Chapter 42 - 38: Adapting

Chapter 42: Chapter 38: Adapting

With the imminent energy crisis resolved, Xu Mo felt a sense of relief as he gazed upon the mountains of compressed biscuits, energy bars, and high-energy nutrient paste piled in his storeroom. This seemingly bland but effective "fuel" could be converted directly into Qi and Blood Power, forming the bedrock that sustained his Cowhide Realm cultivation and allowed him to press onward.

However, now that the food problem was solved, another, deeper concern haunted him like a ghost. The terrifying memory of his Qi and Blood frantically draining his very life source during his breakthrough would surface from time to time, and the thought of it still left him with a lingering sense of dread.

It wasn’t just a consumption of energy; it was a direct overdraft on his life force—on his very "lifespan"! If not for the aged ginseng, Antler, and other potent restorative herbs he’d had on hand to forcibly fill that "Black Hole," the consequences would have been unimaginable.

’External power is easy to obtain, but one’s foundation is hard to replenish.’ Xu Mo had come to a profound understanding of this fact.

Ordinary food could provide the Qi and Blood Power needed for daily use and training. But for nourishing his vital essence and replenishing his life’s potential on a deeper level, he had to rely on precious herbs that contained the very essence of the world.

Thus, with his food reserves now abundant, Xu Mo once again adjusted the focus of his scavenging through the "door," shifting his priority to pharmacies.

Furthermore, Xu Mo’s objectives were crystal clear. His top priority was renowned herbs known for restoring vital energy, nourishing essence and blood, and strengthening the body—things like ginseng, Antler, and Cordyceps. Only after that came the consumables for his daily training, such as Honghua Oil, Plasters, and Blood Circulation and Blood Clotting Internal Medicine.

Xu Mo was no longer content with randomly grabbing whatever he happened upon. He began a systematic, targeted effort to build his reserves.

Every time the forty-eight-hour cooldown ended, as long as there were no other, more urgent needs, Xu Mo would create or use the previous "pharmacy" marker and push open the door that connected to a treasure trove of medicine.

The faint light faded, and a familiar medicinal fragrance filled the air. Xu Mo charged in like a cheetah, his eyes instantly bypassing the sections for common cold and anti-inflammatory drugs. He locked onto the traditional medicine counter and the glass cabinets displaying high-end supplements.

BANG! He shattered the lock with a single punch. Without a glance at the elegantly packaged health supplements, he searched directly for the individually wrapped, highest-quality wild mountain ginseng. He found two boxes labeled "15-Year Forest-Grown Ginseng" and swept them into his backpack. Next came the Deer Antler Slices; he picked out and took the ones with the highest wax-slice content. Cordyceps, high-quality He Shou Wu—he took everything he laid his eyes on.

Meanwhile, Xu Mo didn’t forget about topical medicines. He quickly moved through the maze of shelves, cramming a dozen or so bottles of Honghua Oil, dozens of Plasters from various brands, and an assortment of medicinal wines and oral solutions for soothing muscles and improving circulation into another large bag.

When the sixty seconds were up, he returned with a bountiful harvest. A quick inventory of his haul revealed two boxes of ginseng, one box of Antler, a small amount of Cordyceps and He Shou Wu, and a large quantity of topical medicines.

The second time, the third time...

Over the next ten days or so, Xu Mo became like a diligent herb gatherer, continuously building up his "vital energy reserves" through the "door."

The "pharmacy" he entered was slightly different each time—sometimes a large chain drugstore, other times a simple, ordinary one. Xu Mo’s technique grew more practiced with each run; his objective was perfectly clear, and his efficiency was sky-high.

After ten or so days, the chest Xu Mo had designated for medicinal herbs had become heavy and was filled with a dazzling array. Inside, there was not only enough topical medicine to last him a long time, but also an accumulation of ten stalks of roughly ten-year-old forest-grown ginseng and eight stalks of thirty-year-old wild mountain ginseng. There were also several boxes of Deer Antler Slices rich in wax and blood slices, as well as two whole Antlers still attached to their skulls. He had several boxes of Cordyceps, and had also grabbed a good amount of common restorative herbs like Huangqi, Danggui, and goji berries, thinking he might try making medicinal wine with them in the future.

Gazing at this "foundation" of resources, the anxiety that had plagued Xu Mo since his perilous breakthrough finally began to fade. These herbs were his "Life-extending Golden Pills," the ultimate assurance that gave him the courage to continue advancing boldly on his path of cultivation.

Besides scavenging for herbs, Xu Mo spent most of the past ten-odd days focused on a different task: adapting to and mastering his newfound strength.

Dull thuds and the sharp whoosh of displaced air echoed from the first-floor training room every day.

Xu Mo began more refined Power Control training. He was no longer just lifting heavy objects; he was now attempting to perform the same movements using varying degrees of force.

For example, he would support a portion of his body weight with a single finger, guide his Mountain-Cutting Saber through cuts with millimeter precision, or pat a wall with the lightest possible touch, trying to leave only a palm print without cracking the surrounding plaster.

Initially, this control was extremely difficult. The power was fleeting; he either used too much or not enough. But his long-term self-training had given Xu Mo extreme patience. He tried again and again, concentrating on feeling the subtle adjustments of his muscle fibers and the rhythm of Qi and Blood flowing through his limbs.

Xu Mo integrated his Pile Training with his Power Control exercises. During his Posture Stance, he no longer focused solely on the surging of his Qi and Blood or the stability of his body. Instead, he deliberately guided his Qi and Blood to distribute evenly throughout his entire frame, especially to his extremities—his fingers and toes. He sought to grasp that subtle state of "projecting power to the fingertips" and "lifting the heavy as if it were light."

As time passed, Xu Mo’s control over his own strength improved at a visible rate.

Now, he could go about his daily activities just as he had before his breakthrough, no longer suffering the embarrassment of accidentally breaking things. Only when he needed to erupt with full force would Xu Mo reveal his inhuman strength. This ability to command his power at will was a sign that he had fundamentally adapted to the strength of the Cowhide Realm.

However, along with his mastery of Power Control, another pattern in cultivation began to emerge.

The progress of his Thirteen Grand Protectors’ Cross Training, after experiencing a rapid improvement at the beginning of his breakthrough, inevitably entered a plateau.

In the first few days after his breakthrough, Xu Mo could feel his Qi and Blood growing more potent each day. The resilience of his skin was steadily increasing, and his strength was rising bit by bit. It was a period of rapid growth, like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, as his body fully adapted to and explored this new realm of power.

But as time passed, this sensation of distinct improvement gradually faded.

Through the daily arduous training—Posture Stance, striking, weight-bearing—Xu Mo could still feel the activity of his Qi and Blood and the strengthening of his body, but the margin of progress had become smaller, like a stream flowing into a great river, making it difficult to perceive the rise in the water level.

Xu Mo knew that this was normal. The path of cultivation was inherently step-like. Breaking through a major realm would bring a qualitative leap and a period of rapid growth, followed by a long phase of accumulation and refinement to gather strength for the next qualitative change. The Cowhide Realm was not the end, but a new beginning. To reach the Iron Bone Realm, a state where "bones and sinews ring in unison, and ordinary blades can hardly cause injury," the required accumulation was far more profound than what was needed to break through to the Cowhide Realm from nothing.

Xu Mo wasn’t impatient. With a secure supply of resources, a clear training path, and precise control over his strength, he could fully settle his mind for this long "marathon."

Xu Mo fine-tuned his daily training regimen. He reduced the time spent on brute-force strength exercises and increased his practice of power-generation techniques, footwork, and switching between circulating his Qi and Blood and unleashing explosive bursts of power. Simultaneously, he began attempting to more deeply integrate the use of Cold Weapons with the power mechanics of his Thirteen Grand Protectors’ Cross Training, striving to achieve that state of instantly channeling his entire body’s strength into the edge of his blade.

The days passed, one by one, in this fulfilling and regular cycle of cultivation, scavenging, and consolidation.

Winter showed no signs of passing. The snow on the roads was already about a meter deep, and it had just snowed for the entire day yesterday. This sometimes made Xu Mo wonder, ’Will spring ever come to this post-apocalyptic world?’