Chapter 153: 153. Moonshadow Sword
"Junior brother~ Congratulations on advancing to the Marrow-Cleansing Realm! This one's for you!"
Having said that, Liao Ya picked up a big bowl and drank it all in one go, her cheeks clearly reddening.
Liao Qe also said, "Lu Yao, you're amazing, advancing to the Marrow-Cleansing Realm so quickly! You're not far from the Blood-Exchange now!"
"It's all thanks to the help of you two, I couldn't have done it on my own." Lu Yao also drank the wine in his bowl, feeling a tremendous surge of emotion.
Having just entered the Marrow-Cleansing Realm, his Inner Breath began the preliminary purification of his bone marrow, making his entire body feel as if it was electrified. The purified bone marrow made his blood and qi much stronger, providing better nourishment to his organs, and thus generating more Inner Breath.
The perfect positive cycle greatly enhanced his physical condition, and Lu Yao felt himself growing stronger with every breath he took.
Liao Ya instructed, "Junior brother, in Marrow-Cleansing you must purify the 'bone marrow, spinal cord, and brain marrow' three marrows. You are currently undergoing the purification of the bone marrow, which isn't too difficult... But the next two require painstaking effort, needing years of dedicated cultivation!"
She paused, then added with feeling, "Human effort has its limits; the Inner Breath required for Marrow-Cleansing is simply too much... I've only managed to make a bit of progress thanks to your 'Art of the Dragon Slayer Manual', which is truly embarrassing."
Lu Yao laughed, "No worries, senior sister, maybe in a couple of days I'll be able to bring you an 'Immortal Pill' to help you."
Liao Ya looked puzzled, "What Immortal Pill?"
Liao Qe interjected, "Lu Yao also told me that he had an Immortal Pill refined by someone."
Lu Yao mysteriously said, "Just wait patiently. Come on~ let's drink~"
~~~~~~~~
After a substantial celebratory feast, the three of them drank a lot and went to bed early in the evening.
Liao Qe spread out a thick mattress, eager to test the power of the Marrow-Cleansing Realm.
The moment they put it to the test, she never imagined she would be no match at all!
Squeeze, press, lock... No matter what technique she used, she couldn't reverse the decline and was quickly overwhelmed!
After taking a few more powerful moves, Liao Qe stiffened suddenly, then relaxed quickly, passing a vast amount of Inner Breath to her beloved.
Lu Yao whispered into the girl's ear, "I've cleansed the marrow, so you shouldn't give me Inner Breath anymore."
With her face flushed and a few beads of sweat on her nose, Liao Qe murmured with her eyes closed, "You need to perform the Blood-Exchange soon..."
"Silly girl, if you give all your Inner Breath to me, what will you do for your own cultivation?"
Lu Yao stirred up an even more surging Inner Breath and easily pushed it back to her.
As the vast Inner Breath flooded back into her, Liao Qe abruptly opened her eyes, clinging tightly to Lu Yao's arm.
Lu Yao touched the girl's soft, delicate face, but his expression was somewhat melancholy.
After Marrow-Cleansing, his Inner Breath had become even more robust, penetrating deep into the bone marrow and reaching all parts of his body, leaving no secrets within.
This also allowed Lu Yao to realize something for the first time—his fatal illness had not been cured, just temporarily suppressed.
His body was like a kettle being filled with water while also leaking out simultaneously.
Fortunately, his progress on the Martial Path was extremely rapid, and his physical condition continued to skyrocket, temporarily suppressing the illness.
But once the rate of filling could not keep up with the leakage, his body would quickly fall apart.
"I can't slack off then, I have to live a long and healthy life with my two beautiful senior sisters."
~~~~~~~
Training Ground
After Marrow-Cleansing, a martial artist's body undergoes a tremendous transformation. As the eldest senior sister, Liao Ya naturally had to give her junior brother a good guidance.
"After the Marrow-Cleansing, Inner Breath surged three times, and with more Inner Breath, I gained many more ways to use it, such as 'Dark Energy Heart Crushing'; it's also possible to cling to the wall like a real gecko with the Eave Dragon Stake, the whole body affixed to the wall surface."
Lu Yao's limbs were full of Inner Breath, allowing him to effortlessly climb up the wall to the roof. He could do this in the past too, but it required gouging the wall with his fingers, which was far less convenient than now.
Liao Ya watched from below with a smile, waving her hand in greeting.
Lu Yao leapt down from the rooftop, and Liao Ya threw the five-hundred-pound Stone Roller over to him.
He immediately caught it and twirled it up and down, throwing and spinning it until it dazzled, the Stone Roller in his hands no heavier than a washbasin.
Then he set the Stone Roller down and walked over to the Mercedes, lifting it with one hand.
"My strength is now over 2 tons! If Organ Refining is like a human-formed tiger, now I'm akin to a human-shaped elephant!"
Protein is a miraculous thing; its composition and the structure of its polypeptide arrangement can make its strength vary greatly.
Liao Ya came over and said, "After the Marrow-Cleansing, the sinews and bones are much stronger; one can withstand shots from handguns just with their body. Of course, rifles are still not something one can withstand."
Having said that, she took out a Glock handgun that Lu Yao had brought, rolled up her sleeve to reveal her lotus root-like arm, and fired a shot into it.
In the roar of gunfire, the bullet whistled out of the barrel and was halted inside the flesh, having only penetrated the surface skin.
Lu Yao rushed forward, gripping the girl's snow-white delicate arm, and said with concern, "Senior Sister, you could have just told me, there was no need for a live demonstration."
Liao Ya's face turned slightly red as she said softly, "I needed to show you the change in the body clearly. It's okay, such a small injury will heal itself in a few hours, look."
After she squeezed out the bullet, there was just a small wound oozing blood, which stopped and scabbed over in the time it took to say a few words.
The Marrow-Cleansing Realm also has a strong recovery ability!
Understanding dawned within Lu Yao. A body in the Marrow-Cleansing Realm is akin to being equipped with a police bulletproof vest, able to withstand close-range shots from handguns.
However, the more delicate areas of the body, such as the throat and eyes, could not be protected.
At this moment, the sound of rifle fire came from another part of the training field; it was Liao Qe firing an AK into the sky, training three Spiritual Sparrowhawks for their adaptability to Firearms.
After several bursts of fire, the three Spiritual Sparrowhawks were evidently no longer frightened and had become accustomed to the loud noise of gunfire.
Lu Yao and Liao Ya also came over, smiling as they watched the Spiritual Sparrowhawks undergoing training.
Just then, all three turned to look north, where suddenly a surge of "presence" arose!
It was an odd sensation, clearly invisible, intangible, and inaudible, but it felt like a sharp blade was right before their eyes, sending an extreme sharpness that made their hairs stand on end.
Liao Ya was the first to react, exclaiming in surprise, "An Innate Grandmaster's 'sword presence'! Moon Shadow Sword Grandmaster Yu has arrived!"
~~~~~~~~
"Presence" is a technique exclusive to those in the Innate Realm.
The visitor's conspicuous use of "sword presence" was a way of announcing their arrival.
Li Pei had mentioned several days earlier that her master would come, and Liao Ya, who had been eagerly awaiting this, hurried to the gate to greet her.
Her excited and thrilled demeanor resembled that of a fan meeting an idol.
Liao Qe whispered to Lu Yao, "The Moon Shadow Sword hailed from humble beginnings and rose through the Martial Path to the Innate Realm, all with the aid of a steel sword. My sister has admired her since childhood."
No sooner had they spoken a few words when a familiar woman approached leisurely, neither too fast nor too slow.
She was slender, with long legs, standing at a height of 1.75 meters; her white hair was casually tied up, and she carried an unsheathed steel sword at her waist.
Having previously seen this "Moon Shadow Sword" ambush vampires through a drone, this was the first time they laid eyes on her in person.
The Innate Grandmaster appeared cold and aloof, wearing an air of 'keep your distance.'