Martial Arts: Starting with Upgrading the Dilapidated Temple

Chapter 141 The Stain (8K)

The instant Xu Hao had this thought, the scroll in his mind trembled violently.

Golden text appeared.

[The Third Level of the Prison Suppression Technique, "Marrow Transformation Realm," has been completed.]

[Unlock the fourth level————]

A dark golden halo rose from the surface of the scroll, and all the text on the third layer that was originally spread on the leather faded at the same time, as if an old book had been turned over.

On the blank next page, new inscriptions emerged stroke by stroke, carrying a dull tremor from the depths of the earth.

With each word that appeared, Xu Hao's internal organs resonated once.

[The Prison Suppression Technique - Fourth Layer: Forging the Impurities.]

The secret formula states: Bone marrow is the root, internal organs are the furnace. The five internal organs transform into a kiln, the six viscera into a cauldron. The earth's energy, like a thousand pounds, pours into the body; only an iron-cast viscera can withstand it. Once the viscera are cast, the body becomes a furnace, all methods entering the body become fuel, and all poisons invading the body become nourishment.

[Cultivation Requirements: Perfection of the Marrow Transformation Realm. The body must be continuously infused with the power of the earth's ley lines.]

[Warning: The process of forging the internal organs must not be interrupted. If any organ ruptures before the five internal organs are forged, the cultivator will die.]

Xu Hao looked at the last line of blood-red warning.

If any one of the five internal organs ruptures before it is fully formed, death will result.

He was being filled with the earth veins of Zezhou, making him look like a sack about to explode at any moment. His meridians were riddled with holes, his muscle fibers were breaking in batches, and although his bone marrow was complete, it had already been devoured to its limit.

The good news is that all the conditions for cultivation have been met.

The bad news is that he had no choice.

If he doesn't become corrupted, this earth vein power will burst his body within half an incense stick's time.

He could die at any point in the process.

Not casting it means certain death.

Casting it could mean death.

"Refine!"

He followed the path of Qi and blood circulation given in the inscription.

It is completely different from the previous three.

The path to the Marrow Transformation Realm is to "absorb" inwards, crushing, digesting, and absorbing external energy into the bone marrow.

The method of "reinforcing the body" is to "release" the power accumulated in the bone marrow and output it in reverse, infusing it into the five internal organs, using the violent power of the earth's veins to forcibly reshape the internal organs.

It's like firing a kiln inside your own stomach.

The first pathway of Qi and blood originates from the spinal cord and runs along the Du meridian directly to the heart.

The heart is the most important of the five internal organs.

The process of creating filth must begin in the heart.

Sensing the new trajectory, the silvery marrow unhesitatingly unleashed the dark gold ley line energy it had devoured and stored.

A stream of intensely hot, dark golden energy surged upwards along the Du meridian, turning at the seventh thoracic vertebra, passing through the intercostal muscles and pleura, and striking directly at the heart.

Xu Hao's mouth suddenly opened.

No sound.

The pain exceeded the limits that the vocal cords could express.

His heart was enveloped by dark golden earth vein power at that moment.

The once rosy, strong, and beating heart muscle became as fragile as a thin sheet of paper in the face of this force.

The power of the earth's veins is not gentle nourishment, but forging.

It's like a blacksmith throwing a piece of pig iron into a furnace, heating it until it's red-hot, and then grabbing a sledgehammer to hammer it away.

Impurities are removed during forging, and fibers are reorganized at high temperatures.

Xu Hao's heart was convulsing violently in his chest cavity.

With each spasm, a layer of old myocardial tissue is peeled away, incinerated, and dissipated into blood mist by the dark golden power.

Immediately afterwards, new muscle fibers grow rapidly under the shaping influence of dark gold energy, replacing the old tissue.

The newly grown cardiac muscle is dark gold in color and has a dense, iron-like texture. Each muscle fiber contains the underlying power of the earth's veins.

But it's too slow.

The earth's energy continues to flow in from beneath our feet.

His body was like a reservoir with 70% of its drains blocked, and the recovery speed far outpaced the input speed.

Excess dark gold energy rampages through the body, causing cracks wherever it hits.

"Awooo—!"

A terrifying roar erupted from the outer perimeter.

A fallen warrior, the size of a horse and covered in rusty scales, charged out from the horde of monsters.

With thick limbs, each step he took left a three-inch-deep footprint on the ground.

The blood and qi fluctuations at the peak of the Inner Strength Realm.

It shot straight towards the dark golden pillar of light.

The other fallen warriors, fearing the intense heat of the pillar of light and the pure power of the earth's veins, dared not approach and only absorbed energy from the periphery.

This iron-scaled monster is different—its scales can withstand extremely high temperatures. When it rushed into the edge of the light pillar, its scales turned red but did not break.

Its target is Xu Hao.

To be precise—it was the Sea-Devouring Blade in Xu Hao's hand.

The frequency emitted by the awakened ancient weapon was more deadly to him than the attraction emanating from the earth's vein energy.

Xu Hao's eyes were half-open.

His heart was being forged and recast by the power of dark gold, and excruciating pain radiated from the center of his chest to every part of his body.

The veins on his forehead bulged, and his sweat evaporated into white mist.

The Iron-Scaled Monster charged within three zhang (approximately 10 meters).

Xu Hao raised the Sea-Devouring Blade with his right hand.

The movements are very slow.

It's not nearly as smooth as before.

During the scavenging process, the heart's pumping function is disrupted.

During the transition between old and new heart muscle, there is a temporary interruption in blood supply.

The muscles at the extremities become sluggish due to ischemia.

But that's enough.

He doesn't need to be fast.

The dark gold patterns on the Devouring Sea Blade spontaneously erupted the moment the Iron Scale Monster entered a range of one zhang.

The earth vein power gathered on the blade transformed into a semi-transparent dark gold blade membrane, enveloping the blade.

"Nine Cuts Without Arrogance".

This strike had no particular technique whatsoever.

He simply pushed forward in the direction the Ironscale Monster was charging from.

The blade pierced the Ironscale Monster's mouth and emerged from the back of its head.

The dark gold blade membrane exploded inside the monster's body.

The rusty scales shot out like falling tiles.

The Ironscale Monster's muscles, bones, and internal organs were incinerated into ashes by the earth's ley line power in an instant.

The mutated creature, at the peak of the Inner Strength Realm, didn't even require Xu Hao to exert any effort.

The gap is too big.

A martial artist at the Tongqiao Realm wields an ancient divine weapon that is awakening, infused with the dark gold essence of the Zezhou earth veins—this is a combat power that cannot be measured by realm.

But the internal crisis is more deadly than the monsters outside.

The heart casting process is halfway complete.

The left and right ventricles have been rebuilt, and the new, dark golden myocardium is contracting powerfully, pumping out blood with a hint of dark golden luster.

However, the left and right atria are still being developed.

At that very moment, my liver started acting up.

It wasn't that he actively sought to strengthen his liver—it was that excess earth vein energy crashed into his liver.

The dark golden power surged into the liver lobe like a runaway wild horse, exploding within the liver tissue.

Extensive necrosis of liver cells caused three lacerations on the surface of the liver, from which dark red blood mixed with bile gushed and flowed into the abdominal cavity.

A mouthful of black blood spilled from Xu Hao's mouth.

It was so black it looked almost purple.

After his liver was damaged, its filtration function collapsed, and the miasma and toxins from the Wan Du Sen Hai (a poisonous forest) instantly went out of control in his body.

"Cast!"

He did not choose to repair his liver first.

The inscription on the casting vessel clearly states the order: heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys. The five internal organs must be cast in this order.

If the heart is not right, the liver cannot be forged.

Taking a leaping step is tantamount to suicide.

Therefore, he could only speed up the process of heart reconstruction.

The phagocytic capacity of the bone marrow is pushed to its limit.

The earth's ley line power was swallowed up in large gulps into the silvery marrow, crushed, purified, and then poured into the heart in the most brutal way.

The old tissue in the left atrium was torn apart and burned.

New dark gold heart muscle grows from the ashes.

The right atrium follows closely behind.

The last valve of the heart has been rebuilt.

The entire heart turned a dark gold color.

It is as hard as steel, but its elasticity is not diminished at all.

With each heartbeat, the amount of blood pumped out is three times the original amount.

The dark golden blood, carrying a scorching temperature, washed over the blood vessels throughout the body, like pouring molten iron into a dried-up riverbed.

[The first stain: the heart—is formed.]

The scroll in the sea of ​​consciousness gave a brief prompt, and then the second route of Qi and blood circulation automatically appeared.

Starting from the heart, following the meridians, it goes straight to the liver.

Just right.

The liver had been riddled with holes from the excessive energy, but this actually saved a step in the process—most of the old liver tissue had already been destroyed, so there were far fewer parts that needed to be removed during the casting process.

A blessing in disguise.

Dark gold energy flows into the liver along a new route.

The experience gained during the casting process made the control much more refined this time.

He divided the earth's ley line power into dozens of thin streams, simultaneously piercing the liver lobes from all directions, destroying the remaining old tissue, and using dark gold energy as a framework to create new liver cells.

The filtration function of the new liver cells is ridiculously strong.

The newly formed dark gold liver instantly decomposed all the miasma and toxins accumulated in the abdominal cavity, and even filtered the miasma continuously inhaled from the air of the Myriad Poison Forest.

Xu Hao felt a moment of relief as he breathed.

It's like suddenly drinking a mouthful of clean water in muddy water.

The antidote pill in his mouth had completely melted away.

He spat out the remaining food.

no need.

A liver forged from dark gold is the most powerful detoxifier.

The strange tide from the periphery surged in for the third time.

This wave is larger and stronger than the previous two.

New fallen warriors and strange beasts were constantly drawn to the dark golden pillar of light in the dense forest and joined the encirclement.

A dark, overwhelming torrent of life surged forth from three directions simultaneously.

The Devouring Sea Blade swept across.

The dark gold blade arced through the air, wiping out the dozen or so monsters that were nearby.

But what he caught his eye was a scene that made him frown—

Northeast corner.

A caged car.

Three flying fallen warriors, resembling apes and possessing bat-like wing membranes, are swooping down from the air towards the iron cage.

The drug slaves in the iron cage were screaming.

Shen Xiaohan stood inside the cage door, chained to it, holding the broken spear in her hand.

A flying fallen warrior crashed into the iron bars of the cage, its sharp claws reaching into the gaps and scratching wildly.

Twenty feet away from Xu Hao.

He couldn't throw out the blade's energy.

During the forging process, his blood and qi output was extremely unstable, and the accuracy and power of his ranged attacks were reduced.

If the blade misses by even an inch from twenty zhang away, the energy will strike the iron cage, and none of the people inside will survive.

Xu Hao gritted his teeth, pressing his left hand firmly against the edge of the crack in the ground to prevent the connection with the earth veins from being severed; otherwise, the casting process would be interrupted, and all previous efforts would be in vain.

He raised the knife in his right hand.

He aimed at the airspace ten feet above the iron cage.

A thin, hair-like strand of dark gold blade energy shot out from the tip of the blade.

It lacks the force of a slash and the scope of a sweep.

Only the ultimate precision.

The blade energy traversed a distance of twenty feet and pierced the back of the head of the flying fallen warrior atop the cage.

Dark golden ley line energy exploded inside the monster's skull, squeezing out brain matter and bone fragments from its eye sockets.

The body slid off the top of the cage.

The second flying fallen warrior hesitated for a moment, startled by the sight of its companion's death.

One breath is enough.

Shen Xiaohan thrust the broken spear through the gap in the railing.

The spear tip accurately pierced the wing membrane joint of the second flying fallen warrior.

The spearhead was too blunt; it only pierced the skin, not the bone.

But it hurt.

The wing membrane twitched, causing the body to lose balance and bounce off the iron railing.

The third flying fallen warrior that pounced was forced back half a step by Shen Xiaohan's spear tip.

There was no fear on Shen Xiaohan's face.

His eyes were filled with fire.

"Shrink up!" Xu Hao shouted with all his might.

Without saying a word, Shen Xiaohan grabbed the two weak-legged drug slaves behind her and desperately squeezed them into the northeast corner of the cage.

A second beam of dark gold blade energy shot out.

It passed through the chest cavity of the second flying fallen warrior.

Before the blade's energy even arrived, the third creature let out a mournful cry and spread its wings to flee into the dense forest.

The iron cage is safe for now.

However, Xu Hao's price was the consumption of dark gold energy from two precise sword strikes, which slowed down the forging progress of his liver.

Cracks appeared on the surface of the lower section of the right front blade, which was being formed.

Several of the dark gold veins broke, and the newly formed liver cells began to shrink due to the interruption of energy supply.

Re-inject energy.

The bone marrow roared as it drew upon the earth's energy, re-infusing it into the liver.

The cracks in the lower segment of the right anterior lobe were filled by dark gold energy.

New liver cells regrow, compact, and take shape.

[The second filth: the liver.]

My heart and liver are already formed.

Its internal volume has nearly doubled since before it was forged. The danger of being burst by the earth's ley lines has temporarily receded.

However, the spleen became sluggish.

This waste produced during the process of building the heart and liver—fragments of old tissue, necrotic cells, and decomposed toxins—all need to be cleared by the spleen.

The amount of waste generated from the casting of these two organs far exceeds the spleen's processing capacity.

The spleen begins to swell due to overwork.

The third route of Qi and blood originates from the liver and flows directly into the spleen.

Spleen casting.

The spleen is much smaller than the heart and liver, but it requires a much higher level of precision.

The spleen has a more intricate structure, a more complex blood supply route, and an extremely low tolerance for error.

Xu Hao suppressed all his extraneous thoughts.

He forgot about the horde of monsters still howling outside, forgot about the trembling of the secondary nails under the beam of light, and forgot about Shen Xiaohan's eyes as she gripped the broken spear tightly in the iron cage.

He only had one thing left to do—cast.

Dark gold energy is like an extremely fine carving knife, precisely cutting into every inch of the spleen's tissues.

The old splenic sinus was removed, and a new, dark gold splenic sinus was reconstructed in situ.

The course of every blood vessel must be perfectly aligned, and the location of every lymph node must be precise to the smallest degree.

Time became blurred amidst the excruciating pain.

A deafening roar came from the battlefield outside—some kind of large, strange beast had crashed into the camp.

The soundproof barrier on the iron pillar emitted a piercing metallic scream before shattering.

The iron chain between the four iron pillars broke, and the bronze plaques crashed to the ground.

The restrictions have been broken.

The camp lost its last barrier.

Everything in the Myriad Poison Forest—miasma, poisons, fallen warriors—rushed in like a tide.

But the dark golden pillar of light remains.

Although the area covered by the beam of light was not large, only about three zhang in radius, it was an absolutely safe zone.

The purity and concentration of the earth's ley line power are enough to annihilate any mutated creature the moment it comes into contact with it.

Three zhang away is hell on earth.

The captain and his private army, half-dead from the burning of the dragon's saliva, were torn to pieces in the strange tide.

Screams, chewing and swallowing sounds, and the cracking of armor blended into a jumble of indistinguishable noise.

Within three zhang (approximately 10 meters), Xu Hao knelt on one knee, one hand on the ground and the other holding a knife.

With his eyes closed, the veins on his face twitched like earthworms.

The spleen casting is nearing completion.

The last splenic sinus was reconstructed.

The dark golden new spleen began to function, clearing away accumulated waste in the body with terrifying efficiency.

The black blood, debris, and toxins accumulated in the abdominal cavity were completely decomposed and cleaned by the dark gold spleen within ten breaths.

[The third viscera: Spleen.]

Cast from three filth.

Xu Hao's body underwent a qualitative transformation at this moment.

It pumps three times more blood into the heart.

The liver is immune to all toxins.

The spleen can cleanse itself without hindrance.

The reconstruction of these three organs alone expanded his internal capacity from a "bowl" to at least a large pot, though not quite a vat.

The speed at which the earth's ley line power was poured in remained the same, but he had much more leeway to withstand it.

The progress bar in my mind finally started jumping faster.

[Earth ley line refinement: 3% — 4% —]

The fourth blood and qi pathway unfolds automatically.

lung.

Lung casting.

The dark gold energy originates from the spleen and flows along the lung meridian into the two lobes of the lungs.

The concentration of miasma in the Myriad Poisons Forest rose sharply after the barrier was broken.

The pale yellow poisonous fog surged in from all directions, blocked by the dark golden pillar of light, but Xu Hao still inhaled a small amount of miasma with each breath.

The newly forged dark gold liver is being filtered, but the source must be cut off from the lungs.

The process of building up the lungs is the most dangerous.

Because he cannot stop breathing.

When the heart stops, internal energy can maintain blood circulation; when the liver stops, bone marrow can temporarily take over detoxification; when the spleen stops, waste can accumulate temporarily.

But if his lungs stop, he will not have oxygen.

A martial artist at the Tongqiao Realm can use internal energy to replace breathing—theoretically.

However, all his current internal energy is being used to cast the filth and pour the auxiliary nails, leaving not a single bit to sustain his breathing.

Therefore, he must build up his lungs while breathing normally.

It's like changing the wheels of a horse-drawn carriage that's traveling at high speed.

Xu Hao's casting strategy is to replace each piece individually.

Instead of removing the old lung lobe entirely, the procedure begins with the lower lobe of the right lung and replaces it piece by piece.

First, cast a new piece, confirm that it can ventilate normally, and then remove the old one.

Extremely inefficient.

But it's safe.

The dark gold energy, like extremely fine needles, pierced the alveolar tissue in the lower lobe of the right lung.

The old alveoli were incinerated, and new dark gold alveoli grew in situ.

Each new alveolus is five times more efficient at exchanging gas than the old alveoli.

When the injection reached the middle lobe of the right lung, the ground shook.

It's not a vibration of a certain magnitude.

In a physical sense—something enormous crashed into the edge of the beam of light.

Xu Hao opened one eye.

A giant centipede, over two zhang in size and covered in a grayish-white carapace, was ramming its head against the edge of the dark gold pillar of light.

The carapace glowed red and cracked in the dark gold light, but did not break.

Peak of the Inner Strength Realm.

Moreover, their physical constitution is extremely special—the hardness and heat resistance of their carapace far exceed those of other fallen warriors of the same level.

It's squeezing in little by little.

Xu Hao raised the Sea-Devouring Blade with his right hand.

But he hesitated for a moment.

Swinging the sword consumes Dark Gold Energy.

Consuming it will slow down the lung-building process.

The lungs cannot be stopped halfway through the process.

In the blink of an eye, the centipede's head squeezed into the beam of light by a foot.

The surface of the carapace begins to carbonize, but it does not recede.

Hundreds of limbs frantically gripped the ground, desperately arching forward.

There's no time left.

Xu Hao held the Devouring Sea Blade horizontally in front of him.

He did not swing his knife.

He released his right hand.

The blade hit the ground.

The tip of the knife was inserted into the edge of the crack.

Dark gold patterns extended from the blade to the ground, spreading along the crack towards the centipede.

The broken ore on the ground cracked into powder where the dark gold patterns passed.

A dark golden fissure stretched straight from the crack to the centipede's feet.

The moment the fissure reached beneath the centipede, the power of the earth's veins surged forth from the crack.

The dark golden energy column pierced straight through the centipede's abdomen.

The carapace was shattered from inside the body.

Hundreds of limbs convulsed in mid-air before being incinerated along with the entire body by dark gold flames.

Not even ashes remained.

Xu Hao picked up the Sea Devouring Blade.

My hands are shaking.

The consumption is too high.

However, instead of using his internal reserves of dark gold, he borrowed the power of the earth's veins—using the Devouring Sea Blade as a conductor to directly guide the energy in the cracks for his attack.

While it saved money, it still placed a significant burden on the Devouring Sea Blade.

Continue to strengthen the lungs.

Right lung complete.

Starting with the left lung.

The left lung is smaller than the right lung, but it is closer to the heart. During the forging process, the flow of dark gold energy is more likely to interfere with the heart's pumping rhythm.

Xu Hao adjusted his breathing rhythm to synchronize with his heartbeat.

The intervals between each jump are precisely the window through which dark gold energy pierces the alveoli.

One stitch at a time.

One by one.

Left upper lobe of the lung.

Lower lobe of the left lung.

The last layer of old tissue in the main bronchial wall was incinerated, and a new dark gold bronchial wall formed on the ashes.

[The fourth viscera: the lungs.]

Xu Hao took a deep breath.

This breath was completely different from every previous one.

The miasma from the Myriad Poisons Forest rushed into the nasal cavity, and after being filtered twice by the dark gold bronchi and dark gold alveoli, not a single toxin could enter the bloodstream.

The inhaled air is converted by the dark gold lungs and supplied to the whole body at five times the efficiency.

He felt as if he were breathing liquid metal.

Heavy, scorching, and abundant.

Four filths cast.

Capacity has increased again.

[Earth Vein Refining Progress: 6% - 7%]

The last bit of dirt.

kidney.

The fifth route of Qi and blood originates from the lungs, descends along the kidney meridian to the waist.

The kidneys are the foundation of innate essence, governing bones and producing marrow.

For Xu Hao, who cultivates the "Suppressing Prisons and Ten Thousand Bones Technique," the connection between his kidneys and bone marrow is particularly close.

The Kidney Rebuilding Technique is not only about reshaping the organ itself, but also about thoroughly connecting the foundation laid by the previous three techniques.

The moment the dark gold energy flowed into his kidneys, he felt a response he had never experienced before.

A bridge is built between the bone marrow and the kidneys.

The silver marrow's devouring power and the dark gold earth vein power converged and collided on this bridge.

The two forces are not in conflict—they originate from the same source.

"The Prison-Suppressing Myriad Bones Technique" is the second earth-based cultivation method of the Martial Ancestor, which cultivates the earth's veins.

Silver marrow is essentially another form of expression of the earth's ley line power.

The process of building up the kidneys is faster than that of the previous four organs.

Because the kidneys "recognize" this force.

Dark gold energy is infused into the glomeruli, renal tubules, and collecting ducts.

The old organization melts away on its own, like ice and snow meeting the warm sun.

The new Dark Gold Kidney is almost "grown" rather than "forged".

It's like a seed finally finding its soil.

Left kidney.

Right kidney.

Adrenal glands.

All done.

[The fifth organ that forms the body: the kidney.]

[Congratulations, host. You have entered the fourth level of the Prison Suppression Technique, the "Forging of Impurities" realm.]

Five words floated in my mind, simple and unadorned.

But the changes that occurred within Xu Hao's body were earth-shattering.

All five internal organs are dark metal.

A heart as firm as an iron cauldron pumps blood three times faster.

A liver as strong as an iron furnace is immune to all poisons.

The spleen is like an iron sieve, naturally cleansing itself without hindrance.

The lungs are like iron bellows, capable of endless breathing.

The kidneys are like iron roots, returning to their original source.

The five internal organs are interconnected.

Dark gold energy forms a self-circulating cycle among the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys.

After the earth vein power is poured into the body, it no longer runs around randomly as before, but is guided, diverted and stored in an orderly manner by the dark gold circuit composed of the five internal organs.

The bowl turned into a vat.

No, it's bigger than a vat.

It is a medicine refinery with five furnaces inside.

When external energy enters, it is pumped and diverted by the heart, filtered by the liver, cleaned by the spleen, exchanged and transformed by the lungs, and settled and returned to its origin by the kidneys.

Ultimately, it seeped into his very bones and became his own strength.

[Earth Vein Refining Progress: 8% - 9%]

The progress bar is accelerating.

After his five internal organs were formed, his efficiency in absorbing the earth's energy increased not by one or two times, but by nearly tenfold.

He absorbed the energy from the dark golden pillar of light like a whale swallowing seawater.

Inflow, decomposition, storage.

Inflow, decomposition, storage.

Dark gold patterns flowed across his skin, spreading from his neck to the back of his hands.

His skin color is changing.

It's not that it turns gold, but rather that dark gold blood flows in the blood vessels under the skin, giving it a calm, metallic luster.

[Earth Vein Refining Progress: 10%]

All binding conditions have been met.

[The binding of the Myriad Poisons Forest (a growth-oriented blessed land) is complete.]

In his mind's eye, the old scroll that had been with him for months trembled violently.

On the screen, a miniature image of the Ten Thousand Poison Forest appears in what was originally a blank corner: a dark green forest, swirling miasma, and a dark gold secondary nail sinking deep within the forest.

The moment the blessed land was bound, Xu Hao clearly felt the warmth coming from the soles of his feet.

It felt like stepping on the back of a sleeping behemoth.

The behemoth did not awaken.

But it changed its position, supporting him more steadily.

Wan Du Sen Hai acknowledged him, albeit only as a part of him.

Under the combined influence of the resonance guidance of the Devouring Sea Blade and the dark gold energy infused by Xu Hao, the secondary nail was pressed back to the original depth of the Dragon Lord's projected scales.

Although one-third of the sealing inscription was damaged, the remaining part was reactivated after the earth's vein power was restored, barely stabilizing the basic structure of the seal.

It's not in perfect condition, but it's sufficient.

That's enough to pin down this part of Chongyuan Dragon Lord's projection here, allowing it to continue its slumber.

As the secondary nail sank to the last inch of the dragon scale projection, the entire nail emitted a low hum.

The sound did not travel through the air, but entered the bones directly from underground.

Xu Hao felt a slight ache in his teeth, which then disappeared.

It's pinned down.

The beam of light, which had been shooting skyward, narrowed to the thickness of a person, and its brightness rapidly diminished.

The dark gold faded to copper yellow, the copper yellow faded to dim yellow, and the dim yellow faded to a wisp of light thinner than a spider's silk.

The last glimmer of light lingered for two breaths at the edge of the crack in the ground, as if reluctant to leave, or perhaps confirming its presence.

Then it sank.

The edges of the cracks in the ground began to heal.

It wasn't filled with soil; it was the rock strata that squeezed and closed together on their own, pushing the broken ore to the sides and making a cracking sound.

The rift narrowed from several feet to an arm's width, until finally only a finger-thick crack remained.

A faint, dark golden light shone through the crack, but it went out after a few breaths.

Darkness returned to the camp.

Only the pale afterglow of the luminous pearl remained.

Without the suppression of the dark golden light pillar, the roars of the fallen warriors and strange beasts in the dense forest became even more frenzied.

But—they didn't rush up again.

Because Xu Hao stood up.

The five internal organs are dark gold, the marrow is transformed and perfected, and the essence is forged from filth.

The Qi and Blood realm of the Tongqiao realm remains unchanged, but the foundation of the physique has far surpassed that level.

The aura emanating from him was no longer what one would expect from someone at the Opening Aperture Realm.

Dark golden blood surged through his body, each heartbeat like the beating of a war drum, and the fluctuations of blood and qi spread outward like ocean waves.

This aura contains the heaviness of the earth's veins, the killing power of ancient weapons, the extreme cold and yin energy of the Devouring Sea Blade, and the unique confidence that comes with the Prison Suppressing Myriad Bones Technique—making it impervious to all laws.

step.

He stepped out from the edge of the crack.

Stepping on the broken ore, the ore cracked into a spiderweb-like pattern.

It wasn't a deliberate pressure to release his energy; he simply gained weight.

After his internal organs were forged into dark gold, his weight nearly doubled.

But he walks more lightly than before.

The improved ventilation efficiency after lung reconstruction makes every breath he takes powerful.

The innate restoration after kidney forging allowed his bones and muscles to achieve unprecedented coordination under the nourishment of the earth's vein power.

He walked toward the northeast corner.

The metal cage truck lay overturned in the ruins.

The cage was deformed, but not broken.

The iron railings are as thick as an adult's wrist; Gu Jia certainly doesn't skimp on materials when it comes to products they make.

Shen Xiaohan stood inside the cage door.

The tip of the broken spear was stained with dark purple blood—he had just pierced at least one more attacking beast.

The boy's arms were trembling and his knees were shaking, but his eyes remained unwavering.

Xu Hao reached out and grabbed the chain on the iron cage door.

The dark gold fingers tightened.

The iron chain broke like dried noodles.

He opened the cage door.

Shen Xiaohan came out.

The fourteen-year-old boy looked up at the man in front of him, whose body radiated a dark golden glow, and his lips moved slightly.

"Are you human?"

Xu Hao looked down at his hands.

Dark gold veins were faintly visible under the skin, and several bloodstains from the casting process remained on the back of the hand.

It really doesn't look human anymore.

"Let's go," he said.

Shen Xiaohan helped the surviving medicine slave out of the cage.

There were seven in total. The rest either died of fright or from poisoning by the miasma.

Seven drug slaves and a fourteen-year-old boy stood amidst the ruins of a camp littered with corpses and reeking of stench, looking at hundreds of pairs of gleaming, bloodshot, and greedy eyes in the surrounding darkness.

Xu Hao walked at the very front.

He held the Devouring Sea Blade in his hand, its dark gold patterns slowly flowing.

The fallen warriors roared, but none of them dared to step forward.

He led eight people, stepping over the broken ore, severed limbs, and broken wood scattered on the ground, heading north towards the Ten Thousand Poison Forest.

The monsters in the dense forest followed him for a while, eventually stopping outside the range of the dark gold aura emanating from him.

They watched as the human, whom they instinctively feared, and the small group of trembling living people behind him disappeared into the depths of the dark green forest.

Within his sea of ​​consciousness, the blessed landscape of the Myriad Poisons Forest was slowly unfolding.

With each step, more details are added to the painting. The direction of the dense forest, the distribution of the swamps, and the path of the underground river—this vast, poisonous forest is revealing its entirety to its new master.

Xu Hao gripped his knife, stepped on the decaying leaves, and led the living people northward.

Behind them, a very low, mournful dragon roar, like a sigh or a cry of resentment, came from the depths of the earth.

The nail is still there.

It's still available for now.