Since successfully breaking through to the fifth layer of the Tempered Body, Lin Dong's frantic cultivation speed had slowed down significantly. Although he had the assistance of the Stone Talisman Liquid, everything had its limits, after all; trying to force progress would only do more harm than good.
Therefore, in the days that followed, Lin Dong was extremely relaxed. In his spare time, he focused solely on tempering his Penetrating Back Fist until it reached consummate mastery. Thanks to his previous insights, Lin Dong could now easily produce ten echoes with his Penetrating Back Fist. However, he was the only one who knew this; after all, this was his trump card and could not be revealed.
Just like that, after a few days of rest and recovery, Lin Dong resumed his cultivation. However, this time he no longer went to soak in the stone pool, as it was no longer of much use to him.
Therefore, Lin Dong planned to officially consume the Stone Talisman Liquid directly.
Regarding this decision, Lin Dong hesitated for an entire day before finally making up his mind. The Stone Talisman Liquid contained an extremely dense spiritual energy, which probably far surpassed even a Grade 3 Elixir. With such powerful medicinal efficacy, even the slightest mistake could easily trigger a backlash and damage his body.
But if he didn't do this, and relied only on diluting the Stone Talisman Liquid, the effects would be negligible. There were only a little over three months left until the Clan Gathering, and Lin Dong had to strive to reach the sixth layer of the Tempered Body before it began. Only then would he be absolutely certain of defeating Lin Hong. Otherwise, once Lin Hong achieved a high rank, he would surely use his privilege to request a marriage proposal with Qingtan from the family. At that time, if Lin Xiao refused, it would lead to trouble, which was not an outcome Lin Dong wanted to see.
Therefore, to prevent this from happening, the only way was to beat Lin Hong so thoroughly that he wouldn't have the face to open his mouth!
Although Lin Dong thoroughly disliked Lin Hong, the latter did possess some ability. He had already stepped into the sixth layer of the Tempered Body a few months ago, and who knew if he would make further progress before the Clan Gathering? Thus, Lin Dong had to make thorough preparations.
With these worries in mind, using the Stone Talisman Liquid for his cultivation was clearly inevitable.
...
"Gulp... gulp..."
In his room, Lin Dong looked at the bowl of crimson liquid in front of him, let out a sigh, and then gritted his teeth, picked up the bowl, and gulped it down.
As the crimson liquid entered his body, the scenery before Lin Dong's eyes seemed to turn entirely fiery red, and a wisp of white steam rose from the top of his head, curling upward.
"Chatter... chatter..."
Lin Dong's teeth chattered uncontrollably. After sliding into his stomach, the crimson liquid seemed to turn into molten lava, carrying a searing heat that rushed down his abdomen. The burning sensation was almost unbearable.
He wrapped his arms tightly around his body and collapsed to the ground, curled up in pain. He writhed in agony, enduring the excruciating pain radiating from deep within his body.
Inside the room, a figure rolled back and forth on the floor in agony, breathing heavily and groaning in a low, hoarse voice, afraid that a loud groan would alert Lin Xiao and the others.
This inhumane torment lasted for about ten minutes before it slowly began to subside.
As the final trace of the burning sensation faded from his body, Lin Dong's trembling frame slowly returned to normal. He gasped heavily for air a few times, then lay powerlessly on the ground.
While he lay sprawled on the ground, a gentle and cool medicinal force suddenly seeped out from within his body. The moment this medicinal force appeared, it rapidly merged into the bones of his entire body. Vaguely, he felt as if something was penetrating deep into his bones, sending out a faint numbing sensation.
"Refining force into the marrow?"
Sensing the numbing sensation spreading from his bones, Lin Dong's spirit shook. Refining force into the marrow was the sixth layer of the Body Tempering stage. This stage required one to merge their physical force into the bone marrow, thereby allowing the marrow to birth the seed of Yuan Power.
"Pain indeed brings no small benefit!"
Lin Dong wiped the drenching sweat from his face and suddenly chuckled. Under normal circumstances, refining force into the marrow would take at least two to three months. However, consuming the Stone Talisman Liquid had shortened this time by countless folds. Although he had to endure a great deal of pain, compared to the harvest it brought, that pain was a trivial matter.
"The medicinal force can still remain in my body for a few more days. I can't let it go to waste. Time to increase the intensity of my training."
Lin Dong scrambled to his feet. He could feel that there was still some residual medicinal force of the Stone Talisman Liquid left in his body. This medicinal force was of no small value and could not be easily wasted. After all, the Stone Talisman Liquid in his hands was not infinite; he had to save as much as he could. Stretching his body slightly, Lin Dong smiled with satisfaction, then pushed open the door and went out to continue his day-to-day bitter cultivation.
...
After experiencing the benefits of directly consuming the Stone Talisman Liquid, over the next few days, Lin Dong took a drop of the Stone Talisman Liquid every four days or so.
One drop every four days—such consumption pained Lin Dong's heart quite a bit. Although he did not fully understand the actual value of the Stone Talisman Liquid, it was at least far superior to ordinary Grade 3 elixirs. Consuming the equivalent of a Grade 3 elixir every four days was a luxury that probably very few in Qingyang Town could afford.
Of course, though the consumption was immense, the effects were indeed tremendous. In just a short half-month, Lin Dong felt as if something was burning deep within his bones. It felt as though something was about to be birthed from his bone marrow.
While Lin Dong was steadily advancing into the sixth layer of the Body Tempering stage during his spare time, he once again pestered Lin Xiao. His purpose this time was to learn more martial arts from him.
After more than a month of cultivation, Lin Dong had completely mastered the Tongbei Fist, but he still felt it was not enough. With the assistance of that strange Stone Talisman's ability, practicing martial arts was truly no different from having his own personal shortcut. Even ordinary martial arts, once taught by the Stone Talisman's light shadow, would instantly become extraordinary.
Being able to practice a few more martial arts would certainly do him no harm.
Although Lin Dong thought this way, Lin Xiao did not agree. In his opinion, no matter how many techniques one mastered, the most crucial thing was still one's own fundamental strength. He worried that Lin Dong, by obsessing over martial arts, would neglect his physical cultivation. Doing so would only do more harm than good.
However, despite his worries, after Lin Dong demonstrated the Tongbei Fist with seven crisp echoes, Lin Xiao was finally left speechless. He could only stare at Lin Dong with a strange expression for a long time. At this moment, he had to admit that when it came to martial arts cultivation, his son's talent indeed far surpassed his own.
Having convinced Lin Xiao with his performance, Lin Dong successfully learned another martial art from him.
The Bahuang Palm, a Grade 2 lower-tier martial art.
Lin Dong was highly satisfied with this palm technique, as he had heard that it was the primary martial art practiced by Lin Hong.
Lin Dong eagerly anticipated the Clan Gathering. When Lin Hong discovered that someone else could execute the Bahuang Palm far better than he could, he wondered just how priceless his expression would be.
In the quiet of the late night, Lin Dong once again entered the dark spiritual space.
When Lin Dong appeared, the two figures were still there in the darkness, executing that familiar palm technique.
Lin Dong could not help but let a satisfied smile spread across his face.
He was eager to see how much this Grade 2 lower-tier palm technique would change once it was executed by the glowing figure.