The morning sun rose and fell; the passing seasons left no trace.
Bone emerged from the wooden hut and once again looked up at the figure sitting cross-legged on the boulder.
Ever since the day he had written down the Breathing Method, Yuan Tianzong had sat there for seven days without food, water, sleep, or rest. Wind and rain had battered him, but nothing had changed.
Bone shook his head to himself.
What was the point of sitting there like that? This method couldn't be mastered in a day.
He didn't even know what he was. His memories were hazy and fragmented, and he seemed like a newborn baby. But he vaguely remembered that it had taken him an age to obtain this strange breathing method and master its basics.
Trying to comprehend it quickly by sitting around like this was nothing but a pipe dream.
In his spare time, Bone was amazed by this thing called a mobile phone, and he grew more and more proficient at using it. Every day, after finishing his cultivation, he would lie on a bundle of grass with one leg crossed over the other, humming a tune as his fingers swiped across the screen again and again.
At first, he was only interested in cultivation news from around the country. Gradually, the algorithms figured out what he liked, and all kinds of gorgeous women started competing for attention. It made the eunuch without soft tissue anxious beyond words.
"This is a golden age! Now this is a true golden age!"
Time flew by as he lost himself in beautiful women.
Soon, traffic related to spiritual substances on the apps skyrocketed, finally bringing Bone back to the right path.
The topic of the "Mysterious Return" shot to the top of the trending list, and the authorities couldn't suppress it no matter what they tried.
Bone came across a post about a wealthy family whose ancestral home had an old tree that had lived for hundreds of years. A few days earlier, white mist had suddenly gathered around it and refused to disperse. Two days later, strange fruit appeared on its branches.
One of the family's sons ate a piece. That night, his whole body ached so badly that his family rushed him to the hospital.
The next day, the pain vanished, and his body underwent a transformation. His physical abilities increased several times over, and he could easily break Olympic records in sprinting and high jump. It shocked countless people, especially those in the Martial Dao cultivation world.
The change left his already anxious family both shocked and delighted.
Afterward, an elderly family member with terminal cancer ate one of the fruits. In the time it took to drink a cup of tea, he had recovered completely. His bodily functions came back to life, and his health returned to that of a middle-aged man.
That very night, countless people gathered outside the family's courtyard.
Their phones were inundated with calls, too.
Many wealthy families with seriously ill members offered large sums to buy the fruit. Even those without any health problems hoped it could restore their youth and vitality.
The family naturally refused to part with something so precious so easily. They planned to hold an auction and sell it to the highest bidder.
But just then, someone else revealed that similar miraculous objects had appeared in the homes of many other families.
People soon noticed a pattern: these miraculous objects most often appeared on plants that had survived for a very long time.
Those quick-witted enough immediately thought of the plants that had grown for even longer in remote forests.
The whole world erupted. They had already missed out on Martial Dao cultivation because of their aptitude, connections, or other reasons. And now there was something that could let them rise to the top in a single leap!
In an instant, they ignored the authorities' repeated warnings about the "dangers outdoors," poured out of the towns, and charged into the forests.
The forests were flooded with prospectors. The Molting Beasts that had made their homes there could no longer sit still, and battles erupted, staining one mountaintop after another with blood.
The powerful and ferocious Molting Beasts finally reminded ordinary people of the authorities' stern warnings.
Against creatures that fierce, they might not stand a chance even if they carried firearms.
The casualties among ordinary people were terrible. But even amid the devastation, some lucky ones managed to obtain miraculous fruit and undergo astonishing transformations!
In just one day, transformed individuals sprang up all over the country like bamboo shoots after the rain!
At the same time, people from all the major factions came out to recruit these transformed individuals!
Ordinary people watched, their emotions stirred, as those who had once been just like them rose to the heights of success.
Over a billion people were in an uproar. The idea that a prosperous new age was on the way grew louder and swept across the internet, earning countless supporters.
Some transformed individuals were recruited by major factions and gained powerful backing.
Others refused to live under anyone's thumb and chose to go their own way.
As the number of transformed individuals continued to rise, the strongest began to distinguish themselves.
One transformed individual known as the Dragon King had grown a pair of horns and possessed immense strength. He defeated more than a dozen transformed individuals on his own and attracted widespread attention.
Word was that a Noble Family had approached him, offering him a woman from their clan in marriage to forge a lasting bond.
Before the Dragon King's legend had faded, another transformed individual, the Flying One, made his entrance. Moving as fast as lightning and spitting blasts of gale-force wind, he swept through forests across the country, gaining the upper hand in one contest for strange fruit after another.
The Dragon King, the Flying One, the Black Tiger... One transformed individual after another made their mark on the internet, each writing their own legend.
The winds of prosperity soon reached Wangwu Mountain.
Bone could clearly feel the Molting Beasts stirred up within the mountain rioting again and again.
More and more transformed individuals were entering this famous mountain, hoping to expand their gains and use miraculous fruit to increase their strength.
Bone was still too weak to dare stray far from the wooden hut.
He no longer had any interest in looking at scantily clad women. Every so often, he glanced at Yuan Tianzong on the boulder. Bro, if you can't figure it out, take a break first. Something as profound as the Breathing Method was never going to be mastered in the short term!
If you don't open your eyes soon, everyone else is going to snatch up all the opportunities!
As if sensing Bone's impatience, Yuan Tianzong suddenly opened his eyes, which had been shut for more than ten days.
"Rat-tat-tat!" Bone excitedly spoke again and again, the sound of a wooden fish echoing out.
His excitement abruptly stalled.
Yuan Tianzong had ignored him completely and closed his eyes again.
Bone stared blankly at Yuan Tianzong on the boulder, remaining frozen in place.
In, out, in, out...
A strange breathing rhythm echoed out, and a muffled rumble came from within Yuan Tianzong's body.
As Bone sensed it, Yuan Tianzong's entire body seemed to be breathing. Astonishing changes unfolded within him. Moonlight spilled down, and specks of rosy light flowed across his skin, as if in a dream.
Bone was stunned.
Had his master succeeded?
It had taken Bone ages just to grasp the basics of the mysterious breathing method, yet Yuan Tianzong had achieved a qualitative leap in less than ten days of study. It was unbelievable!
Jealousy, admiration, shock... All kinds of emotions showed on a face without a trace of muscle.
"That comprehension is terrifying!"
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