Hai Cao Town, early morning, daybreak.
On the official road, a neat convoy slowly departed.
The convoy consisted of more than twenty carriages, each pulled by two black horned horses, much larger than ordinary horses and equipped with a pair of horns.
These were specially bred horned horses, with much greater endurance and strength than ordinary horses, and a gentle temperament, commonly used by the large merchant associations in East Sea Prefecture.
More than 20 carriages, strung together, gradually accelerated, and soon faded into the distance amidst the rising dust.
Inside the central carriage, Lin Sheng sat cross-legged, toying with an irregular, reddish-black red crystal stone slightly smaller than a human head.
“Is this a red crystal stone?”
Lin Sheng’s face showed a hint of curiosity; he could feel the stone in his hand emitting a warm aura, estimated to be around fifty to sixty degrees Celsius.
“That’s right, Young Master, this is a freshly mined Crimson Crystal Mine Ore, but it still needs further purification before it can be used.”
Bai Can, standing nearby, explained with a smile.
“The red crystal stone being transported this time, apart from the ones visible on the surface, are all purified within.”
As he spoke, a reddish-yellow Ore appeared in Bai Can’s hand; Lin Sheng took it and immediately felt a warmth in his hand, the temperature of this Ore had already exceeded a hundred degrees Celsius.
It was like a red-hot branding iron; if an ordinary person touched it, they would likely be burned.
“This is the purified red crystal stone.”
Lin Sheng played with the Ore, secretly marveling in his heart.
“That’s right, this is the purified red crystal stone, which can now be used as Materials, but the process required to utilize this red crystal stone is quite complex and difficult to apply on a large scale. However, I heard that the Imperial Family has made some Breakthroughs, developing something called a ‘Divine Fire Bomb,’ which has good power and can greatly improve the efficiency of Ore mining.”
Bai Can nodded, as if remembering something, and explained.
“Is that so? That’s somewhat interesting. The red crystal stone contains a strong energy. If it can be used properly, it should be able to unleash considerable power.” Lin Sheng played with the purified red crystal stone.
This thing was undoubtedly much stronger than the gunpowder of his previous life. If some targeted firearms could be created, their power would certainly be extraordinary.
“Who wouldn’t agree? However, the energy of this thing is too chaotic, and its purification is extremely difficult. If one isn’t careful, instead of creating something, it might just blow people up. When the red crystal stone was first discovered, all the major forces specifically researched it, but they were all blown up without any temper, and later it was left unsettled. Only the Northern Yan Imperial Family made some progress.”
Bai Can shook his head with a bitter smile, but soon, as if remembering something, he continued to speak.
“Speaking of this red crystal stone, I heard that a very distant great country overseas, called Siro Country, seems to have quite a bit of research on this red crystal stone. Of course, I, an old man, don’t know the specifics; I just happened to hear a merchant from Siro Country mention it in Fulong City.”
“Oh? Siro Country, huh…”
Lin Sheng stroked his chin, lost in thought.
He didn’t know much about this overseas great country, but he was somewhat interested, as it was so far away, and he wondered what kind of sparks it might ignite.
“By the way, Elder Bai, I wonder if the Cultivation System of this Siro Country is the same Martial Dao as ours?”
“Well, I don’t think so. Not many people from Siro Country cross the East Sea to reach Great Yan, and I have rarely had contact with these foreigners, but I do know a little about their Cultivation System. They don’t follow our Martial Dao path, but something called ‘Spiritual Light.’ However, in my opinion, it also relies on the Bloodline within the body, and I heard that Siro Country also has Bloodline divisions by rank, with a very strict System…”
Bai Can thought for a moment before revealing what he knew.
After some conversation, Lin Sheng gained a better understanding of Siro Country.
“Spiritual Light?”
Lin Sheng chewed on the name.
Siro Country was extremely far from Northern Yan and Southern Qi, and its geological environment was also different, so it was normal for it to have its own Cultivation System.
“I wonder what this Spiritual Light Cultivation System is like?”
He was curious and had already decided that if he had the chance in the future, he would definitely investigate it.
Suppressing this thought, his gaze fell back on the red crystal stone in his hand. As if remembering something, he asked again.
“Elder Bai, since the purification of red crystal stone is quite difficult and complex, why does Southern Yan need so much red crystal stone this time? Have they researched something using it?”
“Well, I don’t know either, but the consumption of this red crystal stone is definitely very large, otherwise, they wouldn’t have us transport such a large batch of red crystal stone over.”
Bai Can shook his head. He was also curious about this point, and it went without saying that such matters were definitely Southern Qi’s secrets and would not be easily disclosed to outsiders.
Seeing this, Lin Sheng said no more. After a brief chat, Bai Can bid farewell and went to the front carriage.
Soon, only Lin Sheng remained in the carriage. As for Nong Yu, she was driving the carriage outside, while Big Yellow and Little Black played behind the convoy. The convoy’s speed was not slow, but for these two Spirit Beasts, it was naturally nothing; they could easily keep up.
Especially after arriving at East Sea Prefecture, he divided a portion of the blood awakening treasure pill again and fed it to these two. Although there was no sign of advancement, they appeared even more majestic. Clearly, although not reflected on the System panel, there was still some improvement, especially for Big Yellow, whose body size had grown another circle compared to before.
Lin Sheng’s gaze fell on the purified red crystal stone in his hand.
Looking closely, there were still black patterns on the Ore. Clearly, even after purification, there were still Impurities present. To utilize this red crystal stone, it would likely need further purification.
“It’s a pity that the gunpowder purification methods of my previous life are not applicable here. Moreover, with the path of Martial Dao, the focus will naturally be on Martial Dao. Placing the emphasis on these external objects would undoubtedly be putting the cart before the horse. I suppose this is also why the major forces of Great Yan haven’t deeply researched this red crystal stone.”
Lin Sheng shook his head slightly, placed the red crystal stone aside, glanced outside the carriage, informed Nong Yu that he was going into secluded Cultivation, then closed his eyes and entered Cultivation.
The journey to Southern Qi was long, and he naturally wouldn’t waste time.
However, he did not choose to Cultivate the Supreme Heavenly Demon Scripture.
After all, the demonic rhyme backlash after Cultivating the Supreme Heavenly Demon Scripture would have some impact on those around him, making it unsuitable at the moment.
So, this time, he chose to Cultivate the Heavenly Serpent Bone Exchange Secret Method.
During this period, he had been diligently Cultivating the Supreme Heavenly Demon Scripture, but he hadn’t really Cultivated this Secret Method much.
Cultivating this Secret Method at this time was just right.
He had already achieved the Yi Pi Realm in this Secret Method, but the Bones Transformation Realm had made little progress.
However, with the Spirit Bone Python King entering his body, Cultivating with the Spirit Bone talent’s blessing would have an amplification effect. Just how much this amplification effect was, he would only know after trying it.
Soon, he closed his eyes and entered Cultivation.
Before long, a series of drum-like surges of Qi and blood, followed by crisp sounds of bones grinding, emanated from the carriage.
Though the carriage was bustling, not a sound escaped outside. A layer of black energy, like an eggshell, enveloped Lin Sheng, isolating all sound.
Time flowed like water, and soon three days quietly passed.
For three days, the carriage rarely stopped along the way, and Lin Sheng never emerged from the carriage.
Since he had announced his secluded Cultivation, no one came to disturb him.
At the front of the convoy, a tall, thin figure in a black robe rode a horned horse. He took out a map from his Pregnant, looked at it, and scanned the surroundings.
The tall, thin figure was Blazing Star Envoy Shui Zhi.
“In two more days, we will leave the East Sea Prefecture territory. Beyond the East Sea Prefecture territory lies Nanli Prefecture. For safety, this convoy will not enter Nanli Prefecture, but will only travel along the border between the two prefectures. Although it will take a few extra days, safety is paramount.”
Shui Zhi put away the map and spoke indifferently.
“Brother Shui Zhi must have already made thorough preparations for this route, so there’s no objection.”
Beside Shui Zhi was Bai Can, also riding a horned horse, who replied with a chuckle.
“What about Young Master Lin? Should we inform him?”
Shui Zhi glanced at the central carriage of the convoy and spoke softly.
“No need for that. Young Master Lin has already stated in advance that for this mission, we should follow the route you choose, Brother Shui Zhi. There’s no need to ask again.”
Bai Can seemed to have anticipated this reply and said with a smile.
“Oh?”
Hearing this, a hint of surprise flashed in Shui Zhi’s eyes, then he nodded slightly, his expression softening.
“That’s good then, saves me a lot of trouble.”
He had thought Lin Sheng insisted on coming along to show off.
Originally, he was worried that the other party would be unruly and cause trouble, but now it seemed he had misunderstood.
The other party hadn’t even shown his face the entire way, behaving so obediently as if he didn’t exist, which inevitably changed his impression of him.
“Brother Shui Zhi, Young Master Lin is not like those other pampered Geniuses who don’t know what’s important. The previous incident was just to prevent Southern Qi from looking down on the organization, so you don’t need to take it to heart, Brother Shui Zhi.”
As if seeing what the other party was thinking, Bai Can continued to speak with a smile.
To this, Shui Zhi merely nodded slightly, saying no more.
After resting for a while, the convoy continued its journey. Inside the carriage at this moment, Lin Sheng’s brows were slightly furrowed, his eyes tightly closed, his entire body vibrating at an extremely high frequency. As a series of crisp bone-shattering sounds, almost continuous, suddenly rang out,
his tightly closed eyes suddenly opened.
“Hoo…”
Letting out a heavy breath, Lin Sheng’s hands and feet at this moment were limp as if boneless, dangling on the ground, even coiled together like several large snakes intertwined.
“This feeling is truly exhilarating…”
Looking at his deformed hands and feet, Lin Sheng not only showed no pain but instead wore a smile.
At this moment, the bones in his hands and feet had completely shattered into dust, becoming unrecognizable.
The talent of Spiritualized Bones indeed had a good effect on Bones Transformation, even stronger than he had originally anticipated, though this was specific to him.
Spiritualized Bones allowed him to greatly increase his control over his own bones.
But this was not without cost, as his body was not that of a Spirit Bone Python King.
Simple bone manipulation was fine, but manipulating bones would bring immense pain.
And to achieve bone shattering, he needed to apply destructive pressure to his own bones.
Therefore, while the Spiritualized Bones talent could accelerate the process of bone shattering, it placed extremely high demands on one’s willpower and recovery ability.
An ordinary person attempting to completely shatter their own bones like him would likely become a cripple from severe Origin Qi depletion before achieving any success in Cultivation.
It was precisely because of his formidable Physique that he was able to shatter his own bones hundreds of times in just three days, extracting the Bloodline Power hidden within them.
With a deep breath, Lin Sheng’s hands and feet began to recover quickly, returning to normal in a matter of breaths.
At this moment, a faint wisp of energy had already gathered in his Dantian. Although seemingly weak, the energy contained within was unprecedentedly pure.
This was the impure blood separated during the countless bone-shattering sessions over the past three days.
Unlike the great Qi and blood circulation of the Yi Pi Realm, this energy was clearly much more precise.
This was the difference between bone-blood and muscle-blood Bloodline.
The Bloodline Power within the bones was extremely hidden, so much so that many people were unaware of its existence within the bones.
If it weren’t for the Heavenly Serpent Bone Exchange Secret Method, even he would never have thought of it.
“Given the purity of this energy, successfully refining it will certainly bring great benefits.”
Feeling this unprecedentedly pure energy, Lin Sheng murmured to himself.
“However, the bone-blood has not been completely removed. Even after hundreds of bone purifications, it hasn’t been fully removed; in fact, it’s only just over halfway. Heavenly Serpent Bone Exchange is truly difficult.”
Muttering to himself, Lin Sheng had already taken out several pieces of dried Spirit Beast meat from the side of the carriage and began to devour them.
He had consumed a lot in the past three days, so he naturally needed to replenish himself first.
*
Huanghai Road.
Hanhai City.
As the main city of a Dao, Hanhai City’s scale was no less than Fulong City’s, and perhaps even two points grander.
Inside the City Lord’s Mansion.
A majestic and strong figure stood with his hands behind his back in the mansion’s backyard.
He grabbed a handful of crimson Medicinal Pills and threw them into the pond in front of him.
These Medicinal Pills bore mystical patterns and emitted an enticing fragrance. Ordinary Martial Artists would feel their Qi and blood accelerate and their fatigue dissipate just by sniffing them.
If someone knowledgeable in pharmacology were to witness this scene, they would surely sigh with regret.
These crimson Medicinal Pills were none other than Dragon Blood Pills, which could even have some effect on Godlike Martial Artists.
They provided considerable assistance for breaking through the Bones Transformation to Divine Form barrier, with each pill valued at hundreds of thousands of silver taels.
And these highly valuable Dragon Blood Pills were casually tossed into the pond by the strong figure, where several sea snakes the size of carp emerged, scrambling for the Medicinal Pills.
Though called sea snakes, they had horns on their heads and two claws beneath their bellies. Despite their small size, they possessed an indescribable majesty.
Seeing these strange sea snakes scramble for the Medicinal Pills, a faint smile appeared on the strong figure’s face.
At this moment, outside the backyard, two figures waited respectfully outside the courtyard.
It wasn’t until the strong figure had finished throwing all the Medicinal Pills in his hand that they slowly walked in.