Moon Shadow Heart Art

Zhou Heng continued deeper into the cave.

The entrance to the cave might have been incredibly narrow, but the farther he went in, the wider it became. Of course, it was not wide enough to walk sideways through; it could probably fit three people walking abreast.

After walking for over ten minutes, there was still no sign of the end. Zhou Heng had never been one to admit defeat. Once his temper flared, he decided to pit himself against this cave and walk it to the very end!

It was pitch-black outside, let alone within the cave. He could not even see his hand before his face. Fortunately, there were no forks inside the cave, only a single path stretching onward, so he did not need to worry about getting lost and being unable to find his way out.

From time to time, Zhou Heng slashed at the cave walls with his longsword, using the faint sparks from the friction to inspect his surroundings.

Another half hour passed, yet he still had not reached the bottom of the cave.

Anyone else would have turned back by now, but Zhou Heng was stubborn. Since he had resolved to reach the end, he would never give up halfway through—otherwise, he would not have persevered through the Black Sword's trial for ten years!

As long as it was not a maze, there had to be an end.

Another hour later, a faint light suddenly appeared ahead. Though weak, to someone who had been in darkness for so long, it was no less than a guiding lamp. Zhou Heng was delighted, but his vigilance only deepened. He tightened his grip on the longsword in his right hand.

After taking a few more steps, the light grew brighter and brighter, revealing a cave exit.

The instant he stepped out, his view opened up. The moon shone bright amid sparse stars; this was unexpectedly a secluded valley.

Zhou Heng looked up at the sky, only to find that the heavy rain had stopped at some point. The grass throughout the valley was dotted with glittering droplets, making it appear even greener and more lush, brimming with vitality.

The valley was not large, only about a hundred meters across. Mountains enclosed it on all sides, making it an Absolute Valley. The cliff walls were so steep that even agile apes would likely find them impossible to climb.

At the foot of the western cliff was a small pond, beside which stood a great tree. Its spreading canopy completely covered the pond, and its leaves swayed softly in the night breeze, rustling with a soft shasha sound.

When Zhou Heng's gaze swept beneath the tree, his pupils contracted.

A corpse!

It leaned against the tree. Its head, neck, and hands had already turned into white bones, while the rest remained concealed beneath a vermilion brocade robe, hiding the ghastly skeleton beneath. Yet the sight of that Skull alone was terrifying enough.

Only then did Zhou Heng remember that he had killed someone not long ago!

What shocked him was that he felt no discomfort at all. It was as though he had not killed a person, but merely slaughtered a chicken or a dog!

The path of martial arts cannot avoid slaughter. It seems I have adapted to it ahead of time!

But I have no intention of becoming a murderous demon... My bottom line is simple: no one had better provoke me!

Zhou Heng's gaze hardened. Pushing the matter of killing aside, he strode beneath the tree.

The bones of the corpse's head and neck were intact. Zhou Heng lifted its clothing with his sword and saw that three ribs at the chest had been broken. The fractured bones had even fallen to the ground, gleaming crystal-clear and snow-white.

This person must have suffered a blunt strike in life, his internal organs shattered by the shock. Then he fled here and ultimately died of his grave injuries!

His intact clothing proves it. If he had been pierced by a sharp weapon, there was no way the robe would not have been torn through! And if his enemy had pursued him here, he could not possibly have maintained this posture before dying!

Judging by the shape of the fractures, his ribs were clearly smashed by a single punch!

Zhou Heng picked up a broken rib and bent it with all his strength, but the bone was astonishingly resilient and did not budge in the slightest. He circulated all the True Essence Power in his body and tried again, yet the bone remained unchanged, harder than iron!

The strength in my hands is definitely over a thousand jin now. And this bone has endured decades of wind and rain; it should have long since lost its former toughness. How could it still be this strong?

A few years ago, grave robbers dug up the tomb of an ancestor who had been dead for decades. When the remains were being reburied, someone accidentally stepped on the bones, and they shattered at once!

That ancestor had been a Blood Refining Realm martial artist in life!

Comparing the two, Zhou Heng could only draw a conclusion that left him utterly shaken.

The Ascension Path!

This corpse had crossed the Ascension Path in life and become an unimaginable existence!

In Zhou Heng's understanding, martial artists who crossed the Ascension Path were no different from legendary immortals. Yet such an immortal had been beaten until his chest bones snapped by someone's bare fists, only to die miserably here in the end!

There was always someone stronger beyond the strong. Even those who crossed the Ascension Path were not immortal and indestructible.

Zhou Heng carefully searched the corpse and found a book and a token near its hip bone.

The book must originally have been tucked against the man's chest and abdomen, carried close to his body. But as the flesh rotted away, the book had fallen down, which was why it now lay near the hip bone.

Yet he had no idea what material the book was made from. It had endured the corpse's decay without being destroyed along with it! Even after so much time, it had not changed in the slightest. It was incredibly soft to the touch, more like human skin than paper.

It was anything but ordinary!

If such precious material had been used to make its pages, what sort of information did it contain? And it had come from a peerless expert who might have crossed the Ascension Path. For such an expert to keep it close to his body, how precious could it be?

There was no writing on the cover. Unable to suppress his curiosity, Zhou Heng opened the book.

Moon Shadow Heart Art!

There were only four words on the first page, written with soaring strokes like dragons flying and phoenixes dancing. The calligraphy was vigorous and powerful, carrying an air of grandeur.

The word "Art" alone showed that this was basically a cultivation technique. But if this Moon Shadow Heart Art might even have been the reason for that expert's death, how significant was it?

Zhou Heng could not help continuing to turn the pages, reading through the cultivation technique.

Sure enough, it was indeed a cultivation technique. The entire text contained only a little over four thousand words and was somewhat obscure, but whenever Zhou Heng paused to consider it, understanding would dawn on him in mere moments. It was not difficult for him to comprehend.

His aptitude had continuously improved during his cultivation of the Heaven-Soaring Nine Styles. Though he had yet to fully comprehend even the first sword style, understanding the Moon Shadow Heart Art posed no difficulty at all.

Let's see just how effective this cultivation technique is!

Zhou Heng sat cross-legged and used the Moon Shadow Heart Art's method to refine the food within his body, extract its free energy, and convert it into his own True Essence Power.

"Hmm!"

After circulating the Moon Shadow Heart Art through one full cycle in his body, Zhou Heng could not help stopping. A trace of shock appeared on his face.

Efficiency!

The Moon Shadow Heart Art was more than twice as efficient as the Blazing Sun Art at converting True Essence Power!

According to the Moon Shadow Heart Art's description, cultivating beneath moonlight could increase its effectiveness by thirty percent. But cultivating the Blazing Sun Art under sunlight could only increase its speed by twenty percent. No matter how one looked at it, the Moon Shadow Heart Art was far stronger than the Blazing Sun Art!

Even at merely double the speed, it meant that if cultivating with the Blazing Sun Art took ten years to reach the Bone Refining Realm, then the Moon Shadow Heart Art would require only five!

No wonder that man had brought disaster upon himself!

On the path of cultivation, time was unquestionably the greatest enemy!

Take the Flesh Refining Realm, for example. If one could not break through before the age of twenty, the chances would diminish without limit, leaving virtually no hope—hence the Zhou Family rule that anyone who failed to reach the Flesh Refining Realm before eighteen could no longer cultivate.

Although cultivation techniques only increased the speed at which True Essence Power accumulated, saving half that time meant having more time to break through major realms.

Besides, the higher one's realm, the longer it took to accumulate True Essence Power. After reaching the Blood Refining Realm, breakthroughs in minor realms were measured in decades! If one could reach the peak of the Twelfth Layer of Body Refining in fifteen years, then naturally one would have more time to challenge the Ascension Path!

Life was fleeting; a hundred years passed in the snap of one's fingers. How many decades could one afford to waste?

Although Zhou Heng could obtain free energy from the Black Broken Sword, the Moon Shadow Heart Art was not particularly useful to him at present. But who knew how long the Black Sword's ability could last?

Perhaps it would end after returning his ten years of arduous cultivation to him!

Moreover, he could pass this cultivation technique on to Zhou Dinghai.

Zhou Dinghai had already delayed many years of cultivation for his sake. If he switched to the Moon Shadow Heart Art, then with Zhou Dinghai's talent, he could reach the Twelfth Layer of Body Refining in five years at most!

Zhou Heng put away the cultivation technique. His father would definitely return during the New Year.

There was about an hour left until midnight. Taking advantage of the time, Zhou Heng dug a pit and buried the corpse. Since he had obtained a supreme cultivation technique from the dead man, allowing him to rest in peace was the only thing Zhou Heng could do for him.

Buried with the dead man was that token. One side bore the words "Nine Spirits," while the other bore "Su." It was entirely purple and made from some unknown material.

Zhou Heng believed it was the dead man's Identity Token, so he buried it with him as well.

After finishing all this, it was nearly dawn. He sat down cross-legged and quietly waited for the Black Broken Sword to release its energy.

Bzz!

The moment midnight arrived, the Black Broken Sword trembled lightly. A vast surge of power poured out, instantly filling Zhou Heng's entire body. He hurriedly activated the Moon Shadow Heart Art and frantically absorbed and refined the free energy.

In less than twenty minutes, he had completely refined all the energy. Zhou Heng opened his eyes, only to be suddenly startled!

A figure had appeared on the cliff wall above the pond, moving continuously!

Someone? Who was it?!

Zhou Heng sprang to his feet, his longsword leaving its sheath with a clang as he assumed a defensive stance.

He looked up at the sky. Although a bright moon hung overhead, the sheer cliff was too steep for anyone to stand atop it. That figure could not possibly have been cast down from above.

Could it be reflected from beneath the water's surface?

A bizarre feeling immediately rose within Zhou Heng. Swimming underwater was completely different from walking; that figure was clearly walking, not swimming!

Who could stroll beneath the water?

A water ghost?