Martial Dao Sacred Embryo

"Evolvable..."

Seeing the trait appearing on his body, Xu Yuan felt a surge of hot blood rush straight to his head, leaving his whole body light and unsteady.

He had thought that once a trait descended, it would be fixed. He had thought he would have to hold himself back until he gathered the conditions for Five Elements Spirit Nurturing before he could soar into the sky. He had never expected a turning point to appear at this very moment.

"Did learning Spirit-Martial Unity fulfill the requirements for the trait to advance?"

After mulling it over, Xu Yuan looked again at the description of Martial Dao Sacred Embryo. Setting aside the attention that might be drawn by stripping away his flesh and blood, the effects of this trait were nothing short of extravagant—an all-around enhancement of the previous Innate Martial Bones.

More importantly, thirty-six low-grade spirit stones and a chunk of refined black iron were prices he could afford right now.

He took several deep breaths, fully calming himself before counting his assets once more. Then, in a great hurry, he headed for the mining district of Biyou Market.

When the mining district's overseer, Zhang Chao, saw that Xu Yuan had brought neither a mining pick nor a fur coat against the cold, he thought Xu Yuan had come to mooch off them again. Only after speaking with him and learning that he was here to buy refined black iron did his expression improve somewhat.

After Xu Yuan showed Rong Ling's token, Zhang Chao had privately sought him out before, offering an excellent price to buy Xu Yuan's secret technique. Yet every time, Xu Yuan insisted that he truly possessed no secret technique and had merely been lucky.

After this happened time and again, Zhang Chao naturally held no goodwill toward Xu Yuan. He simply did not dare to act up with Rong Ling backing him.

"Hmph. This bastard only knows how to take favors from those great figures. If he doesn't know how to give something back, one day he'll learn that everything under heaven has its price."

With a cold look, Zhang Chao withdrew his gaze and watched Xu Yuan walk away, then spat disdainfully on the ground.

Xu Yuan naturally did not care what the other man was thinking. Carrying the refined black iron home, he packed up all thirty-six low-grade spirit stones. Then, with those items in hand, he rushed toward the outskirts of Biyou Market.

He had not been so overwhelmed by joy that he lost his head. He knew that advancing his trait at home carried enormous risks. Not only might the trait's advancement cause a huge disturbance, but Rong Ling, who could arrive at any time, was reason enough for him to leave Biyou Market.

Following the mountain path deeper in, Xu Yuan did not dare charge into the deep mountains. Instead, he skirted their edge, walking for a full three hours before reaching an area that seemed never to have been touched by human feet. Only then did he stop.

Finding a stone cave, Xu Yuan crawled all the way to its innermost depths and blocked the entrance with a huge boulder before sitting down in peace.

Holding the refined black iron in one hand and pressing the other against a pile of spirit stones, Xu Yuan looked at the evolvable option in his traits and silently agreed in his heart.

In an instant, the spirit stones and refined black iron began to vanish at a visible rate. Then, halo after halo appeared from nowhere, enveloping Xu Yuan.

Within those halos, Xu Yuan could clearly sense that his body seemed to be undergoing a rebirth.

His bones shattered and regrew. The new bones were as pure as white jade. His blood and qi were renewed, and fresh crimson blood surged throughout his body with a deafening roar.

His sinews and flesh seemed to be arranged by skillful hands, every strand of muscle settling into its most proper place. The skin that had become dry and withered from his long stay in the mine tunnels was likewise undergoing a rebirth.

Dead skin flew away like scraps of paper, while a new layer of skin as soft and smooth as a newborn infant's formed beneath it.

A moment later, Xu Yuan's dry, withered hair began to fall out. Then, driven by the powerful vitality of his blood and qi, it swiftly grew back.

Invisibly, aside from his spirit root—a trait truly unrelated to Martial Dao Sacred Embryo—every part of Xu Yuan's body had been adjusted to its optimal state.

Of course, his greatest gains did not end there. The immense vitality brought by the trait's evolution strengthened not only his body, but also greatly benefited his internal organs. His heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, and more were all becoming stronger.

An hour later, Xu Yuan opened his eyes again. Even without a mirror, he knew that he must have undergone a drastic transformation.

All traces of the torment he had suffered in Hidden Immortal Sect had vanished. The youth rising to his feet in the cave possessed a cool, detached air, as though untouched by earthly dust. His brows and eyes were delicate, his lips pale, his skin fair. Even draped in a black robe, he seemed like an immortal banished from the heavens.

Raising his right hand for a look, Xu Yuan saw that his information had changed.

text
[Fortune Master: Xu Yuan]

[Status: Martial Dao Sacred Embryo, innately flawless body, first glimpse of the Immortal Dao, qi drawn into the body, true soul newly formed]

[Current Trait: Martial Dao Sacred Embryo (Light Blue)]

[Traits That Can Be Added: 1/2]

[Selectable Traits: ...]

"Innately flawless." Savoring those words, Xu Yuan could indeed feel the vast power contained within his body now. The trait's description likened it to a demonic beast; it seemed that was no lie.

"But this appearance..."

He touched his face again. The next moment, with a thought from Xu Yuan, his originally tender skin suddenly began to wither, and in the blink of an eye, he had returned to the ravaged appearance he had worn in the mine tunnels.

It was not merely his skin. His hair, teeth, nails—every outward feature—returned to their former state under Xu Yuan's control.

"Now, I can control my appearance at will." Xu Yuan smiled smugly. After advancing Martial Dao Sacred Embryo, the things he could control went far beyond that. He could even control the structure of his facial muscles and bones, turning himself completely into another person!

So-called flawlessness did not merely mean a powerful physical body without weaknesses. It also meant absolute control over oneself!

Marveling at how well those dozens of low-grade spirit stones had been spent, Xu Yuan's thoughts stirred. Two utterly distinct powers suddenly surged forth and intertwined, completing their fusion in an instant.

"Spirit-Martial Unity truly falls within the scope of what martial bones can enhance. Unfortunately, Innate Martial Bones was too weak before, so the enhancement was not particularly obvious. Now that I have Martial Dao Sacred Embryo, comprehending Spirit-Martial Unity will no longer be difficult for me."

With a casual grasp, Xu Yuan lifted the massive boulder before him, which weighed tens of thousands of jin. Then, with an offhand punch, the boulder exploded with a bang into countless fragments.

"That strike probably carries the power of a third-layer Qi Refining cultivator casting a technique with all their strength."

He sighed in amazement. After all, he had only used his blood and qi just now—he had merely used Spirit-Martial Unity...

Walking out of the cave, Xu Yuan exhaled a breath of foul air. The gloom that had accumulated in his heart over this period seemed to have been swept clean. With a stir of his thoughts, he discovered that his cultivation seemed to have improved by several degrees.

No wonder so many cultivation texts emphasized the importance of cultivating the heart. If one remained frustrated and unable to fulfill one's ambitions for too long, unable to stretch one's will, cultivation would also cease to progress. In the end, one would become utterly dejected and lose one's potential for the Immortal Dao.

A measure of vigilance suddenly arose in Xu Yuan's heart. He realized that constantly suppressing himself was not a good thing, and his desire to descend the mountain grew even stronger.

Now that I have the enhancement of Martial Dao Sacred Embryo, along with a damaged mid-grade dharma artifact, ordinary demon-slaying missions should not be able to stop me.

After muttering to himself for a while, Xu Yuan strode forward and soon returned to the bounds of Biyou Market.

Entering his room, Xu Yuan counted his assets once more. Mm... only three spirit stones and twenty-five spirit crystals remained.

From "getting rich overnight" just a day ago to being utterly penniless now, Xu Yuan sighed again, once more feeling the importance of resources for cultivation.

Then he took out the damaged mid-grade dharma artifact. Just as he wanted to examine the dharma sword, new information suddenly entered his mind.