Previously on Urban Divine Doctor Descends the Mountain...
Tian Sha desperately awaits his Blood Clan Master's arrival, while Lin Dong 'restores' him with pills, secretly fattening him up. Meanwhile, the Blood Clan Master, fearing Lin Dong's growing power and potential ambushes by powerful allies, decides to cut ties with Tian Sha and pursue a more significant Blood Clan objective, leaving Tian Sha to his fate.
"Tian Sha, it appears your true form isn't as mighty as you boasted. You're actually too timid to show up."
"It seems it's time to send you on your way."
Lin Dong declared, advancing toward Tian Sha with deliberate steps.
Witnessing this, Tian Sha's expression contorted with dread.
The 'Replenishing Essence Pill' Lin Dong had provided earlier had indeed aided his recovery considerably.
However, the revived Essence Qi was woefully insufficient to shatter his restraints. As Lin Dong drew nearer, Tian Sha's face contorted into a mask of extreme ugliness.
He knew his end was fast approaching.
"Lin Dong, just hold on for me, grant me two more days. Just two more days, and my true self will absolutely arrive..."
But before his plea could be completed, Lin Dong responded with a shake of his head, "I haven't got the luxury of waiting here any longer."
"I've already afforded him ample time. Since he chooses not to appear, there's nothing more to discuss."
"Very well, it's time to depart."
With that, Lin Dong placed a hand upon Tian Sha’s head.
Following this, he initiated the 'Devouring Technique'.
Upon its activation, Tian Sha watched in horror as the Inner Qi and Blood Essence he'd painstakingly rebuilt were transmuted into currents of 'dark energy,' flowing directly into Lin Dong's being.
In that critical moment, understanding dawned upon him.
"I... I finally grasp it; the reason you administered that Replenishing Essence Pill was to fatten me up, only to consume me later."
This realization flooded him with boundless regret.
Had he foreseen this outcome, he would never have bothered to recuperate his Inner Qi and Blood Essence. Was this not merely making Lin Dong a more well-nourished meal?
Before his demise, he was reduced to becoming his 'sustenance'!
Detestable, this is truly abominable.
Lin Dong remained silent, his focus solely on continuing to absorb the Inner Qi and Blood Essence within.
Clearly unwilling to become Lin Dong's fattened prize, Tian Sha thrashed violently, attempting to break free from Lin Dong’s absorption.
Yet, once the Devouring Technique was unleashed, escaping its grasp was no simple feat.
Furthermore, he was already ensnared by Lin Dong’s prohibition; escape was utterly impossible. He could only watch, powerless, as his Inner Qi and Blood Essence were converted into raw energy and consumed.
As his Inner Qi and Blood Essence were steadily drained, Tian Sha's life force began to wane.
His physical form grew progressively weaker.
Finally, after approximately an hour, he breathed his last.
Moreover, his body withered into mere bones!
This grim state is typically observed only after individuals from their Blood Clan have drained the lifeblood of others.
Yet, here he was, meeting such a fate himself.
He, who had consumed the life essence of countless human martial artists, now met a similar end. He surmised that even he himself could not have predicted this outcome.
And to be devoured by a mere human, no less!
As Lin Dong assimilated every last bit of Tian Sha’s Inner Qi, Blood Essence, and Life Energy, converting it into potent energy that coursed into his body, he swiftly employed the 'Devouring Technique' to channel this influx toward the core of his Dantian.
Innumerable streams of energy traversed his Meridians and Acupoints, converging within his Dantian.
They commenced the vital process of fortifying his Spirit and Soul!
Lin Dong's power ascended from the Heavenly Realm Second Layer Heaven to the Heavenly Realm Third Layer Heaven, triggering profound, earth-shattering transformations within his Dantian's core.
Previously, three Spirits and Souls resided there, though they lacked a particularly majestic or imposing aura.
But now, the Spirit and Soul within the Dantian manifested with the gravitas of the Law of Heaven and Earth, grand and imposing, radiating an immense pressure.
Currently, all the devoured energy was being integrated into these three Spirits and Souls, imbuing them with greater potency.
The three Spirits and Souls grew increasingly substantial, their presence becoming ever more noble and immense.
Despite this augmentation, Lin Dong's cultivation level remained fixed at the Early Stage of Heavenly Realm Third Layer Heaven!
Ascending to the Mid Stage would demand an extraordinary and colossal amount of energy.
It was simply unattainable through the mere absorption of the Inner Qi and Blood Essence from the 'Blood Fool' and Tian Sha.
Of course, perhaps consuming a Secondary Ancestor might suffice for such a breakthrough!
"The energy requirement is simply astronomical. At present, even a single Medicine King is insufficient to propel me from the Early Stage to the Mid Stage of Heavenly Realm Third Layer Heaven!"
"And how exceedingly rare are treasured Herbs like the Medicine King?" Lin Dong mused with a sigh.
As his strength and comprehension grew, he also became privy to knowledge that beyond 'Heavenly and Earthly treasures,' an even more exalted tier exists above the 'Medicine King.'
This tier is known as the true Divine Medicine!
Whispers claim that certain Divine Medicines possess the miraculous capability to even resurrect the deceased!
No need for intricate refinement into specialized Dan medicines to achieve such a feat!
Existence of certain potent Divine Medicines could even propel Heavenly Realm martial artists below the Five Heavens realm to break through directly, bypassing any bottlenecks. They are, in essence, far rarer than even Origin Power itself!
However, genuine Divine Medicines are exceptionally scarce, demanding at least a millennium of growth and qualifying as 'Heavenly and Earthly treasures.'
Treasures from the heavens and earth that have endured over ten millennia are exceedingly rare, comparable to Lin Dong's legendary 'Mythical Figure of Ten Thousand Years' stature.
Naturally, a category exists between the Medicine King and Divine Medicine: the 'semi-god medicine.'
These semi-god medicines possess greater efficacy than Medicine Kings but fall significantly short of true Divine Medicines, much like the distinction between a Semi Medicine King and a Medicine King!
The so-called semi-god medicine encompasses 'Heavenly and Earthly treasures' aged between eight thousand and ten thousand years, also representing an incredibly rare class of such natural wonders.
"To elevate my cultivation level further will prove increasingly arduous. Relying solely on devouring 'Heavenly and Earthly treasures,' advancing from the Early Stage to the Fourth Layer Heaven would necessitate consuming a true Divine Medicine," he mused.
"If I were to use a semi-god medicine, it could only assist me in progressing from the Early Stage to the Late Stage of the Heavenly Realm Third Layer Heaven! Reaching the Peak would be uncertain!"
"As for the Medicine King, the challenge is even greater. Two Medicine Kings would be required to help me reach the Mid Stage of the Heavenly Realm Third Layer Heaven. Five Medicine Kings would be needed to break through to the Late Stage. And to achieve the Peak? Approximately eight Medicine Kings would be essential..."
"Merely contemplating it gives me a headache."
This calculation, of course, is based on utilizing Heavenly and Earthly treasures!
If the Devouring Technique were employed, it would demand the absorption of one Secondary Ancestor to advance from the Early Stage to the Mid Stage of the Heavenly Realm Third Layer Heaven.
Yet, the Devouring Technique carries a limitation: it cannot be executed continuously.
Of course, given his current predicament in the Extraterrestrial Battlefield, where demonic beasts are imbued with Five Elements Energy, another rapid method for advancement exists: relentlessly hunting these creatures.
However, the sheer quantity of demonic beasts required for such a pursuit is staggeringly immense.
To reach the required magnitude of demon emperors, at least twenty would be necessary to advance from the Early Stage to the Mid Stage of the Heavenly Realm Third Layer Heaven.
And to break through to the Peak? A hundred demon emperors! Such a number is exceedingly difficult to attain!
Even the White-clothed Blood Monk, who ranks highest on the Five Elements Stele, has only managed to hunt thirty-one demon emperors over the years.
As for Lin Dong, despite his rapid ascent to second place on the Five Elements Stele, the number of demonic beasts he has hunted thus far is merely twenty-four!
This implies that even if he doubled his tally, absorbing the Five Elements energy from those demon emperors would only facilitate his progress from the Early to the Mid Stage of the Third Layer Heaven.
Securing an additional twenty-four kills, however, presents an extreme challenge.
Demon emperors are exceptionally rare and elusive beings.
The more Lin Dong contemplated his cultivation advancement, the more daunting the task appeared.
At that very moment, a sudden realization struck him: after completely absorbing the essence of Tian Sha, unexpected insights into the 'Space Dao' began to surface within his consciousness.
"Oh? An unexpected boon!" Lin Dong's eyes flared with enlightenment.
