Lin Mu had prepared himself for something like this before he even started the plan, and thus didn't feel that bad. He was a bit disappointed, but in the long term, it wasn't really worth that either for him.
This was but the start of his journey, and there were far too many trials and tribulations he would be going through.
During his time in the Sleepscape, he had read the memoirs of the Lost Immortal and had learned many things from it. He would then ask senior Xukong about any doubts that he had and would ponder on them afterward.
Mentally, Lin Mu was no longer the same person he was before entering the Sleepscape two years ago. The things that he had gained in that time were extremely valuable to him now.
"Hmm… since two years have passed without me dying, it means that I had enough vitality to last that long. Still… I should check my condition." Lin Mu muttered to himself.
He sat down cross-legged on the ground and observed the internal condition of his body. Lin Mu didn't even need the use of the severing heart sutra to perceive his body now. His control over sprint sense had grown by leaps and bounds due to the continuous practice.
He first checked the cells of his body and found them to be quite healthy, though he couldn't call them 'normal'. They were packed with vital energy that continued to nourish his cells.
He was in the peak of the body tempering realm and had obtained the Xiantian physique, but this still seemed to be more than that.
"Oh? Looks like your body already took a step towards the Five treasures realm." Xukong said.
"It did senior? But I never started the refinement." Lin Mu asked.
"You didn't, but it seems like your new bloodline and the nameless technique of the lost immortal did it for you. Although it isn't anything major and all of your five treasure organs have been equally refined.
The progress is minuscule, but this is still quite good." Xukong explained.
"Is that so…" Lin Mu replied before peering into his five treasure organs.
One by one, we checked his liver, spleen, lungs, heart, and kidneys. It was just as senior Xukong had said, their 'quality' had increased. There were changes in their cells that seemed to be different from his Xiantian Physique cells.
Having confirmed this, Lin Mu went onto his Dantian. He knew back in the Sleepscape that he had reached the Core condescension realm, but he couldn't exactly tell what stage he was in. Perhaps because of spending a long time in the Sleepscape, his perception had been skewed. Not to mention the nearly constant infusion of spirit Qi into his Dantian that happened.
Lin Mu's spirit sense entered his Dantian and saw the ocean of spirit Qi there. There was a storm of spirit Qi clouds brewing in the sky above and the core was floating in the middle of the Dantian, like a moon in the sky.
Drops of liquid spirit Qi could be seen drizzling lightly from the clouds. But Lin Mu could also tell that the clouds were gonna disperse at any time now since he had woken up. He took a look at his core and found it to be the same Silvery Grey color he had seen before with the bloodline crest of the Great Slumber Bear.
He sensed the spirit Qi within his core that had solidified and was shocked.
"HEAVENS! HOW!?" Lin Mu shouted out loud as his eyes went wide.
"What happened?" Senior Xukong asked with concern.
"Take a look senior," Lin Mu said as he shared his vision with senior Xukong.
This was another ability he had gained back in the Sleepscape. Due to their link, he could share his vision directly instead of Xukong needing to see it in his memories. This gave Xukong real time information and was much faster.
"The peak stage of the core condensation realm…" Xukong muttered, feeling shocked himself.
Currently, within the Dantian of Lin Mu, his core was four times bigger than its original size and contained over twenty-four thousand drops of spirit Qi. With the requirement for the spirit Qi fulfilled, Lin Mu could be considered having skipped three stages.
"Now I know why it took longer than we had expected. The bloodline of the Great Slumber bear was directly pushing you to the Peak stage of the core condensation realm…" Xukong said.
Lin Mu looked around at the ocean of spirit Qi and estimated that there were about three thousand drops of spirit Qi in it, more than his Dantian should have been able to contain it.
"Wait! My Dantian is larger in size too!" Lin Mu said.
His Dantian had grown nearly thrice as much and looked to be deeper. Because Lin Mu had only glanced over the surface, he had not estimated the exact internal size of the Dantian. From the outside, it looked to be the same as it did before.
"This is getting more and more interesting. With you becoming the first person to successfully survive the side effects of the 'Well of slumber', everything we learn will be new information." Xukong said.
Lin Mu actually felt a bit lost here, as he had made all these plans to further his cultivation after waking up. This surprise was greatly appreciated but also left him a bit overwhelmed.
"Since I have already reached the Peak of the core condensation realm, that means now I just need to wait for the heavenly tribulation to arrive, right?" Lin Mu questioned.
"That should be the case normally… but I do not know how it will happen," Xukong replied.
"Why senior? Oh, wait…" Lin Mu asked, before realizing it himself.
"Yes, the Great Slumber bear's are correctly born above the immortal Ascension realm and thus don't go through the same heavenly tribulation that is used to birth the nascent soul. For them, it is merely a thought that is needed to do the same." Xukong explained.