Chapter 15: Marrow Cleansing and Blood Refinement

Lin Donglai thought that splitting firewood would be an easy job. After all, as a farm boy, how could he have never helped his family chop wood and carry water?

However, the reality was that the labor was exceptionally grueling.

He had already entered the Marrow Cleansing stage and condensed five drops of essence blood; his strength should have been much greater than that of an ordinary person.

Yet, even when exerting all his might, he could only leave a shallow mark on the wood.

Upon closer inspection, he realized that this wood was indeed not ordinary.

According to the *Cultivation Records*, ordinary wood cannot withstand the flames ignited by a cultivator's spiritual power, but during alchemy, one cannot rely solely on spiritual fire.

Thus, there is a specific type of wood used for fueling alchemy fires called Dan Wood (Alchemy Wood).

Dan Wood is best suited for making charcoal; the resulting Dan Charcoal possesses extremely high temperatures and a stable flame.

As for miscellaneous branches and twigs that cannot be used to make charcoal, they are used for other purposes.

Of course, that includes firewood.

Not only is this wood incredibly hard, but its bark is also extremely tough. Even for a practitioner who has achieved Great Success in Tendon Strengthening and Marrow Cleansing, trying to snap a single thin twig by hand would not be an easy task.

Granny Qian's decision to send Lin Donglai to chop wood was likely motivated by a desire to see some entertainment.

But Lin Donglai was not one to give up easily. He focused solely on figuring out how to split the Dan Wood; he was determined to earn those spirit stones.

He adjusted his stance, his breathing now fully synchronized with the *Primordial Nourishing Breathing Technique*. His feet gripped the ground like the roots of an old tree, his strength rising from his lower body to his waist, through the spinal tendons and other major sinews, integrating his muscles into a single force, which he then swung violently against the Dan Wood branch.

*Crack!*

The Dan Wood branch snapped. Feeling the recoil traveling up his hand, Lin Donglai paused to reflect. He immediately adjusted his posture, caught the sensation, and continued chopping!

With his current strength, Lin Donglai had to exert his full power every time to break a Dan Wood branch. Exerting such force inevitably caused minor internal injuries to his muscles and sinews. Furthermore, the recoil from both the axe and the Dan Wood would travel back into the bones of his arms. Every time he chopped wood, it felt like self-mutilation, as if a small portion of the damage was being inflicted upon himself.

Yet, it was precisely because of this that the spiritual essence breathed in by the two Dao Seed tentacles could continuously repair the injured and fatigued areas.

In this manner, the progress of his Marrow Cleansing cultivation was greatly accelerated.

To be precise, the utilization rate of the spiritual essence drawn from the void by the Dao Seed roots had increased.

Before long, another bone was cleansed and refined, transforming the ordinary marrow within into spiritual marrow.

Simultaneously, essence blood emerged from the spiritual marrow. The old blood and mortal blood were squeezed out by the essence blood, slowly seeping through his pores via the force of the recoil.

It made Lin Donglai look like a "Sweat-Blood Steed," as the sweat flowing from him was a dark crimson color.

This was precisely the supreme opportunity of the martial path in the mortal realm: "Marrow Stripping."

It was more thorough and more violent than Marrow Cleansing!

It could reshape one's skeletal structure, granting better martial talent.

In terms of the Immortal Path, it deviated from spiritual cultivation and leaned toward the cultivation process of body-refining practitioners.

...

With every swing of the axe, Lin Donglai entered a state of flow, focusing entirely on the single task of chopping Dan Wood branches!

That is, splitting wood.

He set a standard for the firewood; every piece had to be roughly the same—similar length and thickness—so they could be stacked neatly.

This extremely disciplined task trained three specific abilities: speed, precision, and ferocity.

Even though he was merely splitting wood, Lin Donglai felt that if a person were standing before him, he could split them from head to crotch with a single axe blow, dividing them into two perfectly even halves.

It wasn't until two loads of Dan Wood branches had been split into uniform small segments that Lin Donglai realized a pool of blood had formed on the ground.

Sensing his own body, he discovered he had achieved Minor Success in Marrow Cleansing. He had condensed eight drops of essence blood, bringing his total to thirteen drops.

An ordinary person only needs 12 drops of essence blood to attempt the transformation of Essence into Qi. Nine drops can be used to transform into a wisp of Innate Fetal Breath; using this breath as a guide to draw Qi into the body and refine the first wisp of spiritual power marks the first level of Qi Refinement.

The remaining three drops of essence blood are used to maintain the physical body; otherwise, draining them all would cause great damage to one's vital essence.

Of course, the more robust the Fetal Breath, the higher the efficiency of drawing Qi into the body, but that was something to consider after reaching the Qi Refinement stage.

Lin Donglai was different. He needed forty-nine drops of essence blood to soak his Dao Seeds, another nine drops to complete the transformation of Essence into Qi, and three more to maintain his physical vitality. Thus, he needed a total of sixty-one drops of essence blood.

If he were cultivating on Spirit Sprout Peak, Lin Donglai certainly wouldn't be able to finish before the second hundred-day assessment. But on Tengshe Peak, given the environment's suitability for Dao Seeds, if he stayed for a while longer, he would surely grow more fine roots!

Forget sixty drops; even a hundred drops would not be difficult.

The problem was, how could he continue to cultivate or work on Tengshe Peak?

Lin Donglai's mind raced, and he looked toward Granny Qian.

He fetched some water from the vat to wash the blood from the ground and gave himself a quick rinse. Then, he walked up to Granny Qian. "Senior, the firewood is finished."

Granny Qian had also heard the rhythmic sound of chopping. Sensing the boy's rapid growth through the changing tempo, she thought to herself, *He has some comprehension, but pity his spiritual roots are too poor.*

"Good! Tong'er, give him a spirit stone!"

Lin Donglai was surprised. "Senior, didn't we agree on half a spirit stone?"

"I don't have spirit pearls here. Giving you one is a reward for your efficient work."

Lin Donglai seized the opportunity. "As the saying goes, one should not accept rewards without merit. Granny, I wonder if there are other tasks, such as chopping wood, that you could entrust to me as well!"

Granny Qian laughed. "You certainly know how to push your luck. The wood here is finished, there is none left. However, I do know a place specifically for harvesting Dan Wood branches. They are in need of hands there, but usually, only laborers go there. The spirit stones are few and the work is exhausting. But why would an old woman like me tell you that?"

Lin Donglai said decisively, "Senior, although I only possess a low-grade Five-Element Spiritual Root, I have a Low-Grade Wood Dao Body. The inner sect senior sister who tested my spiritual roots said I am suited for tending to forest fruits."

"If I can earn a few more spirit stones, I will have more chances to pass the hundred-day assessment, draw Qi into my body, and officially become an outer disciple. Once I learn the art of tending spiritual plants on Lingxi Peak, I will surely come to your orchard to help tend the fruit trees, without asking for a single cent, as a token of my gratitude."

Granny Qian listened. "A Low-Grade Wood Body isn't anything rare, and besides, I am old; I don't like being flattered."

"However, your personality is indeed quite likable, so I shall give you some guidance."

"Tong'er, take him to the Dan Wood forest overseen by Old Man Ma."

Lin Donglai hurriedly expressed his thanks. "Thank you for your kindness, Senior! I am deeply grateful."

Since Ding Zhen was still in the garden catching insects and had not come out, Lin Donglai added, "Please help me convey my regards to my traveling companions, Senior; tell them they need not wait for me."

He then followed the young girl, Tong'er, toward the Dan Wood forest.

The Dan Wood forest was on the other side of Tengshe Peak, near Zhuque Peak. Zhuque Peak was the location of the Earth Fire used for alchemy and smithing; therefore, the spiritual herbs planted near Zhuque Peak were all those that thrived on sun and fire.

As soon as Lin Donglai approached, he felt the temperature rise significantly.