Soul Emperor Awakening

After bidding farewell to the Liu Family, Lin Xuan headed back to the Shang Family’s residence with Shang Zhihao. He had wanted to see the Spirit Wood Family for himself, and Shang Zhihao’s invitation was too enthusiastic to refuse, so he agreed to be their guest. In any case, they were traveling together.

The Shang Family’s residence wasn’t far from Vast Origin City—unlike the Liu Family, who were based directly within the city limits. After all, as a Spirit Wood Family, the Shang Family specialized in cultivating Spirit Wood. There was simply no room for that in Vast Origin City, so they resided in the more remote mountain forests.

After more than a day of travel, they arrived at the Shang Family’s estate. Lin Xuan, who had been meditating in the carriage to recover his Spiritual Power, suddenly opened his eyes. He felt an extremely dense wave of Elemental Power wash over him. While its concentration couldn’t compare to the Inner Hall, it was still remarkably rich compared to other places.

He lifted the carriage curtain to look outside. Not far off was the Shang Family’s mountain manor. Gazing into the distance, he saw countless towering, ancient trees covering the mountain, packed together in a dense forest.

These trees, which looked much like ordinary ones, were the Spirit Wood they used for creating patterns. While they appeared similar from a distance, a closer look revealed subtle differences. The Spirit Wood Liquid that flowed out when they were cut was the clearest proof of all.

"Brother Lin, we’ve arrived. Let’s get out." Shang Zhihao, sitting across from him, climbed down from the carriage and began to lead him toward his family’s residence.

"Young Master Shang, you’ve returned."

As soon as they approached, a Guard came forward and greeted him respectfully.

Lin Xuan glanced over. The two Guards had rather high Cultivation; the auras they emanated indicated they were at least at the Seventh or Eighth Layer of the Spirit Refining Stage, a cut above the guards of other families. They also had weathered faces, clearly veterans who weren’t much inferior to the guards at Qingcheng Mansion.

Furthermore, the decor of the Shang Mansion was rather luxurious. As a Spirit Wood Family that supplied materials to Pattern Masters, their income was surely immense. While one might not say the Shang Family was the wealthiest in the region, they were at least fabulously rich.

Just as they walked through the gate, Lin Xuan spotted two small, exquisite trees. They were a translucent golden color and quite beautiful. Their shape was similar to that of Spirit Wood, but their coloration was different.

"These are also a type of Spirit Wood, but a more high-end variety. We call them Golden Spirit Wood," Shang Zhihao explained, noticing Lin Xuan’s curious gaze. "Using them to inscribe patterns provides a significant boost."

The higher the Grade of the paper and Spiritual Liquid used for inscribing patterns, the longer the pattern could be preserved and the better its effect. While a pattern’s inherent stability determined its longevity, inscribing it on superior Spirit Wood Paper would make it last even longer and be even more stable.

In fact, the principle was the same as with Weapons: the higher the Grade of a Weapon, the greater its power. Spirit Wood followed a similar logic. The better the Spirit Wood, the stronger the effect—it could even provide an amplification bonus!

Lin Xuan nodded. He knew a little about this already but was simply curious about these relatively unfamiliar materials. In truth, the memories of the Sixth Grade Pattern Master he had absorbed contained this knowledge. However, the sheer volume of memories was too vast for him to assimilate everything, so he focused only on information directly related to patterns.

It was similar to when he absorbed Lin Hua’s soul; he had only read the memories pertaining to Martial Arts and left the rest untouched. If he were to absorb everything, his head would likely explode. An expert’s life was long, containing a great deal of useful information, but even more useless trivia.

Trying to cram it all in at once could kill someone, or at the very least, drive them insane.

Guards patrolled the large courtyard, and security was tight. To put it bluntly, this place was a gold mine. A single Spirit Wood tree was incredibly expensive; just digging one up would fetch a great number of Primordial Stones. If they didn’t spend a fortune on security, it would be a huge problem if intruders came to steal from them.

"Actually, it would be no problem to give you one of those two Golden Spirit Wood trees, Brother Lin," Shang Zhihao said with a sigh. "But I would have to ask my father for permission, and it’s... not a convenient time for him right now."

"That won’t be necessary. I only need some ordinary Spirit Wood," Lin Xuan said, his brow furrowing. "Those two are like auspicious Treasure Trees for your family; it’s best not to disturb them." He then asked, "Speaking of which, back at the Pattern Master Association, Huang Qianyun mentioned that your esteemed father was seriously injured?"

He had picked up on this earlier, but he hadn’t been familiar enough with Shang Zhihao at the time to ask about it. There were so many issues cropping up. First, Liu Qing had been attacked, and now the Shang Family’s Clan Leader. ’The Eldest Prince has to be involved in this,’ he thought.

"Well..." Shang Zhihao sighed. "Yes, Huang Qianyun was right. My father was gravely injured, though his opponent didn’t get away unscathed. Still, they escaped. The reason this happened... I’m not afraid to tell you this, Brother Lin, since only a few people know. Deep in the mountains under our family’s care, there is a mutated Five-Colored Spirit Wood!"

"A Five-Colored Spirit Wood!"

Lin Xuan was inwardly shaken. A Five-Colored Spirit Wood was a mutation of a normal Spirit Wood, similar in principle to the Golden Spirit Wood—the same species, just slightly mutated. But comparing a Golden Spirit Wood to a Five-Colored Spirit Wood was like comparing heaven and earth; the two couldn’t even be mentioned in the same breath.

The sap, and even the wood itself, of a Five-Colored Spirit Wood were extraordinarily precious. What was truly astounding was that using its sap—the Five-Colored Spiritual Liquid—to inscribe patterns would at least double the success rate while drastically reducing the difficulty!

For example, while it was normally quite difficult for Lin Xuan to inscribe a Spatial Pattern, if he used this Five-Colored Spiritual Liquid, the Spiritual Power he consumed would be cut in half, and success would become incredibly easy!

As for paper made from Five-Colored Spirit Wood, that was even more astonishing. A pattern inscribed on it would be nearly impossible to disperse, no matter the circumstances. It even provided a massive bonus, at least doubling the pattern’s original effect!

For instance, take a Power Pattern with no inherent amplification. If it were inscribed on paper made from Five-Colored Spirit Wood, it would automatically gain a twofold amplification. If the pattern itself was inscribed with a twofold amplification, the total would become fourfold! If it was a threefold amplification, it would become fivefold!

To put it simply, it added a twofold amplification on top of the pattern’s existing effect. The higher the amplification, the more difficult it became to increase it, yet the Five-Colored Spirit Paper could add a twofold boost to any base. For example, some Pattern Masters could only achieve a fivefold amplification at their absolute limit, unable to go any higher. But if they used Five-Colored Spirit Paper, it would instantly become a sevenfold amplification!

This was a qualitative leap, something absolutely astounding.

In the world of Pattern Masters, the Five-Colored Spirit Wood was hailed as a Divine Tree, a treasure that practically every Pattern Master dreamed of possessing. No wonder they had been attacked; this Five-Colored Spirit Wood was priceless, and anyone would covet it.

"It seems you trust me a great deal, Brother Shang!" Lin Xuan said with a smile, feeling genuinely touched. Very few outsiders could have known this; otherwise, there would have been an uproar long ago. It was clear only a select few were aware.

"It’s not really a matter of trust," Shang Zhihao said. "We can’t keep the Five-Colored Spirit Wood a secret for much longer. The news is bound to get out soon, especially since it’s about to mature. When that time comes, everyone in this region will know."

When a Five-Colored Spirit Wood matures, it emits a five-colored radiance, and that is when its Spiritual Liquid can be drawn. As for making Five-Colored Spirit Paper, one would typically only cut off a small branch. If the entire tree were to be chopped down, it would be gone forever.

Such a method would be an incredible waste; sustainability was the best approach. However, keeping it alive would attract countless envious parties who would come to "negotiate." The tree’s effects were simply too alluring. Absolutely alluring.

"In that case, Brother Shang, would it be possible for me to witness this Five-Colored Spirit Wood for myself?" Lin Xuan wanted to see just how astonishing this tree truly was. It would be a shame to come all this way and not get a look at it.

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