Inner Strength

Three days later.

In a broad river, accompanied by a splash, Fang Xuan emerged from the water.

"Finally shook them off. Hehe, no matter how sly you are, you still had to drink my foot-washing water." Fang Xuan said smugly.

After tricking Baili Qu'e, Fang Xuan had immediately fled at full speed. Naturally, Baili Qu'e and Yan Zangfeng had not simply let Fang Xuan escape, pursuing him closely the entire way.

Although Fang Xuan did not know this world's internal cultivation methods and could not cultivate inner strength, his body had already reached the Divine Strength Realm. His vitality was abundant, his muscles and bones were powerful, and his endurance was unmatched as he ran all the way.

Though Baili Qu'e possessed profound cultivation, after chasing him for three days and three nights, he still could not match Fang Xuan's formidable body in endurance. In the end, Fang Xuan leaped into a great river and evaded his pursuit.

After climbing out of the water, he gathered some dry branches and started a fire. He took off his clothes to dry them, then sat beside the flames and carefully studied the jade slip.

The Magic Sword Life and Death Chess world contained countless martial arts manuals: Thousand Mile Thunder Whip, Overlord Fist, Seven Stringed Zither Sounds, Clone Demon Shadow, Majestic Dragon Divine Palm...

But when it came to the most powerful ones, there were only a few. One was Guan Yutian's Innate Gang Qi.

This martial art was broad and profound, with exceptional defensive power. It could use one's true qi as a guide to draw upon the natural qi of heaven, earth, and the universe, combining it with one's inner strength to form a gang qi barrier that could attack when advancing and defend when retreating, achieving an invulnerable state. Even when He Lianba and Sword Revered joined forces in the original story, they could not gain the slightest advantage against it, which showed just how domineering it was.

Unfortunately, it had one fatal weakness: whenever the moon was full, the user would lose all martial arts.

There was also the incomparably domineering A Sword Separated by Lifetimes. Once mastered, it made one like a demonic beast, unstoppable beneath heaven. It was a long-lost ultimate art of the martial world. Unfortunately, its flaws were equally immense. In the original story, even Yan Zangfeng, after cultivating Heaven's Will Four Symbols Art to its fourth form, could not withstand its might. Yet the flaw was that the more often it was used, the more likely one would suffer qi deviation. If it was not controlled properly, one could easily explode and die.

Then there was the Sun Shooting Arrow Technique displayed by Arrow Hermit in the end. In the story, Ren Qianxing had obtained the Heart Sword, and even after combining the Heart Sword and the Magic Sword, he still could not block Arrow Hermit's Sun Shooting Arrows. Four arrows were enough to strike Ren Qianxing into a state of profound enlightenment.

However, this archery technique required the Sun Shooting Bow and Sun Shooting Sword to be used together before it could be unleashed.

Finally, there was the ultimate art of the Chess Saint Sword Ancestor, Heaven's Will Four Symbols Art.

This martial art had originally been the Sword Ancestor's ultimate art. Later, Baili Qu'e passed it on to Yan Zangfeng, who relied on this set of martial arts to complete his transformation. It was divided into four forms: Wrath of the Wind God, Wrath of the Fire God, Wrath of the Thunder God, and Wrath of the Lightning God. Put simply, they were wind, fire, thunder, and lightning. The power deepened with every form mastered. In particular, when one reached the fourth form, Wrath of the Lightning God, it became utterly terrifying. One's entire body radiated a beastlike glow, and once that aura emerged, no one could withstand it.

Although it ultimately lost to Ren Qianxing's A Sword Separated by Lifetimes, it was only the man who lost, not the martial art. Otherwise, the Chess Saint Sword Ancestor would not have become the number one under heaven back then.

What Fang Xuan valued was not the power of Heaven's Will Four Symbols Art, but the comprehension of heaven and earth it contained. After all, no matter how powerful it was, it could still be broken by A Sword Separated by Lifetimes.

At the beginning of the original story, Yan Zangfeng had merely been an ordinary third-rate figure in the martial world. Yet through cultivating Heaven's Will Four Symbols Art, he had leaped into the ranks of the top experts. There had to be a great secret behind this.

As he continued reading, Fang Xuan continuously deduced the secrets of Heaven's Will Four Symbols Art.

After killing Ren Qianxing's clone, his foundation had greatly increased. This was not only reflected in his muscles, bones, and vitality, but also in his intelligence and comprehension. Many things he had previously been unable to grasp could now be understood by analogy.

After a long while, Fang Xuan set down the jade slip and praised, "As expected of the art passed down by the Sword Ancestor. This martial art is truly profound and mysterious. It can actually use the inner strength within the human body to draw upon the power of heaven and earth. Most importantly, every cultivation session forcibly intercepts a portion of that power and retains it within the body, increasing one's true qi. No wonder Yan Zangfeng was able to rise from an unknown nobody in the martial world to a top expert in such a short time."

Fang Xuan was even more ecstatic. Was this not exactly what he needed?

Of the ten levels of Body Refinement, the first seven realms cultivated the fleshly body, while the final three involved the power of the spirit.

Because one could not yet sense the power of heaven and earth, bodily training relied more on pills, spiritual materials, and similar resources for nourishment. It mainly relied on eating to acquire energy.

But now, Heaven's Will Four Symbols Art could actually forcibly intercept the power of heaven and earth. If it were used to nourish the body, would its effects not be even better than an Essence Pill?

If there was one greatest difficulty in cultivating Heaven's Will Four Symbols Art, it was comprehension. Even Baili Qu'e, the Sword Ancestor's direct descendant, had only managed to cultivate Wrath of the Wind God and Wrath of the Fire God.

But for Fang Xuan, who had already gained Ren Qianxing's foundation, his comprehension had greatly increased, allowing him to draw inferences from one example to another.

This wilderness was empty and uninhabited, making it ideal for cultivation. It was also close to a great river and forest. There was water when he was thirsty and fish when he was hungry, so Fang Xuan naturally wished to cultivate for a while.

For three whole days, Fang Xuan remained immersed in his comprehension of Heaven's Will Four Symbols Art. A faint stream of energy gathered within his dantian and meridians.

Inner strength.

Following the mnemonic verses of Heaven's Will Four Symbols Art, Fang Xuan had actually cultivated inner strength. However, this was nothing surprising. As one of the most supreme martial arts manuals in this world, it would have been strange if it could not cultivate inner strength.

But the Eternal Life Great World had always tempered the fleshly body until it reached its limit, allowing the spiritual power in one's mind to transform into mana and enter the Mystic Divine Realm.

In the Eternal Life Great World, the fleshly body was the most important thing, and divine abilities were also produced by the brain.

The Daoist sects believed that the brain was a person's Upper Dantian, the most mysterious and unfathomable place, known as the Purple Mansion. Yet now he had opened his Lower Dantian and cultivated inner strength. He did not know whether that was good or bad.

"No matter what, I should still follow the cultivation system of the Eternal Life Great World. The body and mana are my foundation. As for inner strength, it is merely a means of using Heaven's Will Four Symbols Art," Fang Xuan said.

Still, Fang Xuan subconsciously circulated the inner strength in his dantian and used the Pine Crane Longevity Fist.

The Pine Crane Longevity Fist was a fist art created by Yuhua Sect cultivators after observing immortal cranes. Between motion and stillness, it could not only temper the body, but also nourish life and extend one's years, combining flexibility and ferocity, movement and stillness.

With the addition of true qi, Fang Xuan discovered that the power of this fist art had increased considerably. His speed became faster, and its destructive force grew stronger.

With every punch and kick, it seemed as though an immortal crane truly danced through the air. Combined with Fang Xuan's immense strength of five horses, if he encountered an enemy, he could crush every bone in their body.

With that thought, Fang Xuan rose to his feet. Over the past three days, he had already thoroughly grasped Wrath of the Wind God. It was time to experience it.

He pressed his palms together before his chest. The true qi in his dantian circulated, flowing through his meridians in a peculiar and strange pattern.

In an instant, he abruptly opened his eyes, and a flash of azure light passed through them.

Wrath of the Wind God.