Chapter 71: Illusory Scenery Of The Blessed Land, Microscopic Level Grandmaster
Linjiang Prefecture, central area.
The mountains are steep and undulating, and the Jade Belt River has carved out a treacherous natural gorge over countless years.
This gorge is about ten li long, with turbulent water currents inside and precipitous terrain on both banks, making it a vital thoroughfare connecting the upper and lower counties of Linjiang Prefecture.
This is Twin Dragon Gorge, also the location of the Grain Transport Gang’s headquarters.
A massive water fortress is built into the mountainside, with densely packed houses inside, where hundreds of people move about, each attending to their duties.
The core area is a fortress constructed from hardwood and massive stones, serving as a meeting place for the important figures of the Grain Transport Gang.
It is situated on a wide, flat area in the middle section of the gorge, nearly twenty feet above the water, backed by a sheer cliff, overlooking the entire river channel.
RUMBLE!
Waves churn and surge, splashing up layers of spray.
In the center of the surging, boiling water, near dark reefs, a head silently emerged.
Hong Yuan narrowed his eyes and scanned his surroundings, paying particular attention to the stockade in the core area.
Centered around that fortress, the surrounding trees and weeds had been cleared, leaving a bare expanse, visible to anyone.
In addition to this, eight sentry towers, each fifty feet tall, were erected around the stockade, and several hanging baskets descended from the cliffs on both banks, with scouts inside observing the surrounding area.
Even setting aside these scouts, the stockade itself had guards every three steps, with strict patrols, and those entering or leaving even had their waist tokens checked.
Perhaps it wasn’t this strict before, but ever since the bodies of Chen Jiulang and others were sent back, and the news of Hong Yuan’s suspended corpse challenge spread.
The Grain Transport Gang was both shocked and enraged, and every member was on high alert, daring not to be slack in the slightest.
With such tight security, unless one could become invisible, no master, no matter how skilled, could infiltrate without alerting anyone.
Seeing this, Hong Yuan let out a cold snort in his heart.
These members of the Grain Transport Gang truly couldn’t shed their bandit habits.
He, Hong, was upright and honorable, with a clear conscience, and if he said he would arrive in three days, he would certainly keep his word.
With such strict defenses, did they think he would launch a surprise attack?
Ridiculous!
The only reason he was here now was to scout the situation in advance, to avoid being ambushed by these despicable scoundrels of the Grain Transport Gang.
Ducking into the water, Hong Yuan held his breath and swam for over ten li, then with a ‘splash,’ he leaped out from the riverbed and landed on the riverbank about thirty feet away.
With a surge of his qi and blood, he shook his whole body with force, scattering the water droplets from his clothes in clusters.
However, force was ultimately not the inner energy or true qi found in martial arts novels; it could not dry his robes, so Hong Yuan didn’t mind, and walked along the riverbank in his wet clothes.
With two days left until the appointed battle, he had time to sort through his gains. With a thought, rows of dark text appeared.
【 Blessed Land Dao Master （ Gray ）—Stage Ascent First Tier: Hong Yuan （18）】
【 Root Bone: 7/100】
【 Comprehension: 7/100】
【 Talent: Qi Flows Through the Hundred Skeletons, Clear Eyes and Penetrating the Profound 】
‘Indeed, the further one progresses, the more difficult it becomes. In the past period, I’ve fought at least twenty to thirty battles, not to mention countless skirmishes, yet not a single strand has increased.’
‘Perhaps it’s because the quality of most of the battles was too low.’
‘Moreover, although the data doesn’t show any increase, I can personally feel that I’ve reached a certain limit. After this battle with the Grain Transport Gang, it should increase.’
Hong Yuan stroked his chin, and his vision instantly blurred. With a flash of his form, he was already inside the Blessed Land Space.
He first walked towards the nine steps below the stone door, and then, as expected, was flung back after ascending one step.
Hong Yuan didn’t leave immediately but walked towards the periphery of the square.
This white void square was only the size of an ordinary stadium. Hong Yuan soon reached its edge and gazed into the distance, but it was all misty.
The entire world was covered by this white mist, and even Clear Eyes and Penetrating the Profound was useless.
Hong Yuan was not disappointed; this was not the first time he had gazed into the distance. Just as he was about to leave, the mist in front of him suddenly parted slightly, and a faint light flickered past.
Hong Yuan blinked. What was that?
He didn’t see it clearly!
Could it happen again?
Having finally seen something unusual in this Blessed Land Space, Hong Yuan’s spirits lifted. He patiently squatted down to wait.
Time flowed without passage in the spiritual and mental space.
Vaguely, Hong Yuan’s gaze flickered, and he saw a line of white mist split open again, followed by a swiftly flashing light that disappeared.
But Hong Yuan’s face showed excitement. This time he saw it clearly; the light shifted extremely rapidly, and within it, mountains, rivers, and many cities appeared.
Of course, this was not enough to excite him; the main reason was—
‘Observing an illusion from somewhere beyond the heavens, my mind received a slight improvement, Comprehension +1 strand!’
Beyond the heavens? A world beyond the heavens?!
Hong Yuan took a breath. If his guess was correct, then this Great Year Blessed Land might be more miraculous than he imagined.
With this strand of comprehension gained, Hong Yuan continued to wait. Unfortunately, this time, even his spiritual manifestation felt somewhat fatigued, and he did not see the mist open again.
He withdrew from the stone door space, his consciousness returning. His gaze swept across, and the sky had already turned completely dark. Accompanied by thunderous waves, thick mist spread out.
Drops of water began to flow down his body again.
Hong Yuan’s mind was clear, and he vaguely had some enlightenment. He suddenly leaped, jumping into the swirling torrent.
His body was immediately engulfed by the waves. Amidst the crashing breakers, Hong Yuan clenched his fist, his force erupting, and he struck out fiercely.
Spiral Force erupted!
The mutual benefit of hardness and softness, a force that blended and repelled yin and yang, spun out and exploded violently.
With a loud bang, a surging wave was blasted apart by a single punch, rolling back with the rushing current.
Within Hong Yuan’s body, qi and blood transformed into force, flowing out in wisps, clearer than at any other moment, as if a single thought could be divided into a thousand pieces.
Force like drawing silk!
This was no longer the violent use of microscopic-level force as before, but a true mastery of the microscopic level in terms of technique.
‘After Entering Force, the first layer is like opening a floodgate, the second layer is the mutual benefit of hardness and softness, freely controlled…’
‘The third layer, the microscopic level, force like drawing silk, the ultimate of form transformation…’
‘This is the peak of force transformation?!’
Hong Yuan was somewhat dazed, feeling as though he had passed the test without even exerting himself.
‘Beyond form transformation is nature transformation… However, I always feel that the microscopic level is not the end of form transformation; perhaps there is an extension!’
Every time his comprehension increased, it was the time of his most acute flashes of inspiration. Hong Yuan seized this opportunity, vaguely feeling that the microscopic level was not the end of force transformation either.
‘Besides Spiral Force…’ Hong Yuan’s gaze shifted. He retracted his fingers, and force erupted from his fingertips, fiercely grasping at a hard reef in the water.
With ripping sounds, like tearing silk, the hard stone instantly cracked with long patterns, as if scratched by diamond claws.
‘Tiger Fiend Mountain Splitting Strength, the highest secret transmission of the Tiger Subduing Sect… Who says you can’t practice it without secret techniques?!’
His claws changed again, appearing and disappearing, his force ethereal and unfixed, like the gentle wind and flowing clouds, revealing the Flowing Cloud Wuding Strength!
‘Currently, the microscopic-level forces I know are Condensed Needle Force, Spiral Force, Tiger Fiend Mountain Splitting Strength, and Flowing Cloud Wuding Strength.’
‘Tiger Subduing Strength evolved into Tiger Fiend Mountain Splitting Strength. What remains is the ‘Diamond Force’ from my self-created Diamond Palm. It’s just ordinary hard force, but with a bit of time, I can understand its derived changes and elevate it to the microscopic level.’
‘For ordinary martial artists, even if their force reaches the microscopic level, cultivating one microscopic-level force would take considerable time. For three to five types, it would take years.’
‘Moreover, practicing multiple techniques might not be stronger than mastering one!’
‘And these are just ordinary microscopic-level forces. If they are superior force methods like Tiger Fiend Mountain Splitting Strength and Flowing Cloud Wuding Strength, the time required is even longer.’
‘But I am different. Cultivating these force methods is not difficult for me. I can absorb all kinds of forces from the world and use them for my own purposes.’
‘Flowing through the six voids, applying ten thousand forces!’
Hong Yuan whispered to himself, feeling that perhaps he could try this, and might even create a ‘Six Void Force’!
