Inside the Wanhua City residence.
A wisp of white smoke drifted from the brass censer, emitting a faint fragrance that soothed the mind.
"You said something happened with Cao Ying?"
Lin Sheng sat in the main seat, his gaze falling on Wang Dehai, and frowned.
"Yes Gongzi, recently the caravans transporting goods have been continuously robbed, with no survivors. If this continues, I'm afraid the business of Listening to the Moon Pavilion will suffer a huge blow."
Wang Dehai replied honestly from below.
After receiving the news that the caravan was robbed, he was so scared he broke out in a cold sweat.
If he hadn't had something to do at the time, he might have followed the caravan to Fu City. Given the ruthlessness of those bandits, he definitely wouldn't have been able to keep his fat body.
"That Cao Family sibling pair also thought of many methods, but they were ineffective. Having run out of options, they could only ask me to come find you."
"Where was the caravan robbed?"
Lin Sheng asked.
"Well, they were basically attacked on the way."
Wang Dehai quickly replied.
"On the way?"
Hearing this, Lin Sheng's brows furrowed tightly, and his fingers tapped rhythmically on the nearby mahogany table.
"What about the bodies? Were any brought back?"
"Because a considerable time had passed when they were discovered, the bodies had been significantly gnawed by wild beasts. However, some parts are still relatively intact. Those bodies are currently placed in an outer courtyard of Listening to the Moon Pavilion."
Wang Dehai was startled at first, but quickly replied.
"Does Gongzi want to go take a look?"
Lin Sheng pondered for a moment, then finally shook his head slightly.
"No need. Go back and tell Cao Ying that I will be in seclusion for cultivation during this time. Don't send out goods for now. I will handle this matter after I come out of seclusion."
"Uh... alright, I'll go back and tell Manager Cao right away."
Wang Dehai was a bit surprised, but didn't say much more. After nodding and bowing to Lin Sheng again, he turned and left.
Watching Wang Dehai's figure depart, Lin Sheng withdrew his gaze.
"I didn't expect Listening to the Moon Pavilion to be targeted as well."
Although he had been mostly cultivating diligently during this period, he also understood through occasional conversations with his fellow disciples that the situation in Wanhua City was becoming increasingly tense.
Due to the 50,000-year-old beast mine in Yunshui Mountain, conflicts between the major forces in Wanhua City have become more frequent recently. This has also affected many small and medium-sized forces within the city, as most of these forces rely on a few large forces for survival.
Even some neutral small and medium-sized forces find it difficult to stay out of this torrent.
Therefore, the current situation in Wanhua City is much more chaotic than during peacetime. However, the situation within the city is generally still peaceful, as the disputes between the major forces are still concentrated in the middle and lower levels. The true higher-ups have never entered the fray, and everything is still in a state of play.
Although he hadn't paid too much attention to Cao Ying's side, he knew that Listening to the Moon Pavilion dealt in cosmetics. Coming from Blue Star, he was very clear that women's money was undoubtedly the easiest to earn in this world, and it was no wonder they could make a profit of several thousand taels just one month after opening.
The various cosmetics produced by Listening to the Moon Pavilion are likely related to the insect-rearing technique mastered by this sibling pair.
The profits of Listening to the Moon Pavilion were much larger than he had imagined, so he naturally wouldn't give it up.
Listening to the Moon Pavilion had just opened and didn't have much foundation. A profit of a thousand taels wouldn't attract any truly powerful experts.
However, he didn't plan to act directly. After all, what truly troubled him was the Magic Seed of the Phantom Demon Beast hiding in the dark.
Although his strength had increased significantly compared to before, facing the Magic Seed of this terrifying demonic beast, he still felt uncertain.
So his idea was very simple: everything would wait until he broke through before making a decision.
After he broke through to the Blood Transportation Realm, his strength would undoubtedly increase significantly. By then, facing the Magic Seed would likely not be a problem, and he might even be able to resolve it in one go.
As for the plundering bandits, in his opinion, dealing with them was just a matter of convenience.
Having thought this, he returned to the quiet room and began to regulate his mind and spirit, preparing to enter the next round of cultivation.
...
"What? He told us to wait."
Inside Listening to the Moon Pavilion, Cao Luan's face was full of anger, and he shouted breathlessly.
"Sister, because of the previous unsuccessful transports, we finally managed to postpone the delivery time. Now he's telling us to wait again! The customers in Fu City and the other counties there won't keep waiting for us. What if the channel we worked so hard to establish is snatched away by others?!"
"Xiao Luan, don't be so impulsive. Since Gongzi Lin said so, he must have his own considerations. It won't hurt to wait for a while. I will send someone to notify the customers in Fu City and the other counties there, asking them to grant us an extension. There shouldn't be any problems."
Cao Ying frowned as she looked at her younger brother, whose face was flushed with anger, and spoke with some helplessness.
She had thought that after the last incident, her younger brother would have matured, but she didn't expect him to still be so impatient.
"Sister, you're just too soft-hearted and too easily trust others. You gave most of the profits to that Lin Sheng before, and what was the result? Now you see it, he doesn't even have the slightest interest in coming to take a look."
Seeing his sister still speaking up for others, Cao Luan felt even more indignant.
"Alright, stop talking. The situation in the city is not like before. Just focus on cultivating the seven-colored worms during this time. After the matter is resolved, we can have enough goods to supply."
Cao Ying reached out and patted her brother's shoulder.
"As for you, cultivate diligently. When you can break through to the Blood Transportation Realm, or even the Bones Transformation Realm, we won't need to rely on others anymore..."
Hearing this, Cao Luan moved his mouth but ultimately said nothing more. He turned and left the room, then went to the courtyard and began cultivating.
Time flowed by, and in the blink of an eye, ten days had passed.
During this period, Listening to the Moon Pavilion did not send out any caravans, only selling within Wanhua City.
Although the profits were much lower than before, they were still enough to maintain daily expenses.
In the large courtyard in the southern district of Wanhua City.
The crimson figure continuously flashed and moved, transforming into a crimson afterimage with each action, stirring up gusts of biting wind in the courtyard.
At this time, he had not activated his Heart Monkey Talent, merely maintaining the state of the Three-Eyed Spirit Monkey entering his body.
In this state, cultivating the Ape Embryo Skill could maximize efficiency.
The speed of the crimson figure in the courtyard became faster and faster, and the whooshing sound of the wind also grew louder.
However, the next moment, the figure suddenly stopped, standing in the center of the courtyard.
Lin Sheng's brows furrowed tightly, and his face showed a hint of irritability.
"It's still just a little bit short!!"
He exhaled heavily, shook his head slightly, and murmured in a low voice.
Before this seclusion, he was only one step away from a complete Breakthrough. He didn't expect another ten days to pass. Although he could feel his own progress, he still couldn't break through this thin layer.
He always felt that he was just a little bit short. This feeling was extremely frustrating, like a stifling breath, constantly held in his heart, difficult to exhale.
"Could it be that I have to wait a few more days?"
He thought to himself, in these ten days, he had borrowed another five thousand taels of silver from Zhao Kongfang. Besides purchasing a batch of Star Dew Grass, he also bought a precious pill at a high price that was helpful for breaking through the Blood Transportation Bottleneck.
It was a pity that after taking this precious pill, it still didn't have much effect.
"I'm only one step away anyway. Even with slow grinding, it won't take much longer."
He shook his head slightly, suppressing the irritable thoughts in his mind.
He took out a Star Dew Grass from the prepared wooden box, put it in his mouth, chewed a few times, and swallowed it directly.
The familiar bone-piercing chill quickly surged from within his body, and his consciousness also cleared.
"Activate Talent: Heart Ape."
With a thought, he had activated the Heart Ape Talent, and intense pain, like a tidal wave, instantly swept over him.
Although he had adapted many times, he now had a certain level of tolerance for this intense pain.
His palms clenched with cracking sounds, and bone spurs emerged from his flesh all over his body.
The center of his brows also began to throb slowly, and his vertical pupil gradually opened.
At the same time, his heart was filled with savagery and madness. However, with the effect of the Star Dew Grass, he could still maintain a small amount of clarity amidst this savage emotion.
Perhaps because of the blood dragon fruit, every time he activated the Heart Ape Talent, he would be filled with savage and mad emotions.
And he was also trying little by little to suppress these savage and mad emotions.
But suddenly, it was as if he thought of something.
He immediately sat cross-legged on the ground and began to circulate the qi and blood in his body to cultivate the Ape Embryo Skill.
Although he had activated the Heart Ape Talent many times, he had never cultivated under these circumstances.
At this moment, he suddenly had a whim and came up with this idea, so he immediately decided to give it a try.
After all, the Ape Embryo Skill was essentially a Demonic Technique, derived from a true technique called the Six Intent Ape Demon Heart Scripture.
Since it was a Demonic Technique, perhaps it would intertwine with this mutated Heart Ape Talent and produce some kind of spark.
He forcibly suppressed the savagery and madness in his heart, and used the little clarity he had to circulate his qi and blood, coordinating with the breathing method, to surge towards the Bottleneck that was clearly only a thin layer away but still impossible to break through.
Under his guidance, the qi and blood throughout his body boiled, like a heavy hammer smashing against the Bottleneck that restrained the qualitative change of his qi and blood.
Bang... Bang... Bang...
Silent thuds echoed repeatedly in his consciousness. He clearly felt the Bottleneck that restrained him being constantly shaken and deformed by the heavy hammer's blows.
However, it remained tough and resilient. No matter how he hammered and struck, he couldn't truly break through this Bottleneck.
Time quickly passed, and over ten breaths went by. He was already close to his limit.
And although the Bottleneck was deforming more and more severely, he still couldn't break through.
This also caused the savage emotions in his heart to grow stronger, instantly completely overwhelming the little clarity he had.
Instantly, his eyes became bloodshot, both turning blood red. His expression was ferocious and twisted, and the vertical pupil in the center of his brows also widened, even gaining a hint of madness.
At this moment, he had forgotten to use the Star Dew Grass to suppress the demonic nature in his heart.
His entire being had fallen into complete madness, just like the first time he activated the Heart Ape Talent. However, he continued his obsessive pursuit of breaking through the Bottleneck.
And at this moment, the qi and blood in his body had fallen into an unprecedented state of restlessness and fury, several times more intense than before.
Even with his tough Physique, it seemed unable to withstand the furious restlessness of this qi and blood. Threads of bright red blood began to appear on his skin.
Finally, the restlessness of his qi and blood seemed to reach a critical point, and it fiercely slammed into the Bottleneck that restrained his transformation.
This time, a sound like a clap of thunder erupted from his body.
That Bottleneck, as tough as toffee, was finally completely broken through and torn apart.
The boiling and furious qi and blood, as if released, merged into his flesh.
Following this was a series of crisp cracking sounds from his bones. His already tall and strong body began to expand at a speed visible to the naked eye.
It quickly expanded by a full circle.
The crisp cracking sounds of his bones also changed from rapid to smooth. It was also at this moment that he reached his limit.
The bone spurs all over his body slowly retracted into his flesh, and the widened vertical eye in the center of his brows also gradually closed, until it was completely closed and disappeared.
"Hoo... Hoo..."
Lin Sheng gasped for air, lying on the ground without any regard for his image, his body forming a large 'big' shape.
His entire body was already soaked with sweat, and his mind and will were indescribably tired.
But he felt better than ever before, because that stifling breath held in his heart had finally been completely exhaled at this moment.
He... had broken through...
Crack!
Clenching his palms, he felt an unprecedented powerful strength, an indescribable fullness, ease, and comfort within his body.
In contrast to this was the intense pain in his consciousness that had not yet completely dissipated.
Without time to experience it further, he picked up a Star Dew Grass from the side, tore off a few leaves, and without bothering to refine the cold poison, he fell into a deep sleep right there.
This sleep wasn't long, just over half an hour passed before he woke up.
Although his spirit was still a bit tired, it was undoubtedly much better than before.
But what made him most happy was successfully breaking through to the Blood Transportation Realm.
This was the Realm that had been his goal since he first arrived in this world.
A Blood Transportation Warrior, no matter where he went, could be considered among the ranks of experts.
In a County Town, he could be considered a top-tier expert.
In the past, Zhenshan Tower was a colossus in Lin'an County, and its master was only at this Realm.
"Let me see how much improvement entering the Blood Transportation Realm has brought..."
He muttered to himself and began experimenting in the courtyard. Fortunately, the courtyard was quite spacious, so a simple test was acceptable.
After a moment, he stopped.
"The biggest improvements are in strength and speed, which is normal since the Ape Embryo Skill is known for its explosive power. However, besides that, my stamina and Physique have also improved significantly."
Carefully experiencing the results of the previous experiment, he muttered to himself.
The Blood Transportation Realm brings a great improvement to a Martial Artist's physical quality, far beyond what a Forging Tendons Martial Artist can compare to.
"Now, my speed and strength are even a bit stronger than when I activated the Ape Embryo Transformation secret technique before... No wonder Blood Transportation can completely suppress Forging Tendons. This kind of improvement is basically all-around, essentially eliminating any potential weaknesses I might have."
If Martial Artists before Blood Transportation focused on strength, speed, or defense with large differences between them, once they break through to the Blood Transportation Realm, their weaknesses in various aspects can be greatly compensated.
Even a strength-oriented Blood Transportation Warrior, his speed and defense won't be too weak, and the same goes for speed-oriented and defense-oriented ones.
After finishing these tests, he lowered his head and looked at his chest.
Now, he had once again broken through a major Realm. Would it still bring him a surprise...