Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing-Chapter 124: Tiger Transformation (I)
Over three hours later, it was already noon. The temperature had risen considerably, and the golden sunlight poured down. Anyone wearing long sleeves outdoors would soon find themselves rolling them up from the heat.
Lin Zheyu leaned against the corner of the wall, his chest rising and falling. Breaking through his physical limits once had taken him the entire morning. As his body grew stronger and his endurance improved, the time needed to push past his limits grew longer.
[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]
[Name: Lin Zheyu]
[Origin Force: 2]
[Skills: Barbaric Ox Fist (Perfection), Sixfold Saber (Advanced Mastery: 10%), Golden Goose Technique (Seventh Stage: 92%), Ten Thousand Troop Steps (Fifth Stage: 6%), Poison King Body (First Stage: 0%), Tortoise Breath Grand Method (Third Stage: 4%)]
"Once I advance to the third transformation of Blood Qi, I should be able to gain two units of Origin Force for every two breakthroughs, shouldn't I?" muttered Lin Zheyu to himself as he studied the data within his consciousness.
Right now, he gained roughly 1.33 units of Origin Force with each breakthrough. Once he reached the third transformation of blood qi, earning 1.5 units per breakthrough shouldn't be unreasonable.
After resting for over ten minutes and refining several strands of blood qi, Lin Zheyu's strength recovered significantly. He stood up, stretched his limbs, and retrieved sixteen packets of medicinal powder from the house. His stock of medicinal powder was running low. Only twenty-six sets of herbs and about 1800 taels of silver remained.
After news spread that the rebel army had captured Baohe City, prices in town soared. A single set of ingredients for Blood-Nourishing Bone-Fortifying Decoction now cost nearly twenty taels of silver. That price was outrageously high; it was almost double what it used to be.
Even with nearly 2000 taels of silver on him, Lin Zheyu still found it hard to make the purchase. It was far too expensive, practically daylight robbery.
Originally, his savings were more than enough to cover the cost of advancing the Golden Goose Technique to the perfection of the eighth stage. But with prices skyrocketing, he was starting to doubt if that was still possible. It took eight sets of decoction ingredients to advance through the second transformation of blood qi. Once he reached the third, he would probably need at least ten sets.
Lin Zheyu estimated that advancing the Golden Goose Technique to the perfection of the eighth stage would require around 13 to 14 units of Origin Force. That meant roughly 140 sets of herbs in total. At the current market price, that would cost about 2800 taels of silver.
"I'll have to start saving," he murmured to himself.
He looked at the sixteen sets of herbs on the stone table, hesitated for a moment, then put two of them back inside. Fourteen sets would be enough for his next round of strengthening, though his blood qi would likely not recover much afterward, forcing him to rely on heavy meals to replenish it. That wasn't a problem, however, as food was far cheaper than medicinal ingredients.
I wonder if food could serve as an alternative to herbs, as a source of energy during Origin Force enhancement?
The thought suddenly surfaced in Lin Zheyu's mind.
If herbs could work, there was no reason food couldn't. However, the energy content of ordinary food was too low; 1 unit of Origin Force would require an enormous amount of it to meet the energy demand. And excessive quantities would fall outside the effective range of Origin Force.
When Origin Force was activated, the mysterious energy it released had a limited range. Lin Zheyu had tested this before by pouring medicinal powder into a large tub and immersing his hand in it. When using Origin Force to enhance himself, not all the powder in the tub was absorbed. Only the medicinal powder within roughly twenty centimeters around his hand would have its essence drawn out.
When his entire body was submerged, the range shrank even further; only the powder within three centimeters of his skin would be affected by the mysterious energy. If food were to serve as an energy substitute, it would have to contain energy as concentrated as that found in medicinal herbs. Otherwise, it would never satisfy his body's demand for rapid energy absorption.
Lin Zheyu took a deep breath, clearing his mind of all distractions. He poured the medicinal powder into a wooden basin, added water, and stirred it evenly with his hand.
Use 2 units of Origin Force to enhance the Golden Goose Technique.
The thought echoed through his mind. His consciousness wavered, slipping into a unique spiritual state, where endless training began.
The progress of the Golden Goose Technique surged rapidly, soon reaching perfection in the seventh stage before breaking into the eighth, still advancing swiftly. Around 11 units of Origin Force were consumed during the process of advancing from the early seventh stage to the eighth.
It was the equivalent of cultivating ceaselessly for about eleven years within that space, without the aid of nourishing medicine. Over that prolonged span, Lin Zheyu gradually merged the Ten Thousand Troop Steps into the Golden Goose Technique.
His natural talent was exceptional; even without using Origin Force, it had already amazed Liang Song. With such formidable aptitude, ten years of relentless practice allowed the Ten Thousand Troop Steps to blend seamlessly into the Golden Goose Technique. His lightness technique became increasingly ethereal and ghostlike, and his movements carried a fleeting, untraceable grace, reminiscent of Duan Yu's[1] Drifting Step of his previous life.
At the same time, Lin Zheyu's body was undergoing an earth-shaking transformation. The third transformation of blood qi was a crucial barrier, also known as the Tiger Transformation. As his blood qi was refined and strengthened, it suddenly underwent a qualitative change upon reaching its limit. The blood qi within him twisted into a single, unified current, brimming with vitality, and faintly roaring like a fierce tiger as it coursed through his veins.
After a few breaths, Lin Zheyu opened his eyes from his trance and let out a long, heavy exhale. This time, there was none of the usual surge of strength; his blood qi was thin and weak, less than a tenth of his peak state.
So this is Tiger Transformation... The blood qi has become far denser than before. The once spread-out flow has been twisted into a single force.
Lin Zheyu quietly examined the state of his body. After condensing into one current, his blood qi carried a trace of liveliness, making control feel more natural and effortless. Its flow also quickened; when he closed his eyes, he could faintly hear a thunderous roar as it surged through his body. He suddenly stepped forward and unleashed the Barbaric Ox Fist, infusing it with his blood qi. A terrifying burst of power erupted from his muscles.
Bang!
A dull thud rang out as his fist struck the wooden post, leaving behind an imprint nearly two centimeters deep.
So strong!
Lin Zheyu stared at the mark in disbelief. The post was made of iron-birch, a wood as hard as metal. He had never imagined that his bare fist could punch such a deep dent into it. Previously, he could only leave faint marks less than three millimeters deep. He hadn't expected that after his blood qi transformed again, condensing into a single current and reaching the Tiger Transformation stage, his strength would increase so tremendously.
It's no wonder Senior Brother Han once said that only after reaching the third transformation of blood qi could one stand on equal footing with a living corpse. Even though those creatures are said to have skin of copper and bones of iron, anyone who has reached the third transformation can punch through iron-birch. Dealing with a living corpse shouldn't be a problem anymore.
He recalled the living corpse from Beast Roar Mountain. Unfortunately, the creature had long since vanished. Otherwise, he would have loved to test his strength against it. Ever since Ren Jie lured the living corpse into Lion Valley, there had been little news of it. No one knew whether it had been destroyed by the Nine Nether Sect's priests or had fled into the mountains.
[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]
[Name: Lin Zheyu]
[Origin Force: 0]
[Skills: Barbaric Ox Fist (Perfection), Sixfold Saber (Advanced Mastery: 10%), Golden Goose Technique (Eighth Stage: 8%), Ten Thousand Troop Steps (Fifth Stage: 34%), Poison King Body (First Stage: 0%), Tortoise Breath Grand Method (Third Stage: 4%)]
Lin Zheyu glanced at the data within his consciousness and noticed that the Golden Goose Technique had reached the eighth stage. As he expected, each unit of Origin Force now advanced his progress by 8%.
1. 段誉 (Duan Yu) is a major character from Tian Long Ba Bu 《天龙八部》, a classic wuxia novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). ☜
