Return, Counting the Gains

"Ding~ After studying it, at best your meridians will reverse their flow; at worst, your energy will become unbalanced, causing your body to explode and die. Would you like to confirm cultivation?" the system said.

"Fuck, confirm my ass! Could Yi Xiu be trying to ambush me?" Yang Xuan was startled.

"That's impossible. Yi Xiu isn't that kind of person, and my death wouldn't benefit him at all." Yang Xuan thought carefully. "System, did you make a mistake?"

The system replied, "The system does not make mistakes."

"That's strange. Yang Xuan could already be considered a Grandmaster, yet the words in the scripture still looked incredibly bizarre to him. Many of the statements contradicted each other."

"System, can you scan this book?" Yang Xuan asked shrewdly.

Please wait,,,,,

"Ding. The host is advised to try putting the book in water," the system reported after scanning it.

Yang Xuan didn't think much of it and directly put the book into the water. Sure enough, it began to change. The book slowly melted away, until in the end, only a piece of jade about one finger long and three fingers wide remained.

"System, what is this thing?" Yang Xuan asked, holding the jade piece.

"Ding~ Successful study of the Hunyuan Vajra Evil Buddha Body."

"What? This is actually a secret manual?" Yang Xuan exclaimed.

"It is a type of crystal formed after jade has been refined. It can store language, writing, pictures, and images," the system explained.

"The name sounds incredibly powerful. Let's see what it says," Yang Xuan said curiously.

Hunyuan Vajra Evil Buddha Body: It can absorb all forms of energy, whether Buddhist, Daoist, or demonic.

After absorption, it does not strengthen one's energy cultivation level. It only increases physical defense and alters one's body shape.

Upon reaching the highest realm, the practitioner can transform into a body a thousand zhang tall. Physical strength and defense increase along with the body's size.

"This is great stuff! With this technique, I can absorb any kind of energy I want. It's somewhat similar to the Northern Darkness Divine Art." Yang Xuan was delighted.

"The host is mistaken. The Hunyuan Vajra Evil Buddha Body absorbs the energy within your own body. If you are even slightly careless, you may turn into a fossil," the system warned.

"A fossil?" Yang Xuan was utterly confused.

"If you absorb energy and fail to stop in time, all your energy will be absorbed, strengthening your physical body. Wouldn't that make you like a fossil?" the system explained.

"Fuck, this is seriously sinister. I've never even heard of a technique like this. No wonder people say many Buddhists are mentally ill—one thought makes you a Buddha, one thought makes you a demon. They're all crazy." Yang Xuan looked thoroughly depressed.

It wasn't dawn yet anyway, so he decided to cultivate and see how effective it was.

Yang Xuan sat cross-legged and circulated the Hunyuan Vajra Evil Buddha Body's cultivation route. He immediately felt the energy within his body slowly disappearing. No, more precisely, it was being absorbed by his body.

At first, it was the power of his qi and blood. Once only twenty percent remained, it began consuming his Inner Force, and only afterward did it consume his magical power.

In less than ten minutes, eighty percent of all the energy in his body had already vanished. The sensation was extremely contradictory—both comfortable and painful. The comfort came from his constitution being strengthened, while the pain came from his bodily energy being forcibly consumed in an extremely short period.

He could clearly feel the quality of his physical body improving. He decided to test the results.

He activated the cultivation route~~~!

"Fuck, I can actually transform one day! Ah—" Yang Xuan was still sighing in amazement when he suddenly realized he was still in the basement. He immediately dropped onto the floor. Fortunately, he had reacted quickly; otherwise, his roof would have been smashed through. Looking at his enlarged body, he found that even the sounds he casually made were louder than his normal speaking voice. His physical defense also felt astonishingly powerful.

"Gurgle, gurgle." At that moment, Yang Xuan's stomach let out a hungry roar.

"I'm done for. I didn't expect the consumption to be this huge. Looks like I can't cultivate immediately after using this technique in the future. Otherwise, I'm really afraid I'll be drained dry. I'm starving to death!" Yang Xuan wailed.

Yang Xuan picked up the compressed energy bars scattered across the floor and began wolfing them down.

Some time passed as he organized his things, purchased supplies, and cultivated Daoist techniques.

One morning, while Yang Xuan was cultivating, his phone suddenly rang.

"Hello, Yang Xuan. I'm at the gym with my two best friends. Come over quickly; we need to discuss the road trip," Natasha said.

"Sure, sure. I'll head out right away." Yang Xuan hurriedly responded.

Yang Xuan took a shower and tidied up his appearance. He looked pretty good. Ever since he began cultivating, his hair had grown thicker, darker, and denser. His teeth, which had originally been somewhat crooked, were gradually becoming straighter and much whiter.

The weather was fantastic, though the sun was a little too strong. Wearing sunglasses, he rode Little Donkey toward the fitness club.

Yang Xuan entered the meeting room. "Natasha, sorry for the wait."

"Yang Xuan, come over quickly. We've been waiting for you for ages. Let me introduce you to my two best friends." Natasha walked over and pointed to a tall, beautiful woman. "This is Xu Qing. I only came to Hua country because of her."

Xu Qing nodded politely. "Hello."

Natasha pointed to a girl sitting beside her with an average build and slightly chubby cheeks. "This is Zhang Mengmeng, another one of my best friends."

"They're my two closest friends in Hua country. We've been a little bored lately, so we're planning to drive through the uninhabited areas of YN," Natasha said.

"Just the four of us?" Yang Xuan asked.

"There are two more people who haven't confirmed yet. We don't know whether they'll go or not. In any case, we'll find a place first," Xu Qing said.

"Do you have a preliminary destination in mind?" Yang Xuan asked.

Zhang Mengmeng spread her hands. "In the past, whenever we traveled, we either joined tour groups or traveled independently. We always went to cities or beaches to have fun and shop. This time, we're going to an uninhabited area, so we're honestly a little lost."

"How about this? We choose a destination, drive and have fun along the way, cross the uninhabited area, make a loop, and then come back," Yang Xuan suggested.

The three women huddled together and discussed it. Natasha said, "None of us have a problem with that. We still need to contact the other two people tonight and see whether we can settle on a date."

Yang Xuan opened the map on his phone and checked it. "Actually, we don't need much of a plan. We can just go wherever we feel like. Look, we'll set out from HN City, drive ourselves without taking the expressway, pass through Nanchang, Changsha, Guiyang, and Kunming, and then arrive at our destination, the uninhabited forest. We'll decide how to return when the time comes."

"Not bad, not bad," Xu Qing said.

"Yang Xuan, you're amazing," Zhang Mengmeng said.

"We'll probably need several days to prepare supplies and some tools and equipment for wilderness survival," Yang Xuan said.

"After those two people confirm, we'll arrange the vehicles and trunk space before deciding how many supplies and how much equipment to purchase," Xu Qing said.

"Now that everything's arranged, how about we go out for lunch to celebrate?" Zhang Mengmeng suggested.

"That sounds great." Xu Qing agreed.

Natasha glanced at Yang Xuan. "What do you think?"

"Let's go, let's go. I happen to be hungry. Lunch is on me today." Yang Xuan gave a helpless, bitter smile.

"How could we do that? Since I suggested eating, I should be the one paying." Zhang Mengmeng insisted.

"It's fine. After all, this is our first time meeting. Let's make friends. I'm the newcomer, so I'll pay. Haha." Yang Xuan said.

"Let him pay. It's fine." Natasha stopped Zhang Mengmeng from speaking.

"Why complain when someone's treating us? You silly girl." Xu Qing teased.

"You're the silly girl." Zhang Mengmeng shot back.

"Why are you arguing? Hurry up and decide what to eat," Natasha said.

"Let's have barbecue. A new place just opened. I heard the prices are fair and the food is good," Xu Qing said.

"Sure, let's go there. Yang Xuan, is that okay?" Zhang Mengmeng asked.

"I'll eat whatever you girls eat." Yang Xuan nodded.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go." Xu Qing said.

"You two drive. I'll ride with Yang Xuan." Natasha said.