C12 Ancient Seal

For over a decade! Master, your tribulation this time..." Lin Yu exclaimed, his voice trailing off as he pondered the significance of the pill refining to his Master's tribulation. He bowed his head, clearly at a loss.

"Whether I transcend the tribulation or not is now irrelevant. Had I not been refining this pill, transcending the tribulation would have been manageable. But now, with my grave injuries, I fear I may not overcome it," the old Taoist lamented with a hint of self-mockery.

Lin Yu looked up sharply, his body shaking and fists clenched in anger. "Then why did you still refine the pill? Isn't the purpose of refining pills to help transcend the tribulation?"

"Hehehe... I merely mentioned that this pill refinement was related to the tribulation, not that it was specifically for transcending it. Without this pill, even a successful tribulation would be pointless," the old Taoist explained, a warmth in his heart as he regarded the upset youth. He patted Lin Yu's shoulder gently.

"But... But why? Wouldn't everything be fine after transcending the tribulation? Why would it be meaningless?" Lin Yu pressed for answers.

"Let it be... It's something I would have imparted to you eventually." The old Taoist sighed as he looked at Lin Yu's earnest face. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed a scroll to Lin Yu. "This is the pill I intended to refine. Take a look."

Lin Yu caught the scroll and unfurled it, his body jolting as he absorbed its contents. The Dragonfire Elixir, a pinnacle sixth-level pill, was designed to replenish lifeblood and defy death itself.

"This, this... Master, why do you need to prolong your life? Aren't mages supposed to have exceedingly long lifespans once they reach a certain level? Could it be that you are already millennia old?" Lin Yu's eyes darted from the scroll to the old Taoist, his mind swirling with confusion and alarm as he struggled to understand why his Master would risk so much to refine such a pill.

The old Taoist shook his head and settled onto the meditation cushion. "Come, sit by my side and relax. Clear your mind of all thoughts."

Although Lin Yu didn't grasp the old Taoist's intention, he complied, sitting beside him, taking a deep breath, closing his eyes, and regulating his breathing.

Soon, the old Taoist, noticing Lin Yu's steady breath and focused state, smiled faintly, closed his eyes, and formed a mystical hand seal.

"If you wish to understand why, I shall show you the truth," the old Taoist's image projected into Lin Yu's mind.

"Master! How are you inside my mind? Could it be that you've attained the Deification realm?" Lin Yu exclaimed, astonished at the sight of the old Taoist standing with his hands clasped behind him in his thoughts.

"Hehe... Reaching the Deification realm is not so simple. Just relax and offer no resistance; I'm about to guide your spiritual sense out of your body," the old Taoist chuckled, sidestepping Lin Yu's question and offering guidance instead.

"Let's go!"

Lin Yu's mind clouded over in an instant, his head throbbing intensely, but clarity returned shortly afterward.

"How does it feel to have your spiritual sense separated from your body?" The old Taoist, despite his own injuries, had taken on the strenuous task of escorting a novice, not yet at the Qi Activation stage, into his consciousness. He grumbled to himself before inquiring.

"Is this your sea of consciousness, Master?" Lin Yu marveled at the vast expanse of the old Taoist's sea of consciousness, seemingly endless, as he looked around in wonder.

"Ask no further. You haven't achieved the necessary realm, and your spiritual sense is still dormant. I've used a secret technique to project your spiritual sense outward, but we are constrained by time. Once you've reached the appropriate level, you'll naturally comprehend the essence of the sea of consciousness," the old Taoist explained, his voice tinged with impatience as if battling some internal strain.

Suddenly, the scenery shifted, and Lin Yu found himself gazing upon a realm strewn with blood-red chains crisscrossing around a crimson crystal, each chain anchored to the surrounding walls of blood. The chains, inscribed with intricate runes, were so numerous they left one speechless. Focusing closer, he spotted a dark figure suspended within the crystal. But before he could discern the object within, darkness enveloped his vision, and the headache returned with a vengeance.

Lin Yu's head was spinning, and he felt an excruciating pain as if his head was about to split open. But after the old Taoist placed his hand on Lin Yu's head and channeled a bit of spiritual energy, he began to feel better.

"Master, what's trapped within that blood-red realm?" Lin Yu massaged his temples, his mind clearing significantly. He turned and asked, a look of astonishment on his face.

"I'm not certain what's confined there. All I know is that there's an ancient magic circle within me," the old Taoist replied, his brow furrowed in a pensive sorrow.

"What could be trapped inside? And when did you discover this ancient magic circle within you? How does this relate to your pill refining?" Lin Yu inquired, confused.

The old Taoist sighed deeply, his eyes clouding over as he was lost in thought. After a moment, he shook his head gently and murmured, "It's a long tale, but so be it..."

He turned to Lin Yu, whose face was alight with curiosity, and began to explain, "Like you, I never knew my parents. I grew up alone in a village. The villagers were kind to me, but I always felt a certain distance from them. Yet, there was one who treated me as their own child, taught me the ways of the Tao, and named me Unknown.

As I advanced in my practice, I discovered the magic circle within me, and that it was steadily absorbing my lifeblood.

You must understand that lifeblood is vital to a mage's existence. A mage's lifespan exceeds that of mortals because their lifeblood is refined with spiritual energy. The deadly calamity is a transformation that occurs every seventy years, where the lifeblood combusts and is reborn anew through spiritual energy.

Despite my shock, I kept this to myself until I faced my first deadly calamity..." The old Taoist's voice trailed off, his face etched with sadness and regret.

After taking a deep breath to compose himself, he continued, "Back then, I was overconfident and ignored my master's advice, thinking I could overcome the calamity on my own without the aid of pills. But during the calamity, as my lifeblood burned away and my spiritual energy waned, my rebirth slowed. Just as I was on the brink of failure, the magic circle within me stirred. The entity it imprisoned released waves of black mist into my mind, overwhelming me with sorrow and rage. I felt an urge to slaughter everyone, my head throbbing unbearably, until I lost consciousness..."

Upon awakening, I found myself in this cave, with my master gravely wounded and no one else in sight. He revealed to me that an ancient seal was embedded within my body, and the binding object it contained was of immense significance. The magic circle sustaining the seal required my own lifeblood to function. Previously, my master's failure to survive a deadly calamity had depleted his lifeblood, loosening the seal and causing him to lose his sanity under the influence of the binding object, leading to widespread destruction. The villagers managed to subdue him using a magic circle, and it was only after taking the Dragonfire Elixir that my lifeblood was restored, and I slipped into a deep slumber. But merely two days into my sleep, three figures cloaked in black robes descended upon the village. Their might was formidable, and eerily, they exhibited no signs of spiritual energy yet possessed the ability to seize souls and wield magic arts beyond the five elements. It took the entire village's effort to finally break free and seek refuge in this cave, with only my master and I surviving the ordeal...

"Hiss!" Lin Yu sharply inhaled, his mind racing: "Three individuals laid waste to an entire village. Though I'm uncertain of my master's capabilities at the time, given his current strength, his own master must have been extraordinary. Who could those three be, to wield such fearsome power?"

The seasoned Taoist glanced at the astonished Lin Yu, seemingly perceiving his inner turmoil, and said, "Your reaction mirrors mine upon hearing the news. My master's master is indeed a genuine Immortal-level expert, and the villagers themselves were quite adept in their cultivation."