Great Whale Crimson Dragon

After sending the four children home, Lin Le gained another four points of merit.

Returning to the inn, Lin Le tallied his gains from this trip: thirty-six points of merit, ten points of killing karma, and over a hundred taels of silver.

After digesting the lotus root, Lin Le felt a warmth spread through his spine, a surge of joy welling up within him.

Yang Spiritual Root, three segments now.

Looking at the lotus seeds again, their number had returned to nine.

Lin Le took out a ledger and flipped through it, quickly contemplating his next target to eliminate.

'Still, they're worse than beasts.' Lin Le touched his teeth as he looked at the records in the ledger; the number of people involved had already reached over a hundred.

The next day, after spending three taels of silver on over a hundred pounds of meat to fill his stomach, Lin Le headed to the county's martial arts school.

He spent eight taels of silver to learn a martial art called Eight Directions Leg, which, upon reaching Perfection, would make it easier to achieve the Mantis Leg bone structure.

'Two more to go.' Lin Le muttered to himself.

But ordinary martial arts only involved hands and feet, and anything slightly more special wasn't widely circulated.

Finding the Great Devourer Art from Hu Zigui earlier was a huge stroke of luck.

'I should check out the black market, and buy some pills while I'm at it.'

Lin Le pondered, then turned into an alley.

Then, consuming one lotus seed, Eight Directions Leg was cultivated to Perfection.

Walking slowly in the alley, Lin Le suddenly leaped, landing on a wall.

Without conscious control, the moment he landed on the wall, a 'snap' sound rang out, immediately alerting the people in the courtyard.

"Who!" a thug hiding behind the door exclaimed, turning his head and spotting Lin Le standing on the wall.

"Who are you!" the thug shouted.

Lin Le glanced over, flicked his toes, and a small piece of gravel shot out like a bullet, hitting the thug on the forehead and piercing through.

Casually picking up a roof tile, Lin Le exhaled with force, shattering the tile into several pieces.

Then it was time for some moving targets.

One shattered tile for each, by the time he was done, bodies lay strewn both inside and outside the house.

"Come out," Lin Le said casually, "Don't hide, I know you're there."

A burly man emerged from the house, holding a saber, his face grim as he looked at Lin Le, "Esteemed sir, have I, Zhang, offended you in any way?"

Lin Le remained silent, instead leaping forward, soaring above the burly man, and stomping down.

The burly man's Blood Qi surged, revealing him to be a first-limit Martial Master with Blood Qi Gauze. He raised his saber, intending to block the attack.

Crack! Bang!

Two sounds: one was Lin Le's stomp breaking the iron saber, the other was Lin Le's foot crushing the burly man's head into his chest cavity.

Landing lightly on the ground, Lin Le didn't even look at the corpse. He walked into the house, but then frowned.

He was too late; there were no trafficked people here.

After collecting the spoils and changing into new clothes and altering his appearance, Lin Le left the courtyard and returned to the inn to examine his inner world.

There were only twelve lotus seeds left, and sixteen points of Human Dao merit had yet to be condensed.

The number of Human Dao lotus seeds had reached its limit. The remaining merit could either be saved, or ninety more points of merit could be poured in, or nine ordinary lotus seeds could be consumed to refine a single-pattern lotus seed.

Lin Le thought about it and decided to save them for now, as he didn't have anything he needed to use them on.

Another segment of lotus root had regenerated, and Lin Le chose to save it as well. The improvement wasn't significant, and it would be more satisfying to use them all at once.

Counting his money again, he had a total of over five hundred taels in cash, half of which was contributed by that first-limit Martial Master.

He closed his eyes and refined his soul until nightfall.

This time, Lin Le put on the purchased night-blooming clothes and set out, arriving before a small grove of trees.

Just as Lin Le was about to enter, someone jumped out and said, "Market entry fee."

"How much?" Lin Le asked.

"One tael." the person replied.

Lin Le tossed him a small silver treasure, and the person stepped aside, clearing the path.

After entering the small grove, it opened into a clearing that had been artificially created. Each tree stump had a black cloth placed on it, with various items displayed on the cloth, and the stall owner watching nearby.

Lin Le browsed unhurriedly, finally stopping at a tree stump. "Is this Qi Swallowing Art a martial art or a Qi-guiding technique?"

The stall owner, also dressed in black, replied, "It's a martial art. After mastering it, it can strengthen the lungs, and upon reaching Perfection, it makes it easier to achieve the Great Whale Lung bone structure."

"How much?" Lin Le asked.

"One hundred taels, non-negotiable." the stall owner said.

"Is the martial art genuine?" Lin Le asked, his Blood Qi circulating around his ears as he listened to the stall owner's breathing.

"It's definitely real. I've sold several copies, and no one's ever bothered me about it," the stall owner said.

My heart rate hasn't increased, so it should be real.

Lin Le nodded slightly. "I'll take this one. Do you have any other martial arts that involve other special forms?"

"I have one called the Great Devourer Art, which trains the six viscera. Do you want it?" the stall owner pointed to a book.

Lin Le glanced at it. "I've already practiced it. Otherwise, I would have asked for both at the same time."

"You've practiced it?" the stall owner was stunned, then slapped his thigh. "Damn it, you pirate!"

"Aren't you a pirate too?" another stall owner nearby teased. "How dare you say that about others!"

"That's not the same!" the stall owner retorted. "I've copied this word for word, with no errors or omissions. How can a pirated copy deliberately designed to cause trouble compare to mine?"

"Are there any others?" Lin Le cut off the conversation. He was only here to find martial arts, not to watch a show. "If not, I'll just take this one."

"Wait!" the stall owner raised his hand. "I have a damaged copy here, but it involves a very special form. Do you want it?"

Lin Le nodded slightly. "What form is it?"

"Crimson Dragon Marrow," the stall owner said.

Marrow? Lin Le's pupils contracted slightly. If one were to talk about the most difficult and easiest forms, it would be marrow. The five viscera and six organs would come after.

The reason marrow is the most difficult and easiest is not only because it's protected by bones and cannot be refined, but also because the brain marrow is part of it. If there's any problem with this part, it could lead to sudden death at best, or idiocy at worst.

Lin Le thought for a moment and then asked, "How much?"

Anyway, with the lotus seed, there wouldn't be any problems even if there were mistakes during practice. He could use it for experiments or research.

"One hundred taels, same as the other," the stall owner said.

Lin Le immediately bargained. "One hundred and fifty taels for both."

"Deal." The stall owner readily agreed.

After paying, Lin Le received the Qi Swallowing Art and a martial art called the Crimson Dragon Blood Scripture.

He first examined the Qi Swallowing Art, and after confirming there were no issues, Lin Le then looked at the martial art called the Crimson Dragon Blood Scripture.

This was an extremely high-level martial art. Upon reaching Perfection, it could more easily yield six forms: besides Crimson Dragon Marrow, there were Eagle Claw Hand, Coiled Dragon Sinew, Fierce Tiger Back, Carp Waist, and Mantis Leg.

However, it only contained the cultivation method, not the nurturing method, nor the secret medicine's formula.

According to the book, to practice this art, one must use a specially made secret medicine. Otherwise, one couldn't even start, and forcing the practice would only cause the Blood Qi to flow in reverse, leading to sudden death.

The secret medicine wasn't a big issue. Blood Essence Treasure Liquid was the best universal medicine; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to yield so many forms so easily.

It was just that the conflict between forms was a bit troublesome. After all, changing one form to another would double the resources consumed.

Fortunately, there was only one conflict with the waist, so it wasn't a big problem.

Lin Le put away the books and spent another three hundred taels to buy three Spirit Blood Pills.

These were even better than Blood Essence Pills. The market price was fifty taels each, but they were controlled items, so they naturally sold for double in the black market.

Lin Le had used the remaining two drops of Blood Essence Pill Liquid, but they had reached their limit. They were still useful for replenishing consumed Blood Qi, but they could no longer promote further progress in Blood Qi.