[Essence, Qi, and Spirit Explode, Heaven and Man Level Combat Power]

Main World, Zihua Manor in the Golden Continent.

Lin Ze returned here after leaving the Three Yang Sword Sect.

Having just obtained quite a few benefits, the next step was naturally to digest them a little.

As usual, he first opened the Gates to Heavens and threw the newly acquired Qi Consumption Method to that martial arts fanatic who had already helped him test two cultivation methods. He would verify the authenticity of this method and, most importantly, check for any unknown side effects.

Then, Lin Ze took out his microscope and began analyzing the components of the two natural treasures he had just obtained.

Lin Ze could understand most of the components of these two natural treasures. They didn't contain any toxic substances. He then extracted some of the unknown substances from the treasures and conducted animal experiments, which didn't reveal any problems.

At this time, Lin Ze's dedicated cultivation method guinea pig had already sent back new information. There were no problems with the Qi Consumption Method either. It could indeed greatly enhance one's spleen and stomach's digestive abilities, allowing one to digest and absorb more nutrients from ordinary food.

From the final analysis results, the Longevity Palace was very sincere in their cooperation. The natural treasures and secret techniques they sent didn't have any hidden tricks.

And at this moment, Lin Ze truly used these gains on himself.

First, he learned the Qi Consumption Method.

After a period of cultivation, Lin Ze successfully mastered this secret technique and then began to test its effects.

After preparing a variety of foods, Lin Ze activated the Qi Consumption Method, mobilizing the Qi and blood throughout his body and maximizing the power of his spleen and stomach.

A large pot of braised potatoes and beef was brought to the table, and Lin Ze began to eat with rice.

Normally, with Lin Ze's current digestive ability, he would be almost full after finishing this large pot of food. But with the Qi Consumption Method mobilizing his spleen and stomach's digestive abilities, Lin Ze ate the entire pot of meat and rice without feeling any fullness in his stomach.

Then, a large grilled fish, a large crab, a lobster, and a roast suckling pig were brought to the table one after another. But Lin Ze's stomach was like a bottomless pit, easily consuming all of these foods without any feeling of strain.

As he ate, Lin Ze could clearly feel the food entering his stomach being rapidly digested. His whole body felt warm and comfortable, with a sense of abundant power flowing through him. His Qi and blood were extremely active, being refined by the Inner Breath flowing through his meridians and acupoints.

This feeling was like eating those Spiritual Medicine that aided cultivation.

He could clearly feel his cultivation improving rapidly.

At the end of the meal, Lin Ze had eaten two hundred times the amount of food a normal person would, and only then did he feel finally full.

Or rather, Lin Ze's internal energy cultivation had temporarily reached the limit of what his meridians and acupoints could handle today, and he could no longer refine the essence Qi from the food on a large scale.

Putting down his chopsticks, Lin Ze wiped his mouth, let out a satisfied burp, and began to summarize the effects of the Qi Consumption Method in his mind.

"This Qi Consumption Method is indeed very powerful."

"The Longevity Palace has been able to develop and grow in secret, accumulating a certain amount of strength, even with the Great Zhou Dynasty controlling most of the resources in the world. It's probably because of this Qi Consumption Method. They can cultivate to a high level simply by eating normal food, without the aid of medicinal materials."

"However, just eating doesn't necessarily save money. The food I ate today cost more than 100,000 yuan in total, which is three or four hundred taels of silver. Even if I ate ordinary ingredients, it would still cost ten or twenty taels of silver."

"The only advantage is that, for these martial artists of the Longevity Palace, food is easier to obtain than medicinal materials. After all, these powerful martial artists can also go into the mountains to hunt lions and tigers, or go to the sea to catch giant whales to eat."

"And for me, this Qi Consumption Method is also very useful. Although I don't lack medicinal materials to aid my cultivation, with this Qi Consumption Method I can cultivate faster. Besides, I can fully enjoy my appetite, eating hundreds of times the amount of food in one meal."

"Being able to constantly enjoy the pleasure of eating is still very good."

Lin Ze thought to himself, very satisfied with the effects of this secret method. It was like adding another source of happiness to his life.

After confirming the effects of the Qi Consumption Method, Lin Ze took some time to deal with some trivial matters and then went to sleep.

Afterward, seeing that his body's digestive abilities had recovered to a similar level, Lin Ze began to digest the two natural treasures he had just obtained.

Inside the quiet underground chamber of Zihua Manor, Lin Ze was alone.

First was the Ten Thousand Year Stone Stalactite. This natural treasure appeared as jade-like droplets, about the size of a grape. Its main effect was to strengthen a person's muscles and bones, increase strength, and slightly improve physical fitness after consumption.

The reason Lin Ze wanted to cultivate the Qi Consumption Method first was to be able to digest the effects of this Ten Thousand Year Stone Stalactite as well and as quickly as possible.

At this moment, Lin Ze directly consumed the Ten Thousand Year Stone Stalactite.

Immediately, Lin Ze could clearly feel a cool aura flowing throughout his body, invigorating him. Then, Lin Ze felt the Qi and blood throughout his body begin to circulate rapidly, as if transformed into a hammer, beginning to temper his muscles and bones.

A sensation of soreness and numbness appeared on his body. Lin Ze felt like a piece of gold and iron being tempered, his body undergoing an indescribable transformation.

Time seemed to pass without end, and Lin Ze finally felt the strange sensation on his body fade away.

Rising and clenching his fist, Lin Ze could clearly feel his whole body filled with a powerful sense of strength. His flesh, bones, and skin had become more resilient and powerful.

Adopting a stance and testing himself slightly, Lin Ze discovered that his physical strength had increased several times over.

A punch unleashed caused wind and thunder to roar.

At this moment, Lin Ze's martial arts realm was Essence Solidification.

In the Great Zhou Martial World, a standard Essence Solidification realm martial artist could easily kill fifty Armored Soldiers without injury. In a desperate fight, they could kill hundreds of Armored Soldiers. If it were ordinary civilians, they could even sweep through thousands single-handedly.

Lin Ze felt that he could now kill thousands of Armored Soldiers single-handedly with his sword and remain unscathed.

This powerful combat strength was already comparable to a top-tier expert, possessing some of the aura of a Peerless Expert.

This was certainly due to the advantage of him cultivating a Peerless Divine Art, his Inner Breath and physique being much stronger than martial artists of the same level, as well as the effect of the Ten Thousand Year Stone Stalactite he had just consumed, demonstrating the power of this natural treasure.

Next, Lin Ze consumed the Sword Mushroom.

This natural sword-like Spiritual Medicine, besides slightly increasing a martial artist's mental vitality, had a greater effect of helping people comprehend Sword Intent.

After consuming the Sword Mushroom, Lin Ze felt himself enter a mysterious and ethereal state.

His body naturally adopted a stance and began to practice Zhou Tian Swordplay.

Previously, when Lin Ze practiced this swordplay, he was in a very calm state, simply treating it as a means of killing enemies and defending himself. But now, Lin Ze felt a sense of intimacy with the long sword in his hand, and the swordplay transformed from rigid and unfamiliar to agile in a very short time.

Lin Ze's spirit, Qi, and essence, which had surged due to consuming the natural treasure, also began to condense from scattered to focused during this cultivation process.

As the swordplay was performed, the sharpness around Lin Ze grew stronger and stronger.

A strong wind raged in the underground space, but gradually, these dancing winds began to turn into gentle breezes, and later, they completely disappeared, as if Lin Ze had merged with the clear wind along with the long sword in his hand.

"Essence combines with Qi, Qi combines with Spirit, Spirit combines with Intent, using this to mobilize the whole body's essence, Qi, and spirit to sweep away enemies, this is the Intent Realm."

After an unknown amount of time, Lin Ze woke up from his state of enlightenment.

He sensed his essence, Qi, and spirit. His Inner Breath was unprecedentedly strong, his Qi and blood boiling and flowing in his body, his mind controlling all this power, giving him an unprecedented sharpness.

The current Lin Ze had already broken through Essence Solidification and become a Spirit Accumulation realm top-tier martial artist, his combat strength rising to another level compared to before.

If the previous Lin Ze only had some of the aura of a Peerless Expert, then now, relying solely on his martial arts, he was already strong enough to be called the strongest below a Peerless Expert.

Normally speaking, two natural treasures would not have allowed Lin Ze to reach his current state.

However, the strengthening from the Gates to Heavens made Lin Ze's spirit exceptionally powerful, indeed directly helping him save a lot of accumulation time. Only then was he able to directly cross from the Essence Solidification realm to the extremely profound level of the Spirit Accumulation realm after comprehending the artistic concept.

"Next, it is to continue accumulating essence, Qi, and spirit, and then cultivate the artistic concept, using one's own essence, Qi, and spirit to condense Gang Qi to transform oneself. In this way, one can achieve the Peerless Expert."

"And this is a relatively long process, but fortunately, I am still young at the moment."

Lin Ze sensed the path ahead for his martial arts cultivation, becoming increasingly satisfied with the natural treasures sent by the Longevity Palace. This helped him save a lot of accumulation time again.

After sensing the changes in his martial arts, Lin Ze focused his attention on the foundation of his combat power, Mental Power.

With the comprehension of the artistic concept and his cultivation reaching the Spirit Accumulation realm, Lin Ze can now autonomously nourish his spirit through his own Qi and blood Inner Breath, which greatly enhances Lin Ze's Mental Power.

In addition, the existence of the artistic concept allows Lin Ze to mobilize the essence, Qi, and spirit of his whole body to bless his Mental Power, which further strengthens Lin Ze's Mental Power.

After a slight attempt, Lin Ze felt the limit of his Mental Power at the moment.

"The precision is still at the micron level, and the strength has increased from about 500 jin of power before to 5,000 jin of power at the moment. The endurance time has not changed much. It can last for more than half an hour under full combat."

"However, the fact that the Mental Power strength has increased so much, but the endurance time has not decreased, is already the biggest improvement."

"Right now, I no longer care about the threat of Peerless Experts at all. The Mental Power strength of 5,000 jin can directly drive more powerful weapons, directly replacing the machine gun I'm using with a cannon, and one shot can directly raze an entire block to the ground."

"Moreover, while the shells are extremely powerful, their rate of fire is also extremely fast. Even if a Peerless Expert has an indestructible body, they will at most be seriously injured by one shot, and the second shot can be said to be a certain kill."

Lin Ze sensed these changes, and he also had a new assessment of the combat power he possessed at the moment.

If the previous Lin Ze could be called invincible in the Peerless Expert realm, then Lin Ze can now be completely regarded as a Heaven and Man realm individual combat force. If it is combat power against fixed targets, then it is an immeasurable level of power.

However, Lin Ze still has shortcomings.

Although Lin Ze can now directly use Mental Power to drive heavy artillery attacks, which is powerful in destruction, and also has the Within Reach Horizon divine power to use for self-protection, not fearing high-speed enemies assassinating him, he is still afraid of the enemy's mental attacks.

It is precisely because he has cultivated to the Spirit Accumulation realm and comprehended the artistic concept that Lin Ze can more clearly understand the power of mental attacks.

Traditional martial artists, even if they cultivate to the realm of Peerless Experts, are only initially able to interfere with the outside world, but once they reach the Heaven and Man realm, their spirit can be powerful to another new dimension, directly attacking the spirit of others.

Therefore, although Lin Ze can be bolder in his actions because of the improvement of his individual combat power, he must also be careful not to be affected by the mental attacks of other experts.

"Then next, it's almost time to meet the real person in charge of this Longevity Palace."

Lin Ze experienced the changes in his combat power.

Next, he began to spend time constructing his new combat mode and began to familiarize himself with it.

Time passed in this process, and soon it came to the end of March, which was the time Lin Ze agreed to meet with the senior leader of the Longevity Palace.

Before leaving, Lin Ze glanced at his Luck balance.

In the past period of time, fertilizer has been continuously sold, the North Sea Pass textile factory, and the mining business on the South Gate Pass side have been constantly progressing. In addition, Lin Ze's own industry has also been continuously bringing him Luck.

By now, Lin Ze's Luck has had a substantial increase, and the current Luck balance has reached more than 200,000.

Without much hesitation, Lin Ze directly took out 200,000 Luck to strengthen his Personal Space.

As the strengthening began, Lin Ze felt his Personal Space increase to forty cubic meters.

Of course, more importantly, his spirit was also increasing rapidly, and his understanding of space was also constantly increasing.

When this strengthening was over, Lin Ze's spiritual strength had greatly increased, and the distance that Within Reach Horizon could control to shorten and lengthen had directly reached 500 meters.

In this situation, even when facing a Heaven and Man expert, Lin Ze already has ample ability to protect himself.

March 28th.

Three Yang Sword Sect, the back mountain of the Mountain Gate's residence.

This is a scenic spot near the cliff, with pavilions built.

Sitting in the pavilion, you can see the clouds rising and falling below the mountain, a scene of blessed land.

A Taoist wearing a blue Taoist robe was sitting quietly in the pavilion, brewing tea. The moment Lin Ze appeared, his gaze turned over.

Smiling, he said, "You've come."

(End of this chapter)