Life-Nourishing Art Goes Offline

The Blood-Qi Potion was indeed remarkably potent. Its effects were fierce and enduring, far more efficient than relying on coarse tea, plain meals, and rough meat to replenish the wear and tear on his body.

As the proficiency of the Bedrock Stance Art increased, the consumption of Qi and Blood Realm within his body grew faster by the day. Lin Qing's appetite had nearly doubled, and ordinary three meals a day could no longer fill the deficit in his body.

But ever since he had begun buying a bottle of Blood-Qi Potion from Hundred Herbs Hall every day at noon and drinking it, that hunger which constantly gnawed at his mind had vanished completely.

Yet this convenience also filled Lin Qing with a measure of helplessness. A bottle of Blood-Qi Potion was not cheap; it was undoubtedly a steady and hefty expense.

Moreover, he knew full well that as the proficiency of the Bedrock Stance Art continued to rise, one bottle of Blood-Qi Potion a day would likely no longer be enough to make up for his body's depletion.

In the secluded little courtyard, Lin Qing slowly withdrew his fists. Having completed an entire set of Life-Nourishing Art techniques, his aura settled steadily back into place. At the instant he finished the stance, he noticed a change in the system. With a thought, he opened the panel.

On the panel, the Life-Nourishing Art he had just practiced was slowly fading, appearing in the "Fused Arts" section.

Immediately afterward, the proficiency requirements marked behind all the other Life-Nourishing Arts he had never practiced dropped abruptly from 2 to 0. They too merged into the "Fused Arts" section.

He then looked at the Bedrock Stance Art. The proficiency number marked behind it finally settled at 500 points. Even as the Life-Nourishing Arts were still fusing, that string of numbers did not budge in the slightest.

Lin Qing had long suspected there was a limit to the Life-Nourishing Arts, but when this moment truly arrived, he could not help but feel a trace of regret.

[Host: Lin Qing]

Realm: Mortal (breakthrough time: 10 years)

Fused Arts: Essence-Stabilizing Foundation-Firming Art, Spleen-Strengthening Life-Nourishing Art (expand)

Recorded Arts: Bedrock Stance Art (176/500)

After looking over the information on the panel, Lin Qing withdrew his thoughts. Regret was useless now. Since the Life-Nourishing Arts had reached their limit, he would devote himself to diligently practicing the Bedrock Stance Art from now on.

He simply wiped away the sweat covering his body, washed up, then turned and returned to his bedroom.

The next day, when dawn had only just broken and the horizon still carried a faint fish-belly white, an earth-shaking beast roar suddenly erupted from the direction of the Azure Sun Mountains dozens of li away. The roar was savage and violent, ringing through heaven and earth.

Lin Qing's eyes flew open, a flicker of alarm and doubt passing through them. He could clearly sense the towering baleful aura wrapped within that roar, along with the chaotic presence of martial artists. A world-shaking battle that would sweep across the entire region was erupting deep within the nearby Azure Sun Mountain.

The Azure Sun Mountain stretched for hundreds of li, its peaks rising and falling in endless layers. Ancient trees towered into the sky and blotted out the sun, while exotic flowers and strange herbs carpeted the forest. All manner of precious medicinal materials grew luxuriantly there, and countless low-tier savage beasts lurked within. It was an important treasure trove from which martial artists of several surrounding prefectures obtained cultivation resources.

Precisely because the interests involved were so extensive, the Azure Sun Mountain had always drawn forces from every side. Though various groups occasionally clashed in ordinary times, they had only been minor skirmishes. But today, the peace maintained for so many years was torn to shreds.

The foremost purpose behind the influx of major forces into the Azure Sun Mountain this time was naturally to search for the Fourth-Tier Savage Beast that had suddenly appeared in the mountain.

But as more and more martial artists entered the mountain, hearts grew restless. Many malicious martial artists seized upon the muddled mix of people and chaotic order within the mountain to stab others in the back.

And so it went: you plotted against me, I plotted against you, and if one could not outplot the other, one called for reinforcements. Grudges piled atop grudges, contradictions erupted completely, and scattered private fights escalated without end. In the end, they became a large-scale melee involving numerous forces, with the flames of war instantly sweeping across the entire Azure Sun Mountain.

The forces on the battlefield were tangled and complex. Sects large and small, lineages, and rogue cultivator alliances were all dragged into it, encompassing nearly every cultivation force in the surrounding region.

Everyone chose their own side, eventually forming three clearly divided camps: the Cloudmist Prefecture martial artist force led by the Azure Profound Sect, with many smaller sects gathered beneath it; the Scarlet Sun Prefecture martial artist force centered on Blazing Flame Valley, which controlled several surrounding lineage forces; and the official force that kept itself apart and maintained order in the region—the Martial Suppression Office.

The war spread with startling speed, expanding from the dense forests and ravines deep in the Azure Sun Mountain all the way outward, even reaching Lin Family Village at the foot of the mountain. Heaven-shaking cries of slaughter, martial artists' roars, and the clang of colliding weapons intertwined, their sound surging into the clouds and echoing through the entire forest. Even from several li away, one could feel the brutality of the battlefield.

As the foremost great sect of Cloudmist Prefecture, the Azure Profound Sect's disciples wore blue daoist robes and wielded longswords. Their swordsmanship was graceful and nimble, each move concealing a killing stroke, while their advances and retreats followed an orderly rhythm.

Blazing Flame Valley of Scarlet Sun Prefecture, however, had an entirely different style. Its disciples were fierce and unyielding, their moves broad and powerful, their courage unmatched. Their weapons came in every variety—nine-ringed broadswords, fangtian halberds, heavy axes, and blunt weapons of all kinds. Every strike carried the force to wither dead trees and crush rotten wood. They charged rampant across the battlefield, leaving fallen trees, crumbling rocks, and flying rubble in their wake, their destructive power astonishing.

As the official martial force, the Martial Suppression Office had far fewer people than the two great sects, yet every one of them was an elite martial artist chosen from among thousands. Their discipline was strict and their methods ruthless. They usually watched the battle coldly from the sidelines and never intervened lightly, but once they moved, it was always a thunderous blow. Every strike went straight for a vital point, never dragging their feet, displaying an iron-blooded bearing.

The three camps restrained one another and slaughtered one another. All sides had long since killed until their eyes were red, showing not the slightest mercy. Every inch of the Azure Sun Mountain had become a brutal battlefield. Blood ran through cracks in the rocks, staining the grass and soil red. Corpses of martial artists lay amid the dense woods and jagged stones, while a thick stench of blood spread throughout the entire mountain range.

Just as the three forces fought without cease and neither side could gain the upper hand, the true native force of the Azure Sun Mountain was finally thoroughly roused and joined the battle.

A massive bear-like savage beast suddenly leaped from a cave. Its fur was black as ink, its body as large as a small mountain. Its thick limbs struck the ground, making the surrounding peaks tremble.

It stood upright atop a mountain peak and roared toward the sky. The sound waves shot into the heavens, forcibly drowning out the battle cries below and even reaching Azure Sun County dozens of li away.

This Fourth-Tier Savage Beast radiated monstrous ferocity as it launched indiscriminate attacks on everyone present. The warring forces immediately turned their blades and joined hands to besiege the powerful beast.

The beast's flesh was exceptionally tough, its hide thick and its body impervious to blades and spears. Even when three Fourth-Tier experts from the Azure Profound Sect, Blazing Flame Valley, and the Martial Suppression Office joined forces against it, they remained evenly matched with the beast for the time being and could not suppress it quickly. The battle grew ever more deadlocked.

And while the fighting outside raged fiercely, a white figure flashed past and vanished into the depths of the cave from which the savage beast had emerged.