Chapter 11: Bone Transformation Step

Watching the man in black quickly flee, Zhao Heng did not pursue him.

Because he really couldn’t catch up. The man's speed was too fast, even with injuries, he was still faster than Zhao Heng.

Moreover, who knows if there were accomplices nearby? The best plan was to leave—"The thirty-six stratagems, fleeing is the best."

Anyway, Zhao Heng hadn’t revealed his identity. The other party only remembered the name "Liu Hong" from the Miscellaneous Peak of Yuhua Sect. What did that have to do with Zhao Heng?

He used his knife to lift the bundle on the ground, then turned and ran in the opposite direction of the man in black.

After running for several miles, he reached a secluded, empty spot. Only then did Zhao Heng stop.

He rested briefly, then, with the bundle in hand, he moved to a nearby stream. He placed the bundle in the flowing water, rinsed it for a moment, and then retrieved it.

After all, the man was from the demonic path, so there was a chance the contents might be poisoned. Washing it in flowing water would make it much safer.

He carefully cut open the bundle with his knife, and nothing unexpected happened. Inside, there were only some herbs, a dozen Mystic Crystals, and a packet wrapped in oiled paper.

Zhao Heng carefully unwrapped the oiled paper and found a gray-colored book. It hadn’t been soaked, thanks to the oiled paper, and there was no dust or strange odor on its surface.

After confirming there was no poison, he took the book and examined it closely.

"Intermediate Martial Skill: Bone Transformation Step."

Just a glance made Zhao Heng’s eyes light up.

"An actual body technique!"

In fact, when he fought the man in black, Zhao Heng had suspected that the man practiced some form of movement technique. Now, it was clear—it was this "Bone Transformation Step."

In the cultivation world, martial skills were already extremely valuable, and body techniques were even rarer among them.

After all, having a body technique that allows one to move faster than their opponent by even a single step meant that one could always seize the initiative. At critical moments, it could even save one's life.

For someone like Zhao Heng, who was prone to anxiety, a body technique was the perfect way to alleviate his worries—how could he not be thrilled?

Moreover, aside from this body technique, Zhao Heng also noticed that the herbs the man had gathered were quite familiar. Many of them matched the descriptions of poisons from the "Poison Classic" he had obtained earlier.

He speculated that the man was likely preparing to brew poison with these herbs.

Coincidentally, Zhao Heng had been wanting to make the poisons from the "Poison Classic," and now he had the materials.

This trip had indeed yielded great rewards. Not wanting to linger too long, Zhao Heng quickly stored the items and changed his clothes before setting off again.

He rushed back, and finally, before sunset, he returned to the sect.

"Help me exchange these materials for Mystic Crystals!"

Upon returning to the sect, Zhao Heng immediately went to the Merit Hall and exchanged all the materials he had obtained from the magical beasts for Mystic Crystals.

The skins and claws of ten fox dogs were exchanged for fifty Mystic Crystals. Then, he went to the Mission Hall, turned in all the tasks he had taken, and earned twenty more Mystic Crystals.

Next, he visited the market at the foot of the mountain, where he bought dry food, jerky, and two hundred pounds of quicklime, spending five Mystic Crystals.

Including the ten Mystic Crystals from the demonic martial artist and the twenty Mystic Crystals from the miscellaneous disciples who had been tracking him but were taken out instead, he was left with a total of one hundred and eight Mystic Crystals.

If it had been before, Zhao Heng wouldn’t have believed it—he had earned so many Mystic Crystals in just ten days.

This was all thanks to Zhao Heng’s rapidly increasing strength.

Now that he was at the Seventh Layer of Body Refining, with the ability to fight at the Eighth Layer, he was considered a top-tier disciple among the miscellaneous workers.

However, Zhao Heng was not satisfied. No matter how strong he became, he was still no match for Liu Hong.

The one hundred and eight Mystic Crystals could only be used to roll the dice ten times to accumulate some luck and steal a chance. To ensure he passed the Miscellaneous Disciple Assessment without surprises, it was still a bit precarious.

"I’ll just have to take it one step at a time," Zhao Heng muttered to himself.

For the next period, Zhao Heng returned to the Miscellaneous Peak and began a period of secluded cultivation.

He had already exceeded his task quota for the month, so there was no need for further assignments.

As for the mining area, he had been supposed to report every ten days, but after the incident in the mine, Zhao Heng had taken sick leave and had not returned. Elder Liu had not sent anyone to find him.

Zhao Heng knew that Elder Liu wasn’t letting him off the hook; instead, he was waiting for the right moment to strike.

Most likely, Zhao Heng would be targeted during the Miscellaneous Disciple Assessment in ten days.

With a sense of urgency, Zhao Heng focused on his training. Apart from practicing the Qing Song Formula and the Stone Crushing Fist every day, he also studied poison-making using the "Poison Classic" and the necessary equipment.

He even began training in the "Bone Transformation Step."

Unfortunately, the difficulty of this body technique was even higher than that of the Stone Crushing Fist. It would be impossible to master it in a short time.

Every day, Zhao Heng raced against time, wishing he could turn one day into three.

Seven days passed, and Zhao Heng’s cultivation had improved considerably. The medicinal effects of the Body Refining Pills had been fully absorbed.

He could vaguely sense that he was on the verge of breaking through to the Eighth Layer of Body Refining. He just wasn’t sure if he could make the breakthrough before the assessment.

Moreover, Zhao Heng had successfully brewed a new batch of Corpse Powder and a type of "Soft Muscle Powder" that could weaken the strength of a Body Refining practitioner.

Even after achieving this, Zhao Heng still felt uneasy.

Every day, he rolled the Dao Seed dice once. As expected, for seven days, he had obtained a bit of "stealing" each time.

To increase his chances of getting something good, Zhao Heng visited all the peaks of the Yuhua Sect. Unfortunately, the success rate of ordinary stealing was too low, and he ended up with nothing.

With only three days left, Zhao Heng felt that he wasn’t adequately prepared.

He couldn’t help but sigh. If only he had enough Mystic Crystals, like before, and could do a few "luck extractions" and "perfect transformations," he would be absolutely certain of passing the Miscellaneous Disciple Assessment.

"Sigh… How can I make some quick money?" Zhao Heng fell into deep thought.

With his current strength, even if he hunted magical beasts, he would only earn a few Mystic Crystals in three days—maybe ten or twenty at most.

After pondering for a while, Zhao Heng finally walked out of his dorm and headed for the Mission Hall.

The Mission Hall was the fastest way to earn Mystic Crystals, and there were high-reward tasks available. Zhao Heng decided to look for an opportunity.

Arriving at the Mission Hall, Zhao Heng scanned the top of the task board with the crowd.

The tasks at the top were the highest reward ones.

Zhao Heng looked around, but his expression turned blank.

"Kill a third-tier magical beast, the Blood-eyed Wolf. Task reward: Three hundred Mystic Crystals."

"Kill a demonic martial artist at the Bone Refining stage. Task reward: Two hundred and fifty Mystic Crystals."

"Pick a fifty-year-old Lingxi Herb. Task reward: Four hundred Mystic Crystals."

...

Looking around, all the high-reward tasks were either extremely dangerous and required powerful strength, or they involved finding rare spiritual herbs guarded by powerful magical beasts.

These tasks seemed unrelated to Zhao Heng, who was at the Body Refining stage, and none of the other miscellaneous disciples seemed interested in them either.

Zhao Heng shook his head in disappointment and was about to leave the Mission Hall.

As he passed a crowded area, he overheard a conversation.

"Wow... This search task actually offers a reward of three hundred Mystic Crystals, and you don’t even have to leave the sect."

"You mean the task to find the lost jade pendant at the Qinglong Pool to the west of the sect?"

"You know about this task too?"

"Of course! This task has been posted for almost half a year.

It’s said that a female disciple from the outer sect accidentally lost a jade pendant at the Qinglong Pool. This pendant is of great importance to her, so she posted the task, offering a large reward for its return.

When the task was first posted, many people rushed to take it, but in the end, no one found it.

A few unlucky ones were knocked unconscious by the big fish in the pool and drowned. After that, no one dared to take the task."

"Yeah, Qinglong Pool is so vast. Finding a jade pendant there is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Only a fool would take such a task."

"I’ll take this task!"

As soon as the words were spoken, a figure pushed through the crowd and headed straight for the top of the task board where the search task was posted.

[----------------°-------------]

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