Becoming a saint begins with the infinite accumulation of destiny.

As dawn broke, at the Qin Family Compound.

The warm morning sun made the gray-black courtyard seem out of place with the outside world, and a deathly silence filled the air.

The door on the second floor opened, breaking the silence, and a somewhat unsteady figure stepped out.

At the main gate of the Qin residence, a servant in blue robes who had been waiting for some time hurriedly stepped forward and handed the letter to the man.

"Sir, Steward Liu instructed me to bring you this letter. The letter has been delivered, so I will take my leave now."

The young servant in blue cupped his hands in greeting, then quickly left the courtyard and headed outside.

Zhu You held the letter between his fingers, his knuckles rubbing against the paper, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty.

His face was pale, his blood and energy seemed to be draining, and he experienced occasional mild pain in his joints.

This indicates a failed breakthrough.

He tried to break through the bone forging barrier again last night, but failed once more.

The energy and blood that I had painstakingly accumulated for the impact have now been partially lost.

Now we have to start accumulating again, and it will probably take several more months before we can try again.

Especially now, because of the water monkey, the treasure fish has no hope.

However, the Wen family's connections have gradually faded, and without a source of vital energy, it's uncertain when they will be able to break through again.

Bone forging is truly a hurdle.

Zhu You let out a long breath, his expression no longer as arrogant as before, but with a hint of dejection and loneliness.

He went back to his room, opened the envelope, spread the paper out, and then sprinkled it evenly with water.

A magical thing happened: the ink stains on the paper quickly faded and blurred into a blotchy mess.

Then, new writing gradually appeared on its back.

This is a special writing method, which uses the sap of an ancient tree, mixed with cinnabar and grass ash water.

It manifests when it comes into contact with water, and is used by many people to transmit important information.

As he gazed at the letter, Zhu You's expression grew increasingly excited.

"Thank goodness I'm still alive!!"

He gripped the letter tightly with both hands and laughed wildly.

The letter mentioned that Steward Liu had informed the Second Young Master about the situation in Pingyang Town.

He then reported his meritorious service, and after much deliberation, the second young master allowed him to return to the inner city.

With his talent, if he could just get into the inner city, plenty of people would line up to sponsor him.

So what if he fails to break through now? There are plenty of people in Five Rivers City who are stuck in the blood transfusion stage.

He is still young, his physical strength and blood have not declined, and his foundation is still intact. He has plenty of time to try.

If once doesn't work, try twice; if twice doesn't work, try three times.

Calming down, Zhu You's mind suddenly became firm, and a strange feeling inexplicably arose in his heart, causing his blood and energy to surge.

Then, his previously weak qi and blood suddenly solidified, flowing continuously and circulating within his body.

Even some blood and qi begin to circulate between the bones, slowly penetrating deeper.

However, due to the failure of the breakthrough and the loss of vital energy, the breakthrough could not continue.

The incantation paused.

But his face was full of new hope.

His overall demeanor gradually changed, no longer as impatient and restless as before. Clearly, the two previous failures had helped Zhu You mature and grow.

......

Chen Shisheng returned from outside and walked on the only bluestone road in the town, his expression calm.

Now, with the help of his destiny, he has gradually mastered the use of his body's Qi and blood, and has perfected the blood exchange technique.

In particular, his destiny sign, "Thousand Needles Embroidering Bones," allows him to perform micro-manipulation, sending qi and blood into the bone crevices, and then slowly permeating into the bone.

All he lacks now is a little time.

Once the time is right, a large amount of his vital energy will completely enter his bones, allowing him to break through in one fell swoop!

As we continued along the road, the town was quite deserted, with houses closed and the place eerily quiet.

The previous red shadows and the current water monkeys have led many people in the town to choose to relocate.

Those who remain are mostly those who either couldn't leave or didn't want to leave.

As a result, the entire town became increasingly desolate and quiet, with few people venturing out.

As Chen Shisheng walked to the corner and passed a house, his brows suddenly furrowed. He smelled a strong, pungent stench of rotting corpses.

After thinking for a moment, he walked to the window of the earthen house and turned to look inside.

These earthen houses are mostly built with mud and straw, and the wooden frames of the windows cannot be sealed, leaving a small gap.

Chen Shisheng peered through the crack. It was dark inside, and he couldn't see anything clearly. But he could vaguely make out a mother and daughter lying on the ground, tightly embracing each other, their bodies motionless.

There seemed to be something moving on its body, dark and making chirping sounds.

Chen Shisheng frowned and leaned closer, immediately recognizing what it was.

mouse.

A large group of black rats, with red eyes and as big as a human fist, were munching on the faces of the mother and daughter.

Chen Shisheng's heart skipped a beat, and he took a few steps back, moving away from the earthen house.

He was used to seeing corpses, but this was the first time he had ever seen a corpse that had been eaten away and reduced to bones.

It's unclear whether the mother and daughter died first and were then discovered by the rats, or whether the rats...

He didn't dwell on it and quickened his pace toward home.

Pingyang Town is really almost deserted.

He had only just arrived near the Qin residence when a figure talking to his sister-in-law at the door instantly caught his attention.

"Junior Brother Chen, you're only getting back now?"

That person was none other than Zhu You, who hadn't left the Qin residence for a long time.

He leaned against the door frame, a wide smile on his face, staring at Chen Shisheng as he returned from outside.

"Shisheng, Chief Zhu told me..."

When Liu Yun saw him return, she was about to say something, but Chen Shisheng interrupted her directly.

"Sister-in-law, you go in first."

Liu Yun sensed something was wrong, nodded, and quickly ran back inside.

"Zhu You, what do you want with me?"

Chen Shisheng let his sister-in-law go inside first, then blocked the doorway himself, speaking coldly.

He and Zhu You haven't spoken since their last unpleasant encounter.

This person arrived at the door at this moment, still with a smiling but treacherous demeanor, leaving him somewhat unsure of what to do.

"Junior brother, regarding the mutual aid association incident, I had no choice but to get involved. The mutual aid association belongs to everyone, not just me. We don't have any major grudges against each other. What happened before was just a minor conflict. Why are you so distant from us, junior brother?"

Zhu You's smile remained unchanged as he slowly began to speak.

"Senior brother, please speak frankly."

Chen Shisheng interrupted.

"Haha, since you're so straightforward, Junior Brother, I'll be frank too. To be honest, I currently need to nourish my qi and blood, to replenish my qi and blood levels. I've heard that you have a large number of treasure fish at home, so..."

Zhu You laughed without any hesitation.

Chen Shisheng made no attempt to conceal the fact that he had previously used the meat of exotic beasts to catch a large number of treasure fish.

Many martial artists in the academy knew about it, and some had even tried it.

"Sorry, I've already eaten all the treasure fish."

Chen Shisheng refused.

This guy is the type who only uses people when he needs them and ignores them when he doesn't.

"Junior brother, your sister-in-law just said that she has a whole room full of..."

Zhu You's expression turned grim, and his voice lowered.

"Junior brother, you are still young and don't know how to advance or retreat. Give me the treasure fish, and I can pretend nothing happened. When I return to the inner city, I will recommend you to someone."

"Senior brother, I said no, and that's final."

Chen Shisheng sneered.

He had worked hard to catch the treasure fish; how could he just give it away?

Moreover, it was someone like Zhu You, with whom he had a bad relationship.

"Junior brother, you really are..."

Zhu You suddenly sighed.

"When you broke through and underwent your blood transfusion, I thought you had some talent and seemed like a sensible person. Now, tsk tsk... By the way, your sister-in-law is really gentle-looking. What's her name?"

"Threatening me?!"

Chen Shisheng suddenly felt his blood and qi surge.