Chapter Eighteen: Ling's Forest of Souls

  Lin Sen was really lonely for too long, holding onto Zhang and talking non-stop, drinking cup after cup of wine, eating a lot of dishes... soon he couldn't hold his liquor and fell asleep drunk.

  Zhang was afraid that he hadn't drunk much, but just tasted a little, and indeed the wine was good wine, the dishes were delicious, not only did they have a sweet and mellow flavor, but also had a full-bodied spirit. Every dish seemed to be like a perfect tonic pill. At first, after eating, although he felt that it contained spiritual energy, there was nothing wrong with it. After a while, the dishes and wine underwent a change in his stomach, starting to emit spiritual energy, instantly filling his meridians, and the spiritual energy became more and more abundant, making him feel uncomfortable. Zhang, who had experience, took out the Pearl of Tears, tightly grasping it in his palm, and the spiritual energy on his body suddenly surged towards the Pearl of Tears in his hand.

  Just now, after a meal, Zhang Pa didn't know how many spiritual medicines and wines he had eaten, and the pearl tears absorbed enough spiritual energy for more than an hour before he felt comfortable. He opened his eyes to see Lin Sen still sleeping, so he got up to look at the little dog.

  Three small dogs were still three gas groups, quietly suspended in the air, circling around the platform a few times. He thought of the little snake in his arms and suddenly remembered to take out the pearl tears again and took out the snake egg. He wanted to use the spiritual energy to hatch the little snake again.

  Clutching the tear of the pearl, relaxing the body, letting the sorrow in the tear invade the mind, then a light flashes on the forehead, covering the snake egg, the snake egg rises into the air, absorbing a large amount of spiritual energy from the forehead, and then breaks its shell, hatching into a snake. Then the next one.

  It was only a short while later that four small snakes were born. When the fourth one hatched, Lin Sen's intoxication passed and he came to, opening his eyes to see Zhang Feng hatching the small snakes, looking thoughtful, then letting out a long sigh.

  Four snakes hatched, the spiritual energy in the pearl was exhausted, Zhang Pa recovered normally, put away the pearl, snake eggs and broken eggshells, then picked up the small snakes to observe them in his palm, and also caught the original four to carefully compare their differences.

  Lin Sen said beside him: "No wonder the Foshan snake is willing to listen to you, it turns out that you are its breeder." Zhang Pa only then realized that Lin Sen was awake and raised his head to greet him.

  Lin Sen sighed and said, "Is that the Divine Tear in your hand?"

  "Divine tears? What is it?"

  "Divine tears are the most bizarre treasure in the world, with no attack power and no defensive power, yet they are priceless! Their main function is to absorb and store the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Not only can they do this in a land of five spirits, but even in a barren desert, divine tears can still absorb spiritual energy. This thing is the treasure that all cultivators dream of, you know that magical instruments can be refined, but divine tears are hard to come by."

  "Is it that precious?" Zhang Fei hadn't expected.

  "Of course, it's precious. The gods don't have tears, and the primordial spirit won't cry. If there wasn't a great sorrow, how could this thing be formed? Without guessing, this divine tear should be left by Fugui Snake, right? The divine tear is transformed from the mother snake's primordial spirit, containing the mother snake's massive vital energy. The young snakes were incubated by you, so it's natural that they're close to you. But, did the big snake die? Mother snakes protect their children, if she was still alive, she definitely wouldn't let you take away the snake eggs. Moreover, if she didn't die unjustly and resentfully, this divine tear wouldn't be transformed either."

  Lin Sen seemed to have witnessed it himself when he recalled the scene of Wan Shou Dong refining the beast cauldron, and Zhang Pa replied that it was.

  Lin Sen's expression turned serious, and he said solemnly: "Listen to my words, from now on, do not show the Fugodou infant snake and the Shentlei to anyone, otherwise you will definitely not live for a few more days; these are the most precious treasures in the world, I don't know how many people are after them, especially since your cultivation is still low."

  Zhang was frightened: "Are there so many bad people in this world?"

  "Bad people? It can only be said that it's human nature. I am a spiritual being, and no matter how high or low my cultivation is, I would naturally not harbor malicious intentions towards Fowu, this kind of spiritual beast who is born with fear. But others are hard to say, think about how you obtained the divine tears and you'll understand." Lin Sen actually looked a bit sorrowful.

  Zhang was reminded of his uncle, Master Zhenyi. He thought to himself that the big snake had not offended him, but he had forcibly refined it to tame it. Thinking of this, he respectfully bowed and said, "Thank you, Uncle Lin, for your teachings."

  Lin Sen slightly shook his head: "That doesn't count as teaching, what I'm about to say is the real teaching. You don't know how to use the Divine Tears, do you?"

  "What's this 'Shen Lei' you're talking about? I didn't even know what it was called until today, let alone use it." Zhang Fa retorted.

  "The method of use is really simple, just probe in with your divine sense and you can do it, I don't understand why you can't use it." Lin Sen shook his head, with a faint sadness.

  Divine consciousness? Ah, since getting the Divine Tear, every time I hold it, I'm affected by its sorrow. Never tried to probe into divine consciousness before. Zhang fears being scolded by himself for being stupid.

  "The cultivation methods are diverse and bizarre, but they all boil down to training one's internal energy and spiritual awareness. Internal energy is the foundation of cultivation, while spiritual awareness is the power of the mind. Relying solely on one's own efforts to cultivate is a slow and arduous process, which is why many people resort to shortcuts, such as absorbing spiritual energy into their bodies and refining it to increase their internal energy and enhance their cultivation... I was too kind-hearted back then and almost lost my life."

  He said, taking off his long robe, revealing a fist-sized scar on his chest. He turned around, showing the same scar on his back in the same position.

  "I've suffered many injuries, but this scar will stay with me for the rest of my life. At that time, I was traveling outside to gain experience, carrying many elixirs and pills that I had refined myself. I went to the market to exchange them for materials to cast equipment, but someone saw me and knew that I was carrying a large quantity of advanced elixirs. The righteous and evil sects temporarily stopped fighting each other and joined forces to hunt me down. As a Spirit Sparrow, I can move through the earth and my wounds heal quickly. As long as my primordial spirit is not destroyed, I can live forever, so I always managed to escape."

  "When I first left, I was very envious of humans and tried hard to make friends. At that time, I made a friend who wasn't bad to me. After being hunted down and feeling disheartened, I decided to return home. Before leaving, I wanted to say goodbye to him, so I went to his house. His family is a cultivation clan, and since I had also given him many advanced elixirs, they weren't too bad to me either. On the night before my departure, they set up a banquet to see me off, and after drinking too much, I accidentally revealed the secret that I was a Spirit Sparrow. The events that followed are unforgettable for a lifetime." Lin Sen's words were calm, as if he wasn't talking about himself.

  "After my friend found out the secret, he remained calm and continued to persuade me to drink until I got drunk. I have a habit of sleeping underground, so even though I was drunk, I instinctively sank into the ground, but didn't expect that the ground had been sealed off and I couldn't get in. Feeling danger, the alcohol immediately sobered me up halfway, and at this moment, my good friend made a treacherous move, punching through my body. Luckily, I'm not human, otherwise, I would have died long ago. After reacting, I naturally ran away, but since the walls were also made of earth, I just passed through them. His house was huge, and I randomly passed through it until I finally escaped. Only after sinking into the ground did I narrowly escape with my life."

  "This story I've never told anyone, nor can anyone else tell it. Now that I'm telling you, it's so you know that people's hearts are hard to measure, knowing someone's face but not their heart, and being careful in all things. The Divine Tears are the world's greatest treasure, if someone were to develop greedy intentions, your outcome would be predictable." Lin Sen put on his clothes, repeatedly warning him.

  Zhang stood up, bowed respectfully and said: "Your disciple remembers your teachings."

  Lin Sen smiled lightly: "Is this the only sentence you know?" Zhang felt a bit embarrassed at being spoken to.

  Lin Sen said, "I'm willing to let you in and talk to you so much because you're a good kid. You released Fu'er and spared the lives of my subordinates, the demonic beasts. You have a kind heart and care about all living creatures. And you're only sixteen years old, just a child. It's rare for a cultivator like you to exist."

  Zhang denied: "No way, my masters are all very good." After saying this, he thought of the many years he had lived in Tianlei Mountain and couldn't believe it himself.

  Lin Sen smiled calmly: "I hope so."

  Zhang was eager to know the outcome of the story and asked: "Then did you avenge yourself later?"

  "Revenge? Ha ha, since then I've been living a simple life, keeping the scars to remind myself not to be fooled again. Being able to live on is enough, revenge is no longer on my mind."

  "Why don't you take revenge? Ah, is it because you can't beat him?"

  "It's okay, there are many masters in the world, can you escape once and still escape next time? I've long been disappointed about these things. Do you remember just now? Originally, I said I'd come down to get the medicine for you, but instead brought you into the Five Spirits Garden."

  Zhang Pa said: "I remember, it was strange just now."

  "Don't think too highly of me, a Yuan Ying master just passed by earlier and I was afraid he'd discover the cave, so I brought you down instead. Comparing the two of you, his danger level is clearly higher than yours, so I'd rather take a gamble that you're kind-hearted; up until now, it seems like I haven't gambled wrong."

  Zhang didn't show any disappointment after hearing that, instead he bowed again: "No matter what the reason is, thank you for bringing me down to give Xiaobai, Xiaohei and Xiaohuang a bath."

  Lin Sen burst out laughing: "Then thank you, I'll go outside for a stroll, catch a spiritual fish, and drink again later."