Three days later.
East Sea Prefecture.
Yunhai City.
A tall and upright figure ambled along the street.
Dressed as a rogue, he walked straight to a blacksmith's shop on the street before stopping.
An ancient sign hung above the shop, with three large characters written in a flowing script: Hundred Iron Shop.
“This is it.”
After glancing at the shop sign, Lin Sheng stepped in, entering with a confident stride.
Clang, clang, clang…
As soon as he entered, the dense sound of hammering iron was incessant, and a wave of heat washed over him.
A sturdy man in a sweat-soaked shirt, seeing someone enter, immediately took the towel from his neck, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and stepped forward to greet him.
“May I ask, esteemed guest, whether you seek weapons, armor, or hidden weapons? Our Hundred Iron Shop can forge them all, guaranteed to be masterpieces.”
“Forge me a waist token.”
Lin Sheng flipped his wrist, and an impression token appeared in his hand.
The moment the shop assistant saw the impression token, his pupils slightly constricted.
Then, he respectfully said,
“May I ask what kind of Materials the guest wishes to use for forging? Please follow me to the backyard to select.”
With that, he led Lin Sheng towards the back of the shop.
A quarter of an hour later.
“Young Master, you’re back!?”
In a side hall in the backyard, Nong Yu and Bai Can hurried over.
“Mm.”
Seeing their familiar faces, Lin Sheng showed a slight smile.
His gaze swept over them, then landed on a dark-skinned, muscular man behind them, as sturdy as an iron tower.
“Hidden Star Envoy Li Da greets Divine Lord Ghost Face!”
Noticing Lin Sheng’s gaze, the iron-tower-like man immediately knelt on one knee and bowed respectfully.
“Young Master, this is the person in charge of the East Sea stronghold.”
Bai Can introduced him at this moment.
“Mm, rise.”
Lin Sheng waved his hand, then looked at Bai Can and Nong Yu.
“Where are Shui Zhi and Jin Yang?”
“Reporting, Young Master, they are still at sea and should be back soon.”
Hearing this, Lin Sheng nodded, asked if they had encountered any trouble on their journey, and after a brief chat, he dismissed them.
In a side room in the backyard of the Hundred Iron Shop.
Lin Sheng sat cross-legged, his eyes slightly closed, already immersed in cultivation.
He had been busy traveling these past few days and had not cultivated.
Now that he had temporarily settled down, cultivation naturally could not be neglected.
Especially after this recent attack by a Grandmaster like Lu Qing.
It completely shattered the slight relaxation he had felt due to his rapid increase in strength.
If it hadn't been a Martial Artist who had just entered the Grandmaster Realm like Lu Qing, but a Two Realms or even Three Realms Grandmaster.
Then the situation this time would undoubtedly have become quite troublesome.
Especially with a terrifying Three Realms Grandmaster like Rashid.
Fortunately, he used this opportunity to completely eliminate him; otherwise, being targeted by a Three Realms Grandmaster is not something everyone can handle calmly.
Although the threats against him have been largely cleared now, it's always better to be safe than sorry.
Maximizing one's strength is always the right thing to do, no matter the circumstances.
It wasn't until nightfall that Lin Sheng opened his eyes.
The cold aura scattered throughout the room was slowly absorbed by him.
“Without the accumulated demonic Qi, the cultivation speed has indeed plummeted. It will probably take at least two or three months to reach the Peak of the Bones Transformation Realm.”
Lin Sheng frowned slightly.
Clearly, he had previously overestimated his cultivation speed after consuming the demonic Qi.
Although his speed of absorbing and refining demonic Qi had improved compared to before, as his Realm increased, his demand for demonic Qi also grew higher.
To go from the Sixth Level of Bones Transformation to the Seventh Level of Bones Transformation in two or three months is an unimaginable speed for ninety-nine percent of Bones Changing Warriors.
Even for Grandmaster Disciples like Gong Zheng and Yuan Fang, it would be absolutely impossible to achieve such speed.
It was just a pity that for Lin Sheng, it was still too slow.
“This is only the Bones Transformation Realm. After entering the Divine Form, the cultivation speed will undoubtedly be greatly reduced.”
“It seems I still need to find a way to improve my mental attributes.”
After completely digesting the demonic Qi backlash, Lin Sheng sighed lightly.
The fastest way to improve mental attributes is to integrate with related Yao Beasts.
However, in Southern Qi, it’s impossible to use the Dark Star’s channels to collect Yao Beasts.
Moreover, ordinary mental perception Yao Beasts have little effect on him now.
Currently, mental Yao Beasts need to be able to increase mental strength by at least two points to be useful.
Besides mental Yao Beasts, there is also the option of consuming Heaven And Earth Treasures or Spirit Pills that can increase mental attributes.
However, after thinking about it, Lin Sheng shook his head slightly.
Medicinal Pills and treasures that can increase mental strength are all extremely rare.
It was already an unimaginable stroke of luck for him to be able to consume the Heavenly Gifted Spiritual Spring and Tianluo Divine Drink on this trip.
Moreover, the mental amplification effect of the Heavenly Gifted Spiritual Spring is most obvious only when first consumed; even if consumed continuously afterward, the effect will be greatly reduced.
Besides these two methods, there is a third, which is to temper the mind with special secret methods to achieve the effect of strengthening mental power.
Such secret methods are generally found in Cultivation Techniques of True Qi level and above, with corresponding techniques.
It's just a pity that the Supreme Heavenly Demon Scripture given to him by Li Shenjun does not contain such a secret method.
To obtain the complete Supreme Heavenly Demon Scripture, he would only be able to ask his cheap Master after returning to Northern Yan.
Moreover, compared to the first two, using secret methods to temper the mind and increase mental power is undoubtedly much less efficient, a slow and painstaking process.
After pondering for a long time, Lin Sheng shook his head slightly.
“Forget it, it’s only two or three months anyway, which will pass quickly.”
“And besides the Supreme Heavenly Demon Scripture, I can also start trying the last Realm of the Heavenly Serpent Bone Exchange Secret Method.”
Thinking of this, he immediately suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his mind and began to try to comprehend the Heavenly Serpent Bone Exchange Secret Method.
Compared to breaking through to the Peak of Bones Transformation, there was no doubt that the benefits brought by the Heavenly Serpent Bone Exchange Secret Method were greater.
In fact, he had tried to comprehend the third Realm of Heavenly Serpent Bone Exchange some time ago, but unfortunately, he had no clue.
The three great Realms of Heavenly Serpent Bone Exchange are Skin Transformation, Bones Transformation, and Blood Devouring.
The Blood Devouring Realm is undoubtedly the most difficult in this secret method.
The so-called Blood Devouring means fully stimulating one's own Bloodline potential and achieving the effect of altering or even changing the Bloodline, completely remedying any potential weaknesses in the Bloodline, and elevating the Bloodline potential to a higher level.
This effect, to some extent, resembles the fusion of Bloodline into the body after entering the Grandmaster Realm.
For him, the biggest difficulty in this Realm was the so-called stimulation of Bloodline potential and the alteration of Qi and Blood.
With the foundation of the first two Realms, the Yao Beast Bloodline in his body had long been completely removed.
Without the Yao Beast Bloodline, there was naturally no talk of stimulating the Yao Beast Bloodline.
Not to mention altering or sublimating the Bloodline.
It was precisely because of this that he had made no progress despite several attempts.
Thinking of this, Lin Sheng fell into contemplation.
Although he cultivated this Heavenly Serpent Bone Exchange Secret Method, the results of his cultivation were almost completely opposite to what was described in the secret method.
Since the first two Realms had already deviated from its original path, the Blood Devouring Realm naturally couldn't follow the established steps.
He rubbed his chin, pondering carefully.
“Blood Devouring… Blood Devouring… To alter the Bloodline, one must first remedy the Bloodline defects and bring it to a certain level before the conditions for alteration can be met…”
“My Bloodline no longer contains Yao Beast Bloodline. How should I go about remedying my own Bloodline defects?”
His current physique, even without integrating any Yao Beast, was already terrifyingly powerful.
What kind of shortcomings could there be!?
“Remedying one’s own Bloodline defects, could it, to some extent, mean strengthening one’s physique? But to use the cultivation method described in the Heavenly Serpent Bone Exchange Secret Method, it’s simply impossible to achieve this…”
Lin Sheng frowned, then simply closed his eyes, running through various possibilities in his mind.
He remained seated until noon the next day.
The scorching sun hung high, and strong sunlight filtered through the window, casting a golden hue over the room.
Lin Sheng opened his closed eyes, his brows tightly furrowed, and after a long while, he sighed.
“It’s indeed not that simple. It seems I’ll have to spend more time trying various possibilities.”
A night had passed, and with his insight and experience, he had simulated dozens of possibilities in his mind, but only two or three were feasible, and even those two or three were only relatively so; he didn’t even have a thirty percent chance of success.
He glanced at the high sun outside the window, then rose and pushed the door open.
Noticing Lin Sheng had come out of seclusion, someone immediately rushed over.
In the side hall.
“Is the situation in the Misty Sea Area much worse than originally expected?”
Lin Sheng looked at Shui Zhi and Jin Yang in the hall, asking with some surprise.
“Yes, Young Master. These past few days, your subordinates have been searching for information on the Misty Sea Area, and at the same time, we rented a large merchant ship to try and explore it. However, we could only get close to the central area before being unable to proceed further.”
Shui Zhi replied gravely, his face solemn.
“The situation in the Misty Sea Area is complex. Not only is it extremely easy to get lost, but there are also various harsh weather conditions. However, the most troublesome aspect is the sea Yao Beasts in the Misty Sea Area.”
“Oh? Even you can’t handle them?”
Lin Sheng raised an eyebrow and asked.
“I can handle the outer areas, but in the central area, the sea Yao Beasts are numerous and fearless. I am fine, but the ship cannot last too long.”
Shui Zhi replied.
“Moreover, the sea Yao Beasts in the Misty Sea Area are extremely good at concealment, and their talents are quite strange, somewhat different from the sea Yao Beasts outside the mist. There are also powerful sea Yao Beasts among them.”
“There are Yao Beasts?” Lin Sheng’s face showed some interest.
“Although your subordinate did not encounter any, according to the collected intelligence, there are definitely Yao Beasts present, and they are very strong Yao Beasts, probably more than one.”
“Very strong, and more than one!?”
Lin Sheng’s fingers slowly tapped on the table.
“Do you know the abilities or types of the sea Yao Beasts there?”
Hearing this, Shui Zhi’s face showed hesitation as he said,
“Your subordinate is incompetent and has not collected specific information.”
“Never mind, I’ll have to go there eventually. If I encounter them, I’ll naturally know.”
Seeing this, Lin Sheng had no intention of making things difficult for him.
After all, Dark Star didn't have many people in Southern Qi, and it was already quite good that Shui Zhi could gather this information.
After asking for more detailed information about the Misty Sea Area, he gained a better understanding of this mysterious sea region.
The Misty Sea Area was much larger than he had imagined, even larger than the entire East Sea Prefecture.
It was a desolate and rarely visited place in the sea outside the East Sea Prefecture.
It was extremely easy to get lost there, coupled with harsh weather and highly aggressive sea Yao Beasts.
Most merchant fleets would rather choose a detour than easily set foot in it.
“I didn’t expect the organization’s retreat to be in a place like this.”
Lin Sheng tutted twice, somewhat Feelings.
However, after a brief thought, he understood the key.
Only in such a place could one be completely hidden.
He strolled through the courtyard with his hands behind his back when a sound of footsteps arose.
He saw Nong Yu holding a bamboo basket, with water splashing inside. Occasionally, a large black and red fish would leap out, trying to escape the basket.
But each time, Nong Yu slapped it back in.
She seemed too focused and didn't notice Lin Sheng in the courtyard until she got closer and was startled.
“Young Master!”
“Mm.” Lin Sheng nodded, his gaze falling on the bamboo basket in her hand. Only then did he clearly see the true appearance of the fish inside.
It was actually a slender, thin, strange fish, about the length of an adult's forearm. Besides its color, it looked almost like a piece of seaweed.
“What kind of fish is this?”
Seeing this strange fish for the first time, Lin Sheng asked with some curiosity.
“I don’t know what kind of fish it is either. I saw this one at the fishmonger’s in the market and found it a bit novel, so your servant bought it.”
Nong Yu said truthfully.
“When I was in East Sea Prefecture, I saw all sorts of sea fish, but this is the first time I’ve seen this kind. The fishmonger said this sea fish is quite peculiar; it can change its color according to the food it eats, and it can also grow similar scales, and even change the taste of its flesh.”
“Your servant doesn’t know if it’s true or false, but I was just curious, so I wanted to buy it and see.”
“There’s even such a fish!?”
Lin Sheng was quite surprised.
This ability was much stronger than that of chameleons and the like.
Immediately, he reached out his hand and grabbed the strange sea fish that had just leaped up.
A series of messages immediately appeared on the System panel.
Beast Name: Lacquer Fish (Mortal Grade)
Resembling seaweed, fierce in nature, though a mortal beast, it possesses extremely strong attack power and a special body structure that allows it to change its physical form to a certain extent based on the prey it consumes; this is a sea Yao Beast with considerable potential, but unfortunately, its lifespan is short, otherwise, it might not have been impossible for it to become a Spirit Beast.
Integration Requirement: None
Integration Effect: Agility increase 1, Strength increase 1
Talent: Mimicry (Low-level)
After reading the System's description of the strange sea fish, Lin Sheng's eyes narrowed slightly, as if lost in thought.
Nong Yu, opposite him, looked at her Young Master with some confusion, staring blankly at the strange sea fish.
Lin Sheng quickly reacted, glanced at the sea fish in his hand, and said to Nong Yu,
“This sea fish is quite interesting. Go to the market and see if there are any more of these sea fish, and buy more back.”
“Uh… Okay, your servant will go now.”
Nong Yu was a bit bewildered but immediately nodded and then hurried outside.
Only Lin Sheng was left, deep in thought.