Boom!
The collapsing ceiling rained down, burying the King of Huainan.
At the same time...
As the tomb collapsed, a beam of sunlight pierced through the opening, illuminating the interior.
Bai Ye leaped into the air in that instant, using the debris to propel himself upward, following the ray of light and bursting out.
Then...
Boom!
The moment Bai Ye escaped the tomb, a deafening roar erupted from the ruins, sending countless stones scattering in all directions, smashing against the surrounding walls.
The King of Huainan, surging with anger, emerged from the shattered debris, his face contorted in fury as he searched for Bai Ye's trace, and then...
"Ah!"
When the King of Huainan was struck by sunlight, he let out a pained scream, retreating rapidly into the shadows. He then looked up at Bai Ye above.
Bai Ye grinned and provocatively drew a thumb across his throat.
*Come out if you dare!*
Once outside the tomb, the King of Huainan was no longer invincible.
If the King of Huainan dared to step out, Bai Ye would eliminate him!
The King of Huainan gnashed his teeth in hatred but ultimately did not step into the sunlight. Instead, his body turned into mist and vanished without a trace, off to find another unfortunate soul.
Although Bai Ye had taken the Five Spirit Disk, there was still someone with the Tai Xia Immortal Elixir.
It was clear the King of Huainan intended to vent his rage on that individual.
Watching the King of Huainan disappear, Bai Ye burst into laughter and turned, leaping down the slope outside the tomb.
The next moment...
"You have left the King of Huainan's tomb and received the reward: Five Spirit Disk x1, God Stone Shard x5."
The King of Huainan's tomb was built into the mountainside. By blasting it open, Bai Ye had returned to the mid-levels of Mount Bagong, thus successfully escaping the tomb and completing the final restricted area mission.
The only regret was that the Tai Xia Immortal Elixir was not in Bai Ye's possession, so it was missing from the reward. However, Bai Ye didn't particularly covet such a thing, so it was of no consequence.
He ran down the slope until he reached the bottom. Bai Ye somersaulted and slid down, landing on the mountain path.
Lying on the ground, Bai Ye panted heavily.
After a brief rest, Bai Ye rolled over and looked at the Five Spirit Disk in his hand.
The Five Spirit Disk appeared to be a bronze disk but was actually a martial arts manual, containing the Five Spirit Curses, a supreme art that combined Daoist magic and cultivation.
The Five Spirit Curses corresponded to the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, respectively, aligning with five Daoist arts: lightning, fire, wind, earth, and water. Simultaneously, these five Daoist arts corresponded to five attributes of the physical body: strength, speed, endurance, spirit, and qi.
Bai Ye's primary objective was the latter.
While the T-virus had enhanced Bai Ye's physique, it was a one-time deal, and the enhancement ended there. To survive in the world battlefield, this was clearly insufficient. Bai Ye needed a method for continuous improvement to keep getting stronger.
The Five Spirit Curses perfectly fit this need; through cultivation, Bai Ye's physique could be continuously improved.
The five attributes of strength, speed, endurance, spirit, and qi. Strength was power, speed was agility, endurance was stamina, spirit referred to mental fortitude. As for intelligence, it could not be enhanced by external forces. The qi in the Five Spirit Curses referred to the vital energy within the human body, which was required when using sword techniques or Daoist arts.
Alternatively, Bai Ye felt a more direct explanation was that this was equivalent to the mana bar in a game.
Furthermore, while cultivating the physique, one could also acquire the lightning, fire, wind, earth, and water Daoist arts as a bonus. Why not?
Bai Ye mused as he spun the Five Spirit Disk.
"Do you wish to use the Five Spirit Disk?"
Was there any reason to hesitate?
"You have learned the Lightning Curse."
"You have learned the Earth Curse."
"You have learned the Wind Curse."
"You have learned the Fire Curse."
"You have learned the Water Curse."
"Five Spirit Disk currently gathering spirit (0/100)"
...
The five curses were learned, but they were currently at the lowest level of curse Daoist arts. They also required cultivation to upgrade their level. Among them, the Lightning Curse was primarily offensive, with a paralyzing effect. The Wind Curse was also offensive, with a wind poison effect. The Fire Curse was offensive, with a burning effect. The Earth Curse was both offensive and defensive, capable of attacking and defending simultaneously. The Water Curse was an effect-based Daoist art that could heal and enhance oneself, as well as weaken enemies. It possessed some offensive power but was not particularly outstanding.
As for the cultivation methods, both the five Daoist arts and the physical cultivation relied on the Five Spirit Disk to gather spirit. There were several ways to gather spirit.
The first method was to do nothing. The Five Spirit Disk could absorb the five elemental energies from nature, gathering spirit bit by bit.
The second method was to kill creatures related to the five elements; spirit-gathering elements could be obtained from them.
The third method involved various items related to the five elements. Absorbing them with the Five Spirit Disk could also facilitate spirit gathering.
Once spirit gathering reached its maximum value, cultivation could commence. After cultivation, the values would reset, and spirit would need to be gathered again, repeating the cycle.
Currently, learning the Five Spirit Curses had no direct impact on Bai Ye's physique, as he had not even completed a single round of spirit gathering. However, Bai Ye sought the Five Spirit Curses for the long term and was not in a hurry. Besides, having learned five Daoist arts was still a good thing.
"Next, I should look for the spirit body!"
Bai Ye put away the Five Spirit Disk, intending to leave the Mount Bagong area. He already had a target. With his experience from his previous life, Bai Ye could avoid many detours, or rather, he knew more clearly what he needed.
He followed the mountain path downhill. Not long after, Bai Ye suddenly stopped, looking towards the forest on the side.
Since his body was enhanced by the T-virus, besides the obvious improvements, Bai Ye's five senses had become significantly sharper.
Therefore...
Footsteps!
Bai Ye shifted his body and hid below the hillside beside the mountain path.
Soon, voices could be heard.
"Did that brat really head in this direction?"
"No doubt about it. After the tomb collapsed, the outside was all hillside. If not this way, where else would he go?"
"But we've been walking for half the day, and we haven't seen a shadow."
"The hillside is vast, so it's normal not to find him easily. Huang Zhan has already taken people to the left and right mountain pass exits. Don't worry, he won't escape."
"Hmm, speaking of which, does he really have good stuff on him?"
"How could he not? Why else would the King of Huainan pursue him so fiercely? He must have found something good in the tomb. He might have even completed the restricted area mission, which means he still has God Stone Shards, hehe..."
A man made a gesture across his throat.
"Killing him has a high chance of yielding God Stone Shards. That would be a great accomplishment."
...