"Xiao Clan, sooner or later, I'll tear you out by the roots!"
After disposing of Xiao Ke and his two companions, Ling Feng clutched his injured arm, a cold gleam flashing in his eyes.
As for the psychological burden of killing, Ling Feng felt none whatsoever. In his previous life, horror movies had been his favorite. He had even found hopping corpses and zombies cute, so why would he fear dead people?
Although this was his first time killing, Ling Feng felt little discomfort, only resentment toward the Xiao Clan. What had happened with Xiao Ke and Xiao Yan had thoroughly turned him against the entire clan.
"Hmm?"
Just then, Ling Feng suddenly felt an itch on his neck and reached up to touch it. To his surprise, the scratches Xiao Ke had left had already scabbed over.
Even more astonishingly, his injured arm, which had hurt with the slightest movement, no longer ached. Even moving it more vigorously caused only a little pain that quickly vanished, as though the wound were constantly healing.
"What's going on?"
For a moment, Ling Feng was puzzled. "Could it be... the power of the Taotie bloodline?"
After turning it over in his mind, Ling Feng could think of no explanation that fit better or made more sense. After asking the system, he finally learned that his ability to heal rapidly did indeed come from the power of the Taotie bloodline.
"Taotie bloodline, thunder goes kaboom, ruthlessly awesome!"
Learning once again just how powerful the Taotie bloodline was lifted Ling Feng's spirits a little.
A while later, Ling Feng finally began cleaning up the battlefield.
"Xiao Ke was a direct descendant of the Xiao Clan. Let's see what good stuff he had."
With that thought, Ling Feng began searching the corpses. After a thorough sweep, he came away with quite a haul.
"Two thousand two hundred and twenty-two gold coins in total. What an auspicious number."
The corner of Ling Feng's mouth curled upward, his face beaming. "These gold coins should be enough to buy a few spirit herbs and help me break through to Dou Zhe faster."
Early the following morning.
A thatched hut stood at the foot of the mountain south of the city.
Morning sunlight shone through the hut's window, bathing the youth cultivating cross-legged on the bed beneath it in gentle warmth...
"Phew..."
After sitting quietly for a long time, Ling Feng drew a deep breath. A faint white current of air, visible to the naked eye, flowed through his mouth and nose into his body, nourishing his bones.
His eyes snapped open, a white gleam flashing through them. Ling Feng slowly stretched, his face full of bliss. "This feeling of growing stronger is wonderful."
After stretching, Ling Feng took a box of medicinal herbs from beside the head of his bed. He had bought it with the gold coins looted from Xiao Ke and his companions the day before.
"Taotie can devour all things and turn them into energy to strengthen itself. Now, let's give it a try..."
With that thought passing through his mind, Ling Feng opened the box. Inside lay several medicinal herbs that were over ten years old.
Ling Feng had not known which kind to choose. All he knew was that older herbs ought to have stronger medicinal effects, so he had bought five at random, spending over two thousand gold coins.
"Chomp!"
Ling Feng chewed one up and swallowed it. After waiting a moment, he raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Why don't I feel anything?"
One more!
With that thought, Ling Feng swallowed another medicinal herb.
"Still nothing?"
"...Another!"
In a matter of moments, Ling Feng had swallowed every spirit herb he had bought. Only then did he feel a change within his body.
Immediately, Ling Feng sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began refining the energy.
A warm, pure stream of energy began flowing through every limb and bone before gathering in his dantian.
The sunlight was warm, but Ling Feng's expression as he refined the energy on the bed was utterly solemn.
This was the crucial moment in his breakthrough to Dou Zhe!
Ling Feng had never expected that swallowing a few spirit herbs would give him the chance to break through.
He had underestimated the power of the Taotie bloodline, and underestimated his own ability to process what he consumed even more.
Within moments, the several medicinal herbs, each over ten years old, had transformed into a stream of pure energy that began helping Ling Feng push toward the Dou Zhe realm.
Ling Feng dared not waste a moment and immediately focused on his breakthrough.
To his surprise, however, the herbs' energy did not clash with the Dou Qi inside him. Instead, they behaved like one big, loving family.
Everything went unusually smoothly.
Soon, the volume of Dou Qi within Ling Feng began expanding at a speed visible to the naked eye...
Thump!
At a certain moment, a soft, muffled sound quietly rang out inside him.
With his eyes lightly closed, Ling Feng sank his awareness into his body. In his lower abdomen, a palm-sized, milky-white vortex slowly rotated, wrapped in a layer of milky-white gaseous energy resembling a nebula...
"Mmm..."
His tightly closed eyes snapped open. A milky-white glow lingered in Ling Feng's dark pupils for a full ten seconds or so before gradually fading.
Smacking his lips, Ling Feng exhaled a breath of stale air. His complexion now looked noticeably brighter and healthier.
He twisted his neck, the cracking of his bones sending a wave of comfort through him. His lips spread into a brilliant grin. "I did it! I've broken through to Dou Zhe!"
Excitement stirred in Ling Feng's heart, and he could not help praising it. "As expected of Taotie, greedy by nature and capable of swallowing all things... From the looks of it, as long as I have enough cultivation resources, advancing through force-feeding will be no problem at all."
"It's just that a single herb over ten years old doesn't seem to activate the Taotie bloodline's devouring and processing ability. It only works with several or more. Looks like I'll need to explore more of its potential from now on."
Although Ling Feng knew some of the Taotie bloodline's abilities, he did not have a clear understanding of its hidden potential.
But one thing was perfectly clear to him: the Taotie bloodline was absolutely badass.
"So this is the power of a Dou Zhe?" Clenching his fist and feeling the change in the strength within him, Ling Feng grinned.
"The herbs' energy was incredibly pure, yet it didn't repel the Dou Qi inside me. They merged without any conflict, as if they had come from the same source. This must be another latent talent of the Taotie bloodline. Advancing by downing herbs, no energy rejection, perfect absorption, and not the slightest instability in my cultivation realm. This is practically a bug!"
Ling Feng could sense that although he had force-fed his way to Dou Zhe, his cultivation realm showed not the slightest instability. On the contrary, his Dou Qi was exceptionally dense...
Ling Feng absolutely loved this lazy layabout's way of advancing.
"Other people work hard at cultivating, but I only need to down herbs to advance. This lazy way of cultivating feels so damn good!"
Lost in his fantasies, Ling Feng flashed a toothy smile, positively radiant with joy.
[Ding!] [A change in the host's Dou Qi has been detected... Congratulations on advancing to Dou Zhe. Reward: one treasure box draw.]
The system's voice suddenly rang out in his mind, putting an end to Ling Feng's fantasies. Still in high spirits, he even teased it.
"Hey, system, are you running on a 2G network? Or has it been too long since your last update? What's with that huge delay?"
[...]
Only after a long pause did the system speak again.
[Ding!] [Would the host like to draw now?]
Seeing that the system would not respond to his jab, Ling Feng was not annoyed. Instead, his face filled with excitement. He eagerly anticipated what abilities the treasure box he drew this time would grant him.
Just as before, Ling Feng first offered a round of prayers. To win the "grand prize," he even made a personal sacrifice as part of his wish.
"I'm willing to abstain from sex for a year... That seems a bit too long. Half a year? That still seems a little long. A month, yes, just one month... I'm willing to abstain for one month, so please, all you mighty beings, gods, demons, and monsters, let me draw something good."
Once his prayers were finished, Ling Feng gave the system his command.
"Draw immediately!"
[Beginning the draw...]
The system wasted no time. Within moments, three treasure boxes appeared before Ling Feng again.
Without thinking much about it, Ling Feng selected the second treasure box. Two was his lucky number.
Amid a flickering glow, the second treasure box slowly opened. Immediately afterward, the system's voice rang out:
[Congratulations, host. You have drawn a mythic-grade treasure box and obtained the Creation God Pen and the Spirit-Gifting Pearl...]