Under the blazing summer sun, a month slipped by like a fleeting shadow.
During this month, Lin Dong continued to bring back the Stone Talisman Spiritual Liquid for Lin Xiao. Under the miraculous effects of this medicinal liquid, the long-standing injuries within Lin Xiao's body seemed to have completely healed, causing his long-held melancholy and despondency to almost entirely vanish.
During this time, Lin Dong's progress in body refining also advanced at a miraculous pace. Under the influence of the Stone Talisman Spiritual Liquid, the itching and aching sensation, like maggots gnawing at his bones, grew increasingly intense. Furthermore, amidst this pain, he could clearly feel his physical constitution and strength rapidly growing.
This sensation filled Lin Dong with immense joy, because he knew that he would soon be able to truly reach the fifth layer of the Tempered Body.
Whoosh... Whoosh...
Inside a cool cave, a figure was supporting himself on the ground using only two fingers. His legs were parallel to the ground, his trembling body held up solely by the strength of his two fingers. Sweat poured down, soaking his clothes and streaming down his face before dripping onto the ground, forming a small puddle.
Thump... Thump...!
The muscles all over his body bulged. However, after about half an hour, Lin Dong was finally completely exhausted. His arms went limp, and his body collapsed, sprawling onto the ground as he gasped heavily for breath. An absolute sense of weakness spread through every part of his body, lingering continuously.
Huff...!
Lin Dong gritted his teeth, enduring with all his might as he forced his limp, exhausted body up. Without even taking off his clothes, he dragged himself into the Stone Pool.
As Lin Dong entered the Stone Pool, pale red bubbles immediately welled up, penetrating every single pore of his body.
Lin Dong stretched out his limbs, floating on the surface of the Stone Pool. At this moment, he could only breathe to recover his strength, and he could feel every cell in his body screaming in protest. However, as the red liquid washed over them, this protest instantly turned into extreme greed, frantically devouring it gulp by gulp.
Lin Dong closed his eyes, thoroughly enjoying this sensation of depletion followed by replenishment. Just as he was about to stretch lazily, his body trembled violently, slipping out of his control. A sharp ache surged from the depths of his marrow, rapidly spreading to every part of his body.
The sudden onset of pain made Lin Dong grit his teeth, but in the next instant, a look of wild joy appeared on his face.
"I'm about to break through!"
This sensation was exactly what Lin Dong had been eagerly anticipating for the past month—the opportunity to break through!
The ache rapidly spread. It felt as though his marrow was being bored into by a diamond drill. At this moment, Lin Dong could clearly sense that the bones in his body seemed to be growing stronger and sturdier at a slow but steady pace.
The pain came quickly and left just as fast, gradually fading away after lasting for only about five minutes.
As the pain faded, Lin Dong's spirit suddenly became invigorated. He leapt up to stand straight in the stone pool, and crisp, cracking sounds began to echo from within his body. His already tall frame seemed to have grown slightly taller, looking even more robust than before.
Pa... Pa... Pa... Pa...
The moment his feet touched the ground, Lin Dong immediately executed the Tongbei Punch, a martial art he had mastered to absolute familiarity. The crisp sounds echoed continuously within the cave, carrying a fierce and powerful force far greater than before—clearly, his strength had risen to a whole new level.
Bang...!!!
As the ninth echo faded, Lin Dong threw a heavy punch at a boulder, causing several cracks to instantly spiderweb across the rock. After breaking through to the Fifth Layer of Body Tempering, neither his physical toughness nor his strength could be compared to when he was at the Fourth Layer.
Seeing this, a faint smile appeared on Lin Dong's face. Just as he was about to withdraw his stance, his heart stirred. Instead of pulling back his fists, he closed his eyes tightly, sensing a strange force coursing through his muscles, bones, and tendons.
As he focused, Lin Dong's body began to vibrate minutely in tandem with the flowing force. Even his clothes and skin seemed to ripple with faint waves.
Every muscle in his body felt as if it were swelling, unleashing a wave of powerful force that rapidly gathered in his arm.
Pa...!!!
As the surging waves of power flooded into his fist, Lin Dong's closed eyes snapped open. A tiny cracking sound quietly echoed from within his body.
The sound was not loud, but it contained an incredibly fierce and violent power!
Bang...!!!
Force gathered, and the fist struck. Lin Dong took a deep breath, let out a low shout, and punched the hard boulder in front of him with all his might. A dull thud resounded as cracks rapidly spread across the stone, before it finally exploded and shattered with a loud bang.
"What incredible power!"
Lin Dong stared dumbfounded at the shattered pieces of the boulder, his face filled with disbelief. This kind of power was actually comparable to some lower-tier Grade 3 martial arts!
"To think the tenth echo of the Tongbei Punch would be this powerful!"
After a moment, Lin Dong finally snapped out of his daze, his eyes shining with excitement. This was the first time he had successfully executed the tenth echo, and its sheer power made him realize why it was so incredibly difficult to master! It turned out to possess such devastating force!
By Lin Dong's estimation, if he were to encounter Lin Hong now, he could fight him to a standstill using only the tenth echo of the Tongbei Punch. Even for the Lin Family, Grade 3 martial arts were extremely rare. Currently, among the younger generation, it would be hard to find anyone who was even qualified to practice them.
"Heh... Lin Hong, just you wait!"
Remembering how casually and overbearingly Lin Hong had claimed Qingtan as his possession that day, and recalling his detestable face, Lin Dong couldn't help but clench his fists. He lowered his head with a cold sneer, then turned his gaze toward the stone pool, his brow furrowing. After undergoing the cleansing of the stone pool for some time, he noticed that the Stone Talisman Liquid was becoming increasingly diluted day by day. It was starting to deplete, and its efficacy was now far inferior to when he first began.
"It seems the Stone Talisman Spiritual Liquid diluted by the stone pool is no longer enough for my current needs. If I want to quickly reach that critical stage—the sixth layer of the Tempered Body—in the future, I will probably have to use the undiluted Stone Talisman Spiritual Liquid."
The sixth layer of the Tempered Body was considered the most critical threshold in the initial stages of cultivation. Only by reaching this level could one cultivate the source of Yuan Power, which was the true gateway to the path of cultivation.
Therefore, the importance of this particular layer went without saying.
Lin Dong fell into contemplation. After a moment, he pulled a transparent bottle from his robes; the Stone Talisman Spiritual Liquid inside was already nearly half-empty.
Looking at the remaining amount of undiluted Stone Talisman Spiritual Liquid, a reassured smile finally touched the corners of Lin Dong's lips.