Forging Immortality: The Undying Blacksmith

Chapter 86: Inner Force, Achieved!

The Extreme Night World, Black Wind Mountain Range.

After more than a year, Li Qing had returned.

He had come back for one reason and one reason only: to exploit the temporal distortion of this world and accelerate his breakthrough into the realm of Inner Force. He was on the very cusp, a single step away. All he needed now was time to polish the final edge.

“And while I’m at it, I need to find some gold and silver to bring back. Raising a tiger is proving to be ruinously expensive!”

Li Qing wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. He’d had several hundred taels of silver left, which he’d thought would last for years. He hadn’t anticipated that Fantong, now nearing adulthood, would develop an insatiable appetite, devouring mountains of meat every day.

Of course, Li Qing himself was no small consumer. Ever since he started drinking the Tiger Bone Body-Nourishing Wine, his physique had become increasingly formidable, demanding a massive daily intake of meat to keep his blood and qi at peak levels. The silver that should have lasted two or three years had vanished in a flash.

“You gluttonous beast,” Li Qing grumbled, glaring at Fantong, who had accompanied him. “You’re a bottomless pit for money. One of these days, I’m sending you back to Xiaocui Ridge.”

“Roar!” Fantong let out an indignant snort, as if to say, You’re one to talk.

It was possible to bring living creatures between the two worlds; Li Qing had tested it previously, which was why he felt confident bringing Fantong along. Leaving the tiger in Shengtian City without his supervision was a recipe for disaster. Fantong was no longer a cub but a full-grown, ferocious beast.

He hadn’t been back in what felt like a year and a half. By his calculations, that meant four or five years must have passed here.

Should I go back and check on things?

His gaze drifted toward the distant direction of Obsidian City, a flicker of nostalgia in his eyes. He vaguely recalled asking Tianlong of the Righteousness Gang to look after Old Man An and his granddaughter before he left. He wondered how they were faring.

No. Training comes first.

It wouldn’t be too late to explore this bizarre world after he had successfully attained Inner Force. By then, no matter how unbelievable the sight of a tiger might be, he could use his fists to make his point. A tiger in the Extreme Night World? Perfectly reasonable, if he said so.

“This place will serve as a base,” he decided aloud. “It’s remote, untouched. I can set up camp here without needing to return to the city.”

With that, he began to make preparations. He hadn’t just brought a tiger with him. He had also hauled over a large vat of Tiger Bone Body-Nourishing Wine and various supplies, including preserved food.

Under the crimson moon, the Black Wind Mountain Range was devoid of trees. In their place grew forests of alien fungal trees. These towering growths, in sickly shades of red and green, had the texture of compressed sawdust and were utterly inedible. They did, however, serve as excellent fuel. The inhabitants of this world had two sources of heat: harvesting these mushroom trees or mining coal from the earth.

For light, the Extreme Night World offered a unique solution: a fungus known as the Glow Mushroom. Similar to luminous pearls, these mushrooms possessed an incredible life force, taking root anywhere and emitting a steady, eerie light.

Before long, Li Qing had his base established. He strung a wire-frame cot between two of the fungal trunks. Beside it, a campfire crackled, radiating waves of warmth into the perpetual twilight. The rations and dried meat he’d brought were sealed in iron chests, stored next to the large vat of Tiger Bone Wine. He even constructed a crude lean-to for shelter, fully prepared for a long-term stay in the wilderness.

Once he had finished, Li Qing noticed that Fantong seemed strangely subdued. This was unusual. The tiger typically loved the freedom of the wild, unable to stay still even within the confines of the blacksmith shop. Li Qing had assumed he would thrive in the Extreme Night World, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

Frowning, Li Qing approached the great beast and ran a hand over its flank, checking its condition. His examination revealed nothing physically wrong. The tiger’s breathing was deep, its heartbeat steady—the picture of health. Was it simply a matter of low spirits?

“Are you hungry, you lout?” Li Qing muttered, tossing a fresh ox leg to Fantong.

The tiger ate it, but its listless demeanor remained unchanged.

Was it the environment? Or something else entirely? He couldn’t be sure, but he felt confident it wasn’t life-threatening.

“If you feel sick, you let me know. Understand?” Li Qing said, rubbing the tiger’s massive head.

“Roar!”

Fantong’s reply was as vigorous as ever, which set Li Qing’s mind at ease. After all this time together, he knew the tiger was far more intelligent than it appeared and could often understand his words.

Setting aside the issue of Fantong’s mood, Li Qing wasted no more time and began his training.

He started with the familiar rhythm of the Fierce Tiger True Intent Diagram, his palms striking the cold, hard face of the mountain.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

At first, he held back, controlling his power. He wasn’t trying to shatter the stone, but to drive a focused, percussive force deep into its core. With each strike, a thread of power pulsed from his palms, seeking the heart of the rock.

From that day on, strange, muffled impacts echoed through the desolate Black Wind Mountain Range. In this cold, dark, and silent world, Li Qing’s dedication to the martial path only grew more resolute, unweathered by the passage of time.

Whenever his supplies ran low, he would return to Shengtian City. There, he would adopt various disguises to buy provisions in bulk, taking every precaution to avoid drawing attention.

In this manner, six months in the Extreme Night World passed in the blink of an eye.

The saying “time loses all meaning in the mountains” was no mere proverb. Having almost lost his own sense of its passage, Li Qing would have barely noticed if not for his occasional trips back to Shengtian.

BOOM!

A boulder in the Black Wind Mountain Range suddenly ruptured. The result was bizarre. Half of the massive stone was untouched, its surface smooth and solid. The other half had disintegrated into a spray of jagged fragments.

Li Qing stood before the intact half, slowly lowering his palm.

For a moment, even his iron-willed composure shattered. A wave of pure ecstasy washed over him, so intense that his entire body trembled.

“Inner Force… I’ve finally done it!”

He threw his head back and let out a triumphant, guttural roar that tore through the silent darkness. The sound was imbued with the full potency of his essence, qi, and spirit, and it echoed for miles into the oppressive gloom.

After half a year of relentless tempering, he had finally stepped into the ranks of Inner Force experts. He was now one of the martial world’s true powerhouses. In an era where Grandmasters were legends, an Inner Force expert could dominate an entire region.

So this is it. He finally understood. Inner Force isn’t just a new way to strike; it’s a state of absolute mastery over one’s own body.

Li Qing spread his hands and closed his eyes, sensing his inner self. He could feel everything—the thrum of qi in his meridians, the rush of blood through his veins. He could even exert a subtle will over that flow, directing it.

All of this was thanks to the insights Guo Zhentong had shared. Had he been left to fumble in the dark on his own, it would have taken him another four or five years to grasp these principles.

Blood and qi were the essence of life. When they were depleted, the body fell prey to countless ailments. But now, Li Qing could command his own. If any part of his body felt unwell, he could flood it with blood and qi, forcing it to heal.

This meant he was free from the shackles of illness. The mortal fears of aging and decay… he had just transcended them. Only death by violence remained a threat. As long as no one killed him, his long life was his to enjoy as he pleased.

The medicinal wine is essential. It’s the foundation of my power. After drinking it for nearly a year, his physique had undergone a profound transformation. The recipe was truly worth a thousand gold. Combined with his constant training and meat-heavy diet, his current strength was leagues beyond what it had been.

He wondered what other martial artists felt upon their first steps into this realm. He suspected few could match his foundation. Having achieved Inner Force, he had a clear realization: even among his peers, his raw power already surpassed that of many veterans.

His greatest advantage was his age. He was at his absolute physical peak, his blood and qi a raging sea. In contrast, other external-style Inner Force experts would find their strength waning as they grew older, their blood and qi declining. Compared to them, Li Qing only lacked experience. But experience could be overwhelmed. As the saying went, a flurry of wild fists can fell an old master. And with strength that dwarfed a bull’s, now channeled through the principles of Inner Force, who was there to fear?

Of course, practitioners of internal martial arts were a different matter. They didn’t rely so heavily on physical vitality. While blood and qi were still a factor, their power was rooted in their accumulated internal energy. Such masters only grew more terrifying with age, their reserves of power becoming monstrously deep. Against them, a young man’s reckless assault would be utterly insufficient.

A wide, predatory grin spread across his face.

“It’s time to leave the mountains. The world awaits.”

Inner Force expert! Seeking recommendation votes!