Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Perfection
For the next three days, Liang Cheng traveled alone through the Central Domain of Lie Mountain Valley. Using a map fragment from the Iron Palm Martial Arts Hall, he avoided pointless danger zones and headed straight for the depths.
During this time, he killed seven Tier Two Demon Beasts and collected eleven stalks of Spirit Grass along the way; his efficiency was astonishing.
Right now, he was lying in ambush behind a giant boulder by a mountain stream.
A hundred yards away on a shallow bank, three Cyan Wind Wolves were gnawing on a mutilated corpse—a disciple from the Hai Chao Martial Arts Hall. Nearby, a stalk of Seven-leaf Silver Grass swayed gently, holding a Vermilion Fruit.
A Vermilion Fruit! A rare and incredibly valuable Spirit Medicine!
Just as the Cyan Wind Wolves were engrossed in devouring the corpse, Liang Cheng made his move. He tossed a rock into the water to draw their attention, then exploded into motion, lunging straight for the Vermilion Fruit!
The alpha wolf howled and pounced, but Liang Cheng had already secured the Vermilion Fruit. With a backhanded flick, his dagger, imbued with Fierce Bull Force, flashed and sliced the wolf’s belly open.
With a twist of his waist, he lashed out with a sweeping kick that sent the second wolf flying, shattering its bones. The third wolf didn’t even have time to react before his dagger pierced its brain.
In just a matter of breaths, Liang Cheng had cleanly and decisively dispatched all three wolves.
Then, with practiced movements, he cut off their ears and retrieved their Demon Cores.
However, while searching the corpse of the Hai Chao Martial Arts Hall disciple, Liang Cheng found a leather pouch that was not completely destroyed.
He opened it to find a few stalks of Spirit Grass, two Tier One Demon Cores, and a simple map, half-soaked in blood, with a location circled in red.
An annotation next to it read: "Order · Stone Forest."
A clue to the Lie Mountain Iron Order.
...
He put the map away and left the mountain stream area immediately, heading toward the Stone Forest as the map directed.
He didn’t travel in a straight line, instead taking a winding path. Every so often, he would climb to a high vantage point to make sure he wasn’t being tailed or walking into an ambush.
As Noon approached, the trees ahead gradually thinned, and a forest of grayish-white stone pillars appeared on the horizon.
He had reached the Stone Forest.
Liang Cheng concealed himself on a thick branch of a large tree, observing from a distance.
The Stone Forest was vast. Grayish-white stone pillars jutted up from the ground—the tallest over a hundred feet high, the shortest twenty or thirty. The pillars themselves were mottled and pockmarked with holes from wind erosion.
A thick mist permeated the Stone Forest, obscuring his vision. What put Liang Cheng on high alert was that he could already see more than one group of Martial Artists lurking around the perimeter, scouting it out.
’Looks like I’m not the only one with my eyes on this place.’
Just as he was contemplating how to sneak in, a stifled cry of alarm suddenly rang out from the dense woods behind him, followed by the clang of weapons and the roar of a Demon Beast.
It wasn’t far off, perhaps a few hundred yards away. Liang Cheng had no intention of getting involved, but when he suddenly heard the words "Vajra Fruit," his eyes narrowed.
The Vajra Fruit, a Top Grade Spirit Medicine for Body Tempering and Bone Tempering, had miraculous effects on the Stone Armor Skill. Liang Cheng silently descended from the tree and crept toward the sound.
’Strength is the foundation of everything.’
He slipped past a few dense bushes and saw, in a forest clearing, four Martial Artists locked in a desperate battle with a giant lizard whose back was covered in Bone Spikes.
The giant lizard was over twenty feet long with thick, heavy scales, and it periodically spat out blasts of scorching fire. It was unmistakably a Tier Two Peak Demon Beast, a Fire Armor Lizard.
All four Martial Artists wore dark cyan uniforms with a mountain peak embroidered on the chest; they were disciples from the Zhenyue Martial Arts Hall in Qingshi Town.
Three of them were providing support from the flanks, while only the leader, a young man with a spear, was on the main offensive. He wielded his iron spear in an impenetrable flurry, its tip a flicker of cold light, already showing the early stages of integration with Transformation Force.
Dark Force Peak, only a step away from Transformation Force. His spearmanship was exquisite, and his combat prowess was considerable.
Hidden behind a tree, Liang Cheng’s gaze swept across the battlefield before finally settling behind the Fire Armor Lizard. There, a small, nine-leafed tree bore three golden, longan-sized fruits.
The Vajra Fruit!
Just then, the spear-wielding youth roared, his spear striking like a dragon as he thrust it at the Fire Armor Lizard’s left eye. The lizard violently shook its head, and the spear tip scraped past its eye socket, sending a trail of sparks flying.
Seizing the opportunity, the other three rushed in with their blades, striking the same spot on the giant lizard’s neck. They broke through its scales, and blood gushed out.
Roaring in pain and fury, the Fire Armor Lizard swept its massive tail, nearly sending two of the Martial Artists flying. All three of them hastily retreated.
Only the young spearman renewed his assault, keeping the giant lizard tied down and slowly drawing it away from the Vajra Fruit. For a time, the two were locked in a dead heat.
The opportunity was fleeting.
Liang Cheng finally made his move.
Like a phantom, he shot out from behind the tree, heading straight for the Vajra Fruit Tree!
"Who?!" the spear-wielding youth roared, catching sight of him out of the corner of his eye. He was both shocked and furious.
The Fire Armor Lizard also sensed someone coveting its treasure. Abandoning the young spearman, it turned and lunged at Liang Cheng, its gaping maw unleashing a torrent of scorching fire.
But Liang Cheng neither dodged nor evaded. He pushed his Stone Armor Skill to its absolute limit, the grayish-white stone patterns beneath his skin becoming clearly visible.
He charged through the flames to the front of the Vajra Tree. In a flash, his right hand plucked the three Vajra Fruits. Without hesitation, he put them into a Jade Box and secured it on his person.
At the same time, Liang Cheng kicked off the ground and flew backward. With a backhanded flick of his left wrist, his Cold Iron Dagger transformed into a streak of cold light, slashing toward the Fire Armor Lizard’s open maw.
The Fire Armor Lizard’s scales were tough, but they didn’t cover its mouth. It instinctively snapped its jaws shut but was a step too slow, and blood began to pour from the wound.
Not wanting to get entangled, Liang Cheng seized the chance to make a swift retreat.
"Leave the Spirit Fruit!" the young spearman roared when he saw what happened, thrusting his spear at Liang Cheng with ferocious power.
Liang Cheng sidestepped the attack and threw a punch with his right fist, his Fierce Bull Force erupting as it slammed into the spear shaft.
THUD!
A dull thud resounded.
The youth felt a powerful and domineering Power surge up the spear shaft, leaving his entire arm numb and weak. He almost lost his grip on the spear. He was forced to retreat three steps to dissipate the force before he could regain his footing, his eyes filled with horror.
Liang Cheng, meanwhile, used the recoil to retreat even farther. He was already at the edge of the dense forest; in an instant, he slipped into the woods and disappeared from sight.
The Fire Armor Lizard roared and gave chase, but the young spearman gritted his teeth and blocked its path. The Vajra Fruits were already gone, and the lizard was at the end of its strength. If he let this Demon Beast escape as well, it would be a complete and utter loss.
"Die!"
In a towering rage, the youth’s cold spear became a blur. Surrounded by the four of them, the Fire Armor Lizard finally fell with a resentful roar, its breath ceasing entirely.
The young man didn’t go to collect the Demon Core, as the other three would do it for him. He stood holding his spear, staring in the direction Liang Cheng had disappeared, his expression shifting uncertainly.
’The Power in that punch...’
’That man’s strength is by no means inferior to my own.’
"Senior Brother Jin, are you okay?"
One of his companions asked as he came over, having finished harvesting the Fire Armor Lizard.
"I’m fine."
The young man shook his head and put away his iron spear. "Pack up. We need to leave as soon as possible. It’s not safe to stay here."
...
Liang Cheng put several miles between himself and the battlefield before finding a secluded spot. Only then did he take out the three Vajra Fruits. They were warm and smooth to the touch. He swallowed one whole. The flesh of the fruit dissolved the moment it entered his stomach, turning into a warm torrent that spread through his limbs and bones.
This warm current was different from the searing pain of the Stone Armor Skill’s bone tempering. It was gentle and mellow, and wherever it passed, his muscles and bones tingled and itched, as if they were being silently reinforced.
The flowing, grayish-white stone patterns beneath his skin no longer flickered. Instead, they settled completely, becoming one with his skin, flesh, and fascia, their color returning to a natural, unadorned state.
But his entire arms, and even his torso, became as hard and dense as if they were cast from refined steel. An ordinary sword striking him now would probably fail to leave even a white mark.
Deeper still, his bones hummed ceaselessly, their density having greatly increased. Power was transmitted through his every movement without the slightest bit of lag, and they now held a latent recoil force.
He had now reached the pinnacle of the known Realms of the Fragment. His skin was like stone leather, his muscles like iron bands, and his bones like vajra steel. He suspected that even a typical Transformation Force attack would now have difficulty inflicting any fundamental damage.
However, to advance further, he would need to find the rest of the Cultivation Technique or seek another path entirely.
Liang Cheng gazed at the few lines of small text that appeared deep in his consciousness, extremely satisfied.
[Mixed Element Stance: Perfection]
[Fierce Bull Force: Great Success (1863/2000)]
[Stone Armor Skill (Fragment): Perfection]
