Divine Courage Realm

"Big Sister."

"Purple Lightning Sword Light, slay."

Fang Qingxue, who had been standing still all this time, suddenly opened her eyes. A streak of purple lightning flashed through them as all the aura around her body condensed into a single point, and a terrifying momentum soared into the sky.

Her delicate right hand gripped the Demon Slaying Sword as her entire body rose into the air. Purple lightning swirled around her, thunder crackled overhead, and she tore open a path through the endless black mist, moving as swiftly as wind and lightning.

The Flying Yaksha's expression changed drastically at the sight. It cried out in alarm, "A divine ability? No, that's impossible."

No matter how unwilling it was to admit it, faced with this sword strike that resembled a divine ability, the Flying Yaksha could only defend itself. Its flesh wings beat rapidly, and it crossed its arms before its chest in a defensive stance.

Rip!

A ray of light suddenly appeared amid the black mist filling the sky. Purple sword light tore through the darkness and stabbed toward the Flying Yaksha's brow.

Clang—

Suddenly, a white skull emerged from the Flying Yaksha's chest.

The skull spat out a cloud of smoke that transformed into a shield before it.

Fang Xuan's pupils constricted.

"Damn it, that Flying Yaksha actually has a Spirit Item. This is troublesome."

Fang Qingxue's strike had indeed been formidable. She had somehow unleashed power that could only be used in the Mystic Divine Realm while still in the Body Tempering Realm. It might even have killed the Flying Yaksha, but that was only if it had no other means—such as that skull-shaped Spirit Item.

Moreover, Fang Xuan could tell that Fang Qingxue's face had visibly paled after using that purple lightning move. There was no way forcibly unleashing the martial power of the Mystic Divine Realm while in the Body Tempering Realm came without a price.

Fang Qingxue spat out a mouthful of blood and fell from the air. The Demon Slaying Sword slipped weakly from her hand and landed on the ground.

The Flying Yaksha subconsciously lowered its head to glance at the Pale Skull floating before it.

"Hehehe, what a powerful secret art. To wield the strength of the Mystic Divine Realm while in the Body Tempering Realm... If I hadn't possessed the Pale Skull Spirit Item, I truly might have been left here today. But now, you are my trophy. I'll take very good care of you, beauty," the Flying Yaksha said with a lecherous grin.

Fang Qingxue endured the pain wracking her body and used the Dragon Slaying Sword to brace herself as she slowly rose to her feet. Scarlet bloodstains dotted her snow-white robes like plum blossoms. Her face was pale, yet her expression remained cold, her pride unyielding.

"Just a maggot. Die."

She stepped forward with the Dragon Form Flying Tiger Step and lunged at the Flying Yaksha again, but her steps were weak and her strength far inferior to before.

The Flying Yaksha naturally saw Fang Qingxue's condition. A teasing look appeared in its eyes, as though a cat were toying with a mouse. With a casual wave of its scaled right hand, it sent Fang Qingxue flying.

"Hehe, I like you humans' meaningless struggles. That's what makes it fun. Come on! Entertain me to your heart's content!" the Flying Yaksha snarled.

Meanwhile, in the deep pit, Fang Xuan rapidly refined the power of heaven and earth that had been trapped within his body after using the Heaven's Will Four Symbols Art twice.

The three great martial arts of the Immortal Feather Sect's Outer Sect Disciples had already been completed. The only thing he lacked was energy. Previously, the Heaven's Will Four Symbols Art had been too immense for him to use casually, and he had lacked medicinal pills.

Now that the power of heaven and earth had been forcibly retained in his body, it was as though he had swallowed an Essence Pill.

Fang Xuan's entire body grew scorching hot. Power coursed through him, nourishing his flesh. Endless heat surged and roared throughout his body before finally gathering into a ray of golden light.

The light rushed straight toward his marrow, merging with it amid intense pain before settling down.

At the same time, Fang Xuan's body began to change. The skin that had once been smooth as satin gradually peeled away, while a new layer slowly grew beneath it.

His newly formed skin was even smoother than before, yet far tougher and stronger. A thick membrane had formed beneath it.

Membrane!

Reaching the eighth level of the Body Tempering Realm, the Divine Courage Realm, marked another limit of the body. Its most distinctive sign was the growth of a thick layer of flesh membrane beneath the skin, as resilient to blows as cowhide.

Upon reaching this realm, one's strength increased once more, one's physique improved, stamina became more enduring, and resistance to attacks grew even stronger. Ordinary weapons could not even pierce the body.

Fang Xuan suddenly opened his eyes and subconsciously clenched his fist. His explosive power had grown stronger, and every inch of his body brimmed with strength.

"Thirteen horse-power? Didn't they say the Body Tempering Realm could possess at most the strength of ten horses? Why has my strength increased so much?" Fang Xuan said in surprise.

But he immediately understood the reason. It had to be due to his own foundation.

The Divine Courage Realm was the final physical limit within the Body Tempering Realm. The subsequent Spirit Communication and Divine Transformation Realms began cultivating mental power, which was why strength rose so sharply in the Divine Courage Realm.

Yet even with that increase, one should not exceed the limit. At most, one could reach the ultimate strength the Body Tempering Realm could bear: the power of ten horses.

However, Fang Xuan had traversed All Heavens, slain his avatars, and gathered the timelines. His foundation was as deep as that of those Demon Beasts. Without realizing it, he had long since broken through the limits of his body. Thus, upon entering the Divine Courage Realm, he gained the immense power of thirteen horses.

"You damned beast. My turn now." Fang Xuan licked his lips and looked coldly at the Flying Yaksha in the distance.

By now, Fang Qingxue was covered in blood. Even standing up required her to painfully crawl to her feet bit by bit. Yet her eyes remained calm and proud. Even in the face of death, she showed not the slightest fear.

"Tsk, tsk. I like that look in your eyes. It makes conquering you all the more satisfying. I wonder if you'll still look at me like that when I put you on the bed. That would certainly be interesting," the Flying Yaksha said with a vicious grin.

"You won't get the chance."

"Who?"

Boom—

The air compressed as a fist shot forth like a cannon. Accompanied by blade-like gusts of wind, the Flying Yaksha let out a miserable scream and was instantly blasted away, crashing heavily into a black boulder nearby.

The scales on its chest shattered, and blood trickled from the corner of its mouth. When it saw that its attacker was actually the little bug it had casually slapped away earlier, its face filled with disbelief.

"Impossible! How did your strength increase so much?"

Fang Xuan could not be bothered to answer. He turned to Fang Qingxue and flashed eight bright white teeth. "Big Sister, take a rest. I'll avenge you."

With that, he stepped forward. He moved so quickly that he split apart the dense black mist of the Underground World, swift as wind and lightning.

The Flying Yaksha had already begun to think of fleeing upon sensing Fang Xuan's berserk strength. It flapped the flesh wings on its back and tried to escape, but the moment it left the ground, it felt a weight on its ankle.

"Where are you going?" Fang Xuan asked with a smile.

"I..."

Boom!

Fang Xuan exerted force with his arm, seized the Flying Yaksha by the ankle, and smashed it straight into the ground.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

In an instant, the ground around Fang Xuan sank far lower than the surrounding land and became even more compacted,