Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Acquiring Earth Escape

Yes, cremation was also prevalent in the Cultivation Realm. Unless they were from a family or Sect capable of protecting their graves, most Cultivators chose to be consumed by fire to avoid having their corpses dug up for Corpse Refinement, ensuring they would not be disturbed even in death.

Now, of the Bing Gui Immortal Seedlings Lin Changheng was friendly with, basically all of them—aside from him and Tantai Feiyue—had been to the battlefield, suffering wounds or death.

Someone like Bai Fengxian, who was only disfigured without any damage to his foundation, was considered fortunate.

At the request of the two families’ widows and orphans, the three of them—Lin, Xu, and Bai—handled the funeral arrangements.

After some deliberation, instead of scattering their ashes into the Black Water River, they buried them high upon Cyan Mountain, planting a young pine over each grave.

One day, when the trees grew into a lush canopy, they could watch over the transformations of the Immortal Dao and the vast changes of the world in their friends’ stead.

"The Immortal Dao is merciless. I wonder... when our time comes, will there be anyone to find us a good final resting place?"

Xu Fugui suddenly sighed.

"Why don’t the three of us make a pact here and now?" Bai Fengxian proposed after a long silence, looking at the other two. "No matter which of us falls on the Immortal Dao, the others must find a good place to bury them."

"Alright." Lin Changheng nodded after a moment of thought. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Deal." Xu Fugui agreed as well.

Their three hands stacked together, and the pact was sealed.

...

"Brother Lin."

One day, a voice suddenly called out from outside Lin Changheng’s small courtyard, accompanied by a soft knock.

But if anyone had entered at that moment, they would have found no one, neither in the house nor in the courtyard.

"Coming."

A reply suddenly echoed from within the courtyard.

There was someone there after all.

Then, a miraculous scene unfolded. In a corner of the courtyard, a faint Earth Element fluctuation began to ripple across a patch of soft, yellow earth.

The yellow earth then rippled like water, and a figure wavered into existence, appearing out of thin air.

But a keen-eyed observer would have noticed that the figure seemed to have been spat out by the earth itself, kicking up several wisps of dust as he appeared.

It was none other than Earth Escape...

[Earth Escape Technique: Peeping Path]!

The long-awaited and highly practical Life-saving Skill was finally his!

...

About a month ago, with a continuous supply of Talismanic Ink from Tantai Feiyue, the [Pan Mountain Turtle Treasure Species] had finally completed its Spirit Stealing.

The Primordial Cauldron had, for the first time, produced an earthy-yellow Treasure Seed.

The Spiritual Charm of his Earth Spirit Root also increased by a wisp, bringing the total to eight.

At that moment, [Earth Escape] was unhesitatingly Refined into it.

In an instant, the pulse of the earth surged toward him like a tide. Lin Changheng immediately felt its strange rhythm, his own breathing unconsciously synchronizing with it.

And the flow of Earth Qi—

It was not chaotic, but followed a rhythm even more ancient than breathing.

From that point on, the solid ground beneath Lin Changheng’s feet was no longer an obstacle. It had transformed into a flowing "river," and he could make preliminary use of its earthen "tides" to travel within.

[Utility: Initial perception of the earth’s rhythm, allowing for brief travel by merging into soil layers.]

Overjoyed, Lin Changheng immediately went to a deserted nearby mountain to test it out.

After mastering this Abnormal Technique, as long as any part of his body was touching the ground, he could escape into the earth with a single thought.

It was an extremely Mysterious state. The hard ground beneath his feet merely fluctuated, creating ripples like the surface of water.

It wasn’t broken or destroyed, yet he was already inside the earth.

From Lin Changheng’s perspective, his entire body was like a drop of ink falling into a lake, gradually sinking amidst the spreading, earthy-yellow Spiritual Power.

He soon vanished completely from the surface, leaving no trace behind.

"Truly Mysterious!"

Lin Changheng was overjoyed and surprised. ’With this Skill alone, I can evade sudden dangers from the Outer World.’

He could sense that he was located seven or eight feet below the surface.

He could go deeper, but at a depth of ten feet, it became incredibly hard. His feet felt as if they were on solid ground, and he was unable to sink any further.

But this was, after all, [Earth Escape Technique: Peeping Path], the most Basic Level version of the Skill, so Lin Changheng was quite satisfied.

’Time to test the tunneling.’

With a thought, Lin Changheng continued his test.

His eyes focused as he began to perceive, and he soon sensed a certain rhythm in the earth. At the same time, he activated the Abnormal Technique and shot forward underground.

As if carried by a current, he arrived a hundred feet away in an instant.

The dense rock and soil around him were no longer obstacles. Instead, they parted naturally like water before closing silently behind him, leaving only the faintest of traces.

’Heh, even though it’s pitch-black down here, my perception is filled with what looks like scattered stardust—specks of hazy, yellow, fluorescent light... It’s quite magnificent, a landscape I’ve never witnessed before.’

After about five breaths, Lin Changheng, who had been swimming through the earth like a fish, began to feel uncomfortable.

His physical body felt the pressure of the earth, and his breathing grew labored.

He immediately picked a spot and broke through the surface.

His robes remained completely free of dust and dirt.

’Truly magical.’

After resting for a while, Lin Changheng continued his tests.

Soon, he reached a conclusion.

This [Earth Escape Technique: Peeping Path] could be activated by touching the ground. Once underground, the depth was limited to ten feet, and the duration was five breaths.

The maximum travel distance was roughly five hundred feet.

When facing danger, while he couldn’t escape using only Earth Escape, its strengths lay in its silence and its unpredictable, directionless movement. If combined with other methods, like the Concealing Breath Skill or a Concealment Talisman, he could leave a battlefield and vanish without a trace.

He would be extremely difficult to find in a short amount of time.

His mind, sharpened by years of problem-solving, quickly came up with a way to compensate for the skill’s shortcomings.

He firmly believed that problems were static, but people were flexible; there was always a suitable solution.

’My Earth Escape is still weak, so I’ll just have to amplify its strengths and compensate for its weaknesses. Isn’t that the optimal solution?’

Once he accumulated more [Pan Mountain Turtle Treasure Species] and upgraded the [Earth Escape Technique] again, its duration, distance, and depth would improve, making such workarounds unnecessary.

...

The courtyard gate opened.

Tantai Feiyue walked in, plopped down casually on a stone bench in the courtyard, and pushed a wooden box toward him. Her star-like eyes sized him up with suspicion; he had clearly taken his sweet time answering the door.

The two had grown very close over the years, and the initial formality between them was long gone.

"Could this be..."

Lin Changheng didn’t rise to the bait. With a warm smile, he simply pulled the wooden box over and opened it.

Inside lay four Talismans, their calligraphy as elegant as "Silver Hook Iron Painting," radiating a dense Spiritual Light.

"As Master Alchemist Lin commanded: two Lower Grade [Concealing Breath Talismans] and two Lower Grade [Concealment Talismans], all of Masterpiece Quality."

Tantai Feiyue hmphed softly at his deflection, picking up a teacup and speaking as she took a sip.

"My thanks for your trouble, Fairy."

With a flick of his sleeve, Lin Changheng made the wooden box and the Talismans vanish. His gaze then fell upon the Commandery Princess, who was calmly savoring her tea, and a strange expression crossed his face.

"What is it? Is there something on my face?"

Noticing his stare, Tantai Feiyue paused with the cup in her hand and asked in surprise.

"The Commandery Princess’s beauty could make the moon hide and flowers blush in shame. Ordinary flowers can’t compare in the slightest..."

As Lin Changheng spoke, Tantai Feiyue felt a secret delight, though her face remained impassive, as calm as a tranquil mountain.

But then Lin Changheng pointed to the cup in her hand, and his next words made her lovely face flush a dazzling crimson:

"It’s just... I was using that cup a moment ago. If the Fairy was that thirsty, you could have just said so. I would have gladly poured you a fresh one. There’s no need to save me a few leaves of Spirit Tea."