Dragon Blood Body Tempering, Beyond the Extreme!

As Lin Xiao slowly placed the Fourth-Order Ancient Exotic Pill—the Dragon Blood Body Tempering Pill, enough to drive any Spiritual Movement Realm expert mad—and the blood-colored Beast Core, containing the life essence of a Third-Order Demonic Beast King, into his palm, a closed-door cultivation session destined to be recorded in the annals of Cloud Creek Academy officially began within this secluded paradise, Tingzhu Pavilion!

He didn't rush to swallow these two supreme treasures, which could instantly blow up any ordinary Body Refinement Realm cultivator.

Instead, he spent a full three days thoroughly stabilizing his cultivation, which had just broken through to the Body Refinement Ninth Level.

Like the most devout ascetic, he circulated his thousands of martial arts techniques, which he had long since mastered and integrated into his own martial path, over and over again!

He refined and tempered the surging spiritual power within his body, which had become somewhat unstable due to his rapid advancement, into liquid true essence as heavy and pure as mercury!

Only when he felt that every cell in his body had reached an unprecedented state of saturation and peak condition.

Did he slowly open his bright eyes, which seemed to contain the sun, moon, and stars floating within them!

The time had come!

Without any further hesitation, he opened his mouth and swallowed the Fourth-Order Exotic Pill—the Dragon Blood Body Tempering Pill—whole. It was a vibrant, blood-red color, and its interior seemed to contain the phantom image of an ancient fierce dragon!

"Boom—!"

The moment the pill entered his mouth, even before it could fully slide down his throat, a terrifying medicinal power, a hundred times more violent and hotter than the torrent of energy he had triggered when advancing to the Body Refinement Ninth Level, exploded within his body like a fully detonated, multi-billion-ton solar furnace!

"Pfft—!"

Even Lin Xiao's formidable physique, already tempered to be tougher than steel by the Earth Core Body Tempering Milk and his own monstrous body-tempering techniques, still appeared fragile and vulnerable before this domineering Dragon Blood power, capable of instantly leveling a ten-thousand-foot volcano!

In just one clash!

His incredibly tough meridians shattered inch by inch!

His bones, as hard as iron, were covered in terrifying, web-like cracks!

His muscle fibers, filled with explosive power, were scorched into charcoal, piece by piece, by the terrifying, extreme heat of supreme yang and supreme hardness!

A mouthful of dark golden blood, filled with boundless scorching heat and the aura of destruction, erupted from his mouth like a bursting lava flow!

Agony!

An unprecedented, terrifying agony, capable of completely tearing a person's soul apart, surged from every corner of his body!

It was as if billions of bone-gnawing, venomous fire ants were frantically devouring his flesh, meridians, and bone marrow!

"Urgh... Ahhhhhhh!"

Even with Lin Xiao's formidable will, tempered into a rock by the hardships of two lifetimes, he couldn't help but let out a horrific, inhuman wail under this torment that could move gods and Buddhas!

His entire body instantly contorted into a ball, like a pathetic shrimp thrown into a refining furnace!

The skin all over his body rapidly turned red and hot at a terrifying, visible speed, eventually cracking inch by inch like parched earth!

Shocking dark golden bloodstains seeped out from beneath the cracked skin!

From a distance, he looked like a terrifying blood-soaked man about to explode from within!

However, just as Lin Xiao's consciousness was about to be completely consumed by this boundless pain, capable of destroying everything.

A strange energy, extremely cool, filled with boundless vitality and inclusiveness, flowed out from the mysterious "System" that had long since merged with him, without any warning!

It instantly coursed through his limbs and bones!

Pulling his shattered soul, which was on the verge of collapse, back from the brink!

"You think you can destroy me that easily?"

"You're... still far from enough!"

Lin Xiao gritted his teeth tightly, and a ferocious smile, filled with boundless madness and unyielding will, appeared on his face, which was already completely stained with blood!

He didn't try to suppress the destructive Dragon Blood power raging within him!

Instead, he completely abandoned all resistance!

He emptied his mind completely!

Allowing the domineering energy, capable of melting steel into molten iron, to scour, destroy, and reshape every cell of his body!

—Break and then rebuild!

—Break to establish anew!

This was his martial path!

This was also his greatest confidence in daring to swallow this Fourth-Order Ancient Exotic Pill, which would make any Body Refinement Realm cultivator tremble in fear!

Time flowed by second by second.

After an unknown amount of time.

When Lin Xiao felt that his broken body, which had been completely destroyed countless times, finally began to gradually adapt to the domineering Dragon Blood power.

He finally slowly opened his terrifying dragon eyes, which had been completely replaced by an eerie dark gold!

"Now..."

"It's your turn!"

Without any further hesitation, he directly swallowed the Third-Order Lower Grade Ironback Wolf King's Beast Core, which also contained an incredibly violent and pure energy, into his belly!

"Boom--!"

A surge of extremely Yin energy, filled with boundless coldness and killing intent, instantly collided fiercely with the extremely Yang energy, brimming with endless scorching heat and dominance, within his body!

One cold, one hot!

One Yin, one Yang!

These two terrifying energies, with completely opposite attributes but equally matched in their ferocity, became like two immortal and unending armies of gods and demons, using Lin Xiao's dantian as their battlefield, engaging in a mad, desperate struggle that could shatter heaven and earth!

"Pfft--!"

Lin Xiao spat out another mouthful of black and gold blood, its color even more bizarre!

He felt as though his body had instantly plunged into a dual hell of perpetual freezing and burning, endlessly cycling.

The extreme torment of this ice-and-fire, alternating cold and heat, was far more terrifying and torturous than the pure Dragon Blood Body Tempering from before!

However, Lin Xiao still gritted his teeth tightly!

He pushed his formidable will, already tempered to be harder than divine iron, to its absolute limit!

Then, like the craziest gambler, he transformed his divine soul into an indestructible, invisible furnace!

He forcibly pulled and squeezed those two terrifying energies raging within his body, bit by bit, towards the center of the furnace, ultimately attempting to fuse them into... one!

This was an incredibly reckless act!

With the slightest misstep, he would be annihilated, body and soul, his remains scattered to the winds by those two completely out-of-control, terrifying energies!

But Lin Xiao still charged forward without hesitation!

Because he knew that risk and opportunity had always gone hand in hand!

He wanted to push his strength to an unprecedented, ultimate peak in the shortest possible time!

This was his only and fastest shortcut!

Three days and three nights.

For the entirety of three days and three nights, Lin Xiao sat cross-legged on the Star Gazing Platform like an ancient stone Buddha who had long since achieved nirvana, completely motionless.

Only the bizarre golden and black divine lights that continuously flickered alternately from his body, and the thick layer of black and gold blood scabs that completely enveloped him, silently spoke of the terrifying and perilous life-and-death transformation he was currently undergoing!

Until the dawn of the fourth day.

When the first ray of life-giving morning sun's purple energy once again cascaded upon this serene purple bamboo forest.

"Crack--!"

A faint, crisp sound, like the shattering of an eggshell, erupted from Lin Xiao's body without any warning!

Immediately after, unseen by anyone, the thick black and gold blood scabs that had completely encased him began to crackle and split inch by inch, like dried snake skin shedding!

Finally, with a "swish," they completely peeled off!

Revealing beneath was skin as delicate and smooth as a newborn infant's, even faintly emitting a subtle, lustrous treasure light, like the finest mutton-fat jade!

"Hoo..."

Lin Xiao slowly opened his eyes, their brilliant star-like depths now restored to clarity and profoundness. He exhaled a long breath of pure white turbid air, now devoid of any impurities!

He had succeeded!

Not only had he successfully endured the ice-and-fire dual hell that could cause any Body Refinement Realm cultivator to perish, body and soul, but he had also, by misfortune, found fortune, completely fusing those two vastly different and terrifying Yin and Yang energies into one!

Transforming into a new, higher-level energy that surpassed all the spiritual power he had cultivated before!

"This... is the legendary Physical Body Extreme Realm?"

Lin Xiao slowly unfurled his palm.

He hadn't even used a sliver of spiritual power!

With just a slight movement of his mind!

Beneath his jade-like smooth skin, a faint but incredibly mysterious and domineering dark golden dragon scale silhouette slowly emerged!

A pure, terrifying sense of power, originating solely from his physical body, instantly filled his limbs and bones!

He had an extremely strong confidence!

Now, even without using any cultivation techniques or martial arts!

Relying solely on this terrifying body, which had been tempered through countless trials by dragon blood and wolf king essence, yet remained indestructible!

He was capable of directly confronting, or even tearing apart, a true Spiritual Movement Realm expert!

This was the Physical Body Extreme Realm!

A legendary realm that existed only in ancient texts!

An supreme myth that could drive any Body Refinement Realm cultivator into utter madness!

"It's time."

Lin Xiao slowly stood up from the ground.

He didn't immediately test his terrifying, heaven-defying combat power.

Instead, he slowly cast his deep gaze towards the purple bamboo forest below the bamboo building, which had been waiting for a long time.

He could clearly feel the thirty resolute auras, still somewhat immature but thoroughly tempered by iron and war.

And the ancient aura filled with endless majesty and comfort.

He knew.

His seclusion was over.