After that sensational hunting competition, Qingyang Town slowly returned to its former tranquility. However, there was still no shortage of topics for discussion. Most of the conversations revolved around the events of that hunting competition, specifically the incidents where Lin Dong had showcased his talent. Lin Dong wasn't one to show off, so after the competition, he quietly stayed within the Lin family compound, only occasionally venturing out. Therefore, most people were very curious about the person who had now replaced Lei Li to become the strongest junior in Qingyang Town.
***
Early morning, a layer of mist enveloped the Lin family's back mountain. In the depths of the dense forest, a series of crisp "bang bang" sounds suddenly echoed out.
In a clearing in the forest, three humanoid wooden stakes were arranged in a triangle, standing firmly on the ground. In the center of these wooden stakes was a powerful yet agile figure, weaving in and out, using bare arms to parry and strike almost every part of the wooden stakes.
The "bang bang" sounds were produced as the figure's arms struck the wooden stakes, revealing a deep, resonant power as they settled.
That figure was Lin Dong. At this moment, he was fully focused on attacking the wooden stakes, his body moving nimbly, alternating between offense and defense. After a while of this, his gaze suddenly sharpened. He curled two fingers, shot them forward like lightning, and forcefully jabbed the wooden stake in front of him.
“Bang!”
The moment Lin Dong's two fingers struck the wooden stake, a brilliant glow erupted from his fingertips. Immediately after, the extremely hard wooden stake instantly exploded into splinters, scattering everywhere.
“Bang bang!”
With just one jab, he had shattered a wooden stake. Lin Dong once again moved his two fingers, jabbing the two wooden stakes on either side. They met the same fate, exploding into splinters that scattered across the ground.
“The power of this Pure Yuan Finger is truly formidable!”
Seeing the destructive power of these three jabs, Lin Dong nodded in satisfaction. This martial art was called Pure Yuan Finger. It was the Lin family's only Fourth-grade martial art. After Lin Zhengtian and the others bestowed upon Lin Dong the title of martial arts prodigy, on the second day, they discreetly gave this to Lin Dong.
For Lin Dong's mysterious Stone Talisman, cultivating this Pure Yuan Finger to mastery was obviously a relatively easy matter. Furthermore, this martial art itself didn't have as many complex requirements and restrictions as the Mysterious Gate Seal. Therefore, after acquiring it for only a few days, Lin Dong could already perform it roughly, and after a month, by today, Lin Dong could execute it at will. Naturally, the prerequisite was to have sufficient Yuan Power within his body to support the consumption.
Having completed a stage of cultivation, Lin Dong wiped the sweat from his brow, then sat cross-legged on a rock, his expression solemn, and pulled out a yellow ancient book from his chest.
This ancient book was the Lin family's cultivation manual, personally guarded by Lin Zhengtian. Just yesterday, Lin Dong had received it directly from Lin Zhengtian's hands. Although this was only a Third-rate secret manual, if he cultivated it successfully, it would be a relatively good thing for Lin Dong.
During this past month, Lin Dong had also begun to understand the mysterious secret manual a little better.
While called a secret cultivation manual, it is, in essence, a special method for guiding and cultivating Yuan Power, much like their Lin family's "Qingyuan Art" which can open up four hidden meridians, these four meridians running just beneath the skin. When cultivating, as long as the technique is activated, one can directly absorb Yuan Power from heaven and earth through these four meridians, a speed that is clearly much faster than absorbing it through breathing.
It is said that First-grade secret manuals can even directly open dozens of meridians. Even more miraculous manuals can directly use a special method to create qi vortexes right within the flesh beneath the skin. At that point, even if one is not actively cultivating, these qi vortexes will still absorb Yuan Power from heaven and earth, tempering the body and replenishing the dantian.
Of course, while Lin Dong greatly coveted such high-grade secret manuals, it was merely a wishful thought. Secret manuals were extremely precious; even so-called Third-grade secret manuals were considered quite noble, and ordinary village clans couldn't even get their hands on a Third-grade manual.
Although it only required opening four meridians, this was by no means an easy feat. The meridians in the human body were endless, containing countless mysteries, and most of them were in a sealed state. Unlocking these meridians was not something that could be achieved overnight.
As far as Lin Dong knew, when Lin Zhentian cultivated this "Qingyuan Art" back then, it took him about half a year to successfully open the four meridians, while Lin Xiao took approximately three months.
Lin Dong slowly flipped through the yellow ancient book, absorbing every single annotation into his mind without missing a word. Cultivating a secret manual was vastly different from practicing martial arts. If cultivation failed, or if any mistake occurred during the process, the consequences could range from being bedridden for several days to suffering ruptured meridians. Therefore, when cultivating a secret technique, absolutely no errors could be made.
Thus, even though the book was only ten short pages, Lin Dong spent nearly an hour reading it before finally looking away, his face showing hesitation. The manual contained many detailed annotations, following which could help avoid many detours in cultivation.
"I wonder how much the mysterious Stone Talisman can help with this cultivation technique?"
Lin Dong's hand caressed the cover of the secret manual, and his eyes suddenly lit up. How could he forget that "perfect teacher"?
Thinking of this, Lin Dong smiled faintly, slowly closed his eyes, and with a thought, he appeared in the Stone Talisman's spiritual space.
Today, this spiritual space seemed a little brighter than before, and the number of light figures had increased to four: Tongbei Fist, Bahua Palm, Qimen Seal, and Chunyuan Finger.
After Lin Dong entered this spiritual space, the area behind the fourth light figure slowly twisted and warped, and finally, another light figure appeared, though this time, the light figure was seated cross-legged.
Not long after the light figure appeared, its body gradually became transparent, and countless streams of light, resembling meridians, slowly emerged from various parts of its body.
In that transparent body, only chaotic meridians could be seen. Suddenly, a luminous streak lit up, flowing along the meridians, finally reaching smoothly beneath the skin.
Seeing this progression, Lin Dong's heart stirred. He understood that this was the "Qingyuan Art" required to unblock the first meridian. Compared to the instructions in the secret manual, this demonstration was undoubtedly countless times more vivid and clear.
When the first meridian successfully lit up, three more meridians subsequently emitted a glow. The pathways of these meridians, along with the three-dimensional light projection, transformed, becoming utterly transparent and exceptionally clear.
Lin Dong mentally memorized the pathways of the four meridians, then silently nodded. However, just as he was about to withdraw from this spiritual space, his gaze shifted. He suddenly discovered that after the fourth meridian had glowed, another meridian slowly began to emit light, a sinuous luminous glow emerging, and finally smoothly connecting to the skin.
"A fifth meridian!"
Looking at the pathway of that fifth meridian, Lin Dong's pupils slightly contracted. It seemed this mysterious Stone Talisman could indeed not only perfect martial arts, but even strengthen secret manuals!
Given this new development, Lin Dong once again settled down, his eyes fixed intently on the light projection. He wanted to see how much the "Qingyuan Art," originally capable of unblocking four meridians, could be enhanced when processed by the Stone Talisman's light projection.
As Lin Dong watched intently, he saw that after the fifth meridian had lit up for a few minutes, two more meridian pathways subsequently lit up!
Seven meridians!
Seeing the light projection within the body flickering with seven lit-up meridian pathways, Lin Dong couldn't help but take a sharp intake of breath. The "Qingyuan Art" was almost doubled in its potential!
This mysterious Stone Talisman was truly a divine artifact!