Vol 5 Chapter 99: Dangerous Object
"Truly worthy of an immortal-blooded lineage. Its spiritual power has multiplied several times over, though its physical strength remains as lacking as ever." Lin Jing observed the Wood-attribute Pine Leaf Mouse with a satisfied smile. The creature's weak physique couldn't be helped—after all, the Pine Leaf Mouse species was never known for physical prowess.
"More importantly, I want to see if the Glazed Immortal Eye's power has strengthened after reaching immortal-blooded status. Rare Beast Divine Abilities are essentially embryonic immortal techniques. Now with immortal-blooded status and immortal energy available, theoretically speaking, the only thing missing for perfecting the Glazed Immortal Eye is reaching the proper cultivation realm."
Lin Jing took out one hundred strands of the most common immortal energy and placed them before the Pine Leaf Mouse. "Try synthesizing immortal energy now." He recalled the Fuzzy Immortal's wish—for the Pine Leaf Mouse to gain the ability to synthesize immortal energy and combine life with souls. If the former could be achieved, the Fuzzy Immortal's desires might be fulfilled faster than expected.
"Squeak!" The Pine Leaf Mouse looked at the immortal energy with visible distress. It had to synthesize all this? Well, might as well try. Its Glazed Immortal Eye swept across the energy...
Several seconds passed. Nothing happened.
"Direct activation clearly doesn't work. Try using immortal energy as fuel." Lin Jing handed the mouse one strand each of common, premium, and supreme-grade immortal energy.
Nodding, the Pine Leaf Mouse first consumed common immortal energy to synthesize more common energy... Nothing. One strand wasted. Next, it used premium immortal energy to synthesize common energy... Still nothing. Another precious strand gone.
Staring at the final supreme-grade strand, the mouse's tiny paws trembled slightly. Should it continue? Wasting common energy was bearable, and losing premium energy hurt but remained acceptable. But if it failed after consuming supreme-grade energy... that would be outright prodigal. A single strand of supreme-grade immortal energy might be worth more than an ordinary cultivator's entire life!
Perhaps it should wait until reaching the Void Mystical Stage before trying again?"Continue!" Lin Jing gritted his teeth, determined to see this through. Today he would witness whether synthesis was possible.
"Squeak..." The Pine Leaf Mouse sighed. So much for not being a gambling addict. With Lin Jing's decision made, the mouse had no choice. After allocating some supreme-grade energy for the Demon Emperor's breakthrough and maintaining the Star Heaven Veil Array, only nineteen supreme strands remained. Two already used, one more about to be consumed—that would leave just sixteen. These remaining strands were meant to help the Dragon Carp and others achieve immortal-blooded status. The supply seemed woefully inadequate.
"Don't worry. One more strand won't make much difference." At Lin Jing's words, the Pine Leaf Mouse activated its Glazed Immortal Eye using the supreme-grade energy. Both their hearts leaped into their throats.
Emerald immortal light shot from the mouse's eyes, enveloping the hundred floating strands of common energy. Lin Jing held his breath—had it worked? Even if successful, the real question remained: what could one hundred common strands synthesize into? After all, they'd sacrificed a supreme-grade strand for this attempt. If the synthesized product couldn't match the value of that supreme strand plus the hundred common ones, this would be a catastrophic loss.
The glazed light gradually dissipated, revealing a strangely familiar object hovering before Lin Jing. Staring at this black mass, he blinked in disbelief.
"What's this? Not the 'immortal power crystal' the Fuzzy Immortal mentioned?"
[Dark Origin Source: Can produce supreme-grade immortal energy by consuming the Origin Realm's lifespan.]
Lin Jing fell silent as he examined this mutated black Origin Source. What kind of abomination...? One hundred common strands had synthesized something capable of generating supreme-grade energy? The sheer profitability of this conversion seemed too good to be true. Yet the dark Origin Source's operating cost filled him with unease.
"This Glazed Immortal Eye works like big data surveillance..." Lin Jing muttered. "Back in the Origin Realm, I'd considered mimicking the Golden Bell's method—compressing the realm's potential to accelerate supreme-grade Origin Source production. That very thought made me want to study the Time Dao. But before I could act, this eye synthesized a direct channel for converting the Origin Realm's lifespan into supreme-grade energy..."
Holding the dark Origin Source, Lin Jing felt like he'd opened Pandora's box. The critical unknown was how much lifespan "consuming the Origin Realm's lifespan" actually meant. He genuinely feared accidentally turning the entire realm into a dead world.
Not that moral qualms troubled him. Every cultivator plundered the world's essence for personal gain—whether picking a spiritual herb, slaying a demonic beast for alchemy, or refining an entire planet for power, the principle remained identical.
The real issue was the Origin Realm's significance. Numerous immortal realm factions had jointly modified it as a training ground for mortal geniuses. Countless cultivation worlds had vested interests here. If Lin Jing rendered the realm lifeless, preventing future Origin Source production, the consequences would dwarf any temporary monopoly by millennia. Should this be discovered, not only would he become the mortal realms' public enemy, but if the immortal-mortal passage ever reopened, the immortals who engineered the Origin Realm might come seeking accountability.
"This is dangerous..." Lin Jing studied the dark Origin Source with solemn eyes. "Yet also incredibly valuable. With this, I won't need to wait a millennium for the next batch of supreme-grade energy. Cultivation planets measure their lifespans in billions of years—it shouldn't exhaust so easily. As long as I don't let the Pine Leaf Mouse synthesize thousands of these dark Sources to simultaneously drain the realm, moderate harvesting should be safe..."
"Having such a tool yet refusing to use it would be cowardice. Used wisely, this could be the key to matching Demon Emperor Tianchou's power in a thousand years. If avoiding this leads to my death and Heaven's Fall anyway, what would preserving the Origin Realm matter?"
Though this might transform him from the Origin Realm's favored child to its cursed enemy...
"Enough overthinking." Lin Jing shelved these concerns. After years in seclusion, his planned return to the Origin Realm approached. He reviewed various communication artifacts to see if any matters required attention.
Only one message stood out—from his senior sister:
"Junior Brother, long time no see. How fares your cultivation? Your return to the Origin Realm with a group of beast masters draws near. The Beast Master Sect has produced several promising talents these years, and other factions have also trained capable beast masters. When convenient, please determine whom to bring. —Xu Qingyao."
"Hmm, I wonder how Gu Qianqiu's progress is with the Beast Taming Art conversion. She should definitely get a spot this time. Might as well get her a spirit beast too. Let these talented beast masters compete for slots through trials—this first selection should give other factions opportunities too. No need to sow discord." Lin Jing declared impartially.