45: Golden Robe Skill

Chen Linsheng stabilized his Qi and blood, which had been agitated by passing through the water curtain, and scanned the dry cave with a burning gaze.

The surrounding walls were not natural, rough rock faces, but presented an unusually smooth texture, with clear chisel marks remaining on them.

This was by no means a work of nature; it had clearly been carved out by someone using a Sharp Weapon!

"An artificial Immortal Cave?" He felt a chill in his heart and became even more vigilant.

He did not venture deep immediately, but stood near the entrance, pushing the "Five Senses Clarity" and "Minute Insight" of his [Tracking (Perfection)] to the limit.

His gaze swept over every inch of the ground, his ears captured the slightest sound, and his nostrils flared to distinguish any abnormal scent in the air.

There was no subtle clicking sound of traps being triggered, no sweet, fishy, or putrid smell characteristic of poisonous objects, no breathing or heartbeat of a second person, and not even a hint of impending danger arose.

Apart from the figure sitting there and the items in front of it, this cave seemed empty, so quiet that only the sound of his own heartbeat and blood flow remained.

After confirming repeatedly that there were no obvious Trapping or dangers, Chen Linsheng took a step and cautiously walked toward the figure sitting in the center of the cave.

As he got closer, with the soft light from the glowing stones on the four walls, he finally saw the true face of the "figure".

It was not a living person, but a complete human skeleton!

This skeleton was not the usual grayish-white withered bone, but presented a warm and dense silver-white luster throughout its body, shimmering with a faint radiance in the dim light, even vaguely reflecting his own figure.

Chen Linsheng's pupils contracted sharply, and his breathing stalled!

"This is... Silver Bone?!"

Having been influenced by the books in his Master Zhao Zheng's library during these days, he was no longer the Herb Gathering boy who knew nothing about the Dao of martial arts.

He knew that Skin Quenching, Flesh Refining, and Dragon Tendon were the lower three Realms of the martial path; although one could fight lions and tigers, the physical changes were ultimately limited.

Starting from the fourth Realm, the "Iron Bone Realm", a Martial Artist truly began to transcend the ordinary, stepping into a non-human Domain, and their lifespan would be significantly extended.

The Iron Bone Realm involved guiding massive Qi and blood to infiltrate the bone marrow, from the long bones of the limbs to the vertebrae of the trunk, and finally to the skull, tempering all two hundred and six bones of the body until they were as hard as refined iron.

This Realm was the fundamental manifestation of "Aptitude" in terms of "Foundation", and was also divided into four levels: Iron Bone, Silver Bone, Gold Bone, and Jade Bone.

Even the lowest level of Iron Bone was one in ten thousand, enough to dominate a single county.

And Silver Bone was even more difficult; it was hard to achieve without being a True Disciple of a major power!

His Master Zhao Zheng, as a Peak Jiaojin Realm expert, was already a top-tier expert in Qinghe County, yet he was still a step away from the Iron Bone Realm, let alone Silver Bone!

Chen Linsheng never expected that in this mysterious Immortal Cave at the bottom of the Qinghe River, an expert who was at least in the Iron Bone Realm and had reached the Silver Bone level had passed away!

His shock was beyond words; he bowed to the Silver Bone, both to express his respect for the Senior and to sigh at the vastness of the martial path and his own insignificance.

After bowing, his gaze fell on the three jade boxes, each about a foot square, placed in front of the Silver Bone.

The jade boxes had a lustrous texture, and one could tell at a glance that they were not mortal grade items, capable of preserving the things inside very well.

Chen Linsheng did not rashly reach out to touch them. He took a step back, flipped his wrist, and three sharp-edged stones were already held between his fingers.

Throwing (Perfection)!

"Pop! Pop! Pop!"

Three crisp collision sounds rang out almost simultaneously. The stones accurately hit the edges of the lids of the three jade boxes. With a burst of clever force, the lids popped backward, revealing the items inside.

There was no poisonous smoke or hidden weapons as he had expected.

Chen Linsheng waited intently for a moment. At the same time, the "immunity to all poisons" Divine Effect of his Herb Gathering (Perfection) was also silently sensing. After confirming that there was no new abnormal toxin in the air, he slowly stepped forward.

The three jade boxes, from left to right, contained: a piece of golden foil as thin as a cicada's wing with golden light flowing on it; several small jade bottles; and a black iron book with an ancient cover, neither gold nor iron but exceptionally heavy.

He first picked up the golden foil.

The golden foil was slightly heavy in his hand, and it was filled with content written in tiny, fly-head-like characters. He concentrated and read:

"I, Curled Beard Guest, True Disciple of the [Great Wheel Temple] in Longyou Dao. I pursued and suppressed the Devil Head 'Thousand-faced Demon' to this Qinghe County, fought him for three days, and finally killed him under my palm. However, this wretch counterattacked before dying, using 'Bone-Corroding Poison Powder' to secretly harm me. This poison is treacherous, penetrating into the bone marrow, and no medicine can cure it. Even though I have the Foundation of Silver Bone, I can hardly resist its erosion. How sad!"

"I regret not being able to Breakthrough to the [Blood Exchange Realm] earlier. If I had reached this Realm, my Qi and blood would have transformed, and I would have been immune to all poisons; how could it have come to this! It is a pity that my [Golden Robe Skill] is not yet complete..."

"Now I pass away here, unable to bear to see my life's learning vanish with me. I leave behind several bottles of Medicinal Pill to aid in cultivation; I also leave my main Cultivation Technique, the 'Iron Scroll True Explanation' of the [Golden Robe Skill], hoping that a destined person in future generations will obtain it, practice it diligently, and promote my Righteous Path; this can be considered fulfilling a piece of my Karma."

"Whoever obtains my Legacy, if one day you are fated to go to Longyou, you can go to the Great Wheel Temple and report my name; perhaps you will have an Opportunity. However, remember, until you reach the Blood Exchange Realm, do not speak lightly of revenge. Behind the 'Thousand-faced Demon', I fear there is an even greater shadow..."

At the signature, it clearly read: "Great Liang, the 17th year of Chengping, autumn, final words of Curled Beard Guest."

"17th year of Chengping?" Chen Linsheng calculated silently, his face changing slightly, "That was... twenty years ago!"

He turned his head sharply and looked at the jade bottles in the jade box next to him.

An ominous premonition surged in his heart.

He quickly picked up a jade bottle, pulled out the stopper, and poured out the Medicinal Pill inside.

He saw that the Medicinal Pill had long lost its luster, becoming shriveled and blackened. As soon as it left the bottle and touched the air, it quickly turned into a small pinch of gray-black powder, not even leaving a trace of medicinal smell.

He opened the other jade bottles one after another, and the result was no exception: the Medicinal Pill inside had all completely rotted away due to the passage of time and the potential existence of toxicity, losing their efficacy.

"Sure enough..."

Chen Linsheng sighed, a huge sense of loss and regret rising in his heart.

Twenty years of time was enough to turn these Spirit Pill that had not been properly preserved into nothingness.

This was simply entering a treasure mountain and returning empty-handed...

No, there was one last thing.

He cast his gaze toward the black iron book in the last jade box.

On the cover of the book were three vigorous and ancient characters that seemed to contain some kind of power — "Golden Robe Skill"!

He picked up the iron book; it was heavy and cold to the touch.

Opening the title page, a line of even more magnificent handwriting caught his eye:

"Golden Robe Skill, a treasure grade High Grade body-forging secret transmission, is the Foundation method of my [Great Wheel Temple] True Disciple. When the skill is completed, the body is like being draped in a golden robe, immune to all evils, possessing infinite strength, pointing directly to the Great Dao above [Blood Exchange], and Divine Ability will arise naturally, far from what mortal grade or spirit grade can compare to!"

Treasure grade Cultivation Technique!

Far surpassing the mortal grade "Hunyuan Pile Posture Technique" and "Python Dragon Strength" he was currently cultivating!

Chen Linsheng's heart burned, and he couldn't wait to flip through it.

However, the more he read, the tighter his brows furrowed.

The prerequisites for cultivating this "Golden Robe Skill" were shockingly harsh!

One needs to collect and Cultivate at least five specific body-forging Cultivation Techniques, each focusing on tempering skin, flesh, tendon, bone, and organs, to the Minor Achievement Realm, to lay a flawless Physical Body Foundation, before one can carry the extremely rigid, extremely Yang, massive Qi and blood circulation of the "Golden Robe Skill", and thus Initiate!

"Five body-forging Cultivation Techniques at Minor Achievement? This..." Chen Linsheng felt this condition was simply unbelievable.

It was already not easy for an ordinary Martial Artist to Master one or two main Cultivation Techniques in their entire life, yet this "Golden Robe Skill" actually required practicing five prerequisite Cultivation Techniques first?

He didn't believe in evil and tried to communicate with the spirit book in his mind with his intention to see if it could be recorded directly.

The spirit book's luster flowed, and information about the "Golden Robe Skill" did indeed appear, but a line of text was clearly marked below:

[Cultivation prerequisites not met: Need "Iron Clothes Art", "Golden Bell Shield", "Hundred Refinements Steel Body", "Jade Marrow Guiding Technique", and "Five Viscera Absorbing Essence Art" all to reach the Minor Achievement Realm, before one can Initiate the "Golden Robe Skill".]

It really didn't work!

The spirit book directly judged that the prerequisites were insufficient!

Chen Linsheng took a deep breath and suppressed the agitation in his heart.

Although the conditions were despairingly harsh, he was not completely discouraged.

"I have the spirit book in hand. As long as I find the Cultivation Technique and can Initiate it, it is far easier to improve to Minor Achievement or even a higher Realm than for ordinary people. Five body-forging Cultivation Techniques... although difficult to find, it is not impossible!"

He carefully read the iron book and found that, in addition to the main method of the "Golden Robe Skill", it also included two of the five prerequisite Cultivation Techniques in the appendix.

The complete cultivation methods for "Iron Clothes Art" and "Golden Bell Shield".

This was clearly left by the Curled Beard Guest for the convenience of the successor.

""Iron Clothes Art" focuses on skin quenching, and "Golden Bell Shield" focuses on Flesh Refining... just in line with my current Realm." Chen Linsheng's fighting spirit reignited, "I will first find a way to get these two Cultivation Techniques and start practicing. As for the other three, "Hundred Refinements Steel Body", "Jade Marrow Guiding Technique", and "Five Viscera Absorbing Essence Art", I will slowly look for Opportunity."

He carefully put away the golden foil; this might be a token for going to the Great Wheel Temple in the future.

He also cleaned up the empty jade bottles and the rotten medicinal dregs.

Finally, he solemnly tucked the iron book containing the "Golden Robe Skill" and the two prerequisite Cultivation Techniques close to his body.

Bowing again to the Silver Bone of the Curled Beard Guest, Chen Linsheng did not stay any longer and turned to walk toward the water curtain.

Passing through the water curtain and returning to the cold river water, he looked back at the mysterious Immortal Cave hidden at the bottom of the river, his heart already set on a new goal.

Collect five body-forging Cultivation Techniques and Cultivate the "Golden Robe Skill"!

He dragged the corpse of the Iron-headed Alligator Gar and the cold jade box containing the Glazed Grass, swimming toward the light above.

The Immortal Cave behind him was once again shrouded in river water and darkness, as if it had never appeared.