Changes

A line of text silently appeared on the Proficiency Panel.

Technique: Azure Wood Age Wheel Art (First Cycle, First Turn, Proficiency 0.01%).

When Su Yu converted all the mana from his original Wutong Greenwood Art into Azure Wood Age Wheel Art mana, that line changed again.

Technique: Azure Wood Age Wheel Art (First Cycle, Third Turn, Proficiency 4.4%).

The words "Wutong Greenwood Art" had completely vanished from the technique section, leaving only the Azure Wood Age Wheel Art.

An indescribably ancient, weathered aura of time emanated from Su Yu. At the same time, he gained a new understanding of what the Azure Wood Age Wheel Art called First Cycle, First Turn.

Like the Age Rings of a tree, cultivating the Azure Wood Age Wheel Art meant carving the Age Rings of time upon one's own body.

One cycle was one century; one era was one cycle of rebirth.

And every turn was equivalent to shedding one layer of skin.

One turn, one step upward.

First Cycle, Third Turn corresponded to the third layer of Qi Refining.

The Azure Wood Age Wheel Art's initial mana was not particularly powerful, but with every turn—and even every cycle—its mana would transform and grow stronger.

Beyond that, the Azure Wood Age Wheel Art had a greater effect on lifespan than the Wutong Greenwood Art.

At the same third layer of Qi Refining, the Wutong Greenwood Art only gave him a lifespan of one hundred years.

But now—

Su Yu glanced at the Proficiency Panel.

Lifespan: 18/104.

Simply by switching to the Azure Wood Age Wheel Art, his lifespan had increased by four years.

"If I cultivate to the ninth layer of Qi Refining, it should extend my life by at least thirty or forty years. The lifespan-extending effect of the second cycle will undoubtedly be even stronger—probably seventy or eighty years." Su Yu took a slight breath. This Azure Wood Age Wheel Art was truly formidable.

Setting aside everything else, this lifespan-extending effect alone was enough to make countless immortal cultivators green with envy.

With several tenths more lifespan than other cultivators, one's chances of cultivating into an immortal or becoming a patriarch were far greater than theirs.

Carefully sensing the faint aura of time around him, Su Yu frowned.

He always felt that this aura was not simple.

At the very least, it was not merely capable of extending one's lifespan.

Unfortunately, that aura was still too weak for now.

Having successfully switched to the Azure Wood Age Wheel Art, Su Yu was in excellent spirits. This one technique alone had made his personal trip to Cloud Mountain Market worthwhile.

"Next, I'll try cultivating the Blood Whale Swallowing Moon Art." Su Yu thought to himself.

The Azure Wood Age Wheel Art was somewhat more difficult to cultivate than the Wutong Greenwood Art, but Su Yu discovered that the aura of time around him could gather the spiritual energy of grass and trees between heaven and earth.

As a result, the cultivation speed of the Azure Wood Age Wheel Art was no slower than that of the Wutong Greenwood Art.

In around two years, breaking through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining should not be a problem.

Besides that.

Su Yu was also cultivating the Crocodile Demon's 108 Forms Body Refining Technique. With the aid of late-stage Rank 1 demonic beast essence blood, his progress in body refinement advanced by leaps and bounds.

Less than two months after Su Yu returned, having consumed more than half of the late-stage Rank 1 demonic beast essence blood, his Body Refining Technique finally broke through to the fifth layer.

And not long after his Body Refining Technique broke through to the fifth layer, the Blood Whale Swallowing Moon Art, which had shown no progress all this time, suddenly entered the beginner stage overnight.

Technique: Crocodile Demon's 108 Forms Body Refining Technique (fifth layer, Proficiency 0.28%), Blood Whale Swallowing Moon Art (first realm, Proficiency 0.01%).

Buzz!

The night was deep, with only a sliver of starlight filtering through the window into the room.

Bloodlight suddenly blazed from Su Yu's body. His entire vital essence gathered in his heart, and with a thunderous boom that rang in his mind like a bolt from the blue, it left him deafened.

For an instant, Su Yu's mind blurred.

At that moment, endless vital essence gathered within his heart, condensing into a drop of golden blood.

That drop of golden blood resembled a crystal core, radiating an inexplicable ferocious might, like an unparalleled great demon.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The instant that blood took shape, Su Yu's heartbeat boomed like war drums and thunder. His heart seemed to undergo a transformation; its beating slowed considerably, but each surge of blood became more forceful.

As time slowly passed.

When the sun rose in the east and threads of golden dawn light fell upon Su Yu, he opened his eyes, and a streak of blood-red flashed through them.

At that moment, an imposing aura like that of a Demon Race overlord emerged from his body.

However, that aura vanished in a flash.

Awakening from cultivation, Su Yu carefully examined his current body, his expression somewhat dazed.

The changes were immense.

Aside from the transformation of his heart, even the color of the blood throughout his body had changed slightly.

It was unlike the golden blood in his heart that resembled a crystal core.

Yet after a single night of transformation, the blood throughout his body had also turned a dark golden color.

Moreover, after his physical body transformed, the power of his Body Refining Technique seemed to have gained a kind of enhancement.

"Compared to the Crocodile Demon's 108 Forms Body Refining Technique alone, my physical strength has increased by at least thirty percent." Su Yu carefully sensed it.

But—

Gurgle! Gurgle!

So hungry!

Su Yu felt as though every cell in his body was crying out. He was terribly, terribly weak, as if condensing the origin of the Blood Whale Swallowing Moon Art's Pseudo Divine Ability last night had drained every last bit of strength from his body.

Suppressing that hunger, Su Yu immediately pulled out some Earth Rock Rat demonic beast jerky and Spirit Rice he had prepared earlier and began cooking.

For this meal, he ate a full thirty jin of low-grade Spirit Rice and nearly fifty jin of demonic beast jerky before finally stopping.

A mouthful of Spirit Rice, a mouthful of jerky.

In the blink of an eye, they turned into warm currents that spread throughout his body, while every cell crazily fought to devour them.

Comfortable.

"My appetite has grown tremendously, and I can digest this food much more easily too." Su Yu noticed the changes in his body.

After eating so much, his body digested it all in an instant.

He did not feel bloated in the slightest.

And after digesting the food, Su Yu discovered that most of its energy had been devoured by the core of the Blood Whale Swallowing Moon Art within his heart.

"To fill it completely, it'll probably take at least half a year." Su Yu thought to himself.

In the first realm of the Blood Whale Swallowing Moon Art, if the core's power could be accumulated to completion, then when the Pseudo Divine Ability erupted, his physical strength could double.

This was a trump card.

At a critical moment, it might not only save his life—it could also kill his enemies!

With his appetite growing, the Earth Rock Rat demon beast colony beneath the Medicine Garden became fragrant pots of meat in Su Yu's eyes. He increased the frequency of his hunting.

While eating meat, he could also save up some spirit stones again for cultivation.

Strangely enough, in the time that followed, the Lin Family seemed to have quieted down considerably. Their frictions with the Su Family gradually decreased, and no one knew what the Lin Family was thinking.

Half a year later.

The Su Family finally found a first-tier Earth Master. They spent a vast sum to invite him to seek dragons and determine acupoints, locating the foundation of the Spirit Vein for the Su Family and constructing a blessed land.

Strictly speaking, Earth Masters were a type of formation master.

But compared to ordinary formation masters, Earth Masters appeared more esteemed and mysterious.

Ordinary members of the Su Family might not understand what an Earth Master was, but Su Yu, who had played immortal cultivation games in his previous life and practiced Earth Mastery as a secondary profession, understood very well.

Earth Masters... in the game, learning Earth Mastery as a secondary profession meant that every act of Dragon-Seeking and Acupoint-Determining often cost one lifespan.

The game's description said that Earth Masters were heaven and earth's favored children. In seeking dragons and determining acupoints, they could search the nine heavens above and locate Heaven-Connecting dragons below; there was nothing they could not do.

Earth Masters were the type of secondary profession most likely to obtain treasures. For them, finding Spirit Veins was not difficult at all.

Of course, that depended on whether they possessed genuine skill.

But gains came with losses. The Heaven-Connecting abilities of Earth Masters were bought with their lives.

Unless an Earth Master could resist the temptation of treasures and refrain from using secret arts to seek dragons and determine acupoints, every use of such a secret art would shorten his lifespan.

Therefore, Earth Masters were not easy to hire. Even for a first-tier Earth Master who had only just begun, the Su Family had to bleed heavily this time.