Martial Arts: Starting with Upgrading the Dilapidated Temple

Before he finished speaking, Xu Hao, wielding the black knife Shi Hai, charged headlong into the horde of corpses.

The Bone Forging Realm ore corpse at the forefront roared and swung its thick, ore-covered arm, aiming for Xu Hao's face.

Xu Hao neither dodged nor evaded; the Devouring Sea Blade in his hand drew a dark streak as it slashed down directly at him.

There was no loud clang of metal clashing.

The Devouring Sea Blade itself carries an extremely cold Yin energy. Combined with the spiraling penetrating force of the "Overturning River Force" infused into it by Xu Hao, the moment the blade touched the hard outer shell of the mineral corpse, the penetrating force exploded directly inside the mineral corpse.

puff.

The iron-hard mineral corpse was directly shredded into a pile of rubble and rotting flesh that reeked of stench.

"This piece is of good quality, I'll take it." Xu Hao kicked a piece of purplish-black cold iron ore that had fallen behind him.

He charged into the horde of corpses, unleashing an extremely brutal, one-sided crushing on them in the narrow passage.

Wherever the blade passed, severed limbs and fragments of ore flew everywhere.

The terrifying monster that Luo Meng saw as invulnerable to blades and spears was utterly vulnerable before Xu Hao's black blade.

Luo Meng followed behind, carrying Luo Ying on his back. Looking at the ore and scraps of flesh scattered all over the ground, he couldn't even swallow as fast as Xu Hao was chopping people up.

"Brother..." Luo Ying leaned weakly on Luo Meng's back, "Was this leader of Zhenshan a former miner? The way he knocks on these mine corpses is more skilled than the veteran miners on the island who have been working for decades."

Luo Meng's lips twitched: "Don't ask around. The boss is buying goods." He put his sister aside, took out the cloth bag he carried with him, picked up the best quality ore from the ground and stuffed it into the bag.

In less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, Xu Hao carved a bloody path through the dense horde of corpses.

He stopped and casually flicked away the black ice shards that were stuck to the Sea Devouring Blade.

At the end of the passage, the view suddenly opened up.

A huge underground lake appeared before the three of them.

There is a small island in the center of the lake. The lake water is an eerie deep black, without a ripple, as calm as a mirror.

The air was eerily cold, and Luo Meng was shivering from the cold; even his breath was covered in white residue.

The moment the dark lake appeared, Xu Hao felt a sudden burning sensation in his chest.

The picture of the blessed land that had been quietly residing in my mind suddenly began to tremble violently.

An unprecedented, intense hunger spread wildly through Xu Hao's nerve endings.

It's not that Xu Hao is hungry, it's that Zhenyuan is hungry.

The scroll's guidance was crystal clear.

On a small island in the lake.

Suddenly, a cracking sound of bones grinding together came from the side.

Xu Hao turned his head to look and saw Luo Meng carrying Luo Ying on his back. Both of their eyes had rolled back completely, and purplish-black mineral crystals were rapidly condensing on their exposed skin.

"Boss... cold... I want to chop something..." Luo Meng let out a beast-like roar, his hand uncontrollably reaching for the hilt of the knife at his waist.

Xu Hao rolled his eyes and, without any hesitation, kicked Luo Meng squarely in the chest.

boom.

Luo Meng and the girl were kicked away and rolled back to the path they came from.

"If you want to kill someone, go outside and do it. Don't get in my way here." Xu Hao patted his trouser leg. "Stay outside and behave yourselves. If you dare to mutate, I'll smash you both to pieces and feed you to the ship."

Luo Meng slammed down at the entrance of the passage, shaking his head violently, the paleness in his eyes quickly fading.

He looked at the cave in front of him with lingering fear.

"Boss, what happened to me just now?"

"I almost turned into a stone statue."

Xu Hao didn't even turn his head. "Take your sister and back around the corner."

"Hey! Boss, watch out!" Luo Meng quickly picked up Luo Ying and scrambled backward.

He is quite self-aware when it comes to not holding others back.

Having gotten rid of the burden, Xu Hao turned his attention back to what was ahead.

Inside the cave, a small island rises from the center of a deep, dark, cold pool, upon which lies a purple ore as large as a millstone.

The surface of the ore shimmered with an eerie light, and the surrounding air seemed frozen and distorted.

This is the Mother of Cold Iron.

The culprit that caused the dozens of miners above to become alienated.

The sensations in Xu Hao's mind grew stronger and stronger.

The vision of a blessed land in my mind trembled violently, and the hunger almost materialized.

Don't rush me. It's such a big piece, I can't possibly swim over and carry it.

Xu Hao rubbed his head.

He walked to the edge of the pool and tentatively touched the water with the tip of his knife.

Click.

A thick layer of black ice instantly formed on the tip of the Devouring Sea Blade, and the chill traveled up the blade and straight to the wrist.

Xu Hao immediately raised his hand, activating his Yi Jin Jing Qi and blood, and forcefully shattered the cold energy.

This water must not be touched.

He glanced back at the fragments of the mine corpses at the entrance he had come from, and an idea struck him.

Walking back to the path where Luo Meng and his sister were hiding, Xu Hao came to a relatively intact mine corpse. He stomped on it, breaking its thick thigh bone, and picked it up to weigh it in his hand.

The portion size is quite generous.

Luo Meng, standing nearby, couldn't help but speak up: "Boss, are you going to make soup from dead people's bones? This water is really weird; even a little bit of flesh will freeze into solids."

Xu Hao ignored him, turned around and walked to the edge of the pool, casually throwing the leg bone into the water.

"Making soup? That's called building a bridge."

Crack! The moment the leg bone touched the water, a thick layer of black ice instantly formed on its surface, but it didn't sink immediately; instead, it sank slowly.

"There's a chance." Xu Hao raised an eyebrow.

He turned around and went back to rummage through the pile of dismembered bodies.

Before long, he was carrying a large bundle of leg bones of varying lengths from the miners, which cracked as he walked.

Xu Hao stood by the pool, picked up a leg bone, and threw it forcefully.

thump.

The bones fell into the water, froze, and slowly sank.

He threw another one, carefully observing where it landed and how fast it sank.

After trying five or six times, Xu Hao felt confident.

The water has considerable buoyancy, and the bones of the mineral corpses are hard enough that as long as you're fast enough, you can definitely stand on it.

Xu Hao picked out the three thickest leg bones from his pocket and held them in his hand.

He suddenly exerted force with his arm, and the first leg bone shot out with a whoosh, slamming into the water a third of the way from the island.

Immediately afterwards, the second and third arrows flew out one after another, landing precisely in the calculated positions, forming a route leading to the center of the lake.

Just as the first leg bone was about to be completely submerged by the icy water, Xu Hao moved.

With his Qi and blood fully unleashed in the Yi Jin Jing realm, he unleashed the ultimate power of the Jing Tao Bu (Surging Waves Step).

He suddenly darted out.

The toes landed precisely on the first shinbone that was sinking.

Leveraging external forces, take off.

The second one, the third one.

As the black ice on the water's surface began to spread up the soles of his shoes, Xu Hao used the recoil to leap up again.

It landed steadily.

Xu Hao stood on the small island in the middle of the lake, stomped his feet to shake off the ice shards from the soles of his shoes, and looked at the massive, millstone-sized piece of cold iron in front of him.

Upon close contact, the chilling cold that seemed to freeze everything came straight to your face.

The tremors in his head were so intense that his hunger had reached a frenzied level, making his head numb.

"This huge iron lump, if we really carry it back, it could crush the deck of the Zhenyuan." Xu Hao reached out and pressed his hand on the cold iron mother.

Just as the biting cold was about to seep into his meridians through his palm, a thought struck him.

The Sumeru Granary opens.

hum.

An invisible and domineering devouring force erupted from Xu Hao's palm.

This force was completely unreasonable, directly and tightly enveloping the entire millstone-sized piece of cold iron mother.

The next moment, the island was completely empty.

A satisfied tremor emanated from the Zhenyuan ship in his mind.

"Done." Xu Hao clapped his hands, looking at the empty center of the pool, a grin spreading across his face.