Duty

The Bone-Protecting Pill melted into a gentle warm current the moment it entered his mouth, flowing through his meridians and into every part of his body before slowly seeping deep into his bones.

If he could look inside himself, he would have seen a hazy glimmer covering the surface of his bones, as if adding another layer of protection to steel tempered a hundred times.

"Let's begin."

Lu Lin activated his cultivation time and continuously poured it into Iron Elephant Body.

[Your cultivation has already reached the ninth level of Body Tempering. Your bones have undergone repeated refinement and are harder than metal and iron. With the aid of the Bone-Protecting Pill, your safety has greatly increased. Your qi and blood can surge in abundantly without needing to be divided into fine threads. Iron Elephant Body is progressing at divine speed.]

The first prompt made Lu Lin pause slightly, then joy rose in his heart.

Indeed, he had already reached the ninth level of Body Tempering. His bone strength was far beyond that of an ordinary sixth-level Body Tempering martial artist. Looking back now and carrying out "qi and blood entering the bones," the difficulty was naturally greatly reduced. With the Bone-Protecting Pill's dual protection on top of that, his efficiency far surpassed before.

When the medicinal effect of one Bone-Protecting Pill was about to run out, he took another.

[After two months of bitter cultivation, Iron Elephant Body has broken through and reached the seventh level.]

It broke through just like that?

Lu Lin was somewhat surprised.

One had to know, Spirit Cat Art breaking through to the seventh level had cost him one hundred and twenty years of bitter cultivation.

Yet now, it had only taken two months.

The gap between having Bone-Protecting Pills and not having them was like clouds and mud.

Without medicinal pills assisting him, he had to divide his qi and blood into threads and carefully seep them into his bones. His efficiency had been lower by far more than a hundredfold.

Of course, this was not entirely because of the pills.

For an ordinary martial artist to break a martial dao cultivation method through to the seventh level was far from this easy. They often needed to take one Bone-Protecting Pill every ten days and continue for half a year before they could break through.

"But the pace at which I'm taking Bone-Protecting Pills is much faster than ordinary people as well. In two months, I've already used twenty."

Lu Lin thought to himself.

But it was all worth it.

Time was the foundation of cultivation. Since he was about to become an immortal master's guard and would find it harder to mine, any cultivation time he could save had to be saved.

"Continue."

Once Iron Elephant Body reached the seventh level, Bone-Protecting Pills were no longer needed. Lu Lin switched to taking Bone Refining Pills and once again activated his cultivation time to pour into it.

With sufficient medicinal pills supporting him, he used only five years to push Iron Elephant Body to the eighth level.

At this point, he temporarily halted his cultivation.

For no other reason than that his Bone Refining Pills were nearly gone.

Five years had consumed one hundred and eighty Bone Refining Pills. Of the original two hundred, only twenty remained.

"On average, one pill every ten days. The consumption of pills is this astonishing... practicing martial arts really burns money."

Lu Lin sighed inwardly.

But when he thought again of the spirit stones and spirit pills immortal cultivators spent in their daily lives, whose prices exceeded martial artists' pills by many times, he felt at ease.

"Looks like I'll have to make another trip to Lingyuan Pavilion and buy a larger batch of pills, especially Bone Refining Pills."

His mind was made up.

Looking again at the Martial Dao Melting Furnace, he still had one hundred and twenty years of cultivation time remaining.

Lu Lin focused and examined his own body. This round of cultivation had increased his strength by about four thousand jin. His total strength had broken past the twenty-thousand mark, reaching the terrifying "strength of two elephants."

If he faced that "Yu An" again, victory would come even more easily. He might even come away without a scratch.

After familiarizing himself a little with his newly added strength, he silently returned to the common bunkhouse to rest.

Early the next morning.

"You're Lu Lin?"

A young man sized Lu Lin up and down, a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

"That's right."

Lu Lin cupped his fists in greeting while also quietly observing the other party.

There were two people who had come, both in their early twenties, one man and one woman.

Both wore dark-red battle armor, its surface faintly flowing with light, clearly more precious and sturdy than the "Black Demon Battle Armor" he had seen in the army.

Their qi and blood were thick, their auras deep and steady like crouching fierce beasts. At minimum, they were at the ninth level of Body Tempering.

"Come with us. From now on, we'll be colleagues, guarding an immortal master together."

The young man said with a smile, his tone mild and without any sense of looking down from above.

"Yes."

Lu Lin answered with cupped fists.

The two of them immediately took Lu Lin away from the Black Iron Vein and headed deeper into the Demon Mountain.

Blood Baleful Demon Mountain stretched for a thousand li, its peaks rising one upon another, its canyons deep and secluded, with strange sights and wondrous scenery beyond counting.

The Black Iron Vein was located at the edge of the Demon Mountain, while the cultivators of the Demonic Sect lived deep within the mountain range.

Legend had it that a vast spirit vein was hidden beneath the Demon Mountain, wreathed in dense spiritual energy. It was a holy land for cultivation, and even across the whole Yan Kingdom, it ranked among the very best.

On the way, the two gave their names. The man was Fang Hong, and the woman was called Lan Zhu.

"Senior Brother Fang, Senior Sister Lan, may I ask which immortal master we are to guard?"

Lu Lin could not hold back the curiosity in his heart and asked aloud.

"The one we guard is a great figure, hailed as the Demonic Sect's foremost genius of the past thirty years. She has been in the sect for only a few years, yet her cultivation has already reached the eighth level of Qi Refining."

As Fang Hong spoke, he pondered briefly before adding, "Her name is Luo Siqing."

"Luo Siqing? An unrivaled genius? From the name, she seems to be a female cultivator... but I've never heard of her, so why was I chosen?"

Lu Lin was full of questions, but he did not voice them.

"Junior Brother Lu, since you have already become an immortal master's personal guard, there are a few matters you must keep firmly in mind."

Fang Hong's expression turned solemn.

"Please speak, Senior Brother. This younger brother is all ears."

"As an immortal master's personal guard, although you can be spared menial labor and focus on martial training, and the immortal master will also provide cultivation resources, you should have heard something about what your duties are, yes?"

Lu Lin nodded.

Naturally, he had heard a few things.

So-called personal guards, to put it bluntly, were tools in an immortal master's hand, cannon fodder in times of crisis, the ones who had to cover the rear when an immortal master was in danger...

"But there is one point you most likely do not know: if the immortal master you guard dies, then all of their personal guards... must be buried with them."

Fang Hong lowered his voice as he said this.

"What?"

When Lu Lin heard this, his face changed in horror.

If the immortal master died, all the guards were buried with them?

What kind of rule was that?

"The reason is nothing more than to prevent certain guards from slacking off and playing tricks, fearing death when the battle comes. This way, all the guards share life and death with the immortal master. Who would dare not do their utmost?"

Fang Hong's voice carried bitterness.

"Junior Brother Lu, this matter must absolutely not be spread. Otherwise, many people would deliberately suppress their cultivation, and no one would be willing to break through to the seventh level of Body Tempering. Remember, you must not reveal it to those menial martial men, or the consequences will be severe."

Lan Zhu gave him an earnest warning, her expression grave.

Lu Lin nodded solemnly.

"So, we personal guards can be said to be in the same boat, bound to prosper or suffer together. We must join our hearts and strength, and trust one another. If we scheme against each other, in the end, we will only cost ourselves our lives."

Fang Hong spoke with a stern expression.

"This younger brother understands. May I ask how many personal guards Immortal Master Luo has under her?"

"Twelve, including you."

Fang Hong continued, "Their cultivation is all above the seventh level of Body Tempering. Among them, four are at the tenth level of Body Tempering, four are at the ninth level, and three are at the eighth level." He paused slightly and looked at Lu Lin. "Lan Zhu and I are both at the tenth level of Body Tempering. Yet Junior Brother Lu's cultivation has not reached the seventh level, and Immortal Master Luo still chose you as a guard. I imagine you must be a prodigy of martial arts? In the future, we should spar often."

Yes, you're right. I'm exactly that, a prodigy of martial arts.

Lu Lin felt helpless inside, but on the surface he could only nod and say yes.

The three of them talked as they walked, and before they knew it, they had arrived at a graceful, beautiful mountain peak.

Courtyards were scattered across the mountain, the scenery quiet and elegant.

At the summit there was even a clear pool spanning dozens of meters, its water as limpid as a mirror. Strange flowers and rare grasses grew all around it, their faint fragrance seeping into the heart and lungs.

By the pool, a figure stood silently alone.

She wore a long black dress, and through the slit in the hem, her long jade-like legs could be faintly seen. Her figure's curves were exquisite and alluring.

Just the sight of her back was enough to make one's heart-banner sway.

"This subordinate greets Immortal Master. The person has been brought."

Fang Hong and Lan Zhu bowed and reported.

Lu Lin also bowed in salute after them.

Hearing the sound, the woman slowly turned around.

Lu Lin quietly lifted his eyes for a glance, and instantly froze where he stood.

It was actually her!