“A magical artifact and a martial technique!” Lin Yuan’s eyes lit up.
The Nascent Soul Realm Ancestor was indeed generous—just passing the first trial already granted rewards.
Inside the first floor of the wooden building were numerous glowing orbs of varying size and color. Each orb represented a reward. A restrictive barrier coated the orbs. Lin Yuan slashed a few times, but they didn’t budge at all.
“If these were left by a Nascent Soul Realm Ancestor, then these restrictions probably can’t be broken unless one is at least in the Golden Core Realm,” he thought.
Though magical artifacts and top-tier level-one martial techniques were rare, to Golden Core cultivators, they weren’t particularly valuable. Since he couldn’t force his way through, he could only choose one honestly.
Lin Yuan first focused on the orbs representing magical artifacts. His current long blade was full of cracks after fighting the Qi Refining puppet—he desperately needed a proper weapon. Blades and swords were the most common weapons, so there were plenty of choices. After searching, he stopped in front of one labeled “Nethersteel Blade.”
The Nethersteel Blade was a mid-grade magical artifact, about one meter long, with a deep bluish-black color. Its back was thick and embedded with tiny holes. When swung, air would pass through these holes, producing the eerie “Nethersteel Sound” that could shake one’s spirit.
However, the entire blade was forged from nethersteel, meaning the wielder had to endure its piercing cold aura day and night.
“If not for this side effect, the Nethersteel Blade would at least be high-grade—possibly even top-grade,” Lin Yuan thought with delight and chose it without hesitation.
In an instant, the orb disappeared, and the heavy Nethersteel Blade fell into his palm. He gave it a swing, and sure enough, the blade emitted a haunting hum that echoed through the wooden building.
“A fine weapon. With this Nethersteel Blade, my strength has at least doubled.”
Now armed with a superb blade, Lin Yuan was full of anticipation for the martial techniques. There were fewer martial techniques here than in the Martial Hall, but every one of them was of premium quality—each was a top-tier level-one technique. Plus, each orb displayed a brief description of the technique inside, so he didn’t have to worry about making the wrong choice.
“If the sect knew about all the treasures hidden here, they’d go mad with excitement.”
Before long, Lin Yuan found a suitable martial technique:
Refine bones and melt tendons, transform through rebirth;
A thousand strikes cannot break it, and no tribulation can destroy it.
The technique was called Hundredfold Tempered Golden Body Technique. As the name suggested, it was a body refinement martial technique.
Body refinement techniques weren’t popular in the Immortal Gate Sect. First, they consumed too many resources. Second, they showed slow results. Third, they required enduring extreme pain during cultivation. Any one of these drawbacks was enough to discourage people from practicing them.
Because of this, Lin Yuan hadn’t seen any body refinement techniques in the Martial Hall. If typical body refinement was already difficult, then this technique was hellishly so—it required the cultivator to consume metal in order to cultivate. This chapter is updated first at novelping dot com.
Take the first stage, Bronze Skin Realm, for example. One had to swallow over 50 kilograms of common iron to complete it. Iron wasn’t hard to find, but swallowing it…
Even if someone had the courage, the pain alone would be unbearable. In ancient times, people were known to commit suicide by swallowing gold. One reason was poor metallurgy at the time—gold often contained lead or mercury, which were toxic. Another reason was its hardness—it could cut the esophagus, stomach, and intestines, causing internal bleeding. Either way, metals weren’t meant to be ingested.
But to Lin Yuan, this was no problem at all.
“Wave Overlap demands extremely high physical endurance. With this body refinement technique, I’ll be able to stack more strikes and unleash even greater power.”
He immediately selected the Hundredfold Tempered Golden Body Technique. As the orb faded, the technique manual fell into his hands. He opened it for a quick scan.
The technique had five stages: Bronze Skin, Iron Bone, Mercury Blood, Star Marrow, and Spiritual Body. Once fully mastered, it could withstand attacks from late Foundation Establishment cultivators. Even against Golden Core attacks—so long as they weren’t killing blows—it could take the hit.
With both a powerful weapon and a top-tier martial technique in hand, Lin Yuan made his way to the second floor. But as he approached the staircase, a translucent barrier blocked his way. Just as he touched it, his body was flung backward.
A voice sounded in his ears:
[Only Foundation Establishment cultivators may enter the second floor.]
“Well, looks like gaining the Nascent Soul inheritance anytime soon is out of the question. But getting a handy weapon and a top-tier martial technique isn’t a bad deal either.”
After straightening his clothes, Lin Yuan left the wooden building.
Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly had a thought. The Hundredfold Tempered Golden Body Technique required swallowing metal. That puppet was made of metal, wasn’t it?
With that, Lin Yuan climbed onto the Qi Refining puppet and chopped off one of its arms. If his storage ring had more space, he would’ve stuffed the whole puppet inside. Then he retraced his path, step by step, out of the Zhou Tian Bewildering Illusion Formation.
…
Back at Hundred Herbs Peak, Lin Yuan bought 50 kilograms of common iron. It wasn’t expensive, and he could buy as much as he wanted. The only cost was having it all forged into small discs the size of fingernails. Fortunately, that wasn’t difficult. This story is hosted at novelping.com.
Molten iron was poured through a sieve. Though the resulting balls weren’t perfectly round, they were manageable enough to swallow.
When the iron discs arrived, Lin Yuan picked one up and held it in his palm.
After thinking for a long time, he swallowed it. The cold disc slid down his throat, reminding him of the time he accidentally swallowed a glass marble as a child.
Shaking off the memory, he cleared his mind, assumed a specific posture, and began cultivating the Hundredfold Tempered Golden Body Technique.
At the same time, in the back mountain, He Peng and Wang Lie were chopping spirit wood when their expressions suddenly tightened. They both grabbed their stomachs, sweat pouring down like rain.
It was back—again!
That strange feeling had returned!
“He Peng, I swear this Immortal Gate Sect is cursed. Maybe we should just leave while we still can. Stay here much longer, and we’ll really die,” Wang Lie said miserably, tears and sweat streaming down his face.
These days, it was either freezing cold or scorching hot. At night, they were constantly tormented by nightmares. It was maddening.
Back in the Blood Demon Sect, even when surrounded by cutthroat, backstabbing fellow disciples, life was never this unbearable.
“Fortune lies in danger. The more bizarre this place is, the more likely it holds great opportunity,” He Peng gritted his teeth, eyes shining. “We have no talent or background. If we want to make something of ourselves, we have to gamble. If you want to leave, go ahead. I, He Peng, will stay. Pain is fine—as long as I don’t die.”
Wang Lie, seemingly moved, also became bold. “Well said! Then let’s endure together—urgh!”
The moment the words left his mouth, both of them collapsed beside a tree.
Not long after, other servant disciples arrived.
Seeing the two lying there, soaked in sweat, clothing disheveled and leaning against each other, they shivered.
“The world’s going downhill. Fine if you do it yourself, but now you’re doing it out in the open?”