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Three days had passed, and Lin Shiming opened his eyes, concluding his cultivation of the Purple Wood Heart Sutra.
He felt the True Yuan flowing tumultuously within him, like surging clouds.
When he noticed the faint traces of Divine Sense in the small building had disappeared, he fully relaxed and took out the Cave Heaven Bead.
The bead was still its ordinary grey color, and he held it up to his chest.
The deputy Spirit Platform, which had evolved from the heart of celestial wood, began to release a slow gravitational pull.
Unlike True Yuan input into the Spiritual Pearl with no change, the gravitational force released by the Spirit Platform instantly attracted the Cave Heaven Bead.
Lin Shiming's expression subtly changed, quietly feeling the magic of the Cave Heaven Bead.
The Cave Heaven Bead, truly a Magic Artifact of the great world, soon emitted a faint light and started to spin increasingly fast.
Seeing this, he placed no restrictions on the Spirit Platform, released its gravitational pull, and drew from within a remarkably pure stream of True Yuan, beginning to envelope the Cave Heaven Bead and directing it into his body.
The moment the Cave Heaven Bead touched the Spirit Platform, Lin Shiming felt a destructive force of suction appearing within it.
Inside the deputy Spirit Platform, the True Yuan began to drain rapidly, disappearing completely in an instant.
And to know, the deputy Spirit Platform could hold three times the True Yuan of the main Spirit Platform.
Frightened, Lin Shiming quickly took out Spirit Milk and intermediate-grade Spirit Stones, as well as a large handful of elixirs for restoring True Yuan.
He swallowed them all at once like popping dates, then started to refine them rapidly.
But to Lin Shiming's astonishment, the elixirs and Spirit Milk he had just ingested hadn't even been refined by him before they were absorbed completely, and the original True Yuan in his body also began to slowly drain away.
Lin Shiming had no choice but to take out more elixirs and, using Spirit Stones, set up a small-range Spirit Formation around him.
A good while later, the Cave Heaven Bead finally settled down, and by then, Lin Shiming was drenched in sweat.
He never expected that the True Yuan absorbed by the Cave Heaven Bead would be so terrifying.
Lin Shiming did not dare to check immediately but quickly resumed cultivating the Purple Wood Heart Sutra to recover.
After another half-day passed and he felt his True Yuan had largely recovered, he finally relaxed.
Then, upon inspecting his deputy Spirit Platform, he found a peculiar white light spot. When his Divine Sense probed it, a strange suction force appeared.
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He also sent a message to Xie An, asking him to report on his behalf and at the same time, requested a city exit token from him before he could leave the city.
Xie An didn't stop him. The Lin Family wasn't originally a frontline family, only becoming involved because Yunjing Mountain was plundered, in an attempt to redeem themselves for their crime by earning merit. With his record of slaying twenty opponents of the same rank, no one would have much to say.
But upon his return, a thorough investigation would be inevitable.
...
At an unnamed small mountain, this place was a patch of greenery with towering trees.
Deep in the forest was a huge cave.
Inside the cave, a golden mantis lay quietly on a stone wall, motionless.
Only the constant snapping of its jaws hinted that the mantis hadn't lost its lifeforce.
A light of Spirit descended from the sky, followed by a figure in green, who walked into the cave dwelling.
It was Lin Shiming, who had been traveling around the area for quite some time because of the emergency.
If it hadn't been for the urgency of the situation, Lin Shiming would have certainly taken a few more turns before arriving.
But now, seeing that the Golden Winged Mantis was unharmed, he also felt relieved.
Upon seeing its master arrive, the Golden Winged Mantis also chirped excitedly, transforming into a streak of golden light and flying in front of Lin Shiming, its golden triangular head constantly rubbing against his waist.
It chirped excitedly from its mouth, like a resentful woman left behind at home.
Without Lin Shiming around, the Golden Winged Mantis naturally couldn't open the Storage Bag.
Seeing the Golden Winged Mantis, Lin Shiming was overjoyed as well. He then took out some Spirit Water and Beast Nurturing Pills for the latter.
This time's Beast Nurturing Pills were almost his entire stock, as after all, they were only Second Rank pills, and the mantis could eat about ten at a time.
The Golden Winged Mantis really was frustrated, gulping down most of the Beast Nurturing Pills at once, as well as a large amount of Spirit Water and Spirit Beast meat before stopping.
What surprised him, though, was that after eating and drinking to its fill, the Golden Winged Mantis didn't settle down and enter the Spirit Beast Bag. Instead, it continued to chirp anxiously.
Anger was conveyed through the Spirit Contract.
"Do you mean to wait here a bit longer, you want to fight with someone?" Lin Shiming asked hesitantly. The Golden Winged Mantis looked just like the Red-haired Demon Monkey right after its breakthrough, who wanted to spar with the mantis.
The Golden Winged Mantis chirped even more urgently, nodding its triangular head continuously.
Lin Shiming was still hesitating, but recalling the system prompt, he guessed that this matter might be related to the spying!