Black Stone

"Hey, why'd you leave without a word..." Shi Yong caught up, half a step behind. "Which sect did you pick?"

Li Xuan didn't answer.

Shi Yong waited three breaths, scratching the back of his head. "Inconvenient to say? Never mind then."

His tone was casual, as if he'd just asked on a whim.

Li Xuan glanced at him.

"You waited here just to ask this?"

"Not entirely," Shi Yong said. "There's a mission coming up in a few days, and I need an extra hand. Thought we could team up."

"We only just met today."

"Right."

"You don't even know what weapon I favor, or how much my injuries have healed," Li Xuan said. "Just based on that one fight where you defeated Zhao Yuan Chen in three moves, you dare to invite someone to your team?"

Shi Yong fell silent for a moment.

"Actually, I asked Senior Sister Yun," he said. "She said you were fine."

Li Xuan's steps faltered slightly.

Shi Yong continued, "She said that during your ten days in Iron Wall City, you killed Wanyan Lie and Wanyan Xiong, and held the rear until the very last moment before retreating. She also said that before Wang Meng died, he handed you the order to withdraw, and you left only after the last batch of wounded soldiers had exited the city."

He paused. "Someone like that wouldn't sell out their teammates on a mission."

"Then how can I be sure you won't betray me? You expect me to trust you based on a single statement?" Li Xuan replied calmly.

Shi Yong froze.

He clearly hadn't considered this question.

"Why would I betray you?" he scratched the back of his head. "We don't have any grudges."

Li Xuan didn't respond, just looked at him.

Shi Yong felt a bit uneasy under his gaze. He frowned, thought for a moment, and suddenly said, "Oh."

"You're afraid I'll use you as cannon fodder?"

He seemed less bothered by it now that he'd said the word himself.

"That's simple. On missions, we'll assign positions based on our skills—I have high offense but low defense, so I have to charge in and engage enemies first. You're good at defense, so you can stay back and cover the rear."

He paused, then added, "That way, you won't have to worry, right?"

His tone was as plain as if he were saying, "The meat in the cafeteria today is a bit salty."

Li Xuan didn't take the bait.

"How will the spoils be divided?"

"There are six people in the team. Everyone gets their basic Contribution Points separately. Extra spoils will be turned over to the sect, converted, and then divided by Contribution in three parts," Shi Yong said. "If you kill more enemies, you get the bigger share; if my command is terrible, you get the smaller share."

He said it as a matter of course, with no intention of haggling over it.

Li Xuan looked at him.

"You're recruiting me just for this?"

"Not entirely," Shi Yong said. "I've been stuck at the ninth level of Body Tempering for half a year. My meridians are too narrow, and I can't generate internal energy. The people at the sect's medical hall said I need twenty low-grade Spirit Stones for nourishment. I scraped together everything I had and only managed seven."

He paused, seemingly trying to figure out how to say this without sounding like he was begging for sympathy.

"The medical hall people said if I delay too long, my meridians will stiffen, and it's best to break through within three months. After that point, every extra month I delay will reduce my chances of success by ten percent."

He looked at Li Xuan, not hiding anything, nor trying to elicit pity.

"This mission is worth 150 Contribution Points, plus extra spoils. That should get me about ten. You and I both need Contribution Points, so isn't it natural for us to cooperate?"

Li Xuan was silent for three breaths.

"When does the mission depart?"

Shi Yong grinned.

"Seven days from now, at Chen Shi, at the North Mountain Gate. If you agree, I'll go report the numbers."

Li Xuan didn't answer directly.

"Who else is missing?"

"We have a scout, and someone for medicine and poisons named Xu He—that guy has a foul mouth, but his skills are decent. There's also a girl who uses a hammer, at the ninth level of Body Tempering, strong but she's never been to the ruins. Plus a pair of twin brothers; their combined attack can match one level of internal energy."

Li Xuan nodded, a gesture of agreement, and then started to walk past him.

He'd only taken three steps.

"Wait," Shi Yong called from behind.

Li Xuan turned and looked at him with confusion.

Shi Yong scratched his head, as if searching for the right words.

After a while, he grumbled:

"Those words about being stuck at a bottleneck... don't spread them around."

Li Xuan looked at him.

Shi Yong added, "If my mother hears about it, she'll start nagging again."

After speaking, he turned to leave, but suddenly stopped.

"Oh, right. There's a small market in the West Courtyard these days. Inner disciples trade things amongst themselves." He stated a time, "If you're short on Contribution Points, you can go take a look. When I first arrived, I also relied on the small market to get my first Spirit Stone."

Li Xuan stood in place, watching his retreating figure disappear at the alley entrance.

At dusk, Li Xuan returned to the East Courtyard.

He first took a Qi Gathering Pill, sat cross-legged on the couch, and circulated the Mountain Suppressing Art's mental cultivation method.

His vital energy and blood sank into his legs.

...And then

There was no then.

One incense stick.

Two incense sticks.

Half an hour.

He opened his eyes and looked down at his unresponsive legs.

He recalled the night the Blood Fiend Bone Forging Technique was first mastered. He had killed seven Barbarians consecutively, his bones cracking like popping beans, his strength visibly surging.

But this cultivation method before him, after sitting in meditation for an hour, hadn't even reached the introductory stage?

Li Xuan stopped his cultivation, stood up, and walked three laps around the courtyard. After calming down, he sat down again.

The second day.

The third day.

On the fourth day, he finally felt a trace of extremely faint vital energy and blood sinking.

But at least it was being invested.

His vital energy and blood slowly sank into his lower body, like a massive stone falling into water, pressing down on his legs, waist, hips, and spine.

His bones felt a dull ache, unlike the shattering pain of the Blood Fiend Bone Forging Technique, but a slow, continuous pressure.

One breath.

Ten breaths.

A hundred breaths.

Half an hour later, Li Xuan opened his eyes.

His legs felt as if they were filled with lead, becoming thirty percent heavier.

[Mountain Suppressing Art: Glimpse of the Door (Proficiency 3%)] [Effects: Vital energy and blood thickness +5%, Lower limb strength +3%]

Relying solely on the arduous cultivation of this technique was indeed as time-consuming and labor-intensive as the rumors said.

Fortunately, he didn't have to rely solely on arduous cultivation.

[Potential Points: 5.3]

With a thought, he infused 2 potential points into the Mountain Suppressing Art.

A surge of warmth flowed from his dantian, following the cultivation method's path into his legs.

The aching sensation intensified a hundredfold!

His leg muscles felt as if they were being pierced by thousands of steel needles, and his bones emitted a low hum. Li Xuan gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, his fingers digging into the edge of the couch.

The wood of the couch edge splintered.

Three breaths.

Five breaths.

Ten breaths.

The intense pain receded like a retreating tide.

Li Xuan looked down. His legs no longer felt sore and achy; instead, they possessed an unprecedented steadiness.

He stood up, each step feeling as if he were rooted to the ground.

[Mountain Suppressing Art: Glimpse of the Door → Proficient (Proficiency 51%)] [Effects: Vital energy and blood thickness +30%, Lower limb strength +25%, Defense +20%] [Cultivation Method Trait Unlocked: Immovable as a Mountain -- When standing, 30% of impact force can be dissipated.]

Li Xuan clenched his fist. As his vital energy and blood circulated, he vaguely felt the condensed might of a mountain.

He glanced at his remaining potential points: 3.3.

Enough, but not much.

He needed more.

Outside the window, dusk was settling.

A bell chimed in the distance—the hour of You, the western courtyard market was opening.

The western courtyard was where inner disciples lived. It was much larger than the eastern courtyard, with rows upon rows of courtyards and winding alleys.

By the time Li Xuan arrived, over twenty people had gathered in an open space, some sitting, some standing, with cloths spread before them displaying various items.

Pills, weapons, incomplete cultivation methods, ores of unknown use…

Bartering, or trading with Contribution Points.

Li Xuan walked slowly through the crowd, his gaze sweeping over the stalls.

"Body Tempering Pills, three for one Qi Gathering Pill," a thin-faced youth shouted.

"Yellow-tier low-grade broken sword, take it for fifty Contribution Points," another disciple waved a broken sword.

Li Xuan stopped at a stall in a corner.

Not for any other reason than a stone.

It was fist-sized, entirely black, with fine golden patterns on its surface.

The golden patterns weren't carved; they emanated from within the stone, flowing slowly under the lamplight.

He squatted down and picked it up.

It felt cool to the touch.

A faint, heavy aura emanated from within the stone, like an underground river deep beneath the earth.

"How much for this stone?"

The stall owner was an old man in grey robes, his temples streaked with white hair.

He looked up, his gaze pausing on Li Xuan's face for a moment.

"What do you want it for?"

"I feel a connection."

The old man didn't press further, lowering his eyes. "One hundred and fifty Contribution Points."

Li Xuan put the stone down.

He stood up and took two steps.

"Wait."

The old man lowered his head, tidying the scattered items on his stall, his tone calm. "I saw you squatting by that stone for half an incense stick's time. Those who aren't interested in buying don't squat for that long."

He paused.

"Is it that you don't have enough Contribution Points?"

Li Xuan didn't deny it.

The old man was silent for a moment.

"Then let's trade," he said. "Do you have any Body Tempering Cultivation Methods on you? Mortal-grade high-tier, or Yellow-tier low-grade will do."

Li Xuan shook his head.

He had only been an inner disciple for three days and only possessed a rubbing of the Mountain Suppressing Art.

That was a sect cultivation method and absolutely could not be traded.

The old man glanced at him and said no more.

He took out a piece of old cloth from his sleeve, carefully wrapping the black stone. He didn't push it over, merely placing it at the edge of his stall.

"I don't want your cultivation method," he said. "I want you to go to the second floor of the Cultivation Method Pavilion for me in three months."

Li Xuan's pupils contracted slightly.

"The second floor?"

"Inner disciples are allowed to enter the second floor once a year to read one Yellow-tier high-grade cultivation method," the old man said. "I was an inner disciple back then, but I injured my foundation and later transferred to the Deacon Hall, losing that privilege."

He paused.

"On the second floor, there's a technique called the Earth Mother Profound Art, Yellow-tier high-grade, earth element. When I was young, I wanted to study its general principles to verify my own understanding." He looked at Li Xuan. "I've never found a suitable person."

Li Xuan was silent for a moment.

"Why do you think I'll help you?"

"If you don't help, you can still take this stone," he paused. "It's useless to me. I've tried to sell it for eight years without success. Today I met someone who recognizes its value, so let's consider it a good deed."

He pushed the black stone forward.

Li Xuan did not take it.

"I might not choose that second-tier Cultivation Method."

"No matter," the old man said. "You just need to flip through it once when you enter the pavilion and memorize the first three pages of the general principles. No need to copy it, no need to spread it outside, just tell me about it."

"It'll only take the time of one incense stick."

He paused.

"If you feel it's not worth it, consider this stone a gift from me."

Li Xuan lowered his head and looked at the black stone.

"...Why me?"

"It just so happened that I was here, and it just so happened that you asked."

"Three months from now, if you're still alive, come to room Bing-9."

Li Xuan put the black stone into his embrace and turned back to the East Courtyard.

Midnight, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse.

Li Xuan sat cross-legged on the bed, holding the Earth Vein Fiend Stone in his left hand and resting his right hand on his knee.

He circulated the Mountain Suppressing Art, sinking his vital energy and blood into his lower body.

At the same time, he sent a wisp of Blood Fiend Gang Qi into the stone.

Inside the stone, the earth fiend energy was like a thick, heavy mudflow, sluggish and slow.

As the two fiend energies came into contact—

The Blood Fiend Gang Qi vibrated violently!

Like wild beasts encountering their own kind, it wasn't a harmonious meeting, but a struggle.

Li Xuan grunted, forcefully suppressing the backlash from the Blood Fiend Gang Qi.

Earth could conceal fiend energy, and it could also nurture it.

He used the vital energy and blood of the Mountain Suppressing Art to envelop the earth fiend energy, like burying a burning coal with mud and sand.

Slowly, arduously.

But it was indeed fusing.

One incense stick.

Two incense sticks.

Three incense sticks.

The golden patterns on the Earth Vein Fiend Stone dimmed slightly.

[Mountain Suppressing Art: Entry Level → Mastery (Proficiency 78%)]

[Blood Fiend Bone Forging Technique Third Layer: Perfect → Perfect (Fiend Energy Storage +5%)]

Li Xuan opened his eyes.

Outside the window, the east was already turning white.

He looked down at his left hand.

Faint golden patterns could be seen on his palm, similar to the patterns on the Earth Vein Fiend Stone, extremely faint, difficult to notice unless one looked closely.

These were the traces of the initial fusion between the Mountain Suppressing Art and the Blood Fiend Technique.

He clenched his fist.

His Strength had not increased, but the richness of his vital energy and blood, and the resilience of his Gang Qi, had both slightly improved.

A knock came from outside the window.

"Senior Brother Li Xuan," came Zhou Ning's voice. "Senior Brother Shi Yong asked me to pass on a message. Tomorrow at noon, in the West Courtyard's assembly hall, you're the only one missing for the team mission."

"What kind of mission is it?"

Zhou Ning paused, then lowered his voice:

"At the northern foot of the Crimson Firmament Mountain Range, a ruin from a previous dynasty has been discovered. The sect has ordered inner disciples to form teams to investigate. It's classified as a Grade Bing mission. Each person who completes it will receive 150 Contribution Points, with additional rewards for any salvaged items."

"But there's a warning—that ruin contains runes that share a common origin with the Barbarian sorcery of the Northern Territory."

Li Xuan's pupils contracted slightly.

Barbarians.

Sorcery.

Ghost Face.