In the dense forest, Lin Dong finished his fist technique and stood there. He felt a faint weariness emanating from his body. With his current strength, performing the Mysterious Gate Seal just once had almost depleted half of the Yuan Power stored within his Yuan Power Seed. Fortunately, the power it unleashed was well worth the expenditure.
"The Yuan Power Seed can't hold too much Yuan Power. If only I could reach the Ninth Layer of Body Tempering, how great would that be..."
The Ninth Layer of Body Tempering was when the Dantian could be opened. The Dantian's storage capacity, of course, far surpassed that of the Yuan Power Seed. By then, he could expend Yuan Power much more freely.
"All the spiritual pills I had have been used up during this period of cultivation..."
Thinking of his cultivation, Lin Dong frowned. In the past half-month, he had reached the Eighth Layer, but the price he paid was by no means small. He had used an untold amount of the Stone Talisman's spiritual liquid, consumed Crystal Vermillion Fruit pills, and even out of the six pills refined from Fire Blood Ganoderma, only two remained.
In short, during these two weeks of cultivation, Lin Dong had practically consumed everything he had collected.
"I need to find a way to get more spiritual herbs..."
Lin Dong sighed, his face thoughtful. Although he had truly displayed his strength today and could obtain some resources from the Lin family, ordinary spiritual herbs, when refined into pills, no longer caught his eye. However, even the Lin family couldn't stockpile large quantities of high-grade, expensive spiritual herbs. The last time, the reward of just two stalks of Fire Blood Ganoderma had already been the best treatment.
"Brother Lin Dong."
Just as Lin Dong was racking his brain over how to find spiritual herbs, a sweet, soft voice suddenly rang out from outside the forest. Qing Tan then appeared like a butterfly, her small face flushed with excitement and joy.
"Qing Tan, what's wrong?" Lin Dong glanced over, bent down to set upright the stone stool that had been cut in half, and asked with a casual smile.
"Brother Lin Dong, I've cultivated Yuan Power!"
Thud!
The stone stool in his hand abruptly dropped to the ground, creating a large pit. Lin Dong turned his head, staring blankly at Qing Tan.
"Yuan Power? You've reached the Sixth Layer of Body Tempering?! How is that possible?!"
After the initial shock, Lin Dong suddenly snapped back to reality, his face almost contorted with alarm. Although Qing Tan had constantly talked about wanting to cultivate during this period, she had always done so somewhat secretly. After all, the arduous training required for the Ninth Layer of Body Tempering was truly too difficult and not very suitable for a young girl.
According to his judgment, for Qing Tan to reach the Sixth Layer of Body Tempering, even with his secret assistance, it would likely take half a year. But now... Qing Tan was telling him she already possessed Yuan Power!
This was as unbelievable as his own Stone Talisman; others would find it hard to believe.
As alarm covered Lin Dong's face, Qing Tan raised her hand. Indeed, a faint glow began to flicker on it, and a familiar fluctuation emanated, truly Yuan Power...
"How can this be?" Lin Dong gasped, utterly shocked. He had never seen Qing Tan train arduously; how could Yuan Power suddenly appear?
If his speed was already astonishing, then Thanh Dan, with that speed, could only be described with two words: "freakish talent."
"I don't know either... one morning, my body just felt a bit off, and then I discovered this..." Thanh Dan stuck out her tongue, speaking innocently.
Lin Dong's expression gradually grew serious. He quickly took Thanh Dan's soft, smooth, jade-like hand. With just a slight application of force, he could feel her bones, which indeed exuded a sense of suppleness. This feeling clearly indicated a long period of tempering to achieve such a state.
After Lin Dong observed carefully for a moment, he suddenly discovered that within that suppleness, there seemed to be a faint chill.
"It's the cold energy within Thanh Dan's body!"
In an instant, a flash of insight struck Lin Dong. He realized that more than once, the Yin-cold energy within Thanh Dan's body, though violent, indeed had a significant effect on tempering the body. Of course, to achieve such an effect, it was likely only possible with Lin Dong's Stone Talisman and Thanh Dan's cold energy.
This cold energy had erupted periodically over the past decade or so. And under those explosive circumstances, although Thanh Dan suffered immense pain, perhaps this Yin-cold energy, present within her body and under its constant influence, gradually transformed her physique.
Although the tempering by this cold energy was subtle, it had permeated every inch of her bones to this very day. So much so that Thanh Dan didn't need to actively cultivate painstakingly; the bones and flesh in her body had reached the strongest level. The emergence of Yuan Power was truly as natural as water flowing into a river.
Her body, without undergoing any days of arduous cultivation, had naturally given birth to Yuan Power...
"Thanh Dan's body is certainly not like that of ordinary people in this region."
Lin Dong slowly suppressed the shock in his heart. He had truly never heard of such body tempering that naturally led to the emergence of Yuan Power Seeds within the body. If this news were to spread, who knew how many people painstakingly cultivating to the Sixth Layer would spit blood in frustration?
Of course, saying such a thing wasn't entirely accurate. After all, from childhood, each time the cold energy erupted, it tormented Thanh Dan almost to death. Therefore, for this natural production of Yuan Power Seeds, Thanh Dan had actually paid a very heavy price.
"For now, don't tell anyone else about this. Wait until Father returns, and we'll see what he says..." Lin Dong mused for a moment, then spoke.
"Mm." Thanh Dan obediently nodded. She also knew this matter was very strange, and if it spread, it might attract unnecessary trouble.
"Brother Lin Dong, it's the end of the month these past few days, so the Trading Post in Qingyang Town will be very lively. How about we go there and stroll around for a bit?" Thanh Dan looked at Lin Dong with a hint of pleading in her clear eyes, awaiting his answer.
"Trading Post?"
Lin Dong paused. This type of Post in Qingyang Town was formed by the alliance of several major merchants. All sorts of materials were available there, and it was also a place for trade, so it attracted a huge crowd. Furthermore, it was considered one of the most prominent places in Qingyang Town.
“Oh, yes, yes, Sister Lin Ha and the others have all gone…” Qing Tan nodded repeatedly. For a lively young girl, this place was indeed interesting. However, she was grounded and didn't dare go alone, which was why she'd thought of a way to get Lin Dong to take her.
Lin Dong muttered to himself, a thought suddenly striking him. His need for spiritual medicine today was extremely urgent, and perhaps he should make a trip to that Trading Hall to see. Buying spiritual medicine required substantial funds, and Lin Dong, of course, didn't possess such a vast fortune. However, he had the Spirit Fluid Stone Talisman and two spiritual medicine pills...
The value of these two items was clearly not low at all. Especially the two pills refined from Fire Blood Ganoderma, which were extremely valuable. Moreover, both items were exceptionally pure, far surpassing ordinary spiritual medicine, and their effectiveness was immeasurable. If he brought them out, there would certainly be many people willing to buy them. However, he couldn't sell too many, lest it arouse suspicion.
Furthermore, Lin Dong was very reluctant to part with the Spirit Fluid Stone Talisman and the two pills, which were invaluable for his cultivation. Giving them to others was out of the question.
As for the financial issue of buying spiritual medicine, this matter was actually extremely simple...
Thinking of this, Lin Dong couldn't help but let a relieved smile appear on his face. It seemed the most difficult problem finally had a solution.
“Let’s go, let’s visit the Trading Hall.”
Having made his decision, Lin Dong didn't want to delay any longer. He waved his hand and said with a smile.
Seeing that Lin Dong was actually taking her to the Trading Hall, Qing Tan's eyes immediately curved like crescent moons, sweet and captivating.