Chapter 149 - 16: Blood Exchange
This Purple Essence Fruit was well worth refining.
Beyond the increase in his Qi Blood, Lin Yan could distinctly feel a deeper connection forming between it and his bones. It was no longer a simple matter of his Qi Blood nourishing his bones; now, it could permeate deep inside the bone matter, tempering them from their very core.
This was the hallmark of completing Bone Tempering in the Fourth-Time of Skin Smoothing: Qi Blood permeating the bones, bringing about a complete Transformation.
His Martial Arts Realm had finally reached the last stage of Skin Smoothing.
Lin Yan focused his Introspection on the Martial Arts Tree in his mind. The leaf representing the Jinghong Sword Technique shimmered, flowing with a mesmerizing white light.
The Jinghong Sword Technique had reached its limit and could be improved no further.
’It’s time to leave the Yantian Mountain Range.’
Having broken through to the Fourth-Time of Skin Smoothing, he needed a Blood Exchange Realm Technique. He also had to find out how the Fourth Branch was reacting to Lin Mingyu’s death.
...
...
The entrance to Eagle’s Beak Gorge.
When Lin Yan appeared at the entrance, Qian Wanli, who had been resting with his eyes closed, immediately stood up. "Young Master Lin, you’ve returned! It looks like you had a rewarding trip."
Looking at Lin Yan, Qian Wanli felt a little puzzled. Only a few days had passed, but the Young Master Lin before him felt completely different.
Qian Wanli didn’t let his mind wander to the Fourth-Time of Skin Smoothing. It wasn’t that he knew the exact state of Lin Yan’s progress, but rather that he didn’t think Lin Yan would dare attempt a breakthrough inside the Yantian Mountain Range.
A failure in breaking through to the Fourth-Time of Skin Smoothing was something one could almost never recover from.
Even the disciples of the Lin Family were exceedingly cautious when attempting the breakthrough to the Fourth-Time of Skin Smoothing. They would only try after adjusting themselves to their absolute peak condition. Some Third-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artists would even hire a master to divine an auspicious day for the attempt.
"It was alright."
Lin Yan patted the cloth pouch at his waist, which was filled with medicinal herbs he had gathered on his way back.
After bidding farewell to Qian Wanli, Lin Yan went straight back to his courtyard. Thanks to his Swallowing Technique, as long as he didn’t reveal it himself, no one would be able to tell he had reached the Fourth-Time of Skin Smoothing.
’I shouldn’t rush to reveal my breakthrough to the Fourth-Time of Skin Smoothing. I’ll wait a few days and observe the situation before doing anything.’
...
...
「Several days later, in the Le’an County area of the Yantian Mountain Range.」
"Mingyu still hasn’t returned?"
"He rushed into the mountains early in the morning that day and still hasn’t come back."
"Five days have passed with no word. Something must have happened. Gather some men and search the mountains."
"Brother Chuan, is this wise? Mingyu took an outsider in with him."
Lin Mingchuan’s expression grew cold. "Even if you all think his Martial Arts path is ruined, he is still my own brother. Alive, I want to see the man; dead, I want to see the corpse."
The young man who had spoken quickly lowered his head at these words. Years ago, Lin Mingyu had tried to be clever and ruined his own Martial Arts path, leaving him with no status even within the Fourth Branch. But Brother Chuan was different. He was one of the pillars of the Fourth Branch’s younger generation.
...
...
"Young Brother Lin, Master Yuan is here."
Zhao Tieshan’s voice sounded from outside the courtyard. Lin Yan hurried to open the gate, ushering in Zhao Tieshan and Lin Mingyuan, who had just arrived.
"Master Yuan, I still have some matters to attend to, so I’ll be taking my leave."
Zhao Tieshan was perceptive enough to leave after bringing Lin Mingyuan to Lin Yan’s courtyard. The other two were Lin Clan Members, and their conversation would almost certainly involve family matters; it was best for an outsider like him to make himself scarce.
"Lin Yan, how are you settling in here?" Lin Mingyuan asked with a smile as he stepped into the courtyard and glanced around.
"I’m settling in just fine. It’s nice and quiet here. Thank you again, Brother Yuan, for arranging this for me."
Lin Yan poured tea for Lin Mingyuan as he spoke. After taking a sip, Lin Mingyuan asked casually, "Old Zhao mentioned you went into the mountains a few days ago. What was your haul like?"
"The haul was decent."
Seeing Lin Yan’s somewhat sheepish smile, Lin Mingyuan couldn’t help but grin. ’He’s from a branch family,’ he thought, ’so he’s probably never seen many valuable things. He must have been ecstatic with his findings in the mountains but is too embarrassed to show it.’
"I came to tell you to stay out of the mountains for the time being."
"Okay. Don’t worry, Brother Yuan, I won’t go into the mountains that often."
"Lin Yan, you misunderstand. Normally, it wouldn’t matter if you stayed in the mountains for a whole month, but something has come up recently."
Lin Mingyuan knew Lin Yan had misunderstood. There was really no difference between staying in the mountains for a month and entering them a few times within a month.
The Yantian Mountain Range was vast and held many medicinal herbs, but even so, Treasure Medicines were not easy to find. Sometimes one might get lucky and find something shortly after entering, but other times, one could spend a whole month in the mountain forests and come away with nothing.
As for ordinary medicinal herbs, the thought hadn’t even crossed Lin Mingyuan’s mind.
Members of the Lin Clan looked down on herbs worth only a few dozen taels of silver.
Seeing Lin Yan’s puzzled look, Lin Mingyuan explained in a low voice, "While you were in the mountains, Lin Mingyu from the Fourth Branch also went in. He still hasn’t come out and might have met with an accident. The Fourth Branch has already sent a hundred men into the mountains to search. If you go back in now and run into them, it won’t end well."
The Third and Fourth Branches had a long-standing grudge. The Fourth Branch was furious right now, and if Lin Yan ran into them in the mountains, it could easily lead to arguments or even a fight. He was worried Lin Yan would come out on the losing end.
"I understand. I won’t go into the mountains for now."
Lin Yan nodded, then asked out of curiosity, "Brother Yuan, what was this Lin Mingyu’s strength? To have an accident in the mountains... could he have run into a powerful beast?"
"It’s not as if Lin Mingyu didn’t know which parts of the Yantian Mountain Range are forbidden. There’s no way he would have gone to those places. The most likely explanation is foul play. As for his strength... he was a waste with no potential left. At best, you could barely call him Half-Step Blood Exchange."