Iron Body, Complete!

As he continued circulating his cultivation art, Zhao Er's brow furrowed slightly, and his skin began to change color.

His originally grayish-white skin took on a dull, dark hue. It no longer had the soft texture of flesh and blood, instead growing dim and deep in color.

Gradually, that dull darkness intensified, even driving out the grayish white, until his entire body turned gray-black.

As time passed and Zhao Er continued cultivating, his entire body seemed to turn completely into black iron. Unlike before, when he had merely looked as though he wore iron armor, he now seemed cast from molten iron. If not for the continued rise and fall of his chest, he would have been no different from an iron statue.

After a long while, Zhao Er opened his eyes and lowered his head to examine his palm. Its lines had faded considerably.

He loosely curled his hand. His joints remained flexible, without the slightest stiffness.

Zhao Er clenched both fists, then struck his arms against each other. A faint metallic sound rang out, no longer the crisp clang of striking sheet iron, but the dull thud of two iron pillars colliding.

Zhao Er picked up an Iron Halberd from the table. The weapon, which had once felt somewhat heavy, now felt featherlight in his hand.

After hefting it briefly, Zhao Er swung the Iron Halberd straight at his own arm.

Clang!

The Iron Halberd's crescent blade struck his arm with a crisp ring and bounced away, leaving only a faint white mark.

"Nine-Turn Golden Body Art, first turn, Iron Body... complete!"

A smile blossomed across Zhao Er's face as he looked at the faint white mark on his arm.

As Zhao Er withdrew his power, the gray-black color faded from his body, and his skin returned to its original shade.

[Cultivation: Martial Artist, First Realm—Blood Condensation]

[Five Poisons Returning to Origin Body (Blue) lv.2 (205/500)]

[Nine-Turn Golden Body Art (Blue) lv.2 (2/500)]

[Dian Clan Eight Methods of Twin Halberds (Green) lv.1 (97/100)]

[Five Poisons Fist (White) lv.2 (164/500)]

[Poison Resistance (Passive): lv.2 (9/500)]

[Available Skill Points: 0]

"The consumption keeps growing!"

Hiding the panel, Zhao Er looked down at the sack beside him. The once bulging sack had begun to sag.

Without even thinking about it, he knew that the iron dregs had turned to powder. He had completely absorbed all the metal within them.

"It's not just the excessive consumption of Iron Dregs. Absorbing yin energy during cultivation is getting harder and harder, too..."

The Iron Dregs were manageable. Zhao Er would not feel distressed even if he used them all up, and afterward, he could buy iron ingots as long as he had enough silver.

Although the Nine-Turn Golden Body Art Zhao Er now practiced had not gained much in body-tempering effectiveness, both its cultivation speed and its ability to absorb and utilize metal had improved dramatically.

The consumption was high, but it was not beyond his means.

Yin energy, however, had become another problem.

Although Zhao Er needed little yin energy for cultivation, it was an essential medium for merging and evolving the toxins within his body. As those toxins increased, his need for yin energy kept growing as well. By now, the yin energy around his home was almost completely depleted.

"Perhaps... I should find somewhere else to cultivate... I can't exactly go cultivating in a graveyard in the middle of the night."

Only now did Zhao Er truly understand what Dian Zhang had meant by, "Shallow waters cannot nurture a true dragon."

The Clear Radiance Mountains were actually a good location. Many places within them went without sunlight year-round, allowing yin energy to gather. But there were too many dangers, making them unsuitable for cultivation.

"Perhaps... I could go to County Town and buy a house somewhere rich in yin energy... sigh, it still comes down to a lack of money!"

After pondering for a long while, Zhao Er turned his gaze toward the Mountain Range.

Now that his Iron Body was complete, his ability to protect himself had improved dramatically. Perhaps he could explore deeper into the Clear Radiance Mountains.

Early the next morning, Zhao Er rose early as usual. He practiced the Halberd Art first, then began preparing his things for the trip up the mountain after breakfast.

Zhao Er had already discarded his original two ceramic jars, replacing them with two leather pouches sewn by his mother, Zhang Xuan'e, and a bamboo basket.

The leather used to make the two pouches had not been softened. Instead, it retained its stiffness after drying in the sun, making the pouches perfect for holding centipedes.

The sun had only just risen when Zhao Er started up the mountain, carrying the Twin Iron Halberds in his hands, with leather pouches hanging at his waist and a bamboo basket on his back.

Zhao Er now had nine centipede traps set up. Only after collecting all the centipedes from them did he head toward the place where he had set his animal traps.

During this time, Zhao Er had checked the animal traps along the game trails every time he went up the mountain.

Unfortunately, the traps had yielded little. Forget a stag—after all those visits, he had caught only a single Mountain Musk Deer. It was not worth much, though it had provided a fair amount of meat.

"Hm?"

But when Zhao Er came within a few dozen meters of the animal traps, he heard a rustling sound.

Zhao Er was delighted at first, then grew cautious. Rather than immediately approaching, he moved a little closer before crouching beside a tree to listen carefully.

"It's a wild boar! It must have been caught in one of the traps I set..."

Only after confirming that it was not some other dangerous beast did Zhao Er soften his footsteps, grip both halberds, and slowly approach to investigate.

Just as Zhao Er had expected, a wild boar stood where he had set his trap, one hind leg secured by an iron chain.

The boar was sizable, looking to weigh around two hundred jin, and was struggling violently. If its leg had not been caught in the trap and restrained by the iron chain he had set, it might well have broken free.

Besides the trapped boar, another large boar and several piglets were nearby.

"Oink, oink!"

Apparently catching Zhao Er's scent, the untrapped boar immediately fled deeper into the woods with the piglets.

Zhao Er did not give chase. Instead, he strode forward, pinned the boar's body with one hand, and drove the Iron Halberd in his other hand straight into the trapped boar's neck.

Squelch!

The Iron Halberd plunged in forcefully, sending blood spraying. The boar tried to struggle, but could not escape Zhao Er's grip. As its blood continued to flow, it gradually stopped moving.

"Not bad! Enough to eat for quite a few days."

Zhao Er smiled at the fallen boar.

"Ya, ya, ya!"

Yet just as Zhao Er pulled out his Iron Halberd, a familiar series of cries reached his ears.

Hearing the sound, Zhao Er whipped his head to the side. At the same time, his body instantly turned gray-black, and he raised both halberds protectively before him.

"Oh, it's you!"

Once he recognized the White Marten he had met before, however, Zhao Er relaxed.

At Zhao Er's words, the White Marten darted forward, instantly appearing atop the boar in front of him. Only then did Zhao Er see that it was holding a small black snake in its two paws.

"Goo, goo!"

Standing upright on the boar, the White Marten raised both paws high and offered the small black snake to Zhao Er, continuing to call out.

"Is that for me? Never mind, keep it for yourself."

Looking at the small black snake, Zhao Er smiled and waved his hand. He had not expected to encounter this little white marten again on this trip up the mountain, much less for it to be willing to share its food with him.

"Crunch, crunch!"

Seeing Zhao Er wave his hand, the White Marten drew back its paws and brought the small black snake to its mouth. Its teeth were extremely sharp, and it ate quickly, devouring most of the snake in just a few bites, leaving only half its body dangling from its mouth.