Rushing back to his room, Lin Dong first locked the door from the inside. Only then did he lean against the door, letting out a soft sigh of relief. He then walked to the table, took the brocade box in his hand, and opened it.
As soon as the brocade box was opened, a piece of red silk was revealed inside. On the silk lay two spirit herbs, their entire bodies a fiery red, like blazing flames, quietly resting there. A captivating fragrance silently emanated from them.
“Fire Blood Herb.”
Looking at these two red spirit herbs, Lin Dong couldn't help but reveal a look of joy on his face. He had clearly heard of this type of Third-Grade spirit herb, which was quite valuable.
“These two Fire Blood Herbs are probably worth at least a thousand silver taels...” Lin Dong clicked his tongue in admiration. He had never seen such a large sum of money before.
Lin Dong rubbed his hands together, took out the Stone Talisman from his person, and then directed it towards one of the Fire Blood Herbs.
And as the Stone Talisman made contact, the Fire Blood Herb quickly withered, as expected. It seemed that all of its essence and medicinal power had been devoured by the Stone Talisman, just as usual.
After devouring the Fire Blood Herb, three fiery-red medicinal pellets dropped from the Stone Talisman, which Lin Dong caught in one swift motion.
As the pellets landed in his hand, a faint warmth immediately spread. The joy on Lin Dong's face intensified uncontrollably. It seemed that the medicinal power of these Fire Blood Herbs was much stronger than that of the Crystal Vermilion Fruit he had luckily encountered last time.
With such a harvest, Lin Dong then had the Stone Talisman devour the remaining Fire Blood Herb. In the end, the two Fire Blood Herbs had transformed into six fiery-red medicinal pellets.
Placing these six fiery-red medicinal pellets into a bottle, Lin Dong nodded in satisfaction. He sat cross-legged on the bed and took out two bottles from under his pillow. Of these two bottles, one contained two pellets refined from Crystal Vermilion Fruit. The other bottle held more than ten translucent white Yin Pearls. These Yin Pearls were absorbed by Lin Dong using the Stone Talisman recently, when Qing Tan's cold qi erupted in her body.
According to Lin Xiao, these Yin Pearls were extremely valuable. They contained Yin Fiend Qi, which was crucial for experts in the Earth Yuan Realm. Lin Dong was preparing these for himself for when he would eventually enter the Earth Yuan Realm.
Taking out a pellet from the bottle containing the Crystal Vermilion Fruit, Lin Dong carefully poured out one, then gritted his teeth and popped it into his mouth. He looked reluctant to part with it. *Sigh*, no matter how valuable it was, increasing his strength came first.
As soon as the pellet entered his body, Lin Dong felt an unusually pure medicinal power erupting within him in a short amount of time.
Under such powerful medicinal force, Lin Dong's body seemed to transform into a ravenous glutton. His skin, flesh, and internal organs all frantically devoured that pure medicinal power.
As his entire body began to devour, the nascent Yuan Power flowing through his meridians also emitted waves of suction, absorbing bits of the medicinal power, thereby making the nascent Yuan Power grow stronger and stronger.
The process of his entire body mobilizing to absorb the medicinal power lasted for roughly ten minutes before the potent effects finally began to wane. After more than half an hour, Lin Dong's eyes slowly opened.
“What powerful medicinal energy…”
Opening his eyes, Lin Dong sensed within his body that the power and the nascent Yuan Power within his meridians were even more abundant. In his eyes, it was hard to conceal a mix of awe and joy.
This was the first time he had used an Elixir Pill refined from a Third-grade Spirit Medicine. Its efficacy could truly be said to be beyond his expectations.
Most spirit medicines, while beneficial to the body, still contain some impurities due to various reasons. However, the Elixir Pill Lin Dong consumed was completely free of such impurities. It felt as if the Stone Talisman had removed all these impurities during the refining process.
This allowed the human body to completely absorb this gentle yet potent medicinal energy.
Thus, the efficacy of a single Elixir Pill far surpassed that of raw spirit medicine.
Because there was no waste during absorption, others would likely need to consume several Third-grade Spirit Medicines to achieve the same effect as one Elixir Pill.
“The nascent Yuan Power is also growing stronger and stronger. At this rate, it wouldn't take long for me to advance to the Eighth Layer of Body Tempering.”
An intense excitement flickered in Lin Dong's eyes. When he heard Lin Xiao say that they were placing their hopes for the hunting expedition on him, it would be a lie to say he felt no pressure. The foundations of the Lei and Xie families were deeper than that of the Lin Family. Moreover, it was said that among their younger generation, there were quite a few formidable individuals. For Lin Dong to catch up to them, he would clearly have to put in no small amount of effort.
As a member of the Lin Family, he naturally wanted to consider its welfare. The hunting expedition would greatly aid the Lin Family's reputation. If they could achieve decent results this time, the Lin Family might one day stand on equal footing with the Lei and Xie families, much like the Mad Blade Martial Hall.
“I've completely mastered the Penetrating Back Fist and the Eight Desolations Palm. Tomorrow, I should go check out the family's Martial Arts Hall. If I can learn some powerful martial arts, I can increase my combat strength by a few points.”
Lin Dong muttered to himself. After all, his advantage probably lay in the guidance of the Stone Talisman's light projection. With that, he could unleash the full power of his martial arts. Therefore, he couldn't neglect this advantage.
With a decision made, Lin Dong put away the bottle, then lay down and fell into a deep, death-like sleep. The several intense battles he had fought that day had left him quite exhausted.
The next day, after Lin Dong completed his training regimen, he quickly headed to the Lin Family compound. Along the way, he encountered quite a few people. However, these people, whom he hadn't known before, now actively approached him to greet him, acting as if they were old acquaintances. This made Lin Dong feel a little uncomfortable. He casually responded to their greetings, then quickly hurried off.
The Martial Arts Hall was located within the Lin Family's back courtyard. This place was considered a vital area of the Lin Family. Normally, only those who had been granted permission could enter.
At the entrance of the Martial Arts Pavilion, guards were on duty. However, they clearly recognized Lin Dong, so after nodding kindly towards him, they allowed him to enter.
Stepping into the Martial Arts Pavilion, a strong scent of books assailed him. Lin Dong's gaze swept across the room, discovering that the Pavilion was by no means small. Inside, towering rosewood shelves lined every wall, displaying numerous martial arts manuals.
It was the first time Lin Dong had ever seen such a vast collection of martial arts manuals, and a fervent passion immediately flared in his eyes. He knew that the Lin family had spent an enormous amount of wealth to gather these manuals.
Lin Dong slowly walked through the quiet Martial Arts Pavilion, his eyes drawn to the dazzling array of martial arts manuals.
First-grade Martial Art – Mountain Splitting Fist.
First-grade Martial Art – Whirlwind Kick Technique.
Second-grade Martial Art – Flowing Body Palm.
The sheer variety of martial arts made Lin Dong's head spin. However, most of what he saw were First-grade manuals, with very few Second-grade ones, and not a single Third-grade manual in sight.
As Lin Dong frowned, a charming voice suddenly rang out from behind him. He quickly turned his head and saw Lin He, arms crossed over her chest, leaning against a bookshelf, smiling at him.
"Sister Lin He, you're here too?" Lin Dong smiled as he saw her.
"Cousin Lin Dong, I really didn't expect it. You've been hiding your true abilities so well..." Lin He approached Lin Dong, a beautiful smile gracing her lips.
Lin Dong could only offer a forced smile in response.
"Let's go, I'll take you to see the family's Third-grade martial arts," Lin He said. "However, Grandfather said that if you haven't reached the Earth Yuan Stage, you shouldn't cultivate Third-grade martial arts or higher." She let out a soft hum, then walked past Lin Dong, her slender figure exuding a captivating charm.
Lin Dong put down the Second-grade martial art manual he was holding, smiled, and followed her.
After following Lin He deeper inside for a few minutes, the bookshelves became much sparser. Finally, Lin He's footsteps halted before a shelf at the very back. "These are all of our Lin family's Third-grade martial arts," she announced.
Lin Dong curiously craned his neck forward. On the shelf, he saw ten ancient, yellowed books. Next to each book stood an upright wooden plaque, bearing a brief introduction to the martial art manual.
"Third-grade Martial Art – Returning Wind Soft Hand..."
"Third-grade Martial Art – Traceless Claw..."
— ...
Lin Dong's gaze swept over the ten wooden plaques, his eyes brightening slightly. Just by their names, these martial arts sounded a bit more imposing than the ones he had seen earlier.
"You're not really going to cultivate a Third-grade martial art, are you?" Lin He, seeing Lin Dong's expression, couldn't help but find it amusing.
Lin Dong chuckled. Just as he was about to casually pick one without ceremony, his gaze suddenly swept to a spot in the corner of the wooden shelf. There, he saw another faint black martial art manual.
"What is this?"
Lin Dong walked up to it, his eyes a little doubtful as he looked at the wooden plaque next to the manual.
Third-grade Martial Art – Strange Gate Seal, Incomplete.