Chiyu Army Camp.
After Lin Sheng's thunderous and bloody purge, the army camp had been completely revitalized.
The previous days of laziness were nowhere to be seen; the remaining soldiers were all mighty and strong, exuding a chilling aura, clearly elite warriors.
The more than a thousand remaining soldiers of the Crimson Feather Army were all the original personnel from before the expansion.
Naturally, these veterans were quite resistant to the previous rampant expansion, but now, after the seemingly unreasonable reforms by their newly appointed Commander, these old soldiers felt quite pleased.
After all, their original benefits had been significantly diluted by the new, expanded recruits, and in the past two years, there had been a growing trend of even fewer benefits.
The central army tent.
Two Divine Form Realm officers guarded the entrance, prohibiting anyone from approaching.
Inside the tent, Lin Sheng sat cross-legged in the center.
His upper body was bare, revealing a sculpted Physique, but his exposed skin was now covered in spiderweb-like black patterns.
Upon closer inspection, several black rhomboid marks on his back could be seen slowly wriggling at a visible pace.
They eventually converged into a black hexagram pattern, but the black lines in the center of the hexagram pulsed and intertwined, forming a terrifying, ghost-like face that looked extremely bizarre.
The next moment, the black patterns on Lin Sheng's body spread out like ink.
A dense mist diffused outwards, and with its release came an eerie aura of extreme cold.
In an instant, the two accompanying officers guarding outside the tent sensed the abnormality.
They exchanged glances, both seeing surprise in the other's eyes, and immediately looked towards the tent behind them.
Although they couldn't see the situation inside through the tent, they clearly perceived the vast, ocean-like, yet strangely inexplicable, aura emanating from within.
"What's going on?"
Uncertainty and suspicion filled their hearts, but they also understood that Lin Sheng was in secluded cultivation, and this situation might indicate a problem with his practice.
One of them immediately hurried away to inform Meng Lie.
The other's face showed some hesitation, but ultimately, concerned for Lin Sheng's safety, he decided to open the tent flap and go in to see what was happening; if Lin Sheng had truly encountered a problem in his cultivation, he could immediately begin rescue.
However, as soon as he extended his hand into the tent flap, a chilling cold that made his heart tremble emanated from his palm.
He instinctively withdrew his hand and stepped back a few paces, his heart racing as he looked at his numb fingers.
His Protective Aura had been completely ineffective.
At once, he abandoned the idea of going in to investigate.
Just then, his eyes widened, because at that moment, dense black mist was already wafting out from within the tent.
He felt that chilling aura from the black mist and immediately retreated, to avoid contact with it, while also ordering the surrounding soldiers to disperse.
Before long, Meng Lie had rushed over.
Upon seeing the dense black mist emanating from outside the tent, his expression also changed.
"Boss, what should we do? Commander, he seems to be in trouble."
The officer quickly approached and spoke.
"Everyone, step back for now. I'll handle this here."
Meng Lie stared at the black mist for a moment, then spoke in a deep voice.
A few days ago, when Lin Sheng went into seclusion, he had informed him that some unusual phenomena might occur.
So, even though the swirling black mist didn't look like a good sign, he chose not to rashly enter and disturb him.
Soon, half a day passed, and the black mist emanating from within the tent had spread outwards for hundreds of meters.
Standing outside the black mist, Meng Lie watched the increasing density of the mist, his heart pounding.
As the Commander of the Imperial Forbidden Army, his vision was naturally extremely high.
But at this moment, he couldn't help but be utterly confused.
"What exactly is the General cultivating? Why is there such a huge commotion?"
This black mist was quite strange; his Protective Aura was surprisingly ineffective.
That extremely uncomfortable chilling sensation directly affected his body and mind.
When his internal energy was useless, he could only choose to endure it with his Physical Body.
He had just tried to touch the black mist, and even with his Divine Form Realm Peak Physique, he could only last for about ten breaths of time at most.
So, what would be the situation for Lin Sheng, who was continuously at the center of the black mist?
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little anxious.
His primary purpose on this trip was to ensure Lin Sheng's safety.
If anything happened to Lin Sheng, he would absolutely have no way to explain it to His Majesty.
Just as Meng Lie was burning with anxiety, inside the tent, Lin Sheng's eyes suddenly opened.
A sharp glint burst forth from his eyes, his dark pupils like two black holes.
They rapidly absorbed the swirling black mist around him.
However, after a short while, the dispersed black mist had completely vanished, leaving only the viscous, black ocean-like mist within the tent.
And this mist was being swallowed by the ghost face behind Lin Sheng at a visible pace.
Within the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, all the black mist had disappeared, and the tent returned to its original state.
A sharp glint burst forth from Lin Sheng's eyes, then receded.
"Divine Form Realm achieved!"
Exhaling heavily, a joyful smile appeared on his face.
After five days of cultivation, he had almost completely refined the demonic Qi accumulated during the second demonic Qi surge, finally allowing him to cross that threshold.
Feeling an unprecedented sense of fullness in his body, Lin Sheng immediately opened his attribute panel.
Lin Sheng
Realm: Divine Form Realm
Strength: 25, Physique: 25, Agility: 22, Perception: 16, Spirit: 8
Talent: Dragon Elephant Power
Talent: Ji Hai Magic Blood
Seeing the refreshed attributes on the panel, Lin Sheng took a deep breath.
This improvement could be said to have completely exceeded his imagination.
A huge increase of nine attribute points in total: two in Strength, two in Physique, two in Agility, two in Perception, and one in Spirit.
In particular, the Physique and Strength attributes showed the most significant increase, reaching an unprecedented 25 points.
"As expected of a Mystic Skill; no wonder it took so much demonic Qi to Breakthrough."
Lin Sheng thought with emotion. He didn't feel the anticipated joy but was instead extremely calm.
Stepping into the Divine Form Realm meant he was considered among the experts in this world.
Feeling the surging attributes within his body, Lin Sheng stood up and stretched his Physique.
"I wonder how much of a gap there is between me and a Three Realms Grandmaster now?"
This thought flashed through his mind. Before his Breakthrough, he was already confident that he had no rivals among Two Realms Grandmasters.
Now that his cultivation had greatly advanced, he wondered who was stronger, him or a Three Realms Grandmaster.
However, even if he couldn't compare to a Three Realms Grandmaster now, it was only temporary.
After all, after entering the Divine Form Realm, in addition to the surging attribute points,
the most important thing was the Incarnation Mark.
He looked down at his chest, and indeed, beyond the four circular marks, a grayish-white circular mark had quietly appeared.
This meant he could once again Incarnate a Yao Beast.
The attribute boost from Yao Beasts was extremely significant, even for him, whose current combat power had reached an extremely formidable level.
But being able to achieve the feat of slaying a Grandmaster was largely due to the Incarnation Mark.
"However, this fifth mark still needs to be activated first."
"I wonder how much Beast Blood this fifth circular mark will require to activate."
This thought flashed through Lin Sheng's mind. He knew that the activation of circular marks caused the consumption of Beast Blood to increase almost exponentially.
It went without saying that activating this fifth mark would require an astronomical amount of exotic Beast Blood.
Moreover, the requirements for exotic Beast Blood would likely not be low.
When the fourth mark was activated, ordinary Beast Blood was completely useless; only Spirit Beast Blood worked.
To what extent would the requirements for Beast Blood reach for this fifth mark?
"General!!"
"General, are you alright?!"
Just then, Meng Lie's anxious voice sounded from outside the tent, interrupting Lin Sheng's thoughts.
"Come in, I'm fine."
Lin Sheng spoke calmly.
Meng Lie immediately rushed in, and seeing Lin Sheng completely unharmed, his hanging heart finally relaxed.
"General, you... Breakthrough!"
Feeling the powerful aura emanating from the other party, Meng Lie couldn't help but exclaim.
"Yes, I was lucky enough to succeed."
Lin Sheng nodded.
Watching the other party's understated reply, Meng Lie's heart was greatly shaken.
One must know that Breakthrough to the Divine Form Realm was an extremely serious matter for any Martial Artist.
Even when the younger generations in the imperial family broke through to the Divine Form Realm, they had to have Grandmaster-level elders protecting them, and various medicinal baths and pills to aid the Breakthrough.
This was the first time he had seen someone dare to Breakthrough the Divine Form Realm alone.
"Is there any news of Gongsun Changhai?"
Ignoring Meng Lie's thoughts, Lin Sheng asked.
"Reporting to the General, there is no news of Gongsun Changhai yet; he should still be on the East Sea."
At this point, Meng Lie paused, then continued.
"In this subordinate's opinion, Gongsun Changhai has already gotten wind of things and might not return to the camp."
"Is that so?"
Hearing this, Lin Sheng frowned.
He wanted to resolve the matter of the Crimson Feather Army as quickly as possible. If Gongsun Changhai kept hiding on the East Sea and dared not return, it would undoubtedly waste a lot of time.
Thinking of this, he looked at Meng Lie.
"How strong is Gongsun Changhai?"
"Reporting to the General, Gongsun Changhai had already entered the Divine Form Realm Peak fifty years ago, and his combat power is quite formidable."
"Compared to you?"
"He should be slightly stronger than this subordinate."
Meng Lie pondered for a moment and answered truthfully.
"Then what about with the other officers you brought?"
Lin Sheng asked with a frown.
"If we add the other officers, we can certainly capture him."
"That's good then."
Lin Sheng nodded.
He didn't plan to stay here for long.
After all, the Beast Blood required to activate the fifth mark would definitely not be a small amount.
It would naturally be impossible to gather it in this Haihe Valley.
But in Nanzhao Imperial City, it would be different.
He imagined it would definitely be enough to satisfy his needs for activating the mark.
"How is the search for pirate locations in the coastal areas progressing?"
"Reporting to the General, it's almost complete. Although those pirates are cunning, their numbers are large, making it difficult to completely conceal their traces."
"Since that's the case, then issue the order: we will set sail to suppress the bandits tomorrow."
Lin Sheng immediately nodded and said.
After clearing out the sea bandits, he decided to return to the Imperial City. As for the remaining Gongsun Changhai, he would leave him to Meng Lie and the others.
"General, there's one more thing: His Majesty has sent three more Divine Form Realm officers to assist, and they have already arrived at the army camp."
"Is that so? Then let them stay as well. There are still vacant positions for Left and Right Centurions; they can fill them perfectly."
Lin Sheng was a little surprised.
It seemed that His Majesty Jing Emperor already knew about what he had done.
Originally, he thought that his aggressive actions might displease His Majesty, but he was more decisive than expected.
"This subordinate obeys."
Meng Lie responded, then bowed and left, hurrying to prepare for tomorrow's sea expedition.
The next day.
Daylight broke.
A contingent of over a hundred people headed towards Haihe City.
Crimson battle flags fluttered in the wind, with a clear black Dragon shape visible.
Besides the Dragon flag symbolizing the Crimson Feather Army, there was another flag, also red with black characters, bearing a large character 'Lin'.
Although the number of people was not large, the team moved very quickly, and before long, they arrived outside Haihe City.
A somewhat corpulent, fair-faced middle-aged man in a dark official robe had already brought people and waited outside the city.
Seeing the team approach, he immediately stepped forward a few paces, his face beaming with smiles, and spoke loudly.
"Sun Kaixuan, City Lord of Haihe City, greets Commander Lin."
At the front of the team, Meng Lie raised an eyebrow in disdain, then the formation dispersed.
A crimson-black official carriage stopped before the city.
"Rise, City Lord Sun."
From the official carriage, Lin Sheng reclined, glancing at the stout man, and spoke indifferently.
"Thank you, Commander Lin. This humble one was occupied with official duties earlier and could not personally receive Commander Lin. I ask for the Commander's forgiveness."
The pale-faced stout man still bowed, his face full of apologetic smiles.
His dead fish eyes cautiously glanced at Lin Sheng.
A few days ago, when he learned of what happened in the Crimson Feather Army Camp, he froze on the spot and nearly broke his most beloved porcelain vase.
But soon, he couldn't help but feel anxious and fearful.
He was afraid that this killing god would come for him. Fortunately, things did not develop in the worst direction.
That's why he quickly came out personally to greet and apologize.
"Busy with official duties?"
Lin Sheng raised an eyebrow, his voice immediately deepening a few shades.
Sun Kaixuan was so frightened that cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead. He plopped to his knees, hastily explaining.
"This humble one is guilty. Please forgive me, Commander. These are gifts prepared for Your Excellency. Please accept them."
As he spoke, he quickly winked at the scribe who was also kneeling on the ground behind him. The latter immediately rose, holding a brocade box, and presented it.
Meng Lie stepped forward, took the brocade box, and handed it to Lin Sheng.
Opening the brocade box, inside was a thick stack of Southern Qi treasury notes, all in denominations of ten thousand taels, amounting to at least several million taels.
Seeing this, Lin Sheng grinned, then directly threw it back.
"This Commander's cultivation requires Yao Beast Blood. Since City Lord Sun is so thoughtful, then after this Commander returns from suppressing the bandits, just prepare more Yao Beast Blood."
"This humble one... this humble one will definitely not disappoint Your Excellency!!"
Sun Kaixuan, who had initially turned pale with fright upon seeing the brocade box thrown back, immediately relaxed significantly after hearing Lin Sheng's words, nodding his head like a pestle in agreement.
Lin Sheng no longer paid attention to the other party. He waved his hand, and the team immediately entered the city.
After the team had gone far, Sun Kaixuan finally stood up and wiped his sweat.
"Thankfully, this killing god has been sent away."
"City Lord, where are we going to collect Yao Beast Blood?"
The scribe beside him asked with some hesitation.
"This..."
This question made Sun Kaixuan start to worry again.