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To Zeng Fan and the others, a figure rapidly approached. As the distance closed, the figure grew larger in their eyes. Upon reaching them, the figure stomped hard on the ground, halting their momentum. The ground actually exploded, sending fragments of the hard bluestone floor flying in all directions.

Wang Beichen looked up, his face darkening. He was completely engulfed in a massive shadow cast by the newcomer, which enveloped him entirely. Among the shadows of the disciples who had come to provide support, Wang Beichen had only one thought in his mind.

"So big."

The person who arrived was strangely dressed, not in the usual robes of a Sect disciple. Perhaps they wouldn't have fit anyway. Their attire resembled that of a common farmer heading to the fields, with exposed limbs and skin the color of bronze. Their muscles were coiled like ropes, especially their chest muscles, which bulged dramatically as if about to burst from their clothes. Looking up, they saw a man with thick eyebrows and large eyes, who was currently smiling at them.

"Apologies, my junior brothers and sisters. The battle has been quite intense, and I've only just managed to get here. Thankfully, none of you are hurt," the man said, reaching out a large hand to scratch his head sheepishly.

Zeng Fan felt a jolt of surprise. The man before him was incredibly large. Yuan Jin, already considered a strong man among cultivators, only reached the man's waist, appearing almost petite in comparison.

Hearing the man's words, Zeng Fan snapped back to reality and smiled, cupping his fist towards him. "Thank you, Senior Brother, for coming to our rescue. Knowing the battle is tight, it's perfect timing. May I ask your name?"

"Just call me Zhu Dachang. This Junior Sister seems to be poisoned. Focus on detoxifying first; I'll handle the rest," the man said, grinning broadly at Zeng Fan. Despite his imposing physique, the man had noticed Murong Xue's poisoning, indicating a keen mind that couldn't be judged by his appearance alone.

Murong Xue bowed to the man and spoke weakly, "Then thank you, Senior Brother Zhu. I will suppress the poison in my body first. I'll leave the demonic beast to you."

Nodding at Zeng Fan, Murong Xue sat down cross-legged and began circulating her spiritual energy, combining it with a pill to expel the snake venom. In her perception, the Senior Brother Zhu possessed incredibly potent spiritual energy, far exceeding her own and that of the Spirit Gathering Realm snake. She figured she wouldn't need to help and could focus on her recovery.

Seeing Murong Xue close her eyes to detoxify, Zeng Fan also breathed a sigh of relief. As he watched Zhu Dachang approach the struggling snake, he quickly called out.

"Senior Brother, wait! I'll come with you..."

Before Zeng Fan could finish, Zhu Dachang waved him off without looking back.

"You all rest well. I can handle this little snake myself. I'm a bit hungry, too."

"A bit hungry?" Zeng Fan stopped, wondering if he had misheard. Although Zhu Dachang intended to handle the demonic beast alone, Zeng Fan still circulated his spiritual energy, ready to assist at any moment.

Zhu Dachang slowly walked towards the snake. The struggling snake stopped moving and then hissed a warning at him. In its perception, the human before it possessed greater strength than itself.

Zhu Dachang's expression was blank as he rubbed his stomach, but a faint glow of spiritual energy began to emanate from his body, signaling his readiness to act. Upon reaching a certain range, the snake didn't hesitate and lunged, biting directly at Zhu Dachang.

A flicker of shock crossed Zeng Fan's eyes. Zhu Dachang directly blocked the snake's bite with his hand. Then, completely disregarding his arm, he raised his other fist and brought it down heavily on the snake's head.

With a single blow, the scales on the snake's head shattered. With the second blow, Zeng Fan could directly see its white skull exposed. As Zhu Dachang raised his hand for a third strike, the snake abandoned his arm and rapidly retreated.

"Not biting anymore? Trying to run?" Zhu Dachang was momentarily stunned as the snake released its grip and retreated. He flashed forward, reappearing above the snake's head, and delivered another punch!

The snake let out a miserable hiss. This third punch directly cracked its skull, sending white bone fragments scattering. Zeng Fan and Yuan Jin exchanged glances, feeling pity for the snake.

"This person is definitely not an ordinary Spirit Gathering Realm cultivator!" Zeng Fan watched Zhu Dachang in action, his heart trembling. While he hadn't seen other Spirit Gathering Realm disciples fight, he was certain they wouldn't be like this. Even if Murong Xue broke through now, she probably wouldn't be his match.

On the snake's side, after Zhu Dachang's third punch, it finally felt the threat of death. As Zhu Dachang approached again, it resorted to its previous tactic, spewing a cloud of black venomous gas towards him.

"This stuff won't work on me," he said, forcefully waving his hand. A gust of strong wind materialized from nowhere, dispersing the venomous gas.

"Huh?"

Zhu Dachang was taken aback. The snake had violently ripped its own flesh from the spear, leaving a large chunk of bloody flesh behind. As Zhu Dachang dispersed the venom, it had already charged towards the base of the city wall, clearly intending to escape.

"Trying to run? Then I won't play anymore!" Zhu Dachang smiled sheepishly. In an instant, Zeng Fan, Yuan Jin, and Wang Beichen felt a terrifying aura erupt, as if a humanoid ferocious beast had appeared before them.

Zhu Dachang slightly lowered his stance, and the entire city wall actually trembled. The snake had already reached the base of the wall, and a flicker of human-like excitement appeared in its eyes. Then, its body froze. A figure exuding terrifying killing intent grabbed its tail. Spiritual energy surged from Zhu Dachang's body, and mysterious runes appeared on his bronze skin, clearly indicating he was using some special technique.

He gripped the snake's tail with both hands, his eyes flashing. With a bang, he swung the snake, smashing it violently onto the ground.

Zhu Dachang struck with both fists, and with continuous bang bang sounds, the snake's body was like a tattered rope in his hands, being repeatedly slammed against the ground.

In Zeng Fan's perception, the snake's life force gradually faded, and its body stopped struggling, allowing Zhu Dachang to continue swinging it.

"This Senior Brother Zhu is really fierce. I have to ask him how he cultivates later, to get so big," Yuan Jin said to Zeng Fan, his eyes filled with admiration.

"This guy is strong. He's definitely at Perfection in the Spirit Gathering Realm, with the potential of a Heavenly Prodigy," Wang Beichen said, his young face filled with seriousness for the first time as he watched Zhu Dachang swing the corpse in the distance.

Zeng Fan looked at Wang Beichen in surprise. This was the first time he had heard Wang Beichen praise someone so highly. Judging by his usual demeanor, Wang Beichen's default setting was "I'm the best," so Zhu Dachang's performance had evidently earned his respect.

"Potential of a Heavenly Prodigy? Given Senior Brother Zhu's situation, it's certainly possible," Zeng Fan's eyes gleamed brighter. Zhu Dachang was indeed very strong, but he believed that one day he would be able to do the same, even surpass him!

The "battle" in the distance also concluded. Zhu Dachang pulled out the silver spear from the ground, picked up the piece of flesh, and carried the spear in one hand while the snake's corpse was slung over his other shoulder. He slowly walked towards them.

"Senior Brother Zhu, let me help you~" To Zeng Fan's surprised gaze, Yuan Jin jogged over to Zhu Dachang, eagerly taking the spear from him. It was clear he wanted to ask Zhu Dachang something.

As he approached the group, Zhu Dachang smiled and was about to speak when his expression suddenly froze. He turned to look at Murong Xue, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"Congratulations, Junior Sister."

Zeng Fan and the others were stunned. A few moments later, they understood what Zhu Dachang meant by congratulations.

Zeng Fan turned to look at Murong Xue. The dark aura on her face had completely dissipated, indicating she had successfully suppressed the snake venom. However, Murong Xue hadn't stopped cultivating; her aura was slowly rising, continuously absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy.

"Murong is about to break through to the Spirit Gathering Realm!" Zeng Fan finally understood Zhu Dachang's congratulations. He hadn't expected Murong Xue to turn misfortune into a blessing and find an opportunity to break through at this moment.

Murong Xue circulated her cultivation technique with all her might, and the surrounding spiritual energy even formed a small vortex above her head. However, she frowned tightly.

Zhu Dachang looked around a few times and scratched his head.

"The spiritual energy here isn't enough for this Junior Sister to break through to the Spirit Gathering Realm."

The spiritual energy in this area was already scarce, and with the absorption by everyone during the battle, the abundant spiritual energy required for Murong Xue's breakthrough to the Spirit Gathering Realm was now insufficient.

"Everyone, take out your spirit stones and let Murong absorb them first," Zeng Fan said to Yuan Jin and Wang Beichen. If there wasn't enough spiritual energy, spirit stones would supplement it.

"It's alright, I'll do it. It's fate that we met,"

Zhu Dachang stopped Zeng Fan and the others. He shifted his shoulder, dropped the snake's corpse on the ground, and directly reached into the corpse, rummaging through it.

Just as Zeng Fan and the others were feeling puzzled, Zhu Dachang's movements paused.

"Found it!"

Zhu Dachang's palm was clenched tightly, as if he was holding something, and he slowly withdrew his hand from the corpse.

"Senior Brother, what is this?" Yuan Jin rubbed his head, looking a bit curious.

Zhu Dachang chuckled, opened his palm, and a white, circular crystal appeared in everyone's sight.

"What is this? A Demonic Crystal?" Wang Beichen looked at the white crystal in Zhu Dachang's hand with some surprise.

"That's right, Junior Brother has good insight," Zhu Dachang smiled, adding a compliment to Wang Beichen.

"What is this Demonic Crystal?" Yuan Jin listened to their conversation, feeling a tickle in his heart, wanting to know the answer quickly.

Zhu Dachang didn't keep them waiting. He walked to Murong Xue's side, his veins bulging as he squeezed hard. With a crack, the Demonic Crystal in his hand shattered. A dense spiritual energy flowed out, instantly enveloping Murong Xue.

Murong Xue's tightly furrowed brow relaxed. The spiritual energy was absorbed at an extremely fast pace, and the shattered Demonic Crystal continuously released spiritual energy, ensuring a sufficient supply.

After finishing, Zhu Dachang turned his head and began to explain.

"The way we cultivators break through to the Spirit Gathering Realm is to find the Dantian with spiritual energy, then open it up as a place to store spiritual energy. Demonic Beasts break through to the Spirit Gathering Realm by condensing a Demonic Crystal and infusing excess spiritual energy into it. Therefore, this Demonic Crystal contains all the spiritual energy of the Demonic Beast, which is perfect for Junior Sister's breakthrough."

"So that's how it is," Zeng Fan and the others understood. Although they were only at Perfection in the Body Tempering Bone stage now, knowing some experience about breaking through to the Spirit Gathering Realm in advance was beneficial.

Murong Xue was still absorbing the spiritual energy emanating from the Demonic Crystal. Her aura grew stronger and stronger, faintly resembling that of the Nascent Soul stage Demonic Beast. It seemed that breaking through was only a matter of time.

Suddenly, a loud rumbling sound echoed. Everyone turned their heads. Zhu Dachang sheepishly rubbed his stomach.

"I'm hungry."

Zeng Fan couldn't help but laugh wryly. He hadn't been wrong about the muttering he'd heard earlier; this Senior Brother Zhu was indeed hungry.

Seeing the strange looks from everyone, Zhu Dachang's face flushed slightly as he explained to them.

"Due to my cultivation technique, I need to consume a large amount of food containing spiritual energy every day. Today, I was busy rushing around to help, and my consumption was quite high. This snake can be eaten."

Zhu Dachang patted the snake carcass beside him and began to roll up his sleeves to prepare it. Zeng Fan saw this and came to help. They skinned, deboned, gutted, and cut the meat. Zeng Fan worked with Zhu Dachang, methodically processing the snake carcass.

Zhu Dachang was somewhat surprised by Zeng Fan's proficiency. When the processing was almost done, he couldn't help but ask.

"Junior Brother Zeng also has some research into fine cuisine. Otherwise, why are these steps so skillful?"

"When I was in the mortal world, I worked as a handyman in an inn for a while. I also processed snake meat. Although it's a Demonic Beast, its body is no different from an ordinary snake, so I have some experience," Zeng Fan chuckled lightly at Zhu Dachang, calmly recounting his past experiences.

"I see," Zhu Dachang nodded. The disciples in the Sect came from various backgrounds. Some passed assessments to join from the mortal world, some were descendants of powerful cultivators, or some were discovered while venturing out. He had only asked out of curiosity.

There were no more Demonic Beast attacks on the city wall. After all, those that reached the wall were basically Demonic Beasts in the Body Tempering Realm. This Nascent Soul stage giant snake was an anomaly. The death aura of the Nascent Soul stage Demonic Beast permeated the area. Before this aura dissipated, ordinary Demonic Beasts would not dare to attack here again.

As dusk fell, a bonfire was lit. Several people sat around it, with snake meat threaded onto long spears over the flames. Occasionally, golden oil dripped down, causing the flames to flare up momentarily.

Zhu Dachang looked content, tearing into the snake meat in his hands. Beside him, the pale white bones of the giant snake were piled up.

"Junior Brother Zeng, I didn't expect your cooking skills to be so good. It seems I'll have to learn a few tricks from you in the future, hehe." After filling his stomach, Zhu Dachang let out a satisfied burp. Zeng Fan and the others had only eaten a little before stopping. The entire giant snake had almost gone into his stomach alone.

Zeng Fan was also secretly astonished. The size of this giant snake was equivalent to two Zhu Dachangs, yet he could eat it all, as if his stomach was a bottomless pit. It was likely truly related to his cultivation technique.

"Hmm?" Zeng Fan, who was roasting snake meat, felt the aura behind him that had been strengthening finally stop. Murong Xue slowly opened her eyes. She gently raised her hand, and a spiritual energy glow appeared from her fingertips, then slowly flowed through her entire body.

Spiritual Energy Projection! Spirit Gathering Realm!

With the replenishment from the Demonic Crystal, Murong Xue had finally succeeded in breaking through.