Ascending to Immortality by Slaying Spirits

Chapter 28 - The Great Whale Red Dragon
After sending the four children home, Lin Le earned four more merits.

Back at the inn, Lin Le tallied up his gains: 36 merit points, 10 points of killing karma, and over 100 taels of silver.

As Lin Le digested the lotus root, he felt a warm sensation rising up his spine, and a sense of joy welled up in his heart.

Yang Spiritual Root, three sections.

Looking at the lotus seeds again, there are now nine seeds.

Lin Le took out another ledger, flipped through it, and quickly decided on the next stronghold to be eliminated.

'They really are a bunch of beasts.' Lin Le looked at the records in the ledger and couldn't help but rub his teeth. The number of people involved was over a hundred.

The next day, after spending three taels of silver to order over a hundred catties of meat and filling his stomach, Lin Le went out to the martial arts school in the county.

He spent eight taels of silver to learn a martial art called Eight Directions Leg. After mastering it, he would be more likely to develop the Mantis Leg technique.

'Two more to go,' Lin Le thought to himself.

However, most martial arts only involve the hands and feet, and those that are slightly more unique have not become widely known.

I got a great deal by scavenging the Great Food Manual from Hu Zigui.

'Let's check the black market; I might as well buy some medicinal pills.'

Lin Le pondered for a moment, then turned the corner and entered the alley.

Then, after a lotus seed is consumed, the Eight Directions Leg technique is perfected.

As Lin Le walked slowly through the alley, he suddenly jumped and leaped onto a wall.

Without any deliberate control, it made a loud thud the moment it hit the top of the wall, immediately startling the people in the courtyard.

"Who!" A thug standing behind the door stood up in surprise, turned his head, and saw Lin Le standing on the wall.

"Who are you!" the thug shouted.

Lin Le glanced at it, then kicked it with his toe, sending a pebble flying like a bullet, hitting the thug in the forehead and piercing through it.

Lin Le casually picked up a tile, then spat it out, shattering it into several pieces.

Then came the shooting at moving targets.

One broken tile after another, and by the time the fighting was over, the house and the surrounding area were filled with corpses.

"Come out," Lin Le said casually. "Don't hide, I know you're there."

A burly man carrying a knife walked out of the house, looking at Lin Le with a gloomy expression: "Sir, have I, Zhang, ever offended you?"

Lin Le didn't say anything, but simply leaped up and flew over the burly man, stepping down with one foot.

The burly man's body surged with blood energy; he was actually a first-level martial artist with a thin veil of blood energy. He raised his sword to block the attack.

Click! Bang!
Two sounds rang out: one was Lin Le breaking the iron knife with his foot, and the other was Lin Le stomping the burly man's head into his chest cavity.

The body landed gently on the ground. Without even looking at it, Lin Le walked into the house, then frowned.

We arrived too late; there weren't any trafficked people here.

After tidying up his spoils and changing his clothes and physique, Lin Le left the courtyard and returned to the inn to examine his inner vision of his supernatural powers.

There are only twelve lotus seeds left, and sixteen points of human merit have not yet been accumulated.

The number of Human Lotus Seeds has reached its limit. The remaining merit can either be kept, or another 90 merit points can be added, or nine ordinary lotus seeds can be consumed to refine a one-pattern lotus seed.

Lin Le thought about it and decided to keep it for the time being, since he didn't have anything he needed on him right now.

Another section of lotus root sprouted, and Lin Le chose to keep it. Since the improvement wouldn't be significant, it was more convenient to use it all together.

After counting the money again, the total cash amounted to more than five hundred taels, half of which was contributed by that martial arts master.

He closed his eyes and refined his soul until night fell.

This time, Lin Le put on the night clothes he had bought and set off, arriving at a small grove of trees.

Just as Lin Le was about to go in, someone jumped out and said, "Entry fee."

"How much?" Lin Le asked.

"One tael," the man said. Lin Le tossed him a small silver coin, and the man stepped aside.

After entering the grove, there is a clearing that has been cleared by man. Each tree stump has a black cloth on it, and various items are placed on the cloth. The stall owner is watching from the side.

Lin Le looked at it slowly, finally stopping in front of a tree stump: "Is this Qi Absorption Manual a martial art or a method for cultivating Qi?"

The stall owner, also dressed in black, replied, "Martial arts, once mastered, can strengthen the lungs, and upon reaching perfection, it is easier to develop the innate talent of the Great Whale Lung."

"How many taels?" Lin Le asked.

"One hundred taels, no bargaining," the stall owner said.

"Is the martial arts real or fake?" Lin Le asked, his voice filled with a bloody aura as he listened to the stall owner's breathing.

"Of course it's true. I've sold several copies, and no one has ever bothered me," the stall owner said.

My heart rate didn't increase, so it must be true.

Lin Le nodded slightly: "I'll take this one. Do you have any other martial arts techniques involving special forms?"

"I also have a Great Food Manual, for training the six internal organs, do you want it?" the stall owner said, pointing to a book.

Lin Le glanced at it and said, "I've already practiced it, otherwise I would have asked about both books at the same time."

"You've practiced this?" The stall owner was taken aback, then slapped his thigh and exclaimed in anguish, "Damn it, you bootlegger!"

"Aren't you selling pirated goods too?" a nearby stall owner quipped. "You have the nerve to talk about others like that!"

"How can that be the same!" the stall owner retorted. "I copied this word for word without any mistakes or omissions. How can other people's deliberately misleading pirated copies compare to mine?"

"Anything else?" Lin Le cut the subject short. He was only there to find martial arts manuals, not to watch the show. "No, this is all we have."

"Wait!" The stall owner gestured, "I have another incomplete one here, but it involves a very special form. Do you want it?"

Lin Le nodded slightly and asked, "What shape do you want to describe first?"

"Red Dragon Marrow," the stall owner said.

Marrow? Lin Le's pupils contracted slightly. If you were to ask what the most difficult thing to form is, it would be marrow. Even the five internal organs and six bowels would have to wait for it.

The reason why marrow is the most difficult to refine is not only because it is protected by bones and cannot be refined, but also because brain marrow is also part of it. If there is a problem with this part, it can lead to sudden death or even mental dementia.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Le asked, "How much?"

Anyway, with lotus seeds around, it won't matter if I make mistakes during practice; I can use them for experiments or research.

"One hundred taels too," the stall owner said.

Lin Le directly bargained: "Two books for one hundred and fifty taels."

"Okay," the stall owner readily agreed.

After paying the money, Lin Le also received the Swallowing Qi Technique and a copy of the Crimson Dragon Blood Scripture.

After checking the Swallowing Qi Technique and confirming that there were no problems, Lin Le then looked at the martial art called the Crimson Dragon Blood Scripture.

This is indeed a very high-level martial art. When perfected, it can easily manifest in six forms: in addition to the Crimson Dragon Marrow, there are Eagle Claw Hand, Dragon Tendon, Fierce Tiger Back, Carp Waist, and Mantis Leg.

However, there are only training methods, but no methods for nourishing the body, and no secret medicine recipes either.

According to the book, to practice this skill, one must have specially made secret medicine; otherwise, one cannot even get started. Forcing one to practice will only cause one's blood and qi to reverse, leading to sudden death.

The secret medicine doesn't really matter; the Qi and Blood Elixir is the best panacea, otherwise it wouldn't be able to manifest so many forms so easily.

The only problem is the conflict between forms. After all, if a form needs to be changed to another form, the resources required will double.

Fortunately, there was only a lumbar injury, so it's not a big problem.

Lin Le put away the books and spent another three hundred taels to buy three Spirit Blood Pills.

Those are even better pills than Qi and Blood Pills, with a market price of fifty taels each. However, they are controlled items, so they are naturally sold for double the price on the black market.

Lin Le had used the remaining two drops of Qi and Blood Elixir, but it was also at its limit. It was fine for replenishing the consumed Qi and Blood, but it could not promote the further improvement of Qi and Blood.

(End of this chapter)