Chapter 52 - 51: Hunting the Ghost-faced Ape 1

Chapter 52: Chapter 51: Hunting the Ghost-faced Ape 1

Qi Blood Smoke!

The mark of Blood R efining Perfection.

Next, as long as he broke the Blood Barrier, he could enter an entirely new realm.

This so-called "barrier" wasn’t some profound, esoteric bottleneck.

It was simply because it required more time and resources to overcome.

Like a heavy gate that needed to be forced open, it was called a barrier.

The realm after the Blood Barrier was Skin Refining.

At Perfect Skin Refining, one could reach the Copper Skin Realm.

Ordinary blades could hardly leave a scratch, and even bullets from foreign firearms could be withstood, even at point-blank range.

To enter the Skin Refining Realm, the common method was to scrub the entire body with salt granules, stopping only when the skin turned red and was on the verge of bleeding.

After repeating this process until the body adapted, one would switch to heated sand, then upgrade to iron sand, and finally endure being tempered by showers of scalding Copper Juice.

This process was not only long and arduous but also excruciatingly painful.

Furthermore, each tempering session had to be followed by a specific medicinal bath for recovery.

It was time-consuming, draining, and incredibly expensive.

An ordinary Martial Artist without great willpower and a large sum of silver coins to support them would have no hope of achieving it without at least a year or a year and a half of hard work.

But Lu Jing’an, who possessed the true teachings of the Six Harmonies Fist, naturally didn’t need to follow such a conventional and clumsy path.

He only needed to practice two of the Six Harmonies Fist’s techniques together to reach the Entry Level with it.

This would be considered breaking the Blood Barrier through skill.

With his talent, he could achieve Copper Skin in a month at most.

With the aid of medicinal baths, about twenty days would be enough.

Originally, Chen Xuan had predicted that Lu Jing’an would have to endure over twenty days of hardship.

Exchanging this for over a year of an ordinary person’s time was already an excellent trade.

Who would have thought that the depth of Lu Jing’an’s physical foundation would far exceed his estimates, and that he would adapt to the pain of this tempering at an astonishing speed.

Now, he just needed to follow the steps, and the Copper Skin Realm was a natural and attainable goal, well within his reach.

If those who followed the step-by-step process—grinding away their old skin layer by layer through the agony of the flesh to grow new skin—were to learn of this, they would probably be so jealous their eyes would turn red, unable to control themselves.

That kind of daily training, like death by a thousand cuts, was truly something only those with great perseverance could endure.

...

Time flew by, and in a flash, three days had passed.

Through Lu Jing’an’s tireless training day and night, nourished by constant medicinal baths, he finally reached the Entry Level of the Six Harmonies Fist.

At the same time, a new sense of power surged from beneath the surface of his skin.

Lu Jing’an had officially stepped into the Skin Refining Realm.

Within this realm’s subdivisions, Lu Jing’an’s current skin could be called Wooden Skin.

Meaning it was as hard and dense as hardwood.

He raised a hand and touched his own skin.

He could clearly feel that the protective barrier covering his body had become noticeably thicker and much tougher.

He casually picked up an ordinary fruit knife from the table, applied a bit of force, and swiped it across his arm.

The blade left no mark, only a faint white line.

Lu Jing’an’s gaze sharpened. He immediately increased his strength and swiped again.

This time, a thin cut opened on his skin.

But just as a few fine beads of blood seeped out, the wound began to close and heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In an instant, only a faint red line remained.

"My defense and recovery have both improved significantly."

Lu Jing’an examined his arm, a look of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

With a thought, his personal attribute panel slowly unfolded in his consciousness:

[Name: Lu Jing’an]

[Attack: 52]

[Defense: 56]

[Agility: 14]

[Spirit: 60]

[Energy Points: 17]

[Cultivation Technique: Earth Posture (Great Success) (Attack +9+27, Defense +9+27, Spirit +9+27), Long Arm Fist (Great Success) (Attack +8+10), Six Harmonies Fist (Entry Level) (Attack +12+36, Defense +10+30)]

[Entries: As Clear as Daylight (Green), Vajra Tiger Aspect (Orange) (Attack +5, Defense +5), Master of Boxing (Red) (Fist Skill +10), Cause and Effect Following Sound (Green), Ghost Shadow Instant Kill (Red), Absolute Guardian (Orange) (Defense +5), Mind Control (Orange) (Spirit +4), Mountain Lord Carrying the Mountain (Green), Tiger Roar in the Forest (Green)]

Looking at the attribute panel, which was now worlds apart from what it was initially, Lu Jing’an felt a heavy, reassuring sense of security.

Looking at nothing else, just his Basic Attack Power was already as high as 52.

According to Lu Jing’an’s estimates, a typical Martial Cultivator who had broken the Blood Barrier, even with Combat Techniques and weapons, would probably only have an Attack Power hovering around 40.

And that wasn’t even counting the bonuses from his Six Harmonies Fist and his entries.

If he counted everything, Lu Jing’an’s Attack Power could reach a staggering 110!

His pure Attack Power alone was equivalent to two and a half Martial Cultivators who had broken the Blood Barrier.

If he also factored in his mental attack abilities, fighting ten opponents of the same level might be a stretch.

But fighting six or seven would be an absolute breeze.

With the support from his other entries, Lu Jing’an dared to say it:

’I can take on ten!’

If that Tiger Demon were still alive, Lu Jing’an could have easily crushed the Tiger Demon at its peak all by himself.

Even against foreign firearms, unless the entire Public Security Bureau was mobilized, laying an inescapable trap and suppressing him with heavy firepower, it would be difficult to kill him.

More importantly, as his Cultivation advanced, with the stacking effects of his numerous rare entries, this advantage would only snowball into something even more terrifying.

However, for Lu Jing’an, ’it’s best not to get my own hands dirty if I can avoid it.’

’I’m training hard in martial arts just to strengthen my trump cards. So that when I’m forced to act, I can end things with a single, decisive blow.’

’On a normal day, if a problem can be solved with brains or money, I’ll never resort to violence.’

’Keeping the blade in the sheath is the way to long-term survival.’

Another four days passed.

Wen Ling came to find Lu Jing’an personally, asking him to join them in hunting the demon.

Lu Jing’an had originally wanted to offer them a car.

However, Wen Ling refused and also said that this time, at most, only Lu Jing’an and Chen Xuan could go.

They couldn’t bring anyone from the Public Security Bureau.

Lu Jing’an didn’t refuse this condition.

’After all, I’m not the main character this time. I’m just there to watch from the sidelines.’

Lu Jing’an and Chen Xuan took a car to Old Crow Forest, west of Yin Mountain County.

Old Crow Forest was even farther from Yin Mountain County.

It was about 20 kilometers away from the county seat.

It was originally a habitat for crows, hence the name Old Crow Forest.

But ever since that Ghost-faced Ape arrived, all the crows in Old Crow Forest had been driven away.

All that was left of Old Crow Forest was its name.

The car left the city and drove for about fifteen kilometers.

Scattered monkeys began to appear among the trees by the roadside.

They hung from branches or squatted by the road, staring with their dark, glossy eyes, curiously sizing up the rumbling iron monster.

These monkeys were very bold. Not only were they unafraid, but they even drew closer to peek, scratching their ears and chattering noisily.

"At this rate, I’m afraid this place will have to be renamed ’Old Monkey Forest’ in a few years," Lu Jing’an said to Chen Xuan beside him, gazing at the increasing number of monkeys outside the window.

Chen Xuan didn’t respond, his sharp gaze merely scanning the woods on both sides.

Although they were still some distance from Old Crow Forest, the Ghost-faced Ape’s movements were mysterious.

No one could say for certain that it wouldn’t suddenly leap out.

After another quarter of an hour, a deep and dense jungle came into view—it was Old Crow Forest.

Its area was no smaller than that of Black Pine Forest.

Lu Jing’an ordered the driver to find an open space outside the forest and park.

The moment the wheels came to a stop, a dozen or so monkeys swung down from the branches.

They surrounded the car from a distance, pointing and screeching incessantly.

Watching the ever-growing troop of monkeys, Lu Jing’an frowned slightly.

He had seen several hundred monkeys along the way, and there was no telling how many more were hidden deep within Old Crow Forest.

If he were to count them all, there were likely several thousand.

Although he had read the reports in the Anping Bureau’s files, seeing it with his own eyes still made his scalp tingle. The demonic aura was oppressive.

Lu Jing’an waited quietly in the car for over half an hour before he heard the sound of carriage wheels and horse hooves coming from the dirt road behind them.

He turned to look and saw the group from the Anping Bureau arriving in a bumpy, old, open-topped carriage.

The driver was an unfamiliar-looking man.

In the carriage bed, besides Kui Shan, Wen Ling, and Lin Qingya, there were three other men he had never met before.

These seven people were all the official members the Yin Mountain County Anping Bureau had left.

They originally had more personnel, but unfortunately, they were lost in the Tiger Demon’s ambush.

For this mission to exterminate the Ghost-faced Ape, it could be said they had mobilized their entire force.

The seven of them were crammed into the small carriage bed, covered in dust from their journey.

With their clothes stained with dirt, they couldn’t help but look a bit shabby and distressed.

Lu Jing’an took it all in and sighed to himself.

’He genuinely wanted to provide the Anping Bureau with a car, without any consideration of personal gain. It was simply because this group of people did nothing but risk their lives to protect the populace, yet they often remained unsung heroes, their deeds unknown to the public. But he also understood that if he just gave it to them directly, the Anping Bureau would never accept it. He would have to find a suitable excuse.’