Chapter 158 - 142: Entering the Bloody Cave, Ghosts Launch a Full-scale Attack_1

He returned to his residence and focused on his cultivation.

Every day, he bought twenty pounds of level-two Martial Food, all of which was used to enhance his Cloud Walk.

Such cultivation meant spending silver like flowing water.

Even with a twenty percent discount, twenty pounds a day would still cost eight hundred taels of silver.

In a month, this added up to twenty-four thousand taels of silver.

During his time in Lingwang City, Lu Yan had spent over fifty thousand taels on purchasing level-two Martial Food. The hundred thousand taels he earned from the Ge Family in Snake City were more than half spent.

Time flowed by quickly, and two months passed in a blink of an eye.

Lu Yan harbored a great joy, as his Cloud Walk advanced rapidly. He had reached seventy-five percent into the Transcendent stage, drawing closer and closer to achieving Unity of Man and Martial Arts.

The price he paid was the total spend of the hundred thousand taels he earned from the Ge Family, along with some extra.

At this juncture, Zhao Sirong finally brought him good news.

One month later, the slot for the Pure Blood Chamber had been secured by her father’s people, and then it could be transferred to Lu Yan.

Lu Yan was overjoyed and thanked her solemnly.

...

The Zhao Clan, in a secret meeting room.

Ten figures sat around a table.

All of them were Grandmasters and all belonged to the Zhao Clan.

The Zhao Clan had ten Grandmasters - a rare gathering today.

As the strongest feudal lord in the six Lingdong counties, they rightfully deserved their reputation. With ten Grandmasters, their strength was comparable to three other master-level feudal lords.

"For some time now, the strange creatures that have infiltrated our city have not made a move. Now, let us all discuss their possible intent."

A man at the head of the table spoke. He was the family head of the Zhao Clan, and also their strongest martial artist. Many people called him the strongest individual in the six Lingdong counties—Zhao Tiansheng.

"At first, I thought they were trying to stir up internal conflicts among various feudal lords in the city, even leading some to flee and weaken Lingwang City’s internal defence. However, I suspect there may be more to it."

"If the monsters could bypass Lingwang City and directly attack other places, why would they keep targeting Lingwang City? Is there a specific reason?"

Another Grandmaster speaks up, leaving his sentence hanging. However, everyone present understood his implication—the Demon Bone.

Buried beneath the Blood Land Vein of the Zhao Clan’s Lingwang City was a complete Demon Bone.

This Demon Bone had been passed down from a highly ancient era, no less than five thousand years ago, even before the Dagu Dynasty, from an obscure period of history.

The Demon Bone was deemed by many as the origin of filth and was known for its intense aura of corruption. To monsters, it was an absolute treasure.

The monsters targeting Lingwang City, and sending in disguised creatures to infiltrate, could very well be for the Demon Bone.

But, how did these monsters learn about the Demon Bone which was a well-guarded secret within the Zhao Clan that only their ten Grandmasters knew?

Despite not being clear about how the monsters knew, according to various clues and speculations, it is highly likely that the monsters were after the Demon Bone.

"I share the same thoughts."

After all the others have shared their views, Zhao Tiansheng finally said slowly, "A storm is coming. While the infiltrating creatures have been quiet for now, they are simply lying low and gathering strength. I hypothesize that they will undoubtedly break out sooner or later, and when they do, we will face an exceptionally difficult battle."

"Our leader is right. These monster invasions are more than likely diversionary tactics meant to confuse us. But to think these devious creatures could play such mind games with us...laughable."

A middle-aged Grandmaster sneered.

"Leader, we must make preparations early."

An aged Grandmaster addressed.

"Yes, I plan to make a trip to Kunwu Mountain to borrow the Immortal Horn. Once I have it, we can annihilate the Monster King and rid ourselves of this nuisance."

Said Zhao Tiansheng.

The faces of the other nine Grandmasters changed in unison.

"It may not be easy to borrow the Immortal Horn from Kunwu Mountain, Leader..."

One of the Grandmasters expressed concern, but didn’t continue.

"If it can help us get rid of the monster threat, paying a price is worth it. Tomorrow, I embark, and in the meantime, the governance of Lingwang City will be entrusted to you. Should the monsters launch an attack in the near future, hold the fort."

Said Zhao Tiansheng.

All nine Grandmasters bowed in agreement.

...

Days passed one by one.

Twenty days later.

Cloud Walk finally crossed into the Unity of Man and Martial Arts realm.

The blessings of heaven and earth bestowed upon him, nourishing his body with special strength, which continually strengthened and empowered him.

The eight channels of bone strength within his body absorbed special energy and became much stronger.

After the blessings of heaven and earth ended, his eight bone channels improved by thirty percent each, not far from the peak of Martial Marquis Level Three.

He could clearly feel that the capacity of his qi-blood also increased—the exact increment was something he needed to verify.

Lu Yan began to consume Martial Food, accumulating qi-blood.

With the enhancement of level-two Martial Food, he managed to fill his qi-blood in just eight days.

A stream of qi-blood flowed into his bones, giving birth to a new channel of bone strength.

The ninth channel, though it was only equivalent to the degree of just breaking through the Martial Marquis stage.

"The capacity of my qi-blood has increased by about twenty percent."

Lu Yan estimated quietly.

His original qi-blood capacity was eight times that of an ordinary person. A twenty percent increase represented a 1.6-time increment of an ordinary person’s capacity, enough to create one new bone strength channel, but not two.

In other words, his qi-blood had reached 9.6 times that of an ordinary person, almost ten times the norm.

"If I cultivate another top-notch martial art to the point where I achieve Unity of Man and Martial Arts, next time I should have ten, or even eleven strands of bone strength," Lu Yan mused.

Having mastered the Cloud Walk to the point of Unity of Man and Martial Arts, Lu Yan momentarily set aside improving his martial arts, choosing to enhance his cultivation level instead. He wanted to rapidly promote his ninth strand of bone strength to the intensity of the other eight strands as soon as possible.

Two days later, Zhao Sirong brought him a token.

"Brother Lu, come with me. As long as you have this token, you can enter the Pure Blood Chamber," smiled Zhao Sirong.

"Thank you."

Lu Yan was slightly thrilled.

He asked Zhao Sirong to wait and went into the room to get the iron box, which he then carried on his back.

"Brother Lu, you’re really planning to cultivate based on the Heart Tempering Decision. I’ve heard that the further one gets with the Heart Tempering Decision, the more difficult it becomes to practice," said Zhao Sirong.

"Do what one can and let fate do the rest. A person has to strive hard; otherwise, they will never be content."

Lu Yan said.

Zhao Sirong seemed thoughtful.

The Pure Blood Chamber was located not far from the castle that the Zhao clan had built over the Blood Land Vein on the west side, a few miles away.

Expert warriors naturally guarded the surroundings.

To ensure the safety of those entering the Pure Blood Chamber.

Lu Yan had to go through three layers of defense before a cave appeared in front of him.

"Brother Lu, the Pure Blood Chamber is inside that cave. Go on in, and I wish you success," said Zhao Sirong.

"If I succeed in my cultivation, I will definitely repay you in the future."

Lu Yan said, then walked into the cave with large strides.

Past the passage, there was a sizeable cavern inside. In the center of the cavern, one could see a blood pool.

In the blood pool was a thick, blood-colored liquid. It looked like fresh blood, but it didn’t smell like it at all.

Lu Yan opened the iron box and threw in all the eighteen kinds of spiritual medicine, three pounds of mutated heart meat, and a level two Blood Armor Lizard heart into the blood pool.

He then took off his clothes and stepped into the blood pool, clothing and the Red Blood Blade aside. The entire body submerged into the pool, with only his head above the surface.’

He began to operate the first layer of the Law Door in the Heart Tempering Decision.

The blood pool’s liquid had a unique effect. The spiritual medicine, mutated heart meat, and the Blood Armor Lizard heart had quickly dissolved into it after being thrown into the pool. These turned into pure energy, purged of blood toxins, and blended with the blood-colored liquid before seeping into Lu Yan through his pores. These energies then went around his meridians before finally seeping into his heart.

According to the Heart Tempering Decision’s records, this process would take forty-nine days to complete the first layer.

...

Zhao Yi residence.

Zhao Yi had a gloomy expression: "Hmph, it’s that girl Zhao Sirong again. She’s such an ingrate. Has she taken a liking to that youngster Lu Ren?"

"Sir, can’t we deal with that scumbag? How can Hao’er rest in peace like this?"

Zhao Hao’s mother was in tears.

"That boy Lu Ren, he’s not simple. He’s very strong. Last time, I asked the Dark Moon organization to assassinate him, but even their assassin failed," said Zhao Yi.

"What level assassin did the Dark Moon organization send?"

Asked Zhao Hao’s mother.

"I asked them, but they kept the details confidential. They only said that the assassination had failed, and they had lost an excellent assassin," said Zhao Yi. He sounded somewhat frustrated.

"Dear, can we only wait and see Lu Ren go unpunished? He is now in the Pure Blood Chamber. Can we kill him?"

Zhao Hao’s mother asked again.

"According to the records on the Heart Tempering Decision, one cannot mobilize qi-blood and bone strength when cultivating in the Pure Blood Chamber, otherwise they will be backfired by the qi-blood, causing their meridians to burst and die. Now indeed is the best opportunity to take action."

"However, expert warriors guard around the Pure Blood Chamber, and they won’t allow anyone to disturb those inside if someone is in the blood chamber. Now I can’t go in either."

"But you can rest assured, I will send someone to watch that boy Lu Ren closely. We’ll have a chance to take action."

Zhao Yi said, with a killer’s cold intent.

....

Days passed quickly, and in no time, eighteen days had passed.

Boom, boom, boom!

On this day, a deafening roar came from outside the north wall of Lingwang City.

The powerful demon army, like a tsunami, rushed towards Lingwang City.

At the front, it was, of course, the Demon King himself.

This time, the Demon King did not stop, but lead the charge towards Lingwang City. His intense aura made the faces of the warriors on the city walls blanch with fear.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The frantic war drumbeat rang throughout Lingwang City.

Countless martial artists rushed out of their residences towards the fortifications of the eastern, western, and northern city.

From the Zhao clan’s blood land vein, eight figures dashed with astonishing speed towards the northern city wall.

Each time these eight figures leaped, they covered a massive distance of hundreds of feet, as if they were large birds gliding in the sky.

Grandmasters!

Many hearts were stirred.

Standing on top of the Lingdong region’s six counties, the Grandmasters represented the ultimate goal of countless martial artists.

From various parts of Lingwang City, more shapes were seen rushing towards the eastern, western, and northern city with astonishing speed.

These figures were all from grandmasters of various grandmaster feudal lords.

With the Demon King personally attacking the city, all the grandmasters in Lingwang City had to take action.

Roar!

The Demon King let out a long roar, the sound resonating through the land ten miles around. The faces of the countless commoners in Lingwang City turned pale, filled with unease.

A host of demon beasts followed the roar of the Demon King, rushing towards Lingwang City like mad.