A few months passed silently within Lin Sheng's courtyard.
During that period, the outside world continued to move, but Lin Sheng remained almost completely isolated from it. The formations surrounding his residence remained active day and night, concealing the fluctuations of his cultivation while the enormous supply of Rank 4 serpent materials slowly diminished within his treasure abode.
By now, Lin Sheng had completed three Blood Exchanges.
He sat cross-legged within the center of the formation, his upper body bare, his skin faintly glowing beneath the circulation of his Qi-Blood. A thick crimson mist constantly surrounded him, rising from his body like smoke from an enormous furnace before slowly sinking back into his flesh.
It was far denser than it had been after his second exchange.
The third Blood Exchange had pushed his Qi-Blood like Wolf Smoke to its peak, but Lin Sheng had yet to confirm whether his foundation was sufficient to trigger the next transformation ahead of schedule.
According to the records he had obtained, the fourth and seventh Blood Exchanges were normally the major qualitative transformations.
The Fourth exchange transformed Qi-Blood like Veil into Qi-Blood like Wolf Smoke, while the seventh exchange brought another qualitative leap for those with sufficiently powerful foundations.
But Lin Sheng had never been particularly fond of following ordinary cultivation paths.
His foundation had already deviated too far from what was considered normal.
He had directly achieved Vajra Body, then Frost Marrow, and had subsequently pushed the marrow transformation even further through the infusion of enormous quantities of spiritual energy until he reached Jade Marrow and obtained Qi-Blood like Veil before completing even a single Blood Exchange.
His first exchange had pushed that Veil to its peak, while his second had transformed it into Wolf Smoke.
Now he had reached the third exchange.
If his theory was correct, this should be the moment when his foundation revealed just how far it could actually go.
Lin Sheng slowly closed his eyes.
His breathing became almost imperceptible.
Then the Qi-Blood within his body began to move.
The crimson Wolf Smoke surrounding him suddenly trembled.
It expanded.
Unlike before, however, it didn't simply spread outward from his body. The enormous mass of Qi-Blood seemed to possess a direction of its own, stretching away from his chest and flowing through his internal organs.
Lin Sheng's expression changed slightly.
The Wolf Smoke began reaching toward his lungs.
A strand of crimson Qi-Blood entered the organ, immediately causing an intense heat to spread through his chest.
His lungs trembled.
Then the same phenomenon occurred within his kidneys, his liver, and finally his spleen.
One strand.
Then another.
Then another.
Soon, every one of his five viscera was connected to the Qi-Blood circulating through his heart.
Lin Sheng could clearly feel the transformation taking place inside him.
The Five Blood Qi Nourishing State that had once represented a major achievement in external cultivation now seemed almost childish compared to what was happening.
Back then, he had merely nourished his five viscera with Qi-Blood.
Now, the five viscera were becoming part of a single enormous circulation.
The crimson strands began thickening.
What had initially been thin threads gradually became thicker, stronger, and more vigorous, until they resembled living tendons stretching through his organs.
Lin Sheng's heartbeat became heavier.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Each beat sent a wave of Qi-Blood through the five viscera.
The strands continued to expand.
They began connecting.
The separate streams merged into a single circulation, and as the Qi-Blood gathered together, Lin Sheng suddenly felt something take shape within his body.
His expression became solemn.
The enormous quantity of Qi-Blood began condensing.
It stretched through his body, extending from the region of his heart toward his limbs, then curling back through his organs.
The shape slowly became clearer.
A head emerged.
Then a long body.
Then claws.
The Qi-Blood continued twisting until a gigantic eastern dragon appeared within his inner vision, its crimson body winding through the five viscera as though it had always existed there.
Lin Sheng stared at the scene.
The dragon was not an illusion.
It was composed entirely of his Qi-Blood.
Its body pulsed with every heartbeat, and its scales seemed to be formed from countless layers of compressed Qi-Blood. Even its eyes possessed a faint trace of spirituality, as though the enormous quantity of energy had begun developing a primitive instinct of its own.
Lin Sheng remained silent for several breaths.
Then his eyes narrowed.
"Qi-Blood like Dragon."
This was the textbook definition.
The moment the Qi-Blood could condense into a dragon-shaped circulation, the practitioner had crossed the threshold.
And this was one of the greatest advantages of Blood Exchange.
By the time an ordinary practitioner reached Qi-Blood like Veil, their Qi-Blood would naturally form a protective aura around the body, exponentially increasing their defensive capabilities.
At Qi-Blood like Wolf Smoke, the practitioner could already manipulate their Qi-Blood outside the body with a degree of autonomy, allowing it to attack almost as though it possessed its own instinct.
But Qi-Blood like Dragon was different.
The increase wasn't merely quantitative.
The practitioner gained both offensive and defensive power simultaneously, because the Qi-Blood itself had undergone a fundamental transformation.
Lin Sheng slowly clenched his fist.
The surrounding air seemed to compress.
His muscles remained completely still, yet the pressure radiating from his body caused the formations around him to tremble faintly.
One dragon.
One million jin.
That was the textbook strength corresponding to a Rank 4 physique.
And that number referred to the strength available in a single arm.
Lin Sheng's eyes narrowed slightly.
"One million jin..."
For an ordinary martial artist, this was already an unimaginable figure.
Yet even this was merely the starting point.
After breaking through to Rank 4, most practitioners still needed to consolidate their cultivation, refine their physique, and stabilize their newfound power. Their strength would naturally increase beyond the initial threshold, and some exceptional practitioners could push considerably farther.
Lin Sheng had already expected this.
But what he hadn't expected was that his own transformation would occur before the fourth Blood Exchange.
His theory had been correct.
His foundation was indeed strong enough.
He slowly stood.
The moment his feet touched the ground, the enormous Qi-Blood dragon within his body stirred.
Lin Sheng was about to test his current physical strength when his expression suddenly changed.
That sensation.
It returned.
The familiar dread.
His body became tense.
The world around him seemed to grow distant as an instinctive warning emerged from somewhere deep within his consciousness.
Danger.
Extreme danger.
But this time, the feeling was different.
It wasn't as overwhelming as before.
It was slightly weaker.
Yet it existed.
Lin Sheng's expression slowly darkened.
He had hoped that after reaching Qi-Blood like Dragon, his foundation would finally be sufficient to suppress that ominous sensation.
Instead, the feeling remained.
Only now did he fully understand what that meant.
"The Heavenly Mechanism..."
His voice was low.
"It really has prepared something."
The first time he experienced this dread, he had thought it might simply be his natural premonition warning him about the upcoming tribulation.
But after everything that had happened, he had gradually developed another theory.
The Heavenly Mechanism had noticed him.
The Formation Spirit elder's warnings had initially caused him to consider the possibility, but at the time, it had only been an afterthought.
Now there was no room for doubt.
The Five-Year Appointment was approaching.
The Luck surrounding Su Yang was accumulating.
The turning point of a Child of Luck's destiny was drawing closer.
And the Heavenly Mechanism was already beginning to react.
The Rank 5 Flood Dragon from the past had not been an isolated incident.
That had been a warning.
This time, the Heavenly Mechanism was preparing something even more dangerous.
Lin Sheng's expression became extremely solemn.
"This foundation should be enough..."
He looked down at his hand.
One million jin.
Rank 4 physique.
Qi-Blood like Dragon.
His Jing had reached a level that should have been sufficient.
His Shen was even stronger.
His comprehension of martial concepts had continued advancing.
Everything seemed to be ready.
He should have been able to trigger the Rank 4 tribulation.
Yet before Lin Sheng could even take another step, an extremely strange sensation suddenly swept through his body.
His strength vanished.
His knees almost buckled.
His consciousness shook.
For a single instant, an overwhelming weakness descended upon him.
Then it disappeared.
Lin Sheng remained standing.
His eyes narrowed.
"So that's the temporary weakness."
Blood Exchange practitioners normally experienced a period of weakness after completing an exchange, because their old blood had been expelled and their new blood had yet to completely stabilize.
For ordinary practitioners, that weakness could last several hours.
For those with poor foundations, it could even last days.
Lin Sheng had expected his powerful physique to reduce the duration considerably.
But he hadn't expected it to last for less than a breath.
His expression wasn't pleased.
Instead, his brows slowly furrowed.
"If this occurred after the Fourth exchange..."
His thoughts immediately raced.
He still had five exchanges remaining.
Did this mean he couldn't trigger his breakthrough yet?
If he completed the remaining five exchanges, then by the time he finished his ninth exchange, his cultivation would naturally reach a far more terrifying level.
But that also created another problem.
The Five-Year Appointment was approaching.
If he waited until the final moment to break through, the Heavenly Mechanism wouldn't suddenly become aware of him on that particular day.
It had already begun noticing him.
The pressure was already appearing.
The tribulation would therefore continue accumulating.
If he attempted his breakthrough immediately before the appointment, wouldn't the tribulation become even more terrifying?
Lin Sheng's thoughts became increasingly chaotic.
A possibility he had previously refused to consider slowly emerged.
Could he be too late?
His breathing became heavier.
For the first time in an extremely long period, an emotion that he had almost forgotten appeared within his heart.
Despair.
Even when facing the Void Entity, when that monstrous existence had stood before him with power capable of crushing him, Lin Sheng had never truly given up.
There had always been resistance.
A desire to fight.
A way forward.
But now...
The enemy wasn't something he could simply punch.
It was the Heavenly Mechanism itself.
Lin Sheng's hands slowly clenched.
"No."
He closed his eyes.
"No, no."
His breathing gradually stabilized.
"I can't despair."
The moment those words appeared in his mind, Lin Sheng immediately activated his State of Emptiness.
The chaotic thoughts were swept away.
The fear dissolved.
The possibilities remained, but the emotional weight attached to them disappeared.
His mind became calm once again.
Lin Sheng opened his eyes.
"What an idiotic moment."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
There were still nearly three years.
He still had five Blood Exchanges.
And he still possessed a Rank 4 serpent corpse that was more than seventy percent intact.
The Great Medicine Art flashed through his mind.
The technique could convert enormous quantities of beast materials into nourishment without compromising his foundation.
If he consumed the remaining Rank 4 serpent materials, his Blood Exchange speed could increase dramatically.
He didn't necessarily need years to complete the remaining exchanges.
He might be able to finish them within a year.
Lin Sheng slowly exhaled.
"Whew..."
His eyes became sharp again.
"There are still many ways."
The enormous Qi-Blood dragon within his body roared silently.
Lin Sheng looked toward the remaining serpent materials within his treasure abode.
If he wanted to reach Rank 4 before the Five-Year Appointment, then he couldn't afford to cultivate at an ordinary pace anymore.
He had to accelerate.
And this time, he was going to consume everything necessary to make that acceleration possible.