Black Water City had disappeared completely into the distance.
With the enormous Bone Shattering Hammer strapped to his back, Yan Kui raced through the wilderness beside the Official Road like an arrow loosed from a bow. He felt no attachment to the city and not the slightest bit of fatigue. His Blood Qi blazed within him like a furnace, driving him north at a speed far beyond that of ordinary men.
Only when the moon reached its zenith did he stop in a secluded valley.
Shrubs crowded the valley, and jagged rocks jutted everywhere. A narrow crevice led deep into the mountainside, making it an excellent hiding place. After clearing the entrance a little, he slipped inside.
It was pitch-black in the cave. Yan Kui pulled a fire starter from his clothes and gave it a gentle blow. A dim yellow flame instantly chased away the darkness.
He propped the Bone Shattering Hammer by the entrance, then found a flat boulder and sat cross-legged on it.
"It's time to take stock of what I've gained."
Yan Kui's gaze settled on the dusty cloth pouch at his waist.
It was a Storage Bag he had looted from Zhao Wuji's corpse. A magical treasure exclusive to cultivators, it could hold a great many things without taking up any space.
He tried to probe inside with his Spiritual Sense.
But he didn't have Spiritual Sense.
Neither Raging Bull Fist nor Iron Cloth Shirt, nor even Body Nourishing Technique, did anything but temper the body. None of them offered a method for refining the soul. Yan Kui tentatively focused his perception on the Storage Bag, but all he sensed was an invisible barrier. There was simply no way to open it.
"Tch. All show and no substance."
Yan Kui curled his lip.
Cultivators' things were such a hassle.
He didn't get discouraged. Instead, he took a deep breath. The muscles in his arms swelled like the gnarled roots of ancient trees. Grabbing the Storage Bag, he twisted hard!
Crack!
A sharp snap rang out.
He had ripped apart the restriction array on the Storage Bag with sheer brute force!
Then a flash of white light streaked by.
Clatter!
Countless objects poured out like floodwaters bursting through a dam, filling the entire cave.
Spirit stones, talismans, pills, jade slips, Magic Tools...all kinds of strangely shaped cultivation treasures lit the cave in a dazzling array of colors.
Yan Kui's eyes lit up at once.
Now this was...a fortune!
Yan Kui spotted a jade box that had been carefully put away. As he opened it, the system's voice rang out.
[High-energy item detected: Nine-Orifice Profound Heart Lotus. Can be consumed. Origin Power gained: 25]
"Spirit plant!"
Yan Kui was overjoyed. The Nine-Orifice Profound Heart Lotus had nine leaves the color of black jade, with a silvery-white aperture faintly visible in the veins of each. At its center grew a pigeon-egg-sized, reddish-gold lotus seed. A faint light glowed within it, pulsing slowly like a heartbeat.
He hadn't expected it to be worth so much Origin Power. Zhao Wuji must have prepared this high-grade spirit plant for his breakthrough into the Foundation Establishment Realm.
"Consume!"
Origin Power: 20.3 + 25 = 45.3!
Yan Kui drew in a sharp breath.
That much Origin Power was enough to give him another earth-shaking transformation!
There were also bottles of pills, over a dozen jade slips, and one mid-grade Magic Tool—a Flying Sword.
Most pills couldn't be consumed directly, according to the system, either because their medicinal properties were too complex or because consuming them wouldn't be very useful. Still, he picked up a few Foundation Replenishing Pills that looked especially old. The system said he could gain 0.1 Origin Power from each, so he might as well treat them as snacks.
The jade slips contained various Cultivation Techniques and spells, none of which Yan Kui could cultivate.
As for the Flying Sword, he tried weighing it in his hand.
"Too light."
Yan Kui tossed it aside. The Flying Sword clanged as it hit the ground. To him, it was nowhere near as handy as the Bone Shattering Hammer in his hands.
He picked up one of Zhao Wuji's robes. It was an elegant, luxurious gown woven with golden threads and flowing patterns. When Zhao Wuji had worn it, he'd looked like an immortal.
Yan Kui shook it out and held it up against himself.
Riiip!
He hadn't even gotten it on before his massive muscles split the silk robe apart, turning it into a few scraps.
"What kind of garbage is this?!"
Yan Kui cursed under his breath and tossed the expensive pieces of silk aside.
His gaze fell on the spirit stones.
"No need to spend them just yet."
Yan Kui gathered all the spirit stones, useful pills, and jade slips, then piled them in a corner.
What he most wanted to test now was the hidden flaw in Iron Cloth Shirt.
He went to the cave entrance and found a thousand-jin boulder that had broken loose and blocked the way.
"Ha!"
Yan Kui lowered his stance, braced himself, and lifted the boulder in both arms.
Easy.
He hurled it outward with all his might.
The boulder flew dozens of zhang and smashed a huge crater into the valley.
But the instant it left his hands—
Pfft!
Yan Kui felt a tightness in his chest and a sweetness in his throat. A mouthful of hot, metallic liquid surged up. He forced it back down.
"As I thought..."
His expression changed.
That throw had been plenty powerful, but far too forceful. The impact had left his internal organs aching faintly.
He examined himself from within.
His Crimson Extreme Golden Body (Mysterious Iron Body) was indestructible. The skin, muscles, and bones on the outside were all like steel.
But his internal organs, though nourished by Body Nourishing Technique, were still mortal flesh.
Under an explosive burst of extreme external force, they were like fragile glass, unable to withstand the backlash.
The system prompt rang out right on cue:
[Crimson Modifier] Host: Yan Kui Status: Peak (minor internal organ damage, urgently needs reinforcement) Physical Data: Strength: 5.5 Agility: 2.0 Constitution: 6.0 Cultivation Techniques and Skills: Raging Bull Fist: Mastered (limit broken) Iron Cloth Shirt: Mastered (limit broken, Mysterious Iron Body) Body Nourishing Technique: Mastered Origin Power: 45.3 Tip: The host's body is strong on the outside but weak within. Seek a Body Refining Technique that strengthens the internal organs as soon as possible, or use system fusion to remedy the flaw.
"Strong on the outside but weak within..."
Yan Kui's expression darkened.
The pure physical strength he had always prided himself on had such a glaring weakness.
It was like a warrior clad in heavy armor with a soft heart.
"It looks like the incomplete Iron Cloth Shirt is more limiting than I thought."
He remembered the Corpse Fiend he had encountered at the Old Lin Family Manor. The way that monster devoured living beings targeted their internal organs directly. If he hadn't escaped in time, even his Mysterious Iron Body might not have saved him from having his heart torn out.
"I need a new technique."
A glint flashed through Yan Kui's eyes.
Now that he had a huge amount of Origin Power, he could eliminate this weakness—and perhaps go even further.
"Daganzhou..."
He looked north again.
In that vast cultivation world, there had to be a Body Refining Technique that could make up for his weakness.
"Once I reach Daganzhou, I'll find somewhere to strip every last one of these techniques bare."
Yan Kui rose to his feet and picked up the Bone Shattering Hammer.
That wild grin returned to his face.
"A new journey begins."
Before you continue