by Translator: Pokka; Author: 我本纯洁 (I Am Pure); Licensed From: Migu
The Cosmos Dao Destroying Fist clashed with Devil Concubine's halberd, sending massive shockwaves in all directions. The shockwaves spread several kilometers away, turning all stones in the area into dust and completely disintegrating the dust in the area.
When the shockwaves from the collision dissipated, two figures could be seen flying in opposite directions. The man's clothes were badly torn, and wounds riddled his body. The woman did not look too good either. Half her black robe had disintegrated, revealing the tender and fair skin underneath. Part of her plump bosom was also exposed.
"I'll remember this. The next time I see you, I'll take your life," said Devil Concubine before leaving.
Instead of giving chase, Xiang Shaoyun replied helplessly, "Lady, this really is a misunderstanding!"
Alas, Devil Concubine refused to listen.
Xiang Shaoyun sighed, "And just like that, I got myself a new enemy. What a tough life. Then again, that figure...it's truly amazing. If she comes after me in the future, I can consider making her my bed-warming maid."
A True Martial Academy disciple would probably go mad and battle him to the death if he knew his thoughts. Using a woman this amazing as a maid? Was that a joke? Xiang Shaoyun did not waste any time and hurriedly left. His focus was still recovering to his peak condition.
Hiding at a quiet place, he released Money and the ghostrunes to protect him from the evil spirits. He then used the Secret Reversal Technique to accelerate his recovery.
The Secret Reversal Technique was indeed worthy of being an extremely rare healing technique. When working alongside Xiang Shaoyun's profundity of wood, it made his wound heal at a speed visible to the naked eye. The remnant corrosive energy in his body was also slowly being pushed out by Yun Flame.
Devil Concubine's corrosive energy was incredibly overbearing. It could not only destroy one's bodily functions but also exhaust one's life force. Without the powers of extreme yang such as flame and lightning in Xiang Shaoyun's body, he would have been corroded to death.
Even so, he still had to work extremely hard to fully cleanse his body. Around two days later, Xiang Shaoyun finally finished recovering. His body felt much stronger than before, and he also found that his soul power had increased. Previously, his soul power was at the level of an early sixth-stage Soul Foundation Realm cultivator. Now, his soul power had reached mid sixth-stage, and he was only a step away from late sixth-stage.
After spending some time in contemplation, Xiang Shaoyun finally understood something. He muttered, "It must be the flux goldthorn energy that has triggered my limits, allowing both my body and soul to grow greatly. That must be the case."
At that conclusion, he shifted his focus to comprehend the Limit Stimulation Technique and Flux Finger Sword Technique passed to him by Zang Yuan. His focus was still to increase his strength as best as he could. His cultivation level had also reached a boiling point, and he could no longer suppress it. He had to break through.
Thus, he changed his focus again. He was going to break through first. After telling Money and the ghostrunes to stand guard for him, he started stirring the energy in his body. The nine stars were already overflowing with energy. They erupted at once, and the nine energies circulated through his body.
They first entered the astral cosmos sea, then the spine, pushing the draconic aura to 80 percent and causing an even more vivid dragon projection to hover above him. A radiance of nine colors swirled around his body, making him look like a son of god that was dripping with magnificence.
A large number of spirit crystals in his astral cosmos sea dissolved, and strands of pure energy coursed through his body before entering his nine stars. But, of course, the energy from the spirit crystals alone wouldn't be enough. He also needed to absorb the spiritual energy of the world and the astral energy from the stars in the sky to gather enough energy for the breakthrough.
The nearby spiritual energy started converging around him. Astral energy also started flowing from the sky to him. The energy coming from the stars couldn't be seen, but if an expert was here, the expert would most definitely sense the convergence of energies. It was very rare to see nine different energies flowing down from the stars at the same time.
An incredibly large amount of energies had gathered in the area. Fortunately, he was hiding at a remote location, so his breakthrough hadn't attracted any attention. The energies gathered in his body and expanded his stars, allowing him to smoothly reach the eighth stage.
It did not even take Xiang Shaoyun long to finish his breakthrough. Energies flooded into his body, and he only stopped absorbing energy when his draconic aura reached 85 percent. With that much draconic aura, he smoothly reached mid eighth-stage Dragon Ascension Realm, which was quite a big increase in strength.
He had long been able to break through into the eighth stage, but he had been suppressing it. When Yun Flame had fused with the Noble Glazed Flame, his flame star had also accumulated a large amount of high-tier energy. His gold star's flux goldthorn energy and his dark star's dark origin energy were also of higher quality than regular energies. Thus, it was understandable that he skipped the early stage and reached the mid stage.
After the breakthrough, Xiang Shaoyun opened his eyes, and a sharp radiance shone from them. It was as though the sun and the moon were swirling within his eyes, giving off a great sense of oppression.
His soul power reached the level of a peak sixth-stage Soul Foundation Realm cultivator, not far away from the seventh stage. This was the effect of his cultivation increase. Although his soul power had only gone from mid sixth-stage to peak sixth-stage, it was still a height some people would take years to reach.
The increase was understandable, as Xiang Shaoyun had a filthless soul and the Nether Soul Domain. One could say that he was blessed with talent in terms of soul cultivation. His soul could grow at a speed no person could rival.
He summoned his soul clone and had the clone cultivate the Flux Finger Sword Technique while his main body focused on the Limit Stimulation Technique. What he was doing could shock many people.
Generally, one would only be able to cleanly split one's attention upon reaching the Saint Realm. Xiang Shaoyun was only an Emperor, but he could already do so. It would be hard for one to not be surprised.
The Flux Finger Sword Technique was a sword technique utilizing the flux goldthorn energy. Using one's fingers as a sword, one could form finger swords with the flux goldthorn energy and release sword energy capable of destroying everything. This sword technique was incredibly destructive due to the great power of the flux goldthorn energy, an energy capable of threatening even Saints.
Chapter 954: Body Cleansing
The Flux Finger Sword Technique wasn't a technique one could learn easily. Firstly, it had harsh requirements on the quality of one's finger bones. The finger bones had to be strong enough to withstand the flow of flux goldthorn energy, or one should just forget about using one's fingers as a sword.
Although Xiang Shaoyun had cultivated the Vicious Prison Finger technique before and had finger bones much more durable than a regular person, his finger bones were still not strong enough to withstand the power of the flux goldthorn energy. He still needed to give his fingers some tempering.
Since his soul clone was much stronger than his main body, the clone would have a much easier time practicing the technique. Even so, each time the clone tried using the technique, its fingers would suffer the pain of getting stabbed by countless needles. His only option was to withstand the pain. He would only be able to use the technique after he completely adapted his finger bones to the flux goldthorn energy.
While his clone was cultivating the Flux Finger Sword Technique, his main body was cultivating the Limit Stimulation Technique. The Limit Stimulation Technique utilized a unique high-tier energy to torment one's skin, flesh, meridians, organs, and bones as one used the technique to withstand the pain. The resulting pain would push one's potential, bring one to one's limits, and make one f
orge a flawless physique.
Cultivating this technique was very much an act of insanity. One could very well turn mad from pain if one failed to withstand the suffering. Xiang Shaoyun had withstood the pain of flame, lightning, and flux goldthorn energy. His fortitude was far greater than a regular person's. Thus, he was willing to give the Limit Stimulation Technique a try no matter how hard it seemed.
He slowly guided the flux goldthorn energy, gradually spreading it over every inch of his body. The stinging sensation assaulted his entire body. He hurriedly started chanting the technique's mantra, using the mantra to harvest the power of pain. His pain intensified, and it reached a point where he started wailing in pain.
Fortunately, Xiang Shaoyun had laid down an isolation restriction in the area. Otherwise, his harrowing wails would spread a great distance. He felt like he had reached the very limits of what pain could feel like. Every inch of his body was suffering. His meridians, organs, bones, and so on were suffering a pain more than 10 times of what he was feeling when he first guided the flux goldthorn energy around his body.
He rolled on the ground, and in pain, he vented his suffering and threw out punches everywhere, leaving numerous fist prints in his surroundings. When practicing a technique like the Limit Stimulation Technique, the longer he withstood the pain, the better it would work. Thus, Xiang Shaoyun clenched his teeth and forced himself to maintain a sliver of consciousness.
Even when he bit into his tongue, he didn't feel it, as the pain he was feeling all over his body was much more intense. After persevering for an hour, he reached the verge of fainting from pain, and he finally withdrew the flux goldthorn energy. He collapsed weakly onto the ground, no longer able to muster any strength.
Even with the end of the torment, he did not fully relax. He was silently relieving the numbing sensation his entire body was feeling, and some impurities started seeping out of his pores. Soon, his entire body was wrapped by a layer of foul and viscous substances.
He had just undergone a body cleansing process, returning his body to the purity level of a baby's. Generally speaking, only extremely valuable treasures would be able to cleanse one's body in this manner. Using the Limit Stimulation Technique, apart from the cleansing, one could also strengthen one's body, discover one's hidden potential, and forge a filthless physique.
If Zang Yuan knew that Xiang Shaoyun was able to last an hour during his first cultivation session, he would probably jump out of his grave from sheer shock. After all, back when he first cultivated this technique, he had fainted before even lasting half an hour.
He was only able to last an hour after cultivating the technique for a year, achieving the same body cleansing effect.
Xiang Shaoyun's clone returned to the main body and shared in the benefit of the cleansing, allowing his soul to grow as well.
His plan was to stop cultivating the Flux Finger Sword Technique. Instead, he would be focusing on the Limit Stimulation Technique for a while to temper both his body and soul. When his body reached a certain level, his finger bones would also be able to reach a level where they could withstand the flux goldthorn energy. At that time, he would be able to form a sword with his fingers.
After an hour of rest, he felt much better. It was then that he smelled the stench on his body. He was disgusted and hurriedly used the profundity of water to wash himself. Only then did he feel better.
As he swung his arms around, he could feel that his entire body had turned swifter. His entire body was brimming with energy and life force, an extremely amazing sensation. It was as though his very pores were breathing in the air around him. His energy circulation had also hastened a lot, and his senses had improved considerably. In short, he was feeling something so wondrous no word was adequate to describe it.
"Worthy of being the Limit Stimulation Technique. The more pain I can endure, the more of my potential I can force out. The potential of mankind has always been boundless," muttered Xiang Shaoyun in a pleased manner.
After resting for three days, he finally recovered to his peak condition and got used to his cleansed body. He then went straight back to cultivating the Limit Stimulation Technique.
A new round of torture began. This time, he was also punching his surroundings and destroying everything. He wasn't exactly applying a lot of force, but his punches were too strong, and the rocks around him couldn't take his punches. He punched so hard his fists started bleeding. Terrible wounds appeared on his fists, wounds that were the result of him not using any energy in his punches.
An hour passed, and the cultivation session ended. Many impurities seeped out of his pores this time as well, but there weren't as many as the previous time. That was proof that the number of impurities within his body had reduced considerably.
Also, it was also probable that Xiang Shaoyun had lasted the same length of time with an improved body, so the technique wasn't working as well for him. Even so, he had still reaped considerable gains.
The more impurities he expelled from his body, the better he felt. Not only had his senses been enhanced, but his energy circulation had also increased in speed and responsiveness. It was as though he had been reborn anew.
An old tool would eventually deteriorate in quality, but when the tool was reforged and optimized, it would be a much better tool. That was what was happening to his body. His body was still young, but he had not cultivated it during his childhood.
Although he had soaked in many medicinal liquids to temper his body, it did not guarantee a body as excellent as someone who had cultivated since childhood. Through the Limit Stimulation Technique, he was able to slowly gain a body comparable to someone who had cultivated since young. Having such a constitution was very beneficial for his future cultivation.
Chapter 955: Attention Splitting
For a period of two months, Xiang Shaoyun fully immersed himself in cultivating the Limit Stimulation Technique. Originally, he would start wailing every three or four days. The interval shortened to two days until, finally, it became a daily occurrence. Also, the length of time the wails persisted also increased up to a certain point until recently. These days, no wails could be heard from him anymore.
Currently, his upper body was bare, revealing his sleek and glossy skin that looked even prettier than a woman's skin, presenting quite an enchanting sight. Anyone seeing him now would gladly claim that he was the child of the heavens, and nobody would object. It was hard to imagine that a man so perfect would exist in the world. He was so good looking it was overwhelming, which was a result of the new body he had gained after the tempering.
Xiang Shaoyun had never felt better before. It was as though he could free manipulate any energy with a casual wave of his hand. His energy absorption and circulation speed had also increased. In short, everything about him had improved.
His cultivation level had reached late eighth-stage Dragon Ascension Realm. It had only been two months since his breakthrough. He had done so without using any herbs, medicines, or spring water. From this, one could see just how beneficial it was for one to cultivate the Limit Stimulation Technique.
Additionally, his soul power was nearing the level of a seventh-stage Soul Foundation Realm expert, and it wouldn't be long before his soul power reached that level. His Nether Soul Domain's range had also increased, while his body had become much stronger. He wouldn't feel anything from regular attacks.
Xiang Shaoyun stopped cultivating the Limit Stimulation Technique but not because he had fully mastered it. In fact, he had merely gotten started. The Limit Stimulation Technique had seven stages in total.
The first stage was body cleansing, the second stage was skin of steel, the third stage was meridians like river, the fourth stage was organs like the sun, the fifth stage was bones as weapon, the sixth stage was ocean of life force, and the seventh stage was glittering stars.
Each stage reinforced different parts of his body. Xiang Shaoyun had only completed the first stage of cultivation. When he was done cultiva
ting all seven stages, he would form a true flawless battle physique. Unfortunately, Xiang Shaoyun only had the mantra for the first four stages. Whether he could obtain the mantra of the remaining stages in the future would be up to luck.
He was in no rush to start cultivating the second stage. After all, the competition only lasted six months, and half the time had already passed. He was in no rush to rob other participants, but he still needed to use the remaining time to enrich his collection of battle techniques and prepare for the final fight of the competition.
After the body cleansing, his cultivation of the Flux Finger Sword Technique was much easier. After all, he could now resist the flux goldthorn energy's torment. At this point, he no longer felt any pain. Perhaps it was because he was already numbed by it. Or perhaps he had gotten his body to adapt to the flux goldthorn energy. When he closed his fingers together, an inch-long golden radiance appeared around his fingers. The radiance wasn't long, but it was akin to an unstoppable sharp dagger.
He swung the golden radiance at a rock, and it cut through it like a hot knife through butter, instantly splitting the rock into two.
"The Flux Finger Sword Technique is indeed impressive. If I can form an actual sword with it, I can use it as a powerful weapon to slaughter all my opponents with," said Xiang Shaoyun in a pleased manner.
He then placed his full focus on cultivating the Flux Finger Sword Technique. At the same time, he had his soul clone cultivate a battle technique called the Sunshooter Technique.
The Sunshooter Technique was a technique he had gotten from a Nine Palace Academy disciple he had killed in the secret space. The disciple he killed was known as the Arrow Emperor, and this was the technique he cultivated, which was an archery technique utilizing the power of flame. Upon mastery, one could shoot down even the sun. This was a top-tier sovereign technique.
After about half a month, he obtained an initial mastery of the Flux Finger Sword Technique, and his Sunshooter Technique reached a greater mastery. One could say that his ability to split his attention had brought him an unimaginable benefit, allowing him to cultivate two different techniques at the same time.