Chapter Eighteen: The First Layer of Iron Sand Palm—The Path of External Cultivation Begins

Two small boats sped toward him.

“Hand over your silver and we’ll spare your life.”

The newcomers shouted harshly, their tone chilling and without a wasted word.

“Look at my little black awning boat—do you really think I have any wealth worth robbing?” Bai Xuan frowned.

He was obviously just a common fisherman at sea, hardly someone with much money, yet even he was being ambushed. It seemed these robbers were truly desperate.

“Enough talk!”

The burly men on the other boat regarded Bai Xuan as if he were an idiot.

“Look at the lot of us—do we seem like experts who’ve broken through their blood and qi three times? If we could get a position as mate with the Black Pirates, we wouldn’t need to rob fishermen.”

Their words were blunt and not without reason. Bai Xuan had nothing to say in reply, and silently reached into his clothes.

With a flick of his wrist, a throwing knife flashed and cut through the air!

He’d defeated Instructor Wang the day before and taken a manual on the art of throwing knives. After some practice, he found he could strike a foe within ten paces, though no new branch had grown on his Longevity Tree—his path was still inadequate.

Still, with two throwing knives in hand, it would be wasteful not to use them.

The knife flew straight and true, without any trick, but Bai Xuan’s strength was immense. The knife tore through the air at great speed! The leading man couldn’t dodge in time; he barely managed to twist aside, but the blade grazed his shoulder, splitting it open and spilling blood.

“You dare use hidden weapons!”

The burly leader was enraged and, seeing another knife coming, leapt aside in time to evade it.

“Let’s get out of here!”

Bai Xuan stamped his foot, and his black awning boat shot forward like an arrow, quickly cutting through the water to flee.

“Damn it!”

The pirates were furious. They were skilled on the water, but being toyed with by throwing knives provoked their murderous intent. They gave chase, determined not to let him escape.

From their perspective, the throwing knives weren’t especially powerful, meaning their opponent’s strength was ordinary. They were confident they could handle him, and even if they killed him, they’d have a boat to sell—a black awning boat would fetch a handsome price.

“If they refuse to let me go, they have only themselves to blame.”

A faint murderous intent surfaced in Bai Xuan’s expression as he stood on his boat.

He didn’t like fighting without cause; if they had spared him, he would have spared them. The throwing knives had shown him their level—ordinary robbers.

Yet, since they pursued him relentlessly, he had no choice but to send them on their way.

He picked up his cold iron harpoon and stepped out of the cabin.

“What—?”

In an instant, Bai Xuan became a giant shark, leaping across seven or eight meters, his cold iron harpoon flashing with deadly force.

A sickening sound—the leader’s torso flew sideways, blood spraying everywhere!

Anger still lingered on his face, but it hadn’t yet transformed into fear; only confusion remained.

“Twice-broken blood and qi!”

The two pirates beside him were terrified to the core. Before their eyes, their leader had been severed in two by a single thrust, his viscera spilling forth, his upper body torn off. Such a gruesome sight, even witnessed once, was enough to shatter one’s courage.

“Run!”

Without hesitation, the two pirates dove into the water.

“You think you can escape?”

Bai Xuan’s expression was cold and merciless.

He sunk beneath the waves, vanishing without a sound.

Moments later, with a splash, he emerged from the water, stepped onto his boat, as bubbles and blood rose behind him, two corpses slowly drifting up, their faces frozen in terror and unwillingness.

“You want to compete in swimming with me?”

Bai Xuan searched the two small boats, finding only a few steel knives—not a single copper coin.

“No wonder they tried to rob me—they’re truly destitute.”

He shook his head, ignored the boats, and continued on his way.

These men had tried to kill him, and he’d killed them in turn. Their death was deserved; on this vast sea, countless bones lay buried, and none cared.

Toward evening, he returned to Thousand Mountain Island, changed clothes, bathed, steamed a pot of green crabs and devoured them, then cooked a pot of fresh fish noodles and ate ravenously, finally sating his hunger.

Since breaking through his blood and qi a second time, he needed to eat three times as much as an ordinary man. His physical strength was exploding—blades couldn’t harm him, he could shatter stone with a flick of his finger, and leap seven or eight meters in one bound!

His trip to the sea market had been fruitful—not only had he gained the true transmission of the Iron Sand Palm, but he’d unexpectedly acquired the inner school spear technique as well. It had been a huge windfall.

“The growth after the second blood and qi breakthrough has reached its limit.”

Bai Xuan, full and content, spun two egg-sized stones in his hand. Suddenly he clenched his fingers; the stones cracked and crumbled, falling in fragments through his fingers.

Shattering stone with a palm—an easy feat.

“Now, it’s time to begin cultivating the Iron Sand Palm.”

…

The secret of the Iron Sand Palm involved crafting a medicinal paste mixed with river sand, sea sand, and iron sand for training. One thrusts their hands into the mixture, rubbing and pounding persistently.

At first, the hands would swell and bruise, sometimes losing skin and flesh, requiring the medicine’s healing power. Without it, the deeper the training, the greater the risk of ruining one’s hands.

Of course, Bai Xuan had a solid foundation and knew that this art was not merely about medicine. Medicine was for beginners—the true secret lay in the method of channeling blood and qi.

Iron Sand Palm was not complicated; it mainly involved moving blood and qi through the palms, altering the skin, and forging a bizarre palm force.

Within its hardness, a sinister, poisonous energy was hidden. One strike could turn rock to sand; that was the essence of its power.

In the small courtyard,

“Hu…”

Bai Xuan thrust his hands into a brazier filled with glowing iron sand. Each grain was scalding and shifting, releasing white smoke as his hands touched them.

“Blood and qi like iron, force like sand!”

He rubbed his hands, whirling the iron sand between his palms, pounding again and again, dozens of strikes in succession, causing the sand to form a vortex.

It looked terrifying, but after cultivating the second layer of Azure Scale Art, Bai Xuan had a layer of condensed blood and qi scales beneath his skin—hard for blades to harm, not easily destroyed by water or fire. Thus, training posed little danger.

After two blood and qi breakthroughs, external martial arts had reached a high level. As long as he understood blood and qi manipulation, training other hard external arts would be twice as effective.

This training continued for more than half a month.

One day, Bai Xuan’s blood and qi suddenly trembled and surged through his body.

“So this is it—I understand now. The condensation of blood and qi in Iron Sand Palm forms a layer of vibrating palm force, unlike the inward scales beneath the skin. It manifests outward, becoming a blue-black iron palm, shaking and slaying enemies!”

Enlightened, Bai Xuan struck with his hand, his palm swelling, turning blue-black like iron, blood and qi humming.

Crack!

He slammed down, and a huge stone exploded, shattering into fragments, sand raining down.

Iron Sand Palm—mastered!

In that instant,

The Longevity Dao Tree appeared before him, its bronze branches lush, ancient and mysterious, filled with profound meaning.

“It’s here!” Bai Xuan rejoiced.

“Channeling blood and qi, refining the skin... You have embarked upon the Path: External Training.”

“Current Dao Points available: One.”

“Walk this path, and Dao Points will accumulate daily, manifesting divine abilities upon the Longevity Tree.”

“Current skills available for selection: Bronze Skin, Iron Bones, Golden Viscera, Jade Marrow, Mercury Blood!”