Appearance

Shi Feng gripped the saber in his hand. If this woman of unknown origin was truly a peerless demon king who had taken human form, then she must have already discovered him hiding in the shadows. Today, both he and Shi Lan would die here with no hope of survival.

If it was the second possibility...

Judging by the woman's movements, she clearly felt no fear or discomfort from the campfire. A ghostly spirit capable of this must have at least several hundred years of cultivation. While difficult to deal with, he was confident he could protect Shi Lan and escape safely.

As Shi Feng's thoughts raced, the ethereal woman patted the empty space beside her and smiled, "Young master, please sit here."

Shi Lan calmed her emotions and, after a moment of thought, her eyes brightened. She stopped retreating, closed her eyes, and focused her spiritual energy to activate the Heavenly Eye Qi Observation Technique.

The Heavenly Eye Qi Observation Technique could observe the rise and fall, length and shortness of a person's destiny.

Man or ghost, she would know at a glance.

As soon as her heavenly eye opened, the strange woman by the campfire vanished. Only a somewhat transparent, illusory figure remained. The figure's face was indistinct, surrounded by black mist.

Behind the figure, there was no manifestation of destiny's trajectory, only a black line extending into the darkness of the valley.

It was clear the woman before her was not alive.

Seeing Shi Lan standing still, a faint glow flashed in the strange woman's eyes. She stood up and walked towards Shi Lan.

Noticing the woman's movement, Shi Feng tensed his muscles, ready to strike like a predatory tiger. A faint crimson glow appeared on his saber.

The strange woman reached Shi Lan and raised her hand to caress Shi Lan's cheek.

Her fingertips were ice-cold, sending a shiver down Shi Lan's spine. At that very moment, the Myriad Heavens Reincarnation System, which Shi Lan had almost forgotten about, suddenly reacted.

"Soul body detected, meets capture conditions."

As this voice sounded, the strange woman in front of Shi Lan rippled like a water surface disturbed by the wind.

In the blink of an eye, she condensed into an invisible energy and entered Shi Lan's body through her mouth.

Shi Lan lightly covered her throat. The sensation in that instant was like swallowing a large chunk of ice, chilling her to the bone and causing her head to ache.

Before Shi Lan could dwell on the feeling, a saber aura several yards long grazed her body. A wave of scorching heat washed over her, singeing the tips of her hair.

Shi Feng, saber in hand, froze mid-air, his expression filled with undisguised shock.

He had been prepared for a desperate fight, but before he could unleash a second strike, the strange woman had vanished, as if blown away by the wind.

"Shi Feng?"

Looking at Shi Feng in mid-air, Shi Lan understood everything.

Shi Feng landed lightly and asked nervously, "Young master, are you alright?"

Shi Lan shook her head and thanked Shi Feng. She acknowledged that without his secret assistance in clearing out the formidable-looking demonic beasts along the way, she likely wouldn't have made it this far.

"Why didn't you reveal yourself? Why were you following me in secret?" Shi Lan asked, puzzled.

"The patriarch knew you had left and ordered me to protect you from afar."

Shi Lan was surprised. "He didn't tell you to bring me back?"

Shi Feng shook his head. This also struck him as strange. Shi Tianlu's reply only instructed him not to let Shi Lan go west and to protect her, saying nothing else. He hadn't mentioned Tenglong City at all.

Shi Lan didn't ask further. She returned to the campfire, added another piece of meat to the grill, and summoned the Myriad Heavens Reincarnation System panel.

The panel's content was unchanged. Features like the lucky draw shop remained dim and inaccessible.

"System, what about that soul body just now?"

"It has been reclaimed by the System."

"What's the use of that kind of soul body?"

"The energy from soul bodies can restore some of the System's functions."

Shi Lan felt a warmth in her chest. If the Myriad Heavens Reincarnation System's functions were restored to normal, it would be of great benefit to her.

With that thought, Shi Lan's gaze shifted to the dark valley. The soul body from earlier was connected by a black line to a spot within the valley. There was definitely something amiss there.

After finishing the roasted meat, Shi Lan began cultivating the Jade Body Forging Technique. She had gradually grown accustomed to using cultivation in place of sleep.

The next morning, Shi Lan opened her eyes, packed her belongings, and roughly memorized the valley's appearance before mounting her horse and leaving.

There was definitely something wrong with this valley, but Shi Lan wasn't inclined to explore it right now. If she encountered another soul body, who knew if the Myriad Heavens Reincarnation System would even work? She wouldn't bet her hopes on a system that was unreliable.

Her solitary journey had become a journey for two.

After Shi Lan casually mentioned that demonic beast meat was beneficial for her strength, the grade of demonic beast meat she consumed increased. Shi Feng began actively searching for and hunting Foundation Realm demonic beasts.

With the nourishment from these demonic beast meats, coupled with the Jade Body Forging Technique and her greatly improved aptitude, Shi Lan's strength began to grow by leaps and bounds.

Furthermore, after consuming the flesh of these demonic beasts, their names began to appear on the simulated roster within the System's virtual space.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, Shi Lan spent her days devouring demonic beast meat, using the Jade Body Forging Technique to convert its energy into her own.

At night, she would enter the virtual space and simulate battles with demonic beasts, her understanding of certain beasts advancing by leaps and bounds.

At this moment, Shi Lan sat cross-legged in a barren wilderness, the Jade Body Forging Technique circulating rapidly. The qi flow, transformed from demonic beast blood, began to impact the barrier of Body Tempering Realm sixth level.

It had only been a little over a month since Shi Lan's last breakthrough, and she had already reached the peak of Body Tempering Realm fifth level, touching the barrier of Body Tempering Realm sixth level. This speed even left Shi Feng astonished.

Shi Lan's mind was clear and focused as she circulated the Jade Body Forging Technique with all her might. Under the impact of the qi flow, the barrier of Body Tempering Realm sixth level began to waver within a few moments.

Even though her bone structure had only improved slightly, the difficulty for Shi Lan to break through was now several times easier than before.

The barrier of Body Tempering Realm level six didn't hold for long, quickly being torn apart by the surging spiritual energy.

Shi Lan opened her eyes and leaped up. A series of crisp cracks echoed from her bones as her physical strength increased once more.

Unable to contain her surging power, Shi Lan began to practice the Vajra Divine Fist. With each punch and every move, the air around her whistled.

After practicing the Vajra Divine Fist twice, Shi Lan slowly retracted her stance, still full of energy and showing no signs of fatigue.

As her cultivation deepened, the formidable power of the Jade Body Forging Technique was beginning to show.

Please vote for recommendations, please collect~