Soon, this silhouette arrived deep within the thicket, a place generally untouched by human presence.

Save for the hunters who had grown up within these very woods, only powerful cultivators could safely ignore the jungle's inherent dangers.

The figure abruptly halted; it was He Yiming, who had rushed here from the He Family Village.

Yesterday, after immersing himself in cultivating his inner strength, he realized that no matter what technique he practiced, he could no longer achieve further progress, instantly understanding that he had once again reached the peak of his current realm.

Regarding his cultivation speed, even he felt a sense of speechless astonishment.

Having attained the apex of this stage, he had originally intended to find a new secret manual to study, but he was suddenly struck by a fresh insight concerning the Hidden Needle Seal technique.

After a moment of consideration, he immediately decided to ascend the mountain to test and refine this technique.

This feeling was too rare to ignore, akin to a sudden flash of inspiration; if he failed to seize it now, who knew how long it would be until the next such enlightenment.

As his feet found solid ground, his hands instinctively formed the peculiar and intricate hand seals of the Hidden Needle Seal.

Compared to the Prone Earth Seal, the Hidden Needle Seal was far more complex because it integrated inner strength mind-methods of different attributes. In the Houtian realm, perhaps only He Yiming, as its creator, could execute it flawlessly.

As the seals on his hands materialized, a surge of inner strength immediately flooded his meridians.

The strange inner strength circulated within his body, belonging to none of the four primary cultivation strengths, but beginning with the Metal-attributed Primordial Strength and proceeding through the five elements in their generative sequence, ending with the Fire-attributed Blazing Fire Skill.

Throughout this ever-changing process, He Yiming's hands formed seals of different shapes in an uncanny manner, yet no matter how the seals shifted, they resembled cotton concealing sharp steel needles. While it lacked the immovable stability of the Prone Earth Seal, it possessed an added layer of sinister fluidity.

Concurrently, He Yiming's feet moved incessantly through the dense woods. Had Lin Taoli been present, he would surely have been amazed to find that his footwork bore a striking resemblance to the accompanying steps used when casting the Cloud Rain Seal.

A sense of extreme peril gradually radiated from He Yiming’s body. His hands moved with blurring speed, yet with the effortless grace of flowing water. When the inner strength within him reached its zenith, the center of his palm swelled, and a burst of power swiftly channeled into his right index finger, hidden behind his left hand.

Then, the right index finger silently extended, flicking out through the gap between his left fingers. A fierce stream of inner strength shot forth like an arrow released from a bowstring.

“Pa…”

After a soft sound, a hole, fine as a needle prick, appeared on a large tree several meters away. This aperture pierced entirely through the trunk before the inner strength finally dissipated.

He Yiming stopped abruptly, moving to stand before the tree. He gazed at the hole, an uncontrollable excitement stirring in his heart.

Glancing at his right index finger, however, his brow furrowed slightly.

This was his new comprehension: integrating the stealth technique from the Cloud Rain Seal into the Hidden Needle Seal, allowing him to project that esoteric, unpredictable needle-like inner strength.

The destructive power of this ranged finger thrust was undeniably extraordinary, but the cost was equally unusual. At that moment, his right index finger was slightly swollen, and that specific meridian throbbed with uncomfortable distension.

With a mere thought, the Withered Wood Skill and the Ripple Skill circulated successively through that meridian. Under the gentle nurturing of these two major skills, the swelling and pain in the meridian finally subsided.

Estimating the time required in his mind, he realized it would take about fifteen minutes to fully recover.

When inner strength is compressed to its absolute limit, it can be projected to injure others outside the body.

This was a special function exclusively possessed by the innate battle technique, the Cloud Rain Seal, yet He Yiming had now successfully integrated it into the Hidden Needle Seal.

However, in comparison, the finger thrust generated by He Yiming’s modified Hidden Needle Seal far surpassed the destructive might of the Cloud Rain Seal.

If he had been able to unleash finger thrusts of such immense power when fighting Lin Taoli, He Yiming would surely have been defeated and killed long ago.

Although the human body could be continuously trained, certain vital points remained inherently fragile. Under the cover of such ghostly and unpredictable finger attacks, it would be extremely difficult to avoid injury.

Of course, while the stealth thrust from the Hidden Needle Seal was immensely powerful, its frequency of activation could not compare to the Cloud Rain Seal.

To unleash a ranged finger thrust of such magnitude, the four types of inner strength had to circulate internally in a generative sequence. Only when the vital energy boiled to its extreme, and his entire body felt intensely pressurized, as if about to explode, could this inner strength be condensed to such intensity and projected.

This meant he had to be at the peak state of the Tenth Layer of Inner Strength to activate it, and unlike the Cloud Rain Seal, he could not do so repeatedly in a short span. Once a single thrust was successfully delivered, he could not attempt a second for at least fifteen minutes, otherwise, his internal meridians simply could not withstand such intense circulation.

Despite these imperfections, He Yiming was deeply satisfied.

From now on, his Hidden Needle Seal possessed not only defensive and counter-attacking capabilities but also the capacity for proactive offense—this was a tremendous boon.

Yet, the sole regret was that he had only grasped the secret to condensing inner strength from the Cloud Rain Seal; he still had not deciphered the latter’s final, thunderous burst of power.

On that day of battle, He Yiming had unleashed the thirty-six forms of Mountain Splitting (the tenth stance) to directly counter the Cloud Rain Seal. Although he gained some advantage due to his inner strength realm being one level higher, he knew that if their inner strength levels were equal, the instantaneous explosive force of the Cloud Rain Seal truly surpassed the tenth stance of the Thirty-Six Forms of Mountain Splitting.

This situation was somewhat similar to the astonishing blade strike he faced against the Golden Crown Python, only without the exaggeration of instantly draining all his inner strength.

He waved his sleeve, letting out a soft sigh. Perhaps he should lower his expectations and learn an Earth-attributed skill. Maybe when the Five Elements were complete, he could finally manifest the terrifying power of the Cloud Rain Seal.

With a slight shift of his feet, his figure vanished from his original spot, moving like a shooting star pursuing the moon.

Following a familiar route, He Yiming quickly returned to the manor. Without hesitation, he changed direction and headed toward the Library Pavilion.

Now, the Library Pavilion was guarded only by the aged servant, He Laobao. Meanwhile, his paternal uncle, He Quanxin, had resided in his grandfather He Wude’s main courtyard for the past six months.

During this long period, he had been cultivating his temperament in seclusion, avoiding all visitors. His goal, naturally, was to cleanse his spirit and prepare himself for consuming the Golden Elixir when he was in optimal condition.

Whether he could breach the bottleneck of the Ninth Layer limit was a make-or-break challenge; neither his uncle nor his grandfather dared to treat it lightly. This was evident in the fact that his uncle had spent over half a year in quiet cultivation yet still had not taken the elixir.

Entering the main hall of the Library Pavilion, he walked straight to the bookshelf designated for Earth-attributed techniques.

This time, he was not drawing randomly with his eyes closed; he selected with deliberate care. After nearly half a day, he retrieved one volume from the collection.

Mighty Strength Art: An Earth-attributed primary inner strength cultivation method.

This technique, as its name implied, granted immense physical strength once cultivated.

Of course, this so-called immeasurable strength at lower tiers only meant slightly greater power than cultivators of the same level. However, according to the text, once one reached the Tenth Layer, the tendons, bones, and muscles could be trained to their extreme, the entire physique becoming as tough as oxhide, granting extraordinarily robust physical qualities.

While it might not achieve the strength of nine bulls and two tigers, it would certainly not fall far short.

The most peculiar aspect of this technique was that it imposed exceptionally high demands on the cultivator's physical constitution, and the progress of inner strength advancement was subpar. Thus, although its potential power was good, very few cultivators took it up, and those who succeeded in mastering it were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

A faint smile touched He Yiming’s lips. The cultivation speed of Earth-attributed skills was inherently the slowest among the Five Element methods. They emphasized steady, gradual progress.

And this Mighty Strength Art clearly belonged to the category of 'slow added to slow,' so it was only natural that it wasn't highly sought after.

Placing the Mighty Strength Art on the table, He Yiming skillfully copied the contents, then returned to his secret underground chamber.

Following his past experience, He Yiming began cultivating this Five Element Earth-attributed primary inner strength method.

As before, he encountered no obstacles in practicing this technique; it progressed smoothly, layer upon layer, as if nature intended it.

In just two days, he cultivated this technique from the first layer to the tenth.

The effectiveness of the skill far exceeded He Yiming’s expectations. In particular, his bones, tendons, and flesh seemed to have undergone a new baptism, their strength vastly superior to before.

Only then did he understand that the primary inner strength cultivation manuals housed in the Library Pavilion must possess some inherent merit to have survived through the ages.

The great saber passed down by his grandfather weighed over three hundred pounds. The reason he could wield it before was due to his powerful inner strength. But now, relying solely on physical strength, he could easily lift it and spin it a few times.

Such a heavy weapon was no longer a burden to him.

However, none of these benefits could bring He Yiming joy.

Because after successfully advancing the technique to the Tenth Layer, he suddenly realized that he had not broken through to the Innate realm; all his skills remained stalled at the peak of the Tenth Layer.

This realization instantly plunged him into an icy dread. Was his constitution inherently limited to the Houtian peak, incapable of entering the Innate realm?

Ps: If there are no unforeseen circumstances, VIP access should open when the midnight bell chimes. White Crane will release three chapters totaling nine thousand characters then; please give strong support, brothers and sisters. Thank you... [bookid=1429437,bookname=《The Strategist Lü Buwei of the Warring States》]