Devouring Moon!

"Body Refinement."

Chen Fusheng glanced at the title of the book and rapidly read it with his enhanced vision.

The book recorded the process of cultivating an Acquired Treasure Body, with different effects for each one: a body like stubborn rock, breath like swords, the power to split steles and shatter rocks, and so on.

The strength of a Treasure Body was closely tied to one's Life Essence Blood. If one's qi and blood could surge to the level of a tide, it would be comparable to the Other Shore Realm!

If one's qi and blood roiled like wolf smoke, blotting out the sky and sun, it would rival the Spirit Wandering Realm.

In short, the path of body refinement was called body cultivation.

However, the height of one's achievements also depended on spiritual mental power. Without energy to replenish oneself, how could the physical body be strengthened?

This book gave Chen Fusheng a concrete reference. Qi and blood like a tide? He was close. The problem was that he had yet to reach the Other Shore Realm.

Of course, an Acquired Treasure Body was cultivated, unlike the innate talent of a special constitution. Even if one's qi and blood roiled like wolf smoke and submerged the high skies, there would still be differences in the range of energy radiation.

Chen Fusheng had gained a general understanding. When he reached the end, his pupils contracted. An Acquired Treasure Body could be cultivated, but an Innate Treasure Body naturally contained an immense divine treasury. Once opened, it awakened with supreme potential.

Could Lei San be an Innate Treasure Body?

Unfortunately, the book did not elaborate. It did, however, mention one concept: in the Star Guiding Realm, an Innate Treasure Body could already possess qi and blood like a tide.

Chen Fusheng's heart jolted. Was the Furnace Contemplation Method modeled after an Innate Treasure Body?

He asked Mu Zhen about the level of this kind of constitution. Mu Zhen stuck out her little tongue and, with hazy drunken eyes, said, "One in a million. It's even rarer than a Heavenly Star Master. Ordinary books don't record it at all. You need to consult the relevant materials in the Heavenly Star Manor."

"What?"

Chen Fusheng was dumbfounded. The odds were so low they were outrageous—equivalent to a prodigy born of Heaven and Earth.

On the contrary, the book also mentioned the Pure Yang Body and Pure Yin Body.

Fire was yang, water was yin—the way of Heaven and Earth.

Pure and untainted yang qi gathered the Essence of the Sun, nurturing a supreme yang physique. It was like the body of an innate child, referring broadly to the purity of an infant.

These constitutions were flawless and free of defilement, granting long lifespans, with the Sun Star as their Natal Star.

The most unusual thing about a Pure Yang Body was that wherever the light of the Sun Star shone, it could resonate with the Sun Star.

The Tian Yuan Kingdom's territory was vast. He did not know how many suns there were, but the Abyssal Realm was boundless, and there were likely countless Sun Stars.

Mu Zhen's little head suddenly leaned over. As she looked at the description of Pure Yin and Pure Yang, Chen Fushen's heartbeat quickened. He lowered his head and looked at Mu Zhen's fair, slender nape. Strands of hair lay across his hand, carrying a delicate fragrance like orchids and musk.

His yang qi surged involuntarily, making Mu Zhen's cheeks burn. Her body stiffened, and she shrank back.

"I say, the Flood Dragon Ship is about to leave the river. We all have to go!"

The thoroughly drunken Liu Bai suddenly shouted. This sobered Chen Fusheng considerably. Could he get an entry pass?

Every year, at the beginning of spring, the Flood Dragon Ship left the river and traveled far away, venturing at least three to five thousand li into the Black River!

For such a grand fishing event, let alone the disciples of the Star Gazing Manor—even the various Aristocratic Clans of Tian Yuan City had to spend vast sums of money to buy places aboard the ship.

This was no trial. The Flood Dragon Ship possessed an utterly terrifying deterrent force. Even super-large schools of spirit fish would be left dizzy and disoriented, and the harvest was outrageously abundant.

"Only the top one hundred disciples of the Inner Courtyard possess places. The rest need to complete missions to earn them. Isn't it a little late now?"

Wang Lie hurriedly asked, "Can you get a place?"

"Heh-heh, I have inside information. Apparently, the Star Palace has pinpointed the approximate range where the Flood Dragons are active!" Liu Bai had no shortage of places because of his much older girlfriend.

Flood Dragons? Chen Fusheng's eyes widened. Was the Star Gazing Manor about to wage battle against the Flood Dragons? This was an astonishing battle rarely seen in a century. How could he not watch it?

"Can you stop keeping us in suspense? Don't tell me your brother-in-law is going to make a move?"

Wang Lie was growing impatient. The Flood Dragon Ship moved on and off throughout the journey, during which the disciples could pilot treasure ships across the four corners of the wilderness and cast nets to fish.

"Your brother-in-law? Can you just say things like that?" Liu Bai's legs went weak with fright.

Mu Zhen could not help laughing. She knew a little about Liu Bai's affairs in the Inner Courtyard. His much older girlfriend had considerable influence, but her distant cousin's status was astonishing.

Xu Changfeng—the controller of the Star Gazing Manor and the person in charge of the Star Palace—had even once studied at the Heavenly Star Manor!

"Have you forgotten what Master Wang does for a living?"

Liu Bai hurriedly changed the subject. Only then did they suddenly understand. How could the Flood Dragon Ship lack cooks and helpers? They could board the Flood Dragon Ship as menial laborers.

"Don't celebrate too early."

Wang Dapang was red-faced as he chatted heart-to-heart with Huang Tiancheng. He shouted, "The number of helper positions is limited. A lot of people are eyeing this piece of fat meat. Fusheng, Wang Lie, if you two want places, you'll have to pay a price before I can help you compete for them."

Wang Lie decisively pulled out a token. "This is a time token for secluded cultivation in the Star Palace. It shouldn't be difficult to trade this token for two places, right?"

Mu Zhen was surprised. Wasn't he going to break through in the Star Palace?

"This token does carry some weight. I'll have to ask around." Without absolute certainty, Wang Dapang did not dare make rash promises.

Chen Fusheng was filled with anticipation. Once he made a trip into the depths of the Black River, the Purple Python Crossing River diagram could finally display its true value!

He suddenly thought of something and whispered to Mu Zhen, "Senior Sister, a few days ago, I was in the Black River and discovered something..."

"A water cavern? Strange egg-shaped stones? You suspect there's a mineral vein beneath the river?"

Chen Fusheng did not dare confirm it either. He needed an expert to survey the place. If it was real, even a small mineral vein could yield immense wealth.

He also brought up the Five Organs Source Medicine. Cultivating the internal organs could not be delayed. If the matter with the Flood Dragon Ship was reliable, he would have to keep up with his cultivation in the short term!

"One set of Five Organs Source Medicine?" Mu Zhen looked at Chen Fusheng in surprise and said, "That price isn't low. It costs at least seven thousand star stones—almost enough to buy a low-grade Star Pill!"

Low-grade, mid-grade, and high-grade spirit pills.

Star Pills were different. Their refinement required drawing in the essence of the stars and combining it with all kinds of rare spirit medicines. Even the cheapest Star Pill was worth more than ten thousand.

Chen Fusheng planned to liquidate all of Teng Xiong's wealth. He could barely gather enough for one set.

Chen Fusheng realized that cultivation was a bottomless pit. Just like that, he had fallen from a member of the Ten Thousand Star Household back to the lowest level. Fortunately, he still had a storage pouch hidden up his sleeve.

As they chatted, it soon grew late into the night, and everyone took their leave one after another.

Chen Fusheng closed the courtyard gate. Extremely puzzled, he asked Huang Tiancheng how exactly he had been poisoned back then.

Even Ling Yao had been forced to sever his own arm because of it. Given Huang Tiancheng's cultivation in the past, how could he possibly have endured it?

"The poison I suffered from is limited to the physical body. The toxins remain hidden inside me. As long as I don't overexert myself or fight, the poison won't flare up. It's different from ordinary Cold Poison."

Huang Tiancheng gave an aged smile. "These old bones of mine can hold on for a few more days. Don't worry about me. Your path is to reach the Other Shore Realm as soon as possible."

"Grandpa, if I really go aboard the Flood Dragon Ship, the round trip will take two or three months. I truly can't set my mind at ease."

Chen Fusheng pressed him for details, wanting to learn about Huang Tiancheng's past. He knew even more clearly that back then, he had crawled out of a snowdrift to look for food, only to faint and awaken in the Tian Yuan Star Observation Manor.

Yet on that very day, Huang Tiancheng had become the head chef of the Dining Hall. What exactly had his past been?

Huang Tiancheng fell silent. Chen Fusheng had been an orphan from the start, while Huang Li now coveted wealth and glory. Once he was gone, Huang Tiancheng would be left all alone.

Huang Tiancheng suddenly walked into the bedroom and pulled an old wooden chest out from beneath the bed.

Chen Fusheng glanced at the sandalwood box inside the chest. "What's this?"

The old man blew the dust from the wooden box. His mood somewhat heavy, he opened it, revealing a sheen like black jade.

"Fusheng, do you know what a Star Skill is?"

"I know what a Star Skill is. Why are you asking?"

Star Skills originated from secret arts evolved from one's Natal Star in the heavens. Anyone who mastered one could unleash all kinds of inconceivable abilities.

Chen Fusheng knew that to obtain any Star Skill in the Inner Courtyard, one had to pay an exorbitant price, and cultivation was incomparably difficult.

A Star Skill could also be called a Star Manifestation!

By using the energy in the qi sea to activate a Star Skill, one could supposedly establish a tunnel with the stars above, thereby drawing in stellar matter to fight!

Whether Star Artifacts or Star Skills, these high-end resources were beyond the reach of nine out of ten ordinary Inner Courtyard disciples.

Chen Fusheng looked at the curved saber inside the box, its black-jade color like a dark moon. It was ancient and desolate, radiating mysterious fluctuations too profound to fathom.

There were also faint engraved diagrams on the black-jade crescent saber.

His eyes could not make them out at all. Then, using his physical body for contemplation, he saw dense, tightly packed diagrams emerge across the saber.

"Can you see the scene?" Huang Tiancheng's emotions grew agitated.

"I can. No, I can't make it out. There are so many diagrams, and they're incredibly complicated. I can't see them clearly."

Chen Fusheng pushed the Contemplation Method to its absolute limit and discovered that every engraved diagram seemed like terrifying deep space, bringing him endless pressure upon his mind.

The sensation was as if an ordinary person had fallen into the deep sea. The fear in his heart climbed step by step, exceeding Chen Fusheng's limit of endurance.

Bang...

His feet stumbled backward several steps. Sweat poured down him as his face paled, his vital essence, spirit, and energy utterly exhausted.

Especially when he tried to recall the scene from moments ago, he found that he could remember nothing.

"Grandpa, could the diagrams on this be the Star Skill?" Chen Fusheng asked in shock. The atmosphere was too heavy and oppressive.

"You really saw them."

Huang Tiancheng grew even more agitated. He still remembered that when he had been at the peak of the Other Shore Realm, he had barely managed to make out part of the engraved diagrams.

He had never expected the Contemplation Method path to grant such keen Spirit Sense, allowing one to touch the diagrams hidden within the curved saber!

"The saber is called Devouring Moon!"

Huang Tiancheng handed the curved saber to Chen Fusheng.