Flesh Phase

The patrol team set out and quickly discovered the demons, monsters, and ghosts hiding in Moonlight Slope, and there was more than one.

The most powerful among them was a Ghost Spirit that had already reached the fourth level, comparable to a Martial Artist in the Tendon Phase Realm. It was a mystery how it had managed to sneak into Bamboo Forest Valley.

Beasts, Demonic Beasts, Ghost Spirits, and Anomalies are collectively known as demons, monsters, and ghosts. Among them, Ghost Spirits and Anomalies are the most troublesome, especially Anomalies; if one cannot find their anchor point, they are impossible to kill, being virtually immortal.

Ghost Spirits come next. Lacking a physical form, they possess a spectral body, rendering most physical methods ineffective against them. If a Martial Artist wishes to deal with a Ghost Spirit, they can only rely on scorching blood energy or specialized medicinal pills.

However, releasing blood energy consumes too much, easily damaging one's own body, and the results are often not that effective.

Under normal circumstances, a fourth-level Ghost Spirit can easily handle a powerhouse in the fifth martial realm, and a Tendon Phase Realm Martial Artist of the same level is simply no match for it.

If the patrol team hadn't been cautious, sending out multiple Martial Artists above the Flesh Phase and carrying pills that suppress Ghost Spirits, they likely would have capsized at Moonlight Slope.

Even so, two patrol Martial Artists died under the Ghost Spirit's attack, which made Qin Dongcheng feel incredibly fortunate upon hearing the news.

It was a good thing he hadn't tried to be a hero and take on that Ghost Spirit; otherwise, the consequences would have been unknown. Even if he could have won, it would likely have been a pyrrhic victory, greatly affecting his cultivation or even leading to more severe consequences.

Besides that Ghost Spirit, there were actually several other demons hiding in Moonlight Slope, including two Rat Demons, which left Qin Dongcheng speechless.

The patrol team seemed to have cleared out Moonlight Slope many times, so why did it seem like the more they cleared it, the more there were? There were still so many demons, monsters, and ghosts hiding inside.

He had been so lucky during this period; he had gone back and forth so many times and had never encountered an attack.

He would have to be more careful when going to the Herb Field in the future, preferably traveling in the company of others.

As the only path to the Herb Field, people often passed through Moonlight Slope. He would just follow them when the time came; if they really encountered any demons, monsters, or ghosts, they could look out for each other.

Even if they couldn't win, it wouldn't be hard for him to escape given his speed, and there would be others to divert the attention.

After feeling relieved, Qin Dongcheng suddenly thought of something: what had happened to Zhen Le, who had ambushed him at Moonlight Slope before?

He hadn't seen him for a while and had originally assumed he was recovering from his injuries, but after learning that so many demons, monsters, and ghosts were hiding in Moonlight Slope, Qin Dongcheng couldn't sit still.

After hiding his identity to make inquiries, he was stunned to learn that Zhen Le had gone missing. It happened right around the time he had broken Zhen Le's legs, and everyone suspected that he, too, had fallen victim to the demons, monsters, and ghosts.

Qin Dongcheng was silent. If nothing unexpected happened, it was possible that Zhen Le had been eaten by the demons, monsters, and ghosts in Moonlight Slope; he might have inadvertently helped those creatures.

Although he felt a bit apologetic, the guy deserved it. If he hadn't repeatedly looked for trouble, he wouldn't have encountered such a fate.

He was merely a servant, and many had gone missing during this period. Furthermore, Zhen Le was paranoid and not well-liked by others.

Therefore, no one cared that he was missing. They planned to delete his name from the registry if he didn't return after a while and just pay some compensation to his family; servants weren't worth much anyway.

The trouble that was Zhen Le could be considered completely resolved. Although it wasn't intentional on Qin Dongcheng's part, it was ultimately related to him, making this the first person he had indirectly killed since transmigrating.

He didn't pay much attention to it. In just over a year, he had seen too much life and death, including some acquaintances; this kind of thing could no longer affect him.

Qin Dongcheng continued his cultivation with peace of mind, devoting more time and energy to it. He soon reached the pinnacle of the Skin Phase and prepared to breakthrough to the Flesh Phase.

After these days of cultivation, his blood energy boiled to the limit once again, capable of penetrating deeper into his body.

From here on, as long as it penetrated into his muscles, it would mean that Qin Dongcheng had broken through his shackles and stepped into a new level.

After practicing the Diamond Skin Refining Fist once more and receiving a multi-fold critical hit reward, Qin Dongcheng took the opportunity to begin breaking through the bottleneck.

He was fully prepared, his essence, energy, and spirit restored to perfection, and he was very confident in breaking through.

Under his control, the vast and pure blood energy transformed into thin, wispy threads, penetrating deeper into his body bit by bit.

He soon encountered the bottleneck that blocked this blood energy from penetrating into his muscles. The methods and techniques for breaking through surfaced in his mind, and he began to strike at the bottleneck dam according to the experience left by his predecessors.

"Ssh, ssh, ssh... ssh, ssh, ssh... ssh, ssh, ssh..."

A rhythmic sound rang out continuously, weakening the dam blocking the blood energy bit by bit until the moment a crack appeared.

When the first crack appeared, it meant that Qin Dongcheng's breakthrough was all but certain. He remained calm, striking at the bottleneck in an orderly fashion.

A thousand-mile dam collapses from an ant hole. Half an hour later, the dam was covered in cracks. Accompanied by a series of "crack, crack, crack" sounds, wisps of blood energy soon broke through the shackles and penetrated into his muscles.

As the first wisp of blood energy entered his muscles, it meant that Qin Dongcheng's cultivation had broken through.

Third Martial Realm!

Flesh Phase!

Under the tempering and enhancement of the blood energy, his previously somewhat loose muscles became tight and firm at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Having undergone an overall improvement during the Body Phase, Qin Dongcheng's physical fitness was already quite good, and his physique was well-proportioned; he had originally thought there wasn't much left to improve.

However, as the blood energy integrated, Qin Dongcheng realized that his muscles still had so much room for tempering and improvement; he had only just begun the process of tempering and enhancing his muscles.

After the breakthrough, this blood energy became much more vigorous and pure, and his strength, speed, reaction, and other aspects were all soaring, though the greatest improvement was in his muscles.

The contents of the Evergreen Muscle Refining Fist surfaced in his mind, and Qin Dongcheng began to practice and improve according to its teachings.

He had long since thoroughly understood this muscle-refining technique, and now that he was practicing it, he was extremely proficient. He quickly mastered it, allowing him to more effectively temper his muscles and improve his strength in every aspect.

By the time he consolidated his current realm, Qin Dongcheng's strength had undergone an astonishing improvement.

A Martial Artist in the Flesh Phase is qualified to be called a first-class Martial Artist, or a first-class expert, in the martial arts world. From this title alone, one can see the power and status of a Flesh Phase Martial Artist.

Moreover, having successively awakened the top-tier Strange Phenomena of Dragon Vigor Tiger Might and Heaven-Reaching Rhino Roam, Qin Dongcheng's strength was far beyond that of an ordinary Flesh Phase Martial Artist, even being much stronger than Martial Artists a level above him.