate patterns on the polished stone floor. Steam rose gently from the large, ornately decorated wooden tub filled with fragrant, flower-infused water. The scent of jasmine and lotus blossoms mingled with the soothing warmth, creating an atmosphere of serene tranquility.

Shuang'er, her long, ebony hair cascading over the side of the tub like a silken waterfall, leaned back against the smooth, warm wood. Her delicate features were flushed with the gentle heat, and her eyes were half-closed in a state of blissful relaxation. The water shimmered around her, tiny ripples reflecting the soft glow of the lanterns hanging above.

She dipped a slender hand into the water, raising it to watch the droplets fall back with a soft plink. The world outside, with its responsibilities and challenges, seemed distant and unimportant. Here, in this moment of peaceful solitude, Shuang'er allowed herself to simply be.

A gentle breeze drifted in through the open window, stirring the silk curtains and carrying with it the distant sound of a bamboo flute playing a hauntingly beautiful melody. Shuang'er sighed softly, feeling the tension of her intense cultivation session melt away. She closed her eyes fully, letting the warmth and the fragrant water envelop her, her mind drifting like a lotus blossom on a still pond.

For now, she was content, her spirit rejuvenated by the simple, ancient ritual of a bath.

Right now, Shuang'er was relaxing after her cultivation, taking a bath. 

When Shangguan Yi arrived, she didn't even notice his presence. It wasn't until two hands slowly hugged her from behind that she realized it. 

She couldn't help but widen her eyes in disbelief, "Young Master—" 

Before she could say more, Shangguan Yi took action on the spot.