Su Ming's Fury

Su Ming had pondered for a long time, but still couldn't figure out what the Dust-Clearing Powder did. In the memories he had acquired, there was only a method for refining it, with no specific explanation of its effects.

By noon, when the sunlight had grown rather scorching, Su Ming hesitated for a moment before leaving.

He raced back with Little Monkey to his Powder Refining place. Little Monkey didn't stay there long; after returning, it ran off again.

Outside, Su Ming leaned against the wall, half-reclining as he faced the mountain breeze. Holding the green Medicine Stone in his hand, he fell into deep thought.

"What exactly does it do...? It has no effect when taken internally, and none when applied externally..." He frowned. He had finally managed to refine the Medicine Stone, yet couldn't find out what it was for. It made him feel as if he had wasted the past month and more for nothing.

He stared at the Medicine Stone and suddenly gritted his teeth.

"Forget it. I'll have to try it myself! I'll swallow this powder and see what happens!" Su Ming had a decisive streak in his nature. Once he made up his mind, he didn't hesitate; he immediately put the Dust-Clearing Powder in his hand into his mouth.

The Medicine Stone melted as soon as it touched his tongue. A rich medicinal fragrance spread through Su Ming's mouth, seeming to form a warm current that flowed into his body, but it soon dissipated, leaving him with little sensation.

Su Ming froze. He hurriedly sat down and tried to condense his bloodline, but nothing was different from usual. He still had that same feeling, as if he didn't have enough blood.

He tugged at his hair in frustration. This time, he truly felt that the past month and more had been wasted for nothing.

"Impossible. It must have some other effect!" Though disappointed, Su Ming refused to give up. No matter how he racked his brain, he still couldn't figure it out. All he could do was sigh deeply and smile bitterly.

After a while, the red blur that was Little Monkey raced up from below the mountain and quickly reached Su Ming. It hopped in front of him a few times, tossed down a large pile of wild fruit, and then left again.

Su Ming sighed. His stomach was empty, so he picked up the fruit and began eating while continuing to ponder.

One, two, three...

Before he knew it, Su Ming let out a belch and spat out the fruit pits. He rubbed his stomach and started thinking again. His gaze unconsciously fell on the remaining fruit, and just as he was about to look away, he suddenly froze.

"I'm full? Huh!" Su Ming stared at the wild fruit, then immediately counted the pits he had spat out. There were fifteen in all.

He felt as if he had almost grasped something. His heart pounded.

"Ever since I was little, I've liked eating these wild fruits. Xiao Hong often picked them for me all these years... But I don't like eating too many at once. In the past, after eating seventeen or eighteen, I'd feel a little more than half full...

"But just now, I only ate fifteen, and I'm already full! Has my appetite gotten smaller? Or could it... have something to do with something else?" Su Ming licked his lips. He remembered swallowing a pellet of Dust-Clearing Powder earlier.

"Could this Dust-Clearing Powder be a Medicine Stone that can replace food?" Su Ming's eyes filled with thought.

"Or could it increase the... effect of other things!" Su Ming's heart raced. His pulse pounding, he took a deep breath. He had racked his brains over the powder's effects without coming up with a clue. Now that he felt he might have grasped something, he didn't care whether it was absurd. He immediately turned and ducked into the small cave, hurrying to his Powder Refining place.

He remembered that he still had a little Wulong Saliva left. It was precious, and he couldn't obtain any unless it rained, so he had been reluctant to drink what remained.

He hurried back to the cavern where he refined powder. Su Ming took a small bottle containing a few drops of Wulong Saliva from the woven basket. He opened it and, without hesitation, raised it to his lips and drank it all.

Su Ming was very familiar with Wulong Saliva. As soon as the few drops entered his stomach, wisps of coolness spread through his body, flowing around him before gradually merging into his blood.

But just then, the coolness formed by the Wulong Saliva strangely increased. It seemed to have grown by about a tenth. It wasn't much, but Su Ming felt the difference clearly.

After the gentle coolness merged with his blood, it turned into a surging heat. As he circulated his bloodline, four blood-red lines appeared on his body, glowing crimson.

After a long while, Su Ming opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath of stale air. Excitement shone in his eyes.

"Just as I thought! The Dust-Clearing Powder has no effect when taken on its own, but when consumed together with something else, it can increase that thing's original effects. It seems simple, but in truth, it's extraordinary!" Su Ming's spirits soared. The Powder Refining art now gave him tremendous motivation.

"On the door where I found the Powder Refining method, there were fifteen small holes. Clearly, I need to put fifteen of these Medicine Stones into them. But right now, I don't even have enough to take myself..." Su Ming pondered briefly, hesitated for a moment, then decided to take things slowly.

Having made up his mind, he got up and hurried to the Wild Cauldron, where he began refining powder again with the remaining herbs.

Besides refining powder, he also sent Little Monkey out to search for herbs. He gathered large quantities of the plants that Grandpa always took whenever he went out, pounded them into juice using the method of his tribe, and drank it, with the Dust-Clearing Powder as an aid. As a result, his cultivation speed immediately increased somewhat.

Time flew by, and another two months passed. Su Ming had hardly gone out during those two months. The Fire Lava Cave had become like a second home to him. It was also very difficult to discover, allowing him to cultivate there without worry.

Over those two months, he refined quite a lot of Dust-Clearing Powder. Taking it with the medicinal juices that increased his blood and qi, he gradually condensed a fifth blood line on his body.

Even the sixth blood line began to appear faintly. If he continued like this, he would be able to fully form it before long.

It was winter outside now, and snow blanketed all the other peaks. Only around Black Flame Peak did the snow melt before it could even fall. As a result, the area was shrouded in mist, making it look quite strange from afar.

If an outsider came here for the first time, they would surely find the place fascinating. But Su Ming had grown up nearby, and the peak's strange nature had long since become familiar to him.

On this day, Su Ming sat cross-legged, the bloodlight on his body exceptionally strong. The five thin lines coiled around him as if they were alive, creating a striking sight.

Bloodlight kept streaming from him, and beads of sweat covered his body. His frame trembled slightly, but his expression was filled with determination. This was his third attempt in half a month to condense the sixth blood line. Once he succeeded, he would become a Barbarian Warrior of the second layer of the Blood Condensation Realm.

Most importantly, he would be able to perform the first Barbarian Art of his life—a technique belonging to their tribe, called Spirit Devouring!

The Spirit Devouring Barbarian Art couldn't be performed out of thin air. It required the corpse of a recently deceased wild beast. Through the lines of Barbarian Blood he had condensed, he could sense the soul of the dead beast and draw it out, temporarily increasing some of his own abilities.

Only after mastering a Barbarian Art could one be called a Barbarian Warrior. Such people were clearly different from the rest of their tribe and were several times stronger.

After a long while, Su Ming's body shuddered. The bloodlight around him slowly faded, and the five blood lines on his skin gradually disappeared. His attempt to condense the sixth blood line had failed again.

Su Ming let out a deep breath. After a moment of silence, he took some medicinal juice, mixed it with Dust-Clearing Powder, and swallowed it before beginning another round of cultivation.

Day after day passed, and before long, another month had gone by. Thick snow now covered all of Wulong Mountain. Even around Black Flame Peak, the mist had grown much denser, and even the heat seemed on the verge of fading.

The coldest time of the year had arrived.

But for Su Ming, this was the most crucial time. Thanks to his unremitting efforts and an ample supply of herbs and Dust-Clearing Powder, he had cultivated in the Blood Condensation Realm at tremendous speed. The sixth blood line had now taken shape, and he was at the critical moment just before fully condensing it.

Little Monkey didn't want to go outside in winter either. Its fur was fiery red, making it far too conspicuous against the white snow, so it always settled down once winter came.

It crouched beside Su Ming, yawning as its eyes darted around while it watched him. But just then, it suddenly whipped its head around. A sharp glint appeared in its eyes, and its ears twitched a few times.

Faintly, some voices came from outside...

"Yu Chi, you said the Sky Rock Grass grew here? We've searched for ages and still haven't found it. Are you sure you weren't mistaken?" The cold voice made Little Monkey shiver.

"I'm sure. When I first saw it, it was still a seedling, so I used a Barbarian Art to conceal it nearby. By my reckoning, it should be mature by now. You should know that ordinary tribesmen come here to gather herbs. They wouldn't be able to see through my Barbarian Art." The speaker's voice was slightly shrill.

"Then hurry up and look. If the Sky Rock Grass really is here, it might help me break through to the fourth layer from the third. As for you, you should be able to reach the third layer."

"Don't rush. It should be here. I can still sense my Barbarian Art... If you reach the fourth layer, you'll be able to join the Black Mountain Hunting Team. I heard Grandpa personally chose the prey for this hunt... Whatever we manage to seize will belong to us."

The two voices drew closer and closer. They sounded as if they were right outside, making Little Monkey so nervous it hardly dared to breathe. It could faintly sense that the two people outside posed an enormous threat to it.

It repeatedly turned to look at Su Ming, but his eyes were tightly shut, his body trembling slightly as the bloodlight around him grew brighter and brighter. The sixth blood line seemed on the verge of fully solidifying.

But just then!

"Found it! Huh? Look here, there's a cave. It's a little small, though!"

"Sure enough, it's the Sky Rock Grass! As for this cave... this used to be Fire Barbarian territory. There's heat all around this cave, so it should be hollow inside. Since we're here, we might as well take a look. A mere cave entrance won't stop me." The two voices rang out, and their words made Little Monkey's expression change drastically.

In its panic, it suddenly gritted its teeth. After giving Su Ming one last, deep look, it bared its teeth and turned into a red blur, darting straight into the small cave entrance and vanishing through it.

A cry of surprise and excitement immediately came from outside.

"It's a Fire Ape, and it's still young! Ha ha!"

"This is its shelter from the cold. Catch it! Its blood will be a great tonic for us, and its fur can be offered to Grandpa!"

As a shrill scream rang out, the voices outside gradually faded into the distance. But inside the cavern, Su Ming's face contorted as his body trembled violently.

"You... are asking for death..." Su Ming suddenly raised his head and let out an enraged roar.