Chapter 67

Great Stone City, inside the stone house.

The room was quite spacious, with a stone bed placed in the corner, covered with some linen, animal hides and similar bedding.

A stone table and several stone stools had been moved by Wu Tie to the corner and stacked there.

Several animal-oil candles burned brightly, lighting up the whole room.

He practiced the Foundation Establishment Form, performing each movement one by one from the start, gradually reaching the 1,013th form.

In his lower abdomen, streams of Primordial Gang flowed like the great Yangtze River, continuously flowing in and out; the heavy, solid Primordial Gang coursing through his body caused waves of numbness and soreness in his bones, meridians, muscles, blood vessels, and even his five viscera and six bowels.

Primordial Gang infused his body; the Primordial Gang condensed from qi-blood and primal energy tempered his physique, stimulating the power of his blood vessels, raising his bodily energy level, and laying the foundation for the next stage of cultivation.

As Wu Tie gradually practiced, the fine primal energy in the air turned into visible, sparkling streams that continually flowed into his body. The more his internal Primordial Gang circulated, the stronger and purer it became.

The cluster of golden light at his brow also merged with his blood-qi, transforming into silken golden rain that poured down, cooperating with the Primordial Gang to temper his flesh.

Wherever the golden rain passed, the power of his blood vessels boiled and surged, and additionally, strands of Vast Righteous Qi filled his body, expanding and contracting with his breath, enhancing the effect of the Primordial Gang tempering his body by more than tenfold.

Taking a deep breath, he held the Foundation Establishment Form at the 1,013th form he could currently achieve, maintaining the posture for a full hour until his muscles ached unbearably and his lower abdomen swelled as if about to burst; then Wu Tie took out the last vial of Foundation Establishment Elixir and swallowed it in one gulp.

Streams of gentle life energy circulated throughout his body.

His sore body felt as soothing as a spring breeze turning to rain, like soaking in a hot spring; his lower abdomen became a warm mass, as if a flame burned within it, constantly giving rise to threads of Primordial Gang from the lower abdomen, which continually joined the internal Primordial Gang torrent.

The golden light at the brow also grew a circle larger; the righteous qi became ever more abundant and unstoppable, like a great river sweeping over the whole body; in the mind, waves of a 'buzzing' chanting sound arose again, and the golden light at the brow, as if pressed by a hydraulic press, kept shrinking then slowly expanded again.

Breakthrough of the 1014th Foundation Establishment style.

Wu Tie's internal yuan gang total amount suddenly surged by about ten percent; the surging yuan gang flowed through every minute corner of his body, visible as Wu Tie's pores expanded, strands of hot air rose, the visible hot air was hazy gray, carrying a faint foul stench.

It seemed that the surging yuan gang stimulated him, and the first phalanx of Wu Tie's left index finger lit up with a dim, dark glow.

Afterward, Wu Tie's entire skeleton lit up with a layer of dim, dark luminescence, and strands of yuan energy continually flowed from the air into his whole body, continually into his bones.

Strands of strange heat surged from Wu Tie's bones, and he instantly broke out in a sweat all over, his skin turning as red as cooked shrimp.

Hot, scalding, and then as if scorched by flames, his whole body sprayed out large amounts of hot air.

Wu Tie gritted his teeth and endured.

Although uncomfortable, it was far more comfortable than when he fused those four dragon horns and swallowed the bodies of the two primordial oddity puppets, which made his whole body spew fire and burn his flesh to a ruin. Moreover, Wu Tie could feel that as this heat permeated his whole body, his muscles, meridians, viscera, and other 'soft tissues' were becoming stronger.

With the continual influx of yuan energy, Wu Tie suddenly felt an unbearable itch all over.

This itch came directly from the bone marrow, making him almost go mad.

Almost instinctively, he looked toward the stone house corner, where there was a large stone bed flashing with a faint metallic cold light.

This stone bed was carved from metallic ore, with an extremely high metal content; after a slight calcination, it would be a fine metal ingot.

Wu Tie's eyes flickered with a dark light, he lunged forward, and grabbed the stone bed with his left hand's five fingers.

With a 'pfft' sound, his five fingers violently shook, causing the stone bed to violently shake as well. The stone bed, five meters long and four meters wide, enough for an ox-tribe warrior to roll over on, exploded entirely, and large clouds of dust drifted down.

In the dust, specks of dim light were absorbed by Wu Tie's left hand.

Streams of hot flow quickly circulated from his left palm throughout his body, the unbearable itch from the bone marrow gradually subsided, and Wu Tie could feel that his bones had strengthened a bit.

Wu Tie silently gazed at the thick layer of stone powder on the ground that had lost all its essence.

Before, he had passively swallowed external things… Seeing this, would he have to actively seek out external things to devour in the future?

Metallic essence?

That also doesn't seem quite right, for Chiyou's Tooth and the jiao dragon horns are not metallic material.

In other words, he needs to devour 'good things'.

As for what counts as 'good things', that will require Wu Tie to seek them out bit by bit.

The metallic essence in the stone bed was not much, just enough to relieve the itch. Wu Tie's bodily hot flow surged for a moment, his high temperature gradually subsided, he took a deep breath, and slapped both hands hard.

Both hand muscles ached intensely, the finger bones struck each other through the thin flesh, producing a loud 'thud' sound.

Soon, large patches of bruising appeared on the flesh of both hands.

Wu Tie helplessly gave a wry smile and shook his head.

The hardness of his bones had already exceeded the limit his flesh could bear.

What kind of monster has that small bone fragment turned Wu Tie's skeleton into?

'Not bad…… In the future, when blades slash, the skin may split and flesh gape frighteningly, but the bones will suffer no harm……' Wu Tie actually thought it was fine. In that case, his defensive capability would be significantly enhanced.

Moreover, physical strength……

Because of the enormous strengthening of his bones, his physical strength, on the basis of the original, 'normal' foundation, has at least doubled and then some.

Without yuan gang amplification, could his current physical strength reach a hundred thousand catties?

Perhaps even more.

He raised both hands, examined them carefully, and saw that his ten fingernails, in the light of the animal-oil candle, faintly gleamed with a metallic cold light. The flesh showed no obvious change, but the ten fingernails clearly underwent the same alteration as the bones.

He casually dragged his left five fingers across the wall, and with a 'hiss' sound, five clear scratches appeared on the stone-built wall.

These nails are far more useful than an ordinary steel blade.

'Should I keep long nails from now on?' Wu Tie blinked, imagining himself scratching wildly with his sharp long nails, feeling a chill run through his body, he shivered and quickly dismissed the idea.

Footsteps came from outside.

Wu Tie furrowed his brows, opened the door, and walked out.

Wu Tie being a solitary person, he was allotted a secluded small courtyard to reside in. To the left and right of the courtyard were rows of single-story houses, each with six rooms, intended for arranging subordinates and attendants, but Wu Tie, being a lone individual, had no one assigned.

The main building of the small courtyard has three stories: the first floor is the reception hall and banquet hall, the second floor is guest rooms, and the third floor is where Wu Tie has just been cultivating.

Exiting the stone house and following a spiral, narrow, steep staircase down to the first-floor reception hall, several men in tight-fitting clothes were already standing in the hall, one of them shouting at the top of his lungs: 'Little Tie? Little Tie?'

Wu Tie stepped heavily, coughed once, and said: 'Gentlemen, what's the matter?'

Several men looked at Wu Tie, sized him up for a moment, then one stepped forward and handed him a small box forged of refined iron, together with a thick beast-skin tome and a pen.

'Here, this is the primordial herb you are due this year. One low-grade primordial herb per year—isn't this the promise Elder Stone Two gave you?'

The man smiled proudly: 'But that was Elder Stone Two's promise; we, Elder Six, are generous—two low-grade primordial herbs!'

He patted the hide ledger, the man said in a deep voice: "You're from the wilderness… can you write your own name? If you can, write your name; if not, press a thumbprint. Two stalks of low-grade primal grass—afterward we still have to register it in the accounts."

Wu Tie took the refined-iron box, and his hands felt scorching hot.

Inside the box it was as if a ball of fire had been placed, making the box scorching hot; an ordinary person touching it would surely burn their flesh.

Several men wore nasty smiles, looking at Wu Tie with gleeful eyes.

They seemed to be waiting for Wu Tie to be caught off‑guard and burned, then drop the box and scream loudly.

However, Wu Tie had been burned several times by the heat radiating from his own bones, leaving his skin scaly, and his tolerance for high heat had increased considerably. The box's temperature was far above that of boiling water, but to him it felt merely "warm."

He tucked the box under his arm, took the hide ledger, flipped open a few pages, found his name, and fluently wrote after it: "Received two stalks of low-grade primal grass today."

Several men blinked, staring dumbly at Wu Tie as he nonchalantly tucked the refined‑iron box under his arm, then glanced at the neat, smooth line he had written on the hide ledger, and snorted disdainfully.

"Boring, boring, let's find the next one." A man took the hide ledger, shook his head and waved his hand.

"Little Tie steward, remember, this is Sixth Master's favor… follow Sixth Master, do your work well, and you'll reap benefits." Seeing no embarrassment from Wu Tie, the men lost interest; one glared fiercely at him and gave him a warning.

"Exactly, everyone in the Shi Family knows that following Sixth Master is the only way forward… as for Second Master… he's just a menial errand‑runner." The men spoke without any restraint, openly bad‑mouthing Second Master of the Shi Family to Wu Tie.

Wu Tie smiled, saying nothing.

Several men shook their heads and left, each carrying several refined‑iron boxes, presumably to deliver primal grass to Hei Pi, Duan Yan'er, Tie Babashi, and Lao Bai.

Anyway, among those recruited together with Wu Tie, few received the treatment of a first‑class steward.

Having reached the gate of the small courtyard, the man holding the hide ledger suddenly turned back and warned Wu Tie: "Almost forgot—this time we're giving you ninth‑grade primal grass, lava grass… its medicinal potency is extremely domineering; if your strength isn't enough, take it in tiny bits… if you happen to die from poison, that's not our concern."

Ninth‑grade primal grass, lava grass?

Wu Tie closed the courtyard gate, then the main door of the small building, and returned to his stone cultivation hut.

He placed the refined‑iron box on the stone table, carefully opened the lid, and two stalks of primal grass, each half a chi long with nine leaves, appeared before Wu Tie.

The lava grass was a pale red, its leaves thick, with what seemed like red juice flowing inside. Though picked, the leaves still bore tiny red "dewdrops" the size of mung beans.

But seeing the wisps of high‑temperature white vapor curling around those dewdrops, one knows it's not dew but a manifestation of highly condensed primal energy.

The temperature in the stone hut rose rapidly; the two lava grasses were like two balls of fire, wildly releasing intense heat that curled Wu Tie's long hair slightly.

"Primal grass, truly extraordinary." Wu Tie's heart went "thump‑thump" as he stared fixedly at the two lava grasses.

This is merely the lowest grade of ninth‑grade primal grass, yet even its appearance is extraordinary, and the energy it contains is magnificent.

Thinking that this is only the treatment given to a first‑class steward recruited by the Shi Family…

The direct line of the Shi Family surely never lacks primal grass; perhaps they even use it daily to aid their cultivation.

Perhaps the only limit they face is how much primal‑grass energy their bodies can withstand; after all, that man just warned Wu Tie that improper use could be fatal.

"How many bottles of foundation‑establishing elixir could this one stalk of primal grass replace?" Wu Tie seized a stalk of lava grass and examined it closely. He couldn't help feeling that joining the Shi Family was indeed an excellent choice; otherwise, wandering alone in the wilderness, when would he ever encounter such a treasure?

"Being able to give outsiders primal grass… the Shi Family surely has a steady supply channel for primal grass."

"Do they have even better treasures?"

Wu Tie then recalled the Mist Blade Chief Steward.

His age appeared similar to that of Wu Tie's father, Wu Zhan, but the Mist Blade Chief Steward's strength far surpassed Wu Zhan's by an unknown amount.

Similar age, yet such a huge gap in strength…

"That guy, could he be eating primal grass like rice? With the Mist Blade's power, it's quite possible."

Wu Tie muttered a few curses, pondered for a moment, then tore off a leaf and stuffed it into his mouth.

The leaf melted on contact, turning into a scorching stream like molten iron that fell into his belly; then a terrible heat surge burst forth, Wu Tie's skin instantly flushed red all over, and beads of sweat poured from his forehead.

Clenching his mouth shut, Wu Tie assumed the posture of the foundation‑establishing form and began to practice it, move by move.

Sweat drenched his whole body, dripping continually to the ground.

Heat rose from his entire body, white mist coiling around him.

His inner primal gang surged like a mad thing, howling forth from his lower abdomen, wildly devouring the heat flow transformed from the lava grass, washing over his body again and again. The primal gang grew rapidly; in just a quarter hour it increased its total by twenty percent over its original base.

His whole body felt excruciating pain, then the heat flow repeatedly washed it, bringing relief.

With the foundation‑establishing form advancing smoothly, Wu Tie broke through to 1,015 moves in one breath, then to 1,016 moves…

His bones rang out with a dense "ding‑ding" like frying beans, and his muscles twitched strangely all over.

The total primal gang kept increasing, and Wu Tie's cultivation rose just as swiftly.

In Dai Shi City, Shi Meng sat in a grand hall, leafing through a thick hide ledger, a faint gleam flashing in his eyes.

"To make people risk their lives, you must first feed them well… ignore whatever conditions the second brother agreed to… in short, their wine, meat, food, all demands—including women—should be supplied openly."

"I must make everyone in the Shi Family see clearly… follow me, and you'll have meat to eat!"