Chapter 295: 271 Accumulation Part 1

A few days later.

The sky was clear, and the horizon was endless.

Inside the Celestial Extreme Cave.

Zhang Rongfang sat cross-legged, holding a palm-sized emerald green elixir in his hand, examining it closely.

There were two more attribute points in the attribute column, but they were just enough to avoid the trouble of his life value dropping below a hundred.

To account for the attribute points needed to advance the Golden Toad Skill to the Chasing the Sun stage, he still needed two points.

But now he was becoming impatient.

Staring at the elixir in his hand, he pondered.

’If the Chasing the Sun stage requires more attribute points, then wouldn’t I have wasted a lot of time for nothing….’

After realizing that martial arts could only serve as an auxiliary and were difficult to contend with the Spiritual Veins system, he pinned most of his hopes on the life system.

And the importance of the Golden Toad Skill became increasingly prominent.

“I won’t wait any longer….” Zhang Rongfang finally steeled his gaze, popping the elixir into his mouth.

As he chewed it open, a faint grassy aroma mixed with the taste of lemon and licorice filled his entire mouth.

The elixir melted in his mouth, quickly dissolving into a cool liquid that flowed down his throat into his stomach.

The medicine’s effect was swift.

Within a minute, Zhang Rongfang felt his stomach begin to burn.

He slightly bent his body, his face flushed, feeling a large amount of Qi and blood gather in his stomach.

Then, in accordance with the Golden Toad Skill, he circulated and mobilized the Qi and blood to stimulate his intestines and stomach.

At the same time, he quickly glanced at his attribute column.

The plus sign behind the Golden Toad Skill was still there, clearly visible.

’Golden Toad Skill – Hidden Moon (Third Layer Perfection)’

The content above hadn’t changed, showing that a single consumption of the medicine was far from enough to break through the Hidden Moon stage.

“Let’s begin. I’ve been waiting a long time for this day….”

Zhang Rongfang gently clicked the plus sign.

Hiss…

Instantly, the content in the parentheses behind the Golden Toad Skill quickly blurred.

Countless memories of arduously practicing the Golden Toad Skill by taking the elixir flooded his mind.

In the memories, he consumed the medicine day and night, to the point of vomiting and collapsing, then after recovering, he would nurture his body and continue taking the medicine. This cycle repeated.

Time seemed to pass as if it were an hour, or perhaps a day.

When the last of his memories emerged, Zhang Rongfang slowly came to his senses.

As his consciousness returned, he clearly felt some kind of change in his body.

However, this change was different from what he had imagined.

This time, the improvement was not in his intestines and stomach but in his explosive power.

Evidently, the Golden Toad Skill, at the Chasing the Sun stage, shifted its focus back to martial arts.

But even so, he could feel that his intestines and stomach seemed as if they had been thoroughly cleaned and massaged from the inside out.

Very healthy and clean.

“So much preparation… success or failure hinged on this moment… it even feels somewhat underwhelming.”

Zhang Rongfang stood up, looking at the disappeared three attribute points, feeling a sense of sentiment.

The Chasing the Sun First Layer required three attribute points, and simultaneously, his life attribute dropped by four points.

From one hundred, it fell to ninety-six.

Immediately, the talent for dark vision quickly dimmed, changing from faint red to gray.

The sense of clarity before his eyes vanished in an instant.

“As expected…. Life must exceed one hundred to sustain the use of talent.”

He shook his head slightly, quickly grabbing an assortment of prepared meats and foods, devouring them in conjunction with the Fasting Pill.

Now, simply relying on the Fasting Pill was no longer enough to maintain his attribute point accumulation rate.

He needed food and the Fasting Pill together to steadily acquire attributes.

After eating, he rested and waited.

Zhang Rongfang had no intention of returning to Citong but instead stayed here, waiting for attribute accumulation.

The subsequent work in the Celestial Extreme Cave required Xuan Yang Ganoderma as an auxiliary medicine, so this place could not afford any slip-ups.

As for the Agarwood Palace, with Chen Han and the support of the local’s official office, nothing major would occur.

Once everything here returned to normal and was back on track, it wouldn’t be too late to return.

He immediately closed his eyes, sensing the changes in his body, feeling the muscle structure throughout his entire body being compressed and strengthened once again.

Moreover, the Golden Toad Skill seemed to have developed a slight resistance to toxins.

This was likely a natural effect from long-term consumption of the medicine.

Time passed slowly in Zhang Rongfang’s repeated waiting and secluded cultivation.

Three days later.

A new attribute point appeared, letting him realize that the Chasing the Sun First Layer increased the speed of gaining attribute points to one point every three days.

Although it wasn’t the anticipated two days, as long as the time was shortened, it meant that his strengthening speed was also increasing.

Therefore, Zhang Rongfang was quite pleased….

Bang!

Just as he was immersing himself in secluded cultivation within the cave, a sharp whistling sound of fireworks suddenly came from outside.

“It’s here.” Zhang Rongfang abruptly opened his eyes, charging forward and exiting the cave in a few steps, looking in the direction of the sound.

In the northwest of the Celestial Extreme Cave, a red firework shot into the sky and exploded, signifying the custom-made request for help alert fireworks from the Agarwood Palace.

“It seems it’s the people from the Thousand Stone Sect coming.”

Zhang Rongfang and others had been waiting here for so long, worried that people from the Sensing Sect would come to intercept and seize their prize.

Now they finally came.

He flipped himself up the cliff and dashed down the mountain along the cliff.

Not far ahead, he saw more than a dozen Daoists from the Great Dao Teaching led by Sun Chaoyue, confronting three burly men and women.

One of the three was unmistakably the Crescent Shovel elder who had been here once before.

The shovel in his hand was now a lighter color. He looked in good spirits, clearly indicating that the previous encounter hadn’t caused him much harm.

Next to him, one of the other two was a short-haired woman in black round-studded leather armor.

The other was a bald man holding double hammers, with a face full of flesh and tattooed words at the corner of his eye.

These two newcomers clearly weren’t easy foes, evidently invited here to lend their strength.

“I said before, today’s visit is to locate my junior nephew, Black Tiger Daoist! We mean no harm, I hope you all will make things easier and not cause unnecessary trouble.

This piece of nature isn’t for anyone to claim as their own territory.”

This time, the Crescent Shovel elder was much more civilized, at least compared to last time when he started fighting at the slightest disagreement.

Clearly, after the last encounter, he realized the disparity in strength. His tone had softened considerably.

“I am Zhao Zhongyi of the Thousand Stone Sect, this is Lotus Hand Zheng Jun, and the other is Tang Shihong the Mountain Blade. We are all here for Black Tiger Daoist.”

“You three better not make things difficult for us. This place already belongs to the Agarwood Palace of the Great Dao Teaching. We haven’t even heard of any Black Tiger Daoist or White Tiger Daoist, let alone seen them,” Sun Chaoyue answered sternly.

“Bullshit! We found the droppings of the Black Tiger Junior Nephew’s pet nearby! He clearly moved around here not long ago! Yet you say you haven’t seen him… If you ask me… maybe you were the ones who harmed him!”

The short-tempered Tang Shihong gripped the handle of her blade, ready to explode.

“Please calm down…” Sun Chaoyue felt a noticeable pressure, her breath catching.

Just judging from their subtle movements, she could tell the three before her were unreachably skilled experts.

Although she couldn’t understand why so many top experts suddenly appeared nearby, this place now belonged to the Agarwood Palace of the Great Dao Teaching.

As their current leader, she couldn’t retreat even a single step.

From beginning to end, she always remembered that initial phrase.

Value.

She lacked strength, her talents were average, and her beauty and status didn’t matter to that particular person.

So what value did she have?

After much thought, Sun Chaoyue understood one thing.

Trust.

As a weakling, an insignificant weakling, if she could gain Zhang Ying’s trust.

That would be her greatest value.

Being from Wushan Prefecture gave her a small natural advantage.

So, even when facing these three fierce, unknown experts, she had no intention of backing down.

Even though she knew she couldn’t defeat the three, this was precisely the time to demonstrate her loyalty!

“Calm down, my ass!! Ten breaths! Either hand him over or prepare to die!!” The brawny woman Tang Shihong took a deep breath, stepping forward again.

She didn’t care about the Great Dao Teaching or any petty teachings.

Wasn’t the death and injury of the Great Dao Teaching in foreign palaces enough yet? No one ever stood up for them.

They were just a bunch of weak Daoists, and compared to the Zhenyi Western Sect, even if some strong people were scattered at their bases, they were sparse and insignificant.

She now wore a fierce expression, indeed prepared to fight at any moment.

“Such arrogance.”

Suddenly, a figure swiftly moved out from behind Sun Chaoyue, landing in front of the crowd—it was Zhang Rongfang, who had arrived just in time.

“Want to kill someone? Here I am, if you dare, come and kill me.”

He smiled, pointing at his temple.

“Then go die!?”

Tang Shihong stepped forward, drawing her blade.

Clang!

A snow-bright flash of the blade instantly split into layers of shadows, lunging at Zhang Rongfang like a wall of blades.

She acted swiftly and decisively, without hesitation!

The blade’s cold, sharp light raised a fierce gust of wind, reflecting light that made those around squint in the bright glare.

Swish!

In a blink, Zhang Rongfang stretched out his hand, his palm piercing through a rare gap in the wall of blades, the muscles of his arm exploding, gripping Tang Shihong’s face.

He pressed down.

Boom!!

The ground shook.

The spinning blade was thrown high, embedding into a nearby tree trunk.

Tang Shihong’s head was forced downward, losing balance and crashing heavily to the ground.

Her entire head was pressed firmly into the dirt by a large hand, unable to move. A life was instantly snuffed out.

“Kill!!” The remaining two were shocked and also made their moves, trying to save her.

But it was too late.

The Crescent Shovel and a pair of hands wearing silver-threaded gloves attacked Zhang Rongfang from both sides.

Yet their pincer attack again came up empty.

Zhang Rongfang merely exploded with power underfoot, the Chasing the Sun tier of Golden Toad Skill further enhancing his explosive strength, combined with the bodily strength increase from Hard Skills, making his already formidable explosiveness increase even more.

Not to mention, on the surface, he already had the Super Grade External Medicine cultivation level.

This layering allowed him to spar with Zhang Yunqi of the Three Emptiness level before.

Now, his moves were quicker, his actions more concealed, and his short-range speed swifter than ever.

He easily evaded the combined attack of both, slipping precisely through the gaps in their techniques.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep