Martial God Storm

  Tang Yan didn't head straight to the altar, but instead came to a secluded corner and scrubbed his body covered in grime clean, changing into relatively clean clothes.

  Everything is properly arranged before being allowed to walk into the altar.

  The baptismal pool is located inside the giant altar, but in order to receive baptism, you must first go to a place.

  Under the guidance of the maid, Tang Yan passed through four narrow corridors and came to a room filled with mist. Inside, six two-meter-high wooden barrels were arranged in order, emitting a strong medicinal fragrance.

  "The liquid in the medicine bucket is made from over twenty precious medicinal materials, specially prepared to cleanse the body of impurities, allowing you to enter the baptismal pool without a single speck of dust." The maidservants led Tang Yan to one of the medicine buckets.

  "How long will it take?" Tang Yan didn't evade, pulled off his clothes and sat into the medicine bucket. It seemed like misty vapor was steaming up, as if it was extremely warm, but in fact, after sitting down, it was exceptionally cool and refreshing. The comfortable feeling quickly spread to every part of the body, as if all pores were opening up, and all cells were becoming active.

  Indescribable coolness, indescribable comfort!

  "That will be enough in five minutes."

  Tang Yan closed his eyes, quietly savoring the refreshing and extraordinary feeling that penetrated to his bones. The medicinal water seemed to have a life of its own, gently swaying and caressing his skin, washing away the fatigue and pain from his body. The wound on his back, which had already recovered significantly, was now healing even faster.

  Since his rebirth in this strange world, until today, Tang Yan has been constantly on the run and in fierce battles, never truly relaxing, never closing his eyes in peace. The sudden coolness made him drowsy, with an impulse to just fall asleep without thinking or asking anything.

  "Master? It's time, please come with me." The maid's gentle call startled Tang Yan out of his daze, and he took a deep breath, feeling a refreshing sensation coursing through his body, as if his entire being had suddenly become much lighter.

  Leaving the medicine cabinet, walking along the gravel path towards the underground, the passage is extremely narrow, only allowing two people to walk together, the walls are hung with bright fluorescent stones, illuminating the inside as if it were daytime.

  The further down he went, the lower the temperature dropped. The walls were covered with glittering frost, but as he continued to descend, Tang Yan felt an extremely rich life force, and his dantian began to stir uncontrollably, like a hungry child greedily sucking in nutrients.

  After walking for nearly twenty minutes and descending several hundred meters, the maid led Tang Yan to an intersection, where there were two tightly closed stone gates, each guarded by a powerful warrior. When Tang Yan arrived, Yang Ruyan was already waiting here, accompanied by an old man with white hair.

  "Tang Yan? How is it you? This is where you should come?" Yang Ruyan looked at Tang Yan in disbelief as he walked over.

  "Anyway, I'm here now." Tang Yan winked at Yang Ruyan, his eyes brazenly scanning her slender and delicate body, his fiery gaze seeming to penetrate the bath towel to see what was inside.

  Yang Ruyan's expression was slightly angry: "Believe it or not, I'll dig out your dog eyes?"

  "Are you willing to let go?" Tang Yan smiled and stopped teasing him, slightly bowing his head towards the old man and said politely: "Sorry for keeping you waiting, shall we begin now?"

  The old man smiled and nodded: "We can start now, but I need to explain something to you."

  "Please go on."

  "Following the usual custom, this year's baptism ceremony has already ended a minute ago. However, in consideration of the two family heads, Yang and Tang, we have specially allowed an extension of time."

  "Thank you, elder. We will remember this kindness." Tang Yan and Yang Ruyan both showed relatively respectful attitudes.

  The old man smiled warmly and said, "This is not the key point. The key point is that we can only open one place. Under normal baptismal circumstances, men and women are separated, but today's situation is special, so we can only open one place. Do you understand what I mean?"

  "What?" Yang Ruyan was slightly taken aback.

  Tang Yan was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said: "You're a good person, I'll invite you to have tea with me next time."

  The two guards at the gate raised their eyelids, sizing up Tang Yan's strange face and then Yang Ruyan's angry and embarrassed expression, silently sighing in their hearts: "What a sin."

  Yang Ruyan became anxious: "Elder, are you certain there's no mistake? You want me to go with him? I've heard that inside is just a natural spring pool, the area isn't large, and there's no cover or concealment. How could you possibly... I..."

  "I know this is difficult, but the Empire's regulations stipulate that thirty baptisms be performed every year, over a period of five days, six times a day. Although only five were performed today, because you took too long to prepare, time was wasted in vain. Moreover... when the baptism begins, we need to carefully control it, which means we cannot set up a separate baptismal pool for just one person. Allowing two people to enter a spring at the same time is already an exception." The old man's face wore a smile, his voice warm, but his tone was firm and unyielding.

  "I understand, thank you for your concern. Hehe, I'll go in and prepare first. Like smoke, you will eventually enter the Tang family gate anyway, what's there to be shy about?" Tang Yan didn't suffer a loss, of course, he didn't need to care, whistling as he pushed open the stone gate.

  "Ah!!" Yang Ruyan's pretty face flushed with anger.

  The old man with white hair shook his head with a smile: "Young man, remember one thing, this is baptism, not a romantic bath. You must concentrate and calm your mind, you can't have any distracting thoughts, otherwise...you will be struck down by the spiritual power of the spring, and the consequences are unthinkable."

  "Elder, I..." Yang Ruyan's face turned as ugly as it could get. Was this a baptism by fire or a humiliation? She even suspected that the old man had taken bribes from Tang Yan and deliberately let him in to take advantage of her.

  The old man smiled and nodded: "No need to be nervous, we will thicken the mist in the spring pool, no one can see anyone. If it's really difficult, I can only say sorry, please come again in two years."

  Yang Ruyan struggled inwardly, and after a moment, she gritted her teeth in hatred, stamped her foot, and walked in with a stiff face.

  The space here is similar to an underground karst cave, with dense stone columns, majestic and powerful, giving people a sense of natural purity.

  In the central area, there is a fountain pool with a diameter of about 10 meters, which is not too large. It is crystal clear and calm, like a quiet maiden.

  The air in the cave is filled with a thin white mist, floating gently like an elf. As soon as you take a deep breath, you can feel a rich life force seeping into your bones.

  Tang Yan stood in front of the pool, his eyes shining brightly, the Qi Hai in his Dantian surging and churning uncontrollably, looking extremely excited. According to Tang Er Gongzi's memory, this baptismal platform in the Mystic Forest was special, utilizing and guiding a large earth spiritual vein that traversed the mountain range, containing extremely pure life force within.

  For others, the Spring Pool's function is only to stimulate the spiritual veins or open up treasures, but for Tang Yan, this is simply the perfect condition for advancing the Undying Heavenly Sutra!

  So far, Tang Yan has absorbed thirteen spiritual liquids in a row. The continuous accumulation of the essence of life refined from them has formed a thin mist inside his dantian. His physical injuries and energy recovery speed have become faster and faster, and minor scratches can be fully recovered within a few minutes.

  "This is just the first stage of the Undying Heavenly Sutra. If one enters the second stage, what kind of magical situation will occur? What kind of powerful martial skills will be born?"

  Tang Yan was extremely looking forward to it!

  "If you dare to sneak a peek, I absolutely won't let you off easily!" Yang Ruyan walked into the pool, vigilantly staring at Tang Yan.

  "What's the point of looking anymore if you've already touched it?"

  "You shameless bastard, if you dare to spout nonsense again, believe it or not, I'll kill you right now."

  "Every day you're shouting and killing, aren't you tired? Alright, alright, I don't have time to fool around with you today. And to be honest, I'm not very interested in your underdeveloped body."

  "Tang Yan!!" A reckless and unscrupulous teasing, almost drove Yang Ruyan crazy. How could there be such a shameless scoundrel in the world, why did he have to run into him?

  "Why are you yelling so loudly, miss? Do you have a need?" "Sorry, I'm busy." Tang Yan burst out laughing and jumped into the spring: "The teasing is over, let's get down to business. Miss Yang, please prepare yourself. Today's baptism will determine your fate for the rest of your life, so you'd better calm down."

  "Shameless! Rascal! Bastard! If you dare to do anything, don't blame me for ruining you!" Yang Ruyan didn't move and still stood there, vigilantly staring at him. So far, she was still suspicious that Tang Yan had come in on purpose to cause trouble.

  The mist in the cave grew thicker and thicker, and in a very short time it was almost impossible to see anything. Tang Yan's position was still quiet. Yang Ruyan remained vigilant for several minutes before carefully making her way into the spring pool and hiding in the farthest corner.

  Tang Yan ignored Yang Ruyan, sat cross-legged by the pool, concentrated his mind and spirit, embracing the truth, carefully feeling the strange changes of the pool. The quiet pool water was soft as silk, sometimes still and traceless, sometimes automatically rippling, but never changed as expected.

  Like a chic little beast, observing the unfamiliar guests.

  Tang Yan sat quietly, waiting silently, without taking any action. He could vaguely feel that the spiritual spring seemed to have some special consciousness, probing him in a unique way.