Chapter 189: Chapter 179: Nurturing the Silkworm Soul
"Sir, the weapons you ordered are ready. What do you think?"
Zhao Lin walked into a blacksmith shop in Yongning City. The master blacksmith showed him the several weapons he had forged.
Ever since learning about the mountain sweep, Zhao Lin had ordered a custom-made iron ruler and two throwing axes from the blacksmith.
Unlike the Autumn Hunt, the mountain sweep focused on hunting and killing exotic beasts to hone one’s ferocity, so weapons were allowed.
For warriors who had not yet reached the Blood Realm, having a weapon was still better than fighting bare-fisted. It also offered more safety against venomous insects and snakes.
The iron ruler and throwing axes were both weapons Zhao Lin was used to. He weighed them in his hands and nodded. "Good. I’m very satisfied. Here’s the rest of the payment."
"Thank you, sir..."
Leaving the blacksmith, Zhao Lin entered a streetside general store.
He bought two nets: one was a sisal fishing net coated with tung oil, and the other was a silk net.
The nets could be used to catch both fish and birds. Operating on the principle that it’s better to be safe than sorry, Zhao Lin planned to bring them on the mountain sweep. They might just come in handy.
Afterward, he walked to the Xuanwu Apothecary by the stone archway.
Since he was a regular customer, the attendant recognized Zhao Lin and greeted him as he approached. "Sir, what can I get for you this time?"
Zhao Lin answered directly, "The same as last time: Cold-mother Root, Hooded Pulsatilla, Verdant Arrowleaf, Horse-tooth Salt, White-hair Root..."
The attendant nodded eagerly. "I remember the formula," he said with a smile. "I’ll have someone gather the herbs for you right now..."
After buying the medicinal herbs, Zhao Lin left the apothecary and departed the city, heading straight for Xingyun Mountain.
Back at his residence, he took a portion of each newly purchased herb and began decocting them in an earthenware pot.
About half an hour later, he poured out the decoction, which filled a bowl perfectly.
Zhao Lin waited for the decoction to cool before picking up the bowl and downing the contents in a few large gulps.
As the decoction slid down his throat, he soon felt a deep chill slowly spreading from his chest and belly.
These were all "cold-natured" herbs—severely cold, in fact.
Normally, an herbal formula should balance "warm" and "cold" properties. Drinking a decoction like this was harmful to the body.
However, Zhao Lin’s goal wasn’t to cultivate his martial path or improve his general health. It was to strengthen the Essence Soul of the Cold Ice Silkworm.
It had been half a year since he absorbed the Cold Ice Silkworm’s Essence Soul, but Zhao Lin felt he still didn’t understand it well enough.
The special thing about this Essence Soul was that it was the first one he had absorbed that did not transform his body. It only produced a yin-cold aura, which Zhao Lin called "Cold Ice True Qi."
In Zhao Lin’s view, this was the most suitable Essence Soul for the martial path he had encountered so far.
It wasn’t even much like martial arts, but was more akin to Magic.
When he threw a punch, the attack wasn’t a single point or a straight line. Instead, the entire area within a five-foot radius would fill with a bone-chilling cold. The effect was superb.
Zhao Lin had specifically asked about the Celestial Frost Fist Cultivation Technique, and its power was far inferior.
It was just that the Cold Ice True Qi was generated very slowly. In all this time, his reserves had only grown by about half of their initial quantity.
Zhao Lin had experimented before. One full-power Ice Fist consumed a third of his body’s Cold Ice True Qi. This meant he had enough for only three punches.
After resting for half a day, his Cold Ice True Qi would regenerate completely, returning to its previous level.
Zhao Lin wasn’t satisfied with this. ’At this rate of accumulation, even after several more years, I’ll only be able to manage ten punches at most. That’s nowhere near enough.’
Once he reached the Blood Realm, the opponents he would face would be even stronger.
’On the day of the Autumn Hunt, if Xiang Shaofeng hadn’t underestimated his opponent and unleashed his Red Flame Force at full power, he definitely could have neutralized my Ice Fist. After two or three exchanges, I would have been utterly defeated.’
Zhao Lin found it strange. His other Essence Souls produced a white mist as long as he ate a lot of food. If he changed his diet, some Essence Souls would benefit and release even more of the mist.
But the Cold Ice Silkworm’s Essence Soul was different. No matter what he ate, it never seemed to get enough energy. The Cold Ice True Qi it released was as fine as a silk thread; it was incredibly stingy with the amount.
’The Cold Ice Silkworm is still a silkworm. Maybe I should try eating some mulberry leaves?’
With this idea in mind, Zhao Lin searched everywhere outside the city and indeed found a grove of wild mulberry trees.
As it happened, the weather was warming with the arrival of spring, and new leaves were sprouting on the mulberry branches. So, he picked them and ate them.
He ended up with a stomach full of mulberry leaves, so bitter he nearly threw up his bile, yet the Cold Ice Silkworm’s Essence Soul showed no reaction whatsoever.
Decocting them or steeping them in water made no difference.
However, Zhao Lin soon had a new idea: ’The Cold Ice Silkworm is an exotic insect with a yin-cold nature. It was originally found in a freezing karst cave... What if I try ’cold-natured’ herbs?’
So Zhao Lin went down the mountain to Xuanwu Hall, bought some cold-natured medicinal herbs, and after taking them, the Cold Ice Silkworm’s Essence Soul in the Spirit Beast Scroll immediately began to flash, absorbing all the yin-cold energy from the herbs.
Afterward, the Essence Soul began releasing Cold Ice True Qi several times faster than before. Moreover, the single silver thread became eight, and the amount accumulated in half a month was almost equivalent to that of the previous six months.
As he reveled in his excitement, Zhao Lin thought, ’If only I had swallowed the Yin Erosion Lotus I picked back then instead of handing it over, the effect would have been much better. It’s a shame I didn’t understand the connection at the time.’
Fortunately, he’d now found a method to strengthen the Essence Soul. With time, even grains of sand can build a pagoda.
...
The days flew by, and soon it was early April.
Two days before the mountain sweep, Elder Water Mirror distributed equipment to the disciples. It was similar to the Autumn Hunt: survival gear such as food pouches, water skins, felt blankets, and also signal fireworks.
"The location for the mountain sweep has been chosen. It will be Yuanze Mountain, not far from Five Finger Mountain where we had our last Autumn Hunt."
"Rest assured, everyone. The Law Enforcement Elder has already scouted the area. There are no particularly powerful exotic beasts there. As long as you don’t provoke any territorial pack-beasts and remain cautious, you’ll be fine. If you run into danger, remember to signal for help immediately..."
Hearing the name "Yuanze Mountain," Zhao Lin’s heart skipped a beat. It sounded incredibly familiar.
’Yuanze Mountain... the third peak from the east... a deep pool...’
A moment’s recollection was all it took for Zhao Lin to remember reading the name in the notes from the Celestial Water Pavilion. It was the exact spot where a Xingyun Sect senior had encountered a strange fish that could discharge electricity.
’It can discharge electricity... A Thunder Attribute exotic beast!’
Zhao Lin’s heart pounded. Having tasted the benefits of the Cold Ice Silkworm’s Essence Soul, he had developed a special craving for these attribute-based exotic beasts.
’But... it’s been over a hundred years. Is that strange electric fish still alive? Normal fish only live for a few decades at most.’
’However, when an animal mutates, both its constitution and its lifespan increase dramatically. It might still be alive.’
’Regardless, I have to go to that deep pool and check it out on this trip.’
’If I can get my hands on a Thunder Attribute electrical discharge ability, it goes without saying how incredibly powerful it would be.’
’My main goal right now is to raise my cultivation level as quickly as possible. If I can place well in the tournament assembly, the resulting rewards could help me break through to the Primordial Realm.’
’Then, I’d have few rivals left in this world.’
’Forget immortality for a moment—at the very least, no one would be able to threaten my life ever again.’
’That strange fish is in the water... I’ll have to figure out how to catch it. Martial arts are hard to use underwater, and what’s more, water conducts electricity...’
Remembering the contents of the notes, Zhao Lin began to strategize how to catch the strange fish.
