Fire Moon Emerges from Clouds

This fiery power arrived with startling suddenness, as if it had been lurking within Su Ming all along, only to be triggered by the Dust-Clearing Powder. Su Ming's body shuddered violently; in that instant, he had the illusion that his entire being was being consumed by flames, a sensation that reminded him of the Black Mountain Tribe warrior who had perished under the Blood Powder.

Su Ming did not panic. Instead, his expression remained calm. Although he felt as though he were burning, his composure allowed him to gradually discern the difference: this burning sensation was not his blood boiling, but rather the fact that his blood was circulating at a terrifying speed.

Because it flowed so rapidly, it created the illusion of combustion, to the point where he could hear his own heart beating with a frantic acceleration, as if it were about to burst.

"What potent medicinal power!" Su Ming's face was flushed, yet the calmness in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest. Muttering to himself, he closed his eyes and immediately immersed himself in the circulation of his life force.

A vast amount of sweat seeped from his body, and eleven blood lines appeared simultaneously, emitting a blinding red glow. This crimson light illuminated the cavern, making it seem as though it had transformed into a bloody Yellow Springs.

As his life force circulated, the red glow radiating from his body intensified. One could even see numerous veins bulging on Su Ming's skin, writhing as if alive, giving him a somewhat ferocious appearance.

Time slipped by—an hour passed. During this hour, the animal-hide clothes on Su Ming's body were soaked as if drenched in water, dripping with sweat. His body was a fiery red, and those eleven blood lines flickered like eleven raw, gaping wounds.

Just then, Su Ming suddenly opened his eyes. His gaze was bloodshot, and he let out a roar. As he bellowed, a thunderous boom erupted from within his body, and a twelfth blood line emerged!

The speed of its appearance transitioned from faint to completely solid in an instant, causing Su Ming's life force to grow even stronger.

Yet, it did not end there. After the twelfth blood line appeared, the fiery red on Su Ming's body eased slightly, but then, following another low growl, a thirteenth blood line erupted into existence!

With the emergence of this thirteenth blood line, Su Ming's hair began to dance without wind, and a formidable aura burst forth from his lean, frail frame.

His blood surged rapidly; he no longer felt the sensation of insufficient blood, but rather that it was far too abundant—as if his flesh and blood would collapse if he did not condense it into blood lines. Two lines had appeared in succession, yet the burning heat within his body still lingered.

Su Ming's expression twisted as he felt the heat throughout his body becoming unbearable. He raised his right hand and instinctively tore open his animal-hide shirt. Bare-chested, the thirteen blood lines were clearly visible, scattered irregularly across his chest, back, and arms.

The color of the blood lines was a deep, vivid red, as if they might drip blood at any moment. Copious amounts of sweat flowed down his body, and under the reflection of the red glow, it possessed a strange, eerie beauty.

Su Ming's eyes grew even redder, yet there was no madness within them; he remained calm. All of this was still under his control. Feeling the life force within him, Su Ming did not hesitate. Following the inheritance of the Barbarian Cultivators, he circulated his blood time and again, tempering it until it became viscous!

Another half-hour passed. With a low roar toward the sky, a fourteenth blood line, faint yet distinct, appeared on his body!

His roar echoed through the cavern, stirring up countless reverberations; at first listen, it sounded as if a multitude of people were howling.

"Fourteenth blood line, come forth!!" Su Ming's body trembled, and the formidable aura grew even more intense. The fourteenth blood line began to solidify rapidly, and by the looks of it, it would fully manifest before long.

However, after a quarter of an hour had passed, the fourteenth blood line remained in a state of struggle, as if it were always lacking that final bit of power to fully coalesce.

Su Ming could already feel the circulation of his life force slowing down, and the heat in his body was nearly spent. If he ended now without the fourteenth line fully formed, he would have to wait until the next time.

Su Ming's eyes flashed. Without a second thought, he reached out his right hand and grabbed toward his side, where another Mountain Spirit Powder remained!

Clutching the Medicine Stone, Su Ming immediately put it into his mouth, grinding it fiercely with his teeth before swallowing. He then took out another portion of Dust-Clearing Powder and consumed it all. His body shook violently, and the fading heat on his skin surged once more, reaching an astonishing level in an instant.

The burning sensation within him turned frantic, its intensity exceeding what it had been before, reaching a level that Su Ming could barely withstand.

"Fourteenth blood line, emerge!!" There was a streak of ruthlessness in Su Ming's bones—a trait he had not even realized he possessed, yet one that had been embedded in the minutiae of his life for a very long time.

As he growled, a roar erupted within him, and the fourteenth blood line solidified instantly, emitting an eerie red glow. After the fourteenth line appeared, Su Ming did not choose to stop. He swallowed two more Mountain Spirit Powders in succession, determined to push his cultivation to the next level in one go.

During these seven days of tempering, he had often pondered the premature appearance of the Moon Wing and the anxiety hidden beneath Grandpa's smiles. Su Ming had seen it all. Although he hadn't spoken of it, he vaguely understood that a dark cloud seemed to be looming over the tribe.

Linking this to the breakthrough of the Black Mountain Tribe's Barbarian Duke and Grandpa's warnings about a traitor in their midst, Su Ming felt deeply worried. He wanted to help Grandpa and the tribe, but with his current cultivation, it was clearly not enough.

He wanted to become stronger; he wanted to become a powerhouse!

After the fourteenth blood line emerged, Su Ming once again circulated his life force, letting his blood surge frantically, as if forcing the fifteenth blood line to manifest.

After a long while, the trembling of Su Ming's body brought with it a wave of pain, but he did not hesitate. Amidst the flow of his blood and his own roar, the fifteenth blood line erupted into existence!!

The fifteen blood lines looked like fifteen scars on his bare upper body, and while they emitted a red glow, they also made Su Ming appear even more formidable.

But fifteen blood lines were not enough for Su Ming. As he continued to circulate his energy, time flowed on.

The sixteenth blood line suddenly condensed!!

At this point, the heat on his body largely dissipated, as if everything were about to end. But Su Ming's eyes flashed with a cold glint. Without a word, he raised his right hand and struck his chest hard. With this blow, a powerful force surged into his body, stimulating his rapidly beating heart.

"Seventeenth line, appear for me!"

Under the stimulation of this force, his heart erupted with even more blood, which surged through his body once more. At his heart, the seventeenth blood line appeared!

After the seventeenth blood line manifested, the fire in Su Ming's body seemed to extinguish; there was no more heat. His body felt empty, and he knew this was the result of the medicinal effects wearing off.

At the same time, waves of slight stinging pain emerged from within his body, indicating that he had sustained some injuries from his forced cultivation.

"For a Barbarian Cultivator, a little pain and injury are nothing!" Su Ming murmured. Feeling the power within him, which was significantly greater than before, a trace of decisiveness flashed in his eyes.

He did not stand up, but instead took a medicinal herb from his torn animal-hide shirt—it was the Sky Rock Grass!!

This item was the most potent herb he had obtained, aside from the Medicine Stones! He had given a portion to Lei Chen and rarely used the rest, but now, he took it out without hesitation. He wanted to strike while the iron was hot and raise his cultivation as much as possible.

Holding the herb, Su Ming set aside one leaf for future use and swallowed the rest, even taking more Dust-Clearing Powder to boost its efficacy.

A cool sensation erupted within him, instantly merging with the lingering trace of heat. Wisps of cold air appeared on Su Ming's body, making his seventeen red blood lines stand out even more vividly.

Under the influence of this cold, Su Ming's skin turned a faint blue, but the blood within him began to flow rapidly once more. One hour, two hours—when the sky outside turned white and Xiao Hong returned from playing, Su Ming was still sitting cross-legged, motionless.

Xiao Hong knew Su Ming was cultivating, so it lay to the side, watching him every now and then before yawning and falling asleep.

The sky shifted from morning to noon, then slowly to dusk, and soon, it was pitch black again. Only the bright moonlight shone down upon the earth amidst the falling snow.

On Su Ming's body, there were no longer seventeen blood lines, but nineteen!!

The two extra lines existed on his arms, flickering with a red glow...

Late at night, Su Ming's entire body radiated a red glow that filled the cavern. He slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air. His eyes shone with a piercing light. Seeing Xiao Hong sleeping soundly, occasionally twitching its fur and letting out soft snores, a smile touched the corners of his mouth.

He withdrew his gaze from Xiao Hong and instinctively looked up at the small holes in the rock wall. From his position, he could see the sky and the bright moon outside through these apertures. Glancing at them, Su Ming slowly closed his eyes, preparing to circulate the blood and qi within his body to soothe the injuries caused by this bout of cultivation.

But the very moment his eyes closed, Su Ming suddenly snapped them open again. He felt a vague sense that the moon he had just seen through those small holes seemed somewhat different.

Looking again now, his eyes gradually widened in shock!

The moon in the sky actually had a hint of red...