8: Chapter 8 The Ancient Ring

The stone cave was cold and damp.

Ye Tian finished the last bite of his dry rations, the wound on his back still throbbing with a dull ache.

The warm current emitted by the stone bead had slowed his injury's progress, but it hadn't fully healed.

He took out the three stalks of red sun grass.

The crimson fruits shimmered in the dim light, emitting a rich medicinal fragrance.

Swallowing them directly would unleash a violent medicinal power; it was both wasteful and dangerous.

It would be best to refine them into a potion, but he lacked the necessary conditions.

After a moment of contemplation, he picked up one stalk, plucked a few fruits, carefully stuffed them into his mouth, and swallowed.

A scorching heat instantly exploded in his stomach, as if he had swallowed burning coals!

The medicinal power washed over his entire body with brute force, bringing a tearing pain.

He let out a muffled groan and immediately activated the Body Refining technique from the nameless booklet, guiding this scorching medicinal power to strike those remote, unopened auxiliary Meridians.

At the same time, the stone bead in his bosom seemed to be triggered by the red sun grass's power. It heated up again, surging with an even hotter current that merged into the violent medicinal power!

The two heat currents overlapped, and their power increased dramatically!

"Ah!"

Ye Tian finally couldn't help but let out a low growl. His body trembled violently, and fine beads of blood seeped through the surface of his skin. His entire being felt as if it had been thrown into a furnace for forging!

The pain far exceeded any previous session of Cultivation.

But he gritted his teeth. Though his consciousness was nearly drowned by the agony, he relied on instinct to frantically circulate the technique, guiding the destructive heat current to crash through his body.

Narrow and tough auxiliary Meridians were forcibly burst open and widened one by one.

His flesh and blood felt as if they were being crushed and reconstructed over and over again.

After an unknown amount of time, the scorching sensation gradually faded, transforming into a deep warmth that nourished his torn Meridians and exhausted Physical Body.

He collapsed to the ground, drenched in sweat and a foul-smelling mixture of blood and blackish-gray Impurities.

He was exhausted to the point of death, but deep within his body, an unprecedented sense of power was quietly growing.

Pure and heavy.

He barely managed to lift his hand and clench his fist.

His knuckles let out a dull, explosive crack.

His strength had increased by a large margin.

With the dual effects of the red sun grass and the stone bead, that nameless Body Refining technique had advanced significantly.

The hideous wound on his back had also closed and scabbed over.

He rested for a long time before struggling to sit up.

Looking at the remaining two and a half stalks of red sun grass, his eyes brightened slightly.

This stuff, combined with the stone bead, had miraculous effects on Body Refining.

But that sensation just now—he definitely didn't want to experience it a second time right away.

After carefully storing the red sun grass, he regulated his breathing for a moment. Once his strength had recovered slightly, he got up and walked out of the stone cave.

He had to leave the mountains as soon as possible.

He chose an even more remote path back, trying his best to avoid areas where Vicious Beasts were frequently active.

He was exceptionally vigilant along the way.

The outskirts of the mountain range seemed even quieter than when he had arrived. Even the birdsong was sparse, and a strange sense of oppression permeated the air.

While passing through a rocky slope, he suddenly stopped and lowered his body.

In the air not far ahead, a very faint, almost imperceptible, unusual aura drifted.

It wasn't the rank smell of a Vicious Beast, nor the scent of rotting vegetation, but a cold sense of sharpness.

He approached carefully.

In the pile of rocks, several bottomless slash marks were carved into the hard stone, their surfaces as smooth as mirrors.

On the ground nearby, a few torn pieces of black cloth were scattered. Their material was unique and did not belong to the Ye Family.

Further away, a few drops of congealed, blackened blood were splattered on the moss.

Signs of a fight.

Moreover, the strength of the person who had struck far exceeded his understanding.

Those clean and efficient slashes on the rock were definitely not something an ordinary Qi Gathering Realm practitioner could achieve.

His heart tightened slightly.

The Second Elder had said that the outskirts of the Black Cloud Mountains were not peaceful; it seemed he hadn't been lying.

Not daring to linger, he quickened his pace and bypassed the area.

The further he walked toward the outskirts, the heavier that inexplicable sense of oppression became.

Occasionally, he could hear faint beast roars from the far distance, but they weren't coming from his direction.

Finally, the outline of the Ye Family settlement appeared in a distant mountain valley.

He breathed a small sigh of relief.

Just as he was about to exit the last patch of dense forest, something at the base of an ancient tree ahead caught a glimmer of light in his peripheral vision.

His footsteps paused as he looked over warily.

It was a ring half-buried in the decaying leaves.

It was a dull color, its material unrecognizable. Its surface was engraved with extremely complex patterns, and something seemed to be embedded in the center, though it was covered in a layer of dust and lacked any luster.

He had never seen those patterns before, yet he felt strangely familiar with them.

It was as if he had seen them in an illustration in some miscellaneous book.

He hesitated for a moment, then carefully stepped forward and used his short blade to push aside the decaying leaves.

The ring was intact; aside from being dusty, it wasn't damaged.

The cold, sharp aura had completely vanished here.

Who dropped it?

Was it related to the signs of fighting just now?

He pondered for a moment before finally using the tip of his blade to pick up the ring. He didn't touch it directly with his hands, instead wrapping it in a piece of coarse cloth and tucking it into his bosom.

He quickly walked out of the dense forest.

By the time he returned to his small courtyard, the sky was near dusk.

When his mother saw his disheveled state—his wounds healed but still stained with blood—her face turned pale with fright.

"Mother, I'm fine," Ye Tian comforted her. He hurriedly washed his face and ducked into his room.

He closed the door.

First, he took out the two and a half stalks of red sun grass and carefully hid them.

Then, he took out the coarse cloth bundle.

He opened it.

The dull ring lay quietly in the cloth, its patterns shimmering under the oil lamp.

He stared at the patterns; the more he looked, the more that inexplicable sense of familiarity refused to go away.

He tried to slowly channel a wisp of weak Qi toward the ring.

The moment the Qi touched the ring...

The ring suddenly jolted!

The patterns on the surface began to flow!

The dusty inlay in the center suddenly lit up with a very faint, dark-gold light!

At the same time, the stone bead in his bosom vibrated and heated up more violently than ever before!

A massive aura suddenly radiated from the ring. Though it went silent after just a moment, it made Ye Tian's hair stand on end!

He jerked his hand back, looking at the ring with uncertainty and alarm.

The ring had returned to its dead silence; everything just now seemed like an illusion.

But the residual burning temperature of the stone bead and the inexplicable palpitation in his heart told him it wasn't.

What exactly was this ring?

Was there some connection between it and the stone bead?

Ye Tian didn't sleep all night.

He placed the two items separately, not daring to try again easily.

The cold aura that had erupted for a moment made his heart race.

This was not something he could touch at his current level.

As soon as it was light, he wrapped the ring in layers of thick cloth, stuffed it into the deepest part of a wall crack, and temporarily stopped thinking about it.

His strength was still insufficient.

He thought of the Family's Martial Arts Pavilion.

Qi Gathering Realm disciples could enter the first floor once a month to select a Martial Skill to practice.

He had never gone before; having no Qi to practice with, what use would a Martial Skill be?

Now, it was time to go.

The Martial Arts Pavilion was a vital area of the Ye Family, guarded by a Clan Elder.

Ye Tian verified his identity and stepped into the pavilion.

The first floor was spacious, with rows of bookshelves holding hundreds of Jade Slips.

A few scattered Ye Family disciples were making their selections.

His gaze swept across them.

The Jade Slips all had simple labels: Rock Shattering Palm (Yellow Rank Low Grade), Shadowless Kick (Yellow Rank Medium Grade), Basic Sword Technique (Yellow Rank Low Grade).

Most were the lowest Yellow Rank Low Grade; even Medium Grade was rare.

Their power was limited, but they were easy to learn.

He needed a Martial Skill that could utilize his current physical strength.

The strength brought by Body Refining.

He walked and paused.

Mountain Splitting Fist?

Fierce, but lacking in agility.

Silk Entwining Hands?

Exquisite, but lacking in power.

None were quite right.

He walked to a dusty bookshelf at the very back.

The Martial Skills placed here seemed more obscure, with few people interested in them.

A dull-colored black Jade Slip with slight damage on its edges caught his eye.