Black Iron Venerable Was Truly Too Generous!

Xiao Chen hasn't had time to focus on advancing his Body Refining yet.

Therefore, nominally, he can only be considered a third-tier Body Cultivator.

Objectively speaking, this is actually not low.

Moreover, Xiao Chen's Total Vitality far surpasses that of ordinary Body Cultivator; in fact, he is even stronger than the Rift Void True Monarch of the Heavenly Dipper Sect in this respect alone.

However, a major problem is that the Body Tempering Hall was established by the Black Iron Venerable.

For him, even Fourth Tier Body Cultivator might only be considered to have some basic Body Refining.

"Since we can go in twice anyway, why not be more conservative the first time?"

After thinking it over, Xiao Chen felt that he should prioritize stability.

As the saying goes, those who don't heed the advice of their elders will suffer the consequences.

Since the Black Iron Venerable specifically left a stone tablet to warn future generations to be cautious, he had better heed the advice.

With this in mind, Xiao Chen went around to the right side of the Giant Cauldron and found the runes that represented the different choices for the upper, middle, and lower levels. He raised his hand and gently pressed it on the top.

Then I felt a strong suction force coming from the Giant Cauldron.

He had intended to enter the Body Tempering, so he did not resist and was instantly sucked into the Giant Cauldron.

"Splash!"

Suddenly, the sound of a heavy object falling into water came from the Body Tempering Hall.

However, Xiao Chen immediately realized that the Giant Cauldron did not contain water at all, but rather the blood of Fourth-Order great demon.

Wrong!

The next moment, he was even more surprised to find that it not only contained the Demonic Beast Essence Blood, but also a lot of Body Tempering Spirit Medicine!

This is almost equivalent to undergoing a medicinal bath to Body Tempering using a secret spirit medicine.

"Phew, that should be alright then."

Realizing this, Xiao Chen felt much more at ease.

As we all know, medicinal Body Tempering are a fairly gentle way to improve one's health, almost second only to dietary supplements.

He even felt a little strange. "If that's the case, what danger could there be? Why would someone specifically instruct those without a foundation in Body Refining to avoid it?"

I just came to take a bath.

It's no big deal!

However, the moment Xiao Chen began to have doubts, he felt as if he were being torn apart by a hundred ferocious beasts at the same time.

Ah~!

He shouted out almost reflexively, while subconsciously channeling his true energy to try and resist.

However, it was only at this moment that Xiao Chen discovered that there were even more stringent restrictions inside the cauldron, used to limit Defensive Spell and defensive Spirit Artifact.

Despite the exceptional quality of his Four Symbols Suppressing Mountain Shield, it managed to temporarily block the first attack from the restriction.

However, after only three breaths, it shattered into pieces under the continuous onslaught.

Fortunately, the restriction was quite well-designed, and it withdrew its attack the moment it shattered the Spiritual Power Barrier, thus avoiding injury to the cultivators Body Tempering within.

However, without the Four Symbols Suppressing Mountain Shield for defense.

The Demonic Beast Essence Blood mixed with spirit medicine once again completely submerged Xiao Chen from head to toe.

Amidst the churning waves of blood, the ferocious phantoms of various Demon Beast vaguely appeared, emitting silent roars within the cauldron.

It hurts, it hurts so much!

It felt as if thousands of red-hot steel needles were simultaneously piercing my pores, or as if countless poisonous ants were gnawing at my bone marrow along my blood vessels.

Waves of intense pain emanated from every inch of his skin and every hair on his body, reaching deep into his bone marrow.

The churning blood within the Giant Cauldron seemed to transform into thousands upon thousands of wild beasts, thousands upon thousands of birds of prey, and thousands upon thousands of venomous insects, desperately tearing at him with their sharp teeth and beaks.

Even more terrifying is that the Body Tempering Spirit Medicine mixed in with the blood plasma also takes effect.

The potent medicinal properties bypassed his skin and flesh, penetrating his internal organs and rampaging through his fragile lungs.

At first, Xiao Chen was able to use his true energy to resist.

Gradually, I felt as if my heart had fallen into a furnace and was being mercilessly burned, my lungs felt as if they were being filled with scalding iron filings and were almost charred, and my limbs and bones felt as if they were being torn apart by a thousand knives.

The outer skin kept cracking and healing, while the internal bones groaned in agony from the unbearable strain.

From the outside in, there was no part of me that wasn't in excruciating pain.

Normally, even the strongest man would find it difficult to endure such pain and would likely faint on the spot.

However, under the influence of the spirit medicine, Xiao Chen's mind became increasingly clear, allowing him to truly feel every bit of pain.

If that were all, it wouldn't be so bad; at worst, I could just trigger the Night's Edge to escape.

However, the problem is that he is still a third-tier Body Cultivator, and having absorbed so many Blood Crystal, his vitality is exceptionally strong.

Furthermore, Wood Spiritual Root Cultivator, he naturally possesses extremely strong self-healing and wound-healing abilities.

Even without active manipulation, the abundant vitality spontaneously begins to repair the injuries within the body.

However, Xiao Chen was completely covered in blood plasma.

Almost the instant the repair is completed, the newly grown skin and flesh will be torn apart again.

This cycle repeats itself endlessly, truly like enduring the cruelest torture imaginable.

Simply put, Xiao Chen was not entirely unable to withstand the Demonic Beast Essence Blood and Body Tempering Spirit Medicine inside the cauldron.

However, due to his lack of sufficient experience in body tempering, he found it difficult to endure the intense pain brought on by the Body Tempering.

The current situation is largely due to his habit of skipping classes and taking shortcuts in his Body Refining.

For example, he initially relied on the Jade Bone to directly Body Refining, and later he strengthened his Body Refining by consuming large amounts of Demon Beast meat.

For example, obtaining Blood Crystal from Su Li made it almost effortless for him to reach the peak of the third tier.

During this process, because the resources at hand were always relatively abundant, I did not experience the physical training pain that most Body Cultivator have to face.

It wasn't until this time, when I chose to enter the giant cauldron to temper my body, that I truly experienced how difficult it was to cultivate one's body.

Of course, the Black Iron Venerable also bears some responsibility for this.

As a rogue cultivator, his style of doing things was based on the principle of "as long as it works."

Therefore, when designing the Giant Cauldron for Body Tempering, they only focused on the effect and forgot to improve the comfort aspect.

Various Body Tempering spirit medicine were added to the Demonic Beast Essence Blood, but no spirit medicine for relieving pain were added.

Objectively speaking, if we can set aside the fact that I'm currently in pain all over, let's talk about it for now.

This experience of Body Tempering was actually a good thing for Xiao Chen, as it further solidified his foundation in body tempering and strengthened his physique.

The problem is that all the pain that I avoided for so many years for various reasons has suddenly come back today.

After accumulating, it becomes truly unbearable and agonizing.

Xiao Chen even had a thought: to strike himself with a palm strike and actively trigger the Night's Edge to free himself.

However, he was also very clear that if he could persevere, he could complete a true Body Tempering and become a genuine Body Cultivator.

"Being Body Cultivator isn't easy!"

At this moment, Xiao Chen desperately wished he could be numb from the pain, but the surrounding spirit medicine clearly couldn't fulfill his wish.

No, simply enduring this isn't a solution.

Although it felt like a year had passed since he fell into the Giant Cauldron.

But in reality, it had only been less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea since they came in.

If we continue to rely solely on willpower and vitality to stubbornly hold on, it will undoubtedly be the worst possible strategy.

In a flash, a brilliant idea suddenly flashed into Xiao Chen's mind—to alleviate the pain by cultivating the Body Forging Art!

If one can master the Body Forging Art left behind by the Black Iron Venerable in time, it will be a hundred times better than gritting one's teeth and enduring it alone.

Although he had just memorized the Cultivation Method on the stone tablet, it seemed a bit too late to try and learn it at the last minute.

But it doesn't matter. With Hextech Enhancement, it wouldn't take him long to learn a Yellow-grade Technique anyway.

If one only practices the first half of the Cultivation Method, the basic introductory Mnemonic for low-level cultivators, then it is undoubtedly even simpler.

With this in mind, Xiao Chen decisively recited the Mnemonic in his mind and began to circulate his own qi and blood according to the description of the Body Forging Art.

The four Cultivation Method left behind by the Black Iron Venerable all share a single name: <Iron Like Body Tempering Art>.

As the name suggests, it guides practitioners to first see themselves as a piece of iron ore, and then forge themselves into steel through repeated tempering.

To be honest, this is actually quite ruthless, especially to oneself.

But now is not the time to consider that.

With the help of Hextech Enhancement, Xiao Chen immediately began cultivating the <Iron Like Body Tempering Art> to resist the pain of Body Tempering his Essence Blood.

It has to be said that his method actually worked.

Thanks to Cultivation Speed up to a hundred times faster, and Total Vitality far exceeding that of ordinary people.

Less than a quarter of an hour later, Xiao Chen had mastered the Qi Refining Chapter and Foundation Establishment Chapter chapters of the Iron Like Body Tempering Art " and successfully entered the Golden Core Chapter.

In fact, cultivating this Cultivation Method also requires enduring the pain of Moulting and Bone Rebirth and consuming a certain amount of Body Tempering Spirit Medicine.

But at this moment, this pain was nothing to worry about, and the Body Tempering Spirit Medicine were plentiful, continuously flowing into the internal organs.

At this point, Xiao Chen finally felt that the pain in his body had lessened by about 30%.

Although it hasn't completely disappeared, it's much, much better than before.

Encouraged by this, he immersed himself even more in cultivation, and with the help of the abundant Body Tempering Spirit Medicine around him, he advanced the Golden Core Chapter to the peak of the third level in one go.

"Splash!"

Body Tempering Hall, another sound of water suddenly rang out.

Xiao Chen, who was focused on his cultivation, immediately came to his senses and found himself outside the Giant Cauldron.

Before we knew it, the scheduled half hour had already passed.

To prevent the Body Tempering process from becoming too arduous and causing the inheritor to actually perish, the cave abode's restrictions directly sent him out.

"Phew, it's finally over!"

Xiao Chen plopped down on the ground with an almost unrefined air, then lay flat on the spot.

After snapping out of his meditation, he felt waves of intense pain returning to his limbs and bones.

He lay flat on the floor of the main hall, not wanting to move at all.

"Luckily, I didn't choose the bottom shelf."

Xiao Chen's lips curled up slightly. "Otherwise, we'd be wasting a good opportunity."

He muttered to himself as he closed his eyes and began to seriously experience the changes that the <Iron Like Body Tempering Art> had brought him.

The most immediate and obvious change was that he felt his body becoming increasingly solid.

At this point, Xiao Chen's physical strength alone is probably comparable to, or even surpasses, that of an ordinary Third-Tier Spirit Tool.

Even if he lies here motionless, ordinary Golden Core cultivator would have no way to deal with him.

Even if attacked by Fourth-Order Spell or Spirit Artifact in the future, and in a situation where there is no time to defend, it can resist more effectively.

In addition, Xiao Chen felt that his condition was better than ever before.

He even had this feeling.

Even if he doesn't go back to absorb the Reinforced Blood Crystal or rely on other spiritual objects, he can now break through to the fourth-order Body Refining realm on the spot.

I should be about 70% confident that we can succeed in breaking through on the first try.

If you're willing to add a few Breakthrough Spirit Item, then success is practically guaranteed.

"Hiss~, I should have brought the Reinforced Blood Crystal with me before I left!"

Xiao Chen hadn't carried it with him before because storing it in Witch Artifact could better protect the Vitality Power within it from being lost.

The main problem was that he didn't know that Black Iron True Lord was actually Body Cultivator before he came, so he wasn't prepared in advance.

"But it's not necessarily necessary to go back."

Xiao Chen then thought for a moment, "Perhaps we can find suitable spiritual items for body tempering within the cave abode."

"Isn't the Miscellaneous Hall right behind the Body Tempering Hall? Why don't we go take a look inside?"

Theoretically speaking, he has another way.

That means re-entering the Giant Cauldron, this time going to the middle level to absorb more Essence Blood and spirit medicine.

After all, every cultivator has two opportunities to Body Tempering.

If we can take another step forward, then a breakthrough will be practically a certainty.

However, Xiao Chen had another idea: to save the second chance for Body Tempering for later.

Rather than going to the middle level for enhanced Body Tempering, he would prefer to go to the bottom level for the highest level of Body Tempering.

However, based on the experience just now, going to the bottom floor now might actually be a waste.

It would be better to wait until I break through the path of Body Cultivator first, then cultivate and master the Nascent Soul Chapter of the <Iron Like Body Tempering Art>, thoroughly consolidate my cultivation, and then go to the lowest level for Body Tempering.

Only then can the Body Tempering effect be maximized, and a stronger physique should also allow one to endure less pain.

Therefore, Xiao Chen reserved his second chance to enter the Giant Cauldron and went directly to the Miscellaneous Hall at the back.

Although it's called the Miscellaneous Hall, it's also smaller in size than the Body Tempering Hall.

However, inside, there were some large wooden crates neatly stacked, as well as several rows of orderly shelves.

As soon as Xiao Chen entered, he saw many fourth-order spirit ores, Fourth-Tier Spirit Wood and other Artifact Refining Material on the shelves, as well as a lot of bottles and jars.

Clearly, this is where the Black Iron Venerable stores his daily supplies.

He also noticed that many shelves had empty compartments.

It's obvious that what's left here are gifts that Black Iron Venerable didn't want to take away, or gifts he deliberately left behind.

"This is... Fifth-Order Porous Earth Lung Stone!"

Xiao Chen quickly skipped over the common Fourth-Order Spiritual Item and soon spotted a fist-sized, dark red stone.

Its surface is covered with honeycomb-like holes, about half an inch in diameter, of varying depths, and some of the hole walls have sulfur-colored crystals attached to them.

He tried to inject some true essence into it, and immediately saw a faint red spiritual light appear on the surface of the stone.

These characteristics are exactly the same as those of the porous nephrite stones described in Ancient Books.

"Great! We've acquired another Fifth-Tier Spirit Item!"

Seeing this, Xiao Chen couldn't help but smile again, and immediately took out an empty Spirit Accumulating Treasure Box and carefully put it inside.

You know, these are things that even money can't buy anywhere else.

"Wow, there's another fifth-grade spirit ore!"

Soon, Xiao Chen discovered another palm-sized, dark red copper block.

Its surface has natural grooves, and the gaps between the grooves occasionally shimmer with a sparkle like sparks.

If nothing unexpected happens, it is indeed the legendary Burning Light Fire Copper, which can only be produced in the Central Region.

Xiao Chen certainly didn't think that the other party left these two fifth-grade spirit ores here because they couldn't take them with them.

Since it was ultimately placed here, it must have been intentional.

He also counted that there were a total of 33 fourth-tier spiritual materials and 91 Third-Order Spirit Material on the shelf.

I must say, the Black Iron Venerable is incredibly generous!

What a kind person!

"And what are these boxes?"

After counting the spiritual items, Xiao Chen turned his gaze to the large wooden box at the door.

Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the boxes here were actually of two different types.

There are only two of the light-colored ones, and they are both placed on the left.

The rest are darker in color, totaling seven, with five piled on the right and two placed on the left.

Xiao Chen first opened the dark-colored box on the right.

They soon discovered that the box was full of Mid-Grade Spirit Stone, and after counting, they found that there were exactly one thousand of them.

He then inspected two dark wooden crates, which were identical.

"So this should be a reserve of Spirit Stone?"

Xiao Chen turned to his left curiously and lifted the lid of a light-colored box. "Huh? What's this?"

Judging from its appearance, the light-colored box should also contain Spirit Stone.

However, apart from being similar in size, its color and the purity of the Spiritual Power it contains far surpass those of Mid-Grade Spirit Stone.

"Hiss~, this should be High-grade Spirit Stone!"

Xiao Chen gasped; it was the first time he had ever seen this thing in person.

You should know that even after he destroyed the Illuminating Void Sect, he couldn't find a single High-grade Spirit Stone.

This is because this thing is extremely rare even in the Cultivation World, and it cannot be produced in most places.

According to some Ancient Books texts, only true Fifth-Order Spirit Vein can produce a small number of High-grade Spirit Stone.

Even a pseudo- Fifth-Order Spirit Vein like Universal Salvation Temple wouldn't work.

Theoretically speaking, such a High-grade Spirit Stone is worth one hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stone.

In reality, even if someone were willing to offer 110 or even 130 Mid-Grade Spirit Stone, they might not be able to exchange them for a High-grade Spirit Stone.

Let me count them.

Xiao Chen carefully counted them and found that the light-colored box also contained a full thousand High-grade Spirit Stone.

He immediately opened another light-colored wooden box, which was indeed full of High-grade Spirit Stone.

"If we convert it that way... this whole box would be worth at least ten million Low-grade Spirit Stone!"

Xiao Chen mentally calculated the proportions and then his eyes widened. "These two boxes are guaranteed to be at least 20 million Low-grade Spirit Stone!"

He initially felt that seven thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stone here wasn't much, and might even be considered a bit too little.

However, considering that Black Iron Venerable was originally a rogue cultivator, it's understandable that he might be poor.

To my utter surprise, the other party actually left him such a huge sum of money!

And you should know that this is the most strategic of strategic resources!

Just as Fourth-tier Grand Array cannot function without the support of Mid-Grade Spirit Stone.

Similarly, Fifth-Order Grand Array cannot function without the support of High-grade Spirit Stone unless it has Fifth-Order Spirit Vein as its foundation.

In other words, High-grade Spirit Stone have considerable strategic value.

Even though Xiao Chen had never been to the Three Mountains Grotto-Heaven or the Holy City.

However, he believed that as long as he offered High-grade Spirit Stone, it would be enough to make a deal with Spirit Transformation Venerable.

For example, purchasing fifth-tier spirit pills from them, or buying the Breakthrough Spirit Item Nascent Soul True Lord, should not be a problem.

The problem, of course, lies in how to ensure that both parties can complete the transaction smoothly and leave safely.

This would prevent the other party from directly taking action and snatching all the High-grade Spirit Stone from your hands.

In short, this is definitely a generous gift left by the Black Iron Venerable, a gift worth a fortune!

"The Black Iron Venerable is so generous!"

Xiao Chen sighed again before putting all the Spirit Stone and the box into his Storage Ring.

Then he swept everything out of the Miscellaneous Hall.

We then continued from left to right to the Stele Forest, located at the very back of the Palace Complex.

As its name suggests, the Forest of Stele Forest contains a large number of stone tablets.

Moreover, they vary in height, size, and thickness.

Broadly speaking, this area can be divided into left and right sides.

Dozens of stone tablets stand on each side, including unfinished pieces and broken pieces that appear to have been carved in failure.

Xiao Chen first took a quick tour of the Stele Forest to familiarize himself with the general layout.

He then unexpectedly discovered that, although the place seemed somewhat chaotic at first glance...

However, if all the unfinished and defective products are removed, there are 36 intact stone tablets left on each of the left and right sides.

If nothing unexpected happens, this is definitely not a coincidence.

Then, Xiao Chen patiently started looking at the products from the outside, not missing any of the unfinished or defective ones.

Before long, he figured out the specific situation here based on the inscriptions on several different stone tablets.

It turns out that this place was where the Black Iron Venerable usually practiced his martial arts.

After a period of time, his Martial Dao Will actually assimilated some of the surrounding rocks.

So he simply carved these rocks into stone tablets to pass on martial arts skills to future generations and to conduct Trial.

Among the thirty-six stone tablets on the left side of the Stele Forest, each records one of the thirty-six martial arts techniques he practiced.

Later generations can observe the Martial Dao True Intent remaining on the stone tablet and attempt to comprehend and learn from it.

To reduce the difficulty, the Black Iron Venerable specially engraved complete martial arts illustrations and methods on the back of the stone tablet.

If you can't learn it by just looking at the front, you can also consider practicing by referring to the diagrams on the back.

However, the Black Iron Venerable specifically commented that only the martial arts techniques one comprehends oneself are the most suitable for oneself.

Therefore, he suggested that those who came should start by trying to understand the positive aspects first.

If all else fails, then look at the diagrams below.