Martial World

When Lin Ming took out the improved Heavenly Fire Symbols in front of all the heroic elites at the celebration banquet, this caused them all to reevaluate him with a different light in their eyes. Just when they thought Lin Ming was already strong, he always managed to show that he was even stronger than they imagined, leaving them all speechless.

This celebration banquet continued deep into the night before it ended.

With this, Lin Ming fulfilled his promissory notes of 1000 divine runic symbols. As soon as the banquet ended, this news had already spread out wide into the city. As the many circles of divine runic masters learned of this, it was like a large boulder crashing into the world of divine runic arts, sending shockwaves rippling outwards.

Of course, Lin Ming didn’t bother with this. As soon as he returned from the banquet he locked himself back into his divine runic room.

He had many other tasks to complete.

Now that he had fulfilled the orders of improved Heavenly Fire Symbols and Heretical God Symbols, he could begin to handle his own business.

The first matter was to refine a Soul Recovery Pill.

This pill was to be made for Empyrean Divine Mist, whose soul force was failing.

If he were the Lin Ming of the past then he might not have had the confidence to create the Soul Recovery Pill.

But for the last two years he had been constantly drawing up improved Heavenly Fire Symbols and Heretical God Symbols day and night. His skill in balancing intricate energy patterns as well as understanding the various changes in the Asura Laws had reached a new level.

Now, he was confident he had at least a 70% chance to successfully create the Soul Recovery Pill.

Creating a Soul Recovery Pill consumed a massive amount of soul force. Moreover, there was an extremely strict environmental demand; the slightest fluctuation of outside energy could be catastrophic.

After clearing up all of the waste materials in the divine runic room and cleaning it until it was shining, Lin Ming arranged a simple soul gathering array.

Sitting in the center of this soul gathering array, Lin Ming began this massive project.

He estimated he would need at least 10 days to refine this nearly transcendent divine pill into one that could have a significant effect on a spiritas Empyrean.

Windbreak stone, resurrection grass, god crow gallbladder…

All sorts of materials were spread in front of him.

Lin Ming opened the Heretical God Force. His right hand whistled as a wisp of heavenly tribulation fire burst to life.

At the same time, Lin Ming stretched out his left hand. He revolved the bloodline in his body and a tiny wisp of life essence left in his body from Xiao Moxian burst out, forming a black nirvanic flame that rose from his left palm!

In essence, nirvana was a heavenly tribulation that a phoenix had to undergo. If they failed in their nirvana, even a phoenix would perish.

These two different flames shared a similar origin. They were both flames that were condensed from the Heavenly Dao Laws and their grades were almost the same.

The jet black flames twisted together with the blazing red flames, slowly spinning as they evolved into a strange array diagram in the array. The phantom of the Heretical God Tree appeared behind Lin Ming, and perched on this Heretical God Tree was a dark phoenix!

In these scorching flames, Lin Ming revolved his comprehensions of alchemy to the limit. All sorts of materials were fed to the flames where they dissolved into liquids.

From the start, Lin Ming didn’t take this process lightly nor did he dare to slack off. The soul force within his body gushed out like a wave, rushing into the furnace in front of him.

Runes appeared in his hand, shining with a black light. Then, they fused into the furnace…

Lin Ming kept absolute focus for five days and five nights. Because of the sweat that poured from his body being evaporated, a thin layer of salt appeared over his skin like frost.

He maintained a high intensity consumption of soul force until even he approached his limits. But at this time, the nirvanic flames and heavenly tribulation flames in his hands suddenly extinguished themselves. From the furnace, a mystic pill appeared, filled with a bewildering power.

This pill was jet black. All rays of light that neared this pill were dragged into it and cleanly absorbed.

This was a semi-complete Soul Recovery Pill.

With Lin Ming’s current ability, he still lacked the skills to complete the Soul Recovery Pill in one session.

Following this, Lin Ming rested for two days. Then, he used three days to produce the best medicinal divine runic symbol that he could and placed it atop the Soul Recovery Pill.

After finishing all of this, Lin Ming slumped back onto a stone chair, utterly exhausted.

After a full ten days, this Soul Recovery Pill could be considered more or less complete.

The pitch black Soul Recovery Pill was placed in a jade box. Its surface was smoother than jade, and as one looked into its shiny depths, it made one feel as if their soul was falling into it.

This was a pill with the demonic charm of a soul. If a person with an unsteady will and mind were to look at it, they could even fall into illusion.

But even so, Lin Ming wasn’t satisfied with this pill’s effects. There were many places that had yet to achieve perfection, but this was also the best he could do within the constraints of his abilities. After all, it wasn’t easy to produce a pill that an Empyrean could use.

However, Lin Ming couldn’t wait. He had already been gone from Tragic Death Valley for nearly 30 years. According to the 10:1 time flow that occurred within Tragic Death Valley, nearly 300 years had passed there. Empyrean Divine Mist must have inevitably weakened during this time.

In a sense, it was fortunate that Empyrean Divine Mist had weakened this much because in his state even an imperfect Soul Recovery Pill would have a wondrous effect on him.

Lin Ming didn’t leave his room yet. Instead, he stayed in the divine runic room for another one to two months, producing another 50 Heavenly Fire Symbols and 50 Heretical God Symbols. He took these divine runic symbols and went looking for Suya.

Suya could be considered as having helped him. Moreover, Lin Ming had promised that he would help Suya. Lin Ming wasn’t someone that liked owing anyone favors. Once he left the Divine Runic Masters Guild there were many other matters he would have to complete. Not only did he have to return to Tragic Death Valley but he had to find a place to refine the Ravenous Wolf Heaven Pill and break through the second Dao Palace in the Nine Stars of the Dao Palace. After all of that was completed, there was still the final trial.

But before doing all of this, Lin Ming wished to take care of unfinished business.

Lin Ming and Xiao Moxian found Suya and handed the divine runic symbols to her. Suya was astonished, but she also had a faint feeling in her heart. “Sir Lin, are you planning on going on a long adventure?”

“Mm…”

Lin Ming nodded, not hiding anything from Suya.

Suya sighed. “You are a dragon amongst humans. The Divine Runic Masters Guild isn’t a place that can hold someone like you for long. But as for me, I must stay here. This war… if the Extreme Star Holy Lands win, then I will still stay at the Extreme Star Holy Lands until my old age… in the future, the most I’ll be able to become is the Internal Affairs Envoy. And if we lose, then there is nothing to say. But no matter what happens and where our fates bring us… I’m afraid that our roads won’t cross much…”

Suya didn’t know why she had such a feeling. But, this feeling was quite accurate.

Lin Ming remained silent. Suya was right. The most he would stay in the Asura Road was another 20 or so years. 20 years from now, after the final trial was complete, he would leave the Asura Road and return to the Divine Realm.

The Divine Realm was Lin Ming’s homeland.

Lin Ming was well aware that the great calamity of humanity was bound to be tragic and fierce. Even if he was nothing but a little tree in this great calamity, unable to do anything at all, Lin Ming still had to return.

Because the human race was Lin Ming’s roots.

“Mm… I understand. Please, take care…” Suya took a deep breath and in this moment she seemed far thinner and paler. In truth, she and Lin Ming only had a cooperative relationship. At best, they could be considered casual friends. With such a light and pale relationship, she didn’t have any qualifications to speak out words to ask him to stay. But as she thought about parting here, and perhaps to never meet again, Suya couldn’t help but feel an inexplicable loss in her heart.

She wanted to say something but she eventually only looked at Xiao Moxian with envy in her eyes.

Xiao Moxian paused. She suddenly felt that Suya, this Suya that she had loathed in the past, suddenly wasn’t so annoying. She bit her lips and hesitantly said, “Miss Suya, is there anything you wish to say that isn’t convenient? Perhaps it would be better if I left first?”

Seeing Xiao Moxian’s response, Suya was stunned. Then, she chuckled, her smile bright and friendly. “It’s nothing special. I wish that you and Lin Ming can grow old together until your hair turns white, I wish that you two remain safe and happy, and I wish that your home will be filled with children and grandchildren, all of them dragons and phoenixes…”

Suya had finally said a blessing mostly used by mortals. As for the world of martial artists, although there were blessings and praises, they rarely ever mentioned growing old or having many descendants. This was because martial artists lived long lives and to them descendants were not an extension of their lives. There was also no need to bring honor to their ancestors. When blessings were given, it was usually to wish for others to have breakthroughs in their boundaries and for their strength to increase.

As Suya suddenly spoke out this strange mortal blessing, Xiao Moxian blushed red. She didn’t know what to say for some time.

However, she immediately thought of something else and imperceptibly sighed.

Between her and Lin Ming, it was impossible to have a home filled with children and grandchildren.

This was because the more powerful a race was, the more difficult it was to bear children. God Beasts were the supreme example of this.

Even when two God Beasts of the same race came together, they might not be able to produce a child. As for Xiao Moxian, she was a half-phoenix. Her birth was a miracle of the universe, something that might not occur even within a billion years in the Divine Realm.

With Xiao Moxian, her God Beast bloodline was already far paler than that of a true God Beast. But with Lin Ming, it wouldn’t be easy to have children. Although having children wouldn’t be as difficult as Xiao Moxian’s own birth, it wouldn’t be strange if she never became pregnant in hundreds of thousands or even millions of years. In the worst case situation, she would never have children of her own.

Thinking of this, Xiao Moxian was inexplicably moved. She couldn’t help but fear such a future.

She wanted to have a child – a child that belonged to her and Lin Ming.

Lin Ming and Xiao Moxian’s minds were connected and he could faintly guess what she was thinking. He gently gripped her hand…

……

That night, Lin Ming bid his farewells to Suya. He also went searching for Old Su and Old Xue and said his goodbyes to them too.

Besides that, he didn’t alert anyone else. After all, Lin Ming was far too valuable and had far too much wealth on him. Even if he had a supposed great master behind him serving as a deterrent, he couldn’t guarantee that some people wouldn’t decide to take the risk to kidnap him.

He first changed his appearance with the Divine Dream Law. Then, Xiao Moxian hid away in Primordius Heavenly Palace. With this, he quietly left through a secret transmission network within the Divine Runic Masters Guild. He blended into the crowds of people and disappeared into the endless night…

The broad and limitless inner Asura Road lay before him. The vast starry skies illuminated the great wilderness.

In this world, there were countless hidden divine treasure troves. Innumerable heroes journeyed through this world, finding their own fortunes, many of them dying in the process.

Lin Ming disguised Primordius Heavenly Palace as a spirit ship. Then, like a meteor, he cut through the skies…