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In the eyes of Zeng Fan and the others, a figure rapidly approached. As the distance narrowed, the figure gradually grew larger in everyone's vision. When it reached the four of them, it stomped hard against the ground to halt its momentum, and the ground instantly exploded apart, sending chunks of the hard bluestone floor flying in all directions.

Wang Beichen looked up, his face somewhat darkened. His entire body was shrouded in a vast shadow, and the shadow completely enveloped him. Looking at the shadow of the disciple who had come to their aid, only one thought remained in Wang Beichen's mind.

"Big."

The newcomer was dressed strangely. He was not wearing the long robes commonly worn by sect disciples—perhaps he could not fit into one. Instead, his clothes resembled those of a worldly farmer working in the fields. His limbs were bare, his skin was bronze-colored all over, and every muscle bulged with knotty strength. His pectoral muscles were especially exaggerated, rising high as though they might leap out of his clothes. Looking upward, one saw a man's face with thick brows and large eyes. At that moment, he was smiling at them.

"Sorry for making you wait, junior brothers and sisters. The fighting got a little intense, so I only just managed to hurry over. Luckily, none of you were hurt." The man extended his huge hand and sheepishly scratched his head.

Zeng Fan was secretly startled. The man before him was simply too enormous. Yuan Jin was already considered a burly man among cultivators, yet he only reached the man's waist, like a little bird nestled against a person.

Only after hearing the man's words did Zeng Fan come back to his senses. He smiled and cupped his fists toward him. "Thank you, Senior Brother, for coming to our aid. We know the fighting is intense, so you arrived just in time. May I ask your name?"

"Just call me Zhu Dachang. This junior sister has been poisoned, hasn't she? Focus on expelling the poison first. I'll handle the rest." Zhu Dachang split his broad mouth in a grin at Zeng Fan. Though he looked astonishingly built, he had noticed that Murong Xue was poisoned, clearly showing that he was fine-minded and that one could not judge him by his appearance.

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

After nodding to Zeng Fan, Murong Xue sat down cross-legged and began circulating the Spiritual Energy in her body, working with the medicinal pill to drive out the snake venom. From what she sensed, this Senior Brother Zhu's body contained incomparably violent Spiritual Energy, far surpassing both her own and that of the large Spirit Gathering Realm snake. He evidently did not need her help, so she could focus on healing.

Seeing Murong Xue close her eyes and expel the poison, Zeng Fan also breathed a sigh of relief. When he saw Zhu Dachang walking toward the struggling snake, he hurriedly spoke.

"Senior Brother, wait. I'll go with you—"

Before Zeng Fan could finish, Zhu Dachang waved a hand at him with his back turned.

"You all rest properly. I can handle this little snake myself. Besides, I'm a little hungry."

"A little hungry?" Zeng Fan stopped, wondering whether he had misheard. Although Zhu Dachang intended to deal with the demonic beast himself, Zeng Fan still circulated his Spiritual Energy, prepared to help at any moment.

Zhu Dachang slowly walked toward the great snake. The struggling snake stopped moving, then hissed a warning at him. From what it sensed, the power within this human before it was stronger than its own.

Zhu Dachang's face remained expressionless as he rubbed his stomach, but rays of Spiritual Energy slowly emerged from outside his body. Clearly, he was ready to strike. Once he reached a certain distance, the great snake opened its mouth without hesitation and bit down at Zhu Dachang.

A trace of shock flashed through Zeng Fan's eyes. Zhu Dachang actually raised his hand and blocked the great snake's bite head-on. Then, completely unconcerned about his arm, he raised his other fist high and smashed it heavily into the snake's head.

With just one blow, the scales on the great snake's head shattered apart. With the second, Zeng Fan directly saw its white skull exposed. Zhu Dachang was about to raise his hand for a third strike when the great snake actually abandoned his arm and rapidly retreated.

"Not biting anymore? Trying to run?" Zhu Dachang was stunned when the great snake released his arm and retreated. His figure flashed, and he was already above the great snake's head again. He brought his fist down once more!

The great snake let out a miserable hiss. The third punch directly cracked its skull, sending white bone fragments flying in all directions. Zeng Fan and Yuan Jin exchanged a glance, feeling sorrow for the great snake.

"This person definitely isn't an ordinary Spirit Gathering Realm cultivator!" Zeng Fan looked at Zhu Dachang as he attacked, his heart shaken. Although he had never seen other Spirit Gathering Realm disciples fight, they definitely could not be like this. Even if Murong Xue broke through now, she probably would not be his match.

As for the great snake, after Zhu Dachang's third punch, it finally sensed the threat of death. When Zhu Dachang walked toward it again, it repeated its old trick, sending a stream of black poison toward him.

"This stuff is useless against me." With a forceful wave of his hand, Zhu Dachang created a powerful gust from thin air that directly scattered the poison.

"Hm?"

Zhu Dachang was somewhat startled. The great snake had actually ripped its own body free from the silver spear, leaving a large chunk of flesh behind. While Zhu Dachang dispersed the poison, it had already charged toward the bottom of the city wall. From the look of it, it intended to flee for its life.

"Trying to run? Then I won't play with you anymore!" Zhu Dachang gave a simple, good-natured smile. In an instant, Zeng Fan, Yuan Jin, and Wang Beichen felt a terrifying aura erupt, as though a humanoid ferocious beast had appeared before their eyes.

Zhu Dachang bent his legs slightly, and then the entire city wall actually began to tremble. The great snake had already reached the foot of the wall. A trace of humanlike excitement appeared in its eyes, but then its body froze. A figure radiating terrifying Killing Intent had seized its tail. Spiritual Energy surged around Zhu Dachang, and mysterious runes appeared across his bronze-colored skin. Clearly, he had employed some sort of technique.

He grabbed the great snake's tail with both hands, and a bright light flashed in his eyes. With a bang, the great snake was swung into the air, then brutally smashed against the ground.

Zhu Dachang attacked left and right. Amid an endless succession of bangs, the great snake's body was like a frayed rope in his hands, repeatedly whipped against the ground.

In Zeng Fan's perception, the great snake's life force gradually faded. Its body stopped struggling, allowing Zhu Dachang to continue swinging it without resistance.

"Senior Brother Zhu is really fierce. I have to ask him later how he cultivates and how he got so big." Yuan Jin spoke to Zeng Fan from the side, admiration appearing in his eyes.

"This guy is powerful. He's definitely at the peak of the Spirit Gathering Realm and has the aptitude of a Heavenly Prodigy." Wang Beichen looked at Zhu Dachang swinging the corpse in the distance, his small face serious for the first time.

Zeng Fan looked at Wang Beichen in surprise. This was the first time he had ever heard Wang Beichen praise someone so highly. One could tell from the boy's usual behavior that I'm number one under heaven was his normal attitude. Zhu Dachang's performance had clearly convinced him.

"Aptitude as a Heavenly Prodigy? Given Senior Brother Zhu's circumstances, that is indeed possible." The light in Zeng Fan's eyes grew brighter and brighter. Zhu Dachang was indeed very strong, but he believed that sooner or later, he would be able to do the same—and even surpass him!

The distant "battle" also ended. Zhu Dachang pulled the silver spear from the ground and picked up the chunk of flesh as well. He carried the spear in one hand and hoisted the great snake's corpse over his other shoulder, slowly walking toward them.

"Senior Brother Zhu, I'll help you!" Under Zeng Fan's strange gaze, Yuan Jin had already trotted toward Zhu Dachang and eagerly took the spear from him. Clearly, he intended to ask Zhu Dachang about something.

When Zhu Dachang reached them, he smiled and was just about to speak when his expression suddenly paused. He turned to look at Murong Xue, surprise showing in his eyes.

"Congratulations, junior sister."

Zeng Fan and the others froze. Only after several breaths did they understand what Zhu Dachang meant by his congratulations.

Zeng Fan turned to look at Murong Xue. The black aura on her face had completely vanished, clearly meaning that she had fully suppressed the snake venom. Yet Murong Xue still had not stopped cultivating. Instead, the aura around her was slowly rising as she continuously absorbed the Spiritual Energy in the surroundings.

"Murong is about to break through to the Spirit Gathering Realm!" Only then did Zeng Fan understand Zhu Dachang's congratulations. He had never expected Murong Xue to gain a blessing from this misfortune and find an opportunity to break through at this moment.

Murong Xue circulated her cultivation technique with all her strength. The surrounding Spiritual Energy even formed a small vortex above her head, but her brows remained tightly furrowed.

Zhu Dachang looked around several times and scratched his head.

"There isn't enough Spiritual Energy here for this junior sister to break through to the Spirit Gathering Realm."

There was already little Spiritual Energy here, and after everyone absorbed more during the battle, the vast amount Murong Xue needed to break through to the Spirit Gathering Realm could no longer be supplied.

"Everyone, take out your Spirit Stones and let Murong absorb them first." Zeng Fan spoke to Yuan Jin and Wang Beichen. If there was not enough Spiritual Energy, they could make up the difference with Spirit Stones.

"It's fine. I'll handle it. Since we encountered each other, it must be fate."

Zhu Dachang stopped Zeng Fan and the others. With a movement of his shoulder, he threw the great snake's corpse to the ground, then thrust his large hand directly into the corpse and rummaged around.

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

"Found it!"

Zhu Dachang clenched his hand as though he were gripping something, then slowly pulled it from the corpse.

"Senior Brother, what's that?" Yuan Jin scratched his head, somewhat curious.

Zhu Dachang gave a silly chuckle and opened his palm. A white, round crystal appeared before everyone's eyes.

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

"That's right. Junior brother, you're quite knowledgeable." Zhu Dachang smiled and threw in a compliment for Wang Beichen.

"What's a Demonic Crystal?" Yuan Jin listened to their exchange, his heart itching with curiosity. He wanted to know the answer as quickly as possible.

Zhu Dachang did not keep them guessing. He walked to Murong Xue's side, the veins on his hand bulging as he squeezed hard. With a crisp crack, the Demonic Crystal in his hand shattered, and a dense Spiritual Energy flowed out, instantly enveloping Murong Xue.

Murong Xue's tightly furrowed brows relaxed. The Spiritual Energy was absorbed at astonishing speed, while the shattered Demonic Crystal continuously released more Spiritual Energy, ensuring that the supply remained sufficient.

After doing this, Zhu Dachang turned around and began explaining.

"The way we cultivators break through to the Spirit Gathering Realm is by using our Spiritual Energy to find the dantian, then opening up the dantian as a place to store Spiritual Energy. Demonic beasts, on the other hand, break through to the Spirit Gathering Realm by condensing a Demonic Crystal and infusing the excess Spiritual Energy in their bodies into it. So this Demonic Crystal contains all the Spiritual Energy of the demonic beast, making it perfect for helping junior sister break through."

"I see." Zeng Fan and the others suddenly understood. Although they had only reached the perfected Body Tempering Bone stage, learning some experience about breaking through to the Spirit Gathering Realm ahead of time could only benefit them.

Murong Xue continued absorbing the Spiritual Energy released by the Demonic Crystal. The aura around her grew stronger and stronger, already faintly resembling that of the Spirit Gathering Realm demonic beast. It seemed that her breakthrough was only a matter of time.

Suddenly, a huge rumbling from a stomach rang out. Everyone turned around, and Zhu Dachang rubbed his belly somewhat sheepishly.

"I'm hungry."

Zeng Fan was caught between laughter and tears. It seemed the muttering he had heard earlier had been no mistake—Senior Brother Zhu really was hungry.

Seeing everyone's strange looks, Zhu Dachang's face also flushed slightly as he explained.

"Because of my cultivation technique, I need to eat large amounts of food containing Spiritual Energy every day. I happened to be busy rushing around to provide aid today, so I expended quite a lot. This snake is just right to eat."

Zhu Dachang patted the snake corpse beside him and began rolling up his sleeves to prepare it. Seeing this, Zeng Fan also came over to help. Skinning, removing the bones, gutting, and cutting the meat, Zeng Fan worked with Zhu Dachang to process the snake corpse in an orderly fashion.

Zhu Dachang was somewhat surprised by Zeng Fan's proficiency. When they had nearly finished, he could not help asking.

"Junior Brother Zeng, you're also quite knowledgeable about food. Otherwise, why are you so skilled at these steps?"

"When I was in the mundane world, I worked odd jobs at an inn for a while. I've handled snake meat before. Although this is a demonic beast, its body is no different from that of an ordinary snake, so I have some experience." Zeng Fan smiled lightly at Zhu Dachang and calmly recounted his past.

"I see." Zhu Dachang nodded. The disciples within the sect came from all sorts of backgrounds. Some joined after passing examinations in the mundane world, some were descendants of powerful figures, and some were cultivation prodigies discovered by chance while traveling outside. He had only asked out of curiosity.

There were no more demonic beasts attacking the top of the city wall. After all, most of the demonic beasts that reached the wall were in the Body Tempering Realm. The Spirit Gathering Realm great snake had been an accident. The death aura of a Spirit Gathering Realm demonic beast shrouded the area, and before that aura dissipated, ordinary demonic beasts would not dare attack this place again.

As the sky darkened, a bonfire was lit. Several people sat around it, with snake meat skewered on several long spears above the flames. Golden oil dripped down from time to time, making the flames flare brightly for an instant.

Zhu Dachang looked content as he tore into the snake meat in his hand. Beside him, the great snake's pale bones lay piled to one side.

"Junior Brother Zeng, I didn't expect you to be so skilled. Looks like I'll have to learn a few tricks from you in the future, hehe." After filling his stomach, Zhu Dachang belched. Zeng Fan and the others had stopped after eating only a little, while nearly the entire great snake had gone into his stomach alone.

Zeng Fan was secretly astonished as well. The great snake was twice Zhu Dachang's size, yet he had eaten all of it, as if his stomach were a bottomless pit. It really must have been related to his cultivation technique.

"Hm?" As he roasted the snake meat, Zeng Fan felt the aura behind him that had been steadily growing finally stop. Murong Xue slowly opened her eyes. She gently raised her hand, and a glow of Spiritual Energy appeared at her fingertips before slowly flowing through her entire body.

Spiritual Energy released outside the body! The Spirit Gathering Realm!

With the Demonic Crystal's support, Murong Xue had finally broken through successfully.