Quenching Body Pool

The voices carried over, and the disciples who had been talking all fell silent. Zeng Fan and the other two exchanged glances before returning to their respective groups.

According to their different realms, the elder leading the Disciple Hall divided the crowd into four groups. Wang Beichen and Zeng Fan were together, while Murong Xue was in another group.

Wang Beichen winked at Zeng Fan. Each group had ten people, but the Body Tempering Muscle group had one extra member. The other nine could not help glancing at Wang Beichen, but he remained unfazed, staring straight at the elder.

"What are you looking at? Mind your own business!" Seeing Wang Beichen look toward him, the elder frowned slightly before scolding everyone.

As soon as the elder spoke, the others hurriedly withdrew their gazes, not daring to make another move.

"Heh-heh~" Wang Beichen sneered contemptuously. These fellows still don't know who I am, do they? And they still dare let their eyes wander.

"You behave yourself too, or I'll show you what happens!" The leading elder glared at Wang Beichen. Wang Beichen shrank his neck and honestly followed behind Zeng Fan.

Only then did the elder nod in satisfaction. He raised his hand and signaled for everyone to follow.

They arrived outside a mountain cave, and the elder stopped. Outside the valley, a middle-aged man sat cross-legged. When he saw the elder arrive, he bowed to him, and the elder nodded in return.

"Enter in batches, from the highest Body Tempering Realm to the lowest. You will cultivate for three days. When the time is up, simply walk out on your own. Begin!" The elder waved his hand, indicating that they could enter.

After the first two batches entered, it was finally Zeng Fan's group's turn. Wang Beichen waved at Zeng Fan before walking straight into the cave.

Zeng Fan exhaled softly, then headed toward the cave. A layer of light fluctuated at the entrance. He walked straight into it, and a wave of dizziness washed over him. It felt as though he were walking through water, while a strange sensation spread across the skin of his entire body.

When the dizziness ended, Zeng Fan opened his eyes. A stone chamber appeared before him. Its furnishings were extremely simple. In the center was a round pool filled with green liquid, just large enough to hold one person. Wisps of white mist floated above it.

"Where did everyone else go? They must have used a spatial formation. How amazing." Zeng Fan felt around in all directions. The surroundings of the stone chamber were solid rather than an illusion, making him recall the scene when he had obtained the Pulse-Breaking Pill.

"So this is the Quenching Body Pool?" After satisfying his curiosity, Zeng Fan came to the pool. Only then did he sense that what floated above it was not mist, but Spiritual Energy condensed to an extreme degree.

Zeng Fan tried inhaling a mouthful. The moment it entered his body, the Spiritual Energy transformed into pure Spiritual Energy and nourished his body. The result made him lick his lips, a fiery light flashing through his eyes.

"The Spiritual Energy above is already this powerful. Just how astonishing must the true treasure below be?" Following the elder's earlier instructions, Zeng Fan removed all his clothes and stepped naked into the Quenching Body Pool.

The moment he entered the pool, the green liquid burrowed into his body upon touching his skin. Caught off guard, Zeng Fan instantly turned bright red. Even wisps of smoke curled around his face, caused by the enormous amount of Spiritual Energy entering his body before he could absorb it.

Calming his mind and focusing his spirit, Zeng Fan immediately circulated his cultivation technique. Vast amounts of Spiritual Energy transformed into Spiritual Energy, which was then continuously absorbed by his body. It was as if a gluttonous feast were taking place within him, and the fluctuations of his cultivation steadily grew stronger as he absorbed more and more Spiritual Energy.

When the fluctuations across his skin reached a certain threshold, Zeng Fan's entire body trembled. He slowly opened his eyes. "I've broken through to the great perfection of the Body Tempering Muscle stage!"

Zeng Fan glanced around the Quenching Body Pool. The green liquid had decreased by roughly one-third. "There's still this much left. Then I'll try to break through to the Body Tempering Bone stage in one go!" A trace of resolve appeared in his eyes. It was rare to have such a good opportunity—how could he not give it a try?

He closed his eyes once more. The green liquid in the pool seemed to have received another summons, surging into Zeng Fan's body from all directions. As time continued to pass, the cultivation fluctuations that had halted within the youth began rising again...

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Outside the mountain cave, one large and one small figure stood gazing around in boredom.

"Big Sister Murong, how much longer do we have to wait? Why don't we leave first? Who knows how much longer he'll take to come out? He's the only one left."

"Then go on ahead by yourself. I'm waiting for him to come out. He may be trying to break straight through to the Body Tempering Bone stage, which is why it's taking longer. It's already the third day anyway. He'll definitely have to come out today!"

It was none other than Murong Xue and Wang Beichen. Hearing Murong Xue, Wang Beichen's face fell. For children their age, waiting around in boredom was the most torturous thing of all. However, judging by their auras, both of them were clearly much stronger than before entering the cave. They must have gained quite a lot.

Wang Beichen was about to say something more when a figure slowly emerged as the cave's light curtain rippled, drawing both their gazes over. The figure passed through the light curtain and froze upon seeing the two of them staring at him with wide eyes. It was Zeng Fan, who had finished cultivating.

"You two? Were you waiting for me?" Seeing the excitement on Wang Beichen's face, Zeng Fan asked them.

"Yeah. Big Sister Murong said she was worried about you and wanted to wait here. I could only come along." Wang Beichen wore a woebegone expression.

Murong Xue's face flushed when she heard this. She glared at Wang Beichen, coughed several times, and said, "Did you break through to the Body Tempering Bone stage?"

Zeng Fan nodded with a smile, his eyes full of delight. The fluctuations of his cultivation were more than one level stronger than they had been a few days ago. "I finally broke through at the last moment." Recalling what had just happened, Zeng Fan still felt a lingering sense of fear.

After breaking through to the great perfection of the Body Tempering Muscle stage in the stone chamber, Zeng Fan had pressed forward in one breath, intending to break through to the Body Tempering Bone stage. Once the three days in the Quenching Body Pool were up, however, it would automatically teleport its occupants out.

Just as the three days were about to end, Zeng Fan finally succeeded in breaking through. Before he could even stabilize his Spiritual Energy, he was teleported outside.

Fortunately, he had already broken through successfully. Slowly stabilizing his cultivation outside was no problem. Zeng Fan also noticed the fluctuations coming from Murong Xue and Wang Beichen.

"You two broke through as well, didn't you?" Zeng Fan asked with a smile.

Murong Xue nodded with a smile. "I broke through to the Body Tempering Blood stage. This kid, like you, has reached the Body Tempering Bone stage. The Quenching Body Pool was originally prepared for disciples at the great perfection of their realms to break through. It's quite rare for someone like you to cross two minor stages at once."

Zeng Fan understood. His breakthrough had involved an element of luck as well.

Murong Xue's gaze shifted. "Do you have any plans for the next few days? Once your cultivation is stabilized, do you want to go down the mountain and look around?"

"Down the mountain?" Zeng Fan was taken aback. Then he remembered something. "You mean the cities at the foot of the mountain?" The scene from when he had first entered the Five Mountains Sect resurfaced in Zeng Fan's mind. There were several cities beneath the mountain where the disciples gathered, formed by the descendants of various sect disciples and elders. In normal times, many disciples conducted their trades, entertainment, and other activities in those cities. He had not yet had the time to look around after arriving at the sect.

At this thought, Zeng Fan smiled and nodded. "Sure. I'd like to go see them too."

"Then call me after your cultivation is stabilized. We'll go together!" Hearing Zeng Fan's answer, Murong Xue's eyes instantly lit up. Her slightly pursed lips spread into an uncontrollable grin, and two small tiger teeth poked out from the girl's mouth. Two excited blushes bloomed across her cheeks.

After hearing Zeng Fan's affirmative reply, the girl departed first with light steps, followed by a little brat who kept clamoring to go to the market with them.

Zeng Fan also headed toward his residence, thinking only of hurrying back to cultivate and completely stabilizing his cultivation. As for why he was so eager—

With the plain sail just unfurled, the heart remained unstained; two hearts, pure as jade, shared a clear and joyous delight.