Chapter 46 - 39: The Miraculous Effect of Spiritual Essence
Skyscraper.
On the rooftop terrace.
The cold, bloody rain pattered against the concrete ground.
But the Mosquito Avatar was latched firmly onto the stone lion statue, which emanated a faint blue halo, greedily sucking out the strange energy contained within.
With every draw, the blue light on the stone lion’s surface visibly dimmed, and the agonizing "thirst" that permeated the air rapidly faded.
SLURP... SLURP...
The Mosquito Avatar took five deep, powerful gulps in a row!
The energy within the stone lion was completely drained, and the last wisp of blue light vanished without a trace.
Without the energy to sustain it, a soft CRACK echoed as the surface of the once-solid stone lion statue was instantly covered in a spiderweb of fissures.
Then, under the downpour of blood-red rain, it silently crumbled to dust, which was immediately washed away, disappearing completely as if it had never existed.
’A rare, bizarre item, just gone like that!’
Witnessing this, a flicker of regret passed through Lin Yi’s mind.
But that regret was fleeting, instantly overwhelmed by a surging wave of ecstasy.
’Even if I’d kept it, I wouldn’t have been able to hold onto it. I would’ve had to hand it over to the Public Security Bureau. Better to use it as food for my Mosquito Avatar than to let someone else benefit!’
At the very least, he had genuinely obtained a brand-new type of Spiritual Essence.
Kidney Water!
Lin Yi immediately split his focus.
On one hand, he continued to control the Mosquito Avatar, having it glide silently into the depths of the rain-swept darkness like a Ghost of the night, searching for a new monster to target.
On the other, he submerged his consciousness, eagerly observing his own body and carefully sensing the subtle changes brought on by the integration of the new Spiritual Essence.
’What’s the use of this "Kidney Water" Spiritual Essence, anyway?’ he wondered.
The "Spiritual Nose" Spiritual Essence he’d acquired before had drastically enhanced his sense of smell.
’Kidney Water... could it enhance... *that* department?’
’A kidney supplement?’
’That would be completely useless!’
’What use is something that doesn’t help my Cultivation at all?’
Lin Yi’s brow furrowed in faint disappointment.
Pushing aside his stray thoughts, he focused his mind.
He took the initiative to connect with the new, cool source of energy located in his kidneys.
HUMMM!!!
The instant his consciousness made contact, a refreshing, cool stream of energy surged forth from his kidneys!
This pure life energy, like a sweet spring, instantly swept through his limbs and torso, permeating every inch of his flesh, muscles, and meridians!
In an instant!
Lin Yi could clearly feel the muscle fatigue and minor injuries he had accumulated from long hours of frantic Cultivation recovering at an unprecedented speed, like a parched land receiving a long-awaited rain!
What shocked him even more was that the old, hidden injuries that had built up over the years—ones he had almost forgotten about—and even some insignificant little scars on his skin were quietly fading and disappearing under the wash of this cool stream!
This Kidney Water Spiritual Essence actually possessed a powerful healing effect!
’Healing? Did I just... change my class to a healer? A melee cleric?!’
A massive surge of joy shot through his body like an electric current!
Lin Yi’s heart pounded with excitement.
’The ability to heal myself anytime, anywhere?’
’On a dangerous battlefield, this ability is practically one of the Divine Skills!’
’Think about it. In a life-or-death battle with an enemy, I get stabbed? I can heal in an instant! This is basically pseudo-immortality! I’m an indestructible cockroach!’
’Combined with the Mosquito Avatar, which constantly feeds me a stream of pure Qi and Blood, I can always stay in peak condition...’
’What does this mean?’
’It means that from now on in battle, I, Lin Yi, will be a veritable "perpetual-motion cockroach"!’
’Can’t be killed, and always at full health and peak condition!’
’Even if this Kidney Water Spiritual Essence has no other effects, this healing Divine Skill alone makes it more than worth it!’
’Healing... healing...’
An idea flashed through Lin Yi’s mind.
’Can this effect be used for Cultivation?’
Bone Tempering Cultivation had always been about gradual progress, a patient, meticulous process that allowed for no haste.
Even with the Mosquito Avatar’s cheat-like ability to feed him Qi and Blood, Lin Yi could only cautiously guide the Qi and Blood to seep into his bones bit by bit during Refinement. He would never dare to be reckless.
The reason was simple: if the impact of the Qi and Blood was too forceful, it could easily cause his bones to crack or even shatter. One mistake would not only lead to failure in Bone Tempering but also cause irreversible, permanent damage!
But now...
With the instant healing ability provided by the "Kidney Water" Spiritual Essence...
Lin Yi’s eyes shone with a startling light!
’Do I still need to be so careful?’
’Getting injured?’
’Like hell I’m scared of that!’
’Let’s do this!’
No sooner said than done!
He instantly shared his Mosquito Avatar’s vision, controlling it to precisely locate a monster wandering in a dark alley. With a WHOOSH, it pounced, its sharp proboscis viciously piercing the creature’s tough skin!
[Qi and Blood +1!]
[Paralysis Proficiency +0.1!]
[Qi and Blood +1!]
[Concealment Proficiency +1!]
...
A surging Qi and Blood Power, like molten lava, poured continuously from the Mosquito Avatar into Lin Yi’s body!
A ruthless glint flashed in Lin Yi’s eyes. Holding nothing back, he frantically urged it on with his mind!
He directed the massive torrent of Qi and Blood to slam viciously and mercilessly into one of his ribs!
CRACK!!!
A clear, cringe-inducing sound of a bone fracturing suddenly echoed within his body!
The piercing agony of a fractured rib exploded along his nerves. Lin Yi, caught off guard, sucked in a sharp breath, his face instantly turning deathly pale as cold sweat soaked his back.
However!
The very next instant the pain registered, the "Kidney Water" Spiritual Essence in his kidneys reacted!
That cool spring of life rushed to the fracture in a flash. The crack in the bone mended and repaired itself at a visible rate, becoming as good as new in the blink of an eye!
’It really works! Hahahaha!’
Immense joy dispelled the fleeting shadow cast by the intense pain.
With no more worries, Lin Yi immediately threw himself into this "self-mutilating" style of Cultivation!
With every Refinement, the violent Qi and Blood would forcibly crack his bones, bringing heart-wrenching agony.
But this pain was precisely the price for soaring speed!
Disregarding consequences, ignoring damage!
The speed of this Cultivation method was simply astounding!
Previously, he needed a full ten minutes to increase his Bone Tempering progress by 1%.
But now?
In just two short minutes, the progress bar jumped by 1%!
In an hour, that was a terrifying 30%!
It would only take three and a half hours to complete the full Refinement of a single bone!
Others could train hard for months and still not match his speed for a single day!
His Qi and Blood shot up as if he were riding a rocket.
Awesome!
More awesome than anything he’d ever felt!
Lin Yi was completely immersed in the thrill of his rapidly growing power, forgetting the pain, forgetting time itself. Only the cycle of Bone Tempering and repair thundered within him.
Just as he was sitting cross-legged, his mind completely submerged in this insanely efficient rhythm of Cultivation—
BOOM!!!
A muffled boom, accompanied by a violent tremor, struck without any warning!
The entire, incredibly sturdy shelter actually began to shake slightly.
This was followed by a terrifying explosion loud enough to rupture eardrums!
A massive shockwave penetrated through layers of protection, directly shaking the deepest shelter room!
Lin Yi was violently jolted from his state of deep Cultivation by the sudden, violent tremor!
"What’s going on?!"
"An earthquake? No way!"
"An explosion! That was an explosion!!"
"Oh my god! Did the monsters find us? Are they attacking the shelter?!"
The shelter instantly erupted into chaos.
Panic spread like a plague.
The students, who had been resting or talking in low voices, were scared out of their wits. Many screamed, tables and chairs were overturned, and the room descended into mayhem.
"Calm down! Everyone, calm down!" a student who was still relatively composed tried to maintain order, but his voice was trembling. "Didn’t they say the shelter conceals our presence? That the monsters can’t sense us at all?"
"Yeah! The teachers are here, we’ll be fine..." another student forced himself to comfort his companion, but before he could finish, his own eyes filled with terror.
Before his voice had even faded—
BOOM!
Another deafening explosion!
Even more violent!
The thick alloy floor of the shelter visibly jumped!
The light fixtures overhead flickered wildly, emitting a FZZT-ing sound and illuminating the pale, terrified faces below.