Lin Hao replaced the water with a fresh bucket, cleaned himself thoroughly, and then coiled up at the edge of the bed.
His body gradually began to heat up, accompanied by an excruciating pain that ordinary people could hardly endure. This was due to the effects of the 'Five Bone Poison Refining Powder' starting to take effect. As time passed, this pain would intensify infinitely.
The 'Five Bone Poison Refining Powder' is a third-grade body-refining poison powder, divided into ten levels, with the peak being the 'Ten Bone Poison Refining Powder.' It not only refines the outer body but also has a significant impact on the internal organs.
Naturally, such potent medicines or powders that take effect quickly also cause great harm to the body, easily damaging the foundation of martial arts. Very few people would use such medicinal powders.
...
At this moment, Lin Hao was making a sound like sizzling meat, beads of cold sweat trickling down his forehead, and his fists were unconsciously clenched tightly. Although this pain was not as severe as when he underwent the Black泽 body refinement, it was not much less.
Lin Hao took a deep breath, absorbing the medicinal power while quickly removing the silver needle and applying it to the 'Fengfu Point' located between the two tendons below the occipital bone at the back of the neck. Soon after, the unbearable pain eased significantly.
After about ten seconds, the silver needle was placed on the 'Xuehai Gate Point' located three finger-widths below the twelfth rib on the right side.
The 'Five Bone Poison Refining Powder' only refines the outer body and does not damage the internal organs, but Lin Hao did not dare to be careless. He applied the needle to various points to minimize the side effects he had to endure.
Lin Hao dared to use such a potent medicinal powder for body refinement, not because he was particularly strong and did not care about the foundation of martial arts, but because he was proficient in medical arts and could reduce the damage caused by the powder to the minimum.
After an hour, Lin Hao retracted the silver needle, exhaled a breath of turbid air, and felt his spirit refreshed as the turbid air sank and the true qi rose.
The toughness of his body was much better than before, but it also caused some damage to himself. Although the 'Five Bone Poison Refining Powder' could quickly improve physical fitness, Lin Hao did not dare to use it frequently, limiting himself to once a month. While he could use the silver needle to alleviate the pain, he could not completely eliminate it.
In the dead of night, Lin Hao held a medium-grade spirit stone in his palm and used his true qi to guide the spiritual energy within the stone into his body.
The body-refining medicinal powder could only enhance physical fitness and strength, unrelated to cultivation level. However, the medium-grade spirit stone was different. Not only was it a form of currency in the sect world, but if a martial artist could guide the spiritual energy within the stone into their body, their cultivation level would also significantly improve.
Even in the second, third, and fourth gates of the Earth Realm, martial artists could still use spirit stones to enhance their cultivation, which is why spirit stones could become a form of currency in the sect world.
As time passed, the spiritual energy within the medium-grade spirit stone gradually decreased, and Lin Hao absorbed about one-third of it.
Soon, Lin Hao opened his eyes and put the remaining two-thirds of the medium-grade spirit stone back into his pocket.
"Fourth level..." Lin Hao muttered. After absorbing one-third of the spiritual energy from the spirit stone, he finally advanced from the peak of the third level to the initial stage of the fourth level, taking a step forward.
To enter the inner sect and obtain richer resources, he needed to enter the inner sect villa. The upcoming outer sect ranking competition was the best opportunity to enter the inner sect villa, and Lin Hao would not let it slip away.
In fact, Lin Hao had many paths to choose from. He could leverage the advantages of his previous life, but this was not the right path because the identity of the Nine Heavens Emperor could not be revealed.
Lin Hao's identity was different; no one in the world knew him, and he could forge a new path, free from the constraints of his previous life, experiencing the feeling of rebirth. This might be a form of breakthrough in a certain sense.
The outer and inner sects of the Lin family were just the beginning. He still needed to obtain more substantial resources in the sect world to reach the pinnacle, which would not be easy.
A few days later, the Lin family's outer sect ranking competition would begin. Those who entered the top five would have the opportunity to enter the inner sect villa, but achieving this ranking was extremely difficult.
It was said that the top disciples of the outer sect were not weak, with many at the sixth level of the Spirit Body. Otherwise, Lin Hao would not have used the 'Five Bone Poison Refining Powder' to refine his body.
Regardless, he needed to enter the top five in the outer sect ranking, not necessarily advancing further, but also not falling behind. Staying in the fifth position was sufficient.
That night, Lin Hao did not sleep. He alternated between sitting in meditation on the edge of the bed and applying silver needles to various acupoints.
The pinnacle of medical arts could bring flesh back to dry bones and revive the dead, but to enhance martial arts cultivation, it was a fallacy. However, stabilizing the foundation of martial arts and condensing true qi could still be achieved.
For Lin Hao, stabilizing his foundation was the right path, and stubbornly advancing his cultivation level was not advisable.
As the sky began to turn light in the early morning, Lin Hao retracted the silver needles.
After washing up and having breakfast, Lin Hao came to his courtyard, reviewing martial arts techniques and skills in his mind.
In the past, Lin Hao's studies were limited to before he merged with the Nine Heavens Emperor. Now that the two souls had merged and the emperor had awakened, the martial arts he had learned in the past were no longer suitable for his temperament, and continuing to practice them would be of no benefit.
After searching for a while, Lin Hao found that his mind contained only some advanced supreme martial arts, which he had searched for in the Heavenly Gate in his previous life. Some of these were obtained from various Heavenly Palaces and were suitable for the cultivation of Heavenly Gate experts.
His current realm was only at the Earth Gate, and he could not practice the supreme martial arts of the Heavenly Gate. The martial arts corresponding to the second Earth Gate were few, with only one cultivation method and one body technique available.
The cultivation method was the heart of martial arts, and any advanced martial art required the assistance of a cultivation method to fully display its power.
In his memory, there was a cultivation method called the 'Heavenly Gang Divine Technique,' which was an unranked cultivation method. It could be practiced by martial artists from the Earth Gate to the Heavenly Gate, making it a rare technique for Lin Hao at this moment.
The Heavenly Gang represented strength, penetrating deep into the bones, greatly benefiting body refinement. It was divided into nine levels, with each three levels forming a stage, making it quite profound.
The first level was called 'Beast Combat,' meaning the ability to fight and kill fierce beasts alone. The second level was 'Demon Slaying,' capable of capturing demon beasts. The third level was 'Spirit Slaying,' where the body reached its peak, and one hand could destroy spirit beasts.
Of course, these were just names. Even if ordinary martial artists cultivated the 'Heavenly Gang Divine Technique' to the peak of the ninth level, they might not be able to fight demon beasts alone, let alone the rare spirit beasts.
As for the body technique, it corresponded to the third Earth Gate level and was called the 'Cloud Wind Step.' When cultivated, it made one move like clouds and wind, making their movements unpredictable. Even in the third Earth Gate, it was considered a high-level body technique. The only drawback was that it could not perfectly integrate with the 'Heavenly Gang Divine Technique.'
The 'Cloud Wind Step' also had nine levels, with each three levels forming a stage. The first stage was the initial level, the second stage was the advanced level, and the third stage was the perfected level.
Lin Hao did not mind whether the two techniques could integrate. He practiced both the 'Heavenly Gang Divine Technique' and the 'Cloud Wind Step' simultaneously, spending half a day to cultivate the first stage of the 'Heavenly Gang Divine Technique' to the initial level and another half a day to cultivate the first stage of the 'Cloud Wind Step' to the initial level.
Whether it was the 'Heavenly Gang Divine Technique' or the 'Cloud Wind Step,' Lin Hao had not practiced them in his previous life and was not proficient. However, with his personal understanding of martial arts, his cultivation was like divine assistance, reaching a profound level of insight.
For the entire day, Lin Hao practiced the cultivation method and body technique. After reaching the initial level of the 'Cloud Wind Step,' the resistance was significant, making it difficult to continue. As for the 'Heavenly Gang Divine Technique,' he had only grasped the first level of the nine levels, and it would require time and opportunity to advance further.
...
The next morning, shadows flickered in the courtyard, intertwining in the air, making it difficult to distinguish between reality and illusion. They sometimes condensed like clouds and then dissipated like a gentle breeze.
The shadows dissipated, and Lin Hao stopped practicing the 'Cloud Wind Step,' leaving his courtyard.
In the Bamboo Garden, he leaped several meters and landed directly in Lin He's pavilion.
This was Lin He's residence. At that moment, Lin He was naked, his eyes still sleepy, and he held a long robe, seemingly about to get dressed.
"Lin... Lin Hao!" Suddenly, Lin He saw someone enter uninvited, and his sleepiness vanished. He instinctively used the long robe to cover himself.
Lin Hao was not bothered by this, walked forward, and sat down, taking a sip of cold tea. His gaze fell on Lin He: "It's already noon, and you haven't even dressed. No morals at all."
At that moment, Lin He quickly dressed and glared at Lin Hao: "You brat... Why didn't you come through the front door? I was practicing all night, and my true qi couldn't flow smoothly, so I didn't wear clothes. You sneak into my pavilion and accuse me of having no morals..."
Lin He was not in a good mood, but he was also somewhat surprised that Lin Hao's lightness skills were so advanced, allowing him to leap several meters high.
"Pay up." Lin He, dressed, walked to Lin Hao and held out his hand.
Lin Hao smiled, took out a ten-thousand silver note from his pocket, and slapped it into Lin He's hand.
"Ten thousand silver?!" Lin He was surprised. The note had the seal of the Alliance Bank, so it could not be fake.
"Take it. The rest is interest." Lin Hao placed the cup of water on the table and said.
He still had thirty thousand silver, and even after giving Lin He ten thousand, he had twenty thousand left, which was enough for his use.
"Where did you get this silver?" Lin He could not understand.
"I went to the Heavenly Swinging Mountains a few days ago. I had good luck and made a lot of money." Lin Hao explained briefly.
After learning that Lin Hao still had twenty thousand silver, Lin He did not refuse, putting the note in his pocket. Given their relationship, there was no need for formalities.
"Your talent is not bad. Buy more auxiliary medicines. You have a good chance in the sect world in the future." Lin Hao stared at Lin He.
"My Spirit Body strength has already reached the peak of the fourth level in the second Earth Gate. With this ten thousand silver, reaching the fifth level will not be difficult!" Lin He was grateful. He was about to break through and was at a critical stage, but he lacked the silver to buy auxiliary medicines, so he had to delay.
"I'll leave first. You decide for yourself." Lin Hao nodded, stood up, and was about to leave.
"Brother Hao..." Suddenly, Lin He called out from behind.
Hearing this, Lin Hao stopped, turned around, and looked at Lin He.
"I... I offended Young Master Bai the other day..." Lin He sighed and finally spoke.
Young Master Bai?
Lin Hao was somewhat puzzled. Who was this Young Master Bai, and why was Lin He, with his character, a bit afraid?
"What happened? Couldn't you beat him?" Lin Hao was confused. Based on his understanding of Lin He, he was not someone who liked to cause trouble.
"Beat him? I could beat ten of him with one punch!" Lin He was flustered, shouting loudly.
Lin Hao nodded: "Oh... See you later, I'm leaving."