Chapter 14: Incense Burner

Still releasing three Chapters today, and still asking for votes! Just one spot away from making the leaderboard~~~

***

It wasn’t until it was time to light the lamps that Yangx Kai finally stopped his cultivation, still feeling as though he hadn’t had enough. Despite practicing his fist and foot routines for such a long time, he didn’t feel the slightest bit fatigued; instead, he was radiant and brimming with energy. Ever since he obtained the Proud Bone Golden Form, his stamina seemed to have improved significantly. Walking twenty miles today hadn’t tired him out at all, and carrying that massive sack of rice had felt as light as a feather.

Perhaps only when cultivating the Body Tempering Chapter would he truly feel any pressure. Recalling the sensation of practicing the Body Tempering Chapter this morning, Yangx Kai couldn’t help but shudder. The feeling of the heavens and earth pressing down on his body was exceedingly unpleasant.

However, pressure was necessary for progress. Without any pressure at all, how could he cultivate? Human potential was forced out, and the growth of a martial artist was even more so. By pushing his potential step by step and slowly surpassing his limits, his strength could rise. But now, after throwing so many punches and kicks, he didn’t feel tired in the slightest. How could this be his limit, and how could it force out his potential?

This was going to be difficult. Yangx Kai felt a bit depressed. Obtaining the Proud Bone Golden Form was indeed a tremendous blessing, but due to its powerful regenerative abilities, he could no longer cultivate Lingxiao Pavilion’s Basic Technique. Did this mean that from now on, he could only cultivate for half an hour before sunrise every day?

There were twelve full hours in a day. If he only cultivated for half an hour, what would he do with the rest of his time? Sleep under the covers? That was absolutely unacceptable. Yangx Kai rejected the idea without a second thought.

While absentmindedly starting a fire to cook dinner, Yangx Kai pondered how to make himself feel pressure. If others found out about this, they would probably not know whether to laugh or cry. Other martial artists wished for their cultivation path to be as easy as possible, yet Yangx Kai was actively looking to torture himself.

After much thought, he couldn’t come up with any good ideas. The main reason was that his current financial situation couldn’t keep up. Cultivation in the Body Tempering Realm could be aided by many Elixirs. Aside from Elixirs, there were other external methods, but the root of all these came down to one word: money. Within Lingxiao Pavilion, money meant Contribution Points. Pitifully, Yangx Kai only had twelve Contribution Points, leaving him with the will but not the means.

Once the rice was cooked, Yangx Kai wolfed down a few bowls. There were no side dishes, so he ate it plain, but he was already very satisfied. This was the only full meal he had eaten in recent days.

After eating, Yangx Kai didn’t go back to cultivation. Instead, he took a bath and lay down on his bed. Continuing to cultivate would only yield half the result with twice the effort. He was better off thinking of a solution; sharpening the axe won’t delay the work of cutting wood, after all.

As he thought about it, a spark of inspiration hit him, and he summoned the Wordless Black Book once again. Yangx Kai had more or less figured out the secrets of this Black Book. Every page had something sealed within it, and as long as his strength reached the required level, he could summon it.

The Proud Bone Golden Form obtained from the first page was the foundation and the root. The second page contained the Body Tempering Chapter, which was a cultivation manual specifically tailored for the Proud Bone Golden Form. He didn’t know what was on the third page because when he tried to peek at it last night, he couldn’t see anything at all. This was definitely related to his current strength.

Now that the first and second pages were empty, Yangx Kai studied them carefully for a long while but found nothing. However, when he casually flipped to the third page, his vision suddenly blurred.

He wondered, "Hmm?" Yangx Kai furrowed his brow, staring intently at the third page.

In an instant, golden light flashed on the third page. Countless golden shadows darted out and jumped directly into Yangx Kai’s mind. Immediately after, a vortex slowly formed on the surface of the third page, and an antique Incense Burner rose from within it.

This sudden change left Yangx Kai momentarily dazed, but once he realized what had happened, he was overjoyed.

He realized, "That’s right! Didn’t I break through to the fourth layer of the Body Tempering Realm this morning? I couldn’t see the Profound Mechanisms of the third page last night, so why didn’t I try again after breaking through today?" Although it was only a one-layer difference, that single layer had blocked his path to peeking into the third page. Having figured this out, Yangx Kai couldn’t help but feel a bit of regret. If he had checked it this morning, he wouldn’t have had to waste so much Heart Spirit thinking about his problem now.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Yangx Kai took the Incense Burner in his hands and examined it carefully. The Incense Burner wasn’t large; it looked like an ordinary object used for burning incense in a common household. It was only semi-enclosed, with a lid over the opening that featured several small holes. It had an antique appearance but wasn’t particularly outstanding. No matter where it was placed, it wouldn’t attract anyone’s attention.

Yangx Kai sniffed it gently and found that it had no scent, nor was it heavy to hold. He wondered, "What is this used for?" Yangx Kai couldn’t figure it out at first, so he had no choice but to close his eyes, focus his mind, and review the information that had just flooded into his brain.

A short while later, Yangx Kai opened his eyes with a strange expression on his face. According to the information he had just received, this Incense Burner was actually meant to assist in his Cultivation. However, the Incense Burner itself had no effect. He needed to add some herbs inside to burn and produce an Exotic Fragrance, and this Exotic Fragrance was what would aid his Cultivation. Depending on the Realm, the herbs that needed to be placed into the Incense Burner were different.

What puzzled Yangx Kai was that the herbs suitable for his current Realm were actually the Three-Leaf Soul Flower and the Desolate Dried Wood Grass. As far as Yangx Kai knew, these two herbs weren’t of high value; they were just somewhat rare. Furthermore, they possessed a slight toxicity. Although the toxicity wasn’t strong, inhaling the medicinal properties of these two herbs over months and years would eventually cause harm to a person.

He wondered, "Do these two herbs really help with my Cultivation?" The Contribution Hall definitely had these two herbs in stock. However, given Elder Mengg’s greedy, penny-pinching personality, the price would absolutely not be cheap. Besides, Yangx Kai barely had any Contribution Points to his name, so how could he afford to splurge? In that case, his only option was to find a way to gather these two herbs himself. Fortunately, the Heifeng Mountain Range wasn’t far from Lingxiao Pavilion. Having gone in and out of it multiple times to hunt, Yangx Kai was quite familiar with the area. Perhaps the herbs could be found inside.

He thought, "I’ll head into the mountains tomorrow!" Having made up his mind, all of Yangx Kai’s worries dissipated, and he soon fell into a deep sleep. Right before sleeping, he specifically checked the fourth page of the Wordless Black Book to avoid repeating today’s embarrassing situation. However, there was no reaction from the fourth page; presumably, the strength of the Body Tempering Realm’s fourth layer was insufficient to peek into it.

The next day, Yangx Kai woke up bright and early.

Having gained such tremendous benefits from cultivating the Body Tempering Chapter yesterday, he naturally wanted more after getting a taste of the rewards. Furthermore, he wasn’t a lazy person to begin with. Taking advantage of the purple qi’s Donglai in the east, he slowly began to unfold the Fist and Foot Skill of the Body Tempering Chapter, which was imbued with the profound truths of heaven and earth.

Although his Cultivation layer was one level higher than yesterday’s, there wasn’t much progress in his performance of the Body Tempering Chapter today. After half an hour passed, he was still stuck at one-twentieth of the total progress. His body, however, had been tortured to the point of aching all over, and his bones popped continuously, sounding as dense as a pan of popping beans.

As he inhaled a breath of purple qi, the faint Qi Sensing within his body became clearer and more solidified. His Meridians also seemed to have been expanded quite a bit, and a large amount of Acquired impurities seeped out onto the surface of his skin.