Novel Full Chapter 2285: Ascetic Training
Chapter 2285: Ascetic Training
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Upon hearing this, Wan Feng couldn’t help but smile faintly and said, “Old Xing, you’re still the same old you. Can’t you speak properly? This is Zhao Ling, who’s here for ascetic cultivation. You can make the arrangements.”
Elder Xing seemed to not have heard what Wan Feng said. He stood up, glanced at Zhao Hai, and said, “Come with me.”
Zhao Hai responded and followed Elder Xing out. Seeing Elder Xing’s demeanor, Wan Feng couldn’t help but shake his head with a faint smile. Elder Xing was just that kind of person. In his eyes, chatting was all nonsense. He didn’t want to waste words, so he spoke very little.
Wan Feng sighed and said, “Kid, good luck.” After that, he turned and left the cave, boarded the teleportation formation, and returned to the Forbidden Path Sect.
Meanwhile, Zhao Hai had already followed Elder Xing to a huge mine shaft in the mine. The shaft was very large, and Zhao Hai noticed some dry grass inside, along with some stones. Upon seeing these things, Zhao Hai was taken aback. He could clearly sense that these things had been placed there by people, and that people often rested there.
Zhao Hai immediately understood upon seeing this. This was likely the place where the Forbidden Path Sect cultivators who were quarrying stones rested at night, and it would also be his resting place for the following year.
Looking around, it was just a dug-out mine shaft, entirely made of stone. The dry grass there was practically useless. People were essentially sleeping on rocks. This was truly ascetic practice!
Elder Xing seemed oblivious to Zhao Hai’s expression. He said in a deep voice, “This will be your resting place from now on. You can find any place to rest at night. Oh, and put this on.” With that, Elder Xing took out an iron armor and handed it to Zhao Hai.
Zhao Hai took the iron armor and put it on. As soon as he put it on, he felt the circulation of his spiritual energy slow down dramatically. Although it was still circulating, it was extremely slow. If it weren’t for Zhao Hai’s mental strength being far superior to that of ordinary people, he would have almost thought that his spiritual energy had stopped circulating altogether.
Elder Xing said in a deep voice, “Never take off the iron armor. The spiritual energy in your body has been sealed. If the 1,000 catties of ironstone you are given each day is not enough, it will be added to tomorrow’s quota.”
Zhao Hai responded, “Yes.”
Elder Xing then took out a large hammer and a chisel, handed them to Zhao Hai, and said in a deep voice, “For the first three months, use this iron hammer and chisel, then switch to wood. After six months, use your hands directly. If you still cannot dig stones with your hands after six months, your ascetic training time will automatically be extended by another six months.”
Zhao Hai smiled slightly and said, “Thank you, Elder, but I don’t need it. I can just use my hands.”
This time, Elder Xing was taken aback when he heard Zhao Heng’s words. He looked at Zhao Hai and said in a deep voice, “Don’t be reckless. Those ironstone deposits are extremely difficult to dig. You’ll be lucky if you can even move them by hand after six months.”
Seeing Zhao Hai still having a confident smile, Elder Xing said, “Put it away. If you really don’t need it, just return it to me when you have a chance. Go out now. Starting today, I’ll begin timing you. Remember, one thousand catties of ironstone per day.”
Zhao Hai complied, then he took the hammer and chisel and turned and walked out of the mine, arriving at the outer mining area.
The mine has many tunnels, and the surrounding mountain walls have been carved out with chisels, creating huge, stepped rock formations.
On those rock walls were countless cultivators who are working diligently. Some held iron hammers and chisels, others held wooden hammers and chisels, and also there were others using their bare hands. Their hands looked dark and shiny, like polished metal. Standing before the rock wall, they pulled their hands back, then thrust them forward with force, inserting their hands into the rock wall as easily as inserting tofu.
However, when they withdrew their hands, they would rub them together vigorously for a while before inserting them again. Clearly, the inability to use spiritual energy to enhance their bodies was having a significant impact on them.
Some people also noticed Zhao Hai, eager to see how he mined the stones. They knew that when they first arrived, almost none of them had mined enough. The recent loss of spiritual energy was causing them considerable discomfort, significantly slowing down their mining speed.
Zhao Hai glanced at the group, then walked to a nearby rock face. He tapped the rock to test its hardness, took a deep breath, brought his hands back to his abdomen, and then threw a powerful punch.
Bang! Zhao Hai punched the rock face, but the rock wall was completely unharmed, and Zhao Hai was also unscathed. Zhao Hai now gained a new understanding of the rock wall’s hardness. ṟä𝐍O͍฿ƐＳ
At this moment, a cultivator not far from Zhao Hai saw Zhao Hai’s action and couldn’t help but scoff, “Kid, don’t waste your energy. Newcomers are better off using a hammer and chisel. Even if you break both your hands, you still won’t be able to break the stone.”
Zhao Hai glanced at the cultivator and smiled faintly then saying, “That’s not necessarily true.” He then pulled both hands to his sides, straightened his fingers, and thrust them forcefully into the rock wall. With a snap, his hands were completely embedded in the rock. He then pulled his hands back and thrust his other hand forward again, his entire hand disappearing into the rock wall once more.
The cultivator next to Zhao Hai was stunned. He stared blankly at Zhao Hai, then murmured, “How is this possible? What kind of cultivation technique are you practicing?”
Zhao Hai smiled slightly at his expression and remained silent. He hadn’t used any special techniques, he simply relied on his physical strength to plunge his hand into the rock wall. To be honest, it was incredibly painful. But as he pulled his hand out, he felt a surge of blood qi in his hand, and the hidden injury he had sustained was completely healed.
Zhao Hai raised his hands and looked at them, noticing that they were slightly red, a sign of healing. Zhao Hai knew that this was because he had unintentionally activated the Crazed Elephant Blood Qi within his cells, which meant that using this method to refine the Crazed Elephant Blood Qi within him was effective.
Having found the right method, Zhao Hai began his quarrying work for the day. Of course, he didn’t use a hammer or chisel, he simply dug the stones with his bare hands.
Zhao Hai’s actions also attracted the attention of the other cultivators. They didn’t expect Zhao Hai to be so powerful, able to dig stones with his bare hands on his very first day. Even Elder Xing was astonished, but he only went to look at where Zhao Hai was quarrying stones and returned without saying a word.
Half a day passed quickly, and soon it was noon. Zhao Hai looked at his side,next to him were several millstone-sized stones, probably weighing around a thousand catties.
At this time, Elder Xing’s voice rang out, “Food’s ready!” In any other place, people would be overjoyed to hear that dinner was served. But here, upon hearing this, everyone let out a slight groan, yet they still put down what they were doing and walked towards Elder Xing, forming a long queue in a very orderly fashion.
Zhao Hai, standing in the middle of the line, glanced ahead and noticed that the cultivators who had already received their food were sitting to the side, holding their portions but not eating. They all looked rather dejected as they stared at their food.
Zhao Hai frowned when he saw the food those people were holding. To be honest, he couldn’t eat it either, because what they were holding was just a piece of raw, bloody meat, it couldn’t even be considered food.
However, as more and more people received food, some seemed to have grown accustomed to eating raw meat, taking large mouthfuls of it.
Before long, it was Zhao Hai’s turn. Elder Xing gave Zhao Hai a piece of raw meat and said, “You must eat it all. If there’s any leftovers, or if you throw it away, you’ll have to eat up double the amount next time.”
Zhao Hai nodded, took the piece of raw meat, and sat down to the side. Looking at the raw meat in his hand, he couldn’t help but feel a little worried. In the end, he decided to eat it. After all, things had come to this point, and he had no choice but to eat it. Besides, he believed that the Forbidden Path Sect wouldn’t make people eat raw meat just for the sake of ascetic cultivation. There must be a reason for making people eat raw meat.
Most importantly, Zhao Hai had now connected his spiritual force with a carnivorous animal in the Space. The next moment, Zhao Hai felt himself become that animal. Now, looking at the piece of meat in his hand, he didn’t feel disgusted at all. On the contrary, he felt a sense of hunger. His eyes gleamed green as he looked at the piece of meat in his hand. The next moment, he took a bite and soon finished the piece of meat, still feeling somewhat unsatisfied.
After eating the meat, he immediately withdrew his spiritual force from the beast’s spiritual world. At that moment, he was a normal person again. And just as his mental energy recovered, he immediately felt a surge of blood qi flow into his body, making his blood qi even more abundant.
Upon realizing this, Zhao Hai sighed inwardly and muttered, “Sure enough, this raw meat isn’t for nothing. It really does replenish blood qi. It’s a pity that others are worried about their insufficient blood qi while I’m worried about having too much. This piece of meat not only replenished the blood qi I used for cultivating today, but also has some left over. This is truly…”
Zhao Hai was speechless, and the other cultivators were also at a loss for words. They all stared blankly at Zhao Hai. They all knew that Zhao Hai had just arrived to undergo ascetic cultivation, but how could someone dig through rocks with their bare hands on their very first day? How could someone eat raw meat so cleanly on their first try, even seeming to want more? This was too terrifying. Could this guy be a demon beast?
Elder Xing, at the same time, had been observing Zhao Hai closely. He was well aware of the sect’s high regard for Zhao Hai. He had received orders from the sect to see how Zhao Hai had performed during his year of ascetic cultivation, and so far, he was very satisfied with Zhao Hai’s performance.
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