Chapter 4

On the Medicine Mountain.

After removing his mask, the head of the Ling family solemnly recounted his discoveries in the cave and the two attempts he made to test Qin Lie.

"Brother, did you see it right? The stone paths increased tenfold? How is that possible?" Ling Chengzhi shook his head in disbelief, shouting, "Just the two of them? Even if they worked day and night, they couldn't have chiseled out so many stone paths?!"

"If Qin Shan were a powerful martial artist, with a true realm around the Broken Mirror stage, do you think it's possible?" the head of the Ling family said seriously.

"Ah!" Ling Chengzhi suddenly cried out, his lips feeling dry. His eyes bulged, and his voice was hoarse, "Brother, how could he reach such a high realm? If he were really that level, why would he come to our Ling family town?"

"Other than that, I can't think of any other possibility." Ling Chengye's voice trembled, "Only a superlative expert at that level could have chiseled out so many stone paths in such a short time! Actually, I've been suspecting Qin Shan for a long time... Many of the younger generation in the clan think that repairing spirit artifacts is much easier than refining them, but you should know that someone who can successfully repair a spirit artifact refined by others must be far more skilled than the refiner!"

"What do you mean?" Ling Chengzhi was secretly alarmed.

"Qin Shan is not simple! Perhaps even his death was just a cover-up..."

The head of the Ling family's thoughts gradually became clearer, "Now, thinking back, there are many suspicious points about Qin Shan's death. His illness was unclear, and he didn't let us find a doctor. Moreover, he died very quickly, and before he died, he instructed us to give him a water burial. After we threw his body into the river, we naturally couldn't continue investigating..."

"Do you suspect he faked his death?" Ling Chengzhi called out.

"There is that possibility." The head of the Ling family nodded, "Grandfather was not simple, and the grandson is also strange. We can't determine anything else for now, but Qin Lie's seemingly weak body is actually extremely strong! I think even the bodies of Du Heng and Du Fei might not be as strong as his!"

"How is that possible? Du Fei is at the Fifth Heaven of Body Refinement, and Du Heng is at the Eighth Heaven. How could they be inferior to him?" Ling Chengzhi was surprised.

"It seems we need to pay more attention to Qin Lie in the future. Your guess is likely correct. The withering of the medicinal herbs on Medicine Mountain is very likely related to Qin Lie." The head of the Ling family said with a complex expression.

...

"Sister, what do you think the white-clothed person's background is? Why would he attack a fool? This person is really despicable!"

"Who knows? I hope Father and Uncle can capture him. Our Ling family town is so remote, and it's very rare for such a high-level martial artist to come here. It's indeed very strange." Ling Yushi frowned, her hands gripping Qin Lie's legs on her back, her eyes looking peculiar.

The tall and graceful Ling Yushi was two years older than Qin Lie and was also taller than him at this moment. She was at the Seventh Heaven of Body Refinement, so logically, carrying the slender Qin Lie should have been easy, but only she knew that she was actually struggling a bit...

This made her inner doubts grow stronger, but she didn't say much here. Instead, she casually teased her younger sister, "You didn't disappoint me. When the white-clothed person attacked Qin Lie, you immediately joined me in the pursuit. Haha, I thought you would stand by and watch, hoping the white-clothed person would kill Qin Lie, thus solving your troubles."

"Really, I'm dissatisfied with Father's actions, but I know it has nothing to do with this fool. This fool is truly pitiful, and I'm not that evil and despicable." Ling Xuanxuan said in a sweet voice.

The two sisters chatted with clear voices, getting closer to the Ling family town. Ling Xuanxuan never paid attention to Qin Lie, and Ling Yushi, after initially glancing at him, didn't look back again, focusing on the conversation with her younger sister and the rugged mountain path.

The two women didn't know that Qin Lie, whom they had ignored, had already opened his eyes at some point. His eyes were as bright as cold stars, clear and sharp, with no trace of the previous emptiness and confusion!

After two years, Qin Lie once again woke up from deep cultivation!

The last time was when Qin Shan woke him up before leaving, and this time, he was startled awake by Ling Chengzhi's attack.

Listening to the soft voices of the two sisters and smelling the fragrant scent from Ling Yushi's neck, Qin Lie's eyes gradually lost their brilliance. He felt his body's condition and then closed his eyes again.

With his eyes closed, scenes flashed through his mind, and the memories of the past two years flooded back...

He and his grandfather Qin Shan had always lived together. He only remembered his memories after the age of ten, while the memories before ten were sealed in the Soul Suppressing Pearl on his forehead. According to Qin Shan, even he couldn't unlock those memories, and Qin Lie had to uncover them bit by bit through his own efforts.

Qin Shan told him that when he found him, his memories were already sealed.

Regarding his identity, background, and parents, Qin Shan never spoke, only telling him that those things were stored in his own mind, and he would have to uncover them himself in the future.

Five years ago, Qin Shan brought him to the Ling family town and taught him the "Heavenly Thunder Punishment," using the special properties of the Medicine Mountain to help him cultivate it.

The Soul Suppressing Pearl on his forehead, besides sealing his ten years of memories, also had countless other wonders. The pearl allowed him to remain in the optimal cultivation state—no method, no thought!

The so-called no method, no thought, refers to a special realm entered during cultivation. According to legend, when a martial artist enters this realm, their spirit separates from their body and can observe their physical form in a strange space.

At that time, the body, free from the control of the spirit, would perfectly perform the martial arts it had practiced, allowing the spirit, or the martial artist's consciousness, to observe the cultivation process.

In this mysterious state, cultivation would be twice as effective, which is what all martial artists dream of!

The no method, no thought cultivation realm also had another miraculous effect—it greatly increased the martial artist's pain tolerance!

"Heavenly Thunder Punishment" is an extremely powerful and terrifying spirit technique that uses the thunder and lightning from the nine heavens to temper and refine the body. Ordinary people often cannot endure the extreme pain of cultivating "Heavenly Thunder Punishment," either their souls shatter, or they become fools. Even those with great willpower find it difficult to continue.

As long as one is human, it is almost impossible to endure the pain of lightning strikes for a long time, especially for beginners, who find it even harder to bear.

"Heavenly Thunder Punishment" must also be cultivated from the Body Refinement stage, which has always been just a beautiful idea...

Because the bodies of beginners are weak and cannot withstand the pain of lightning strikes, no one has ever successfully cultivated "Heavenly Thunder Punishment."

However, the miraculous no method, no thought cultivation realm allows the martial artist's spirit to separate from the body, greatly reducing the sensation of pain.

Combining "Heavenly Thunder Punishment" with no method, no thought cultivation finally made it possible to successfully cultivate this powerful technique!

Qin Lie, due to the unique effects of the Soul Suppressing Pearl, had been cultivating "Heavenly Thunder Punishment" for five years.

During these five years, he remained in the no method, no thought state, his soul and consciousness separated from his body, allowing his body to follow the subconscious habits and cultivate "Heavenly Thunder Punishment" arduously.

Cultivating "Heavenly Thunder Punishment" involves using spiritual energy to guide lightning to repeatedly temper the body, tendons, and bones. The spiritual energy he had gathered over the years was all mixed with the lightning and dispersed into his bones and tendons.

Even without cultivation, the pain and injuries from the lightning strikes required spiritual energy to heal and nourish.

So every time he cultivated some spiritual energy, it would soon be depleted.

When he came out of the mine earlier, he had already exhausted all the spiritual energy in his body, which is why Ling Chengye and his daughter could not detect any spiritual energy in him.

Because he could not retain spiritual energy for long, he did not know which level of Body Refinement he was currently at. During this time, due to the separation of his soul, his eyes were empty and confused, making him appear like a fool, ignored and even despised by everyone.

In the past five years, he had only woken up twice.

The first time was two years ago, when Qin Shan woke him up, saying he had to leave and might not return for a long time, or might never return...

This was his second time waking up.

"Almost there, in three months, the foundation of Heavenly Thunder Punishment will be truly established. Then I won't need to continue hiding in the mine on Medicine Mountain to cultivate. I'm progressing faster than Grandfather expected, but it's been two years since he left, and I wonder how he is..."

With his eyes closed, lying on Ling Yushi's soft and plump back, Qin Lie thought silently.

"Two sisters, why are you coming back from the direction of Medicine Mountain? Eh, Yushi, why are you carrying Qin Lie?"

At the entrance of the Ling family town, Du Heng and his brother, along with several martial artists Du Haitian had placed in the Ling family, were standing idly. When Du Heng saw the graceful Ling Yushi with the fool Qin Lie on her back, his face, which was still considered handsome, suddenly turned dark.

He had long known that his real father was Du Haitian, not the deceased Ling Chenghui, and thus knew that he had no blood relation with the Ling family sisters. As Ling Yushi grew more beautiful and alluring, he secretly lusted after her.

Seeing Ling Yushi carrying Qin Lie, he felt as if he had swallowed a fly, wishing he could crush the fool into pieces.

"We went to Medicine Mountain to gather some medicinal herbs. On the way, we saw someone attacking Qin Lie. He was injured, so we brought him back first..." Ling Yushi had never called Du Heng "big brother." She briefly explained and prepared to pass by Du