Martial Arts Longevity Begins with the Equipment Slot

Chapter 40 Beneath the Cliff of Broken Souls, the Face in the Painting

Five days passed in a row.

Chen Yu mastered both sword manuals in his hands.

【Technique Section (Tier 2 7%)】

[Technique]: Swift Wind Blade

[Progress]: Seven floors (700/700)

[Technique]: Mad Dog Saber Technique

[Progress]: Nine floors (900/900)

Throughout the entire sword-fighting practice, Houde swords were used.

With the mastery of both sword techniques, Houde Sword's proficiency also met the equipment requirements.

[Weapon Slot (Tier 1 0%)]

[Weapon]: Thick Virtue

[Quality]: Mid-grade, Tier 6

[Status]: Equipped

[Equipment Requirements]: Strength no less than 80 jin (40 kg), proficient in heavy weapons.

[Equipment Effect]: After charging for 10 seconds, release "Mountain Crash Slash", which increases the damage by 220%, forcibly knocks back the target by 3 meters, and adds the "Shock" effect, which reduces the target's attack speed by 50% for 3 seconds.

Chen Yu examined the Houde Blade repeatedly, and suddenly an idea came to him.

I just learned the fine forging method. What would happen if I fine forged this knife?

Will the equipment's effects be improved after refining?

Chen Yu felt it was worth a try, but he would wait until he had further improved his forging skills before doing so.

There's no guarantee of success yet; if we accidentally ruin it, it would be a huge loss.

Moreover, I have more important things to do now.

Back in the dormitory, Chen Yu pushed open the door and barred it with the latch.

Walk to the corner of the wall, and there is a wooden barrel.

The bucket is filled with water, and a thin layer of tung oil floats on the surface, which repels insects and dust.

Next to the bucket was a copper basin for washing hands, with a coarse hemp cloth draped over its edge.

The handkerchief was embroidered with the number "Jia Zi Shi Yi" in fine thread, which was Chen Yu's sequence number in the Central Court.

The towels must be changed every three days. The used towels are put into the bamboo basket behind the door and collected and washed by a designated person.

Those who specialize in forging must have clean hands, free from oil and sweat, lest they contaminate the iron when touching the tools.

Chen Yu walked to the corner and carefully washed and dried his hands.

Then, a basin of clean water was added, and "The Swift Blade in the Wind" was submerged in it.

The water covered the cover, and the paper began to absorb the water.

A few strings of bubbles rose from the bottom of the basin, and the pages of the book slowly softened.

The words that were originally printed on it began to bleed.

The ink follows the grain of the paper, stopping wherever it goes.

The scattered ink marks formed a map.

As you scroll down further, mountain ridges, rivers, and a road marked by a dotted line gradually emerge.

The paper becomes thinner after absorbing water, and the ink on both sides overlaps, making the entire terrain visible.

"Is it a treasure map?"

Chen Yu continued flipping through the pages, feeling that something seemed familiar.

Until you turn to the last page, the ink blots gather into a cross, with a few numbers next to it.

The map has hidden grids, with north at the top and south at the bottom, and the scale is "two hundred steps make a li".

It is a valley, shaped like a gourd, with a small mouth and a large belly.

The valley entrance faces east, with steep cliffs on both sides.

After entering the valley, it is divided into two sections, with a narrow pass in between, and two stone gates at the pass.

Upon seeing this, Chen Yu couldn't help but gasp.

Isn't the location in this picture the Broken Soul Cliff of Niuwei Mountain in Changhe County?

No wonder a desperate criminal like Wei Rongfang lingered around Changhe County for so long.

Could they also be looking for something inside?

What could possibly be worth his longing for?

Keep reading.

The red dotted line starts at the east entrance of the valley, runs through the entire valley, and ends at the waterfall at the west end of the valley.

The dotted line is divided into five segments.

1. From the valley entrance to the stone bridge.

Walk along the north bank of the stream and wade across at the stone bridge.

II. From the stone bridge to the pine forest.

Turn north into the pine forest, where there is a path between two rows of trees.

Deep in the pine forest, there was a large tree with a cross drawn on its trunk.

3. From the pine forest to the pass.

Walk along the foot of the north slope to the stone gate. There is a square stone in front of the gate with a cross drawn on it and the words "Move Stone" written next to it.

IV. From the pass to the waterfall.

After passing through the stone gate and entering the back valley, walk along the south bank of the stream. This section of the road is difficult to traverse.

5. From the waterfall to the cave entrance.

There is a cave entrance on the rock wall to the left of the waterfall. It is forty steps to the left from the edge of the pool. The cave entrance faces downwards and is marked "Enter from below".

There were also a few lines of text at the bottom of the picture.

"Entering the valley at noon, the light comes from the west."

"There is something under the pine tree; only by moving the stone can it be seen."

"When the water recedes, the truth comes out, and the cave entrance opens on its own."

After reviewing the entire map, Chen Yu was certain that this was the valley below the Broken Soul Cliff.

A rather eerie place.

Not only did it bury many lives, but it also contained a terrifying woman in red.

What kind of treasure could be found in a place like this?

Could it be that Wei Rongfang and his group had other motives and weren't after the treasure?

And this Li Sandao, he's definitely up to no good.

Previously, when Chen Yu was at the Song residence, he had gone to the teaching room to find Li Sandao.

However, the people in the teaching room told them that Li Sandao had already left and his whereabouts were unknown.

Li Sandao has always been a loner and doesn't interact much with others, so there's no way to track his whereabouts.

There is still one thing that is uncertain for Chen Yu.

Was it intentional or unintentional that Li Sandao gave himself these sword manuals?

Did he know that there was a hidden secret involved?

If you know this, why give it to yourself instead of going to get it yourself?

Is it that they are unable to go, or that they dare not go?

My thoughts are in a mess, and the more I think about it, the less I understand.

But Chen Yu always felt that something big was going to happen in Changhe County sooner or later.

I cannot easily go to the locations marked on the treasure map for the time being.

At this moment, countless eyes are watching.

With his current meager skill level of Mastery of Meat Refining, he is not yet capable of roaming freely in Changhe County.

Calm your mind and soothe your restless emotions.

Chen Yu then submerged another book, "The Mad Dog Knife Technique," into the water.

In an instant, clear water seeped into the pages, like an ancient awakening ritual.

The originally yellowed paper began to bleed colored ink.

It didn't seem like it was dissolving; it was growing wildly.

Colorful lines emerge from the depths of the paper, like memories sealed for many years finally finding an outlet.

The homepage displays a human figure that resembles an anatomical diagram.

Vines twined around its ribs, and an egg was hatching in the location of its heart.

The blood-red ink slowly spread in the water, yet it did not dissipate, as if the lines were heavier than the water itself.

Turning the page, one finds architectural drawings depicting an inverted spire, its top piercing deep into the earth.

Candlelight shone through the spire's windows, but the light was directed upwards.

When the water ripples, the candlelight in the picture seems to actually flicker.

Further on, the paper becomes translucent, and the pictures on the two pages overlap and intertwine.

One page is covered with dense, mysterious symbols that do not appear to belong to any known script.

The other page is a picture of the starry sky, but the lines connecting the stars form a pained human face.

Chen Yu became increasingly alarmed as he flipped through the pages.

My emotions, which had just calmed down, started to stir again.

What the hell is all this stuff?!

It looks so scary, but it also seems to have some kind of magic that draws people to keep scrolling down.

Until you turn to the last page, there is a face without features.

It is drawn with simple lines and is changing rapidly!

It's as if the ink is still flowing, still painting, capturing the face that gazes at it at this moment.

Chen Yu could see it clearly; those eyes, which had been empty, were now staring straight at him.

No, it's not just about staring.

The color of those pupils, the fine lines at the corners of those eyes, were clearly his own eyes!

Chen Yu was startled and subconsciously took a step back.

The corners of the person's mouth in the painting turned up.

That was Chen Yu's stiff expression at that moment, as he tried to hide his fear.

Seeing this strange sight, Chen Yu raised his hand to throw the painting away.

The person in the painting also raised their hand.

Its hand quickly penetrated the surface of the booklet, stretching from the two-dimensional plane into the three-dimensional space!

Chen Yu turned to run away, but heard a tearing sound behind him.

"Rip! Rip!"

The moment I turned around—

That weird face was already pressed against it.

A sudden dizziness.

Chen Yu felt his limbs becoming flattened, and the colors were engulfing his consciousness from the edges to the center.

Looking in front of me, the layout of the room was still very familiar.

However, their positions have been reversed.

Chen Yu reacted instantly.

He was pulled into the painting by a face! He's about to become part of the painting!