Like parched land meeting a welcome rain, Lin Yun had completely absorbed an entire Qi Essence Pill in just one short hour. After resting for fifteen minutes, he swallowed another Qi Essence Pill.

For a single breakthrough, Lin Yun had consumed two Qi Essence Pills. If anyone else found out, they would surely curse him for being a monster. After all, Lin Yun was still only at the Ninth Layer of the Opening Realm.

Over the course of the night, Lin Yun successfully broke through to the Ninth Layer of the Opening Realm, consuming two Qi Essence Pills in the process.

In the morning, after his breakthrough, Lin Yun took a refreshing bath and changed into a clean set of clothes. He walked out from Iron Gate Pass. When he first arrived, he had barely broken into the Opening Realm. Now, he had reached the Peak of the Opening Realm, just one step away from breaking through to the Qi Sea Realm.

Once he broke through to the Qi Sea Realm, Lin Yun would be able to go anywhere he pleased in Yanhuang Country. After all, Primordial Ocean Realm experts weren’t a common sight; every single one was a person of noble status.

He stretched his body. Each breakthrough gave Lin Yun a feeling of purification. His body was becoming purer, more attuned to the Heaven and Earth Primordial Power, and more suitable for cultivation.

Since Chen Xin and the others weren’t around, Lin Yun found himself with nothing to do. Having just achieved a breakthrough, he didn’t plan on cultivating any further for now.

With time on his hands, Lin Yun left the inn alone and began to wander through the Capital City. Cultivation required a balance between exertion and rest. Lin Yun understood this well and practiced it with discipline.

The Capital City was the largest city in Yanhuang Country. Its exact size was hard to describe, but the following explanation should make it clear to everyone.

The entire Capital City was divided into eight districts, numbered one through eight. A commoner living within the Capital City could spend their entire life without ever visiting another district, because a single district was already immeasurably vast.

Just think, if a single district was large enough for an ordinary person to live their whole life in, how immense must the entire Capital City be?

Walking down the street, Lin Yun found himself in the Fourth District. The streets were lined with all sorts of shops, displaying a dazzling array of goods.

As he strolled along, Lin Yun gained a direct understanding of the Capital City’s prosperity. There were many Martial Artists here, but far more ordinary citizens.

According to data compiled by the Royal Family, the population of the Capital City had reached over one hundred million, with a permanent resident population of five hundred thousand Martial Artists.

The number of Martial Artists might seem small in comparison, but you wouldn’t think so if you were told that these five hundred thousand accounted for one-third of the entire Martial Artist population of Yanhuang Country.

For an ordinary person to become a Martial Artist, the first thing they needed was resources. The resources required to train a single Martial Artist would be enough to support a thousand ordinary families for their entire lives.

And that was just to reach the Opening Realm. The resources needed to continue cultivating were even more terrifying. This was the origin of the saying, "The poor pursue literature, the rich pursue martial arts." An ordinary family simply couldn’t afford the resources a Martial Artist required.

Of course, a chance encounter or fortuitous event was another matter entirely.

After walking for an hour, Lin Yun hadn’t even made it down a single street. Just then, a shop on the side of the road caught his eye with its name alone.

Demon Beast Essence Blood. The shop’s name was, quite literally, "Demon Beast Essence Blood."

Curious, Lin Yun entered the shop. The three-story establishment was nearly empty. ’I guess not many people need Demon Beast Essence Blood,’ he thought.

After all, Demon Beast Essence Blood was of little use to most Martial Artists, unless they were Body Refining Martial Artists. For Lin Yun, however, it was extremely useful. Because he possessed the Flawless Flesh Body, with enough Demon Beast Essence Blood, it could undergo another transformation.

It wasn’t just useful for him; Demon Beast Essence Blood would also be very beneficial for the Black-striped Tiger. Little Ape, on the other hand, had no need for it. Little Ape’s bloodline was too noble; ordinary Demon Beast Essence Blood would do it more harm than good.

"Young man, what tier of Demon Beast Essence Blood are you looking for?" As Lin Yun browsed the shop alone, an old man in linen clothes suddenly appeared behind him.

Having not sensed the old man’s approach at all, Lin Yun was inwardly shocked. Looking at the elder, who seemed to have one foot in the grave, Lin Yun wasn’t naive enough to think he was just an ordinary old man.

Not a trace of an aura emanated from his body. Lin Yun couldn’t gauge the old man’s depth. There was only one explanation: the man’s strength far surpassed his own.

But despite his surprise, Lin Yun didn’t dwell on it. ’I’m here to buy things, not to pick a fight. Even if he’s a Primordial Ocean Realm expert, it doesn’t matter.’

"Elder, may I ask what tiers of Demon Beast Essence Blood you have here?" Lin Yun asked.

"Hehe, young man, very few people need Demon Beast Essence Blood these days. There are fewer and fewer Body Refining Martial Artists, and many who used to be in the business have moved on to other trades. Right now, mine is the only shop in the entire Capital City that specializes in selling Demon Beast Essence Blood. Come upstairs with me." The old man didn’t directly answer Lin Yun’s question.

With no other choice, Lin Yun followed the old man to the second floor. Judging by the decor, this was likely where the old man lived. It was very simple; the living room contained only a table and four cattail cushions.

After they sat on the cushions, the old man studied Lin Yun. His murky eyes made it impossible for Lin Yun to know what he was thinking. After a long moment, the old man finally spoke slowly.

"Judging by your physique, you must cultivate some kind of Body Refining Technique, and a very powerful one at that. My old eyes are dull, so I can’t tell which technique it is, but this Demon Beast Essence Blood should be of great use to you."

Hearing this, Lin Yun didn’t deny it and simply nodded in agreement. The Flawless Flesh Body was indeed an extremely potent Body Refining Technique, one of the most powerful even in the entire Celestial Spirit Continent.

However, everything had its pros and cons. The power of the Flawless Flesh Body was undeniable, but its demands on talent and resources were also extremely high.

Aside from obtaining the Flawless Flesh Body in the Thunder God Hall, his progress with it over the past few years could only be described as moving at a snail’s pace. It wasn’t that Lin Yun was lazy, but rather that he lacked the necessary resources.

The resources required to cultivate the Flawless Flesh Body to its peak were an astronomical figure. Not even the Yanhuang Royal Family possessed that many resources.

Furthermore, in the entire history of the Flawless Palace, no one had ever cultivated the Flawless Flesh Body to its absolute limit. This was due to both the resource requirements and the talent needed.

Cultivating the physical body was much more difficult than cultivating one’s Realm, which was why there were fewer and fewer Body Refining Martial Artists.

"Young man, my shop has Demon Beast Essence Blood from Tier One to Tier Four. See what you need," the old man said.

’They even have the Essence Blood of a Tier Four Demon Beast?’ A fire ignited in Lin Yun’s heart. With enough Essence Blood, he believed his Flawless Flesh Body would make significant progress, and his Combat Power would double as a result.

However, this excitement lasted only for a moment. After asking the price, Lin Yun immediately gave up on the idea of buying Tier Four Demon Beast Essence Blood.

One hundred thousand Low Grade Primordial Stones for a single drop. What kind of price was that?

Even if he liquidated all his current assets, he wouldn’t even have fifty thousand Low Grade Primordial Stones. And one hundred thousand was just for a single drop. One drop of Demon Beast Essence Blood was far too little; for Lin Yun, it was a drop in the bucket.

(A note from the author, Wufeng: Brothers, if it were possible, I would truly love to release hundreds of Chapters at once for you all to enjoy. But as it turns out, that’s just not realistic. I’m working hard to write every day, constantly thinking about the plot’s development. I really hope you can all be understanding. I’m at my computer writing every day, and I’m definitely not slacking off!

On another note, here’s something very important: regarding the ads for "typist jobs" in the review section, many readers have already been scammed. Brothers, please be cautious and don’t give these scammers an opening!

Here are a few things to keep in mind. First, the author will never, for any reason, ask for your QQ numbers, ask you to add my QQ, or, most importantly, ask you to send money!

Second, earning several hundred bucks a day for just a little typing is impossible. Always remember, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. If something that good really existed, there probably wouldn’t be any authors left; everyone would have become a typist!

Brothers, you must remember this. I, Wufeng, don’t want to see any of my brothers get scammed, not even for a few bucks!

Finally, please leave a recommendation, add this to your collection, and give all the support you can! Thank you!)