Wu Family Compound

In a secluded spot on the back street of the inn, Luo Jun met the mysterious man wearing a straw hat.

"Owner!"

Upon seeing the mysterious man, Luo Jun immediately bowed respectfully. The mysterious man pushed his straw hat up, revealing a face identical to Luo Jun's.

"You seem to be having a lot of fun." The person in question smiled slightly, "I saw it from afar just now; its mouth was stretched all the way to the back of its ears."

"Master is mocking me..." With that, the Tomb King removed his mask, reverting to his lich form. "During this time, I haven't dared to relax for a moment in order to perfectly portray my Great Master..."

"It seems quite successful..." Luo Jun nodded. "I was worried about how you would handle things if you were exposed."

"Because of the merits my master has made, everyone else takes good care of me. To prevent anyone from discovering my flaws, I always ask for a private room under the pretext of healing, and Tie Jingang tries his best to comply... So I am able to imitate my master until now, thanks to the foundation laid by my master before..."

"Ha, you've certainly improved a lot, you've even learned how to flatter now!" Luo Jun smiled slightly and took out the Cinerary Urn: "Perfect timing, I have a big gift for you, can you sense the difference?"

Previously, the Cinerary Urn could sense the Tomb King's presence, but judging from the Cinerary Urn Tomb King's behavior, he clearly didn't notice anything unusual about it. Now that the urn is right in front of him, even if the Tomb King is slow to react, he can sense that something is wrong.

"This... this is..." The Tomb King stammered, "Such an ancient and sacred aura... this comes from the Ancient Parami Empire..."

"To be precise, it's Amgilla," Luo Jun laughed. "Looks like I guessed right, you're also an emperor of the Ancient Parami, aren't you?"

The Tomb King sighed, "Under my rule, the Parami Empire reached its zenith. But then, I listened to slander and conducted a magical experiment, and the result..."

The story of the Tomb King has been mentioned in the description of the Cinerary Urn, but hearing it from his own perspective carries a unique sense of historical vicissitude.

According to his description, he was the fourth emperor of the Amgilla era. When Amgilla fell, Emperor Menehses willingly transformed into a monster to fight the enemy, but a branch of the royal family of Parami escaped. Menehses's youngest son fled to the later Paramis City, established a new kingdom, and became the first emperor of the Amgilla era, that is, the great-grandfather of the Tomb King, who was the fourth emperor.

Therefore, Emperor Menehses should be the great-great-grandfather of the Tomb King, his direct ancestor!

This Cinerary Urn contained the power of the ancestors and the sacred aura of the ancient god Karruth. Upon seeing it, the Tomb King felt an urge to worship. After a brief introduction, he eagerly crawled into the Cinerary Urn.

After completing this final piece of the puzzle, the crystal was finally satisfied and began to officially fuse with the Cinerary Urn.

Seeing that the energy emanating from this thing was getting stronger and stronger, Luo Jun had no choice but to put it back into the Hundred Treasure Box. Fearing that his absence would be discovered, he sneaked back to the inn and quietly returned to his room.

Seeing the hot water that had already been boiled, Luo Jun didn't stand on ceremony and started taking a refreshing shower. While showering, he used the newly learned Gathering Origin Protective Qi to simulate a blade on his fingertips and shave off his stubble.

To be honest, as his physical strength increased, Luo Jun found some aspects of his daily life increasingly inconvenient.

For example, getting a haircut, shaving, or trimming nails.

As part of his body, Luo Jun's hair and nails are also incredibly strong, unlike those of ordinary people.

Even Cultivators has reached the maximum level of the Body Refinement Realm only has a physical constitution that is ten to twenty times stronger than Root Bone of an ordinary person. Although their physical strength is greater, without the protection of protective qi, they are not invulnerable to blades and spears. They can still trim their hair and beard, and even if ordinary blades are a bit difficult, they can use magical artifacts to help.

However, Luo Jun was different. As early as when he was at the sixth or seventh level of the Body Refinement Realm, he discovered the problem with his hair and nails. At that time, he could only use the Azure Dragon Crescent Blade to solve it. After all, it was Epic Treasure Item with the special effects of sharpness and Unstoppable. Although it was large and not very convenient to use, at least it was still usable.

In addition, as his attributes improved, Luo Jun's control over his body also became stronger. He could even control the growth rate of things like his hair and nails to a certain extent, so he didn't trim them as often as the average person, and no one noticed anything unusual about it.

But now, he has reached the ninth level of the Body Refinement Realm, and even the Azure Dragon Crescent Blade can't shave his beard anymore. It's all thanks to the elders for teaching him the Gathering Origin Protective Qi, otherwise personal hygiene would really be a big problem.

Luo Jun picked up a small piece of his fingernail that he had cut off and used the sharp edge to scratch the wooden tub in the bath.

With a swish, it sliced a mark almost effortlessly; its hardness and sharpness were astonishing.

If we collected these, wouldn't they be excellent materials for crafting Noble Phantasms?

However, looking at his fingernails and stubble, which together didn't even weigh a gram, Luo Jun had no choice but to give up. How long would it take to collect enough?

After cleaning up, Luo Jun went out for a walk and found that most of his classmates were resting in their rooms... After all, they had traveled a long way and were exhausted; who had the energy to come out and stroll around like him...

Luo Jun had originally planned to catch up with his classmates... He shook his head and was about to go back to his room to lie down when he saw Ling Xin push open the door to the next room, wiping her wet hair as she walked.

The two happened to come face to face, their eyes meeting.

"Just finished showering?" Luo Jun didn't know what to say, so he just casually replied.

"Hmm..." Ling Xin nodded in response, then looked at Luo Jun with some curiosity. "You... seem a little different?"

Luo Jun was startled, wondering if he had been found out...

"Did I become more handsome after taking a shower?" Luo Jun touched his face and chuckled.

Ling Xin raised an eyebrow slightly and looked him up and down. "Oh, right, don't forget what you promised me yesterday."

Luo Jun was slightly taken aback, thinking to himself, "What did that old fox, the Tomb King, promise me?" He was about to reply, "Don't worry, I won't forget," when he suddenly noticed a scrutinizing look in Ling Xin's eyes...

Is she trying to trick me?

Dice of Heavenly Secrets!

"Gain Ling Xin's trust!"

"Ding, Event Difficulty 35 points, Final Points 69 + 5 points, Event Success."

"The difficulty is so low, it seems my guess was right." With that in mind, Luo Jun asked blankly, "What is it?"

Ling Xin glanced at him. "Oh, it's nothing, maybe I remembered wrong..." Then she turned and left.

Watching her retreating figure, Luo Jun secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed his guess was correct; she did indeed have some suspicions and was trying to trick him... As expected of a member of the Ling Family's elite, her intuition is truly sharp...

It seems that once the Cinerary Urn is fully fused, I'll have to ask the Tomb King about his experiences these past few days, otherwise problems might arise... I wonder how long the fusion process will take.

Back in his room, Luo Jun lay down on the bed and began to adjust his Vital Energy Cultivation.

For him, the cultivation of the Foundation Establishment Realm was no different from that of the Body Refinement Realm; both involved the continuous accumulation of vital energy. However, since the Body Refinement Realm had already reached its peak, the meridians would not expand further. Therefore, the excess vital energy could only be compressed. When a critical point was reached, the quantitative change would lead to a qualitative change, and the concentration of vital energy could be permanently fixed, thus allowing him to break through to the next realm.

As for the speed of cultivation, it has returned to the previous progress of going from the first to the seventh level of the Body Refinement Realm, which takes about twenty days to a month to break through the first level. Luo Jun estimated that his previous transformation by the Wildlands Underground Ruins was not complete. Although the way his Yuan Qi circulated had changed, he had not yet broken through the limits of Mortal Cultivation Technique in essence.

The true difference between the God Technique and those of mortals lies in breaking down the barriers between the Body Refinement Realm and the Foundation Establishment Realm, the so-called unification of all methods.

Therefore, the transition from the Body Refinement Realm to the Foundation Establishment Realm, Eighth Floor and ninth levels, was particularly slow for him. This was because he needed to completely change his body and the way his vital energy circulated through these two levels, a process that required several years or even more than ten years.

Unexpectedly, during this process, he encountered the ruins of another Deity, Karruth, and by using the legacy of this great god, he managed to break through the obstacle in one fell swoop.

This could be considered a blessing in disguise... Of course, the process was extremely dangerous, and we were very fortunate to have the Dice of Heavenly Secrets protecting us along the way...

In short, Luo Jun's cultivation path has now become a smooth road. As long as he cultivates step by step, he will be able to reach the maximum level of the Foundation Establishment Realm in less than a year or two...

I wonder if the awakening of the Heart Refining Realm will be just as smooth. What if we achieve the unification of the three realms? That sounds pretty cool!

While Luo Jun was diligently cultivating, several hundred kilometers away in Yunzhou City, Fang Ming, whom he had escorted to the city gate yesterday, was paying a visit at the entrance of a large mansion.

The gatekeeper had already gone in to announce their arrival, and soon a tall, stout Old Man in his sixties came out. Upon Fang Ming, he beamed and took his hand, saying, "Oh, my dear nephew! It's been years since I last saw you; you've grown so tall and strong, a capable young man now!"

"Uncle Wu..." Fang Ming bowed respectfully and took out a small wooden box. "My father recently acquired a rare ancient book. Knowing that Uncle Wu is an expert in collecting ancient books, he specifically asked me to deliver it..."

"Ah, I've already seen all this in Brother Fang's letter. Really, making such a fuss over my little hobby..." The Old Man ushered Fang Ming into the courtyard. "Hedong is a thousand miles away from here. You must be tired from your journey. Please come in and we'll talk..."

The two men led them into the courtyard. The mansion was decorated with artificial hills and had an elegant landscape. It was clear that this was not an ordinary merchant or wealthy household. The servants and servants they encountered along the way all bowed respectfully when they saw the two men. After the two men had gone far away, they all talked in surprise, wondering who that young man was that made the master personally come out to greet him.

Along the way, Master Wu kept Fang Ming company, asking about his well-being. When he learned that Fang Ming had recently been attacked by bandits, he was greatly surprised.

"The area around Yunzhou City is heavily guarded by the imperial army, and the surrounding area is mostly plains, so there haven't been large-scale bandit raids for many years..."

"Those bandits were strange-looking, poorly dressed, only wearing bloodstained animal skins..." Fang Ming described, "They were extremely ferocious and knew sorcery. My servants were all killed, and even the precious porcelain my father had prepared for Uncle Wu was smashed by them. In the end, only this ancient book survived... If it weren't for a young chivalrous man who came to my aid later, I would be dead by now..."

"Is that so?" Master Wu exclaimed in surprise. "Perfect timing! I have two highly skilled individuals as guests at my home right now. Tell them about the situation; perhaps they'll learn about the origins of those sorcerers..."

As they spoke, the two entered the main hall. Two people were sitting on chairs on the side, one of whom had a smile on his face and a small mustache. If Luo Jun were here, he would definitely blurt out his name: Hou Song!

That's right, this is the person in charge of the Yunzhou branch of the Hundred Rivers Sect, the Martial Uncle Hou who was once wrongly imprisoned.

The other one was a thin young man with a slightly harsh face, who looked to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old and exuded a cold aura.

"Let me introduce you," said Master Wu, pointing to Fang Ming. "This is Fang Ming, from the Hedong Fang Family. His father and I have been friends for many years, and this child is like a nephew to me."

Then he introduced the two guests, "This is Elder Hou Song, a branch elder of the Hundred Rivers Sect, and this is Lu Qianyun, also a master of the Hundred Rivers Sect, Purple Robe Disciple from headquarters... Nephew, you are very interested in Martial World anecdotes, you must have heard of the great name of the Hundred Rivers Sect, right?"

Fang Ming had always admired these Martial Forest Expert, and he bowed respectfully as well. The two of them rose to return the greeting, and after a few words, they talked about the peculiar bandits that Fang Ming had just mentioned.

"Strange appearance? Naked? Covered in bloodstained animal skins? And speaking a language we can't understand?" The two men from the Hundred Rivers Sect exchanged glances, and finally Hou Song asked, "How exactly does he look strange?"

Fang Ming recalled, "It had a large nose, deep-set eyes, and a peculiar odor mixed with the bloody smell of animal hides—it was extremely unpleasant. I wonder where this savage came from..."

Hou Song frowned and asked, "You said those people were all killed, but were any bodies left behind?"

Fang Ming shook his head. "They were all burned to the ground by that mysterious Young Hero."

"Killing him is one thing, but why destroy the evidence?" The others were even more puzzled. "Is that mysterious Young Hero you mentioned also like a bandit?"

Fang Ming shook his head. "He looks just like us, but he speaks the language of those bandits... and when he first appeared, he was almost naked, wearing only a pair of shorts... and his face was covered!"

Their strange attire made the group even more puzzled. Judging from Fang Ming's description, these bandits looked very much like Westerners... According to the known intelligence, the world of [Martial World] is vast. Beyond the Central Plains, the Northern Desert stretches for thousands of miles, the west is a towering plateau, the south is a hundred Ten Thousand Mountains mountains, and the east is an endless sea. It is said that Westerners also exist beyond the continent, but they are mostly from Savage Wilderness tribes, rarely setting foot in the Central Plains, let alone appearing near Yunzhou City in the Central Plains...

Thinking of this, Hou Song continued, "Have you seen the face of that mysterious Young Hero? Does he have any distinctive features?"

Fang Ming thought for a moment, "A fairly ordinary face, with some dust on it, so it's not very clear... Oh right, I vaguely noticed that there seems to be a faint horizontal scar on the bridge of his nose..."

(End of this chapter)