The Difficulty of Seeking the Dao

After the burial, Lin Le began to sort through the wolf carcasses. He definitely couldn't eat all thirty to forty of them; the meat likely weighed two to three tons.

Lin Le had no intention of staying here for ten days or half a month.

He found the carcasses of the alpha wolf and the few wolves that had developed sentience. Lin Le butchered their bones and flesh and put them into a large pot to simmer.

As for the ordinary wolves, Lin Le only removed their spines, extracted the marrow, and simmered that.

Coincidentally, Lin Le also rummaged through the villagers' homes and found some silver money and a martial arts manual.

Bone Shrinking Skill. Upon completion, it could alter one's physique, and reaching Perfection would grant a Bone Structure like shark bone.

Shark bone could give a person's skeletal structure greater flexibility and elasticity, and it also possessed regenerative abilities.

In other words, a person with this Bone Structure would have the ability to regrow severed limbs.

Train it!

Lin Le pondered for a moment and made his decision. In his opinion, the bone aspect should be trained with the Mighty Bull Skill, which would grant Mighty Bull bone as a Bone Structure upon reaching Perfection.

However, in this desolate wilderness, he didn't know when he would find the opportunity. It was better to train what was in front of him first.

Moreover, the effects of Mighty Bull bone overlapped somewhat with the iron plate ribs and coiled dragon sinew that were more easily obtained from the Thirteen Taibao Horizontal Training.

Now that there was a better option, why wouldn't he learn it?

The Inner Scenery's lotus flower swayed, and a golden lotus seed dissipated.

One thought, one year. Lin Le spent his time learning the Bone Shrinking Skill, reaching Perfection.

My comprehension seems to have improved. Is it because my spirit and soul have become stronger?

Lin Le came to his senses and couldn't help but mutter.

He had originally thought he would need two lotus seeds to perfect the Bone Shrinking Skill, but he hadn't expected that with just one lotus seed, he would reach Perfection at the very limit.

Blood Essence Treasure Liquid dripped down. Lin Le practiced the Bone Shrinking Skill while eating the wolf meat porridge he had simmered, the Great Devourer Art circulating spontaneously.

After one day, Lin Le circulated his Blood Essence, and his skeletal frame expanded. He, who was originally only five feet tall, grew to seven feet.

But after only two or three breaths, Lin Le returned to his original state. When he circulated his Blood Essence again, he was only four feet tall.

No wonder they call it Bone Shrinking Skill. It's completely unsuitable for combat. Lin Le thought to himself.

The moment he expanded his bones, Lin Le felt like a balloon. Any penetrative attack from the outside could cause immense damage to his internal organs.

When he contracted his bones, Lin Le felt severely restricted in his movements, and his internal organs were squeezed together, making him extremely uncomfortable.

If he wanted to fight, he would need to pair it with a martial art that strengthened the internal organs.

His aura surged, and red mist shot up to four feet high. Lin Le, having returned to his original state, nodded slightly. After eating the alpha wolf, he should be around seven feet tall.

Just as he was about to continue practicing the Thirteen Taibao Horizontal Training, the Big Yellow Dog suddenly barked.

Lin Le walked over quickly.

At the entrance of the village, twenty to thirty people were happily carrying wolf carcasses, while the Big Yellow Dog was barking beside them.

In its eyes, these wild wolves were Lin Le's prey, and outsiders had no right to touch them.

"What are you barking at? If you bark again, I'll eat you too!" One person, annoyed by the barking, picked up a stone and threw it at the Big Yellow Dog.

The Big Yellow Dog dodged the stone to the side. It then became somewhat enraged and lunged at the man.

The man was quite agile. He dodged the Big Yellow Dog's pounce and then kicked out.

However, the Big Yellow Dog took the opportunity to bite, latching onto the man's trouser leg and pulling. The man fell directly to the ground.

"Ouch!" The man landed on his backside, couldn't help but cry out in pain, and cursed, "Damn dog, I'm going to eat you today! Everyone, help me catch this dog."

Not a single person spoke.

The man looked at the people around him who weren't moving and knew something was wrong.

He slowly turned his head and saw a teenager holding a saber, looking at him quietly, with no emotion in his eyes.

No one present was foolish. Seeing the teenager's fair complexion and his cold, calm demeanor, they knew he came from a wealthy family. And holding a saber, there was no doubt that he had killed all the wolves here.

After all, it was commonplace for disciples from wealthy families to become martial masters at a young age.

It was just that no one had expected this person to still be here. They had recognized that the wolf carcasses had not been dealt with for a day, which was why they dared to take them.

"What do you want to eat?" Lin Le asked, his voice very calm. It sounded like thunder to the man on the ground.

The man immediately surrendered and kowtowed on the ground. "Esteemed sir, I wanted to eat dog excrement. Please don't be offended."

"Apologize to it, and this matter will be over," Lin Le said, pointing at the Big Yellow Dog.

The man was decisive and immediately turned to kowtow to the Big Yellow Dog. "Dog master, I apologize! It was my fault for not having eyes!"

"Woof." The Big Yellow Dog also barked once, as if letting it go.

"Scram back," Lin Le said.

The man truly scrambled back into the crowd.

"Who's the leader?" Lin Le looked at the crowd.

A man with a somewhat fair complexion stepped forward and said, "It was me, Young Master."

His tone was a little apprehensive. In his opinion, young masters from wealthy families would surely have guards when they traveled.

Even if the young man before him was only a first-limit Martial Master, his guards would at least be second-limit Martial Masters, not someone like him, a first-limit Martial Master in his thirties.

"Where are you from?" Lin Le asked.

"Qingye County," the man replied.

Qingye County, wasn't that the county next to Bailian County? Lin Le's thoughts raced, and he asked again, "How is Qingye County? Has the flood been stopped?"

"It has been stopped," the man nodded.

"It's stopped, so why are you still fleeing? You don't look like you're going to do business," Lin Le asked.

"A demon disaster, sir," the man explained. "The Imperial Qi hasn't gathered yet. Now, people are dying in the city every few days, and the villages outside the city are dying off in swathes. No one can sit still."

"How many days has it been since the flood was stopped?" Lin Le asked, confused.

"It's been fifteen days," the man said.

Lin Le's brow immediately furrowed. It shouldn't be like this; half a month should be enough for the Imperial Qi to begin gathering.

"What about the government?" Lin Le asked. "Don't they have any measures?"

"They did send constables to patrol day and night, and even invited some cultivators to kill demons," the man said, sighing. "But it's no use. The number of deaths is still the same, and various taxes are increasing. We really can't hold on."

"I understand," Lin Le nodded slightly. "Take the wolf meat and wolf pelts if you want them. I can't take them anyway."

"Thank you, Young Master!" The man immediately bowed to Lin Le with joy. What he feared most now was Lin Le holding them accountable for taking the wolf carcasses earlier, as they were Lin Le's property.

They had taken them without asking. A slightly more violent master might have broken their legs or even beaten them to death.

Lin Le waved his hand and turned to leave. In his Inner Scenery, five more merit points were added, and with the remaining merit, another lotus seed was condensed.

After packing up the wolf meat, the group left in a hurry, seemingly afraid Lin Le would change his mind.

Lin Le didn't care about them, but he was concerned about the Imperial Qi not gathering yet.

Under natural regulation, the Imperial Qi should have begun to gather, especially since the flood had passed.

But if the flood had passed and the Imperial Qi still hadn't gathered, it could only mean that the source of the disaster was still present, and the flood could return at any time.

However, there was another possibility: someone was controlling the Imperial Qi, preventing it from gathering.

Combining the information from before, Lin Le narrowed his eyes and uttered a sentence:

"Return the gentry's money in full, and the people's money will be split seventy-thirty."