There was neither sun nor moon inside the cave, only the waterfall's eternal roar.
Lin Yan spent an entire day and night in meditation.
When he opened his eyes again, all weariness had vanished from them, replaced by a restrained gleam. Although the Soul Power within him was still far from its peak, it had become abundant and lively again, flowing like a babbling mountain stream without a trace of sluggishness. Under the combined effects of his Soul Power and that trace of blood ginseng's medicinal potency, his wounds had also scabbed over and no longer hindered his movements.
His condition had reached the best he could currently achieve.
It was time.
Lin Yan drew a deep breath. The cave's slightly cool, damp air filled his lungs, refreshing his spirits. He took out the jade box containing the thousand-year blood ginseng again and solemnly placed it on the ground before him. The instant the box opened, that rich breath of life spread out once more. Even the dancing campfire seemed to brighten a little.
The crimson ginseng lay quietly inside, crystalline and translucent, with what looked like a red glow flowing slowly within it, mysterious and enticing.
He did not rush to swallow the entire plant. Instead, he cautiously pinched off another small piece of its body, about the size of a fingernail. This was far more potent than the rootlet from before, but after a day's rest and his test with that sliver of rootlet, he felt he should be able to withstand it.
He placed the piece of blood ginseng in his mouth. Without even needing to be chewed, it swiftly dissolved into a scorching liquid that slid down his throat.
Boom-!
It was as though a ball of fire had suddenly exploded inside him!
A torrent of energy ten, a hundred times stronger than before surged into every limb, every bone, and all his extraordinary meridians like a river bursting its banks, like an erupting volcano! This power was incomparably domineering and scorching hot. Wherever it passed, his meridians stung under the unbearable burden, as though they were about to burst apart and burn to ash!
"Argh!"
Lin Yan let out a muffled groan, his face instantly flushing red. Veins bulged across his forehead and neck. Fine beads of sweat had barely seeped from his pores before the heat inside him evaporated them into white vapor that swirled around his body. He clenched his teeth so hard he could almost hear them grinding.
Pain! Indescribable, excruciating pain!
This was no longer nourishment, but torture-a burning and rending from the inside out.
He dared not slacken in the slightest, circulating the Supreme Purity Breathing Technique with all his might to guide and tame this violent energy. Yet how vast and pure was the energy contained in thousand-year blood ginseng? Compared with it, his Soul Master-level Soul Power was like a stream trying to guide a tsunami, so tiny and helpless.
The violent energy rampaged through his body, refusing to obey his guidance. His meridians were stretched wider again and again, sending waves of tearing pain through him. Many of the smaller branches had even developed tiny cracks. Fine beads of blood began seeping through his skin, staining the clean clothes he had just changed into red and leaving him looking utterly wretched.
No... at this rate... I'll burst! A powerful sense of danger rose in Lin Yan's heart. He had still underestimated the thousand-year blood ginseng's medicinal potency-or rather, overestimated what his body could withstand in its current state.
His consciousness began to blur. The intense pain battered his mental defenses like wave after wave of an incoming tide. It was as though a voice were tempting him: Give up. Stop resisting. Sink into oblivion, and it won't hurt anymore...
At that critical moment between life and death-
His Martial Soul emerged from his body of its own accord, swaying its leaves as it guided the excess energy inside Lin Yan into itself.
Lin Yan felt an indescribably profound sensation well up within him. He seemed able to "see" the trembling of every inch of his meridians, as well as that sense of connection between himself and his Martial Soul.
Humm-
Lin Yan's body began to tremble slightly. The beads of blood on his skin shook apart into an even finer bloody mist, mingling with the rising white vapor and shrouding him in a faint halo of interwoven red and white. Although the violent torrent of energy remained scorching and turbulent, its destructive force began to weaken, transforming more and more into the utmost nourishment and strengthening.
Nourished by that immense vitality, his ruptured meridians repaired and widened at a speed visible to the naked eye, becoming tougher and more resilient; his bones gave off faint humming sounds as their density increased, gleaming with a jade-like luster; his muscle fibers tore apart and reformed, becoming more tightly packed and brimming with explosive strength; even his internal organs grew more vigorous under the baptism of this life energy.
Destruction before rebirth!
It was an agonizing process, yet one accompanied by immense pleasure. Lin Yan guarded that last thread of clarity in his mind, doing everything he could to cooperate with his body's instinctive absorption. He could clearly feel his Soul Power soaring wildly at an unprecedented speed!
Level seventeen!
Level eighteen!
Level nineteen!
Level twenty.
His Soul Power Level surged upward like a blade splitting bamboo, encountering almost no bottlenecks. Levels that would ordinarily have taken months of arduous cultivation to reach were now as easy as drinking water.
However, when his Soul Power reached the peak of level twenty, it stopped advancing. After all, without obtaining his Second Soul Ring, level twenty was his current limit. Yet Lin Yan could feel that the Soul Power within him was definitely beyond level twenty.
Before long, however, that feeling of Soul Power filling his entire body disappeared. It seemed the medicinal potency had run out.
A ruthless glint flashed through Lin Yan's eyes. Without further hesitation, he snatched up the remaining portion of thousand-year blood ginseng-more than half the plant-from the jade box and stuffed it straight into his mouth!
Boom-!!
This time, it was as though true heavenly thunder had exploded inside him!
Energy even fiercer and more immense than before swallowed him in an instant, like a river of stars surging backward! His consciousness nearly scattered completely in that split second, and every corner of his body cried out in pain beyond its limits.
Refine it!
Lin Yan let out a soundless roar in his mind, gathering every shred of his willpower to drive the Supreme Purity Breathing Technique and guide the medicinal potency throughout his limbs and bones!
After more than half a day, the medicinal potency of that remaining portion of blood ginseng was finally absorbed and assimilated completely by his seemingly bottomless body.
The red-and-white halo around Lin Yan gradually dispersed, and the steaming bloody vapor settled as well. He slowly opened his eyes.
Whoosh!
Two beams of light, so concentrated they seemed almost tangible, shot from his eyes. They lasted a full three breaths before slowly withdrawing. His originally somewhat youthful face seemed to have gained a trace of resolve and composure, and a soft luster faintly flowed beneath his skin.
He gently clenched his fists.
Crackle... A series of faint pops came from his knuckles, and an unprecedented sense of immense strength filled his limbs and bones. He felt that his body had become several times lighter and more nimble, yet also several times heavier. It was a contradictory yet powerful sensation-the lightness lay in his speed and agility, while the weight lay in his strength and reserves.
His Soul Power surged abundantly, more than several times stronger than before. Its quality also seemed to have been refined, becoming more condensed and responding to his direction as naturally as his own limbs.
He brushed a hand across his storage bracelet and took out the exquisite longsword. With the sword in hand, he gave it a casual swing.
Hiss!
An invisible streak of Sword Qi swept past, carving a distinct sword mark roughly an inch deep into the hard rock wall opposite him! He had barely used any Soul Power. Merely the wind stirred by a sword swung with physical strength had produced such might!
"So this is... the power of destruction before rebirth?" As Lin Yan felt the earth-shaking changes within his body, an indescribable excitement welled up in his heart.
Thousand-year blood ginseng truly lived up to its reputation! Not only had it brought him straight to the level-twenty bottleneck in one stroke, but it had also thoroughly reforged his sinews and cleansed his marrow, raising his physical constitution to a new height.
He stood and stretched his limbs, his entire body giving off a series of pops like beans frying in a pan. He felt utterly at ease. His earlier injuries had long since healed, without leaving even a trace of a scar.
His gaze fell on the empty jade box, and Lin Yan's heart filled with emotion. This time, his gamble really had paid off. Though the process had been fraught with danger and had brought him to the brink of desperation several times, the rewards were also incomparably great.
Strength was the very foundation of securing a place and making a life on this continent!
"It's time to obtain my Second Soul Ring!"