The Martial Saint Started from Scavenging

Ye Sheng gazed at Liu Qing. In her cool eyes, there was a hint of deep thought, but no trace of greed. This was completely different from Yun Zhonghe's blatant covetousness.

He felt slightly relieved and immediately clasped his hands in greeting, asking, "Senior Sister, what exactly is this Dao-infused object?"

Liu Qing frowned, sighed softly, and tapped the table lightly with her slender fingers, producing a crisp sound.

After a moment of contemplation, she raised her eyes and looked directly at Ye Sheng, her gaze sharp, and said in a cold voice, "Things imbued with the Dao are the essence of the manifestation of the laws of heaven and earth. They take many forms, such as spiritual materials, rare treasures, or even an ancient rune or an ordinary stone. They are in harmony with a certain Great Dao law of heaven and earth, containing its primordial power."

"Your brother's constitution is contrary to the Dao, so he can devour Yin energy. But if he can find a 'Dao essence' that is compatible with his constitution, not only can the backlash be resolved, but the 'Dao calamity' can also be transformed into the 'Dao source,' making him a natural affinity for the laws of the Great Dao, and his cultivation will progress by leaps and bounds."

"Then how do we find this 'object imbued with the Dao'?" Ye Sheng pressed.

"Difficult, extremely difficult."

Liu Qing shook her head, a hint of helplessness flashing in her eyes, and said, "Things imbued with Dao essence are rare and hard to come by. They are often hidden in places where the spiritual energy of heaven and earth converges or where there are unusual phenomena, and they are often accompanied by unusual phenomena. Without special opportunities, searching the entire Azure Netherworld will be in vain."

She pointed to the jade slip in Ye Sheng's hand and continued, "However, what's more important for you now is to cultivate the 'Thick Earth Technique' and solidify your martial arts foundation. If you can stand out in the selection competition, I will ask my master to allow you to enter the sect's library. Perhaps you can find some clues in the ancient books."

Ye Sheng understood. He had heard other spiritual plant cultivators in the sect say that this Scripture Pavilion was a very important place in the sect, containing many secret ancient books. If he could enter, it would be of great benefit to his search for Dao-related items, and even to a deeper understanding of the Azure Netherworld.

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior Sister." Ye Sheng clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"Okay." Liu Qing nodded. "Go back first. Remember, in the future, be careful not to act impulsively within the sect. The Second Elder of the Enforcement Hall is vengeful. Pang Fu is his disciple, and he won't easily let go of the grudge of losing his hand. You must be careful."

Afterwards, Ye Sheng left Liu Qing's attic.

After returning to Willow Garden, Ye Sheng took out the jade slip containing the "Thick Earth Manual" and studied it carefully.

"Thick Earth Technique" is a low-grade Xuan-level body-refining technique that focuses on tempering the physical body and stabilizing the foundation. Its method lies in drawing upon the energy of the earth's veins to temper the bones and tendons, making them as tough as mountains and as thick as soil.

This is different from the "Internal Breathing Method" that Ye Sheng practiced before, but they lead to the same goal: both are the correct path of martial arts body refinement.

Ye Sheng sat cross-legged and tried to regulate his breathing using the "Thick Earth Technique".

As soon as he started practicing, he felt a heavy and solid aura surging from the depths of the earth, seeping into his body through his pores, intertwining with the internal energy in his dantian, and slowly tempering his muscles and bones.

This feeling was more lingering and gentle than when I practiced the "Internal Breathing Method" before, yet it was filled with an unshakeable power.

Ye Sheng guessed that this must be the essence of the "Thick Earth Technique".

With the "Thick Earth Technique" and the abundant spiritual energy of Willow Garden, Ye Sheng's cultivation speed increased by leaps and bounds.

During the day, he tended to the spiritual plants in the Hundred Herbs Garden and absorbed their spiritual energy; at night, he devoted himself to cultivation in the Willow Garden, tempering his physical body.

Ye Kai's "power of creation" continues to nurture the spiritual plants. In the herb garden, many spiritual plants have also seen their quality improved under this "external blessing."

Ye Sheng refined these spiritual plants into pills, using some for himself and secretly storing the rest for future use.

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, the outer disciple selection competition is just around the corner.

That day, while Ye Sheng was working in the Hundred Herbs Garden, Zhu Zhang suddenly came to the medicinal herb field that Ye Sheng was in charge of.

"Ye Sheng, you've been taking good care of this medicinal herb field lately," Zhu Zhang said with a forced smile, a strange glint in his eyes.

Ye Sheng calmly replied, "Thank you for the compliment, Steward."

"snort!"

Zhu Zhang snorted coldly, changed his tone, and said, "However, don't think that just because you have Senior Sister Liu Qing protecting you, you can act without restraint."

"The special selection competition for outer disciples is no joke. Which of those spirit plant growers and spirit feeders isn't desperately climbing the ranks for promotion?"

"If you are not strong enough at that time, even if you have Senior Sister Liu Qing backing you up, it will be of no use."

He paused, lowered his voice, and threatened, "I heard that Du Tao has already said he's going to have someone cripple you during the selection competition. Don't blame me for not warning you then."

Ye Sheng frowned slightly, thinking to himself: This Du Tao is indeed persistent.

"Thank you for the reminder, steward." Ye Sheng clasped his hands in a fist salute.

Seeing his humble yet arrogant demeanor, Zhu Zhang became even more annoyed.

He came here intending to take the opportunity to put Ye Sheng in a bad light and extort some benefits from him.

But Ye Sheng's stubbornness left him at a loss.

"Hmph! Ungrateful!" Zhu Zhang flicked his sleeves and turned to leave.

Ye Sheng watched his departing figure with icy eyes. He knew perfectly well that Zhu Zhang was crying wolf, and that he was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes.

However, Ye Sheng didn't care. At this moment, he had more important things to do.

As night fell, Ye Sheng returned to Liuyuan. He stayed in Ye Kai's room for a while before going back to his own room.

He sat cross-legged, took out the jade slip containing the "Thick Earth Technique," and studied it again. This technique was a timely boon for him.

During this period, nourished by the "Thick Earth Technique" and a large number of Qi Condensation Pills, the internal strength in his dantian increased rapidly. His physical body became incredibly tough, with bones like jade and tendons like steel.

He could feel that his cultivation had jumped from the early stage of the Bone Forging Realm to the late stage of the Bone Forging Realm, and he was only one step away from the peak of the Bone Forging Realm.

This rapid progress truly shocked Ye Sheng.

"I'm just one step away from breaking through the peak of the Bone Forging Realm and entering the Meridian Opening Realm," Ye Sheng thought to himself.

The Meridian Opening Realm is the 7th level of the martial arts sequence. It allows one to open up all the meridians in the body, draw in internal energy, and transform internal strength into true energy, resulting in another qualitative leap in strength.

To break through to the peak of the Bone Forging Realm, one needs an opportunity, an opportunity that can unleash all the potential within him.

Suddenly, Ye Sheng seemed to remember something. He took out a small porcelain bottle from his pocket, inside which was the last Qi Gathering Pill, which he had scavenged from the Blood Wolf and had been reluctant to use.

Through the feedback from the skill panel, Ye Sheng knew that the medicinal power contained in this Qi Gathering Pill was several times stronger than that of the Qi Condensation Pill and the Qi Strengthening Pill.

"It's time to take it." Ye Sheng's eyes narrowed, and he swallowed the Qi Gathering Pill without hesitation.

As soon as the pill entered his stomach, a powerful medicinal force exploded instantly, rampaging through his body.

Ye Sheng immediately activated the "Thick Earth Technique," guiding the violent energy within his body to temper his bones and muscles, and break through the bottleneck.

He felt as if his body was being torn apart, every bone in his body groaning in agony. But he gritted his teeth and held on tightly to his mind.

"Hold on, I can't fall!" Ye Sheng roared inwardly.

He focused all his attention on his dantian, guiding the violent energy to break through the invisible bottleneck.

Once, twice, three times...

After an unknown amount of time, he finally managed to compress the violent energy within his dantian to its limit.

"boom!"

With a deafening roar, it was as if something within him had been shattered completely. A powerful and pure surge of true energy erupted from the depths of his dantian, instantly flowing throughout his entire body.

This is... the true energy of the Meridian Opening Realm! Success!

Ye Sheng exhaled a long breath of stale air, slowly opened his eyes, and his eyes flashed with a sharp light.

He could clearly feel that his body was full of true energy and his physical body was incredibly tough. His strength, speed, and defense were several times stronger than before.

He stood up, casually swung his fist, and a low, muffled thud echoed in the air.

"Du Tao, He Ping, just you wait. I'll definitely give you a surprise in the selection competition." Ye Sheng's lips curled into a cold smile, his eyes icy.

At this moment, there is less than a month left until the outer disciple selection competition.