At this moment, Lin Hao had already left the inner hall.
"Lin He, do you have any extra silver taels?" Halfway through, Lin Hao looked at Lin He.
"No... You haven't even returned the fifty taels of silver you borrowed last time." Lin He pouted.
Before Lin Hao could speak, Lin He continued, "Forget it, I still have a hundred taels. If you need it, take it first, but you must return it with interest when the time comes."
"Thank you." Lin Hao nodded.
Subsequently, the two entered the Bamboo Garden, and Lin He returned to his room to fetch the hundred taels and handed them to Lin Hao.
Lin Hao still owed the Alchemy Pavilion 15,000 taels of silver, which he had to repay within seven days.
Now, he could only first rebuild the Earth Gate, then go to the Tianrang Mountains, fifty miles outside of Liuyun City, to train and see if he could gain enough rewards.
Inside the Bamboo Garden room, Lin Hao closed his eyes slightly and used his divine soul to communicate with the Earth Gate.
Rumble...
A strange sound echoed throughout the room, as if the ground itself was trembling.
Lin Hao's divine soul instantly surged deep into the earth.
This was the boundless underground world, the second Earth Gate of the 'Five Great Earth Gates'.
Before Lin Hao's spirit root was damaged, he had already broken through to the second Earth Gate, reaching the third level of the Spirit Body realm.
After his spirit root was restored, he could directly skip the first Earth Gate and forcefully break through to the second Earth Gate to recreate his Spirit Body!
Lin Hao's face was expressionless as he scanned the underground world and then walked straight ahead.
The Spirit Body is divided into Common, Medium, Treasure, High, and Supreme grades.
The higher the grade of the Spirit Body found, the stronger the martial artist's talent is proven to be.
If the Lin Hao of the past, although his strength was only ranked 90th among the outer disciples of the Lin family, he had found a Treasure-grade 'Heavenly Stone Body', which was considered to have excellent talent, thus qualifying him to pass the sect's world examination.
Back then, Lin Hao was very stubborn about the grade of the Spirit Body, believing that only by obtaining the strongest Spirit Body could one achieve the most invincible power.
However, looking back now, he found it laughable.
In the path of martial arts, the Spirit Body is merely an auxiliary, while the martial artist is the fundamental. Over-pursuing the grade of the Spirit Body while neglecting oneself is completely putting the cart before the horse, which is detrimental to martial arts cultivation.
True powerhouses are not strong because of their powerful Spirit Body; they are strong because of their own strength, which allows them to achieve supremacy!
...
"Roar!"
Suddenly, a ten-thousand-foot Flame Tiger raised its head and roared, its voice splitting the sky and shaking the soul!
The Flame Tiger then crouched down. Upon seeing Lin Hao's powerful divine soul, its pupils instantly constricted, seemingly excited.
Lin Hao's powerful divine soul could also greatly influence these Spirit Bodies.
The higher the grade of the Spirit Body, the more intelligent it is. For example, the Spirit Bodies in the third Earth Gate often launch devastating attacks on martial artists trying to subdue them. If one can survive, they might have a chance to subdue the Spirit Body.
"Ten-thousand-foot Flame Tiger... Peak Medium-grade Spirit Body... Just a step away from becoming a Treasure-grade Spirit Body..." Lin Hao muttered to himself, but then shook his head, "Not suitable for me..."
Upon hearing this, the Ten-thousand-foot Flame Tiger immediately became furious. As a Peak Medium-grade Spirit Body, it was not the dominant force in the second Earth Gate, but it was close. To be so despised!
With a roar, the Ten-thousand-foot Flame Tiger's massive claw descended from the sky, like several interconnected Flame Mountains, aiming to crush Lin Hao into pieces.
Seeing this, Lin Hao frowned. Why was the Ten-thousand-foot Flame Tiger so vicious...
At the same time, Lin Hao's divine soul transformed into a towering beast, blocking the terrifying attack of the Ten-thousand-foot Flame Tiger.
In the Earth Gate, the divine soul serves both defensive and offensive purposes.
The stronger the divine soul, the safer one is in the Earth Gate or the Heaven Gate.
The Ten-thousand-foot Flame Tiger launched several strong attacks but could not break through the towering beast's defense. Finally, it roared in anger and reluctantly gave up.
At this moment, Lin Hao sighed, shaking his head. When he first entered the Earth Gate, even Common-grade Spirit Bodies wouldn't look at him, let alone Medium and Treasure grades. He had never even seen High and Supreme grades.
He had obtained the Treasure-grade 'Heavenly Stone Body' by chance, as two Spirit Bodies were fighting each other in the Earth Gate, and the 'Heavenly Stone Body' was injured. Lin Hao took advantage of the situation and obtained it.
However, today, his divine soul, fused with his past life, had even attracted a Peak Medium-grade Spirit Body to want to submit, but Lin Hao's rejection made the Ten-thousand-foot Flame Tiger furious.
Continuing forward, a hundred meters away was a vast blue ocean, emitting a fusion of light, and on the left was a lava volcano, whose scorching heat could instantly melt anything.
The ocean and the lava volcano both belonged to Treasure-grade Spirit Bodies, which were very rare. However, due to Lin Hao's appearance, both Treasure-grade Spirit Bodies appeared simultaneously.
If an ordinary martial artist could obtain one of them, it would prove their talent was astonishing, and they could easily pass the sect's examination.
"Treasure-grade Spirit Body... Not suitable for me..." Lin Hao pondered for a moment but still had no intention of taking these two Treasure-grade Spirit Bodies.
As he spoke, a wave of shock waves surged in the blue sea, and the lava volcano rained down lava, demonstrating their divine power to try to impress Lin Hao.
Lin Hao was helpless. He was not focused on the grade of the Spirit Body; the one that suited him was the best.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a sword light raged, with countless sword shadows filling the sky, and the weapon's glow was like a curtain, very beautiful.
"Sword Spirit Body?" Lin Hao's gaze caught a luminous long sword, and he felt a slight joy.
For Lin Hao, entering the path through a weapon was more suitable. Just like the Sword Saints and Blade Emperors of the present, they chose this path to achieve supreme power.
"You! Come over!" Lin Hao shouted.
Upon hearing this, the blue sea and the lava volcano immediately became furious, erupting in angry roars.
As Treasure-grade Spirit Bodies, they were incredibly powerful, while the so-called Sword Spirit Body was only a Common-grade Spirit Body!
This powerful martial artist with a strong divine soul did not choose them but instead chose a Common-grade Sword Spirit Body!
Waves crashed against the shore, and lava destroyed the world. The two Treasure-grade Spirit Bodies simultaneously attacked the Sword Spirit Body, aiming to destroy it and force Lin Hao to choose between them.
Clang!
The Sword Spirit Body slashed, and the sound of the sword's cry echoed, as if a true dragon had appeared.
Swish!
The sword light split the sky, cutting the waves in half.
Suddenly, the luminous long sword transformed into a red longbow, and in the blink of an eye, thousands of arrows pierced the sky, quickly shattering the endless lava.
...
"This Common-grade Spirit Body... can actually fight against two Treasure-grade Spirit Bodies?" Lin Hao was slightly surprised, finding it hard to believe.
However, Lin Hao didn't have time to think much. It was a rare opportunity to find a Spirit Body suitable for him. If it were destroyed by the blue sea and the lava volcano, it would be a great loss.
Immediately, Lin Hao's divine consciousness transformed into a towering beast, stretching out to a length of ten thousand feet, blocking out the sun.
The towering beast opened its mouth and, before the blue river and the lava volcano could react, swallowed the Sword Spirit Body.
Buzz!
In Lin Hao's dantian, a star river opened, and the Sword Spirit Body was nurtured within.
Seeing the task accomplished, Lin Hao immediately withdrew his divine consciousness, fearing that the blue river and the lava volcano would become angry, and quickly left the second Earth Gate, returning to reality.
At the same time, the Bamboo Garden of the Lin family burst with spiritual light, which quickly spread in all directions, enveloping the entire Lin family headquarters in the aura of Chongyun.
"Huh... Someone has opened the second Earth Gate!"
"Second Earth Gate? Strange, are there still disciples in our Lin family who haven't opened the second Earth Gate... Who could it be?"
"Looking at the direction of the Bamboo Garden... That's Lin Hao's room!"
"Lin Hao?! His spirit root has really been restored!"
Around the training ground, many outer disciples gathered, discussing the matter.
"Haha... Feel the aura carefully, it's just a Common-grade Spirit Body in the second Earth Gate! The weakest Spirit Body!"
One of the disciples shouted, and everyone subconsciously felt the density of the aura.
"Indeed... Lin Hao really only obtained a Common-grade Spirit Body... Strange, didn't he get a Treasure-grade Spirit Body before his spirit root was damaged... Now that his spirit root is restored, why did he only subdue a Common-grade Spirit Body?!"
Some people were puzzled. Logically, Lin Hao had strong talent, and after his spirit root was restored, he should have obtained a Treasure-grade Spirit Body, or at least a Peak Medium-grade Spirit Body.
"I once heard an elder say that in the Earth Gate, powerful Spirit Bodies sometimes fight over territory and get injured. I think it's very likely that Lin Hao was lucky back then and subdued an injured Treasure-grade Spirit Body!"
"Regardless... Lin Hao indeed only subdued a Common-grade Spirit Body this time... What a pity, a genius turned into an ordinary person... No, perhaps, as previously guessed, he was an ordinary person all along, and it was luck that got him the Treasure-grade Spirit Body..."
Many people believed that Lin Hao's so-called outstanding talent had finally been revealed to be ordinary.
A Common-grade Spirit Body is the most common Spirit Body in the Earth Gate, with not much power.
Although there are a few extreme powerhouses who have become supreme with a Common-grade Spirit Body, they are too few and can be ignored.
"Lin Hao... It's unexpected that he could restore his spirit root... But this Common-grade Spirit Body is really too weak." Lin Bai's face showed surprise.
"Lin Hao only got lucky to obtain a Treasure-grade Spirit Body back then. If he really had strong talent, he wouldn't have been at the third level of the Spirit Body realm after years of cultivation. Now, it's a good thing that his spirit root can be restored, but a Common-grade Spirit Body is his destiny, everything was predetermined." Lin Yan'er's face was expressionless, her voice cold.
"Yan'er, what grade of Spirit Body does Lin Wuxin have?" Lin Bai was curious, knowing that Lin Yan'er was close to Lin Wuxin.
Lin Yan'er smiled, "Brother Wuxin is a Peak Medium-grade Spirit Body!"
"Peak Medium-grade... Indeed powerful. I imagine that every inner disciple is at least a Medium-grade Spirit Body..." Lin Bai couldn't help but feel envious.
"Brother Lin Bai, you should avoid ordinary disciples like Lin Hao in the future. When there's an opportunity, I'll introduce you to Brother Wuxin. Only by being with such strong people will you become stronger." Lin Yan'er spoke earnestly.
Hearing this, Lin Bai just smiled and didn't say more.