"This Purple Crystal can even absorb the energy of herbs? Yes! The herbs must contain some 'herbal essence' and it itself must be a form of energy."
"A warrior will become stronger after eating herbs. This is because their bodies will absorb the herbal essence, transforming it into energy."
Yi Yun felt enlightened. He had been doing numerous experiments for the past few days. He had used fire, hot water, static electricity from rubbing clothes, objects that Yi Yun felt "contained energy". However, the Purple Crystal could not absorb these "energies".
The known energies the Purple Crystal could absorb were starlight, desolate bones, herbal essence, and the Yuan Qi from Lian Chengyu's attack.
Thinking carefully, these energies, besides the weak starlight, were all highly relevant to this world's cultivation of martial artists.
Maybe even starlight was related to cultivation. This world might even have a cultivation technique that absorbed starlight.
As for the desolate bones and herbs, it was needless saying that they were good items that enhanced a martial artist's body.
It appeared that the Purple Crystal could only absorb energies that aided in martial practice.
However, after the Purple Crystal absorbed the herbal essence in the Dan Fruit, would the Dan Fruit still be useful?
It's probably useless!
The Dan Fruit still looked perfect, but it was in fact worse than herbal dreg.
Yi Yun knew that items like Dan Fruit could not be eaten directly. A special procedure had to be done to brew it.
And the brewing procedure was only known by the upper echelons of the tribe.
Besides the Dan Fruit, all the other herbs in the Lian Clan Herb Mountain would be poisonous when directly eaten. Not only did they lack any benefit, they would also be hard to digest, causing a person to bleed to death!
If not for that, the Lian tribal clan would not have so easily let the poor pick herbs from the mountain. If they had eaten the herbs for themselves, how would anyone ever know?
However, after the Purple Crystal absorbed the herbal essence of the Dan Fruit, it nourished Yi Yun's body without causing any toxic effects.
This was the magical property of the Purple Crystal.
It converted chaotic energies into energies ordinary people could absorb. It allowed Yi Yun to absorb all the herbs on the mountain without anyone knowing!
It was totally undetectable!
Upon realizing this, Yi Yun could not help but laugh.
"Yun'er what are you laughing about?" Jiang Xiaorou shouted. She was anxious over Yi Yun, worried that he would fall again. It would be a terrible outcome if he were to fall onto the rocks from such a high height.
"Sis Xiaorou, see what this is?"
Yi Yun plucked and threw the Dan Fruit, which had lost all its essence, down.
"Dan Fruit? It's huge!"
Jiang Xiaorou was pleased, but felt a sense of sadness. A twenty-year-old Dan Fruit may be good, but her brother had no opportunity to use it. It would only be brewed by the old men in the tribe before letting Lian Chengyu soak in it.
With mixed emotions, Jiang Xiaorou stored the Dan Fruit in the herb basket.
Their mission was to pick 8 ozs of herbs per person. The required weight was based on the lowest graded herbs. This twenty-year-old Dan Fruit would be considered more. With the good luck they had today, they could keep their rations.
It was such a pathetic state. Risking her and her brother's life just to pick herbs, even if they had fate defying luck that allowed them to pick up all sorts of rare herbs, all of their hard work would be handed over to others for nothing.
"Yun'er, just do it adequately. Do not climb up any further."
Jiang Xiaorou shouted worriedly when she saw Yi Yun climbing more than ten meters high. The herbs won't be for themselves, so it was pointless to risk their lives.
Yi Yun pretended not to hear her because he had seen a light float above a tall pine tree nearby. There were herbs there!
Yi Yun easily climbed over, with one hand on the branch, he plucked off an umbrella shaped herb from the pine tree's roots.
"Black Fungus is more valuable than Dan Fruit."
Yi Yun was delighted as he absorbed all the energy without reservation from the Black Fungus. That hearty feeling was felt once again. Yi Yun knew that the energy from the Black Fungus had entered his heart and traveled to every part of his body, nourishing his muscles. This feeling was so comfortable for Yi Yun.
After all, Yi Yun had been in a constant state of hunger for the past few days.
After his marrow cleansing, Yi Yun felt hungrier than ever before. Yi Yun's body was in rapid growth and it was desperate for energy, but he was not capable enough to hunt alone.
Eating large amounts of food could provide the energy he needed, but how could normal food compare to herbs? This Dan Fruit and Black Fungus were timely assistance to Yi Yun!
Yi Yun noticed that, after absorbing the Black Fungus and a few rounds of blood circulation, the herbal properties of the Black Fungus had given him plenty of strength and improved his eyesight. He could see the head and the six legs of an ant about ten meters away.
Black Fungus could improve one's eyesight. Yi Yun wasn't well versed in pharmacology but he understood that low grade herbs such as these did not have such amazing results. The old fogies in the tribe would have to use large quantities of herbs when brewing medicine for it to have any effect.
Using the Purple Crystal however, the results were immediate and very notable.
This Purple Crystal might have increased the effectiveness of the herbs!
Yi Yun threw the "high grade herbal dreg" Black Fungus down to Jiang Xiaorou.
"Black Fungus! Yun'er, how could you have such good luck?!"
Jiang Xiaorou felt incredulous. Such a high grade herb might be picked once in the entire day, but Yi Yun actually managed to pick two. He was too lucky!
Yi Yun laughed without responding. With the Purple Crystal, as long as he neared the herbs, he would see light dots rise up, like a lighthouse, leading him to them. How could he not pick valuable herbs?
At this point, Yi Yun had already climbed more than ten meters high, After perfectly absorbing the herbal essence of the two herbs, he felt more energetic than usual, climbing more than ten meters was an easy task.
However, Yi Yun didn't want his actions to be too alarming, so he climbed back down again.
He changed locations and carried on picking herbs!
Yi Yun's strategy of absorbing, picking and finishing the herbs was like a hurricane sweeping through. He discovered that this Lian Clan Herb Mountain was like his own treasure ground.
He had been starving for days, and had been worried that he wouldn't have the strength to cultivate himself. However, this Lian Clan Herb Mountain had solved this big problem of his.
Yi Yun climbed up a cliff which was extremely high. Few could get up there and from Jiang Xiaorou's angle, she couldn't see what Yi Yun was doing.
"Yun'er, be careful!"
Jiang Xiaorou's voice came from the bottom of the cliff but it was distorted by the mountain winds.
"Sis Xiaorou, don't worry, I know myself."
Yi Yun was jumping up the rocks easily, even a four meter wall was overcome by Yi Yun with a single kick.
In his field of view, he noticed that a baby-fist sized light emitted from a boulder's cracks.
This light was ten times brighter than any of the light dots Yi Yun had previously seen!
"Oh? This is?!"
Yi Yun was shocked. To be able to emit such a bright light, the herb within the boulder must be extremely valuable.
Yi Yun pushed the boulder away and found a crooked Purple Jade Ginseng. It was well hidden at the top of a cliff few could climb. So it had grown for years without being discovered.
This was too good for Yi Yun.
Yi Yun made no reservations in sucking out the Purple Jade Ginseng's energy with the Purple Crystal.
The Purple Crystal was filled with purple light which gathered within Yi Yun's body. Yi Yun felt a surge of warmness spreading through his meridians, heating up his limbs before rising to his head. It made Yi Yun's five senses more keen and made his limbs feel like they were floating.
This feeling was the same as being drunk. Yet, his body was extremely warm. Yi Yun felt like he had infinite energy that now needed venting!
Yi Yun's body was itchy and uncomfortable. He looked up and saw a boulder that seemed to weigh 300 catties. Yi Yun felt as if there were millions of ants crawling on him, so he had to vent the overflowing strength.
He came to the boulder and lifted it up.
Once! Twice! Thrice!
After lifting the boulder more than ten times, his body broke out into warm sweat, but it now felt extremely content.
He didn't find it thrilling enough and started carrying the rock to do deep squat jumps. After jumping for twenty times, his feet grew numb. The sweat on him had all evaporated.
It felt great!
Yi Yun moved his body and all his joints cracked!
When a martial artist practiced, he would consume desolate bones, soak his body in herbs to strengthen his mind and body!
After strengthening, by supplementing it with daily training, without the resources or willpower, it would be impossible to amount to anything.
Yi Yun didn't touch the Purple Jade Ginseng. Such a high grade herb would cause a commotion. Furthermore, he had already absorbed all of its medicinal properties and didn't want to cause trouble for himself by picking it.
A normal person, without rest, might not be able to pick 8 ozs of herbs, but with the Purple Crystal leading him, and his keen senses, he could see the herbs from afar. So in two hours, he had picked the required 16 ozs of herbs for both Jiang Xiaorou and himself.
Of course, all the herbs had been sucked dry by the Purple Crystal. Although they looked fine on the surface, they had already become herbal dregs.
Yi Yun passed the herb basket to Jiang Xiaorou, ordering her not to hand over the herbs too early to prevent suspicion.
"Yun'er… how did you do it so fast…?" Jiang Xiaorou felt that, regardless of anything, her brother had finished picking the herbs at an astonishing speed. "
"My luck was great. Sis Xiaorou, I will go down for something now. You just need to be here to act busy. I am leaving!"
With that said, Yi Yun tore down the mountain.
Lian Tribal Clan's training grounds.
Thirty strongmen were training in the middle of the ground, causing a tiny sandstorm.
They were the members of the Lian tribe's warrior preparation camp. Instructing them was the Lian tribal clan's Instructor, Yao Yuan. He was one of the three warriors besides the Patriarch and Lian Chengyu who had reached the fifth level of Mortal Blood.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The punches roared into the sky. Each of these members of the warrior preparation camp had been groomed arduously by the tribe.
It was near winter; it was cold and windy in the vast wilderness, but each and every member of the warrior preparation camp was sweating bullets from their practice!
Up on a platform, Instructor Yao Yuan, who was overseeing them, frowned and shouted "Stop!"
Yao Yuan's roar was as loud as thunder!
The practicing warriors immediately stopped.
"Let me teach you the 'Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist'. It is one of the basic skills handed down by the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom! This 'Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist' may only consist of eighteen stances, but each stance is filled with deep knowledge! You idiotic pigs have only learned the moves, but you do not understand the deep underlying knowledge. It's showy but of no use!"
Yao Yuan's words negated all of the hard work the men had spent cultivating themselves!
However, no one dared said anything because Yao Yuan had extreme prestige in the warrior preparation camp.
Lian Chenyu had high prestige because of his future. He could become a Purple Blood Warrior, or a level even higher than Purple Blood.
As for Yao Yuan, he had high prestige because of his past.
Yao Yuan was not a member of the Lian tribe. He was an outsider who had previously reached the level of Purple Blood. However he had been wounded while being chased by his enemies and fell back into the realm of a normal warrior. He entered the vast wilderness to seek refuge and found it in the Lian tribe where he then stayed for several years.
Although he had lost his powers, Yao Yuan still had his experience. No one was unconvinced of his ability to train the warrior preparation camp.
That was because Lian Chengyu was trained by Yao Yuan!
A youth like Lian Chengyu, having grown up in a small tribe like the Lian tribe, would he have been able to attain so much without a master expert's guidance?
"Do not look down on this 'Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist'. In the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, the most precious skill would be the "Tai Ah Sacred Skill", but you can only gain access to it after reaching a very high level. It's of no use for those below Purple Blood! For those below Purple Blood, you have to practice the 'Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist'! Even the royal family members of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom do so!"
"'Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist' is a top skill for training your body. If you want to measure its value, an entire city might not be enough! The Tai Ah Divine Kingdom wanted to strengthen the kingdom's strength by giving the poor an opportunity to learn martial arts and face the dangers plaguing the vast wilderness. As a result, they deliberately made 'Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist' a public skill. Being able to learn this set of skills is your good fortune!"
"To reach Mortal Blood's Qi Gatherer stage, you must go through the stages of Valiant, Vigor, Thunderous and Meridians! And to cultivate those, you will need to cultivate your strength, refine your muscles, your bones and your organs! The eighteen stances in the set of 'Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist' refine your muscles, organs and bones!"
"If you can truly understand the first six stances of the 'Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist', you will be able to lift a 500-kilogram cauldron. With one cauldron's strength, you can draw a nine-picul bow, and with an extended pull, the arrow shot out will be able to travel a thousand paces, and still be able to pierce through chain mail!" Yao Yuan instructed loudly and not a single word was missed by Yi Yun.
"Lifting a 500-kilogram cauldron, drawing a nine-picul bow…"
Yi Yun was fascinated. In this world, nine piculs was 450 kilograms!
"Listening to what Yao Yuan said, this 'Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist' is indeed a very good fist technique. To strengthen the kingdom, the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom opened up this basic fist skill to the public. The monarch of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom has some qualities of a sage."
Without blinking, Yi Yun stared at the training grounds while holding his breath. He was here to secretly learn martial arts!
The fist stances Yi Yun had learned prior to tunneling through space-time were military boxing while he was doing his mandatory military education. It could only be considered street brawling and would not do in this strange world. Although his fitness had improved tremendously, he would be at a disadvantage against a real enemy without martial arts or techniques!
Without techniques, his cultivation would be much slower in the future.
The problem would be magnified the higher he went. If not, the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' wouldn't be so treasured!
"I'll do a demonstration for you first. Look carefully!" Yao Yuan's voice roared as Yi Yun paid close attention.
"This move is called 'Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain'. It's good for training the tendons!"
Yao Yuan stood in front of a wooden stake, and stretched his left foot forward. He grabbed his left ankle with his left hand before bending his right knee. With his body curved, his back was bent like a bow, emitting faint sounds.
This posture looked very weird, but it gave the impression of a bow being pulled. Yao Yuan's right fist, by his waist, was just like the arrow on the bow!
Suddenly, Yao Yuan moved!
His body straightened suddenly.
"Bam––"
Yi Yun heard a very clear loud sound from Yao Yuan's body.
Yao Yuan's right fist had moved like lightning, hitting the wooden stake!
"Boom!"
The wooden stake split apart!
The surrounding warrior preparation camp members let out a gasp.
"Instructor Yao is amazing!"
"Damn, it was such a thick stake, and he split it with a fist. Instructor Yao is teaching the way of the metal fist!"
The bunch of men started to suck up to Yao Yuan, but they were all truly in admiration. In the vast wilderness, the strong was always worshiped.
Yao Yuan's face was furious despite all the fawning he received from the men.
"All you saw was my fist?"
"Hmph! I said previously, this 'Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain' is a move to train your tendons! The reason my fist destroyed the stake was not because my fist was strong, but because I used the strength in my tendons!"
"Everyone's body is a treasure! Do you know that in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, there's a treasured bow named the Star Shooting Bow. Do you know what its bowstring is made of?"
The men were clueless when Yao Yuan asked. Having never heard of the Star Shooting Bow, how would they know what the bowstring was made of?
"Is it made of silk?"
"Is it the legendary ribs of a dragon?"
Yao Yuan shook his head saying, "The Star Shooting Bow bowstring is made of the tendons of the founding emperor of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom after he died!"
Yao Yuan's words left the men dumbfounded.
Human tendons as bowstrings!?
"That's right! The move I just used, 'Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain' was to stretch my entire body out. Using the bones as a bow and tendons as the bowstring, I 'shot' out my fist! Being able to perfectly exert one's tendon's strength is the crux of 'Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain'! So 'Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain' is a move used to train one's tendons, not fist!"
"Did you not hear the sounds my body made when I threw out the punch?""
There was a very clear sound when Yao Yuan punched. Yi Yun had heard it very clearly and it was exactly the sound a bowstring produced when an arrow was shot.
"Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain" is a skill that pulls your tendons, making them stronger and more elastic! At the peak of 'Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain', just the sound the tendons produce is enough to scare a goose flying in the sky! This is known as 'Surprise Bow Drops Flock'!"
"'Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist' has another move, 'Dragon Rising to Nine Skies', which is a move that trains one's bones. When this is punched out, the whole skeleton will crack loudly like a lightning-less thunder from a distance!"
"Thunder Occurring in the Nine Clouds, Surprise Bow Drops Flock. If you reach this realm, you can be considered to have mastered 'Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist'!"
After hearing Yao Yuan's words, the men stared agape. It had to be an exaggeration!
Could a person reach such a realm?
Seeing the men's expressions, Yao Yuan knew it was hopeless.
He carried on, "The realm of Thunder Occurring in the Nine Clouds, Surprise Bow Drops Flock can be quite a challenge for all of you. I do not expect that you will reach that realm, but if you were to cultivate your tendons to sound out like a bowstring, no matter how tiny; to cultivate your bones to create the skeleton cracking sounds, I would be satisfied!"
"In that case, you will have at least reached the third level, Thunderous."
As Yao Yuan was teaching the men, Yi Yun's blood was sent pulsing through his veins as he heard this.
Thunder Occurring in the Nine Clouds, Surprise Bow Drops Flock!
Could he reach such a state?
Yao Yuan described the 'Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist' as something so valuable that "an entire city might not be enough". A city in this strange world was worth more than the cities on Earth. Each city in the vast wilderness had to withstand the test of the desolate beasts. Without many experts, it would not be possible to hold it down. To build a city, a staggering amount of blood had to spill!
It was obvious considering how many of the poor people supported Lian Chengyu's cultivation just from his simple promise of the city.
"I must observe this set of fist techniques well. If I were to learn it well, it would be a breeze during the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom warrior selection. I might even be able to get the title of 'Kingdom Knight'. When that happens, Sis Xiaorou will bask in glory together with me!"
Having come to this world, Yi Yun decided to make the best of it.
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