40: Seeking death in a dead end, the medicine works and meets Xiaobai again (Part 1)

Chen Cuo unleashed a full-power palm strike, directly pulverizing Stone Deficiency, and after searching the surroundings, truly nothing remained.

Then, he clenched his fists and let out a long breath.

"Phew!"

"This is the exhilaration of overwhelming others with sheer power. If I hadn't wanted to use this Opportunity to hone my boxing, how could Stone Deficiency have survived even one of my palm strikes?"

It must be said, he could also understand the thrill of Gu Pang's three-axe style. Gu Pang, wielding a saber, used only three Moves: a chop, a sweep, and a thrust. Relying on his boundless internal Qi, his main focus was on being unreasonable and overwhelming others with power.

Chen Cuo found his own methods to be similar: upon encountering an enemy, first a strike with Iron Sand Palm, followed by a drawing saber slash, making him almost invincible among those in the Acquired Realm.

Moreover, his Physical Body was as hard as an iron tortoise. The forbidden art Stone Deficiency used, burning his Qi and blood, looked quite powerful, but Chen Cuo wasn't flustered at all. With the effect of his Innate Iron Armor, resisting it posed no problem.

However, Chen Cuo didn't give him a chance, choosing to blast him to death with one palm. His current palm force was capped at the strength of two elephants, and with his Innate talent, it became the strength of four elephants. In the face of such immense power, capable of tearing and destroying everything, the subtlety of Moves became completely irrelevant.

This caused Chen Cuo, even when using only the simplest Iron Sand Palm Moves, to display a unique beauty that captivated the heart.

Power, limitless power—this power made Chen Cuo feel as if he could pluck stars and grasp the moon, Move mountains, and sever rivers!

It was intoxicating, mesmerizing!

"Perhaps, the Invincible Iron Palm talent is even more extraordinary than I imagined."

The first Iron Sand Palm strike, unleashed with stored power, doubled its force with no upper limit and only a half-hour cooldown. With this talent, could he break mountains and shatter star rivers in the future?

Chen Cuo dared not think further. By the time that truly happened, he estimated he would have already achieved true immortality, right?

After dealing with Stone Deficiency, Chen Cuo didn't let Second Brother Lin regain consciousness. He ran for dozens more miles and found a cave on a mountain peak, where he hid and quietly waited.

"Spirited Monkey Art Boxing, 2387 / 2500."

Inside the cave, Chen Cuo set Second Brother Lin down, then sat cross-legged to check his Cultivation Technique progress.

Just now, Chen Cuo had used Stone Deficiency as a whetstone to Cultivate his monkey boxing, making rapid progress and quickly nearing Perfection.

Once the monkey-form boxing reached Perfection, only the praying mantis boxing would remain to achieve Perfection, allowing for the unification of the Five Spirits, the harmonious fusion of spirit and demon, and the refining of all body Qi, leading to a Breakthrough into the Acquired Realm.

However, Chen Cuo was not in a hurry. Firstly, it hadn't been long since his Breakthrough in organ refining, so a period of consolidation would be beneficial. Secondly, he wanted to wait until the other two Cultivation Techniques also reached Perfection, allowing for a simultaneous Breakthrough.

"Cough, cough, cough, is there any water?"

After an unknown period, with the sun high outside the cave, Chen Cuo heard a fit of coughing. He opened his eyes to see Second Brother Lin struggling to get up, his voice hoarse.

He then took out a fruit from his Pregnant and threw it into Second Brother Lin's hand, watching him eat it ravenously.

Second Brother Lin nodded repeatedly, continuously thanking Chen Cuo. He had been with the team since yesterday afternoon, not a drop of water touching his lips the entire way, and was even scorched by Stone Deficiency's burning internal Qi. His stomach had long been parched and hungry.

After gulping down a fruit, he took out two coarse grain cakes from his Pregnant, extended his hand to Chen Cuo, and said, "Benefactor, thank you for saving me yesterday. Otherwise, I would surely have died by their hands."

Second Brother Lin finally sobered up and realized that Chen Cuo was precisely one of the retainers following Chang Shi. Although he didn't know why Chen Cuo had left the team and taken him, this didn't prevent him from thanking Chen Cuo.

In the chaotic battle last night, as a Mortal Martial Artist, he might have died on the spot with a single misstep. Being taken away by Chen Cuo, however, was a departure from danger.

"No need to be polite. I saved you, and naturally, there are conditions. I told you yesterday not to care who I am, only what I can give you."

Chen Cuo politely declined the dry rations offered to him, deeming it prudent to be cautious about what he consumed. He then uttered this incredibly pretentious statement, fully displaying the Aura of a master.

Second Brother Lin didn't mind Chen Cuo's refusal and cautiously asked, "May I ask what Benefactor desires and what you can give me?"

"What I desire, of course, is the true location of the Mountain Spirit that your family possesses. As for what I can give you, I see you also know some martial arts, but they are too crude and lack a system. I have a Cultivation Technique here that can be Cultivated to the Acquired Realm, which is very suitable for you!"

Chen Cuo slowly revealed his purpose, and immediately Second Brother Lin's eyes showed extreme surprise, not understanding how Chen Cuo knew that their family had the true location of the Mountain Spirit.

"Benefactor, how do you know that I know the usual location of the Mountain Spirit?"

"Hmm! I guessed." Chen Cuo stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance. At this moment, there was no sound from Chang Shi's direction, indicating that the conflict there had ended.

"Ah!" Second Brother Lin was dumbfounded.

Saying it was a guess was not false. As hunters, the Lin family, being recommended by the County Magistrate, clearly knew some information. Now, Second Brother Lin's father, along with his eldest and third brothers, had been taken away by other forces. Those people weren't fools; they wouldn't make useless efforts.

Furthermore, a Mountain Spirit, being a ginseng that developed sentience, would gather moonlight for Cultivation and could not Move for long periods; it must have a base. It was possible Second Brother Lin knew the location, which was why Chen Cuo made that remark.

"Alright! Since Benefactor has said so, I will be direct. My father did tell my three brothers and me about two places where the Mountain Spirit usually resides, but both of those places are dead ends on the outskirts of the mountain range. My father didn't dare approach them and didn't know if they were real or fake!"

Second Brother Lin immediately spoke respectfully, explaining the entire process from his father's discovery of the Mountain Spirit to his later search.

It turned out that after Second Brother Lin's father discovered the Mountain Spirit, he intended to monopolize this immense fortune. Over the next few months, the Lin family members went into the mountains daily to search for traces of the Mountain Spirit.

Twice they even almost caught the Mountain Spirit, but ultimately failed. Later, other hunters noticed their suspicious behavior and followed Second Brother Lin's father, which eventually led to the news of the Mountain Spirit's birth spreading.

Afterward, his family was constantly bothered by Martial Artists from various forces who came daily to take them away to search for traces of the Mountain Spirit.

Chen Cuo mused, "Greed knows no bounds. Without powerful strength, even if the Lin family truly Acquired the Mountain Spirit, they wouldn't be able to keep it and would only face destruction."

However, he showed no expression and said, "Oh, where are those two places?"

"Yin Wind Cave and Cold Pool Waterfall! The ordinary forces we encountered earlier, protected by the county yamen, didn't make our Lin family fear them, so we didn't reveal the news.

Just a few days ago, before Benefactor arrived, someone important from the State City came, someone even the County Magistrate had to serve obsequiously. My father was also taken by them, so I'm afraid this news has already spread."

Xining County is not large, but it is fully equipped, and as the gateway to the Wuya Mountain Range, it has more military officials than civil officials.

Even though Xining County Magistrate Huang Kunshan was subservient in front of Chang Shi, no small Gang in the county dared to oppress him.

With his protection, it's no wonder the Lin family remained safe even after the Mountain Spirit news had been exposed for so long.

Unfortunately, those who came before were Disciples of the Martial Alliance and Young Masters from aristocratic families in the State City, making Huang Kunshan powerless.

As a result, Second Brother Lin's father and brothers were all taken away. Second Brother Lin's father and eldest brother were with the Martial Alliance team, while his third brother was taken by the Wu Family. Only Second Brother Lin, who was hunting in the forest a few days ago, escaped for a while, but he didn't expect to encounter Chang Shi upon returning home.

After hearing the news, Chen Cuo took the Opportunity to ask Second Brother Lin, "Do you want to come with me, or wait here?"

Second Brother Lin didn't hesitate at all and said, "I am willing to go with Benefactor."

Since the Mountain Spirit had appeared, a heaven-sent Opportunity, Chen Cuo naturally didn't want to miss it. The Dao of martial arts values contention; what one Cultivates in martial arts is a spirit of determination. Chen Cuo's martial Dao was to plan thoroughly before acting, never acting on impulse, but that didn't mean enduring humiliation and retreating.

The situation where the three Acquired Martial Artists oppressed him in the Vajra Sect's Assembly Hall was still vivid in his mind.

This grudge must be avenged!

Otherwise, his mind would not be at peace.

Anyway, the various forces that came this time had no Innate Martial Artists, so there was nothing to fear.

As for the Mountain Spirit, if he could contend for it, he would; if not, he would use the Opportunity to find a place for secluded Cultivation.

Chen Cuo, having thought everything through, took Second Brother Lin and headed towards the two dangerous locations he identified. After several hours of travel, they saw a tall mountain in the distance, emitting a thundering roar.

A huge waterfall cascaded down the mountain, shimmering like a bright silver river under the sunlight, dazzling and magnificent.

Upon closer approach, Chen Cuo discovered a deep pool beneath the waterfall. A gentle breeze stirred ripples across the water's surface, and a chilling coldness wafted over him, making him feel refreshed.

It was noon, when the sun's heat was most intense, yet the water plants around the pool were covered in glistening ice crystals, indicating how cold it truly was, living up to its name of Cold Pool.

However, there were no other people around, indicating that the Mountain Spirit was not here.