Body Tempering Fifth Level

Lin Yiqing kept a vigilant eye on his surroundings as he navigated the hidden trails, only letting out a long sigh of relief once he reached home.

Qingyang Town was a melting pot of good and evil; if he were discovered alone on the road carrying a second-grade spirit herb, there was no telling what kind of malicious intent others might harbor.

The lessons of the past were still fresh in his mind—as a member of a branch family, he might simply vanish one day without anyone ever caring.

While the Lin Family wasn't exactly perfectly safe, it at least offered a layer of protection compared to the outside world.

He took out the Earth Profound Fruit, examined it in his palm, and then placed it into a box, which he shoved under his bed. Once he found some supplementary herbs, he would surely be able to fully utilize the medicinal power of this second-grade spirit herb.

I wonder if Lin Dong has found the Ancestor Stone yet? Lin Yiqing thought to himself.

He admired Lin Dong for relying on his own efforts to climb step by step to the pinnacle of the martial path, but he also had his own pride. The path of seeking the Dao did not require constant comparison; if their paths happened to cross, it would be a stroke of good fortune.

With that thought, Lin Yiqing looked up and saw that the day was still young, so he headed toward the back mountain of the Lin Family. He intended to search for the cave containing the Ancestor Stone while he gathered medicinal herbs.

If Lin Dong hadn't claimed it yet, he wouldn't mind taking it for himself. If the other had already taken it, that was fine too; he believed in his own golden finger, and he believed in himself even more!

Following a rugged path, Lin Yiqing found a steep cliff face about ten zhang high, with many jagged boulders protruding from it, making it look exceptionally dangerous.

Lin Yiqing observed for a moment before scouting the path along the surrounding gravel and weeds. Soon, he discovered some sparse footprints; judging by their size, they were undoubtedly a child's.

"Someone has indeed been here. If my guess is correct, this must be the cave where the Ancestor Stone is hidden."

Lin Yiqing pondered for a moment and felt nearly certain. After all, the original text only provided simple hints, and with the back mountain being so vast and filled with countless cliffs, finding it by pure chance would be extremely difficult.

However, these footprints served as corroborating evidence; places that met all these conditions were few and far between.

A narrow path connected the protruding boulders. Lin Yiqing moved slowly down the path, and soon, a dark, irregular cave appeared before his eyes.

The entrance was wide enough for two adults to pass through, and the interior was relatively flat and appeared somewhat spacious.

Lin Yiqing walked into the cave, and a shallow pool immediately caught his eye. A strange palm print was vaguely visible on the ceiling.

"It seems this is the place!"

Lin Yiqing leaped onto a nearby boulder and began searching for traces of the Ancestor Stone, but unfortunately, he searched the entire ceiling without finding a single sign of it.

"It seems it must have been taken by Lin Dong! It's fine that he took it; it's excellent that this plane will have one more person capable of shouldering the burden in the future."

Thinking of this, Lin Yiqing couldn't help but shake his head in disappointment and sigh to himself.

He had considered snatching the Ancestor Stone before, but after realizing his own golden finger was even more mysterious, he had set those thoughts aside, and now, he dismissed the idea entirely.

What I seek is the path of transcending the heavens and earth to find the truth! I am destined to leave one day; rather than being taken by me, it is better left to you to protect this plane! With that thought, Lin Yiqing felt no more lingering attachments in his heart.

Immediately, his eyes burned with fervor as he looked at the small pool before him. The mysterious spiritual liquid of the Ancestor Stone dripped into this pool, giving it miraculous effects, and he was not about to leave empty-handed.

With that, Lin Yiqing quickly stripped off his gray hempen clothes and entered the pool to begin meditating.

As his breathing gradually steadied, the pool water underwent a magical transformation. Bubbles with a faint blood-red hue rose from the bottom of the pool and burst around Lin Yiqing's body, and wisps of pale red liquid began to rapidly drill into his body through his pores.

"Ugh."

Lin Yiqing's body shuddered violently. As the red liquid was absorbed into his system, his muscles felt as if they were being subjected to intense compression. A surge of heat flooded his entire body, and sweat poured out of him in dense beads, carrying away some gray impurities.

After a long while, Lin Yiqing opened his star-like eyes, which shimmered with a faint light. He could clearly feel that his bones had been strengthened!

A sensation of soreness clung to his bones, as if something were trying to drill into them. This discovery actually made Lin Yiqing feel quite excited.

The so-called "Bone Tempering" was the fifth stage of Body Tempering. This step involved tempering the bones within the body to make them increasingly tough, thereby improving the practitioner's overall physical constitution.

While the effects of the mysterious spiritual liquid had not yet fully faded, Lin Yiqing quickly took out a Body Tempering Pill from his inner pocket and swallowed it. He wanted to seize the momentum to break through to the fifth stage of Body Tempering.

As the pill entered his stomach, a wave of heat began to radiate throughout his body. He hurriedly leaped out of the pool and began practicing the Through-Back Fist, one move after another, to channel the medicinal power.

Every cell in his body groaned, as if parched earth had been nourished by rain. As wisps of warm medicinal power began to invade his muscles, the energy was greedily devoured.

At this moment, Lin Yiqing could feel his body becoming stronger.

Punch! Punch!

Through constant exercise, the medicinal power was quickly digested. Lin Yiqing closed his eyes, enjoying the thrill of the improvement gained after such cultivation.

Suddenly, his body began to tremble violently and uncontrollably. A sharp pain spread from his bones, rapidly diffusing to every part of his body.

The sudden, intense pain actually made Lin Yiqing's heart leap with joy.

As far as he knew, this was the exact process one had to endure to break through to the fifth stage of the Body Tempering realm, and it was exactly what he had been looking forward to.

"It's time to break through."

Waves of pain from the breakthrough washed over him. It felt as if a drill were desperately boring into his bones. Yet, Lin Yiqing could clearly feel that the bones within him were, at this very moment, becoming stronger and tougher at a slow pace.

The intense pain came quickly and left just as fast, fading away within a few short minutes. As the pain vanished, Lin Yiqing suddenly felt invigorated. He threw a punch, and the air cracked with the force of the blow.

"Hahaha! What powerful strength; it truly lives up to the fifth stage of the Body Tempering realm." Even with Lin Yiqing's composed nature, he couldn't help but laugh heartily at this moment.

In just a few days, he had become a small, fledgling expert at the fifth stage of the Body Tempering realm. The process of pursuing the martial path left him deeply infatuated.

"No wonder so many powerhouses are single-mindedly devoted to the martial path."

Although Lin Yiqing's eyes were filled with a smile, he still secretly warned himself not to be complacent. The world was vast and boundless, filled with countless experts, and he was still someone who could only look up to them.