Wang Lin held the Lumigold fruit, pressing it against his brow. Instantly, the fruit dissolved into his forehead, but after a moment, a flicker of disappointment crossed his eyes, and he released his hand.

“I am too hasty,” he mused, his voice low. “The perfection of the Celestial Bead is not so easily achieved. Seven centuries of cultivation, and with my meager fate, I have only perfected four attributes. Each perfection was fraught with peril. Surely, this final touch of gold will not come without a trial. But perhaps… the Gold Spirit Root will be of use.”

A silent command escaped his mind, and a third of the Lumigold fruit, shimmering beneath the golden blooms, rose into the air.

With a triumphant shriek, the Mosquito Beast extended its proboscis, devouring the fruits in a single gulp. A radiant golden aura erupted from its body, flickering nine times with blinding intensity before slowly fading.

Though the beast seemed unsatisfied, Wang Lin refrained from gathering more fruit. Instead, he wove a hand seal, channeling a burst of spiritual light onto the vast expanse of golden blossoms, causing them to blaze with an even more intense, blinding light.

His eyes flashed, but he did not retreat. He retrieved a handful of jade slips from his pouch, his gaze thoughtful as he rapidly etched symbols onto their surfaces. These he placed carefully amongst the golden blooms.

From a distance, the woman called Qianqin watched Wang Lin with growing bewilderment. She could not fathom what he was doing. Why did he not simply harvest the Lumigold fruit? Instead, he engaged in this strange ritual, which resembled the laying of a formation.

“Could it be that a formation is required to claim the Lumigold fruit?” Doubt clouded her gaze.

With the final jade slip in place, the pensive look vanished from Wang Lin’s face, replaced by a spark of clarity. “According to the memories of the Ancient God Tusi, the Lumigold fruit must naturally wither, only then will the Gold Spirit Root form at its base.

“But I have no time to wait. The cycle for the formation of the Gold Spirit Root can be long or short, sometimes spanning years. I must rely on the compromise recorded in Tusi’s memories.

“However, the Ancient God used the bones of monstrous beasts in this array, while I use mere jade slips. The effect will surely be diminished.” Wang Lin sighed inwardly, acknowledging that the resources of a powerful Ancient God far surpassed his own.

With a slight shake of his head, Wang Lin raised his left hand, forming a bizarre gesture, not the familiar hand signs of a cultivator, but a catalyst passed down from the memory of Ancient God Tusi, an Ancient God technique to accelerate the formation of the root. This was the incantation of the array’s activation.

“Mò!” Wang Lin intoned.

As the word left his lips, a yellow light radiated from his hand, striking one of the jade slips. The moment the light touched it, a piercing shriek echoed through the valley.

Then, in the blink of an eye, the jade slip shattered into dust.

Wang Lin’s brow furrowed at the sight. Even Qianqin, watching from afar, started in surprise.

Though the jade slip was destroyed, the yellow light did not dissipate. Instead, it intensified and surged towards another slip.

A chain reaction of shattering followed. The yellow light consumed each jade slip it touched, reducing them to ash in an instant.

Wang Lin’s frown deepened. After a few breaths, when the last jade slip crumbled, the yellow light had transformed into pure gold, indistinguishable from the color of the blossoms.

The golden light enveloped the flowers, and visibly, they began to shrink, withering as though blighted.

Not only the flowers, but the Lumigold fruit beneath them also cracked, withered, and even the branches followed suit, as if scorched by the sun’s wrath.

The Mosquito Beast in the sky whimpered, a poignant lament in its cry. It longed to plunge into the valley, but its loyalty to Wang Lin held it back.

Qianqin, too, felt a pang of distress. Her eyes were fixated on the withering Lumigold fruit, her heart aching with each passing moment.

Wang Lin, however, remained calm, his expression solemn as he watched the fruits decay, saying nothing. A heavy silence settled over the valley.

Soon, the golden blossoms had all withered, not scattering on the wind, but dissolving into golden droplets that seeped into the earth.

After the flowers, the Lumigold fruit followed, each one withering and transforming into golden liquid that soaked into the ground.

Finally, even the branches succumbed. The entire process took about half an incense stick’s worth of time. When it was done, everything had vanished, leaving the ground bare.

The Mosquito Beast slumped in the air, whimpering softly.

Wang Lin’s eyes gleamed as he moved to the spot where the Lumigold fruit had been. After a moment of careful observation, a spark of excitement ignited within him. He knelt and delved his hand into the earth. A faint smile played on his lips as he withdrew his hand, revealing a radiant glow like that of the sun.

In his palm lay a curious object, a thing like a miniature ginseng, the size of a thumb, with four delicate tendrils. It emanated an intense golden light, radiating a warmth that permeated the surrounding air.

“A four-tendril Gold Spirit Root! Had it formed naturally, it might have possessed five or more!” Wang Lin murmured to himself.

In the sky above, the Mosquito Beast stared, eyes wide with awe at the Gold Spirit Root in Wang Lin’s hand. The expression in its gaze was unlike anything seen since its birth, an almost feverish desire.
Then Ch’in, beholding this scene, could only gape, her mind a blank canvas upon which disbelief painted its masterpiece. Truly, she now understood the narrow confines of her former knowledge. The Golden Radiance Fruit, she realized, was meant to be consumed thus – by imbibing the essence of its very root!

Wang Lin plucked a single filament from the root and pressed it to his brow. After a moment, a flicker of understanding crossed his face.

The essence of the Golden Radiance Fruit, it seemed, could indeed enhance the metallic properties of the Celestial Bead. Yet, the increase was agonizingly small. By his calculations, even if the entire Golden Root were absorbed, the Bead would gain but a single tenth of its potential.

With a sigh of mild disappointment, he plucked another filament and tossed it skyward, toward the maddened Mosquito Beast, which, with strained restraint, had resisted the urge to descend upon the treasure.

The beast erupted in a joyous shriek, hurtling forward to snatch the filament in its mandibles. In a single gulp, it consumed the precious offering.

Two filaments remained, of the initial four.

The Mosquito Beast, having devoured the filament, found the madness receding from its eyes. A golden shimmer, unlike any it had displayed before, now radiated from its form. No longer a fleeting spark, the light persisted, unwavering.

Slowly, the beast’s wings began to shrink, folding inward. Its body contracted, becoming ever smaller as the golden radiance intensified, coalescing into a shimmering cage that completely enveloped the creature.

Gradually, the golden light clouded, obscuring the form within, shrouding the evolving beast from view.

Wang Lin’s eyes gleamed with curiosity. Forcing his spiritual sense into the golden shell, he observed the transformation within, and a smile bloomed upon his face.

“Having consumed such potent treasures, the Mosquito Beast finally begins its metamorphosis. When it emerges, its power shall surely know no bounds!”

With a wave of his hand, Wang Lin contained the golden cocoon within his storage pouch. After a moment’s thought, he tapped the pouch lightly. A bolt of verdant energy erupted forth, solidifying into a massive Thunder Toad, the size of a small hill. It landed with a resounding thump, its great eyes clouded with languor.

However, that languid haze vanished instantly as the Thunder Toad’s gaze fell upon the Golden Root, now bearing only two remaining filaments, in Wang Lin’s hand. Its stare became fixed, covetous.

Wang Lin chuckled, and broke off one of the last filaments, tossing it to the eager toad.

The Thunder Toad’s throat swelled, and a crimson tongue lashed out with the speed of lightning, consuming the offering in an instant. Thunderous rumbles echoed from within the toad’s immense form, and its eyes drooped with a hint of weariness.

Wang Lin, with a silent command, returned the Thunder Toad to his storage pouch, before turning his gaze toward Ch’in, who had remained a silent observer in the distance.

Sensing his attention, Ch’in trembled and bowed deeply, yet remained silent.

“Fortune has smiled upon me this day, and in truth, your presence here has been a part of that good fortune. Take the final filament as a token.” So saying, Wang Lin broke off the last filament from the root. He then stored the main portion of the root within his pouch, for his original body’s use. With a stride forward, his form dissolved into a wisp of azure smoke, vanishing without a trace.

Ch’in, stunned, caught the drifting filament. The events of the day seemed like a fleeting dream, almost too fantastical to be believed.

She turned to find that the man called Wang Lin had utterly disappeared.

Ch’in stood in silent contemplation for a long while. Then, she pocketed the last remaining filament, and went to her comrades. After a brief moment, she sighed, turned into a shooting star, and left the place as quickly as possible.

Wang Lin’s figure was like electricity, and within this demonic northern boundary, he leaped over a mountain range, arriving deeper within.

There, the dwarf Elder of the Great Luo Sword Sect sat cross-legged upon a towering tree, his face pale and drawn. He dared not move, for before his brow, a mere inch away, a curved blade floated, frozen in the air.

And above his head, an inch from his crown, a celestial sword hung motionless, its blade radiating an unyielding, potent light.