C13 Strange Stone

Boom!

The river around me suddenly erupted, as if exploding, sending countless bubbles surging to the surface. The riverbed's mud and stones were churned into motion, creating a massive whirlpool that resembled an underwater tornado.

The sound was incredibly loud and impressive!

In the whirlpool's eye, Lee Yi's face lit up with a trace of delight.

His Wind Magical Power had finally achieved Small Completion!

With a boulder strapped to his back and braving the swift river currents, Lee Yi called upon his Wind Magical Power.

He began to run!

On the bed of the River Styx, he moved upstream, defying the flow. For most, even a single step would be a struggle, and with a boulder on their back, not being crushed would be an achievement in itself. Yet, Lee Yi was not just walking—he was running!

Thump, thump, thump, thump!

The riverbed reverberated with heavy thuds, as if a colossal underwater beast was passing through.

Once back on land, without the river's resistance, and after setting down the boulder, Lee Yi's speed would become terrifyingly fast.

Such was the might of the Wind Magical Power. Though its cultivation was arduous, the principle of 'no pain, no gain' held true—the rewards were indeed substantial.

Lee Yi's energy surged as he ran, feeling an uncommon sense of freedom. After days of laborious movement at the river's bottom, he could now run unrestrained, like a wild horse freed from its reins.

Without realizing it, he had reached the upper reaches of the River Styx, close to the segment bordering the Nether Forest. Suddenly, not far off, a purple glow caught his eye.

"Hmm?" Lee Yi looked on with curiosity. "What's that?"

The depths of the Hidden Sky River were shrouded in darkness, and the light was faint, but that glow was strikingly bright.

Drawing closer, Lee Yi found that the light emanated from a vast cave. Inside, he discovered two skeletons sitting in a corner, each with a hand pressed against the other's chest, their ribcages shattered as if they had perished together. Covered in a thick layer of silt, it was clear they had been dead for many years.

The other hand was clutching something—a dark purple object that emitted a blinding light. Its surface was rough and uneven, resembling a luminous stone.

Lee Yi was taken aback, wondering to himself, "Why did these two perish here? Did they kill each other over this stone? What kind of stone could be so valuable that they'd forsake their very lives for it?"

As he was about to reach out and examine it, a thunderous roar echoed from the depths of the cave.

The roar sent a massive wave rushing forward, knocking Lee Yi back several steps. He steadied himself, his face registering surprise. "Could this cave be the den of a demon beast?" Lee Yi furrowed his brow. "What kind of demon beast has such a formidable presence with just a roar?"

On high alert, he watched intently as the ground began to tremble and a colossal figure slowly emerged.

The beast towered several meters high, bearing a resemblance to a tortoise, but it was no ordinary tortoise. Its mouth was filled with sharp fangs, its limbs ended in lethal claws, and its eyes glinted with ferocity.

"This is..." Lee Yi gasped in slight astonishment. "A black tortoise?"

He had come across descriptions of such a creature in books. Its most notable characteristics were its longevity and rarity. Moreover, its defensive capabilities were exceptionally strong.

The shell of the black tortoise was known for being incredibly tough and heavy, making it a prized material for crafting defensive magical items, highly sought after and rarely available.

Though not counted among the Four Paths, the black tortoise's power was not to be taken lightly, particularly here at the river's bottom, where Lee Yi was at a significant disadvantage.

What puzzled Lee Yi even more was the faint purple glow beneath the black tortoise's skin, reminiscent of the eerie light from the stone in the skeleton's grasp. "Has it absorbed the stone's power?" he speculated.

Without warning, the black tortoise let out another roar and charged at Lee Yi with overwhelming force.

"So swift!" Lee Yi was taken aback by the creature's unexpected speed. Black tortoises were known for their sluggishness, and given its massive size, Lee Yi had assumed it would be exceedingly slow. Yet, it moved with the speed of a darting rabbit, closing the distance in an instant. Raising its colossal claw, the black tortoise aimed a fierce swipe at Lee Yi.

With a thunderous boom, Lee Yi was caught off guard and scrambled to dodge, looking quite disheveled in the process.

"It must be related to that stone; otherwise, the Black Turtle wouldn't be this fast!" Lee Yi mused. "What could that stone be to cause such a mutation in the Black Turtle?"

The Black Turtle launched another attack, this time with increased speed.

Despite the burden of the massive rock on his back, Lee Yi fully unleashed his Wind Magical Power. The water surged wildly as he leapt aside, narrowly evading the Black Turtle's onslaught.

Time and again, the Black Turtle's attacks failed to land. Frustrated, it roared and intensified its assault. It pursued Lee Yi with relentless claws and biting fangs, its tail sweeping in a blur, unleashing dozens of strikes in mere moments.

Yet, for all its ferocity, the Black Turtle couldn't match Lee Yi's speed. Even laden with the rock and navigating the unfamiliar depths, Lee Yi's speed multiplied exponentially with the full force of his Wind Magical Power, rendering him untouchable.

In the midst of evasive maneuvers, Lee Yi spotted an opening and leaped onto the Black Turtle's back.

The Black Turtle thrashed wildly in an attempt to shake Lee Yi off, but to no avail. Recognizing the strength of its adversary, it seemed to lose heart and, with a swift motion, withdrew its head and limbs deep into its shell.

Lee Yi paused, momentarily taken aback, then gathered his mana and struck the turtle shell with a punch.

Bang!

A tremendous rebounding force nearly sent Lee Yi flying, and the rock almost slipped from his grasp. His unique physique and profound mana made his punch virtually unstoppable, but the Black Turtle's shell was far tougher than he had anticipated. His blow left no mark and instead recoiled upon him, causing injury.

"Such an incredibly tough shell!" Lee Yi silently marveled.

Undeterred, he launched a barrage of punches, each one heavier than the last, all targeting the same spot.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

Despite the might behind each punch, they couldn't penetrate the Black Turtle's shell. Instead, the backlash from each strike caused Lee Yi's Qi and blood to roil, throwing his inner Qi into disarray.

The turtle shell's hardness was astonishing. It's no surprise that the Black Turtle had such a long lifespan; its formidable defense must be a contributing factor," Lee Yi mused with a hint of frustration.

Then, an idea struck him, and he summoned the Nameless Sword.

"This sword's material is peculiar and incredibly sharp. Can it penetrate the turtle shell?" Lee Yi was uncertain but knew he had to attempt it. If it failed, he would be at a loss against the Black Turtle.

Executing the Sword Slashing Technique, he delivered a powerful and forceful strike to the shell.

Crack!

To his amazement, a fissure formed on the seemingly impenetrable turtle shell!

Lee Yi was thrilled. The Nameless Sword, in tandem with the Sword Slashing Technique, had surpassed his expectations, managing to breach the turtle shell. He could only imagine its devastating effect on a human body.

Positioning the Nameless Sword at the crack, he thrust forcefully, ending the Black Turtle's life.

Next, Lee Yi employed the Demon Refining Technique to process the Black Turtle’s vital blood essence.

The Black Turtle's longevity meant its blood essence was incredibly potent, akin to savoring the finest ambrosia. It transformed into streams of life essence, merging with Lee Yi's flesh and blood, significantly bolstering his vitality.

The strength of one's magical power is linked not only to their realm but also to their vitality. The more robust the vitality, the more formidable the magical power becomes.

Moreover, as his vitality surged, Lee Yi's physique became even more refined. His meridians and dantian expanded anew, capable of holding an increased amount of mana. This advantage allowed him to possess a mana reserve that far exceeded others within his realm.

Several hours passed, and Lee Yi had fully assimilated the Black Turtle's blood essence. His body radiated an aura as solid and imposing as a mountain range. His blood had reached an extraordinary level of concentration, thick and gelatinous, coursing slowly through his veins.

Content with his achievement, Lee Yi discarded the massive rock and, after considerable effort, managed to detach the Black Turtle's shell and stow it in his storage bag.

The shell was remarkably heavy, even outweighing the boulder.

Just then, his expression shifted dramatically.

He had been closely monitoring the enhancement of his Qi and blood, yet he had overlooked his mana. Suddenly, he noticed a peculiar shift in the mana within his dantian compared to before.

Mana was formless and elusive, invisible to the eye and untouchable, lacking color and weight. However, at this moment, the mana coursing through his body had taken on a faint purple hue and felt surprisingly dense.

"This... What is this?" he wondered in amazement, hardly able to believe it.

This was a sign that his mana was undergoing a transformation, on the verge of becoming True Qi.

True Qi possessed both form and color, along with a variety of distinct properties.

But for mana to metamorphose into True Qi, one crucial step was required: refining a heavenly and earthly spiritual object and integrating it into the mana, which would then offer a chance to solidify True Qi.

Different heavenly and earthly spiritual objects would yield various types of True Qi. For instance, Li Tiancheng's Heavy Water True Qi was created from a single drop of ancient heavy water.

"Could this stone actually be a heavenly and earthly spiritual object?" Lee Yi pondered, his eyes fixed on the two skeletons, his heart pounding. The black tortoise had absorbed the power of the strange stone, and after he refined the black tortoise's essence, his mana began to mutate. The link between these events was unmistakable.

For years, he had dreamt of reaching the Arcane Awakening Fourth Level and condensing True Qi. Li Tiancheng had managed to suppress him precisely because he had mastered Heavy Water True Qi.

Yet, such spiritual objects were not easily found. Thus, while Lee Yi yearned for it, he harbored little hope.

Now, with hope seemingly within reach, it felt surreal to him, almost dreamlike.

He gingerly removed the strange stone and inspected it closely.

Upon handling it, he felt its substantial weight and an icy sting.

"They risked their lives for such a small stone, ultimately dying in this beast's lair. I had found it odd," Lee Yi mused, "but if it's a heavenly and earthly spiritual object, then it all makes sense. I just wonder what kind of spiritual object it could be?"

He attempted to score the stone with his Nameless Sword, but it remained unscathed, which caught him off guard.

The Nameless Sword could slice through the Black Turtle Shell, yet it was powerless against this tiny stone?

"This stone is definitely not ordinary. I'll figure out what it is after I get back," Lee Yi thought, managing to contain his excitement as he placed the peculiar stone and the Nameless Sword into his storage bag.

He invoked his magical power of wind, propelling himself out of the water like an arrow released from its bow. With a resounding thud, he landed heavily on the riverbank, embedding two deep footprints into the earth.