Su Ming continued moving up and down in the forest like an arrow. With his familiarity with the place and his nimble body, before long, he saw Dark Mountain in the distance.
Once he passed through the forest, he would be able to enter Dark Mountain.
For Su Ming, who had been gathering herbs in the mountain since he was young, every single blade of grass and tree exuded an aura that made him feel comfortable.
'The scroll said that when a Berserker reaches the Blood Solidification Realm, they will refine the Berserker Blood in their bodies and stimulate the power in their blood. It will allow their bodies to continuously grow stronger. I thought I would never be able to experience this in my life, but now I can feel it for myself!
'The first level of the Blood Solidification Realm requires me to manifest three blood veins in my body. I haven't completed all of them yet, but my speed has already increased by a lot. Even my strength …' Su Ming leapt forward and landed beside a big tree. He clenched his right hand into a fist and threw a punch at the tree.
With a bang, a faint mark of a fist appeared on the tree. Su Ming's right hand also felt numb, but his face was filled with excitement.
Just as he was feeling happy, a red shadow passed by him. It let out a series of proud squeaks. It was clear that the little monkey had caught up and overtaken Su Ming.
Su Ming smiled and chased after the red shadow. He may not be slow, but he could not compare to the little monkey. If it was before, every time he arrived at Dark Mountain, the little monkey would definitely look at him with disdain and impatience. It would lie there as if it had been waiting for a long time.
Yet now, two hours later, when Su Ming climbed up Dark Mountain and arrived at the waist of one of the summits, he saw that the little monkey still had a scornful and impatient look on its face. However, the sweat that had yet to disappear from its forehead showed that it had not been too long since it reached the summit.
Su Ming smiled and patted the little monkey's head. He took off the basket on his back and stood on the big rock. He looked at the fog in the distance and took a deep breath.
He liked standing here and looking ahead. Even if he just took a few steps forward and he was about to enter a bottomless abyss, and if the mountain breeze blew past, it would make him feel as if he was about to fall. It was an incredibly dangerous place, but Su Ming had been climbing this mountain since he was young. To him, this place was like his second home.
"Little Red, what does the other side of the mountain look like … Have you been there before?" Su Ming stood there, his beast skin robes fluttering in the wind. His right hand instinctively touched the black stone on his chest.
The little monkey by his side rolled its eyes and looked at the land in the distance. It did not bother itself with Su Ming and instead lowered its head to grab at its own fur as if it was trying to find something.
When he saw the little monkey grooming its fur and ignoring him, Su Ming touched his nose and shook his head with a smile. He decided to sit down cross-legged on the ground.
"Little Red, this time, I won't be returning to the tribe for a while. I'll be staying here for a while. When you go out to play, remember to help me pick some wild fruits."
The little monkey by his side immediately lifted its head with a surprised look on its face. It looked at Su Ming carefully, then beamed with joy and nodded its head. It usually only stayed with Su Ming for three to five days. Once Su Ming returned to the tribe, it would be the only one left in the forest. Now that it understood Su Ming's words, it was overjoyed.
Su Ming took a deep breath and closed his eyes slowly as the mountain breeze blew against him. He was prepared to train here until he reached the first level of the Blood Solidification Realm before he left.
After all, Su Ming did not know how to explain what happened to him. Part of him wanted to hide it and not let anyone else know.
He closed his eyes. Before long, a blood vein appeared on Su Ming's body. The blood vein let out a faint red glow, but the red glow did not flicker. Instead, it was very solid.
Even the blood vein was no longer hidden like it was half a month ago. It was completely visible now.
Su Ming may not have the talent to practice the Ways of the Berserker, but he had the determination to not give up easily. As he sat down, time passed by slowly.
The sun rose and set. The fog in the forest gradually dissipated. The sounds of birds and beasts echoed in the air. It was filled with a unique calmness. In this calmness, Su Ming opened his eyes on the second morning.
He moved his body a little. When he turned around, he found that the little monkey had disappeared. However, there were some wild fruits on the ground and some of the seeds that had been spat out …
Su Ming picked up some of the fruits and ate about ten of them. With his appetite, these fruits were enough to fill him up. He may like to eat wild fruits, but he did not like to eat too many at once.
Once he finished eating, Su Ming sat down once again and immersed himself in the process of refining his Berserker Blood. However, this time, after only a few hours, Su Ming opened his eyes. There was a puzzled look in his eyes.
'The first blood vein has completely manifested, but I feel like I don't have enough blood for the second blood vein …' Su Ming could not describe what he was feeling. It was as if the first blood vein had already sucked away most of his blood and there was not much blood left for the second blood vein to manifest.
This was contradictory and difficult to explain, but it was what Su Ming truly felt.
'Not enough blood …' Su Ming scratched his head and fell into deep thought. He did not know that Berserkers, especially in the early stages of the Berserker Realm, not only needed a strong body to continue training, they also needed to take a lot of medicine. The medicine was used to quickly create new blood to boost their training and to manifest more blood veins.
That was why the Berserkers in the Blood Solidification Realm would have an even greater amount of Qi in their bodies as their power increased. Once their power erupted, their physical strength alone would be enough to tear apart a powerful beast. That was why they were known as Berserkers!
These were the secrets of the tribe. Only the tribe members who possessed the Berserker Body would know about them.
'Usually, when someone is injured in the tribe, they will lose a lot of blood. Their faces will turn pale and they will feel weak. During these times, they will need to take some herbs to replenish their Qi …' Su Ming's eyes brightened. He thought about it carefully and immediately picked up the basket and jumped towards the side of the mountain. This time, he moved very quickly and returned in about an hour.
When he returned, there were already some herbs with dirt on them in the basket. Once he cleaned them, Su Ming took out a stone bowl from the basket and crushed the herbs. He mixed it with some dew and mixed it together to form a dark green liquid. It gave off a strange smell.
However, he was already used to the smell. After taking a few sniffs, he added some herbs into the mixture. When he was done, he took a deep breath and drank all the liquid in the stone bowl without hesitation. It tasted horrible.
Su Ming frowned and forced himself to drink until there was nothing left. Then he sat down cross-legged and meditated again.
When Su Ming opened his eyes late at night, he stared at the darkness before him and fell into a daze.
'There's some effect … but it's very small … The method should be correct but there are still some parts that I'm wrong about …' Su Ming frowned. He could not ask the elder about these things. He could only think about it himself.
'That's not right!' Su Ming's eyes flashed. As the common healer in the tribe, he was in charge of gathering herbs. He remembered that every time he gathered herbs, the elder would take some of them away and send the rest to the tribe leader. He would store the herbs according to the tribe leader's instructions so that he could use them to make medicine to heal wounds.
Dark Dragon's Saliva was one of the herbs taken away by the elder. However, the Dark Dragon's Saliva was no longer useful to the elder so he left all of it for Su Ming to nourish his body.
'There's still some Dark Dragon's Saliva left after I gave it to Lei Chen.' Su Ming immediately flipped through the basket and found the small bottle. When he opened it, a familiar fragrance wafted into his nose. He shook it slightly and found that there was still a small amount of it left.
Without hesitation, Su Ming placed the small bottle by his mouth and drank it all in one gulp.
He then sat down cross-legged and immersed himself in the process of gathering his blood. Su Ming had eaten a lot of Dark Dragon's Saliva since he was young. Every time he drank it, he would feel dizzy and fall asleep as if he was drunk.
But this time, it was the first time he drank the Dark Dragon's Saliva and trained according to the method of Berserker Cultivation. As the blood in his body circulated, he could clearly feel a cold current growing in his body and quickly spreading to every part of his body.
As it spread, it gradually seeped into his blood, causing his blood to circulate at a much faster rate. It even seemed as if there was more blood in his body now.
'I knew it!' Su Ming was excited. Just as he was about to continue circulating his blood, his body suddenly trembled. His eyes flew open and there was disbelief and confusion on his face.
'How could this be … It's the elder …'
Within his body, Su Ming could clearly feel that as he absorbed the cold sensation, more cold currents appeared in every part of his body. These cold currents seemed to have existed for many years and had been quietly stored away, waiting for the day when the blood in his veins would activate and explode.
The mouthful of Dark Dragon's Saliva Su Ming drank was the opportunity for the explosion!
Now, it was as if there were countless streams coming from all directions and merging into an ocean.
This was a great gift that the elder had prepared for him since he was young. It was a great gift that the elder had always used Dark Dragon's Saliva to nourish Su Ming's body. If Su Ming practiced the Ways of the Berserker, then this power would be of great help to him during the early stages of his training. If he did not practice the Ways of the Berserker, then this power would be able to keep his body healthy.
In his daze, Su Ming seemed to see the elder's kind eyes, the gradually aging face, the high hopes and expectations placed on him, and the gloominess that had appeared half a month ago.
"Elder …" Su Ming mumbled. There was a muffled sound echoing in his body. The power of Dark Dragon's Saliva that had been accumulating for many years was pushing his blood forward, causing the second blood vein to immediately appear on his body and quickly solidify.
After the second blood line appeared, the third blood line suddenly appeared!!
Even the fourth blood vein seemed like it was about to appear!
Soon after, Su Ming's body grew stronger at a speed visible to the naked eye. The circulation and strengthening of his Qi spurred his body to grow. If this continued, then he would no longer be thin and frail. Instead, he would be like the other Berserkers, possessing a strong and sturdy body.
Yet at that moment, the black stone on Su Ming's chest suddenly let out the same piercing light that had appeared in the statue of the God of Berserkers!
The moment the light shone, a change occurred!