Chapter 73: The Blue-Skinned Freak

Touching his lower abdomen, Wang Lin muttered to himself, "Yellow Springs Ascending Aperture Art, I finally understand why it's called that!"

The so-called Yellow Springs means that when Cultivating this technique, the body must transform into a near-death state. Using this form of being about to step into the Yellow Springs allows one to be more suitable for absorbing Yin Cold Qi. However, if one is slightly careless during this time, they could truly enter the Yellow Springs.

In truth, few people in a Level Six Cultivation Country have the courage to Cultivate the Yellow Springs Ascending Aperture Art. Situ Nan was one of the few who succeeded. According to the Demonic Path's designation in a Level Six Cultivation Country, the Yellow Springs Ascending Aperture Art is also known as the Sinister Art.

The reason it is called sinister is precisely because it has too many unpredictable changes. Some of these changes greatly benefit the Cultivator, while others lead to the collapse of the cultivation and death.

Just like that, Wang Lin settled here. Every night, he would absorb and exhale Yin Cold Qi. In the blink of an eye, a month passed.

During this month, besides Cultivating the Yellow Springs Ascending Aperture Art, Wang Lin made another important discovery: the mysterious Stone Bead could actually condense dew here, and this dew contained Yin Cold Qi, not Spiritual Qi.

From this point, Wang Lin gained a new understanding of the Stone Bead.

Thus, Wang Lin began to accumulate Yin Cold Dew, especially around midnight when the Yin Cold Qi reached its most intense state, making it easy for Yin Cold Dew to appear.

After consuming the Yin Cold Dew, Wang Lin found that although the dew contained a lot of Yin Cold Qi, it was clearly not on the same level when compared to Spiritual Qi Dew.

If Yin Cold Qi and Spiritual Qi were considered to be of the same quality, then the effect of Yin Cold Dew could only reach the level of snow water within Spiritual Qi, far inferior to Spiritual Qi Dew.

Wang Lin knew that the Yellow Springs Ascending Aperture Art, put simply, depended on how much Yin Cold Qi was absorbed internally; the more absorbed, the greater the power. Therefore, during the day, Wang Lin would enter the Dream Space to Cultivate using Yin Cold Dew, and at night, he would absorb and exhale in his room.

As time passed, the Cold Qi within Wang Lin's body gradually increased. Every time he absorbed and exhaled, he would merge with the surrounding Yin Cold Qi, becoming indistinguishable. Whenever this happened, his heart rate would gradually slow down, eventually becoming almost imperceptible.

There were even a few times when his heart almost stopped beating, but he managed to persevere in the end.

Early this morning, Wang Lin awoke from meditation. He took a deep breath and muttered, "The Yin Cold Qi in my body is increasing. I should be able to attempt the first Aperture Breakthrough."

Suddenly, he stared at the mist created by the surrounding Formation, a strange look in his eyes. Then, without a word, he flicked his sleeve, and the mist immediately dispersed to both sides, revealing a small path.

Wang Lin walked out of the Formation and immediately saw several long tracks on the ground, extending deep into the Ruins. He remembered that yesterday there were several beasts here that had bled to death before the light beam arrived.

But now, the beast corpses had vanished, clearly dragged deep into the Ruins.

"Could there be someone inside these Ruins?" A chill immediately entered Wang Lin's heart. The other party dragged away the beast corpses last night, and he didn't notice at all?

A serious look flashed in Wang Lin's eyes. He immediately inspected the area around his house. There was nothing unusual; the Formation showed no signs of being attacked.

He rubbed his chin, and without alerting anyone, his body flashed as he rushed into the jungle. Before long, he flew back holding two beast corpses. After tossing the corpses aside, he immediately returned inside the Formation, performed Hand Seals with his right hand, and shot out a white light. Instantly, the surrounding mist became denser, accompanied by the sound of the Wind and Thunder Formation.

After doing all this, Wang Lin was still uneasy; a shadow lingered in his heart. After a long while, he calmed his mind, spread out all his Divine Sense, drank a mouthful of Yin Cold Dew, and maintained vigilance while absorbing and exhaling.

Night fell. That night, Wang Lin did not absorb Yin Cold Qi. Instead, he sat quietly where he was, maximizing the range of his Divine Sense so that every rustle within a hundred zhang was reflected in his mind.

Especially regarding the location of the two beast corpses, Wang Lin focused his attention. He wanted to see what kind of creature was in the Ruins that would come here at night.

Time gradually passed. In the blink of an eye, midnight approached, and the Yin Cold Qi reached its peak intensity. Wang Lin held his breath and concentrated, closely observing his surroundings.

Within the range of his Divine Sense, there was silence. The two beast corpses were now permeated by Yin Cold Qi, covered in patches of frost. Furthermore, even the jungle outside the Ruins was utterly silent, a terrifying calmness.

This wasn't the first time Wang Lin had spread his Divine Sense at night, but usually, even late at night, some beasts or insects would occasionally chirp. Such profound silence was a first!

Suddenly, Wang Lin's expression changed. Within his Divine Sense, the Yin Cold Qi coming from the direction of the Ruins was surging and swirling like boiling water.

His eyes were sharp, and a cold smile hung on his lips as he watched with detachment.

From the direction of the Ruins, along with the surging Yin Cold Qi, a bizarre, shadowy figure swiftly appeared. Its speed was too fast; in Wang Lin's Divine Sense, he only saw a black silhouette flash by, and the few beast corpses on the ground vanished.

Wang Lin was startled and alarmed. In the instant the figure appeared, he saw its appearance: it was a humanoid creature with blue skin all over its body.

Bizarre symbols covered every inch of the creature's skin. Furthermore, there were nine half-inch long Yellow Talismans pasted on various parts of this person's body. This shocking and strange appearance left Wang Lin deeply suspicious.

At this moment, the freak appeared again. He stood outside Wang Lin's Formation, his eyes showing a thoughtful expression.

The freak stepped back a few paces, looked at the Formation mist suspiciously, a hint of hesitation in his eyes, and finally circled the area quickly.

Wang Lin kept his full attention on the opponent and did not rush to attack. He wanted to see what methods this freak possessed.

After circling the outside of the mist, the freak stopped, curiosity showing in his eyes. Then, his body moved, and he charged into the Formation.

The moment he entered the Formation, a killing intent flashed in Wang Lin's eyes. He performed Hand Seals with his right hand and shot a white light into the Formation. The mist immediately surged like boiling water.

Immediately afterward, the sound of cracking stones came from within the Formation. One Formation after another was rapidly destroyed, and the color of the mist grew increasingly faint.

Without a word, Wang Lin opened his mouth and spat out a green light. The green light flashed and shot out with extreme speed. With a loud boom, the freak's roar came from within the mist, followed immediately by a massive outward thrust from the Formation, spreading violently in a ring shape. Countless stones were thrown up, shattering mid-air with loud cracks, turning into flying ash.

The mist immediately dissipated. The freak instantly saw Wang Lin, his eyes showing a bloodthirsty look, and he walked forward with a sinister grin.

Wang Lin's expression was calm. He pointed his right hand into the Void Realm, and instantly a green light flashed. The Flying Sword appeared behind the freak, pierced straight through, and shot out from his front chest near the heart, trailing a stream of blue blood.

As soon as the blood appeared, it instantly turned into ice crystals and fell to the ground.

The freak let out a painful groan and immediately retreated a few steps, a look of fear appearing on his face.

Wang Lin's heart sank. The opponent could still move after being struck by the Flying Sword. Without a word, a cold light flashed in his eyes. He slapped his Storage Pouch, and an ancient, plain Scabbard flew out.

The small green sword flashed and stabbed into the Scabbard. It stopped when it reached two-fifths of the way down. Immediately, its color changed, quickly transitioning from green to blue, and then from blue to black. After that, it violently shot out of the Scabbard and slashed toward the freak.

When the freak saw the Flying Sword, the fear in his eyes intensified. Just as he was about to dodge, the black sword charged forward, pierced the air, and struck the freak's chest. Simultaneously, a black light flashed, and amidst a series of dull booms, the freak's body was violently thrown out like a kite with a broken string.

The Flying Sword, covered in the freak's blood, actually stuck to the freak's body. No matter how Wang Lin tried to command it, he couldn't move it, and even instant teleportation failed.

Shocked, the killing intent in Wang Lin's eyes deepened. The moment the Flying Sword struck the opponent, he keenly observed that the bizarre symbols all over the opponent's body flashed simultaneously, clearly indicating the use of some Secret Technique to resist his attack.

Without a word, he slapped his Storage Pouch, took out the Paper Talisman he had obtained from Zhang Hu, and quickly gave chase. Suddenly, Wang Lin's pupils contracted. He saw the freak's body twist at an incredible angle mid-air, immediately landing on one knee. A bowl-sized wound appeared on his chest, and large amounts of blue blood flowed out.

All the symbols outside his body were flashing rapidly. As the symbols flashed, the opponent's wound was quickly healing.

Wang Lin didn't blink. He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of Spiritual Qi, activating the Paper Talisman. The Talisman immediately spontaneously combusted, transforming into a dark light that emitted intense heat waves, instantly shooting into the wound on the opponent's chest again.

The freak let out a miserable roar, his body forcefully pierced through.

"Still not dead!" Wang Lin's heart sank. The opponent had suffered such a fatal injury and was still alive! However, what slightly reassured him was that after the Paper Talisman's attack, the Flying Sword that had been stuck to the opponent's body finally burst free in a flash of black light and circled back.

The freak showed a look of struggle in his eyes. He suddenly raised his hand and tore off one of the nine Yellow Talismans on his body. The instant the Yellow Talisman was torn off, a stream of Azure Qi immediately surged frantically from every part of his body, enveloping him completely.

Wang Lin's expression was grim. Without hesitation, he pointed at the Scabbard. The Flying Sword immediately returned to the Scabbard, sinking to the three-fifths mark! The Flying Sword's color rapidly changed from black to red.

The three-fifths mark on the Scabbard was already Wang Lin's current limit. According to his analysis, with his current Early Stage Foundation Establishment strength, using the Flying Sword sunk to the three-fifths mark, he could contend even with a Middle Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Just then, the Azure Qi outside the freak's body rapidly contracted, quickly merging back into his body. When he reappeared before Wang Lin, his chest was smooth, showing not a trace of injury.

He stared at Wang Lin, his eyes filled with hatred. However, he clearly had deep reservations about Wang Lin, especially showing fear when his gaze landed on the Flying Sword.

"Who are you!" Wang Lin did not rush to attack. The opponent had nine Yellow Talismans on his body, and tearing off one allowed him to recover from a near-fatal state. If this was the case, the battle certainly couldn't be decided quickly.