"An illusion, an... an illusion, it must be an illusion!"
Staring blankly at his arm for a moment, Lin Dong suddenly closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. Only when his emotions had gradually calmed back to normal did his previously trembling hand once again stroke his arm.
As his hand slid across, he felt a tough, calloused layer. Although this hardness had not yet reached the level of true wood or stone, it was clearly several times tougher than Lin Dong's skin just moments ago!
This sign proved that he had entered the Fourth Layer of Tempering Body. He only needed to wait for this skin to harden a bit more, and it would be a genuine, bona fide Fourth Layer of Tempering Body!
However... Lin Dong's mouth fell open, an expression of utter disbelief on his face as if he had seen a ghost. He had only just entered the Third Layer of Tempering Body today. How could he have stepped directly into the Fourth Layer after so little time had passed?
This sudden turn of events completely dazed Lin Dong. His young face flushed red as he paced back and forth beside the stone pool. If he could maintain this kind of speed... what would the top three of the Family Competition even matter? Even for the once-in-a-decade Clan Gathering of the Lin Family, he wouldn't feel the slightest bit of fear.
"But... how is that possible?"
Although the rush of ecstatic joy made his head spin a little, Lin Dong was, after all, more mature than his years. Thus, after a short while, he regained his composure. With a tight frown, he began to recall everything from start to finish. However, there was nothing strange inside the cave, so after his gaze swept around, it landed back on the stone pool.
"Could it be that there really is something strange about this stone pool?"
Lin Dong looked surprised, then shook his head. He had soaked in this stone pool countless times since he was a child, yet a situation like today's had never occurred. This was the very first time!
What on earth was going on?
Generally speaking, this couldn't be the effect of the Red Ginseng. It was only a Grade One elixir. If it could help him reach the Third Layer of Tempering Body within ten days, that effect would already be a miracle.
"There's definitely something unusual about this place."
Lin Dong pursed his lips tightly, a stubborn look appearing on his face. He understood the gravity of this matter. If he could truly discover the secret within... it would be of paramount importance to him.
"Today was much more exhausting than before... but that wasn't the only difference... the feeling of sleeping here? Compared to sleeping elsewhere..."
Lin Dong stood by the stone pool, his brow furrowed in deep thought. His hand unconsciously stroked his arm again. A moment later, his hand suddenly froze, and his gaze slowly shifted to his arm. Originally, there had been quite a bit of blood there...
"Blood?"
Lin Dong's eyes flashed. He suddenly reached into a crevice in the rock beside the stone pool and pulled out a dagger.
Applying a bit of force, he drew the dagger across his finger. A dark red droplet of blood immediately welled up. After a brief hesitation, Lin Dong carefully let it drip into the stone pool.
"Drip... drop!"
The crisp sound of the blood droplet hitting the Stone Pool echoed through the cave, while Lin Dong stared unblinkingly at the spot where it landed.
As the droplet fell into the Stone Pool, it sent out tiny circular ripples, and the crimson color slowly diffused outward. Immediately afterward, the pool fell still, only to suddenly bubble up before Lin Dong's shocked eyes. Within those bubbles, a faint, light-red liquid could be seen surging.
Lin Dong's throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. He dipped a trembling hand into the pool. Instantly, the bubbles burst, and a trace of the light-red liquid clung to his hand before quietly seeping in through his pores.
As the light-red liquid entered his body, a sudden burning sensation spread from his hand. It felt exactly like the sensation he had experienced right before waking up earlier. Moreover, this time he felt it very clearly—after soaking into his skin and flesh, the liquid was making the skin on his hand increasingly tough.
"Just as I thought!"
Feeling the change in his hand, Lin Dong's face lit up with wild joy. His guess had been spot on—the water in this Stone Pool needed blood poured into it to become special!
Lin Dong clenched his fist. The skin on his hand was now noticeably tougher than the rest of his body. To think that such a brief exposure to the bubbles could yield such an effect—it was truly miraculous. By Lin Dong's estimation, even the highly precious Grade 3 elixirs sold in Qingyang Town probably couldn't match this level of efficacy!
"However, why was it that previously, this pool water couldn't even match the efficacy of a Grade 3 elixir?"
He had examined this Stone Pool countless times over the years. The water merely seeped out from deep within the rocks and was no different from ordinary spring water. Aside from being slightly cool, Lin Dong was certain it possessed no miraculous properties. Yet, given what had just happened to his body, how could this be explained?
Lin Dong rubbed his forehead and let out a sigh. His emotions had been thrown into such a turbulent roller coaster by this bizarre Stone Pool that he simply lay down beside it, even though he still couldn't figure out what made it so strange.
Because of his injuries, Lin Xiao constantly needed elixirs to sustain his body. However, elixirs were by no means cheap, and his stubborn pride made him refuse any assistance from the Lin family. Consequently, he could only venture into the mountains alone to hunt wild beasts or search for wild elixirs. Such meager harvests were obviously not enough to provide Lin Dong with the same abundant cultivation resources enjoyed by the other younger generation of the Lin family.
Therefore, the miraculous effects of this Stone Pool were of paramount importance to Lin Dong.
"The secret of this Stone Pool must be kept at all costs."
Lin Dong clenched his fists tightly. This was not just because he wanted to use the Stone Pool as his private cultivation ground. He understood all too well that if word of this got out, it would trigger immense chaos. Even the powerful factions of Qingyang Town would covet it, and when that happened, it would bring a devastating disaster upon the Lin family.
An ordinary man is innocent, but harboring a treasure makes him guilty.
Despite his young age, Lin Dong already understood this truth.
Lin Dong kept his mouth shut, having already made up his mind. But just as he stood up, his eyes suddenly flashed. Letting out a soft gasp, his gaze locked onto the very top of the cave ceiling, where a speck of light seemed to have flashed past like lightning.
Under normal circumstances, Lin Dong wouldn't have paid any attention to such an occurrence even if he had noticed it. However, since he was now highly suspicious of the stone pool, he wanted to uncover the truth behind everything in this cave.
Lin Dong focused his gaze on the spot where the light had flashed, his eyes unblinking. Under his intense scrutiny, the flickering light appeared once more, and this time, it seemed more rapid. Then, a tiny beam of light shot down, striking directly into the center of the stone pool right before his eyes.
As the speck of light hit the water's surface, it created a tiny ripple.
Lin Dong stared in astonishment at the tiny beam of light shining into the stone pool, subconsciously swallowing hard. Just as the light hit the water, he had vaguely sensed that there seemed to be a drop of dark red liquid within it. And this liquid... was incredibly similar to the blood droplet he had previously dripped in, which had then turned the water a pale red!
“It seems the secret lies up there...”
The light in Lin Dong's eyes grew much brighter as he raised his head to look at the cave ceiling, murmuring softly.