In the private sanctuary, Lu Sheng crossed a gulf of time that most cultivators could never fathom, spending only a few dozen units of Yin Qi to do so. The violent tremors wracking his body were so intense that he could not even gather his thoughts. All he could do was sit rigidly in place and endure the surging waves of pain as they coursed through his five bowels and six viscera.
Yet even amid those mind-shattering convulsions, he could clearly sense his body growing denser, firmer—tempered by the very force that sought to break him. He refused to unleash Yang Extreme Mode. Instead, he remained in his current state, weathering the relentless scourge assaulting his organs. For a full hour the agony persisted before finally ebbing in slow, fading ripples.
“Hoo…”
Lu Sheng exhaled heavily, and the breath he released stirred a gust of wind throughout the sanctuary. Around the spot where he sat, the ground glistened with blood-tinged water and curled flakes of dead skin. In the short span of that transformation, he had shed an entire layer of his body.
‘It’s over just like that?’ Lu Sheng gazed at the Modifier, exhausted.
A new line glowed beneath Yang Extreme Dao.
Yang Extreme Mode: Full Mastery of Yang Extreme Dao Grade One.
Special Effect(s): Augmented Strength Level Eight, Anti-Tremor Level Five, Reinforced Defense Level Six, Scorch Level One…
‘Full Mastery of Yang Extreme Dao Grade One? Doesn’t that mean the Modifier acknowledges the potential for further upgrades?’ His eyes brightened. That could only mean the system had already charted the next stages based on the martial foundation he now possessed.
There would be no obstruction ahead—no uncertainty beyond Yang Extreme Dao.
As Lu Sheng rose, his body crackled like kernels bursting in a heated pan. He flexed his hand, and an immense strength surged back from his palm, heavy and solid as iron.
‘I don’t know exactly how much stronger I’ve become,’ he thought, ‘but none of that Yin Qi was wasted. With this, I can liquefy even more inner Qi.’
After taking a moment to adjust to the newfound changes, he reached into a hidden drawer and retrieved Golden Fragrance Ointment along with several types of body-tempering pills.
He consumed the medicine, stripped down, and stepped into the tub filled with a carefully prepared medicinal bath, submerging himself fully beneath its surface. The concoction had been tailored specifically to mend the hidden injuries lingering in his body after the upgrade, drastically shortening the time he needed before attempting the next one. Without it, even someone like Lu Sheng would struggle to endure consecutive advancements. The toll on flesh and bone was simply too immense; even with Yin Qi as a substitute, he feared it would not be enough.
“Szzzzzz…”
The moment his skin touched the water, tendrils of steam curled upward, and a thick medicinal fragrance spread through the sanctuary. The prior reconstruction of his body had devoured so much energy that the lingering heat alone caused the bathwater to evaporate at a startling pace.
After soaking for a while, Lu Sheng rose from the tub, dried himself, and rested briefly before retrieving an ornate white pill box from the hidden drawer. Inside lay a Grade Four Tiger Cloak Pill—an exceptionally rare nourishing elixir crafted from ancient prescriptions and refined by the sect’s most skilled pill masters.
Ka-cha.
He opened the box with care, greeted instantly by a cool, refreshing herbal aroma. Compared to the Golden Fragrance Ointment he often used, the potency of this pill was far superior—its soothing chill would penetrate from lungs to heart within mere breaths.
Lu Sheng lifted the gleaming white pill between his fingers, handling it as though it might shatter under the slightest pressure.
‘Just one pill like this cost eight percent of the sect’s most precious stores… The original ingredients don’t even exist on the market anymore. Over ten years of gathering herbs in the Northern Lands, and only one pill was produced…’
In truth, this Tiger Cloak Pill was priceless. The sect’s pill masters had poured everything they had into its creation—aged ginseng, cordyceps, deer antler, and countless other rare materials—most of which had been exhausted completely. After numerous failures, they had managed to refine only this single pill.
Lu Sheng let out a quiet sigh. Then he placed the pill into his mouth and slowly chewed.
The Grade Four Tiger Cloak Pill tasted strikingly similar to the peppermint candies he used to enjoy in his previous life—sweet, yet layered with the distinct bitterness of countless medicinal herbs. It melted into a thick herbal syrup that mingled with his saliva before sliding warmly down his throat.
Slowly, the residual heat within his body faded at a measured pace—not too fast, not too slow—just enough time for Lu Sheng to retrieve another large box from the hidden drawer.
It was a heavy black container.
When he lifted the lid, a tangled mass of white hair came into view. Shreds of flesh still clung to the ends, and an acrid, raw stench surged upward. Lu Sheng instinctively held his breath. He bit into his fingertip, drawing blood, and pressed it firmly against the clump of hair.
It belonged to the Ashoka Manor Officiator he had slain. One glance during their battle had told Lu Sheng that the man’s power lay in his hair. The fact that the hair had remained intact after the Officiator’s body was reduced to pulp—and that it radiated dense Yin Qi—made Lu Sheng seize it immediately and bring it back to the sect.
“Szzz…”
No smoke rose, only the faint sound of corrosion. A tremendous surge of Yin Qi flooded into him from the fingertip touching the hair. The sensation continued for more than ten breaths before tapering off as the Yin Qi within the mass dwindled to nothing.
Lu Sheng withdrew his hand, faintly regretful.
‘So it can’t be like that previous item after all. Not everything can hold that much Yin Qi…’ He still suspected that strange piece of metal from before was a shard of a Divine Weapon. But with no way to confirm it—and unwilling to risk asking anyone—he had left it untouched in his private sanctuary.
‘The Yin Qi from before is already spent. Even if some remains, it’s barely anything. But this hair had over twenty units. Not bad.’
Feeling the Yin Qi coursing through him, Lu Sheng wiped his finger clean with a handkerchief and turned his gaze back to the Modifier screen.
His gaze settled on the row labeled Ultimate Crimson Nine Furies Skill on the pale blue Modifier screen.
“Now that my body’s strength has increased, I should upgrade my Yang-attribute skill first. I killed the Officiator in Twin Eagle City, but no one from Scarlet District appeared. If they discover I’m the culprit, then shit will hit the fan.” A faint unease wormed its way into Lu Sheng’s thoughts.
“Shangyang Jiuli might not care much for Ashoka Manor, but she wouldn’t willingly ignite such a deep feud without a compelling reason. Two Officiators and several Emissaries… that’s enough to count as a blood feud. I need to prepare—I need to grow stronger as quickly as possible. Only then can I make Ashoka Manor underestimate me. And if I’m exposed, I’ll still be able to deal with them.”
He would have preferred upgrading Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi, but the current situation left him no choice; combat power had to come first.
“At least I’ve resolved the Yin Yang imbalance. As long as I gather more Yin Qi, I can immediately upgrade Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi to stabilize my cultivation.”
Reassured by that thought, he returned his attention to Ultimate Crimson Nine Furies Skill.
Within his body, the three drops of liquefied inner Qi revolved slowly, absorbing and releasing diluted inner Qi in a continuous cycle. Their movement refined and purified his inner force with every rotation.
‘Three drops of liquefied Qi… If I create more, I can maintain explosive mode for longer,’ Lu Sheng estimated.
Under Yang Extreme Mode, detonating his liquefied Qi allowed him to sustain combat for the time it took a joss stick to burn. One drop could elevate his strength by one or two whole levels. If he detonated two drops at once, he could unleash the power of a Six or even Seven-Vein cultivator.
That was how he had overwhelmed the Officiator on their first encounter. But the recoil had been brutal—two detonations left his meridians frayed and his wounds perilously severe.
But now, after the enhancement to his body, Lu Sheng could clearly feel that detonating two drops of liquefied Qi would no longer tear him apart.
“Three drops of liquefied Qi is enough for practical use… but my body is still the bottleneck… it’s not yet capable of withstanding the density of liquefied inner Qi.”He hesitated. If he continued upgrading his Yang-attribute inner force, he feared his body might once again collapse under the strain.
Some quiet, inexplicable instinct warned him—upgrading Ultimate Crimson Nine Furies Skill right now was unwise.
“Yin and Yang must remain balanced. Twenty units of Yin Qi would only raise Ultimate Crimson Nine Furies Skill by one level. But the same amount could upgrade Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi by two levels. I might even be able to form Yin Extreme Mode…”
After a moment of contemplation, Lu Sheng shifted his focus to the row for Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi.
Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi: Level Seven.
Special Effect(s): Accelerated Qi Replenishment, Augmented Poison Resistance, High-Speed Healing, Yin Yang Suppression, Qi Transfer, Assimilation.
In his mind, he pressed the Modify button beside it.
The Modifier flickered, and within his body, icy tendril-like threads unfurled from his heart, spreading outward in all directions. At the same time, the effects of the Grade Four Tiger Cloak Pill surged violently to life. Two torrents of chilling sensation seized him in an instant.
“Szzz…”
His skin flushed with heat as Ultimate Crimson Nine Furies Skill reflexively tried to counter the freezing tide. Yet Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi ignored that resistance completely, forcing its way through every muscle fiber and every thread of skin.
Icy cold and scorching heat collided—clashing, pressing, refusing to yield. Slowly, with time, they settled into a delicate equilibrium.
After some indeterminate span, Lu Sheng closed his eyes and sank into a deep meditative state. He could sense that this breakthrough was unusually significant for Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi—perhaps even a transformative evolution.
Not daring to relax, he held his breath and observed his internal changes with utmost care.
Gradually, however, he realized something was off.
The tendril lines of Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi were hardening—solidifying inside his body.
It felt as though an entirely new web of inner Qi pathways was being constructed within him—woven from nothing, yet unmistakably real.
‘This… this isn’t just an inner Qi web. It’s more like… a new network of meridians!’ The realization struck Lu Sheng to his core.
Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi had always been a hybrid art born from the fusion of life force cultivation and Yin-attribute inner force. Its primary purpose had been healing and regeneration. Yet the further Lu Sheng pushed its evolution, the more bizarre and unpredictable the art became.
The two newly developed special effects—Assimilation and Qi Transfer—had already baffled him. But the fact that his inner Qi was now forging a meridian-like network inside his body was downright alarming.
As the Yin-attribute network continued to form and solidify, Lu Sheng felt as if his body had gained an entirely new circulatory system for inner force. It meshed with him perfectly, as though it had always been part of his flesh and bones, integrating itself with seamless precision.
A continuous flood of cool Yin Qi surged into those newborn pathways, rapidly reinforcing their inner walls. Simultaneously, the medicinal strength of the Grade Four Tiger Cloak Pill seeped through them, nourishing and fortifying his inner Qi even further.
Finally, the Modifier display sharpened, bringing the row for Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi back into focus.
Lu Sheng leaned in anxiously.
Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi: Level Eight.
Special Effect(s): Yin Crane Web, Yin Extreme Mode.
All previous effects—Accelerated Qi Replenishment, Augmented Poison Resistance, High-Speed Healing, Yin Yang Suppression, and the rest—had vanished, replaced solely by these two higher-order classifications.
Sensing the profound changes within him, Lu Sheng quickly grasped the meaning behind the Yin Crane Web. After all, it was simply an advanced evolution of systems he was already intimately familiar with.
It was a meridian network formed entirely from Yin-attribute inner Qi. All the previous special effects—Augmented Poison Resistance, High-Speed Healing, Qi Transfer, Assimilation, and even the crucial Yin Yang Suppression—had been condensed and unified into this single, overarching function.
‘What it basically did was abandon the crowded public highway… and build its own bridge!’
Lu Sheng’s expression lit up with astonishment as he grasped the true nature of the system now inside him. The Modifier had taken the flow of inner Qi and reimagined it through the ingenious concept of constructing an entirely new bridge.
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