Chapter 135: Chapter 135: Body Refining Breakthrough
With the cultivation speed of an Earth Spirit Root, perhaps with the aid of Pills it might barely be possible, but the most reliable choice was undoubtedly the Celestial Spirit Root.
But the Celestial Spirit Root faces no bottleneck during Core Formation and doesn’t need this troublesome Secret Technique at all.
"Can I cultivate this Secret Technique?" Xu Ping carefully assessed his advantages and quickly came to a conclusion:
I can!
Absolutely!
First of all, his lifespan far exceeds that of ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
Ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivators have a lifespan of only two hundred years, but he has as much as two hundred seventy-three years.
Not to mention, with the rise in the Perfection Level of the Longevity Skill, his lifespan would continue to increase, far beyond the imagination of ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
Secondly, with the rise in the Perfection Level of the Longevity Skill, his cultivation speed would also greatly increase. Thinking back to when he cultivated the Five Elements Skill to Perfection, his cultivation speed had already surpassed the Earth Spirit Root.
He believed that when he cultivated the Longevity Skill to Perfection, the cultivation speed would surely not be much inferior.
The combination of the two offered huge advantages.
"This Secret Technique is of immense help to me; I will begin to try it once I reach Late-Stage Foundation Establishment."
Xu Ping couldn’t help but feel a trace of joy in his heart; the journey to the Ten Thousand Mountains was indeed not in vain, yielding such an important Secret Technique.
"It’s just that cultivating this Cultivation Technique might require a long-term, safe, and stable place." Thinking of this, Xu Ping couldn’t help but frown.
Although the Ten Thousand Mountains were temporarily considered safe and stable, if Hu Country decided to fully invade, the Ten Thousand Mountains would surely be drawn into the conflict.
"Forget it, I’m still far from Late-Stage Foundation Establishment, at least decades away; by then, this war should be long over." Xu Ping shook his head, dismissing these thoughts.
"For now, let’s focus on cultivation and increasing my strength. I’m still quite weak; even if I go all out, I can only barely match a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator."
"In the clash between the two countries, a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator is hardly worth mentioning."
"For now, the most important thing is to increase my strength as much as possible to survive future conflicts," Xu Ping contemplated.
However, rapidly increasing cultivation within a short time is unrealistic; one can only rely on external resources to enhance strength.
Thinking of this, Xu Ping flipped his hand, and a black-covered book appeared in his hand, with the characters "Heavenly Demon Disintegration" written on it:
"With my current fifty drops of liquid Mana, I should have reached the threshold for cultivating the Heavenly Demon Disintegration." He murmured to himself.
This is a demonic Secret Technique that can burn vital blood to massively enhance strength.
However, the threshold is quite high, requiring at least fifty drops of liquid Mana.
Although he had been tempted previously, he couldn’t cultivate it; now, after years of diligent cultivation, he finally reached the threshold.
"If I can refine it, then my trump cards will increase by one more." Xu Ping’s eyes gleamed brightly.
Soon, he immersed himself completely into it.
...
The patriarch of the Zhang family returned safely and killed the recently illustrious Li Zhengyu, causing a huge stir in the Ten Thousand Mountains.
"This Zhang patriarch is truly worthy of his fearsome reputation in the Ten Thousand Mountains; his strength as a decades-old Foundation Establishment Cultivator is truly terrifying!"
"Who could deny it? He killed a Foundation Establishment Cultivator just like that!"
"In the future, we’d better be more cautious when encountering cultivators from the Zhang family."
...
Many Loose Cultivators and Qi Cultivation factions were extremely shaken in their hearts.
And the Foundation Establishment forces were no better off; the matter of ’Zhang Yu’ killing a Foundation Establishment Cultivator shocked them all.
Especially several Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
"Although I’m stronger than Li Zhengyu, it would be very difficult to kill him. It seems that this Fellow Daoist Zhang, although his lifespan is almost at an end, his strength is not to be underestimated!" a burly middle-aged Foundation Establishment Cultivator murmured.
"Recently, I must restrain the clan members from provoking the Zhang family lightly."
Strong, yet nearing the end of their lifespan, Foundation Establishment Cultivators are the most terrifying.
Even though they age, their strength doesn’t decline like Qi Cultivators.
...
...
Time flies like water.
In the blink of an eye, two months passed.
During this time, Hu Country still slowly and steadily nibbled away at Yue Country’s land.
Although Luoyun Sect summoned all major forces to send personnel to resist, the Nascent Soul Cultivators did not appear, plus the previous tragic loss at Qiu Xuan Mountain, all major forces merely pretended to obey and had no desire to go all out.
Hu Country also announced that they only intended to annihilate Luoyun Sect, and that as long as other forces did not oppose them, they would be left unharmed.
This news made the minds of all major forces increasingly complicated, and rumors spread more wildly across Yue Country!
Rumors say all major Golden Core forces have already pledged allegiance to Hu Country; Luoyun Sect’s Nascent Soul Patriarch had long fallen; Hu Country’s Nascent Soul Patriarch was ready to use Thunder Power to destroy Luoyun Sect...
Such rumors were vivid, and many Loose Cultivators and even Foundation Establishment forces believed them to be true.
As a result, all of Yue Country became increasingly chaotic, with many Loose Cultivators and Foundation Establishment forces seizing the opportunity to turn into robbers, and even cases of clan massacre emerged.
However, compared to the chaos outside, the situation in the Ten Thousand Mountains in the corner of Yue Country was undoubtedly much better.
Even though during this period, many unfamiliar cultivators came to the Ten Thousand Mountains seeking refuge, causing some conflicts with local forces, the overall situation remained stable.
No one dared to provoke the major Foundation Establishment forces.
One day, at Cangyuan Mountain.
Zhang Yu’s cave dwelling, cultivation room.
Xu Ping sat in a medicinal tub, surrounded by a scarlet liquid exuding a strong bloody smell, its color gradually fading, finally becoming clear water.
Suddenly, a deep rumble like a torrent erupted from within his body, a tremendous surge of vitality mixed with intense Evil Qi surged forth.
Without using any Mana, the array within the chamber flickered chaotically.
Xu Ping abruptly opened his eyes, a flash of bloodlust passed by, a tidal wave of intense killing intent surged up in his heart, nearly compelling him to pounce toward everything alive in front of him.
This overwhelming killing intent was enough to turn even an Early-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator into a mindless monster of pure slaughter.
However, before Xu Ping’s powerful Divine Sense and the Perfection Level of the Taihang Nourishing God Skill, this killing intent was like an ant trying to stop a chariot, and it was quickly completely eradicated.
"Hoooo!"
Xu Ping let out a long breath, the killing intent dissipated, and the bloodlust in his eyes gradually faded.
"Second layer of the Blood Demon Body Refining."
He felt the beast-like power in his body and watched as the blood-vein patterns on his body receded.
Ding! Ssss!
Xu Ping took out an Upper Grade Magical Artifact and hacked at his arm several times, leaving only faint reddish marks.
"The strength of my body is comparable to that of a Second-stage Middle Grade Demon Beast. Although it lacks the bloodline talents of a Demon Beast and doesn’t possess Magic Divine Techniques, if I display the True Form of the Blood Demon, the strength of my physical body might surpass that of an average Second-stage Middle Grade Demon Beast."
Xu Ping nodded in satisfaction.
After spending so many resources and time, he had finally cultivated the Blood Demon Body Refining to the second layer.
With his current physique, even if ambushed by a Fake Pill cultivator, and taking a direct hit from the front, he probably wouldn’t fall, only be severely injured at most.
If combined with the Perfection Level of the Elemental Magnetic Escape Skill, even a typical Fake Pill cultivator might not be able to catch him.
"Not bad, this barely affords me a bit of self-preservation." Xu Ping couldn’t help but show a hint of a smile on his face.