Chapter 219 Spiritual Tea Transformation
The Qingyun mountain range, Qingshi Ridge, in the late spring, the mountains were covered with white mountain tea flowers, adding a splash of brightness to the stony ridge.
Bees buzzed among the flowers, busily flitting to and fro.
However, at this moment, beneath the mountain ridge, several cultivators rushed into a tunnel, only to suddenly find that the cultivators who were mining had fallen, and at the exit was a huge rat hole.
It was Lin Shijie, Lin Yutie, Lin Houyong, and other members of the Lin Family.
Their faces clearly showed displeasure, especially Lin Shijie, who was clenching his fists at this moment.
"Uncle Five, we must slay that Gold Devouring Rat King, or else we will have to stop mining!"
"Hmm!" Lin Houyong nodded in agreement, but the thought of facing that Third Rank Intermediate Grade Demonic Rat which never confronted them directly just gave him a headache.
These Gold Devouring Rats initially only stole from the Golden Iron Stone veins.
What was vile was that, after they had slain a few Second Rank Qi Refinement Demonic Rats, the Rat King led its kind in retaliating against their cultivators.
Given the utmost importance of the Golden Iron Stone veins, the Lin Family assigned those in the early stages of Qi Cultivation to mine them.
Because of the Gold Devouring Rats' interference, not only was safe mining impossible, but many family cultivators also fell. To make things worse, these rats were extremely cunning; they never encountered the Foundation Establishment cultivators, leading their offspring in and out quickly after stealing and attacking the Qi Refinement disciples.
More so, they had no pattern to their attacks. Even when the area was covered by Formations, they would still manage to get through by gnawing their way in with their indestructible teeth.
And underground, one's Divine Sense was greatly hindered.
"It's a pity Shiming isn't here. With him and the two Third Rank spiritual beasts, we could definitely kill this demonic rat!" Lin Shijie couldn't help but sigh as he thought of someone.
It wasn't just that they couldn't catch up to the Gold Devouring Rat King; they also didn't possess the power to instantly kill a Third Rank Gold Devouring Rat King. Although the Rat King wasn't good at attacking, its defense was astonishingly strong.
Both of them being at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, they lacked the strength even to harm it, let alone form a battle formation.
In the void, a Spirit Light arrived.
Lin Shiyun received the Spirit Light—it was a Transmission Talisman:
"Good lad, you've hit the nail on the head!"
Lin Houyong couldn't help but smile, then, leading a few people, he walked toward the spacious mine tunnel, soon arriving at a large hall.
Compared to before, this hall had been greatly enlarged and was now named Stone Ridge Cave.
At the entrance of Stone Ridge Cave, Lin Shiming and his group were already waiting on one side.
"Uncle Five, big brother!" Lin Shiming greeted with a smile.
It had been over a decade since they last met; big brother Lin Shijie was as resolute as always, and Uncle Five even more distinguished.
"Family Head!" Lin Houyong and Lin Shijie hurriedly responded, then they turned to Lin Yuqing and said:
"Uncle!"
"Great-grandfather!"
"Come, let's go inside and talk," Lin Houyong led everyone into a stone chamber of the stone hall, while Lin Shiming once again surveyed this underground cave.
Speaking of which, it was Shiming who had discovered this cave with the Golden Winged Mantis back then. The central stone pool was now planted with numerous spiritual flowers.
"Shiming, your arrival is timely, that Gold Devouring Rat King is truly bothersome. The three of us together should be able to slay it!" Lin Houyong excitedly stated. However, in the next moment, he noticed that Lin Shiming's entire aura of Spirit Might had greatly increased since he last saw him, and he could no longer see through his cultivation level:n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Shiming, you've reached the middle stage of Foundation Establishment?"
"Fortuitously!" Lin Shiming clasped his hands together, causing several people at the site to sigh with emotion, with Lin Shijie feeling a tinge of envy.
You should know, he possessed twin Spirit Roots, and there was still some time before he could condense his True Yuan and make a breakthrough to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.
As for Lin Houyong, breaking through to Foundation Establishment seemed to have drained all his talent, and at this moment, he was just starting to solidify the early stage of Foundation Establishment.
"Then there will be even fewer problems!" Lin Houyong was overjoyed, then his expression turned serious as he revealed an issue:
"Shiming, with the appearance of a Third Rank Gold Devouring Rat this time, I suspect that the vein below might have a deposit of Third Rank Golden Iron Stone. It's just a pity that we can't arrange for cultivators to extract it..."
Lin Shiming nodded; considering what his fifth uncle had said, there really might be a deposit of Third Rank Golden Iron Stone, or else it wouldn't have attracted a Third Rank Gold Devouring Rat.
"Fifth Uncle, since the Gold Devouring Rat was driven away today, let's rest for a while!" Lin Shiming spoke again, and then took out some rare Spiritual Tea he had harvested from the Mingxin Tea Tree itself.
He proceeded to brew a pot for all the Qi Cultivators present.
There were quite a few Mingxin Tea Trees on Fangmu Mountain, which, incidentally, were brought back by Lin Houwei and Lin Shitao and the others.
It's just that the king of the Mingxin Tea Trees had always been in Lin Shiming's cave abode, untouched by anyone.
The fragrance of the Mingxin Tea was exceptionally rich, and as Spiritual Tea from the tree king, it was even more pronounced.
Moreover, the Tea Tree Wood Demon had been observing the Golden Thunder Bamboo, and a deep and ineffable difference had manifested in the tea as well.
"Thank you, Family Head!" Lin Houxuan, Lin Shiyun, Lin Shilei, Lin Houyong, and others all expressed their gratitude.
Oddly enough, Lin Shiming did not pour tea for Lin Houyong and Lin Shijie, the two Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Their expressions didn't change though, as they were now at the Foundation Establishment stage: drinking Second Rank Spiritual Tea wouldn't have much effect anyhow, but they still felt somewhat empty-handed for a moment.
"Don't worry, Fifth Uncle, Big Brother, you have yours too!" Lin Shiming said with a gentle smile, then he took out a jade box.
He brewed another pot of new Spiritual Tea. As the purple leaves fell, the entire hall seemed to surge with Spiritual Energy, and the fragrance that wafted through the air made the entire atmosphere saturate with the aroma of the tea.
"Is this...?" Both of their expressions shifted, and they started to breathe a little more swiftly.
"Fourth Rank Spiritual Tea, rewarded by the Zi Xuan Hermit!" Lin Shiming answered calmly.
The entire stock of Qi Xuan Tea wasn't plentiful, enough for only two brews. Lin Shiming had already consumed it once before, with excellent results. His father had even begun to condense his True Yuan, which is why Lin Shiming felt that this Qi Xuan Tea was greatly beneficial for condensing True Yuan.
"This is too precious!" Lin Houyong became visibly agitated, then reached for the teapot of Mingxin Tea.
"Fifth Uncle, this is exactly what I was saving for you. My father and my seventh granduncle have both drunk it!" Lin Shiming said with a smile, continuing to pour a cup for each of them.
After drinking, both of them instantly sat down tensely and began to meditate right there.
Lin Shiming also poured himself a cup and drank it all at once.
The aroma of the tea still permeated the air, but at this moment, Lin Shiming also noticed that the effect of the second sip was somewhat lessened, and there was no need for immediate refinement; however, the help it provided to Cultivation Level was still tremendous. If he could refine it completely, it could spare him years of arduous cultivation.
The Qi Cultivators of the Lin Family also saw the Fourth Rank Spiritual Tea, naturally feeling envious, but they dared not drink Fourth Rank Spiritual Tea. For a Qi Cultivator to drink Fourth Rank Spiritual Tea wasn't to improve cultivation—it was to court death. They simply couldn't refine such immense Spiritual Energy.
Moreover, the Supreme Grade Mingxin Tea was already incredibly precious. The scent of the tea was lingering and eternal, leaving a refreshing aftertaste!
However, what surprised everyone was seeing Lin Shilei and Lin Houxuan also begin to sit cross-legged, activating their cultivation techniques and circulating their qi through their meridians!
One must know, the Mingxin Tea Tree didn't have such a profound effect!