Digest the Harvest

Chapter 17: Digesting the Harvest

Under the night sky, beside a campfire, Lin Le slowly ate roasted meat.

After killing the minor official and a few members of the Evil Wolf Gang along the way, Lin Le took advantage of the twilight and left the city just before the deadline.

Whether it was the minor official, Hu Zigui, or Zhao Lang, their identities were all quite troublesome.

Not only was the minor official part of the government, but Hu Zigui was likely a black hand for someone at the Wo Hu Martial Arts School, and Zhao Lang was probably also a black hand for a prominent family.

Killing them meant that the people behind them would likely hold a grudge against him.

To avoid being hunted by Martial Masters of the second or even third limit, it was naturally better for him to leave Baishan County as soon as possible.

As expected, plans couldn't keep up with changes. He had intended to stay in Baishan County for a month, but fortunately, his gains were quite good.

Lin Le activated his Inner Vision Divine Ability, and within his Inner Scenery, seven lotus seeds in the lotus flower shone with golden light, and there were two sections of lotus root beneath the lotus whip.

He had killed a total of eighteen people. Zhao Lang and Hu Zigui each provided two points of killing karma, totaling exactly twenty points.

This could also be summarized as: the higher the cultivation realm of a person, the higher their killing karma.

Then, the ordinary thugs provided fifteen points of merit, exactly one point each. Zhao Lang provided fifteen points; it was indeed fitting for a gang leader, one person equaling a group.

The minor official provided twelve points, suggesting he had engaged in many unsavory deeds.

The most impressive was Hu Zigui, with a full thirty points, indicating who knows how many dirty deeds he had committed.

After finishing the roasted meat, Lin Le flipped through the booklets. These were all martial arts, plundered from the dead men who had fallen by his hand.

There were four in total: Five Tigers Severing Gate Saber, Eagle Claw Technique, Thirteen Taibao Horizontal Training, and the Great Devourer Art.

The first three were very common martial arts, containing only the methods of practice but not the methods of nourishment. The last one was somewhat interesting; he had found it on Hu Zigui.

Lin Le examined it carefully, a hint of joy appearing in his eyes. This was because although the Great Devourer Art was simple, when practiced to the end, it provided a rarely seen form called Viper Belly.

The Viper was a giant snake capable of swallowing an elephant. A form named after it would naturally greatly enhance a person's food intake.

This was also perfect for Lin Le. After all, to increase the output of Blood Essence Treasure Liquid, besides eating better food, eating more was also a way.

"I'll practice this first!" Lin Le decided.

But before that, he would eat some of the lotus root.

Lin Le's mind moved, and the two sections of lotus root dissolved into red threads. At the same time, a slight heat reappeared in his spine.

The heat grew hotter and hotter, as if fire was heating a piece of iron.

This time it took slightly longer than last time, but it also subsided quite quickly.

"I should have two sections of Spiritual Root by now," Lin Le touched his spine.

Next were the lotus seeds.

One lotus seed dissolved into golden mist. With one thought, one year, Lin Le continuously practiced the Great Devourer Art within that year, until it reached Perfection.

Lin Le returned to his senses and patted his stomach. A hint of surprise appeared in his eyes; the Great Devourer Art reaching Perfection directly was beyond his expectations.

But considering the environment for comprehending the Way, Lin Le wasn't too surprised. After all, practicing with infinite blood and qi and infinite energy for a year was equivalent to ten years for a martial art like the Great Devourer Art, which relied heavily on blood qi.

Then came the Five Tigers Severing Gate Saber and the Eagle Claw Technique. Lin Le consumed two lotus seeds for each, pushing them into Perfection.

As for the Thirteen Taibao Horizontal Training, Lin Le didn't plan to use lotus seeds to accelerate it. This martial art purely consumed resources. If there were enough resources, an ordinary person could reach Perfection in a year.

However, the cost was so high that even wealthy families would find it heartbreaking.

So, there was no need to comprehend it.

Finally, it was the White Ape Spear. He threw a lotus seed at it, and it also reached Perfection.

Looking at the last lotus seed, Lin Le pondered whether to use it.

Because of the White Ape Arm bone, he had practiced the White Ape Spear to Perfection within half a year. But to reach the peak, Grand Perfection, it would likely take two or three lotus seeds, and even then it might not be enough.

In the end, Lin Le chose to use it because he wanted to go home, and he wanted to be as strong as possible.

The last lotus seed dissipated, but it wasn't one thought, one year. Instead, his senses increased several times, and his mind became much clearer.

Looking at the campfire before him, Lin Le's gaze couldn't help but follow the flickering flames, becoming more and more engrossed.

But this feeling came and went quickly. In just ten breaths, Lin Le felt his mind become muddled.

As if divinely aided, Lin Le suddenly picked up the spear beside him and began practicing the White Ape Spear, chasing the feeling he had just experienced while watching the campfire.

He practiced for an hour. As Lin Le delivered his final thrust, his entire body's blood qi surged into the spear, and then a spear aura broke through the air, striking a tree trunk three Zhang away. It carved out a three-inch-deep, three-foot-long crack, with scorch marks around it.

Holding the spear, Lin Le's heart surged with emotion. The White Ape Spear had reached Grand Perfection.

"This move shall be called White Ape Cleaves the Sun," Lin Le named the technique.

Sitting down again, Lin Le couldn't help but look at the lotus flower. He hadn't expected the lotus seeds to have such a use – temporarily greatly enhancing his comprehension and inducing a state of epiphany.

"This divine ability is truly sentient," Lin Le couldn't help but sigh.

"But next time I have a martial art to comprehend to Perfection, I must find a reference object beforehand," Lin Le thought.

This time was also considered fortunate. The White Ape Spear was originally a domineering style, which matched well with fire, allowing him to break through easily.

If it were the moon or trees, perhaps he wouldn't have comprehended anything from just two or three seeds.

Glancing at the sky, Lin Le entered meditation. During meditation, his senses would be extremely sharp, so he didn't need to worry about not reacting in time when danger arrived.

Dark clouds gathered, and thunder rumbled. Suddenly, lightning snakes danced wildly, startling Lin Le.

"Second Zen?" Lin Le's tone held surprise and uncertainty.

The dancing lightning snakes were an anomaly that only appeared in the third stage of the Fire Refining Soul Refining Diagram.

This also signified that Lin Le's meditation had entered Second Zen.

'Is it because of the 'one thought, one year' effect?'

Lin Le guessed that although his divine ability prevented him from suffering to the point of fainting during a year of practice, his spirit and soul, as well as his temperament, must have been tempered to some extent.

'Or perhaps it's because of the epiphany, where my spirit and soul merged with heaven and earth, gaining some improvement?'

Lin Le shook his head, not overthinking it. He knew that consuming more lotus seeds would help his spirit and soul cultivation.

This made Lin Le subconsciously look at the lotus leaf that still hadn't produced any flowing sap on its third segment. When he looked, he was stunned because specks of starlight were drifting on the lotus leaf.

As if due to their extreme sparsity, they could only drift on the lotus leaf.

Condensed dew, formed by collecting scattered soul qi.

Lin Le received the information and, after a moment of thought, understood why it had formed: he had just briefly entered Third Zen.

If body refinement were a staircase, where each step could be lingered upon, then soul refinement was like a slide; one could only rush from the bottom to the top, or else they would slide back down.

Therefore, every time Lin Le entered meditation, he had to progress from Initial Zen to Second Zen, and he had just reached Third Zen.

Third Zen was also the mark of officially beginning soul refinement. In Third Zen, a person's soul and body interacted, actively refining essence into soul qi to strengthen the spirit and soul.

However, Lin Le was kicked out as soon as he entered. Very little soul qi dissipated, so not even a drop of dew could condense; it could only drift as mist.

To verify this conclusion, Lin Le entered meditation again. When he was kicked out upon reaching Third Zen, he looked at the third lotus leaf again. The specks of starlight had indeed increased.