Turbid Fiendish Energy

Besides, even if he hadn't said it, Ling Qing had originally intended to do just that.

After hearing Li Li describe the peculiar trees on Firewood Mountain, he had used his Heart of Nature to sense the forest.

Unlike the vibrant and flourishing vitality of ordinary trees, the trees in this forest seemed to have been born from the convergence of turbid Sha Qi.

That was why they were so abnormally hard.

The density of the turbid Sha Qi within them was so great that even though he had intended to use his Heart of Nature to harmonize the forest's aura, he found himself unable to shake it.

Through his practice along the way, although he had yet to master the Spirit Restraint and Transformation Method, he was unable to restrain the spirits of heaven and earth or their authority, at most managing to stir the surrounding natural spiritual energy to assist in his cultivation of the Dao of Nature.

However, his perception of all things in heaven and earth had grown significantly stronger.

The sight of the Land God refining ghost Sha from the bodies of the Chang Ghosts had left too deep an impression on him.

Afterward, he had specifically looked into the various types of Sha Qi.

As the saying goes, the clear evolves into Gang, while the turbid gives rise to Sha.

Anything tainted with heavy, turbid energy is prone to producing Sha, to a greater or lesser degree.

On this earth, the turbid Sha Qi born from the earth itself is the most abundant; it is essentially everywhere, though its quality varies.

Therefore, the first thing he sensed with his Sha Refining Technique was this turbid Sha Qi.

Generally speaking, the closer this energy is to the surface, the more dissipated it becomes, and the deeper it goes into the ground, the more stagnant it grows.

Rarely is it found as condensed as this on the surface.

He had not expected these trees to harbor such thick, turbid Sha Qi.

Such dense Sha Qi is usually hidden deep underground or at the roots of majestic mountains, being exceptionally heavy.

If one could refine it with the Sha Refining Technique and unleash it, it would truly be enough to split the earth and collapse mountains, possessing an unmatched, rigid ferocity.

However, it was fortunate that this turbid Sha Qi was stagnant and remained unmoved by him.

Otherwise, with this level of Sha Qi, even a slight agitation would likely have resulted in him being entangled by the energy and instantly crushed into a pulp.

Thus, he dared not use his natural perception on Firewood Mountain again, fearing he might accidentally become tainted by this Sha Qi.

He began to chop wood in earnest.

Crack~

After more than ten consecutive axe strikes, Ling Qing finally severed the branch, and he couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

Every swing of the axe left his bones aching and his muscles numb from the vibration, yet while clinging to the tree, he had to keep his legs braced to maintain his balance and avoid falling.

It was only after several attempts that he found a method.

That was to combine the Tiger Frolic from the Five Animal Frolics while chopping, using the counter-force to temper his tendons and bones.

Then, just as he was about to lose control of that force, he would immediately switch to the Bear Frolic to adjust his posture and stabilize his body, using the lingering momentum to vibrate his muscles.

At the same time, he held his arms in the shape of crane wings to balance his body and prevent a fall.

In Xingyi, there is an internal training method known as the Tiger-Leopard Thunder Sound; the version of the Five Animal Frolics that Ling Qing learned, combined with the Druid heritage, also possessed a similar internal training method.

Whether it was the tiger's roar, the ape's cry, the crane's call, the deer's bleat, or the bear's growl, each frolic had its own internal training method.

All of them utilized the vibration of tendons, bones, and muscles to exercise the internal organs, aiming to achieve both internal strengthening and external conditioning.

At this moment, the proficiency gained in the Five Animal Frolics on his skill panel confirmed to him that this was indeed an excellent way to practice.

He took a moment to glance around and saw people occasionally falling off due to the recoil of the force.

It seemed not everyone could find a wood-chopping technique within what they had learned.

After nearly falling once from a sway, Zhang Zhe gradually found a way as well.

His movements were not as large as Ling Qing's; every time he raised his hand, his axe would vibrate, leaving trails of afterimages.

Clearly, he was using small-scale, rapid tremors to neutralize the force of the recoil.

However, Ling Qing had no time to watch others.

As the labor continued, the same state of exhaustion he had felt while climbing the mountain returned.

It still caused no actual damage to his body, yet it left him so tired that he didn't want to move a muscle.

He felt much better whenever he stopped, but the moment he started working again, his body and mind were exhausted to the extreme.

It was already tiring enough to do such manual labor, and to suffer this kind of torment on top of it.

No wonder they say it is hard work; this is practically forcing people to leave.

Few of those who entered the instance were fools; everyone knew what this meant.

Either you slack off and cut corners, but in doing so, you would certainly never truly be accepted into the sect to seek the immortal arts or learn the Great Dao.

The best outcome would be the same as Wang Sheng—learning a few superficial spells and heading down the mountain.

Or, you could work with all your might, though there was no telling when you might be taught the immortal arts.

This was all to temper everyone's temperament, perseverance, and steadfast heart toward the Dao.

To seek immortality and study the Dao, one must not only endure hardship but also withstand loneliness.

Presumably, other chores are much like this task of gathering firewood.

Liu Yun was not unaware that complaining was not only useless but could also potentially incur his master's displeasure.

Yet, having never suffered before, he truly could not bear this agony.

How else could it be said that only by enduring what others cannot, and achieving what others cannot, can one be considered a true man?

Although Ling Qing had not suffered much either and could hardly be called a true man, he had always been content and possessed the Natural Force to rely on.

These mental and physical hardships and torments...

To Ling Qing, who had experienced the vast, broad, and selfless bosom of nature and had the Natural Force to restore his energy, they were more of an enlightenment and tempering of the Dao of Nature.

Although it was indeed difficult to endure, it was not as unbearable as he had imagined.

Most importantly, there were the constantly rising numbers on his panel.

The sense of achievement brought by visible progress added even more motivation to keep moving forward.

Ling Qing looked at the branches he had cut down, climbed down the tree to gather them into two bundles, tied them with rope, and hoisted them onto his shoulders.

"I can add a bit more."

He weighed them and found he hadn't reached his limit yet, so he climbed back up the tree to cut a few more branches.

After re-tying them, he nodded in satisfaction.

The load of firewood had reached his limit; he needed to use every ounce of his strength just to lift it and walk.

Not only that, but he also had to maintain the exertion techniques of the Five Animal Frolics at all times.

"Rise!"

Ling Qing, like a bear, sank his waist and braced his stance, positioning the load on his shoulders.

Like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey, he exerted force suddenly and thrust upward, hoisting the load.

"Move!"

His steps were like a crane's claws; as he stepped, he moved like an ape, his body sinking.

The firewood on his shoulders momentarily lifted, and as his feet landed firmly, he shifted back to the Bear Frolic, letting the load settle back onto his shoulders.

He did not rush to rise; at the moment of impact, he followed the momentum to sink further, neutralizing some of the force from the falling load.

Once the load was steady and before its momentum faded, he suddenly rose again with a jolt, thrusting upward at the center of the load.

The firewood at both ends flickered and bounced; he held the load with one hand and leaped forward like a nimble deer.

His other hand danced like a crane's wing, serving both to accelerate and to maintain balance.

Between this thrusting, landing, catching, neutralizing, jolting, and bouncing, the firewood remained in constant motion.

While saving a great deal of effort, he was also becoming familiar with his martial arts and strength.

Walking with this load of firewood also generated a vibrating force, though it was not as powerful as when he was chopping wood.

As long as he stood firm and walked step by step, this force tempered his entire body like a blacksmith forging iron.

It was as if he were extracting impurities from within, refining raw iron into fine steel.