Discovery

Nothing happened last night, and the uneventful quiet left him somewhat disappointed. The rain had stopped, leaving the ground slick with mud. Lin Zheyu tapped his toes lightly, sprang into the air, and moved swiftly through the mountain forest. "Fwee—fwee-fwee-fwee!" The shrill notes of the bamboo whistle echoed across the wooded slopes. In the intervals between waiting, Lin Zheyu continued to study the Mountain-Shattering Palm. The rain had cleared today, yet the sun remained hidden behind gloomy, heavy clouds that threatened to pour again at any moment. Lin Zheyu shifted among several locations, but never saw a trace of the person he was waiting for. Forget another human being—he barely crossed paths with more than a few wild beasts. Compared to Beast Roar Mountain, beasts here were exceedingly scarce and remarkably weak. Dusk gradually set in. Mount Daba grew deathly quiet as night fell, and quite a few predatory beasts crept out through the woods to hunt for food. Swish! A cold gleam flashed, cleaving a ferocious beast that suddenly lunged from the brush clean in half. Lin Zheyu glanced at the carcass on the ground, having no intention of hauling it back with him. With the recent downpour and no sunshine to dry the forest, the timber was thoroughly soaked and completely unfit for roasting meat. Orienting himself, Lin Zheyu made his way down the mountain. He did not head toward the cave steeped in a sinister evil aura, but toward a different location altogether. While searching for his contact earlier that day, Lin Zheyu had discovered another cave. That cavern appeared to have been hewn by hand, showing distinct traces of past human habitation. As for the original cave, Lin Zheyu intended to investigate it later. He still had more than a dozen days to spend in Mount Daba, so he had time in abundance and saw no need to rush. "Time to gather Origin Power again," Lin Zheyu murmured to himself. Busy searching for his contact during daylight, he had lacked the time and could only push past his physical limits after returning to the cave at night. This cave was quite spacious, spanning easily thirty-odd square meters—more than enough for his cultivation. Fixing his torch into a corner of the rock wall, Lin Zheyu began his training. Qi and blood surged violently within him. Coupling the Golden Goose Skill with the Wild Bull Fist, ferocious gusts of wind howled through the chamber. Time slipped slowly by. More than three shichen later, Lin Zheyu leaned panting against the stone wall, his muscles trembling all over. After resting for roughly ten minutes and refining several strands of qi and blood power, he finally recovered his breath. "Time to upgrade!" Lin Zheyu thought. Before him sat a crude tub hewn from a thick log, filled with fresh water and infused with six packets of powdered Blood-Nourishing Bone-Strengthening Decoction. The Mountain-Shattering Palm did not enhance the entire physique very much; at most, it conditioned the arms to better withstand the unique burst technique of qi and blood, which meant it consumed relatively little energy. Lin Zheyu estimated that it probably wouldn't even require three doses of the decoction. Still, to err on the side of caution, he had dissolved six doses into the water. The surplus medicinal potency was meant primarily to replenish his vitality. Whenever he used Origin Power to advance, as long as sufficient medicinal nourishment was present, he could restore himself entirely to his physical peak. Mount Daba seemed free of immediate peril, but while surviving in the wild, maintaining peak condition was always the safest choice. 'Use one unit of Origin Power to upgrade Mountain-Shattering Palm.' Sitting cross-legged on the stone floor, Lin Zheyu transmitted his intent. In an instant, the familiar sensation swept over him. After a momentary trance, his consciousness entered the unique inner realm. Inside, Lin Zheyu commenced endless, tireless practice. Within that conscious space, he drilled the Mountain-Shattering Palm with reckless abandon, unburdened by any worry of tearing his muscles or breaking his bones. Upgrading through Origin Power carried one tremendous advantage: he never had to fear that flawed practice might cause severe trauma or leave behind crippling hidden injuries. In this mental domain, his recovery rate was staggering. The damage incurred from unleashing the palm at full strength healed completely in less than two breaths. Through frantic, unrelenting repetition, Lin Zheyu's command over the qi and blood burst technique grew sharper and more refined. His mastery of Mountain-Shattering Palm advanced by leaps and bounds, surging from Entry straight to Proficient, climbing quickly from Proficient to Minor Mastery, and finally halting at Minor Mastery 77%. At the same time, mysterious energy welled up from the deepest recesses of his cells, drawing upon the medicinal power within the tub. Even as it restored his qi and blood power, it remodeled the muscles, sinews, flesh, and skin of both arms. Under the tempering of that strange energy, the raw physical strength of his arms did not grow, but they became remarkably tougher and more resilient, capable of withstanding vastly stronger bursts of power. A few breaths later, Lin Zheyu opened his eyes and withdrew from the conscious space. [Heaven Rewards Diligence] Name: Lin Zheyu Origin Power: 0 Skills: Six Harmonies Saber (Major Mastery 46%), Mountain-Shattering Palm (Minor Mastery 77%) Golden Goose Skill (Eighth Layer 48%) Turtle Breathing Art (Third Layer 5%) "As expected, it takes three units of Origin Power to push Mountain-Shattering Palm to perfection," Lin Zheyu mused, reviewing the status in his mind. Two units would roughly elevate it to Major Mastery and near perfection, but reaching perfection required one more unit. Lin Zheyu stood up and clenched his fists, muscles swelling along his forearms. He detected a subtle change in his arms: under full exertion, the bulging muscles were noticeably leaner than before, looking slightly smaller and far more compact. He stepped out of the cave and stopped before a massive tree. Boom! Crack! Lin Zheyu threw a sudden punch. Terrifying force detonated, driving his fist clean through the trunk. He had not channeled a single wisp of qi and blood into that strike—it was purely raw physical power. After stepping into the realm of Qi and Blood Like a Tiger, his physique had been continually nourished by formidable qi and blood, growing far stronger than any martial artist in the Viscera Tempering Realm could ever hope to match. "The base strength is about the same as before," Lin Zheyu noted after testing it. Under the refinement of Origin Power, his muscles, sinews, skin, and bones had attained greater harmony, their physical density far higher than before. "Now to see the true might of Mountain-Shattering Palm." Pouring qi and blood into his right arm, he engaged the explosive burst technique. A massive surge of qi and blood power erupted through his limb in an instant. Boom! His palm slammed into the tree trunk. The entire trunk instantly blew apart, blasting into flying splinters and sawdust. "Incredible! That's at least one point eight times stronger than my previous full-strength strike!" Lin Zheyu was thoroughly pleased with the destructive power. He had only reached Minor Mastery; once he cultivated the Mountain-Shattering Palm to perfection, he would be able to unleash triple the explosive power of his qi and blood! Boom! Boom! Boom! Lin Zheyu struck out with both hands, unleashing palm strikes in rapid succession. Thunderous crashes echoed through the woods as towering trees toppled one after another, sending the surrounding beasts fleeing in blind terror. Only after delivering twelve consecutive strikes—six from each hand—did a sharp, biting ache flare through his arms. "Impressive. The effect of Origin Power is even greater than I anticipated." "If pushed to the absolute limit, a single arm can sustain up to eight consecutive strikes—more than double the manual's limit of three." Lin Zheyu was deeply satisfied with this advancement. Above all, as the skill progressed, both arms were strengthened by that mysterious energy. Though their base power had not grown, their toughness had risen dramatically. This revealed a genuine possibility of making such explosive burst attacks part of his routine arsenal. Having tested the technique's power, Lin Zheyu returned inside the cave. The medicinal brew in the wooden tub still gave off a rich, herbal aroma, which meant a considerable amount of medicinal potency remained. Lin Zheyu leaned in and inhaled. The lingering scent was only slightly weaker than a single fresh dose of Blood-Nourishing Bone-Strengthening Decoction. "Six doses was overkill; five would have been plenty," he thought. He pushed the wooden tub into a corner. The remaining medicinal solution could still be put to good use next time. *** Time trickled past, and another five days slipped by. He still found no sign of the person he sought. Mount Daba was vast, but given Lin Zheyu's speed, he had already combed through roughly half of it. He began to wonder if the contact had already left the area. On the sixth day, the sky finally cleared. Ever since arriving at Mount Daba, every single day had been either overcast or drenched in rain. Chirp, chirp! Sunlight filtered through the canopy, accompanied by the melodious warbling of birds. "Time to go explore that cave from before," Lin Zheyu murmured, looking up at the blazing sun. The day before yesterday, he had pushed beyond his limits once again, acquiring two full units of Origin Power and driving Mountain-Shattering Palm straight to perfection in one breath. A single palm strike could now detonate with a terrifying three-fold surge of qi and blood. Having reached perfection, the muscles, sinews, skin, and bones of his arms had become even denser and firmer. At full capacity, he could deliver sixteen consecutive strikes with one arm, totaling thirty-two strikes across both. With the foundation of Qi and Blood Three Transformations backing the Mountain-Shattering Palm, he wouldn't flinch even if pitted against a martial artist at Qi and Blood Five Transformations. Throughout the morning, Lin Zheyu searched the forest as usual. At noon, when the sun blazed at its zenith, he made his way to that gloomy, chilling cave. Ghosts feared both fire and sunlight. Whatever was responsible for that sinister aura, it likely shared a ghost's aversion to brilliant daylight and flames. Under the harshest midday sun, even if a living corpse lurked inside, its strength would be somewhat suppressed. By day, the cave showed nothing out of the ordinary. Stepping inside, Lin Zheyu could not sense the slightest trace of sinister aura. He walked over to the spot he had marked before and drove his right fist forward. With a resounding crash, a hole was punched clean through the stone wall, revealing a concealed chamber behind it. "Oh?" Lin Zheyu let out a low gasp. He hadn't expected a secret room to be hidden there. Through the newly smashed opening, a faint, chilling evil aura drifted out once again. Holding up his torch, he finally saw the interior clearly. The chamber was quite small, containing nothing except an ordinary wooden coffin. The sinister evil aura was seeping directly from that coffin. 'Could there be a living corpse lying inside?' Lin Zheyu wondered. It seemed entirely plausible. He had long been intrigued by living corpses; unfortunately, the one in Beast Roar Mountain had disappeared after being lured away by Ren Jie. He never expected to stumble upon one right here. Boom, boom, boom! Lin Zheyu swung his fists repeatedly, breaking open the passage until the chamber was fully accessible. Now he could see the coffin clearly. Mysterious runes were inscribed across the floor and the surface of the coffin, the patterns on the ground linking seamlessly with those on the wood. Together, the runes formed a compact array. "Is this array the secret to nurturing a living corpse?" Lin Zheyu examined the markings closely. As he stared, his vision grew slightly dazed, and the dense runes appeared to writhe as though alive. He shook his head, blinked, and the runes returned to stone-still silence. 'How eerie!' Lin Zheyu marveled inwardly. These runes harbored an uncanny power; they clearly belonged to the esoteric arts of immortals. "Should I open it and look?" Lin Zheyu stared at the coffin, burning with curiosity to see whether a living corpse truly lay within. After a moment's hesitation, he dismissed the thought of opening it right away. Prying the lid open might disrupt the array formed by these mysterious runes. Lin Zheyu decided to return at night to observe how the formation operated—and why it radiated such dense, sinister energy after dark while remaining completely dormant during the day. Concealing the cave opening with fallen branches, Lin Zheyu continued his search across Mount Daba. Throughout the afternoon, he still found no trace of his quarry. *** The moon was bright and the stars sparse. After days of endless rain, the sky stretched clear and cloudless. A luminous moon hung high above, washing the earth in pure, silver radiance. Carrying a torch, Lin Zheyu returned to the cave shrouded in sinister aura. The moment he reached the mouth of the cavern, a bone-chilling cold greeted him. He stepped inside. Everything seemed unchanged, and the coffin remained tightly shut. Across the array, an obscure purple glow drifted faintly through the runes.