Chapter 12 - Stealing the Spiritual Herb
Chen Fan stood alone in the spacious clearing by the side of the valley stream, unleashing a relentless barrage of palm strikes.
“Vajra Seal is fierce and domineering, capable of shattering anything in its path. On the other hand, Chakravarti Seal possesses a unique blend of ferocity and softness. It can flow gently like calm seawater or surge forward with the force of crashing waves. Within its softness, there lies ferocity, and within its ferocity, there exists a subtle softness."
Chen Fan mumbled to himself, throwing out palm after palm. The wind swished, and the air swept like waves, but he just couldn’t nail the essence of the skill.
Even so, Chen Fan wasn’t impatient.
As Chen Fan continued to unleash his palms, the primeval qi within his meridians surged like a powerful tide.
After countless repetitions, a resounding smack echoed through the air, causing Chen Fan's pupils to freeze momentarily.
“Rotations, cycle after cycle, like the primeval qi circulating inside me. Round after round, layer after layer, erupting instantly, it arrives at my palm, bringing out a great force.”[1]
Chen Fan’s eyes lit up, and he took a deep breath and slowly pushed out his palm.
However, he moved his palm with deliberate slowness this time. Yet, he generated a strong wind that seemed to gather before him, layer upon layer.
“Right, this is it. Stacking layers until it quickly erupts, layer after layer, resulting in a burst of power as fierce as a tsunami.”
A faint smile appeared on the corner of Chen Fan's lips. He’d finally gained initial comprehension of the Chakravarti Seal.
A long while after, Chen Fan unleashed a powerful palm strike. With a thunderous crash resembling the crashing waves, a series of terrifying palm strikes surged forth.
Boom!
The air boomed.
Each palm strike landed on the mountain, making rocks tumble and cracks spread. Finally, a deep palm print several inches in depth was left behind.
“I did it. Initial comprehension of Chakravarti Seal.”
Chen Fan’s eyes lit up with happiness.
That day, Chen Fan went to meet his old friend again: the Violent Ape.
He had been coveting the spiritual herb inside the Violent Ape’s cave for a long time.
He was too weak to get his grubby paws on it before.
He was much stronger now, so he wanted to check how big the strength gap between them was.
If he could withstand a full-force attack from the Violent Ape, he decided to try to find an opportunity to steal the spiritual herb.
Chen Fan stood outside the cave and made a sound, intending to lure out the Violent Ape. However, no noise came from inside the cave, even after he waited for a bit.
“Is it out hunting for food?”
Chen Fan’s heart stirred and began to thump violently. The Violent Ape wasn’t in the cave—this was the perfect opportunity to steal the spiritual herb.
Chen Fan put all his strength into his legs and darted into the cave.
He had to make every second count, as he didn’t know how much longer the ape would be outside. He had to take this opportunity to steal the spiritual herb.
The air in the cave was very murky and humid. Surprisingly, the cave didn’t reek of the smell typically associated with demon beasts. He quickly ran deeper in.
The cave seemed endless and was on a steady decline. He ran for close to an incense stick’s worth of time and finally arrived at the end of the cave. [2]
There was a pond at the end of the cave.
The pond had a radius of five feet and a depth of around three feet. Its water emitted a faint golden glow while white mist floated on the surface, sending an icy chill that penetrated Chen Fan's bones.
“So cold!”
His physique had grown stronger by leaps and bounds, but the chill from the pond still made him shiver.
A green lotus flower floated above the pond, and within its petals flowed a chalcedony-like fluid, sparkling and translucent, emanating a clear fragrance that relaxed one’s heart and refreshed one’s mind. Even his primeval qi seemed to cheer joyfully.
“This is a Jade Lotus Flower!”
Chen Fan narrowed his eyes when he saw the Jade Lotus Flower. A look of wild joy appeared on his face next.
Jade Lotus Flowers were a type of precious treasure of heaven and earth. If a martial artist directly consumed them, their potent medical efficacy could directly raise the martial artist’s cultivation by a small realm.
Also, martial artists wouldn’t experience any side effects from increasing their cultivation this way, as this was the same as bitterly cultivating and improving their strength.
The most crucial point was that Jade Lotus Flowers could help consolidate a martial artist’s foundation.
If Chen Fan were to sell it outside, this Jade Lotus Flower could fetch him 200 primeval stones. The market had a demand for it, yet no supply was available.
Chen Fan didn’t hesitate and extended his hand, intending to scoop up the Jade Lotus Flower from the pond.
A stinging pain assaulted him just as his palm dipped into the water. The faint golden pond water was like lava.
However, Chen Fan didn’t retract his hand, as he could still bear the pain.
He remained still for a minute; suddenly, his eyes flashed with ecstasy.
He had discovered that although the pond water caused him severe pain, it could also temper his physique.
“I can use this water to temper my body!”
Body cultivation proved to be an immensely challenging endeavor. Without divine objects, individuals could only make progress gradually.
Although Chen Fan didn’t hate the notion of improving slowly and steadily, he naturally wouldn’t reject methods that allowed him to improve without harming his foundation.
Utilizing the Violent Ape to strengthen himself while enduring injuries proved effective, but the resulting harm inflicted upon him was equally severe.
“I’ll be rich if I can bring back the pool and the Jade Lotus Flower with me,” Chen Fan thought. However, he understood this was unrealistic since he didn’t have a vessel to contain the pond water.
“Forget it. I’ll return to this pond to temper myself in the future when my cultivation has increased, and I can drive the Violent Ape away.”
After making up his mind, Chen Fan wasted no more time. He scooped up his arm and retrieved the Jade Lotus Flower before turning around and making a mad dash for the entrance.
The Violent Ape had guarded the Jade Lotus Flower for a long time and could sense a foreign presence. The moment Chen Fan took the flower, it was very likely the ape sensed it and was now rushing back.
Chen Fan had to run out of the cave before it returned. If the Violent Ape blocked him inside the cave, he would lose his life.
Although he’d greatly improved, he still wasn’t a match for a rampaging Violent Ape.
As he drew closer to the cave entrance, Chen Fan sensed the ground shaking. He knew it wasn’t his imagination—the Violent Ape was rushing back in a frenzy.
Dashing madly, Chen Fan drove all his primeval qi to his legs, running like the wind.
Finally, he rushed out of the cave entrance and saw the light. He quickly made his way into the dense forest.
Suddenly, the Violent Ape burst in from another direction.
The ape saw someone leaving its cave and immediately recognized him, as this human had left quite an impression in its mind.
Sensing the Jade Lotus Flower’s familiar fluctuations from Chen Fan’s chest, the Violent Ape immediately went crazy.
Its pupils instantly turned crimson, and it let out an earth-shaking roar filled with rage. Extending its arm, it pulled out a big tree from its roots and hurled it toward Chen Fan.
Chen Fan felt the strong wind on his back, which alone was enough to hurt his skin and fill him with shock.
After all, he had broken through to the third layer of Strength Refining.
“Damn it, a rampaging Violent Ape is actually so terrifying! It doesn’t seem even a bit weaker than a sixth-level demon beast!”
Chen Fan cursed inside.
Demon beasts were stronger than martial artists of the same level in raw strength and toughness. The uprooted tree sweeping toward him probably had 6,000 jin of strength behind it, and if it struck him, he would end up with torn skin and mangled flesh.
However, he couldn’t hide even if he wanted to.
With the Violent Ape grabbing big trees and throwing them, Chen Fan would be within range of being smashed by them no matter which way he dodged. His only choice was to run forward.
Alas, he didn’t practice any movement martial skills, so his speed was average.
As he couldn’t dodge any longer, Chen Fan steeled himself and hurriedly raised his defenses to the limit, ready to forcibly receive the attack.
Bam!
Chen Fan only saw his vision turn black. He was struck viciously, and he let out a miserable cry. Fresh blood gushed from his mouth as he flew out like a comet, crashing heavily onto the ground.
1. ‘轮海印’ is the raw term for Chakravarti Seal. ‘轮’ has the literal meaning of wheel/rotate/turn/round/disk, and ‘海’ means the sea. Also, all four seals are references to gods in Hinduism and Buddhism. ☜
2. Very ambiguous measure of time as it depends on how the incense is made, its length, and the environment where it's lit. I checked around, but different sites give different answers, but it’s usually between 30 mins to 1 hour, and one mentioned 15 mins. ☜
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