Chapter 61: Not the Slightest Movement

Training Chamber.

Lu Yan laid out the three pieces of Dao Food in a neat row. Each Dao Food was unique in shape, with no discernible pattern. One was a block of bronze, another a yellowish-orange stone resembling some kind of mineral, extremely hard, and the last was a bead, white tinged with yellow, similar to the first Dao Food Lu Yan had obtained, but slightly larger and pierced through the center, appearing to be a bead for a bracelet or something of the sort.

Lu Yan intended to let the Dao Book devour the Dao Food, aiming to elevate his Shifting Form Technique to its peak mastery. At the level of consummate proficiency, the Shifting Form Technique was still heavily limited. For example, the last time Lu Yan disguised himself as a cold-faced man in his thirties, he found it extremely difficult to reproduce the exact same face again; achieving such precision in facial control was beyond his current skill. Even if forced, flaws would be apparent to a keen observer.

Lu Yan had no intention of exposing his true identity yet and planned to continue meeting Shen Yinuo with the same visage as before. But at the level of consummate proficiency, the Shifting Form Technique simply wasn’t enough.

He estimated that once the technique reached its peak, it would suffice.

Putting away two of the Dao Foods, he held the bronze block in his palm, communicating with the Dao Book. Light shone from his brow as the ethereal Dao Book materialized, voraciously swallowing the bronze block in a single ‘bite’.

Beside the Dao Book, the Shifting Form Technique avatar was draped in radiant light, and the progress of the technique advanced rapidly. Although enhancing the Shifting Form Technique required three times the energy of an ordinary second-tier martial art, his current level was still low, so the improvement was swift. When the energy of the bronze block was exhausted, the Shifting Form Technique had reached eighty percent towards consummate proficiency.

Next, Lu Yan retrieved the yellow-orange mineral and let the Dao Book absorb it. Before long, the Shifting Form Technique broke through its prior limits and entered the realm of peak mastery.

Upon reaching this level, progression slowed dramatically, finally halting at twenty percent into peak mastery.

Lu Yan picked up a mirror and examined his reflection. Gazing into the glass, he activated the Shifting Form Technique, feeling the muscles on his face shift and squirm. After a moment, the cold, rugged man in his thirties appeared once more in the mirror, nearly identical to before.

Lu Yan was quite satisfied.

He then took out the Void Cleaving Blade manual and began his study.

The night passed uneventfully.

The next day, Lu Yan went to the market to purchase supplies and returned to Longwind Mountain. He circled the mountain several times, changing his path repeatedly to avoid being followed, before finally heading toward his destination—the fissure.

Approaching the crack, he saw no sign of Shen Yinuo and guessed she must have already entered the Blood Vein. He didn’t descend right away, instead sitting cross-legged on a boulder to rest with his eyes closed. After two hours, certain no one had followed him, Lu Yan slipped into the grass and made his way down through the fissure, returning to the Blood Vein.

Again, there was no sign of Shen Yinuo, but on the ground, three characters had been left: Bloodthirsty Flower.

Knowing where to find her, Lu Yan shouldered his supplies, avoided the strange beasts, and soon arrived at the sea of Bloodthirsty Flowers, where he indeed found Shen Yinuo.

She had cleared a patch in the center of the flower sea, cutting away a swathe of the blossoms. On the empty ground lay an iron-armored lizard, and Shen Yinuo was carefully carving up its flesh with a small knife.

“This is actually a fine place to cook,” Lu Yan nodded. Cooking elsewhere would surely attract beasts with the scent, making it impossible to prepare food in peace.

“Have you gotten everything?” the girl asked, glancing up at Lu Yan.

“I bought you some food first. The other items are a bit more complicated; I’ll get them in a couple of days,” Lu Yan replied, stepping through the sea of flowers to set down the supplies.

Shen Yinuo pounced on the package like a starving tigress, tearing it open impatiently as the rich aroma wafted out. She seized a roast chicken and tore into it with gusto, her face full of satisfaction.

Lu Yan headed toward the ruins.

“What are you doing with that iron hook?” Shen Yinuo asked, having devoured one roast chicken and already reaching for a lamb shank.

“Going to fish out some antiques,” Lu Yan responded, striding away.

He couldn't stop thinking about the martial foods left behind, especially that bronze cauldron. He’d marked the safe zones, but one could never be too careful—he feared Shen Yinuo might have tampered with the marks, and if he stepped in rashly, he might die without knowing how.

He communicated with the Dao Book, carefully sensing its warnings and the fluctuations in their intensity, finally confirming that Shen Yinuo had not meddled with his marks.

“It’s not that I’m paranoid, but in these times, caution is survival,” Lu Yan thought, stepping into the safe zone and approaching the bronze cauldron. He hooked it with his iron hook and pulled with all his strength.

The cauldron didn’t budge.

“Unbelievable.” Lu Yan’s blood surged, and he pulled again with explosive force. The iron hook bent with a snap, but the bronze cauldron remained immovable.

He tried striking the altar, but found it utterly solid, impervious to his efforts.

“To have the prize right before my eyes and not be able to taste it…” Lu Yan felt a pang of frustration.

After several failed attempts, he had to give up. Arranging to bring materials in a few days, he left the Blood Vein.

Back in Longwind City, he disguised himself before visiting the Green Bamboo Gang and the Tiger Gang, asking them to help procure some materials. Lu Yan himself went to the Linglan Trading House to purchase several valuable spiritual herbs.

Two nights later, Lu Yan once again joined the Scarlet Guards, heading to the forbidden zone to stand watch along the outskirts.

Several peaceful days passed as he gradually gathered what he needed. Seizing the opportunity, Lu Yan brought everything down into the Blood Vein and delivered it to Shen Yinuo.

“Let’s begin preparing the martial food,” Shen Yinuo said with excitement. She made no effort to hide her actions from Lu Yan, lighting the fire, boiling water, adding exotic beast meat, and portioning the spiritual herbs meticulously. Her movements were deft and unhurried, showing a practiced hand.

Clearly, the girl was highly skilled in the culinary martial arts.

Lu Yan watched for a long time but couldn’t make sense of her process. It looked similar to ordinary cooking, yet was many times more complicated. The control over heat, especially, required absolute precision.

“You don’t need to wait around here. Even the lowest grade of martial food takes days to prepare—a single pot will take three days. Come back then,” Shen Yinuo said, not taking her eyes off the cauldron.

Lu Yan left the Blood Vein and returned home, continuing his study of the Void Cleaving Blade.

Three days later, he returned to the Blood Vein to find a pot of freshly prepared martial food, its fragrance filling the air. Yet, Shen Yinuo was clearly dissatisfied, shaking her head. “Without the proper recipe, and being unfamiliar with the nature of iron-armored lizard meat, I had to rely completely on experience. I managed to succeed, but the flavor and effect are both lacking.”

“There’s no poison, is there?” Lu Yan asked warily.

“Of course not. Since it worked, it means the blood toxins in the beast’s flesh are completely purged. It’s perfectly safe to eat,” Shen Yinuo replied, serving herself a generous portion and eating heartily.

Lu Yan also helped himself.

A single pot yielded about twenty pounds of martial food.

According to Shen Yinuo, her skills allowed her to prepare only twenty pounds at a time; any more, and control would be lost, which could ruin the batch. The primitive environment and the lack of specialized culinary tools for martial food preparation also limited her output.

If conditions were better, with proper tools and helpers, she could prepare much larger batches at once.

Nevertheless, Lu Yan was satisfied. He ate five pounds in one sitting, packed another five pounds to go, and found a secluded spot to train.

He began with the Gale Hand, his legs and arms moving with explosive power, his palms striking the air with thunderous cracks, as if tearing the very atmosphere.

As he practiced, his stomach churned, digesting the martial food. Part of it was absorbed by the Dao Book, feeding the Shifting Form Technique avatar, while the rest nourished his body, seeping into his meridians and circulating with his blood, gradually transforming into vital energy.

After a round of Gale Hand, he practiced the Flying Antelope Hand, then moved on to the Vajra Body.

Thus he cycled through his routines. After several hours, the five pounds of martial food had been completely digested.

“As expected, the quality is average. Five pounds of this new martial food is only equivalent to three pounds of properly made martial food,” Lu Yan reflected.

Still, it was a good start. Shen Yinuo was just beginning; with more time, her results would surely match or even surpass standard martial food, especially since this was wild beast meat.

Taking the remaining five pounds home, Lu Yan continued his study of the Void Cleaving Blade.

The blade technique consisted of fifty-four forms. Only by mastering all fifty-four, and using the blade alone to sense the energy in the twelve main meridians, could one be considered to have entered the first stage.

After that, through relentless practice, the fifty-four forms could be merged and refined into forty-five, marking the next level of achievement.

When the forms were further condensed to thirty-six, one could break through to seamless integration.

So on and so forth—until all forms were unified into a single strike, reaching the state of unity between man and weapon.

Though the number of moves decreased, their power grew ever greater. Especially at the ultimate level, where blade and man became one—one strike could split metal and stone.

Lu Yan looked forward to this greatly.