Treasure Medicine

Lu Changsheng hid deep underground like an old hunter.

When he was hungry, he gnawed on roots and tubers. When thirsty, he drank groundwater.

Not until five days later did he finally get an opportunity.

That day, late at night.

Black clouds blanketed the sky, and the howling wind roared.

The entire mountaintop seemed to have fallen into an apocalyptic crisis, countless ancient trees swaying wildly in the hurricane.

"Rumble..."

A bolt of thunder descended from the heavens, illuminating the entire night sky.

Immediately afterward, torrential rain poured down, shrouding all of Little Cloud Mountain in a world of wind and rain.

Lu Changsheng lay quietly in the depths underground. Sensing the thunder, violent wind, and rain above him, he knew his chance had come.

Using the rainy night as cover, he slowly clawed his way upward through the soil.

The downpour and thunder concealed his scent and movements. He tunneled until he was about a meter from the surface before stopping.

After carefully sensing the situation around him, he cautiously continued upward.

"Rustle..."

Lu Changsheng moved slowly.

At a depth of one meter, it took him a full two hours to dig through.

Thanks to his caution, the Snow Wolf pack did not notice anything unusual.

The storm and thunder continued unabated.

They perfectly concealed his movements.

"Scritch..."

With a soft sound, the damp earth was dug into a small pit.

A slender head poked out, looking left and right, intelligence gleaming in its eyes.

After Lu Changsheng's unrelenting efforts, he had finally reached the surface.

He began cautiously surveying the scene around him.

A large pack of Snow Wolves was gathered in the middle of the forest. At its center stood a Snow Wolf over a meter tall, its limbs incomparably thick and Sha Qi swirling in its eyes.

This beast was the king of the Snow Wolf pack.

With the cover of the hole and the rainy night, Lu Changsheng had gone unnoticed.

But if he made a move to gather the herb, he would definitely be discovered.

The Snow Wolf King was only a dozen or so meters away from him.

At such a distance, it could reach him in an instant.

Yet this chance was hard to come by. Who knew when such stormy weather would appear again? He could not possibly give up.

Then, he turned his gaze to the Fire Cloud Flower above him.

In the darkness, the Fire Cloud Flower resembled a small flame. Even the raging wind and rain could not completely extinguish it.

Its nine petals gave off a faint glow, and wisps of fragrance drifted into his nose.

Lu Changsheng pondered silently. He had to touch the flower, and it would take several breaths to gather it successfully.

If he acted by force, the Snow Wolf King would likely interrupt him midway.

He slowly retreated into the pit and began waiting for the right moment.

Time slowly passed. Two hours went by.

The night deepened further.

The howling wind and torrential rain seemed as though they would never cease.

Just then, the Snow Wolf King rose and shook the moisture from its fur, then walked toward a large tree behind it.

Perhaps the rain was too fierce, and it intended to shelter from it.

"A perfect chance."

Lu Changsheng's eyes lit up. The base of that tree was another dozen or so meters farther from him.

Without time to think further, he immediately crawled out of the hole and darted toward the Fire Cloud Flower.

In an instant, he arrived before the spirit herb, immediately raising his claw and placing it on the flower.

"Two-hundred-year Fire Cloud Flower detected. Gather?"

A crisp notification sounded from the depths of his mind.

"Gather it. Gather it now."

Lu Changsheng screamed wildly in his heart.

"Roar, roar, roar..."

An enraged roar rang across the mountaintop, seeming to suppress even the thunder and rain.

Then a snowy-white blur flashed past as a Snow Wolf charged at Lu Changsheng from beneath the distant tree.

A thief actually dared to steal the sacred object of the Snow Wolf race. It was furious beyond measure.

Hearing the commotion, the large pack of Snow Wolves around them also charged toward Lu Changsheng.

Lu Changsheng was rather nervous.

If he was surrounded and the hole was blocked, things would be extremely dangerous.

"One breath, two breaths..."

He stared quietly at the gathering progress bar on the panel.

"Gathering successful."

Another notification sounded, like heavenly music, making him breathe a sigh of relief.

Sensing the Snow Wolf King close behind him, Lu Changsheng smiled faintly and shot toward the hole.

"Whoosh..."

In an instant, he plunged into the hole and vanished.

"Roar, roar..."

The Snow Wolf King rushed to the hole, its eyes bloodshot and killing intent boiling over.

Its clan's sacred object had actually been stolen just like that, right beneath its nose.

Yet it could do nothing about the treasure thief. The hole was too narrow to accommodate its body.

It could only watch helplessly as the thief departed, leaving it incomparably enraged.

Lu Changsheng ignored it and quickly tunneled toward the foot of the mountain.

Before long, he reached a safe place and lay down quietly.

The next day, early morning.

Changping County.

Lu Changsheng woke early. After getting up and washing, he began taking stock of yesterday's gains.

He placed all the spirit herbs he had gathered yesterday onto the stone platform.

All manner of spirit herbs lay densely packed across the entire surface.

An enticing, faint fragrance permeated the air, invigorating his spirits considerably.

Then Lu Changsheng absorbed every spirit herb on the stone table.

He put away the remaining herbs that were around twenty to thirty years old.

A moment later.

He opened the Attribute Panel and began checking his Source Energy Points.

Source Energy Points: 48.

Looking at the number on the panel, Lu Changsheng's face filled with delight.

His days of hard work had not been in vain. He had hollowed out all of Little Cloud Mountain.

So many Source Energy Points were simply a massive haul.

Not only that, last night he had absorbed several herbs and raised the Basic Blade Technique to perfection.

The perfected Basic Blade Technique had increased his strength once more.

With ample Source Energy Points in hand, he could take another step forward.

Lu Changsheng hesitated no longer and immediately began adding points to the Iron Leg Technique.

He tapped several times in succession.

"Buzz..."

As three Source Energy Points vanished, the skin membrane on Lu Changsheng's legs rapidly transformed.

A bronze glow flickered over his legs, and the muscles in them became vastly more powerful.

His feet also seemed rooted to the ground, strong and forceful.

After a while.

Lu Changsheng slowly opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing through them.

This time, bringing the Iron Leg Technique to perfection had only used three Source Energy Points, which surprised him somewhat.

But upon further thought, it fit his current situation.

After all, in terms of realm, he was already at the Bronze Skin realm.

If he still needed to pile up the same amount of resources all over again, that would be rather unreasonable.

It seemed the energy consumed by the Golden Finger also depended on his own condition.

It was not only closely linked to talent, but also to realm.

At this moment, all the skin membrane on his body and legs had reached perfection. Only his head and arms remained.

Looking at the Attribute Panel, the button for adding points to Iron Cloth Shirt was still gray. Lu Changsheng's thoughts stirred.

"Am I still missing some condition?"

With the resources he had now, he had enough to add points again.

He also wanted to know what realm lay beyond perfection.

Perhaps no one in all of Changping County had ever reached it. Perhaps even in the Great Zhou Dynasty, it was unprecedented.

With his current Bronze Skin strength, he merely rivaled ordinary Martial Dao Skin Refining practitioners.

As long as he broke through once more, he would be enough to stand above all Skin Refining martial artists.

This filled Lu Changsheng with anticipation.

Then, he took out the Pig-Slaughtering Blade, preparing to improve it.

A bright white treasured blade appeared in his hand.

The gleam along its edge was somewhat dazzling, and it looked exceptionally sharp.

Equipment: Hundred-Forged Pig-Slaughtering Blade (Red)

Traits: Sturdy, Sharp, Transformation.

He first tested the Transformation function and tapped the Transformation button.

As his thoughts shifted, the Pig-Slaughtering Blade began changing rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, it transformed into an ordinary long blade, its sharp aura fading away.

"Not bad."

Lu Changsheng was highly satisfied. With this function, he no longer had to fear enemies identifying him from his weapon.

A moment later, he gathered his thoughts and tapped the plus sign behind the equipment.

"Scritch..."

The entire Pig-Slaughtering Blade began blooming with a pale blue glow, its blade quivering gently.

Before long.

The blade seemed covered in a curtain of water, rippling light flowing across it.

Equipment: Pig-Slaughtering Blade (Blue)

Quality: Sharp Weapon.

Traits: Sturdy, Sharp, Transformation, Armor-Piercing.

Note: Painstakingly forged by a master craftsman, it can cleave gold and sever jade.

Lu Changsheng checked his Source Energy Points.

Only thirty-seven remained.

This upgrade had consumed a full eight points or so.

But it was all worth it.

Sharp Weapons of this level were usually held by powerful Muscle Refining experts.

Yet he possessed one now. With this Sharp Weapon, his strength could rise another notch.

At the Skin Refining stage, aside from those genius figures with deep backgrounds, he feared no one.