A massive search operation was launched in Tianyang County, but unfortunately, after several days, there was no result. Not a single one of the five people in the portrait was found; only some human traffickers were caught.
The Prefectural Governor was furious but in the end, had to let the matter drop.
Zhong Lin paid no attention to the outside happenings; before his Master returned, his task was to practice martial arts. Matters involving mutant beasts were beyond what he, a little shrimp, could deal with.
Time passed languidly, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had flown by.
In the vast martial arts training ground, Zhong Lin moved about holding a pair of copper hammers made from purple copper. Under the sunlight, they gleamed with a purple hue. Each hammer was the size of a pumpkin and weighed over a thousand pounds, but in Zhong Lin’s hands, they were as light as wood, wielded with great vigor.
With his cultivation reaching the Fifth Grade Inner Strengthening Realm and alongside his training in the "Golden Muscle and Jade Bone Skill," Zhong Lin’s power now exceeded six thousand pounds of immense force. Even Mei Weixuan could not compare to him.
Suddenly, Zhong Lin leaped into the air, lifted both hammers above his head, and then smashed them forcefully onto the ground.
With a thunderous roar, the ground of the martial arts training area quaked. From the point of impact as the center, dense spider-web-like cracks spread in all directions, leaving no doubt that if this hammer strike hit a person, it could turn them into pulp.
In the corner, a little stone was also waving its fists, accustomed and unfazed by his brother’s fierce hammer strikes.
After the sun was high in the sky, the two stopped, with servants bringing towels.
Since reaching the Fifth Grade Inner Strengthening Realm, Zhong Lin switched his practice time to night. During other times, he practiced the "Golden Muscle and Jade Bone Skill" and "Five Animals Qigong" and various martial arts techniques, which left plenty of time in comparison.
At this moment, nearly ninety percent of Zhong Lin’s bones had transformed into jade bone. It wouldn’t be long before the cultivation of the golden muscle and jade bone was complete. He could also feel subtle changes in his bone marrow, although this seemed to be the limit, as it was just a Lower Third Grades cultivation technique. Marrow was a domain that only the Fourth Grade Divine Power Realm could touch. Nevertheless, it was enough, as not many could lay a foundation for the next realm at a lower grade.
Zhong Lin closed his eyes to sense himself; even with the help of breathing technique and Five Spirit Pills over half a month, the warming of his lungs was only half completed.
"The Fifth Grade Inner Strengthening Realm truly is a painstaking cultivation; it’s really slow!" Zhong Lin complained.
But it was understandable, as the five viscera were extremely fragile. The warming of qi-blood was done thread by thread, bit by bit, fearing even the slightest damage.
Many wild Fifth Grade martial artists in the community rushed in this realm, leading to the Five Labors and Seven Injuries as after-effects. In the Hundred Herbs Hall, there was a Fifth Grade member of the Guard Team who injured both lungs while warming the viscera, leaving a chronic cough, sometimes severe enough to cough up blood.
Of course, if one could complete the strengthening of the five viscera, a person at this realm would gain longevity and immunity to visceral diseases. Records say if the internal organs are strong, jadescent nectar will continuously form in the mouth, impurities within the lungs will be entirely gone, and the constitution will improve another step.
"Young Master, Manager Deng has arrived."
Yun Xiu hurried over.
Zhong Lin wiped the sweat off his face and casually said, "Let him come in."
In a moment, Deng Yunsheng stepped in with anger written all over his face.
"Young Master, the medicine collection team has met with an accident."
On the ground of the Hundred Herbs Hall square lay bodies arranged in rows, roughly counted to be dozens.
The air was filled with a strong stench of blood.
Many apprentices, pill masters, doctors, and martial artists from the guard team stood silently gazing at the bodies on the ground.
The entire square seemed to be engulfed in a deathly silence.
With Zhong Lin’s arrival, the onlookers made way, forming a passage.
Zhong Lin looked at the bodies, his eyes narrowing, showing no expression, leaving it unclear whether he was angry or pleased.
The dozens of bodies died in tragic states, with some having their chests caved in, clearly shattered by mighty palm forces, utterly crushing their internal organs.
Others were killed by swords or knives, with long wounds left on the chest or neck.
Most notably, these bodies exhibited clear signs of having been dumped from a height after death.
"What happened?" Zhong Lin asked coldly.
"Young Master, these are members of the medicine collection team. Three days ago, they went into Turtle Back Mountain to collect vermilion fruit grass. They were supposed to return yesterday but never came back. Early this morning, a hunter found their bodies at the bottom of a cliff while hunting in the mountains. Because the hunter knew our Hundred Herbs Hall, they came to inform us, and that’s when we learned the entire medicine collection team had been killed."
Turtle Back Mountain is located a hundred miles west of Tianyang City, named so for its shape resembling a turtle’s back.
As for vermilion fruit grass, it is a tiny yet vibrant plant with fresh green leaves and clusters of plump, bright red fruits. The fruits emit a tempting fragrance when ripe, helping to replenish qi and nourish blood, enhance complexion, and serve as a key ingredient for beauty pills.
"Young Master, the medicine collection team’s task was only to collect herbs and never to make enemies. Now they have been brutally murdered; we hope you will seek justice for them."
"We hope the Young Master will seek justice and avenge them."
Zhong Lin raised his hands slightly and tersely said, "Daring to kill people from our Hundred Herbs Hall, courting death, Xing Kui."
"Mobilize the troops and get revenge."
"Everyone else disperses and waits for news."
Once the crowd dispersed, Zhong Lin glanced at Deng Yunsheng and asked, "Old Deng, what do you think?"
"Judging from the wounds on the bodies, the killers have high martial skills. They are at least Middle Third Grades martial artists who have condensed qi-blood, and there’s more than one of them."
"The medicine collection team was only responsible for collecting herbs and never made enemies. Moreover, the surrounding forces know about our Hundred Herbs Hall and wouldn’t act recklessly. Now, all have been killed, leaving no survivors. I believe the team must have seen something they shouldn’t have, leading them to be silenced."
"If it was solely about silencing, why throw the bodies off a cliff to destroy evidence?" Zhong Lin countered with a question.
Deng Yunsheng was momentarily speechless. Killing was one thing, but why go through the trouble of tossing the bodies off a cliff? If not for a hunter finding them below, it would have been hard for us to track them down.
"Unless someone didn’t want us to know the location, Old Deng, were there designated areas for the medicine collection team to gather herbs?"
"Good, then I will see for myself what unspeakable secrets lie in this matter that warrant such a cover-up by killing."
While the two talked, Xing Kui had already summoned the members of the guard team to wait outside.
Altogether, thirty people, including eight Sixth Grade experts who had condensed qi-blood, and Xing Kui, a Fifth Grade Inner Strengthening Realm martial artist who had nurtured internal organs, were assembled.
Turtle Back Mountain is a hundred miles away from Tianyang City, shrouded in mist throughout the year, teeming with birds and beasts. Hence, apart from the Hundred Herbs Hall’s medicine collection team and hunters, few ventured into it, not even for firewood, considering the distance.
The group soon reached the front of Turtle Back Mountain with little effort. It seemed the culprits were too clever for their own good. If it weren’t for throwing the bodies off the cliff, tracking them would indeed be challenging.
The medicine collection team’s herb-gathering had time and area divisions, as herbal growth has cycles. The culprits’ unnecessary actions only made it easier to pinpoint their location.