Chapter 141: Chapter 139: Advancement However, her intervention was a step too late. Lou Yi entered the tent’s inner dwelling. At a glance, he saw some red and green women’s intimate garments scattered on the bed. Beautiful patterns of begonia, slender and delicate silk ribbons, and transparent ice gauze underclothes... Turns out, the carefree Shi Caifeng had clothing full of youthful charm. "Who would’ve thought you had such taste..." Lou Yi teased. "Go to hell!" Shi Caifeng angrily pushed him out, tidying up inside for a moment before letting him in. The rest of the squad outside the curtain looked at each other, eyes showing strange colors. In this era, a woman’s chamber wouldn’t be easily entered by others. Jiang Chenyu’s face didn’t look good, he clenched his fist, then helplessly released it. Previously, he might have had some jealousy. But now the gap was too big, he could only feel silently heartbroken. Lou Yi didn’t know that people outside could think so much. With unrest in the camp, he needed to quickly enhance his strength. Holding the Stone Spirit, Phoenix Blood Stone, and White Dew Stone, he looked at the faintly visible + sign after Stoneification Talent. He imagined a force pressed upon it. All the stones transformed into liquid, merging into his body. Especially the White Dew Stone. The melted liquid was extremely cold, causing even Lou Yi, whose qi-blood was extremely vigorous, to shiver, with his thoughts slowing down. The talent panel underwent a change accordingly: Stoneification (Master 0/200+10 Stone Spirit+3 Phoenix Blood Stone+1 White Dew Stone→Small Success 0/1000+5 White Dew Stone+1 Star Cold Iron) Strange memories appeared in his mind: Still the familiar Monkey King, now over a hundred and fifty years old. After the death of old friends and relatives, he left the forest he grew up in, left the familiar tribe, and started a long aimless wandering. Hungry, he picked wild fruits, thirsty, he drank from the streams, tired, he rested on the grass. The instincts developed in his body over a century automatically absorbed the moonlight pouring in. For a long time, he developed a cynical attitude, losing the will to live. After pulling through, he settled in a new forest, saving humans from beasts like tigers, bears, and large pythons many times. Gradually, the name ’Immortal Ape’ spread far and wide. But this caught the attention of a minister in the kingdom who liked collecting unusual things. He sent a large number of soldiers to hunt down the old ape. Outnumbered, the old ape leaped into a waterfall in desperation, flowed with the river into the kingdom’s Land of the Far West. There, glaciers stretched for thousands of miles, and the cold was biting. The old ape was frozen in a small ice mountain, its body’s activity reduced to the lowest. But the transparent ice mountain could still ensure the absorption of enough moonlight. After another hundred years, the ice mountain finally melted, the old ape suddenly opened its eyes... In reality, Lou Yi also opened his eyes. A great stream of bone-chilling energy entered his body, covering his skin, eyebrows, and hair with a layer of white frost. And under the stimulus of this icy flow. Countless cells within his body continuously died and regenerated, further strengthening his physical body and bones. This transformation would continue slowly but steadily. Lou Yi looked at his attribute panel: [Name: Lou Yi] [Age: 19/66] [Realm: Two-Blood Martial Artist (40/600)] [Cultivation: Yellow Extreme Breathing Technique (Second Stage, Mastery 0/300+1 Nirvana Divine Flower), Hu Family Breathing Technique (Not Started 0/10)] [Skills: Lou’s Axe Skill (Small Success 0/500), Extreme Fist (Mastery 0/100), Stone Throwing (Mastery 0/30), Light Body Technique (Small Success 0/200), Basic Spear Technique (Introduction 0/6), Secret Skill: Dragon Piercing Technique - Fragment (1), Qi Locking Technique (Introduction 0/3)] [Talent: Stoneification (Small Success 0/1000+5 White Dew Stone+1 Star Cold Iron), Swift (Introduction 0/20+1 Earth Dragon Essence Tendon)] [Energy: 9] Talent advancement increased life span by another two years. Other changes need testing to be seen. "Stoneification." The next moment. Lou Yi’s entire body was covered with a faint layer of gray, like some dust had settled. If not looked at carefully, it couldn’t be seen at all. ’Finally, 360 degrees without any blind spots.’ Lou Yi thought. He took out a weapon to test the defense limits, finding it much stronger than before; ordinary iron tools could hardly breach it. With a change of intent, Stoneification underwent a second transformation. A small portion of his upper body became a porcelain white. The defensive area shrank, but the ability further increased, able to withstand a Hundred-refined Steel Saber. After the third transformation. An entire arm turned jade white, with strength comparable to Profound Iron, becoming a true Qilin Arm. ’Is there a fourth transformation?’ Lou Yi just thought of this. The surface of his palm was suddenly covered with a layer of light silver, looking as if coated with silver paint. He squeezed the Profound Iron Axe tightly, leaving several shallow fingerprints on the axe blade. This fourth stoneification’s hardness had already surpassed Profound Iron. It’s estimated only rumored extraordinary weapons could rival it. If used properly, it could definitely become a major trump card. Lou Yi was very satisfied, his strength increased by another margin. ’Hmm, something’s not right.’ He noticed the Stoneification Talent’s description had new changes. Stoneification (Passive): The body’s strength gradually increases over time. Stoneification (Active One): You can choose to briefly stoneify the surface of a body part, with the time and area increasing with talent improvement. Stoneification (Active Two): When using Active One, you can choose to use this active, making your body exude a chill, thereby reducing nearby enemies’ speed by 5%-15%, but significantly decreasing the stoneification skill duration. ’Nice stuff.’ Lou Yi’s eyes brightened. In battles among experts, the gap is often just a hair’s breadth. 5%-15% speed doesn’t seem like much, but sometimes that small difference is between life and death. "Stoneification." Lou Yi used two major actives. His entire body first turned a faint gray, then faintly carried a blue pattern. At the same time, he could feel. The surface of the stoneified skin became bone-chilling, even causing a layer of white frost on the nearby tree branches. After multiple tests. Using only one active skill, the stoneification could be maintained for about eighty to ninety breaths. If both actives were used, it could only last twenty breaths at most, any longer would cause heart-palpitating side effects. This Stoneification talent had thus advanced to the Small Success stage. The next stage required an energy leap of a thousand points. Lou Yi was not startled but delighted. This meant that once advanced, it would lead to a qualitative change. He got up from Shi Caifeng’s wooden bed, walked outside the curtain, and saw many unfamiliar faces. Among these people were men and women, young and old, most were martial artists in the camp, here to seek refuge. "Thank you, Lady Shi!" "If you hadn’t taken us in, we might have been swallowed up by those other squads. Who knows what they’d have us do!" "Sigh, when can we leave this lousy place?" Receiving the gratitude of many people. Even Shi Caifeng, who was usually so carefree, felt a bit dizzy. Seeing this, Lou Yi shook his head and stepped in front of the crowd. "Everyone, I’ve told you about the rules before. To rely on our Cai Feng Squad, each person must pay a hundred taels of silver as a fee." "If you don’t have it now, you can owe it, but a note must be written." "You’re too mercenary, young man! Lady Shi is kind-hearted; how could she do such base acts?" an elderly martial artist with graying hair said angrily. "Exactly, as the saying goes, ’See injustice on the road, draw your sword to help,’ don’t you have any chivalrous feelings?" another middle-aged woman cried shrilly. ...