Martial Arts: Starting with Upgrading the Dilapidated Temple

Just as the oxygen in my lungs was about to run out, a dark cluster of reefs finally appeared ahead.

It was the "Ghost Cry Reef" marked by Chen Yuanzhi on the nautical chart. The current was rapid and the reefs were numerous, making it impossible for large ships to enter.

Xu Hao scrambled up the slippery rocks, threw Chen Yuanzhi off his back, and gasped for breath, greedily inhaling the salty, fishy air.

He pulled out the bone nail, and Chen Yuanzhi convulsed violently, coughing up a mouthful of seawater before slowly regaining consciousness.

"Survived...survived?" Chen Yuanzhi looked at the starry sky above, somewhat dazed.

Xu Hao didn't speak, but simply turned to look into the distance.

The firelight of Luoxia Town illuminated half the sky, and the warships of the Surveillance Bureau were still circling aimlessly in the bay, but they could no longer catch their tails.

"Young Master, let's say goodbye to Chenzhou." Xu Hao wiped the water from his face, grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, "From now on, we'll have to make a living on this man-eating sea."

The wind at Ghost Cry Reef truly sounds like the wailing of ghosts, so mournful it seeps into your very bones.

In the sheltered part of the cave, the fire crackled and popped.

Xu Hao held a piece of meat jerky that was as hard as a rock in his hand, tore off a strip and threw it into his mouth, his cheeks aching from chewing.

Chen Yuanzhi held another piece, his eating manners having long since lost the refinement of a young master from a noble family. He wolfed it down, and when he choked, he grabbed the wine bag and poured it into his mouth.

"Eat slowly, this jerky is so salty it'll kill you, there's not much alcohol to drink with it." Xu Hao put the remaining half of the jerky back into his pocket.

Chen Yuanzhi wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth, leaned against the damp, cold rock wall, and stared blankly: "I used to be very particular about the food at home, but now I realize that being able to fill my stomach is the greatest blessing."

"You've figured it out already?" Xu Hao scoffed. "Let's talk about something more practical. How did the old Emperor of Daheng, who rules the entire country, manage to make such a mess of things?"

Chen Yuanzhi was silent for a moment, his eyes somewhat unfocused: "Because of the book."

"Brother Xu, have you ever heard of the 'Human Emperor's Hegemonic Technique'?"

Xu Hao shook his head.

"Legend has it that before the Martial Ancestor shattered the void, he left behind nine divine techniques. The Great Ancestor of Daheng got incredibly lucky and found half of the 'Human Emperor's Hegemonic Technique,' which allowed him to suppress the world for three hundred years." A hint of awe flashed in Chen Yuanzhi's eyes. "For three hundred years, the royal family relied on this technique, and even princes who had just been weaned carried a magnificent dragon aura, making them immune to all evil. But sixty years ago..."

"That old emperor who wants to live forever?"

"That's right." Chen Yuanzhi sneered, "For personal gain, an entire city's population was sacrificed. It's said that on the day the sacrifice was completed, the sky cracked open, and blood rained down for three whole days. The nation's fate collapsed, and the cage that suppressed evil spirits broke. Before, a butcher's pig-slaughtering knife could suppress evil energy, but now? Hmph, if no one takes care of the corpses in the mass grave, they can get up at night and knock on widows' doors."

Xu Hao paused slightly as he chewed the jerky.

If that's the case, then my book, "Records of Blessed Lands and Grottoes," is probably the ladder to heaven in this chaotic world.

"What about Shengzhou? Why is it the most chaotic place?"

"It is rumored that the two fragments of the Nine Divine Skills, representing 'the Way of Deception' and 'the Way of Slaughter,' have appeared in Shengzhou and the Southern Wilderness." Chen Yuanzhi glanced at Xu Hao. "Chaotic times produce both monsters and true dragons. With your skills, Brother Xu, if the opportunity arises, you might be able to compete for them."

Xu Hao didn't respond, he just smiled. Contending for the world? Too exhausting.

All he wanted was to protect his own life in this chaotic world and, incidentally, gain some benefits.

After Chen Yuanzhi fell into a deep sleep, Xu Hao closed his eyes, concentrated, and sank his mind into his sea of ​​consciousness.

The "Records of Blessed Lands and Grotto-Heavens" slowly unfolded, but this time, a line of glaring blood-red text appeared at the edge of the scroll:

[A mortal body has a limited destiny. Current limit for blessed land binding: 4/4]

Xu Hao frowned slightly. Was it full?

He counted them off: the ferry crossing and the martial temple, the Chen family granary, the prefectural city's death row, the Luoxia fish market... Is that the end?

"Don't bite off more than you can chew," Xu Hao thought to himself.

The Chen family's granary had long since become a wasteland, and the Luoxia Fish Shop had also been burned to the ground. Leaving these two abandoned plots of land to occupy spaces was a complete waste.

"Untie."

Xu Hao's will was like a knife, severing his connection with the granary and the fish market without hesitation.

The scroll suddenly trembled, and the two previously lit icons shattered instantly, turning into specks of starlight and dissipating.

Immediately afterwards, two strange orbs of light emerged from the shattered area and directly merged into his body and the Sumeru Granary.

[Recycling successful. Rewards obtained: Essence of Five Grains (Permanent), Fish-Dragon Smoke (Consumable)]

[Essence of Five Grains: Increases stamina recovery speed by 20%, and increases resistance to hunger and thirst.]

[Fish-Dragon Smoke: When lit, it creates a mist covering an area of ​​hundreds of feet, blocking all senses except for the host, who will perceive it as daytime. This effect lasts for fifteen minutes.]

Xu Hao felt a warm current rise in his stomach, and the fatigue he had felt from traveling and fighting receded like a tide.

"This deal is worthwhile." Xu Hao's lips curled up slightly. So this is how it can be done? Not only can it be run, but it can also "kill the goose that lays the golden eggs".

They burned down the shops, took the gold, and even squeezed every last drop of profit from the land.

Not only did they clear out the inventory, they also gained two extremely useful life-saving trump cards for free.

Just as I was pondering this, I suddenly heard a faint rubbing sound.

It wasn't the sound of the wind, but the sound of scales scraping against the rocks.

Xu Hao suddenly opened his eyes. In the flickering shadows of the firelight, a monster the size of a child, covered in bluish-black scales, was lying on the reef.

Its head was ridiculously large, its eyes gleaming with the white light of a dead fish, and it was staring greedily at the sleeping Chen Yuanzhi. The drool dripping from the corner of its mouth dripped onto the stone, emitting a faint, fishy, ​​white smoke.

Sea monkeys? No, these things are much fiercer than sea monkeys.

The monster kicked off with its hind legs and transformed into a black shadow, lunging at Chen Yuanzhi.

Xu Hao didn't move his body, but his fingers gripped a pebble beside him, and the "Overturning River Force" within his body instantly erupted, flicking with his fingertips.

"puff!"

The pebble sank into the monster's forehead without making a cracking sound; instead, it burrowed in like a drill.

The monster's body, still in mid-air, suddenly stiffened. Its head was churned into a mess by the spiraling force, and it crashed straight down beside the fire, twitching twice before going still.

Startled awake by the noise, Chen Yuanzhi saw the corpse at his feet and turned deathly pale: "This...this is the monster from the sea?"

"I guess so, it looks pretty brittle." Xu Hao walked over and kicked the monster's corpse.

However, this death stirred up a hornet's nest.

The sound of the waves outside the cave became noisy, and countless pairs of pale eyes emerged in the dark seawater, densely packed, at least dozens of them.

"The smell of blood attracted them." Chen Yuanzhi drew his short knife, his hand trembling slightly. "Brother Xu, we can't stay here any longer, let's go!"

Just as Xu Hao was about to nod, the scene in his mind trembled once more.

[Slight traces of Yin-evil flesh and blood were detected. It can be used for sacrifices at blessed lands or as an auxiliary material in the refining of "Water-Avoiding Pills".]

Xu Hao paused in his steps.

Refining elixirs?

Can this thing be used for alchemy?

Regardless of whether you know it or not, collect anything that is hinted at in the Blessed Land Records first.

He glanced back at the dense array of white eyes, his previously wary gaze shifting to one as if he were looking at a pile of walking gold ingots.

"Go? Where to go?" Xu Hao grabbed Chen Yuanzhi and stuffed him into a crevice deep in the rocks, then moved two large stones to block the opening.

"Brother Xu? What do you mean by this?" Chen Yuanzhi shouted in terror through the gap.

Xu Hao drew his hundred-refined steel sword, stood at the cave entrance, and grinned, facing the salty sea breeze and the monsters that had crawled ashore:

"Young Master, move further in, don't get splattered with blood."