The Third Mortal Shedding, Five Senses Transform

After returning to the Capital City, Chen Ye found a spare moment to dig up the long saber and crossbow he had buried outside the city, carefully wiping and maintaining them.

Then, he made trips to an apothecary, a tailor shop, and an ironware store to purchase a few essential items.

Only after finishing these tasks did he return to his residence.

That night, when the hour grew late and the surroundings were silent, Chen Ye took out three ten-year-old ginseng roots all at once.

He wanted to utilize the essence within the ginseng to attempt his third Mortal Shedding.

He needed to increase his chances of success before taking formal action.

To this end, the silver he had painstakingly saved up was essentially spent down to the last copper.

Chen Ye took one of the ginseng roots and shoved it directly into his mouth, chewing slowly.

A bitter, fishy taste spread through his mouth, but he paid it no mind, swallowing it bit by bit.

He stood in a horse stance while chewing the ginseng, carefully sensing the changes in his body.

This time, he did not use the Pawn System.

When it came down to it, the quality of the Foundation Cultivation Technique was simply too low.

It was like holding an elementary school textbook; one could not possibly grasp the concepts and applications of quadratic equations, let alone gain insight into advanced subjects like calculus.

Even if he were to exhaust his precious lifespan on it right now, it would be difficult to achieve any qualitative improvement.

To advance further, he needed more profound martial arts; only by standing on the shoulders of giants could he stand tall and see far.

This was also an important reason, aside from the matters involving the Xie Family, why he wanted to squeeze into a high-ranking household like the Cui Family.

Only a prestigious house like the Cui Family possessed deeper martial arts, which would allow him to continue his climb.

Time passed bit by bit.

That familiar feeling returned.

It was as if he were standing under the spring sun, his whole body feeling warm and cozy, with every pore opening up.

The vitality within his flesh and blood was stirred; when it condensed to the extreme, five specks of light broke through the flesh near his dantian, shimmering like stars.

Chen Ye's breathing was long and steady as he continuously mobilized the energy throughout his body.

Layers of white mist began to erupt continuously from his nose and mouth.

After an hour, the medicinal power of the first ginseng root was completely refined and absorbed.

Chen Ye continued by consuming the second ginseng root.

Another hour later, he consumed the third.

As the essence of the three ginseng roots accumulated layer upon layer, Chen Ye clearly felt the changes in his body.

His entire body began to heat up, and his skin turned flushed.

The white mist between his nose and mouth grew increasingly dense, as if he were in a fairyland, surrounded by layers of swirling vapor.

When this anomaly reached the limit of his body and the heat reached its peak, he heard a loud boom.

It felt as if an invisible barrier within his body had been violently shattered.

[Name: Chen Ye]
[Current Martial Arts: Foundation Cultivation Technique (Consummation)]
[Realm: Mortal Shedding (Three)]
[Current Remaining Lifespan: One year, one month, twenty-three days.]

It was done!

The white mist around Chen Ye's nose and mouth dissipated.

He stood in place and slowly opened his eyes.

Chen Ye immediately discovered that his entire world was different.

It was as if someone who had been nearsighted had suddenly put on glasses; the haze before his eyes had completely vanished.

Everything around him became incomparably clear.

At this moment, his five senses had undergone a qualitative change. He experienced a surge of vigorous life essence, as if he were a newborn infant; his obscured senses had returned to their peak and achieved a breakthrough.

Chen Ye focused his attention, placing all his concentration on his five senses to perceive the world anew.

He tried to listen intently and heard the sound of blood flowing within his body, resonating in harmony with the rhythm of his breathing.

He focused his sense of smell and caught the faint fragrance of wildflowers blooming outside the house, and even detected the subtle scent of the weave of his own clothing, distinct and clear.

"Truly miraculous!" Chen Ye couldn't help but exclaim in wonder.

Chen Ye tried raising his hand and was surprised to find that his physical body had undergone new changes as well.

He had become stronger.

The clothes he had just had tailored to fit perfectly now felt slightly tight.

It was not that his clothes had shrunk, but rather that his body had grown taller, undergoing further development.

Chen Ye threw a casual punch; every movement was accompanied by a gust of wind, and the pale golden keratin on his arm skin even carried a translucent luster.

He continuously channeled his strength to execute the Mountain-Shattering Style, feeling as though he possessed inexhaustible power. He practiced for a full three quarters of an hour before feeling exhausted, a performance that was more than a grade stronger than before.

During the practice, Chen Ye carefully sensed his body and realized that the accumulated essence from both the White Medicine and the old ginseng had completely vanished, having been fully integrated into his flesh and blood.

According to his past experience, a new glimmer of light would be birthed around the time of each breakthrough.

The sixth glimmer was likely about to emerge, and the speed was even faster than he had anticipated.

He needed to obtain a high-level martial art to cultivate as soon as possible, otherwise, such talent would be wasted in vain.

After Chen Ye experimented for a while, the sense of novelty gradually faded, and his body adapted to the changes brought by his heightened senses, so he fell into a satisfied sleep, resting very soundly that night.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Su Guang ultimately lived up to the trust placed in him, obtaining the Mandala Flower Poison and handing it over to Zuo Dongxi.

Knowing that time was of the essence, Zuo Dongxi acted quickly, planting his men into the inn where that group of desperadoes stayed that very night, waiting for the right moment.

"Inside this is the Black Fat Insect Powder; it smells faintly of rouge. Once those who have consumed the Mandala Flower Poison smell this, the medicinal properties will truly take effect."

Su Guang handed an object resembling a sachet, along with the Zhou Clan jade pendant, into Chen Ye's hands.

Chen Ye took the medicinal powder and twitched his nose slightly, catching the scent of the powder hidden beneath the smell of rouge.

This scent dispersed extremely quickly and was highly penetrating.

Chen Ye tucked the medicinal powder into the inner side of his lapel, placing it separately from the jade pendant.

"Everything is ready; we only lack the east wind. Keep a close watch on the Cui Family and the Liu Family."

Chen Ye recalled something and said to Zuo Dongxi, "We must also prepare things at Wang Family Valley early."

Zuo Dongxi replied, "That is not difficult. I happen to have someone in the gang from that area; a little instigation will suffice."

Two more days passed.

Chen Ye and his group received accurate information.

On the fifteenth of May, the Third Young Lady of the Cui Family would enter Xiangguo Temple to offer incense and pray for blessings, accompanied by thirteen guards and attendants.

The leader of the guards was a seasoned martial artist at the Dragon Elephant realm.

Upon receiving the news, Chen Ye and his group did not delay and immediately took action.

On the thirteenth of May, the group arrived near the ambush point to lie in wait ahead of time.

On the night of the fourteenth of May, the Mandala Flower Poison was successfully deployed, and those desperadoes consumed it entirely.

Time flew to the fifteenth of May.

The sky was neither bright nor dark.

Within the Cui residence, the third daughter of the Cui Family, Cui Xijun, walked out from the inner courtyard.

She wore a moon-white plain dress, and only a silver hair-tassel was pinned to her bun.

Cui Xijun's appearance was not the most outstanding among the Cui Family's young ladies, but she was still fair-skinned with red lips, carrying herself with grace. Her exquisite figure was already beginning to take shape at her age, appearing superior to that of the other young ladies.

As soon as Cui Xijun appeared at the doorway, the busy servants and guards around her automatically quieted down.

"Hong Ling, has everything been prepared?"

A cute-looking maid hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Third Young Lady, as you instructed, the incense money for the temple and the supplies for the journey are all ready."

"Then let us depart."

Hong Ling asked in confusion, "Didn't Young Master Liu arrange to leave together at the hour of the Dragon? It is only the hour of the Rabbit now. If we break our promise, how will we explain it to Young Master Liu?"

"Pay him no mind; do as I say."

Cui Xijun's decision to depart early was not a whim.

Anyone with a brain knew what the Liu Family was after by insisting on accompanying her to offer incense for the first time ever.

She did not want to have too much entanglement with this Liu Zhao.

Thus, she had Steward Cheng move the schedule forward by one hour.

As it happened, by the time Liu Zhao set off, she would have almost reached the temple, sparing her the trouble of having to deal with him on the road.