Successive Breakthroughs

The Essence Blood Origin Body Art had three layers—or rather, the version Ye Zhen had received from Instructor Liao Feibai contained only three layers.

Mastering the first layer allowed one to cleanse the marrow and temper the body, causing the cultivator's physical strength to soar. Cultivating the second layer would generate Qi Gang due to the extreme abundance of essence blood. Used to attack, Qi Gang could slice through gold and sever jade; used for defense, it made one impervious to blades and swords.

If one cultivated the Essence Blood Origin Body Art to the third layer, one could condense a drop of True Essence and touch upon the threshold of the True Essence Realm.

It looked very powerful. He just did not know its exact grade. Still, Ye Zhen figured that something given by a Sect Instructor could not possibly be of poor quality.

Yet Ye Zhen felt that Steward Zhao's recommendation of him to Instructor Liao did not seem as simple as it appeared. There was some hidden reason behind it, but he could not discern what it was.

However, Ye Zhen was absolutely certain of one thing: if he failed to meet Instructor Liao's requirements after a month, his fate would definitely be miserable—utterly miserable.

So after returning from Instructor Liao's place, Ye Zhen ignored everything else and devoted himself wholeheartedly to cultivating the Essence Blood Origin Body Art she had passed down.

On the bed, Ye Zhen sat cross-legged. The blood qi within him surged wave after wave like rolling pearls, circulating according to a specific cultivation method. The first layer of the Essence Blood Origin Body Art mainly focused on refining blood and tempering the body.

It made the blood qi within one's meridians denser and purer, then used that increasingly refined blood qi to temper the bones and meridians, strengthening oneself in the process.

If Liao Feibai had been present, she would have discovered that Ye Zhen's blood qi was already extraordinarily condensed. With the slightest turn of the technique, the refinement of his essence blood was complete.

Not only that, after his already condensed blood qi underwent the first stage of tempering from the Essence Blood Origin Body Art, it became even more concentrated when it passed through the Mirage Dragon Pearl in his chest.

The barely opened first level of space within the Mirage Dragon Pearl was like a precise machine. No matter what quality of blood qi passed through it, as long as it entered, it would be refined once, becoming purer and more concentrated.

Thus, the step of refining blood qi—which was originally the hardest hurdle for everyone else—became the easiest thing for Ye Zhen, almost as natural as water flowing into a channel.

Ye Zhen's only deficiency was an abundant supply of blood qi, and that was something he would normally need to accumulate day by day.

But now, this was no longer a problem for Ye Zhen.

Because Ye Zhen still had ten Blood Origin Pills in hand, the reward for taking first place on the Fish Dragon Path. Ten Blood Origin Pills—this was the amount an Outer Disciple could receive only after fifty days.

The amount other Outer Disciples could receive only after fifty days was completely swallowed and refined by Ye Zhen within three hours. If any elder of the Qi Yun Sect had learned of this, they would surely have been so shocked their eyes would have gone wide.

Was he tired of living?

A little fellow at the Blood Refining Triple Layer dared to swallow ten Blood Origin Pills in succession. Was he not afraid of exploding to death?

In truth, Ye Zhen really did not know this.

The reason was simple. The immense medicinal potency contained in a single Blood Origin Pill would take other disciples at least one or two hours to refine.

And that was not all. Every medicine had some poison in it; any pill carried a degree of toxicity. The hidden toxicity required time for the body to dissolve as well. Under normal circumstances, taking two or three Blood Origin Pills in a day was the limit for an Outer Disciple.

And after reaching that limit, they would need several days of cultivation to dissolve the toxins before taking Blood Origin Pills again. Otherwise, it would cause a certain degree of harm to the body.

But Ye Zhen would not encounter such a situation.

The Essence Blood Origin Body Art itself refined away a small portion of the toxins while tempering blood qi, while the remaining toxins hidden within the blood qi were completely refined away by the Mirage Dragon Pearl when they passed through its first level of space.

At the same time, the Mirage Dragon Pearl was like a refining machine, helping Ye Zhen refine medicinal potency more quickly.

With all these factors combined, Ye Zhen managed to swallow and refine ten Blood Origin Pills within three hours.

In fact, Ye Zhen had merely instinctively felt that his blood qi was insufficient while circulating the Essence Blood Origin Body Art, and wanted to replenish it with medicinal pills.

The consequences of taking ten Blood Origin Pills in succession within three hours were also immense.

When the medicinal potency of the final Blood Origin Pill was refined by Ye Zhen, the blood qi passing through the Mirage Dragon Pearl became fine and dense, almost like mercury.

"Huff!"

Slowly exhaling a breath of stale air, Ye Zhen gradually opened his eyes. A sharp gleam flashed through them and vanished, while his previously flat temples now bulged like small lumps.

"Mastering the first layer in a single day... Is this Essence Blood Origin Body Art much easier than I imagined? It does not seem that difficult at all!" Ye Zhen said, blinking.

Ye Zhen abruptly rose to his feet. A series of cracking bone explosions erupted like popping beans, while blood qi like mercury surged through his entire body. In that instant, Ye Zhen felt as though he had grown several inches taller.

With a flick of his finger, his fingertip lashed through the air like a whip, producing sharp popping sounds.

His entire body brimmed with a sense of pure strength. That pure sensation of power filled Ye Zhen with confidence. He felt that if he encountered Feng Haoran or Shi Tianjia again on the Fish Dragon Path now, he could absolutely crush straight through them without the slightest obstruction.

At some point, a thin layer of nearly white, mud-like substance had seeped from Ye Zhen's bare upper body. What puzzled him was that this mud-like layer no longer carried its former fishy stench, but instead faintly emitted a subtle, strange fragrance.

"Mastering the first layer of the Essence Blood Origin Body Art allows marrow cleansing and body tempering. Does that mean my cultivation has also broken through to the Blood Refining Fourth Level?"

A trace of doubt crossed Ye Zhen's mind. He moved a finger lightly above his temple, then gave it a gentle tap.

Bang!

His bulging temple was like taut cowhide, bouncing Ye Zhen's finger high into the air. Joy instantly spread across his face.

When blood qi was filled to the utmost limit, it could force the body's impurities out. Once a martial artist's blood qi reached its peak, their temples would bulge taut like cowhide!

Blood Refining Fourth Level!

After cultivating the Essence Blood Origin Body Art for one day, aided by ten Blood Origin Pills, he had actually broken through to the Blood Refining Fourth Level in a single day.

However, this was only the beginning. The Essence Blood Origin Body Art Ye Zhen possessed had three layers in total. The latter two were slower than the last and more difficult than the last, while Ye Zhen no longer had resources like ten Blood Origin Pills.

After cultivating for five consecutive days, Ye Zhen received his first Blood Origin Pill since becoming an Outer Disciple. After swallowing and refining it, his Essence Blood Origin Body Art improved slightly.

On the tenth day of cultivation, Ye Zhen swallowed the second Blood Origin Pill he had received. Though he made a little progress, that progress was excruciatingly slow.

Ye Zhen estimated that at this pace, he would be unable to cultivate the second layer of the Essence Blood Origin Body Art without two or three months.

Finally unable to restrain himself, Ye Zhen returned to Hundred Pine Peak on the evening of the tenth day. After taking a look at Sha Fei, whose cultivation was advancing by leaps and bounds, he lingered until very late before returning. This frightened Ma Yuanwu, who was still recuperating from his injuries at Hundred Pine Peak, so badly that he did not even dare leave his room.

As for Wu Jian, Yu Ping, and the others, they had already been driven out of the Qi Yun Sect. Having failed the annual examination, they could not even remain as Menial Disciples.

On his way back, Ye Zhen secretly made a trip to the Cliff Secret Cave behind Hundred Pine Peak. His luck was fairly good; no wild beast had entered the cave during those eleven days, and the accumulated Marrow Spirit Liquid amounted to nearly half a bowl.

After making several arrangements to prevent beasts from accidentally entering, Ye Zhen silently returned to East Arrival Peak with the half bowl of Marrow Spirit Liquid.

That night, Ye Zhen swallowed the half bowl of Marrow Spirit Liquid in several portions to cultivate. The tremendous energy contained within it sent his cultivation soaring wildly and filled the blood qi in his body to its utmost limit.

When Ye Zhen's temples had bulged to the extreme, and the last trace of white impurity within him mixed with a strand of bloody fluid and spurted out, a vortex composed purely of blood qi slowly formed within his dantian.

The moment the blood qi vortex formed, the blood qi in Ye Zhen's body, filled to the absolute limit, immediately found an outlet. It rushed madly into the blood qi vortex in his dantian. His temples, swollen as though they were about to burst, gradually sank back down, and the uncontrollable feeling of vitality radiating from his entire body vanished at once.

Hiss!

After cultivating continuously for an entire night and day, Ye Zhen suddenly rose to his feet. Amid a series of cracking bones, he threw a fierce punch forward.

Bang!

The instant Ye Zhen's fist stopped, the door panel a full three meters away from him boomed loudly, startling Ye Zhen badly.

Looking closely, he found a large hole punched through the door panel. The hole was neither too big nor too small—exactly the size of Ye Zhen's fist.

"The second layer of the Essence Blood Origin Body Art? Qi Gang covering the body?" Ye Zhen's face filled with delight.

Just as Ye Zhen was about to properly experience the power of the second layer of the Essence Blood Origin Body Art, a piercing clamor suddenly erupted outside.

"Quick, look! The rankings on the Heaven and Earth Ranking have changed! Someone else has made the list!"

"The Heaven and Earth Ranking?" Ye Zhen's brows furrowed slightly as he walked outside.

PS: This week has been utterly miserable. I have recommendations, yet I am being crushed by those without any. Brothers and sisters, where are your recommendation clicks? For the sake of Old Pig, who did not sleep until three last night, please reward Old Pig with a recommendation vote!