Chapter 249: Heaven and Earth Energy; Mountain-Slicing, Sea-Cleaving

The current ideal environment for cultivating the Immortal Path is one bought with the blood of their forebears, and it has also led to the cultivators of the past being far stronger than those today.

The creatures that remain today are the more peaceful ones who survived after intense battles with humans, with fear of humans etched into their very blood.

In times of great disaster, the unity and insight shown by humanity is unmatched. Although humans may seem ordinary, their creativity has always been remarkable.

If one fully masters body refinement, even a casual strike would wield immense power. Even if all spiritual power is exhausted, the body itself could cut mountains and divide seas, becoming a treasure on its own.

"My meridians are severed, and the path of spiritual Immortal Path is gone—completely blocked," Chen Xun muttered.

Electric arcs suddenly sparked around him, crackling with intense white light. His hair gradually turned silver, and his eyes flashed with cold lightning, devoid of warmth.

His blood and energy surged, creating ripples in the sea nearby that spread in all directions.

Surrounded by white light, his body seemed to take on a unique glow as he continued reviewing the body refinement techniques. "There's absolutely no shortcut here."

He shook his head lightly, noting that although some spiritual herbs could replace beast blood in body refinement, the resource consumption was still staggering.

Without a vast source of essence, he'd abandon the technique altogether. How could humanity sustain such methods? There aren't endless resources just waiting to be picked up.

Nowadays, cultivators are everywhere; they discovered an unclaimed mineral vein in the Forbidden Sea only after searching for over two thousand years.

Following the path of body refinement would create countless enemies, which is why the Great Li Realm regards it as merely auxiliary, and a wise choice to abandon it.

Chen Xun continued feeling out his body's potential. He had yet to harness the power from his tribulation for body tempering, which still lingered on the surface, unfamiliar with the proper technique to circulate it.

"Hm."

Closing his eyes slightly, he casually selected a body refinement technique and began to observe his inner workings. White light blazed from his body as he unlocked an immense power.

When he first overcame the Nascent Soul tribulation, he suppressed this force deep within himself. This is why he sought body refinement techniques—he had felt something similar even during his Golden Core tribulation.

There was always a force inside him that he couldn't release, which was such a waste. Gaining more skills never hurt, and learning is always beneficial.

Chen Xun's body tensed as veins pulsed beneath his skin. The tribulation power began circulating through his body in accordance with the body refinement method, spreading throughout his form.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Intense pulsations echoed, like the breathing of a giant beast, low and rhythmic yet filled with danger.

"An auxiliary body refinement technique with system spell amplification," Chen Xun murmured along with the pulsating sound. "But this body refinement technique is still far from enough. I must create my own profound method and open hidden points within my body as reserves."

With these words, white lightning burst from within him, stirring massive waves on the sea, surging upwards endlessly. The dark sea that had been calm for years finally became turbulent.

Sharp-toothed black fish were electrocuted and floated belly-up, their crimson eyes filled with confusion.

In the air above him, various body refinement techniques floated, though he hadn't opened any of the advanced sections, only the introductory sections.

The beginning contained the true wisdom, or so he believed. If he could master it, his status as a peak Nascent Soul cultivator would be justified; the mind, after all, opens at that stage.

Meanwhile, at the island's center in the mining pit...

Little Red stared blankly at the shore, watching the fierce lightning surge. "Brother Ox, Brother Xun knows thunder magic?!"

"Moo~~~" The big black ox snorted in surprise, equally stunned. Big Brother was releasing the power of tribulation tempering without hesitation.

Little Red gasped. Could it be that Brother Xun hadn't even shown his full power yet? Back when his Nascent Soul formed, although it was human-like, it was absurdly massive.

And at that time, Chen Xun hadn't even unleashed five Nascent Souls at once. If Little Red saw his true strength, he'd probably collapse in terror, foaming at the mouth.

The big black ox, oblivious to techniques, learned only what Big Brother had taught him without questioning.

After glancing over briefly, it went back to working on the array diagram. This teleportation array required high-quality spirit stones, so it would need to make improvements.

While on Nine Palaces Mountain, they had discovered a way to convert the essence of the five elements into spiritual energy. What they lacked was a container like spirit stones, or a material like five-element stones.

"Moo~" The big black ox gazed with determination. They were surrounded by the rich minerals of the Starshifting Blackstone, and even if much was wasted, Big Brother wouldn't blame it!

"Brother Ox, I'm off to mine."

"Moo~"

The big black ox nodded, crouching near the mining pit, fully focused.

The teleportation array's setup was extraordinarily complex; a single misstep could teleport them miles off target or even shred them in a spatial storm.

Little Red glanced at the big black ox and began to grow, knowing his limited abilities meant he could only do physical work, but he was eager to help his two big brothers in any way he could.

At the shoreline... Chen Xun was in solitude, his hair now entirely silver, and his gaze had transformed, no longer resembling that of a human—cold and utterly emotionless.

It seemed that this body cultivation was also awakening another side of his personality, drawing it up from deep within.

Chen Xun glanced in the direction of the big black ox, a faint smile tugging at his lips as his gaze softened. One by one, scrolls opened in the air as he immersed himself in various body refinement techniques.

"'Five Elements Profound Technique'... let's call it Body Acupoint for now," he muttered, deciding on a name. "After all, this is my own creation."

Using his power, Chen Xun began writing in the small booklet, enhancing his insights through the system's spell amplification. "Thank you to the sages before me. I swear to carry forward what you've left behind!"

He stopped speaking aloud, entering a deep meditative state, fully attuned to the universe around him as if he had found a new doorway.

This enhanced spell power had forced him to sense another type of energy permeating the world—Essence of All Things.

Essence of All Things is the original energy of the human body. It is known as prenatal essence when first nurtured within the body, most strongly felt during fetal development. However, after birth, this essence becomes deeply hidden and elusive to sense within the natural world.

A flash of understanding appeared in Chen Xun's eyes. He had cracked open a small part of this door—blood essence refinement and tribulation body tempering were, at their core, a way for the world's Essence of All Things to nourish the body.

A sense of awe filled his heart. The universe's mysteries were indeed beyond anyone's grasp; the spiritual energy of the Immortal Path was just the outermost layer...

"Incredible." Unconsciously, Chen Xun murmured his admiration. He even set up an incense burner. "I bow to the heavens I revere. Your humble servant, Chen Xun, concedes in awe!"

With that, he continued delving deeply into the early chapters of these body refinement techniques, analyzing each line and word. Meanwhile, the power of the tribulation continued to circulate slowly through his body, as time slipped by in silent increments.