Qi Refining Eighth Layer, Formidable Physique

In the Qi Refining realm, Essence was refined into Qi. A little over half of this Essence came from Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, while a little under half came from one's own Essence.

Cultivators who practiced Dual Cultivation of Spell and Body cultivated slowly because they had to cultivate both their Spiritual Power and their bodies. They obtained only one share from Essence Refining into Qi, yet had to use it to support two paths of cultivation, so their progress was slow.

However, cultivators who practiced Dual Cultivation of Spell and Body had one advantage: they could use a wider range of resources, such as Savage Elephant Essence Blood.

Ordinary cultivators simply could not absorb Essence Blood that contained such immense Blood Qi. For one thing, their bodies would not permit it. Without a sufficiently resilient physique, forcibly absorbing the Essence Blood could very likely cause their Blood Qi to flow backward and kill them.

For another, their Cultivation Methods would not permit it. Cultivation Methods for Dual Cultivation of Spell and Body were rare. At the very least, Yang Tianyou had never seen a cultivator practicing both in the many nearby towns.

The Dragon Valley Sect's Scripture Repository did have two Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivation Methods for Dual Cultivation of Spell and Body, one of the Water Attribute and the other of the Fire Attribute.

The third reason was physique. The Human Race was born with frail bodies and was ill-suited to the path of a Body Cultivator. Even if they gritted their teeth and took that path, they would easily run into bottlenecks, making their Dao Path fraught with peril.

There were indeed a few Body Cultivator sects and Lineages in the Lu Wu Realm, but these powers either possessed unique bloodlines or had special treasures that could temper their bodies, forging Acquired Body Cultivator Aptitude.

Such powers were a tiny minority, however, and Body Cultivators were not the mainstream in the Human Race's Cultivation World.

Yang Tianyou had learned this information from the Dragon Valley Sect's records.

Did he have Body Cultivator Aptitude?

Most likely not!

According to the book, people with Body Cultivator Aptitude who took the path of Dual Cultivation of Spell and Body normally would not progress as slowly as he did.

In other words, Yang Tianyou's path ahead would be rather difficult.

First, the Lineage only possessed the Mnemonic for the Spirit-Shattering Instruction up to the Foundation Establishment Third Layer. Once he cultivated to that level, with no path forward, he would have to either create his own Cultivation Method or switch to another one.

Second, there was the matter of aptitude. Although Yang Tianyou had yet to encounter any impediment to cultivation in the Qi Refining Period, this shortcoming would very likely reveal itself once he reached the Foundation Establishment Realm.

But nothing was absolute. Spirit Roots could be altered and foundations could be reforged, so bodily aptitude could naturally be improved as well.

At worst, he could seek out those Body Cultivator sects in the future and "borrow" their treasures to temper himself, or find some of the legendary Spirit Items, such as Dragon Blood Fruit and Phoenix Marrow Flower. These treasures could alter his aptitude and strengthen his bloodline, but whether he could obtain them would depend on whether he had the ability in the future.

For now, Yang Tianyou was not worried about any of this. He was only at Qi Refining seventh layer; by the time he cultivated to the Foundation Establishment Third Layer, another ten or twenty years would probably have passed. There would surely be a way.

Holding a bottle of Savage Elephant Essence Blood that Fourth Uncle had refined, Yang Tianyou applied it directly to his body without hesitation.

He circulated the Spirit-Shattering Instruction, and as Spiritual Power coursed through him, he refined the Savage Elephant Essence Blood into his body, bit by bit.

Pure Blood Qi and life energy flowed deep into his body. His muscles, bones, meridians, and even finer parts of him were all being slowly strengthened by this power.

The process was not uncomfortable. On the contrary, it was like soaking in a hot spring, though the water was a little too hot.

Time flowed on, and the years flew like a shuttle!

Before he knew it, Yang Tianyou had spent half a year in secluded cultivation.

That day, Fengling lay at the door of his master's cultivation chamber, bored out of his mind, pawing at a fist-sized Spirit Pearl.

Half a year had passed, and Fengling had completed his Bloodline Metamorphosis a month earlier.

His fur was now a deep azure. Not only had he failed to grow larger, he had actually shrunk by a size, giving him a lean and powerful appearance.

His presence had also surged severalfold. Wisps of dark azure wind circled his body, and shadows seemed to flicker in the depths of his blue-black pupils, giving one a chilling feeling.

If Fengling had once seemed sharp and swift, he now seemed deep and secretive, capable of killing in a single strike.

The former was a warrior, while the latter was an assassin!

Clearly, those Heavenly Wolf Pills and the Legacy Core had brought Fengling a qualitative transformation. Not only had his cultivation reached First-Tier Superior-Grade, but even his racial bloodline had changed enormously. It seemed he had awakened some extraordinary wolf bloodline.

Suddenly, the stone door behind him rumbled open. Fengling turned his head in delight and hurriedly stood up.

The stone door opened fully, and the light of the Three-Origin Spirit Gathering Formation flashed and vanished. Dense Spiritual Qi poured out, mixed with a trace of Blood Qi.

"Well, look at you, Fengling. You gained quite a lot from this transformation. I almost didn't recognize you!"

Yang Tianyou stroked Fengling's head and smiled fondly as he spoke.

His upper body was bare, his muscles sharply defined. His frame was neither bulky nor thin, yet it seemed to conceal enough terrifying strength to wrestle a Savage Wilderness Giant Elephant.

Even his cultivation had climbed to Qi Refining eighth layer without him noticing. It had only been half a year, after all.

"Let's go. After half a year in seclusion, it's time to get out and walk around!"

Smiling, Yang Tianyou led Fengling out of the room. For a Qi Refining cultivator, half a year in complete seclusion was already an extremely long time.

During this seclusion, Yang Tianyou had used up three bottles of Savage Elephant Essence Blood, tempering his body until it had just reached the Ninth Layer of Qi Refinement.

He had also used the Three-Origin Spirit Gathering Formation and three Qi-Nourishing Pills to push his cultivation to Qi Refining eighth layer in one go before emerging from seclusion.

It was noon, and the sunlight was bright. Yang Tianyou raised his right hand to shade his brow, narrowed his eyes slightly, and gazed into the distance.

After admiring the mountain scenery for a while, the man and wolf went to the External Affairs Hall. He asked the Lineage member on duty for a report on the Lineage's recent situation and another on Dragon Valley County, then sat down in the shade of a tree and read them carefully.

Although receiving information through a Jade Slip was convenient, when time allowed, Yang Tianyou preferred the solid, steady feeling of a physical book.

The reassuring feeling of learning about the world bit by bit, and the peace of mind that came with reading, were hard to experience when receiving information through a Jade Slip.

A pot of tea, a tree, a figure in white, and an Azure Wolf.

The sunlight was just right, and the breeze was gentle, making it thoroughly enjoyable.

From the two reports, Yang Tianyou gained a preliminary understanding of the recent situation in the Lineage and Dragon Valley County.

First was the Lineage. Because Yang Tianyou had discovered the importance of Spirit-Transforming Inducement, the Lineage's Old Ancestor, Yang Haoyu, had hurriedly mobilized resources and spent two months refining a Second-Tier Upper-Grade Law Artifact, the Spirit-Shaking Bell!

The Spirit-Shaking Bell could emit unique sound waves that simultaneously shook a cultivator's Spiritual Power and body, gradually bringing their fluctuations into alignment with those of the Spirit Item being refined, thereby achieving the goal of refining it.

This was one of the two Spirit-Transforming Inducement methods recorded in the Dragon Valley Sect's Scripture Repository. The other was the Five-Element Spirit-Transforming Talisman, which was also the method Yang Tianyou intended to use in the future.

After the Spirit-Shaking Bell was refined, three Lineage cultivators at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining had already used the Law Artifact to successfully refine Spirit Items of their corresponding attributes.

The three were Fourth Sister Yang Tianxue, Sixth Brother Yang Tiankang, and Twelfth Uncle Yang Qiongchuan.