Chapter Fifteen: Ascending to Innate (Please Vote for Recommendations)

Chapter Fifteen: Stepping into the Innate Realm

"Uncle Luo, someone is following us." The leader of the three mercenaries suddenly darkened his expression, gritting out, "It must be that 'Dark Underworld' scout who left earlier!"

This mercenary was a man of striking vigor, around twenty-five or six years old, standing at least 1.85 meters tall, robust in build, at the third level of the innate realm. His eyes were sharp and always alert; one glance revealed him to be a skilled hand.

"He's not one of the 'Dark Underworld'—just a brazen, reckless brat. Ignore him," Luo Hao shook his head and frowned. "Let's quicken our pace and shake him off."

Zhao Xin's face darkened, his voice cold. "Does he harbor intentions toward Miss Mu? Should I stay behind and deal with him?" As he spoke, he shot a concerned glance at Mu Yudie, who was being supported by Luo Hao.

"Don't complicate things," Luo Hao shook his head firmly again, then gently asked, "Die, can you hold on? Or shall we move even faster?"

Mu Yudie's face was pale, her snow-white brow beaded faintly with sweat, but she smiled lightly. "Yes, let’s go faster; the sooner we lose him, the better. Otherwise, he might be killed in passing by an envoy of the 'Dark Underworld.'"

Luo Hao sighed inwardly, feeling a pang of pity, but nodded in acquiescence. "Die, don’t use any of your vital energy. Leave everything to me."

With that, Luo Hao gripped Mu Yudie's delicate shoulder. As if carrying a feather, he wove nimbly through the forest, his burly body landing so lightly that not even a footstep could be heard. His control over his vital energy was clearly extraordinary.

...

Shi Yan gritted his teeth, his breathing growing heavier.

The bloodthirsty urge tormented him ceaselessly, and his body, grievously wounded by Karu, ached as if it would split apart. After unleashing his "Berserk" state, he had burned through most of his energy, leaving him unable to recover quickly.

In this state, running into Mo Yanyu would mean certain death—he had to stabilize his body's abnormalities at once.

The girl's music was his only hope!

Whether or not she disliked him, Shi Yan felt he had no other choice. Even if he had to shamelessly follow her, he had to persist, hoping only that she would play the zither again.

Forcibly suppressing the ever-rising urge for slaughter, he channeled what little energy remained into his legs. Face grim, Shi Yan pushed himself to his utmost, following the group of five as fast as he could.

As his focus sharpened and his mind held only the thought of keeping up, he suddenly found his steps growing lighter.

...

"Uncle Luo, is that man really only at the acquired realm?" Zhao Xin asked in astonishment as they sped along.

Luo Hao, too, found it odd. By rights, a martial artist of the acquired realm shouldn’t be able to keep up with their speed. Yet while the distance between them and Shi Yan was gradually increasing, his resilience was remarkable—he hadn’t lost track of them once. Luo Hao began to doubt his own judgment, wondering if he’d misread the man earlier.

"Uncle Luo, I can hold on—you can go even faster," Mu Yudie said, enduring her pain as sweat beaded on her brow.

"No! We can’t go any faster." Luo Hao refused resolutely, frowning. "Ignore him. If he insists on courting death, we’re not to blame."

"Awroo!"

At that moment, a savage, bloodthirsty howl erupted from behind them. The sound was clearly from Shi Yan, yet it was nothing like a human’s voice—filled with a frenzied, murderous aura that sent chills down the spine.

"Is that guy even human?" The female mercenary, Di Yalan, shuddered, exclaiming, "How could a human make such a terrifying sound? Even a rampaging beast sounds no worse."

"His madness is flaring up," Luo Hao’s expression changed. "Keep away from him or he’ll attack us in his frenzy. Killing him wouldn’t be hard, but if we’re delayed and the 'Dark Underworld' envoy catches up, we’re in trouble."

"Let me help him, or he’ll become a mindless monster and slaughter people throughout the Dark Forest," Mu Yudie murmured. Without waiting for Luo Hao to object, she took the zither from her back, sat cross-legged, and began to play.

Luo Hao stamped his foot in frustration. "Stubborn brat!"

The melodious, gentle music flowed through the forest like a stream. The tune was sharply targeted, carrying directly toward Shi Yan.

His eyes blood-red, his bloodthirst barely restrained, Shi Yan was suddenly struck by the music’s gentle waves. His crazed gaze flickered with bewilderment, and he froze.

Wisps of faint mist—tinged with exposure, despair, and fear—began to seep from his body, enveloping him in fog. The cyclones in his seven hundred and twenty acupoints spun madly, refining and purifying the strange energy again and again.

Shi Yan's crimson eyes slowly faded to normal, a hint of clarity returning. He realized that the beautiful girl had, in the end, reached out to help him.

Grateful, Shi Yan sat where he was, letting his mind immerse in the enchanting music. He concentrated fully on cycling his vital energy, his whole being gradually relaxing.

In this perilous forest, he entered a wondrous state of emptiness and selflessness.

He did not know how much time passed. The mist swirling around him gradually withdrew, guided back into his acupoints.

Suddenly, strands of peculiar warmth flowed out from his seven hundred and twenty acupoints, seeping into his meridians and infusing his vital energy.

Shi Yan shuddered all over, clearly feeling his vital energy condense and thicken at an astonishing rate!

In the span of just ten breaths, his vital energy grew five or six times denser!

The sudden increase of energy kept condensing in his lower abdomen, filling him with boundless strength. Shi Yan was elated—he realized the essence he’d drawn from Karu had finally been purified by his acupoints.

Holding his breath, focusing intently, he directed his now-mighty energy into his twelve primary and eight extraordinary meridians.

The surging energy, like a torrent breaking through a dam, rampaged through his body, shattering blockages with stabbing pain and making all his meridians flow freely.

The newfound abundance of vital energy, boundless in potential, coursed through his body according to the path of the Great Circulation. One closed passage after another was blasted open by the sheer force.

The sun set, and a bright moon rose amidst the starry night.

Suddenly, Shi Yan’s body trembled. The last blocked meridian was finally broken through. Stifling his overwhelming joy, he cycled his energy through the Great Circulation, completing a full round.

When he finished, he exhaled deeply, awakening from his arduous cultivation. Gazing up at the star-filled sky, he felt that all his hardship had finally paid off. A sense of indescribable comfort filled him.

The free flow of all his meridians signaled he had truly stepped into the innate realm!

By absorbing Karu’s essence and surviving two brushes with bloodthirsty madness, he had finally purified all of Karu’s power, using his now-pure energy to break through every meridian and enter a new realm altogether.

The bloodthirsty madness within him vanished completely with the purification of Karu’s essence.

Recalling previous experiences, Shi Yan drew a conclusion: whenever his acupoints absorbed the essence of the dead, before it was fully purified, negative emotions would leak out—triggering the darkest corners of his mind, making him violent and uncontrollable.

With the weaker martial artists he’d absorbed before, their energy wasn’t strong enough to overwhelm him, so he barely managed to restrain himself.

But Karu, an entire realm higher, brought with his essence far more negativity—too much for Shi Yan to resist, nearly costing him his sanity.

Now, with Karu’s energy fully refined and a new realm achieved, he no longer had to fear such backlash.

Crack, crack!

He moved his limbs, then slowly rose to his feet. The pain in his body had vanished, the broken bones in his chest seemingly healed.

Feeling himself over, Shi Yan smiled with satisfaction.

He knew his rapid recovery was due not only to his breakthrough, but also to that "Undying Martial Spirit."

Just before losing his mind, he had acutely sensed the cells in his chest wound growing exceptionally active, beginning to repair the injury ahead of time.

Looking around, Shi Yan realized he was in an exposed spot. The thought that he had just cultivated so intently in such an open area left him feeling a bit uneasy.

If Mo Yanyu had still been pursuing him, training here would have meant certain death at her hands.

The music had long since faded. He remembered it had still been daylight when he began, and now the moon hung high—he must have been cultivating for quite some time. He was deeply grateful to the beautiful girl; she had saved him twice—once by chance, and once deliberately.

From their conversation, Shi Yan gathered that others were still hunting them. Out of gratitude, he did not hesitate long before deciding to continue following their trail.

He disliked owing debts of gratitude—he would repay her two rescues in his own way.

...

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