Crack!

As Meng Lin’s head become submerged she didn’t fail to feel the clear after-effects of the collision, she quickly understood the situation and tilted her head to feel a massive force passing through her right ear.

Rumble!!

Up above the ground, the Gold Core cultivator that attacked, stood with a small smile as even through his spear was blocked, it managed to break through the tortoise shell and he clearly felt his spear hit its target.

However his smile turned into a frown as he realized something, bringing his spear back to its normal size, he saw blood but other than that there was nothing.

He quickly looked at the others to say. “She’s still alive, Ze Delgie, help me dig the ground up, hurry”

Ze Delgie, the gold core body cultivator quickly rushed forward, his hands glowing with a faint golden light. He placed his palms on the ground, channeling his energy to create a powerful surge of force that began to excavate the mud and dirt.

The ground trembled under his touch as he dug deeper and deeper, searching for Meng Lin.

Meanwhile, the other foundation establishment realm cultivators stood by, their expressions a mix of curiosity and concern.

They had witnessed Meng Lin's incredible speed and resilience, and they knew better than to underestimate her. What shocked them was how fast she was able to do all that under the presence of two Gold Core cultivators.

Clang!

After digging for 30 meters underground, Ze Delgie's hands reached a solid point, it caused him to curse as he realized that she might have escaped.

He looked up towards the other gold core cultivator and said.

“It’s no good, I have reached the third layer, It will take hours for me to just dig through the third layer, unlike the first and the second layer.”

“Damn it” uttered the Gold Core Cultivator with the spear, “she couldn’t have gone past the third layer, keep searching around the second layer, if we’re fast we will find her”

The other cultivators nodded in agreement and quickly spread out, searching the area around the second layer of the underground. They moved with a sense of urgency, knowing that time was of the essence.

However the Foundation Establishment Cultivators we’re having trouble going through the second layer, which made their progress much slower than expected, it caused the Gold Core cultivators to feel frustrated with no where to vent their anger.

****

Meanwhile, deep underground, Meng Lin was traveling with half her face covered in blood, her vision blurred and her head hurt as she tried to stay conscious.

Around her the rocks turned to mud the moment she got near them, and layed out a safe passage for her to go through.

Thud!

Meng Lin felt her body fall onto a soft surface and she couldn’t even open her eyes as her head hurt beyond what she could imagine, with her eyes closed she went unconscious, her face splashed with blood.

****

When Meng Lin regained consciousness, she found herself lying on a soft bed made of leaves and moss. The cave she was in radiated a faint, mystical glow, illuminating the surroundings.

As she sat up, she felt a throbbing pain in her head and reached up to touch the wound on the right side of her face. The blood had dried, but the injury still stung.

Her right ear had a small chunk missing and there was a trail of dried blood from her right eye to her right ear, it gave her a gruesome feeling, and she wondered what it looked like.

Looking around, Meng Lin realized that she was inside a small cave with a glowing orb at the center, she released her spiritual consciousness to check and saw that it was a small humanoid creature, a puppet to be exact.

It exuded the aura of a low grade item so Meng Lin wasn’t all that interested but she still got up to see what it’s functions were.

Meng Lin cautiously approached the puppet, her curiosity raised. She examined it closely, noticing intricate details in its design. It had jointed limbs and a small orb embedded in its chest, which seemed to be the source of its glowing light.

She carefully touched the puppet, expecting it to be cold and lifeless. However, the moment her finger made contact, she utilized her qi to start refining the puppet.

A few seconds later the puppet sprang to life. Its eyes opened, revealing a pair of glowing blue orbs, and it turned its head to face Meng Lin.

"Kkrrr," the puppet uttered in an incoherent voice. It stood up to be only about 2 feets and got on its knees, recognizing Meng Lin as it’s master.

The instant Meng Lin finished refining the puppet she understood it’s use, it’s was only a low grade puppet that’s only purpose was doing small logistic tasks like watching over a garden or cleaning and organizing a room.

Losing all interest in such a puppet, Meng Lin stored it away to focus on the reason she was there to begin with, but before that she uttered the words.

“System”

[Meng Lin]

[special physique: Brute Qi physique]

[Foundation Establishment Stage(peak)]

[Experience points: 75%]

System coin: 570

Taoist Gacha wheel: unavailable

Spiritual Roots: [Water>Fire>Gold>Wood>Earth]

Variant Elemental Qi : [Mud] [ Erosion]

Main Cultivation Method: [Black Tortoise Essence Art, 4th Layer]

Side Cultivation Methods: : [Basic Qi Gathering] [Formless Cultivation method]

Techniques: [Celestial Moonlit Sword Art] [Focused Qi control] [Waterfall slash] [Refine Yin Qi] [Surge] [Thunderbolt Flash]

Ancient Spirit Seals: ~Black Tortoises~, Gong Fu - Golden Lizard.

[Market] [Blacksmith] [Alchemy]

Meng Lin smiled slightly seeing the increase in her cultivation base, although it was of only 5 percent, it still made her happy.

She hoped that she would be able to breakthrough to the Gold Core Realm before returning to the sect.

Her eyes trailed over the panel and she didn’t see any changes except the last part, the Ancient Spirit Seals, the black Tortoise was grayed out, as if not usable anymore.

She raised her arm to look at the symbol of the black tortoise and she was not surprised to find the same grayed out symbol on her skin, she felt no power to it, and it was as if it was not there to begin with.

Sigh!

She let out a slight sigh, realizing that she wouldn’t be able to use the black tortoise mark for the moment.

Her gazed travel to the thing in her hand and her mind began to think about what it was that was in her hand.

It was the earring she stole, it was still interlocked within her fingers, even now it gave off the same energy as before.

Meng Lin brought it up to examine it, noticing the intricate engravings on its surface. The earring seemed ancient, with symbols that she couldn't quite decipher.

So without any delay Meng Lin decided to refine it, she would naturally understand what it is after refining it, she raised her hand, upon which a string of qi was released into the earring.

It was only after her qi came into contact with it did she realize that it was not exactly what she was thinking it as, because she recognized it to be a top grade item, it was just a more powerful top grade item, a half step heavenly item.

However even after realizing that, Meng Lin didn’t feel disappointed as she still recognized it as one of the most powerful items that she has come into contact with as of yet.

She closed her eyes and focused all her attention on refining the item as she knew it would take way more time than it did with the puppet.

The intricate patterns etched onto its surface seemed to come alive under Meng Lin's touch, pulsating with a faint, mysterious energy.

As Meng Lin continued to refine the earring, she could feel her qi connecting with the item, resonating with its power. The process was slow and meticulous, requiring her complete concentration.

Hours passed as Meng Lin poured her energy into the earring, her determination unwavering. With each passing moment, she could feel the earring becoming more attuned to her qi, as if it was absorbing and harmonizing with her strength.

Finally after a full day, Meng Lin felt a shift in the earring. It emitted a brilliant light, illuminating the cave and casting a soft glow on her face. A surge of energy coursed through her body, causing her to gasp in surprise.

And her eyes glowed with an otherworldly purple hue as she realized what the earring was capable of.