Chapter Twenty-Three: The Amethyst Dao Seed

Lin You understood clearly that the source of these strange occurrences lay within whatever resided in Liu Xiyue’s dantian. The moon he had glimpsed just moments ago was likely a fragmented scene conjured by the jade-green sapling’s retrospection. The moon’s shattering—what could that signify? Was this tiny stone one among the countless shards of the broken moon?

Yet all of this would remain a mystery until Liu Xiyue awakened. Lin You checked her pulse again, and upon seeing her heartbeat gradually steadied, he finally relaxed. After instructing Bai Yi with some careful words, he returned to his quiet chamber.

He needed to see for himself what this object was—what it was that had stirred the little tree so profoundly.

Entering the chamber, Lin You immersed his consciousness within his sea of awareness. There, the translucent moon shard was wedged in a corner, pressed by the jade sapling. Its radiance had faded considerably, shrinking back pitifully to one side. The little tree, after absorbing the residual essence from the shard, had grown a bit larger. The fruit at its tip, once a dull grey, had shed its old skin, revealing intricate patterns—ancient, mysterious, and exuding a noble violet-gold glow.

The Dao Seed had ripened instantly!

This discovery utterly exceeded his expectations, leaving Lin You both astonished and delighted. He had always held great hopes for the Dao Seed borne by the sapling. As the ancient immortal Chisong had once taught, the Dao Seed was the quintessence of heaven and earth, the finest distillation of the human body, containing the profound mysteries of yin-yang creation.

Later, in his discussions with Jiang Liunian, they had spoken of Dao Seeds as well. Jiang Liunian had read an ancient text detailing a cultivator’s research into Dao Seeds. The cultivator proposed that Dao Seeds were the crystallization of the world’s primordial source, while spiritual energy was its external form—the two interdependent. Only after acquiring a Dao Seed could mortals sense spiritual energy and begin cultivation.

In the latter half of the text, there was a bold, almost heretical conjecture: if someone were to obtain every Dao Seed in existence, they could refine and seize the world itself, becoming the supreme master of creation, transcending the cycle of reincarnation.

Of course, such a notion was widely refuted by later scholars. Dao Seeds were exceedingly rare; even an ancient immortal reborn might not be able to refine so many. Jiang Liunian himself considered it a fanciful notion, sharing it with Lin You as a jest.

But Lin You felt that, though audacious, the ancient cultivator’s hypothesis was not entirely baseless. He had long harbored suspicions about the sapling’s origins and abilities, but lacked a complete Dao Seed to test his theories.

Now, with the moon shard hastening the Dao Seed’s maturity, it was an unexpected boon!

Still, there was no need to rush. The most pressing matter was to examine the moon shard within his sea of awareness. Though only the size of a fingernail, it contained enough essence to mature a Dao Seed—its provenance was surely extraordinary.

He surmised that this moon shard was the true culprit behind Liu Xiyue’s diminishing source. Yet since it had not taken her life, its danger must be manageable, so Lin You did not worry excessively.

He gathered his spirit and approached the shard. Perhaps sensing his proximity, the fragment emitted an aura of hunger and grievance, like a child crying out for sustenance.

The shard possessed a spark of sentience!

Surprised, Lin You sent a stream of true energy toward it. Unexpectedly, the shard ignored the true energy, instead coveting the last two jade leaves of spiritual energy atop the sapling. Yet though it eyed them greedily, it dared not compete with the sapling, only beseeching Lin You to feed it.

When Lin You refused, the shard withdrew, curling up in silence. Its dejected state brought a wry smile to his lips.

As long as it posed no harm, he could leave its study for another time when spiritual energy was more abundant.

...

Lin You’s investigation had taken less than half an hour. With Bai Yi tending to Liu Xiyue outside, she would not awaken immediately, so he did not hurry to leave the chamber.

Instead, he took out a jade bottle and poured out a verdant pill, still warm from the furnace, spinning restlessly in his palm.

Without hesitation, he swallowed the pill he had crafted himself.

The medicine, rich and mellow, transformed into a warm current, flowing down his throat to his dantian, then surging up through three gates to the palace of the mind.

Lin You felt as if his spirit were wrapped in a cloud of gentle heat, an indescribable comfort akin to an infant returning to the womb.

The hidden wounds upon his soul were nourished and restored, and his bones and flesh, under the influence of the medicinal aura, crackled and grew stronger, more transparent and solid.

As two channels broke through, his energy surged like a living spring throughout his body.

After an indeterminate time, Lin You slowly opened his eyes. His gaze shone bright and clear, his skin radiant, even faintly fragrant.

Golden skin, jade bones—a cleansing of marrow and purification!

Were Lin You to devote himself to martial arts, his minimum achievement would be that of a grandmaster. Such innate talent was coveted by all martial practitioners; with a pure foundation, any martial art would yield double the results.

He had not expected the nourishing pill to raise one’s potential so dramatically—a testament to Daoist Songhe’s adaptation of immortal formulas.

Yet his physique was secondary; martial cultivation was merely a means of safeguarding his path.

His sole ambition remained the immortal Dao.

After sensing his internal state, Lin You found his soul fully healed, and his martial cultivation improved significantly. Now, he stood only a step away from perfecting his energy channels, and could cross that threshold at will.

But since he had not yet found a method for immortal cultivation, there was no need to rush.

In contemplation, he glanced at the small wooden box given to him by Daoist Yuyin.

He had brought it with him into the chamber, not heavy—likely containing books or medicinal herbs.

The box was unlocked, probably opened by Daoist Yuyin before giving it to him.

He lifted the lid, revealing a thick stack of books—mostly medical texts, with a few unusual tomes, all aged.

Beside the books were several small cases, exuding rich herbal fragrance.

Lin You opened a few at random and found precious herbs collected by Daoist Yuyin from the mountains.

One wooden case stood out. Inside was a fist-sized apricot pit, sculpted like jade, translucent yellow, resembling a fine artwork.

Yet Lin You sensed a faint vitality within—a sign it was indeed a fruit pit.

Moreover, if his senses were correct, it retained traces of spiritual energy, nearly undetectable but not beyond his perception.

This piqued his interest—an unexpected discovery!