Inside the bamboo building, watching as Lan Man's figure completely disappeared into the distance, Lin Sheng withdrew his gaze.
"I wonder what the Imperial Court will do this time?"
This thought flashed through his mind. Divine Transformation Realm martial artists were absolute pillars of strength for the entire Great Yan. With two dead, this matter would definitely not pass easily.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but rub his temples.
When he was in Linjiang Prefecture, he had already caused quite a stir. He hadn't expected that in just half a year since arriving in Tiannan Prefecture, he would have already caused the demise of two Divine Transformation Realm martial artists.
He had a strange feeling, as if wherever he was, trouble would find him precisely.
"No, it's not that trouble finds me, but rather that the path of cultivation is inherently like this. This is definitely not my fault."
Soon, he shook his head slightly, a hint of ferocity flashing in his eyes.
"The path of cultivation is like sailing against the current; if you don't advance, you retreat. It's all about striving. What I want is the peak of martial arts. Anyone who dares to block me, I will kill..."
Driving away the slight confusion that had appeared in his heart, the determination on his face returned.
Since that Special Envoy of the Tianhong Pavilion is a master of the Divine Transformation Realm Fifth Layer, as long as my strength improves by a few more Realms, I won't necessarily fear him.
With that thought, Lin Sheng was already sitting cross-legged in the bamboo building, entering cultivation.
Qingniao Chasing Star Finger had already broken through to the seventh layer. After the Breakthrough, he had basically focused his energy on other martial arts, so its cultivation had slowed down significantly, but it was still steadily advancing.
Now that the fourth imprint had been activated, with one more incorporated Spirit Beast, his cultivation speed would undoubtedly greatly increase again.
The matter of activating the imprint was complete, and there was no need to be distracted by it anymore.
What he needed to do now was simply focus on cultivation.
There were now two paths before him.
The first was to first focus on cultivating the Qingniao Chasing Star Finger to its limit, which would be enough for him to step all the way into the Bones Transformation Realm Fifth Layer.
The second option was to slow down the cultivation of the Qingniao Chasing Star Finger again and cultivate the other martial arts of the Seven Forms Sect to the Bones Transformation Realm.
There was no clear advantage or disadvantage between these two paths. Lin Sheng rubbed his cheek with his finger, lost in thought.
In just a moment, he had made his decision.
"It's best to first cultivate the other martial arts of the Seven Forms Sect to the Bones Transformation Realm. The cultivation of the Qingniao Chasing Star Finger can be put aside for now. It won't be too late to cultivate it after finding two more high-level avian Spirit Beasts. This way, efficiency can be maximized."
Soon, he calmed down and began cultivating.
Strands of white light emerged from the surface of his body.
Bai Xiang Zhen Yue Gong (White Elephant Mountain-Suppressing Skill) was now only one layer away from the Bones Transformation Realm.
Then he would first cross the threshold of the Bones Transformation Realm with it.
...
Time flowed quickly; three days had already passed.
Tiannan Prefecture City.
Prefecture Yamen.
Hiss—
A strange cry echoed from the backyard of the Prefecture Yamen.
Covered in black patterns all over her body, with dishevelled hair, the woman was sprawled on the ground like a wild beast. Tentacles like spider legs extended from both sides of her waist and abdomen, and black eyes on either side of her face blinked rapidly. Beneath her were two almost decayed corpses.
The woman was none other than Wan Shuang, the direct daughter of the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect Master.
Black tentacles were withdrawn from the decayed corpses. Wan Shuang's terrifying face blinked with black eyes, showing a hint of unfinished business. Soon, she looked up, her gaze falling on the only tall figure in the courtyard, her eyes filled with distortion and greed.
The next moment, her figure moved rapidly, leaving a trail of afterimages, and pounced towards the tall figure.
In the blink of an eye, she was already in front of him.
The tall man didn't even turn his head, raising his hand and throwing a punch backward. As he swung his fist, a large area of black patterns had already emerged on his palm.
With one punch, he sent Wan Shuang flying.
However, the flying Wan Shuang rushed back at an even faster speed the next moment.
This time, the tall figure changed his fist to a palm, directly grabbing Wan Shuang. With his other hand, faster than lightning could strike, he took out a crystal-white jade stone from his Pregnant and pressed it onto Wan Shuang's forehead.
Roar—
This time, Wan Shuang seemed to be stimulated, letting out a mournful howl. Her body constantly trembled in his hand, the black patterns on the surface of her body quickly receded into her body, and the single eyes on either side of her face also contracted at a visible speed until they completely disappeared, and she fell into a coma.
"There's progress. As expected, after abandoning humanity, the absorption efficiency of the demon blood has greatly increased. It's just a pity that she's still an animal. Animals must be driven by people..."
Gongsun Yuanzhou showed a cold smile on his face and casually threw the person in his hand to the ground.
In these three days, news of the deaths of Zhou Xingwen and He Lanjiang had also spread.
Such a huge change naturally shook the entire Tiannan Prefecture. The Prefecture Yamen and the soldiers were all somewhat panicked, but this emotion disappeared after just one day.
Because the entire Tiannan Prefecture had been completely taken over by him.
The result of this was that the efficiency of recruiting for the Beast Suppression Army had increased considerably again. With the Tianhong Pavilion backing it, the methods of recruitment were much tougher than before.
"It's also good that those two useless people died, so I won't be restrained when I start to act..."
He put away the white jade stone in his hand and was about to leave when the black jade token hanging from his waist suddenly vibrated.
Gongsun Yuanzhou paused his movements, then untied the black jade token.
He came to the pond in the courtyard and placed the jade token in the water.
Soon, a faint red light emanated from the jade token, and the water in front of him flowed, vaguely revealing a ethereal image floating in the water.
"Gongsun Yuanzhou."
A faint voice echoed from the water.
"This subordinate is here."
Gongsun Yuanzhou immediately bowed slightly and responded in a deep voice.
"The matter of Tiannan Prefecture requires an explanation."
The faint voice echoed again, devoid of any emotion.
"I understand. This matter is related to the Dark Star Organization. I will give the Pavilion a satisfactory answer."
Gongsun Yuanzhou spoke in a deep voice with a poker face.
The voice in the water seemed to fall silent, and only after a few breaths did it echo again.
"Granted."
As the word fell, the water surface returned to calm, and the ethereal image within disappeared.
Retrieving the waist token, Gongsun Yuanzhou turned and slowly walked away.
At the same time, outside the Prefecture Yamen, several riders had stopped outside the yamen.
The leader had a sallow complexion and a slender build, wearing light armor. His hands hung down, almost touching his knees. From a distance, he looked like an ape wearing armor.
"Who goes there?!"
Seeing the newcomers heading straight for the Prefecture Yamen, the guards at the gate immediately frowned and shouted.
Bang!
However, the ape-like figure just flicked his hand, and the two guards fainted on the ground.
Ignoring them, the figure strode into the yamen with large, confident steps.
This commotion immediately alerted the guards on duty in the yamen, who all rushed to the gate.
Due to the deaths of Zhou Xingwen and He Lanjiang, the current Prefecture Yamen was quite sensitive and on edge.
"Stop!"
Just as the guards were about to act, a loud shout came from behind.
Then a heavily armored man stepped over the crowd and knelt on one knee.
"Greetings, Commander Lu!"
"Take me to see Gongsun Yuanzhou."
The ape-like figure said lightly.
"Yes."
...
Prefecture Yamen Hall.
"Special Envoy Gongsun, what exactly is going on in Tiannan Prefecture?"
In the vast hall, only two people stood facing each other.
"What else could be going on? Zhou Xingwen and He Lanjiang are dead."
Gongsun Yuanzhou said lightly, his gaze calm as he looked at Lu Chuan, the former Commander of Tiannan.
"Two Divine Transformation Realm experts, you just say they're dead so lightly. Shouldn't you give an explanation?"
Lu Chuan's face was cold and hard.
He had served as the Commander in Tiannan Prefecture for over ten years, so he was naturally familiar with Zhou Xingwen and the other person, especially having a close relationship with He Lanjiang.
Now that this incident had occurred, he naturally had to ask for the truth.
"I called you back precisely for this explanation. This matter is inseparable from the Dark Star."
"Dark Star!?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Chuan's brow furrowed slightly.
"Before the incident, Thousand Faces and Black Hawk were dealing with me in Nanli. In Tiannan Prefecture, only Lan Man was here. How could she dare, how could she possibly kill Zhou Xingwen and the other person? Unless there were other Blazing Star Envoys present. Even if they launched a sneak attack, at least two more Blazing Star Envoys would be needed to possibly keep them both..."
"Regardless, since Dark Star dared to do this, they will have to pay the price. Contact your hidden agents, investigate this matter thoroughly, and then eradicate the Dark Star in Tiannan."
Gongsun Yuanzhou clasped his hands together and said softly.
"I will investigate this matter thoroughly. They've been hiding for so many years, and now they're jumping out. Since they're seeking death, then I'll grant them their wish..."
Lu Chuan's eyes narrowed slightly, and a tangible killing intent emanated from him as he slowly spoke.
...
At night, the bright moon hung high.
In the bamboo building, Lin Sheng sat cross-legged, his body emitting a large area of white ghostly light. An indescribable sense of heaviness emanated from him.
As time passed, the white ghostly light began to contract and solidify, finally adhering to his body like a layer of white film.
The heaviness emanating from the bamboo building became increasingly dense.
Creak...
Sounds of bamboo joints cracking under the unbearable weight occasionally echoed.
The entire bamboo building became precarious, as if it could collapse at any moment.
If viewed from the outside, one would be surprised to find that the entire bamboo building seemed to be slowly sinking into the ground.
Suddenly, the suffocating heaviness disappeared in an instant.
Lin Sheng opened his eyes, and the white light that had emerged from the surface of his body had already receded into his body.
"As expected, after the fourth imprint was activated, the cultivation speed has increased significantly. I estimate I can reach the seventh layer of Bai Xiang Zhen Yue Gong (White Elephant Mountain-Suppressing Skill) in half a month."
A smile appeared on his face. Nothing made him happier than the improvement of his strength.
Then, with a flip of his wrist, the paper booklet recording the Yang Extremity Art appeared in his hand.
In these three days, in addition to cultivating the Bai Shou Zhen Yue Gong, he had also experimented with this cultivation method.
Lin Sheng raised his palm, and a hair-thin red line had appeared on his fingertip.
After experimenting, he found that this cultivation method differed from his original assumptions.
The incorporated Scarlet Eye Flame Dragon did indeed have a good enhancing effect on the cultivation of this method.
However, after multiple trials, he found that in addition to the Scarlet Eye Flame Dragon, the higher the power and Physique attributes of the incorporated Spirit Beast, the more smoothly the cultivation of this method progressed, with the power attribute having the most obvious effect.
This was still greatly beyond his expectations.
The increase in basic attributes such as power, Physique, and agility could, to some extent, be considered an increase in one's innate talent.
The high Physique increase he gained from cultivating Bai Xiang Zhen Yue Gong (White Elephant Mountain-Suppressing Skill) made his cultivation twice as effective with half the effort.
Although not as powerful as incorporating an elephant-type Spirit Beast, it was still quite good.
And when cultivating the Yang Extremity Art, the high power increase was even more significant.
To give a simple example.
Incorporating an elephant-type Spirit Beast to cultivate Bai Xiang Zhen Yue Gong (White Elephant Mountain-Suppressing Skill) brings 100% efficiency, while incorporating a high-Physique Spirit Beast brings about 30% cultivation efficiency. Of course, the stronger the Physique, the higher the efficiency, which is not fixed.
And when cultivating the Yang Extremity Art, incorporating a high-power Spirit Beast brings about 60% cultivation efficiency. Although not as powerful as incorporating a compatible Spirit Beast, it is still much higher than the increase brought by cultivating Bai Xiang Zhen Yue Gong (White Elephant Mountain-Suppressing Skill).
Of course, this is not limited to Bai Xiang Zhen Yue Gong (White Elephant Mountain-Suppressing Skill); Qingniao Chasing Star Finger and Leopard Transformation Three Absolute Legs are also applicable.
This was the first time he had encountered this situation, which was clearly due to the difference in the cultivation methods.
Whether it was the Qingniao Chasing Star Finger or the Bai Xiang Zhen Yue Gong (White Elephant Mountain-Suppressing Skill), both were martial arts cultivation methods derived from various Spirit Beasts as blueprints.
However, the Yang Extremity Art does not fall into this category. This is a cultivation method created by those without Bloodline talent to tap into their own potential.
"Perhaps it is precisely because its focus is entirely on tapping into one's own potential, unlike the Spirit Beast martial arts circulating on the market that rely on Bloodline, that the increase in physical attributes is more significant."
Lin Sheng stroked his chin and muttered softly, his face showing contemplation.
"Power is, to some extent, the Yang attribute. The so-called utmost rigidity and utmost Yang, grand and open, are all based on this..."
He silently circulated the Qi Circulation method of the Yang Extremity Art, carefully pondering it.
"Power and Physique represent Yang, so agility must represent Yin."
Yang Polarity and Yin Harmonization, when combined, form the Yin-Yang Harmony, which is a true cultivation method that can step into the Bones Transformation Realm.
This cultivation method mainly focuses on dividing one's internal organs, Meridians, and limbs into Yin and Yang categories, using special Qi Circulation methods combined with various environments or medicines to nurture Yin and Yang Qi, and through the Fusion of Yin and Yang Qi, nourish oneself, thereby strengthening the body.
The concept of this cultivation method is completely different from the Spirit Beast martial arts currently in circulation.
As he delved into it these past few days, he could also sense that the ambition of the person who created this cultivation method was great.
It's just a pity that the idea was beautiful, but reality was quite cruel.
From his current perspective, this Yin-Yang Harmony can indeed step into the Bones Transformation Realm, but the success rate of cultivation is very low.
Even if one can step into the Bones Transformation Realm, they cannot go far in this Realm.
The balance of Yin and Yang Qi is the key to this cultivation method, but maintaining this balance is extremely difficult. A slight mistake, and the imbalance of Yin and Yang will damage the cultivator's vitality, especially after breaking through to the Bones Transformation Realm.
It seems that the so-called Qian Kun Palace back then was not a decent force. Their cultivation methods were limited, and even those with outstanding talent would find it difficult to go far in the Bones Transformation Realm.
"However, I can achieve a certain degree of balance by incorporating different Spirit Beasts, making the difficulty of cultivation much simpler than for others... But the specifics still need to be tested thoroughly."