Mu Lin withdrew his spiritual energy, and immediately a massive surge of energy flowed back along the same path. Not only did it replenish the energy he had lost, but it also elevated his spiritual power to a new level—directly advancing him to the late stage of the Core Formation period. Moreover, the returning energy was even purer, temporarily balancing Mu Lin’s yin and yang energies into a harmonious state.
Mu Lin sat there, tears streaming down his face. His sect’s millennia-old dream had finally been fulfilled through his hands. And with the path of cultivation now hopeful, how could a child of merely a dozen years suppress the emotions welling up from his heart?
After venting his emotions for a while, Mu Lin began reflecting on his gains from this experience. He had never imagined that his sect could have a connection to the Yellow Emperor’s lineage. Back then, the Chi You sect from the Yangtze River basin, together with other cultivation factions from their region, suddenly invaded the Yellow River basin, where the Yellow Emperor and the Flame Emperor held sway. The Chi You sect first encountered the Flame Emperor, who was caught off guard while Chi You had come fully prepared. As a result, the Flame Emperor suffered a devastating defeat and fled to the territory of the Yellow Emperor at Zhuolu, seeking aid.
Though the Flame Emperor and the Yellow Emperor had their differences, they both belonged to the Yellow River basin. As cultivators themselves, they each rallied their allied sects from their regions and clashed with Chi You in a decisive battle at Zhuolu. Chi You and his 81 affiliated sects first summoned storms and thick fog, attempting to confuse the allied forces of the Yellow and Flame Emperors. Leading the charge, Chi You and his sect leaders were confident in their strategy—until they discovered that the allied forces had laid out a formation within the fog. Trapped and disoriented, Chi You’s forces were unable to maneuver. Once Chi You was ensnared in the formation, the Yellow Emperor’s forces dispersed the fog and storms. Chi You’s scheme backfired, leading to his defeat. He was killed, and his core was destroyed.
The allied forces then decided to eradicate the remnants of Chi You’s sect. They surrounded the headquarters of Chi You at Jiuli. To minimize casualties, they used spiritual beasts—bears, panthers, tigers, and leopards—as the vanguard. These beasts broke through Jiuli’s defensive formation, leading to its destruction. Only a few cultivators managed to escape, surviving precariously in the deep jungles of the Yangtze River basin. From that point on, the civilization of the Yangtze River basin was wiped out by the civilization from the Yellow River basin. The tribes of the Yangtze were thereafter referred to as “barbarians.”
After Chi You’s defeat, the Yellow Emperor, as the leader of the alliance, attempted to merge the two tribes into one due to disputes over the distribution of spoils. The Flame Emperor refused to comply. Though he had suffered a defeat at Chi You’s hands, it was due to being unprepared, and his forces remained largely intact. He was unwilling to submit and eventually confronted the Yellow Emperor in a fierce battle at Banquan. Knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses well, the battle was brutal, resulting in the disappearance of many sects. Ultimately, the Flame Emperor was defeated and subjugated. The two tribes were merged, forming the core of the Huaxia nation.
Mu Lin’s sect traced its origins to the Yellow Emperor’s lineage. When the enemy launched a sudden attack, his ancestral master was summoned by an urgent order from the Yellow Emperor. However, his master’s branch of the sect was weak in talent and lacked experienced disciples, so he left them behind. He departed alone, believing the situation was not serious—merely a martial gathering among cultivators—and thus did not leave behind the advanced techniques of the Core Formation and Golden Core stages for his junior disciples. Upon arrival, he was immediately thrown into the great battle. After defeating Chi You, he had hoped to return home, but soon found himself engaged in another war against the Flame Emperor’s tribe.
Knowing each other well, the Yellow Emperor decided to share part of his “Feminine Cultivation Technique” among the sects for reference—an attempt to sharpen their skills at the last moment. After all, the Yellow Emperor was said to have ascended to immortality after being with three thousand maidens, making him a master of the yin-nourishing method.
Mu Lin’s sect primarily focused on cultivating the three yang meridians, with only minimal training in the yin meridians, leading to an imbalance in yin and yang. Now, having obtained the Yellow Emperor’s technique, his cultivation power increased significantly. The methods for cultivating the three yin meridians were perfected, and he sealed the improved technique inside a jade dragon pendant he carried with him. During the chaotic battles, he was gravely wounded. Before dying, he poured all his spiritual energy into the pendant, sealing it shut. Only someone with the same sect’s spiritual energy could open it, and eventually, the pendant was lost.
With the death of Mu Lin’s ancestral master, the cultivation world at the time faced a shortage of talent. Each sect was preoccupied with securing its own territory. Helplessly, Mu Lin’s sect relocated to what is now Xuanqing Palace, gradually declining into a minor sect. Eventually, the Xuanqing Palace branch faded from the cultivation world entirely.
The jade dragon pendant contained the ancestral master’s entire lifetime of spiritual energy, making it an extraordinary artifact. Ordinary people, whose energies were incompatible, could not even open it. As the cultivation world faded, no one could even cultivate spiritual energy anymore, and the pendant became nothing more than an antique in the eyes of ordinary people. Without any coloration to indicate its age, many could not determine its origin. Eventually, it made its way overseas and was preserved until it was gifted to Mu Lin. Without this twist of fate, Mu Lin would not have achieved what he did. Reflecting on this, Mu Lin sighed—every gain and loss was destined by fate.
Looking over the newly acquired cultivation technique, Mu Lin felt joy, worry, and sorrow. Joy at recovering his sect’s lost teachings, sorrow that it was a technique requiring yin-nourishment, and worry that the world was no longer what it once was. Women were no longer mere appendages to men; they had their own minds and would not be controlled at will. Where could he possibly find so many women?
Now that he had reached the late stage of Core Formation, Mu Lin decided to experience the changes within his body. He guided his spiritual energy through 72 full cycles along his meridians, carefully observing every subtle shift. Previously blocked acupoints now opened naturally, allowing the energy to flow effortlessly. The circulation of spiritual energy within his body became much smoother and faster.
The speed of spiritual energy circulation directly affected the speed of spellcasting, and the same applied to talismans. Mu Lin had long suspected that talismans worked by arranging special symbols into a specific field, which was then activated by spiritual energy. He once tested this by giving Mei Zi a talisman he had created for the Crane Control Technique and instructing her on its use. Mei Zi was unable to activate it. Even without using spiritual energy himself, he could not make the crane fly. Only when he infused it with spiritual energy did the talisman transform into a paper crane that soared into the air. Now, using the improved technique, when he channeled his energy into the talisman, the paper crane danced gracefully through the air, responding perfectly to his spiritual awareness.
Now that Mu Lin had recovered his sect’s cultivation method, he was ready to retreat into seclusion to pursue the Golden Core stage. However, he still needed to settle his affairs in the outside world first.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage