Second-Stage Body Tempering, the High-and-Mighty Penglai Yunhai

The Primal Chaos Stance had originally been a martial art from the mortal world.

When trained to its limit,

it could temper the body until it rivaled the eighth, or even ninth, level of Qi Refinement.

So, from a certain perspective, it was also a body-tempering technique.

It simply was not particularly profound.

The eighth level of Qi Refinement was its limit. Breaking through to the Second Stage and reaching a level comparable to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator was virtually impossible.

However,

the proportion of mortals with Spiritual Roots was even smaller.

Thus, among the people Wang Mu had invested in, mortals who had received the Primal Chaos Stance far outnumbered cultivators.

The experience gains they brought Wang Mu also far exceeded the rest.

With a thought, Wang Mu left the hall and soon arrived in a Secret Room for cultivation.

Before him,

a humanoid metal puppet stood towering there.

Wang Mu adjusted his breathing slightly. Bright light burst from his eyes, the muscles all over his body knotted like twisted dragons, and his Qi and blood surged, producing waves of sound that roiled through his body.

As he threw a punch,

the air before him seemed to explode under the blow.

The fist wind shrieked.

Boom!

Hum~

The tremendous force struck the metal puppet. From the point where his fist met the metal surface, an exceedingly tiny ripple emerged.

The ripple spread continuously, its undulations growing ever greater before turning into raging waves. The entire metal puppet began to deform,

releasing a long, resonant hum like an ancient bell.

Only after a full ten breaths did the process come to a stop.

Wang Mu raised his head and looked at a mirror by the edge of the metal puppet. Light flickered across its surface, revealing a soaring giant dragon.

The strength of one dragon!

Equivalent to roughly one hundred and twenty-five thousand jin!

Delight appeared on Wang Mu's face.

Among the Three Great Sacred Grounds of Northern Darkness,

the Qiankun Sacred Ground was the Sacred Land of body cultivators throughout the world.

Its sect's supreme art, the Qiankun God-Refining Physique, could only grant a maximum strength of one hundred and eight thousand jin at the Second Stage!

This enormous amount of experience gathering together had not only elevated the utterly ordinary [Primal Chaos Stance] to the level of a genuine Second-Stage body-tempering art.

It had even made it a notch stronger than the greatest supreme art of the body-tempering Sacred Land!

This was an utterly unexpected, heaven-sent surprise!

Body cultivators were extremely rare.

Moreover, at the same level, they often required far more resources than those cultivating magical power.

They also had to put in much greater effort.

Other than those with no choice, almost no one took this path.

Yet correspondingly, body cultivators who succeeded in their training possessed astonishing combat strength.

In the later stages, their bodies could rival magical treasures. Ordinary Flying swords and Magic Artifacts would struggle to harm their flesh, and even all manner of spells would find it difficult to threaten their lives. They were incomparably troublesome.

And if a body cultivator got close,

a single casual punch

was not something any spell cultivator wished to experience.

"Casting a wide net really was the right choice!"

Wang Mu was now somewhat glad about his decision in the past to invest martial arts even in cultivators whose Spiritual Roots had not been detected.

Although, after this technique broke through,

the experience gains he received from those mortals had shrunk drastically, that was only normal. After all, what they cultivated was [Primal Chaos Stance], not [Primal Chaos Ultimate Intent Art]!

Wang Mu was already satisfied that some of that experience could be inherited.

Furthermore, supported by an even more massive population base, Wang Mu had a feeling that his cultivation progress in body tempering might not be any slower than his progress in magical power!

"Advancing on two fronts is the kingly path! With my current cultivation, even against ordinary Golden Core Stage cultivators, I can sweep them aside!"

Wang Mu clenched his fist. Bright light flickered in his eyes, and he was brimming with confidence.

Let's change the subject.

On Feixian Island in the Qingyun Archipelago,

in its most prosperous district,

a new establishment of extreme luxury in both decoration and scale had opened.

It stood not far away from the branch of the Langya Merchant Association.

"Penglai Cloud Sea Foundation?"

A young pair of Dao Companions passed by its entrance. Looking at the huge redwood plaque, they slowed to a stop.

"Are you two here to donate some charity funds?" A portly middle-aged man dressed like a merchant walked out from inside, looking at them with a smile.

The female cultivator was somewhat interested. "What is the difference between your foundation and that Langya Foundation?"

Shopkeeper Zhong said with complete confidence, "Of course there is a difference! Over there, if you spend a hundred Spirit Stones, only one will be donated and recorded as merit! But here, every single coin you spend is solid, genuine merit!"

As he spoke, he pointed at a blank Rankings board outside the door and smiled. "We just opened today, so there is no one on the Immeasurable Merit List yet. If you two are also interested in charitable work, why not come in and sit for a while?"

Upon hearing that, the two of them brightened.

It sounded pretty good.

"Come on, let's go in and take a look!"

Once inside,

the antique furnishings and understated luxurious decor made it impossible for the Two People to look away.

Even the luminous pearls used for lighting were premium goods worth at least ten thousand Spirit Stones each.

The attendants who came to serve tea wore exquisitely crafted Magic Robes, each worth no less than two or three thousand Spirit Stones on the market.

The pair immediately became somewhat restrained. After taking a sip of tea, they grew even more nervous.

The tea fragrance was rich. One look told them it was not cheap, clearly spiritual tea worth at least several Spirit Stones per liang.

It truly was an excellent place. They were so generous—if they did not buy something to show their support, it would be somewhat hard to justify!

Seeing this, the male cultivator cleared his throat twice and asked, "Um, what do you sell here?"

"Sell?"

Shopkeeper Zhong froze, then smiled. "This isn't a shop. We don't sell anything!"

The male cultivator was stunned. "You don't sell anything? Then how are we supposed to donate?"

Shopkeeper Zhong replied as though it were only natural, "Since it is a donation, why would we sell anything? You two take out Spirit Stones, and I register your names. Then it is done!"

Thinking of something, the female cultivator hurriedly asked, "You mean we give you money and get nothing at all?"

Shopkeeper Zhong scanned the two of them, his brows knitting slightly. "How can you say you get nothing at all? You provide aid to Daoist Friends in the Disaster Area and contribute to the peace of the Cultivation World in the Northern Region. Shouldn't that make you feel wonderful?"

The young couple's mouths twitched slightly.

Shopkeeper Zhong continued, "I can see that you two have refined features. You must be righteous cultivators with kindness in your hearts. Surely you would not begrudge parting with even a little worldly possession?"

The young couple exchanged a glance.

To be honest, they already wanted to leave.

But they had come all this way, drunk the tea, and eaten the pastries. Leaving now somehow felt too embarrassing.

Forget it!

They would donate a little. They could treat it as payment for the tea.

This tea had not been cheap either!

The two communicated through divine sense.

The female cultivator took out a Storage Bag and removed several dozen Spirit Stones. A trace of heartache showed between her brows as she handed them over.

"Then we'll donate this much!"

Shopkeeper Zhong glanced at the Spirit Stones, and the smile in his eyes vanished completely. "Are you two joking with me?"

The male cultivator frowned. "What's Wrong?"

Shopkeeper Zhong sneered. "You dare present such scraps? Is this all the compassion you have?"

The female cultivator's complexion changed slightly. "What kind of way is that to speak? Even if it's only several dozen Spirit Stones, they were still donated by us!"

Shopkeeper Zhong's expression turned cold, his face full of mockery. "Two poor ghosts, wasting this senior's time! You Low-level Cultivators are shameless indeed. You have no money, yet you dare enter a place like this? Do you even deserve to drink our tea?"

With that, he directly had the tea taken away.

He waved his hand and told the two to get lost.

At the same time, he did not forget to pocket the Spirit Stones the female cultivator had taken out.

Seeing this, the male cultivator was rather indignant. "You took our Spirit Stones and still have this attitude? We donated money; we don't owe you anything! Besides, our names ought to be written on that Merit List outside!"

Shopkeeper Zhong gave a cold laugh. "A mere few dozen Spirit Stones, and you think you deserve to be on the Merit List? You might not be ashamed, but the Penglai Cloud Sea Foundation still has some dignity!"

"Get lost already. Say one more word, and do not blame this old man for showing you no mercy!"

As he spoke,

several cultivators with fierce expressions entered from outside, staring at the pair with hostile eyes.

The female cultivator's face turned slightly pale.

The male cultivator grabbed her hand and gritted his teeth. In the end, he did not dare say anything more and quickly left.

"Pui! Poor ghosts, wasting this senior's time!"

Looking at their departing backs, Shopkeeper Zhong spat, his face full of ill luck!