Chapter 4

In the dilapidated thatched cottage, the dim oil lamp flickered. An old wooden chest was opened, revealing a short blade of a bluish-green color, a yellowed scroll, and a dark gray half-foot seal brush.

A seal brush is a tool for engraving and writing.

The so-called seal brush is actually a tool that resembles a writing brush but has a sharp tip, used by spirit pattern masters to engrave spirit patterns.

Therefore, the seal brush is also called a pattern knife.

Lin Xun personally preferred the term "pattern knife." The term "pattern knife" sounds like "inquiring the Dao," which means "inquiring the Dao, who can rival the sharpness of the world?"

This feeling was indescribably invigorating.

Lin Xun's gaze lingered on the yellowed scroll and the dark gray half-foot seal brush for a long time. These two items held a very special significance to him.

The yellowed scroll was about three fingers thick, unnamed, with a cover made of animal skin, already very worn out. It was clear that this scroll had existed for a long time, and just looking at it gave one a sense of the vastness of time.

The dark gray half-foot seal brush was also quite unique, quite different from the usual seal brushes. It was more like a sword, with a dull surface and mysterious cloud patterns. The tip of the brush was like a sword blade, emitting a bone-chilling cold aura that penetrated to the depths of one's soul.

These were the two most important and mysterious treasures Lin Xun possessed.

In addition to the short blade, scroll, and seal brush, the wooden chest also contained some bones, animal skins, plant stems, and minerals, all of which were spirit materials that could be used for refining artifacts. After special refining, they could also serve as the ink and materials needed for engraving spirit patterns.

These spirit materials were all collected by Lin Xun during his long journey. If sold, they could fetch a considerable amount of wealth.

In the far corner of the wooden chest, there was a pile of thumb-thick, rugged, and hard wood, resembling jade.

This type of wood is called "Stone Pine Silver Wood," which has no particular value except for its hardness, similar to that of stone.

For spirit pattern apprentices, Stone Pine Silver Wood is an excellent material for practicing spirit pattern engraving.

Lin Xun carefully took out the thick yellowed scroll and sat at the desk by the window.

He gazed quietly at the scroll but did not open it, instead falling into deep thought.

In a daze, Lin Xun's thoughts flew, as if he had returned to the past.

...

It was a mine prison, housing many prisoners, isolated from the world.

From the time Lin Xun could remember, he had always been in that mine prison. The sky there was black, dark, and damp, with no sunlight.

The atmosphere there was also oppressive, with prisoners dying every day and new prisoners being brought in every day.

In Lin Xun's memory, no one had ever escaped from that prison until it was completely destroyed.

Strictly speaking, Lin Xun was not a prisoner. He was an abandoned infant who, when found, was almost eaten by the ferocious prisoners.

This was what Mr. Lu told him.

And the reason Lin Xun survived was that he was saved by Mr. Lu.

No one knew Mr. Lu's background, but his status in the mine prison was unique. Both the guards and the prisoners treated him with utmost respect.

All because Mr. Lu was also a spirit pattern master.

Lin Xun had followed Mr. Lu since childhood and, from the time he could understand, was ordered to do various tasks by Mr. Lu.

Learning to read, identifying spirit materials, making ink, practicing engraving, memorizing spirit pattern designs... while also handling tasks like serving tea, pouring water, washing clothes, and cooking.

Lin Xun considered himself Mr. Lu's disciple, and the guards and prisoners in the mine prison also thought so.

However, Mr. Lu never acknowledged Lin Xun as his disciple. According to Mr. Lu, he never intended to take on a disciple in his life, and Lin Xun was just a helper to him, nothing more.

Lin Xun was once disheartened by this, but he gradually forgot about it. Deep down, he still regarded Mr. Lu as his master.

Life in the mine prison was monotonous and without sunlight. As Lin Xun grew older, he began to slowly realize that there was a much broader world outside the mine prison.

When Lin Xun was nine years old, Mr. Lu took him out of the prison for the first time.

But they returned after just three days.

Those three days were a huge shock to Lin Xun. He saw the outside world, the sunlight, the blue sky, and the white clouds.

From then on, Mr. Lu would take him out every so often, for as long as ten days or as short as three days, before returning to the mine prison.

The purpose of going out was simple: Mr. Lu needed to gather more spirit materials for engraving spirit patterns.

With each trip, Lin Xun gradually gained a deeper understanding of the world.

The only thing that puzzled Lin Xun was why Mr. Lu preferred to stay in the dark mine prison rather than outside.

Unfortunately, until the mine prison was destroyed, Lin Xun never got a definitive answer.

The mine prison was destroyed...

Thinking of this, Lin Xun, sitting at the desk, felt a sudden pain in his heart, and the horrific scene from three months ago involuntarily surfaced in his mind—

That day, he was practicing engraving a "Green Wood Spirit Pattern," while Mr. Lu was refining a furnace of spirit materials, muttering something to himself.

Outside the room, the guards were swinging their blood-stained iron whips, continuously beating the prisoners who were not working hard enough, with shouts and cries echoing in the dark sky.

That day was no different from any other, and Lin Xun was already used to it. He no longer felt sympathy for the prisoners, who seemed pitiful but were actually extremely vicious.

The only thing that seemed unusual that day was Mr. Lu.

Lin Xun knew from a young age that Mr. Lu had a bad temper, being irritable and impatient. He had been scolded by Mr. Lu countless times and was already used to it.

Mr. Lu would scold, but never hit, and usually only when Lin Xun made a mistake.

But that day, Mr. Lu's temper was especially bad. He smashed many things in the room, even breaking his favorite seal brush, "Qingqiong Ranjin."

Just as Lin Xun was feeling puzzled, he saw Mr. Lu take out an old wooden chest, throw the yellowed scroll, a bluish-green short blade, and a dark gray half-foot seal brush into it, and hand it to the stunned Lin Xun.

Lin Xun still remembered Mr. Lu's expression at that moment, which was unpredictable and extremely complex, filled with hatred, helplessness, and unwillingness, but ultimately turned into a serious and solemn look.

That seriousness and solemnity were something Lin Xun had never seen before, and he would never forget that scene.

Mr. Lu tightly gripped Lin Xun's shoulders, so hard that Lin Xun felt his bones might break, and then he spoke.

"From today, you must learn to survive on your own, so you must live well!"

At that moment, Mr. Lu's voice was hoarse and determined, his eyes filled with bloodshot, and a madness akin to a dying person.

"Remember, I went through great lengths to save you, so you absolutely cannot die!"

Then, Mr. Lu pointed to the yellowed scroll and the dark gray seal brush, speaking with unprecedented solemnity, "You must take good care of them! Your future cultivation depends on them! Especially that brush, which contains a secret that even I have not yet uncovered. If you can solve it, even if your innate spirit vein is taken away, you can still reverse your fate!"

"Also, you've always wanted to know who took away your innate spirit vein, right? I'll tell you, the answer is in the Purple Dawn Empire!"

"You must live to find out, so you cannot die!"

"Understood!?"

In a nearly hysterical voice, Mr. Lu's expression had become somewhat sinister, and Lin Xun was completely stunned, nodding subconsciously.

Then, Mr. Lu grabbed Lin Xun's thin and frail body and rushed to a dark mine tunnel entrance that Lin Xun had never seen before.

"Go!"

The mine tunnel was deep and dark, like a bottomless abyss, but Mr. Lu did not hesitate, pushing Lin Xun into the depths of the tunnel.

At that moment, Lin Xun had no time to react, feeling as if he was falling off a cliff, his mind blank.

At that very moment, he saw an old hand tear through the darkness above the mine prison, descending with a thunderous roar.

That old hand was so large, covering the sky, each finger like a pillar supporting the heavens, each palm line like a deep ravine. Terrifying purple flames enveloped the old hand, like a sea of purple fire pouring from the outer space, burning away the darkness and the sky, filled with a terrifying aura of destruction.

Lin Xun had never known that anyone in the world could have a hand that could... cover the sky!

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