Thousand-Catty Divine Strength

Captain Zhou Lie's body was to be taken back by the Ashes Yamen.

So Li Ye shoveled it out ahead of time.

When the Black-Clad Academicians outside opened the door, he handed it over to them.

Seeing Li Ye alive and kicking before them once again, the Black-Clad Academicians nearly popped their eyeballs out.

Eating roast chicken twice and coming out unscathed—this guy's fate was too tough.

"Chief, he survived again."

A Black-Clad Academician clicked his tongue in wonder.

Constable Zhou Lie's corpse was definitely no ordinary thing.

By the time it was carried up the mountain, it was already more than half transformed.

Because of allocation issues, they'd spent some time drawing lots.

The Corpse Deliverer also needed a bit of time to deliver the corpse.

By the time Li Ye entered the Corpse Incineration Room, it should have been highly likely that the corpse would transform.

Yet he came out safe and sound again.

Leader Wu Qing said, "Tomorrow, I'll treat him to another meal of steamed buns. My treat."

"Chief, what if he eats roast chicken again and still doesn't die?"

A Black-Clad Academician asked.

"Then I'll treat him to steamed buns again."

The leader replied flatly.

After the Corpse Incinerator left, Li Ye quickly closed the courtyard gate and returned to his room to examine the Nine Heavens Crimson Thunder Art.

This was a cultivation method of pure, unyielding yang.

Its content was simple—only a single set of breathing techniques.

The technique had six sections, each requiring a different posture to practice: standing, half-squatting, lying flat, lying on one's side, sitting cross-legged, and handstanding.

It seemed simple, but relying on the Holy Son's memories, Li Ye still recognized that this scripture was anything but ordinary.

The power of the Nine Heavens Crimson Thunder Art far surpassed any technique the Holy Son had cultivated in his lifetime.

Li Ye spread his legs shoulder-width apart, relaxed his entire body, and cleared his mind of distractions.

He began practicing the breathing method corresponding to the first posture.

Time passed slowly. After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, wisps of hot mist rose from Li Ye's body. His breathing slowed and steadied, gradually gaining strength, until finally it carried a faint roar of thunder.

With each inhale and exhale, Li Ye's body surface vibrated, shaking out sticky impurities from every pore, the smell unpleasant.

The Holy Son's talent was outstanding, and his body had long been refined to perfection.

But during the half-year of his demotion, he had neglected cultivation and given up on himself, allowing many new impurities to appear again.

Li Ye only stopped when he felt a tearing pain spreading across his skin, his body unable to withstand the tempering of the breathing method any longer.

After he ceased, the pain faded, and then an unprecedented sense of comfort spread through every pore in his body.

"Refreshing!"

Li Ye couldn't help but exclaim, then stretched.

After resting a while, Li Ye switched to the second section of the breathing method.

He bent his knees slightly and clenched his fists—essentially assuming a horse stance.

Soon, the second section of the breathing method took effect, and white mist seeped from his back.

Li Ye faintly sensed a warm current entering through his mouth and nose. Could this be the legendary Spiritual Qi?

The first section of the breathing method tempered the skin; the second section worked on the muscles.

Half an hour later, Li Ye again felt a tearing pain.

So he stopped.

Ten minutes later, he switched to the third section of the breathing method.

This section tempered the meridians.

The fourth section forged the bones.

The fifth section worked on the Five Viscera.

After finishing this section of the breathing method, Li Ye sensed a vigorous life force emerging within him, warm and soothing, his Five Viscera feeling indescribably clear and comfortable.

He suspected this section of the breathing method could extend one's lifespan, keeping the Five Viscera as fresh as new.

"Could this be the Eternal Life technique I've dreamed of?"

Li Ye grew excited.

The sixth segment of the formula was Bone Refining and Marrow Entry, tempering the marrow itself.

Once the marrow was refined, the blood would be exchanged, and from the inside out, the body would be reborn.

Boom!

When Li Ye finished cycling through the sixth segment of the breathing technique, his body suddenly jolted, erupting with a faint aura.

Sixth layer of the Body Tempering Realm!

He swung his fist, and a gale howled, as if carrying a thousand jin of strength.

"For ordinary people tempering the body, aside from the technique itself, they need medicinal baths to cultivate."

"The first layer of the Body Tempering Realm grants a hundred jin of strength, the second layer two hundred jin, and so on. At the Great Perfection of the Body Tempering Realm, one possesses a thousand jin of strength."

"The Holy Son cultivates the profound methods of the Divine Concealment Sect, and even at the peak of the Body Tempering Realm, he only had fifteen hundred jin of strength."

"And here I am, at the sixth layer of the Body Tempering Realm, already with a thousand jin of strength."

Li Ye guessed that by the time he reached the Great Perfection of the Body Tempering Realm, he should be able to achieve two thousand jin, or even more.

Most importantly, this technique required no medicinal baths—it directly absorbed Spiritual Qi to temper the body.

That was something only experts at the Qi Gathering Stage could do. No wonder it was a technique from the Corpse Incineration Furnace.

The next morning, Li Ye heard that Zhou Bao had run into trouble.

So he decided to go check on him.

But as soon as he stepped out, he found Zhou Bao sitting with a few Corpse Incinerators, laughing and chatting, the atmosphere lively.

It turned out he had mastered the Corpse Suppressing Incantation.

"Brother Li Bai?"

When Zhou Bao saw Li Ye, he hurried over.

And began recounting what had happened to him last night.

If anyone had luck, it was this guy—he was the true child of fortune.

In all the days Zhou Bao had been at the Corpse Refining Courtyard, last night was the first time he encountered a corpse rising.

His arm had been scratched by a Fierce Corpse, and in his panic, he blurted out the Corpse Suppressing Incantation he'd been practicing for days, subduing the enemy in one go.

To celebrate surviving the ordeal, Zhou Bao had gone down the mountain to buy two jugs of cheap wine and a catty of peanuts, sharing his story with the Corpse Incinerators and peddling his Corpse Suppressing Incantation.

"He's the master of Courtyard No. 3?"

"So young."

The new Corpse Incinerators, most of whom had never seen Li Ye before, couldn't help but be surprised.

People began introducing themselves.

Old Chen: A man in his early forties, of medium build and slightly stout. He had once been well-off, but with the chaos in the world and rampant bandits, his home was looted, his wife and child killed, and he ended up drifting here.

Liu Zhi: A martial artist with Body Tempering cultivation, formerly an escort guard. On one escort mission, he ran into mountain bandits, his goods were stolen, and the job failed. His companions all died, but he was lucky to survive. He followed the refugee army across the barren land, healing and begging along the way, until he ended up here.

Sun Zhuang: Tall and sturdy, once a hired hand for a landlord. Due to years of disaster, even the landlord fell on hard times. He divorced nine of his ten concubines. Let alone a hired hand like Sun Zhuang.

So this was the state of the Great Gan Dynasty.

It was heading for ruin.

Li Ye listened to everyone's stories and shook his head.

Bang!

Suddenly, a muffled sound came from ahead.

It seemed the gate of the Corpse Refining Courtyard had been kicked open.

"Hey hey hey, anyone breathing in here?"

"Come out, one of you."

The person who entered shouted at the top of his lungs.

At this hour, almost all the Black-Clad Academicians had gone down the mountain to eat and drink. Aside from the gatekeeper, there wouldn't be many people around.

A man in blue robes inexplicably appeared before Li Ye and the others.

He looked about eighteen or nineteen, with sword-like brows slanting into his temples, phoenix eyes full of spirit, and an air of heroic vigor.

The elegant blue robe swayed in the wind, and in his left hand he held a silver longsword, the three golden characters "Divine Concealment Sect" on the scabbard gleaming brilliantly under the sunlight.

In his right hand, the man in blue was carrying a corpse.

He stared at the crowd, an intangible aura naturally spreading out.

An Immortal from the Divine Concealment Sect?

The expressions of several Corpse Incinerators tightened.

The Divine Concealment Sect, a legendary sect of Immortals.

To show respect for the Divine Concealment Sect, the Great Gan Dynasty had ceded the tax revenue of ten nearby cities.

This showed the transcendent status of the Divine Concealment Sect.

Those who could enter the Divine Concealment Sect were geniuses chosen from ten thousand. Even the lowest-ranked Menial Disciple, if they later joined the military, could become a minor general galloping across the battlefield.

Him? Li Ye stared at the figure in blue, never expecting that someone from the Divine Concealment Sect would come to the Corpse Refining Courtyard.

But thinking it was this person, he wasn't too surprised.

"You are the Corpse Incinerators."

"A Corpse Transformation is imminent—deal with it!"

The man in blue said.

Suddenly, his gaze sharpened, and he noticed Li Ye in the crowd...