Rainy Night at the Ancient Temple, a Sudden Crisis!

Two days later.

Li Qiming and the others walked to the foot of a mountain, covered in the dust of their journey.

Looking up, the mountain was towering, reaching straight into the clouds.

"This mountain... is going to be tough!"

Someone said, looking at it with trepidation.

"Don't worry, once we cross this mountain and walk another twenty miles, we'll reach Zhennan Prefecture!"

Seeing the mountain, the happiest person was undoubtedly Murong Canghai, because as long as they crossed it, this mission would be all but perfectly completed!

Li Qiming's heart, which had been hanging in his chest, also felt its sense of unease slowly diminish by more than half over the course of these past two days.

Murong Canghai was truly worthy of being the head escort; he was an acquaintance everywhere they went. From small villages to large towns, he could always find someone to talk to, and the routes he arranged were always the most comfortable and safest.

For these two days, they traveled by day and were guaranteed to reach a place to stay by night. Everything was arranged so reasonably that everyone rested very well.

There hadn't been any danger along the way, though they did encounter two groups of fierce bandits from afar, only for them to be scared off by Murong Canghai and his men from a distance.

"There are small paths in the mountain, but they aren't suitable for a carriage..." Murong Canghai looked at the carriage in the procession and mused.

A long moment passed.

An unpleasant female voice drifted out from the carriage:

"What do you mean? Are you expecting our young miss to walk?"

"I don't care! Our Miss Xia is precious! How could she possibly hike over a mountain with a bunch of boorish martial artists like you? Find a way—even if you have to carry it, you must get our young miss's sedan chair up the mountain!"

For the past two days, no one had seen the mysterious woman inside the sedan, and this was the first time they had heard them speak. As soon as those words were out, everyone felt a surge of anger.

What kind of nonsense was this?

Shen Changsheng was the first to be unhappy and wanted to open his mouth to say something, but he was held back by Murong Canghai, who reached out and said, "Brother, it's fine. I'll just have my men carry it."

Shen Changsheng looked at him in surprise, but not wanting to make him lose face, he finally swallowed his anger and let it go.

With a look from Murong Canghai, four Blood Refining martial artists from the escort agency stepped forward, looking indignant. They dismantled the carriage from the horses and then slowly lifted the sedan chair.

This weight was nothing to four Blood Refining martial artists, especially since the two women inside were not heavy.

It was just that everyone felt extremely stifled.

Because of this, they couldn't move quickly at all. The mountain road was already rugged, and there were some extremely narrow spots that were difficult enough to pass through, let alone while carrying a sedan chair.

Everyone had no choice but to slow their pace to a crawl.

In the blink of an eye, five hours passed, and the sky turned completely dark.

"Sigh, if we had been walking normally, we might have already reached Zhennan Prefecture! And now, we've only covered half the distance!"

Shen Changsheng could no longer hold back and complained with visible anger!

"What do you mean by that? Are you criticizing our young miss? You are supposed to protect our young miss's safety! Otherwise, you'll be smashing your own reputation!"

The personal maid inside the sedan was equally merciless, her tone sharp and unyielding.

"Everyone, stop arguing. When you're out and about, harmony is the key to safety..." Murong Canghai hurriedly tried to smooth things over. He grabbed Shen Changsheng's arm and continued to console him, "Brother Changsheng, look, there is an old temple not far ahead. It hasn't seen incense in a long time. We can rest there tonight. The mountain road is hard to travel at night, so let's wait until dawn to set off again."

Murong Canghai changed the subject.

Shen Changsheng sighed slightly, feeling mentally exhausted, and could only nod in agreement with the plan.

At the back of the procession, Li Qiming watched in amazement. It was his first time on a mission, and he was speechless to have encountered these two eccentric women in the sedan.

He turned his head to look at the mountain, which was gradually being cloaked in darkness.

The silhouette of the distant mountain looked like a giant beast devouring people in the dark, which was deeply unsettling.

Torches were lit within the group, and everyone slowly arrived at the dilapidated old temple.

The interior of the temple was quite clean, without the thick dust and spiderwebs one might expect; instead, there were some burnt-out charcoal embers.

Clearly, this old temple was a frequent stop for travelers to spend the night.

After placing the sedan chair carrying the two women inside the temple, everyone began to build a fire.

Just as a bonfire was lit, a rumble echoed! A sudden clap of thunder and a flash of lightning tore through the sky!

Immediately after, a downpour of rain, with drops as large as ox eyes, poured down from the heavens all at once.

It was a torrential downpour!

"This rain is perfectly timed. If we had been a step later, we would have been soaked to the bone!" Qin Yu looked outside the temple and said with relief.

"Everyone has been walking all day. Eat some dry rations and get some rest," Murong Canghai arranged.

The group was indeed tired, so they each found a place to sit and took out their dry rations to fill their stomachs.

Li Qiming, Qin Yu, Wang Liang, Mo Su, and the others sat together.

"Senior Brother Qin, could you tell us about the Bone Refining realm?"

Mo Su was eating his dry rations, and with nothing better to do, he suddenly looked toward Qin Yu with expectant eyes.

Although he was only at the early stage of the Blood Refining realm, he felt confident that it wouldn't be long before he stepped into the Bone Refining realm himself!

Three years? Five years?

Li Qiming and the others couldn't help but perk up, their gazes turning toward Qin Yu.

Qin Yu was taken aback, then smiled and said:

"I've been initiated for three full years, and I'm only at the Great Perfection of the Blood Refining realm... As for the Bone Refining realm, an average martial artist usually needs to spend about ten years before they have a chance to step into it."

"Of course, for most martial artists with ordinary aptitude, there is a high probability they will never be able to enter the Bone Refining realm in their entire lives!"

"Don't look at the Blood Refining and Bone Refining realms as if the difference isn't much; in reality, the gap between the two is like that between the clouds and the mud!"

"Once you step into the Bone Refining realm, the blood energy throughout your body becomes completely interconnected, and your strength increases several times over!"

"The Blood Refining realm is merely about circulating blood energy to make it full. But the Bone Refining realm is about shedding mortal bones and forging iron bones!"

Li Qiming and the others rarely came into contact with what Qin Yu was describing, and hearing this, their hearts couldn't help but tighten.

Iron bones?

Could it be that one's entire skeleton is forged into iron blocks?

Seeming to see the confusion in everyone's hearts, Qin Yu chuckled and said, "It's not what you think. Iron bones is just a figure of speech."

"Once a martial artist enters the Bone Refining realm, their blood energy nourishes the bones, and the bones then generate a type of bone energy... We usually call this bone energy Gang!"

"After reaching the Great Perfection of the Bone Refining realm, the Gang Qi spreads throughout the entire body. Even if they stood still and let you hit them without fighting back, you wouldn't be able to harm them in the slightest!"

Li Qiming's pupils shrank violently. Was the gap really that large? This completely exceeded his imagination!

He understood now: for martial artists at the Blood Refining realm, the Bone Refining realm was a dimension-crushing blow!

Mo Su, Wang Liang, and the others exchanged glances, all of them drawing in a sharp breath.

"Therefore, once you step into the Bone Refining realm, you are a true expert! Outside, you could easily become a master, open a small martial hall, or if you joined a town's faction, you would receive the treatment of a guest elder!"

Qin Yu said slowly.

After listening, Li Qiming couldn't help but have a clearer understanding of the strength of the Dragon Roar Martial Hall.

With only eight true disciples, each of whom was at the Bone Refining realm, it could be considered quite average.

Just at this moment.

BOOM!

The wooden door of the dilapidated temple was suddenly kicked open with great force.

As the wind and rain surged in, a group of black-clad martial artists wielding steel blades rushed inside!