Fiend Devil Body

"Crack~"

Lin Dong, who was meditating in the stone pool, suddenly felt his bones let out a crisp crack. A surge of heat rose from within them, and his body quietly grew a little stronger.

"Body Tempering Stage One, achieved!"

Lin Dong opened his eyes in delight. As he silently sensed the newly born strength within his body, joy appeared on his face. He knew that he had finally taken a firm first step on the path of martial arts—the Body Tempering Stage.

"It seems the Ancestral Stone Spiritual Liquid accumulated in the stone pool is still plentiful. At least, it should be enough until I reach the Earth Origin Stage."

Lin Dong lowered his head and glanced at the pool water, whose color had not changed in the slightest. His heart settled. The energy consumed in reaching Body Tempering Stage One was negligible to the stone pool.

"Oh no, it's already so late. Mother will definitely scold me again if I go back this late."

As if remembering something, Lin Dong abruptly raised his head. Seeing that the sky outside the cave had already darkened considerably, he darted out of the water as nimbly as a fish. After dressing at top speed, he rushed down the mountain.

When he returned home, Liu Yan did not blame Lin Dong. Instead, she brought him a bowl of deep-red medicinal liquid. "Here, this medicinal liquid was brewed from the First-Grade Spiritual Herb, Red Ginseng. Drink it while it's hot. Your father personally picked it from the mountains. He said that now that you've begun cultivating, you must drink a bowl like this every day."

"Thank you, Father. Thank you, Mother."

Lin Dong's heart warmed at her words, and he immediately accepted the medicinal liquid with both hands.

"Dong'er, drink it quickly. Once you're done, come eat. When you reach Body Tempering Stage Two, Father will teach you a Grade 1 Martial Art called the Throughback Fist."

A soft laugh drifted over from inside the room.

Lin Dong drained the medicinal liquid in one gulp, quickly wiped his mouth, and strode into the room. Looking at Lin Xiao's rosy complexion, a thought stirred in his heart. "Father, since your injuries have fully recovered, why don't we return to the Inner District?"

"Return? What for? The surroundings here are peaceful, far from the clan's noise and bustle. I think this place is quite good—a fine place to raise you two siblings."

"Besides, don't you find it interesting how, ever since I was injured, some clansmen have begun mocking our family? They have completely forgotten how they used to fawn over me, revealing their ugly true colors. This is the perfect chance for me to see their faces clearly."

Lin Xiao shook his head and took a leisurely sip of wine.

Seeing Lin Dong fall silent, Lin Xiao could not help laughing. "Ah, why am I telling you this? Eat up. Go to bed early after dinner; you still have to get up early to cultivate tomorrow."

After dinner, Lin Dong and Qing Tan obediently returned to their rooms to rest.

"Mmm~"

Qing Tan, who had been skipping along and chatting with Lin Dong the entire way, suddenly let out a soft moan. Her body swayed, and she collapsed helplessly toward the ground.

Her delicate little face was already covered in frost, and even the nearby ground was littered with icy fragments. Yin-Cold Energy filled the surrounding air.

"Qing Tan, is the cold energy in your body acting up again?"

Lin Dong's expression changed, and he instinctively reached out to catch Qing Tan, whose body radiated an icy chill.

Lin Dong knew that Qing Tan's Fiend Devil Body was causing this. Before she condensed a Yin Core within her body, this dense Yin-Cold Energy could erupt at any time and any place, tormenting Qing Tan with unbearable pain.

Yet no one else could do anything about it. They could only watch helplessly.

No, now there was a way!

"Yes, Brother. Hurry and help me back to my room. I don't want Father and Mother to worry."

Qing Tan endured the pain as she tightly gripped Lin Dong's wrist and pleaded.

"Alright."

Lin Dong said nothing more and quickly helped Qing Tan back to her room. By then, her eyes were tightly shut from the pain, and her exquisite little face had scrunched up.

Lin Dong knew he could not wait any longer. He immediately took out the Ancestral Stone and brought it close to Qing Tan, who was shivering beneath her quilt.

"Buzz, buzz~"

The moment the Ancestral Stone appeared, it unleashed a powerful suction force that absorbed all the dense, almost tangible cold energy in the room. Even the icy fragments on Qing Tan's cheeks vanished completely, as though nothing had happened.

At the same time, three milky-white crystals the size of beans quietly appeared within the hollow at the center of the Ancestral Stone.

"So these are Yin Pearls compressed from superior Yin Sha Qi? Hmm, they're good things. They'll come in handy when I break through to the Earth Origin Stage."

Lin Dong carefully examined the three Yin Pearls.

As everyone knew, to enter the Earth Origin Stage, a martial artist needed to absorb the Yin Sha Qi between heaven and earth and fuse it with Origin Energy. To enter the Heavenly Yuan Stage, one needed to absorb Yang Gang Qi and fuse it with Origin Energy. To break through to the Yuan Dan Stage, the Yin and Yang Qi within the body had to merge and be compressed into a core.

Yuan Cores were divided into nine stars. One star was the weakest, while nine stars were the strongest. The final quality of a Yuan Core depended on the quality of the Yin Sha Qi and Yang Gang Qi a martial artist absorbed during the Earth Origin Stage and Heavenly Yuan Stage.

Thus, these realms of martial arts were also known as Stealing Yin and Yang.

The Yin Sha Qi between heaven and earth was divided into nine grades. The higher the grade of Yin Sha Qi one absorbed, the stronger one would be upon entering the Earth Origin Stage, and the greater one's future potential would become.

The Yin Sha Qi contained within these three Yin Pearls could at least rank among the top three grades of Grade 9 Yin Sha Qi. This meant Lin Dong had struck it rich. While others racked their brains and still could not gather high-grade Yin Sha Qi, he had a "living" source right beside him.

"Brother Lin Dong, the cold energy has subsided?"

Qing Tan, who had been writhing painfully on the bed, suddenly opened her eyes and stared at the scene before her in disbelief.

How could the Yin Sha Qi that had just erupted have suddenly receded? Every previous outbreak had lasted at least half an hour, sometimes even longer, tormenting her terribly.

"Yes, it's gone. Get some rest."

Lin Dong discreetly put away the Ancestral Stone and reached out to tuck Qing Tan's quilt around her.

"Alright. Thank you, Brother Lin Dong."

Exhausted beyond measure, Qing Tan did not think much of it and sank into a deep sleep in the blink of an eye. Judging by the sweet smile on her delicate face, perhaps she would finally get a good night's sleep.

"Qing Tan, believe me. You won't have to endure the torment of Yin Sha Qi ever again. Once I obtain the Ultimate Yin Object, Extreme Fiend Yin Dragon Saliva, I'll help you condense a Yin Core within your body and resolve the troubles of the Fiend Devil Body in one stroke."

Lin Dong sat by Qing Tan's bed for a little while longer before turning to leave.

And so, with the uninterrupted supply of spiritual liquid from the stone pool and spiritual herbs provided by Lin Xiao, Lin Dong's cultivation began advancing by leaps and bounds: Body Tempering Stage Two, Body Tempering Stage 3, Body Tempering Stage 4, Body Tempering Stage Five...

Before long, he began entering the Earth Origin Stage, then pushed onward toward the Heavenly Yuan Stage.

Of course, Lin Dong could only reveal a limited amount about the progress of his cultivation to Lin Xiao.

The martial arts Lin Dong mastered also increased accordingly: the Grade 1 Martial Art Throughback Fist, the Grade 2 Martial Art Eight Desolations Palm, the Grade 3 Martial Art Mysterious Gate Seal, and the Grade 4 Martial Art Pure Yuan Finger. Refined and perfected within the Ancestral Stone Space, their power grew with each passing day.

After entering the Earth Origin Stage, Little Marten took the initiative to remind Lin Dong that he could begin cultivating his Mental Energy.

Everything slowly unfolded in an orderly manner...