“The anomaly should be due to the Three-Eyed Spirit Monkey consuming the blood dragon fruit.”
Lin Sheng mused in his heart, deducing this based on the information in the mountain and sea scroll.
He even had a guess: perhaps the Three-Eyed Spirit Monkey, as an exotic beast, only inherently possessed the Iron Bone talent. This so-called second talent was very likely activated only because of the blood dragon fruit.
If that were the case, the value of the blood dragon fruit would undoubtedly be even more precious than he imagined.
“Forget it. Mere conjecture won’t yield any results. Its exact function will be known once I try…”
He shook his head slightly, no longer overthinking. The Heart Monkey Talent, unlike the Iron Bone talent which was a passive skill similar to those in games and remained active as long as the Three-Eyed Spirit Monkey was integrated, was different.
Like the Earth Affinity talent, it required him to actively activate it to take effect; it was an active type of talent.
With that thought, his mind stirred, and he silently chanted a phrase.
“Heart Ape…”
As the word 'Ape' fell, Lin Sheng instantly felt his consciousness become restless. His consciousness, which had been as still and placid as stagnant water, suddenly boiled, as if a violent, fierce tsunami had erupted within it.
“Pain… Pain… Pain…”
He tightly clutched his forehead with both hands, as if hundreds or thousands of steel needles had been instantly inserted into his brain and were constantly moving within it. An indescribable pain, like waves, engulfed his consciousness. This pain was not physical but on the level of consciousness.
His powerful Physique, which he prided himself on, was completely ineffective against this level of pain.
He could only let the pain in his consciousness intensify, causing him to let out unbearable cries of agony.
At this moment, Lin Sheng's face was distorted and contorted, his eyes bloodshot, and his heart filled with an indescribable savagery.
The pain was like a raging tide, and no matter how hard he pounded his head, it had no effect.
The intense pain caused an indescribable savagery and ferocity to surge within him. His originally clear eyes now seemed to be covered by a red veil.
Lin Sheng roared in pain towards the sky, completely frenzied, and began pounding the surrounding mountain walls.
His large hands, like heavy hammers, struck repeatedly. Whether it was ancient trees or massive rocks, anything blocking his path was pounded into dust.
The more intense the pain acting on his consciousness, the more savage and frenzied his heart became, and the greater the force in his hands grew.
At a certain moment, the pain seemed to reach its limit, and Lin Sheng's movements paused briefly. However, the next instant, a much louder, savage roar erupted from his mouth. Along with chilling sounds of tearing muscle, bone spikes grew out from his flesh.
And the vertical eye mark previously centered on Lin Sheng's forehead slowly bulged outward, as if something was about to break through the flesh.
Soon, amidst the savage roars, the mark on his forehead slowly tore open, revealing a yellow vertical pupil. The vertical pupil was devoid of any emotional fluctuation, containing only an unspeakable coldness and indifference.
It was like a ruthless, desireless celestial being looking down upon all living beings.
Bang!
His bone-spiked hand landed on the heavily damaged stone wall before him. With a loud bang, the thick stone wall was directly pierced through.
At the same time, the intense pain acting on his consciousness quickly dissipated, and the bone spikes protruding from his body rapidly retracted back into his flesh.
Lin Sheng collapsed to the ground, covered in sweat, as if he had just fought an unimaginable battle and finally collapsed from exhaustion.
Fortunately, his Physique was strong, and the fatigue on his body dissipated significantly within just a few breaths.
Lin Sheng gasped for breath and tried to stand up, but as soon as he did, his vision swam, and he plopped back down onto the ground.
Although his body had recovered quite a bit, his consciousness was still blurry, like constantly swaying on a bumpy boat after drinking a lot of fake alcohol in his previous life, an indescribable discomfort.
He kept his eyes tightly shut, his brow furrowed, and simply lay on the ground, quietly waiting for this uncomfortable feeling to subside.
It took a full hour before Lin Sheng felt the discomfort in his consciousness lessen somewhat.
He wobbled to his feet, leaned against the mountain wall, and sat down, rubbing his temples with his hand.
“Is this the so-called Heart Monkey Talent? It's truly agonizing!”
Enduring the discomfort in his consciousness, he let out a heavy breath and cursed.
This Heart Monkey Talent indeed affected the spiritual aspect, but its effect was simply too abnormal.
That intense and irresistible pain was still fresh in his memory.
At first, he had tried to dispel this talent state, but once activated, he found he couldn't do so with his thoughts.
He could only endure it, bearing the pain.
Another half an hour passed, and the discomfort in his heart finally dissipated significantly. He shook his head, and only then did he notice his surroundings.
He hadn't noticed before, but now that the discomfort had subsided, he could clearly see that the top of the originally small mountain had completely changed its appearance.
None of the large rocks that had stood on the mountaintop were visible; instead, there were countless fine stone fragments. The stone wall on one side had also collapsed, looking as if a small earthquake had occurred.
“This? Did I do this!?”
Lin Sheng narrowed his eyes, a look of surprise on his face. He remembered that under that intense pain, his heart had been filled with irritability and rage.
He had only one thought: to destroy and annihilate. Only by doing so could he vent the pain in his consciousness.
Thus, the large rocks on the mountaintop and the mountain wall suffered. He just hadn't expected the destruction to be this severe.
This level of destructive power exceeded his imagination somewhat.
He looked at his arms and the skin all over his body again. They looked the same as before, with no apparent changes, but Lin Sheng clearly remembered that bone spikes seemed to have grown out from his flesh earlier.
“Is this the effect of the Heart Monkey Talent?”
He furrowed his brow, thinking to himself.
“Bone spikes growing all over the body are to enhance one's destructive power. No, besides that, in that state, strength, speed, etc., also seemed to have increased to a certain extent…”
He carefully recalled the changes that occurred in his body while in the Heart Ape state.
His gaze fell on the mountain wall on the other side. There was a large hole there.
It was three meters wide and extended over ten meters deep into the mountain.
From the results of this destruction, it was not difficult to imagine the incredibly powerful force contained in that punch.
“Is it using pain to stimulate one's potential? Is this the effect of the Heart Monkey Talent??”
He pondered in his heart. Judging from the situation at the scene, it seemed to be the case.
But soon, he thought of something else and reached up to touch his forehead, a little above his brow.
That was the location of the original vertical eye pattern.
But now, touching it revealed a slight bulge, as if a vertical pupil truly existed inside.
“This eye… it’s real!!”
Lin Sheng narrowed his eyes. He vaguely remembered something unusual on his brow during the final moments, and he hadn't expected it to actually be an eye growing out.
He was certain that before activating the Heart Monkey Talent, it was just a pattern here. He hadn't expected such a change now.
“Then what is the function of this eye!?”
Since an extra vertical pupil had grown, it definitely wouldn't just be for show; it must have a function.
It was a pity that he tried several times to open the vertical pupil on his brow, but there was no reaction. Clearly, it could only be opened after activating the Heart Monkey Talent.
Thinking of this, he could only temporarily give up.
After all, the shadow of activating the Heart Monkey Talent had not yet dissipated, and in his current state, even if he wanted to activate it, he might not be able to endure that kind of pain.
He didn't know what would happen if he couldn't bear that pain, but he figured it wouldn't be anything good. It was possible his consciousness would be extinguished, turning him into a monster with only savage killing intent.
“I'll worry about the vertical eye later. Let's go back first.”
Suppressing the thoughts in his mind, he canceled the integration of the Three-Eyed Spirit Monkey, simply dealt with the environment he had damaged, and then headed towards Wanhua City.
The journey back took a bit longer. By the time he returned to Wanhua City, darkness had fallen.
After quickly eating two pieces of freshly prepared Spirit Beast meat, he hastily went to bed and soon fell into a deep sleep.
Activating the Heart Monkey Talent for the first time had greatly depleted his mind and spirit.
He slept until noon the next day before slowly waking up.
Finally, the discomfort in his consciousness had completely disappeared.
“No wonder it carries the word 'anomaly'. This Heart Monkey Talent causes quite severe depletion of the mind and consciousness.”
He now realized how dangerous the situation had been yesterday. If his temperament hadn't been inherently calm, and if he hadn't already been accustomed to pain, he really might not have been able to endure it.
However, fortunately, he recovered quite quickly, which should be due to that bit of spiritual attribute.
“But this talent attribute hasn't been fully mastered, and there are too many uncertainties. It's best not to use it easily before mastering it.”
Lin Sheng had already made up his mind.
“The Three-Eyed Spirit Monkey has been integrated. Next, it's time to test the degree of enhancement it provides for cultivating the Ape Embryo Skill.”
With that thought, he ate another piece of Spirit Beast meat for lunch, then sat cross-legged in the cultivation quiet room and began cultivating the Ape Embryo Skill.
Although the Ape Embryo Skill was a second-rate martial art, if its drawbacks and cultivation limitations were disregarded, its power was no weaker than that of a typical first-rate martial art.
After cultivating to Forging Tendons Completion, the cultivation of the Ape Embryo Skill had entered a slow period.
Based on his calculations, with the enhancement effects of integrating the Black Tiger Ape and White Ape, it would take at least half a year or even longer to cultivate the Ape Embryo Skill to the Blood Transportation Realm, even with the aid of medicinal baths every day.
But now, after integrating the Three-Eyed Spirit Monkey, the efficiency should significantly increase.
Soon, Lin Sheng focused his mind and entered cultivation.
In the quiet room, white steam filled the entire space. In the circular wooden tub in the center, Lin Sheng sat cross-legged, his pores slowly opening and closing, like tiny mouths, greedily absorbing the medicinal liquid in the tub.
This time, he had put twice the usual amount of medicinal herbs into the tub. Yet, the medicinal liquid that would normally take half an hour to absorb and consume had turned into clear water after just the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn.
Lin Sheng's eyes were slightly closed, and the blood vessels on his body bulged. One could clearly see blood flowing through the vessels, emitting low, surging sounds.
The speed of his Qi and blood circulation became faster and faster, emitting a scorching aura that even gradually heated the clear water in the tub to a boil.
It wasn't until the clear water in the tub was only about 1/3 of its original amount that Lin Sheng finally ended his cultivation.
He slowly opened his eyes, a smile on his face.
“Indeed, although the Ape Embryo Skill has significant drawbacks, if your Bloodline is strong enough to meet the requirements for its cultivation, then these drawbacks will turn into advantages.”
In this cultivation session, he could clearly feel his progress; the efficiency was nearly double that of his previous cultivation sessions.
At this rate, he estimated that in two months, he would be able to attempt breaking through to the next layer of the Ape Embryo Skill and enter the Blood Transportation Realm.
Although integrating exotic beasts could bring powerful physical enhancements and miraculous talent abilities, in his opinion, martial arts cultivation was the fundamental basis of one's strength.
Once he entered the Blood Transportation Realm, his own strength would undoubtedly experience a leap forward. At the same time, a certain conjecture could also be verified.
That was whether a third mark would be activated after breaking through a major Realm. He had always kept this in mind, and he would know the answer only when he broke through to Blood Transportation.
If the third mark could be successfully activated, then the Blood Transportation Realm would definitely be a watershed moment for his strength.
Time flowed slowly, and five days passed quickly.
Seven Forms Sect Headquarters.
Two figures walked side by side out of the Qingniao Yard.
“Tsk tsk, I wondered why Master has been so busy lately, having to go to the main peak for discussions every few days. It turns out a beast mine was discovered in Yunshui Mountain. Since it's within our Wanhua City territory, the city's forces will definitely have to negotiate for corresponding benefits.”
Zhao Kongfang, dressed in a green robe with his hands behind his back, spoke with a faint smile on his face.
His appearance was quite decent, and coupled with his attire and deliberately posed posture, he had a rather dashing air about him.
From time to time, female Disciples from the Qingniao Yard would greet him respectfully as Second Senior Brother upon seeing Zhao Kongfang.
The latter would respond with a smile and a nod.
Lin Sheng knew that this Second Senior Brother was naturally romantic and definitely a veteran in dealing with women. There were once two female Disciples from the Qingniao Yard who fought fiercely over him. Later, under Xie Qingyun's admonishment, he restrained himself significantly within the yard, but his true nature was hard to change.
Although he no longer harbored thoughts about the female Disciples in the Qingniao Yard, he had set his sights on other yards. He heard that he was currently getting quite close with a female Disciple from the Jin Yuan Yard.
Lin Sheng didn't care much about these things. His mind was mostly on martial arts. In his previous life on Blue Star, nightclubs and bars were his regular haunts for a long time, so he wasn't enthusiastic about matters between men and women.
More than romantic relationships, what he desired was cultivation that allowed him to control his destiny and possess formidable strength.
This had been his life's motto ever since he stepped into this world.
“A beast mine? There's actually a beast mine in Yunshui Mountain?”
Hearing Zhao Kongfang's words, a hint of surprise appeared on Lin Sheng's face.
He had been in the Seven Forms Sect for some time and had a basic understanding of the sect's situation. He also knew what a beast mine was. Simply put, it was a fossilized deposit of ancient exotic beast remains.