Cultivating in the Sea

Nearly a hundred miles beneath Crouching Ox Island.

Within a massive cavern spanning hundreds of feet in width and length, over a thousand people, dressed in rags and barely covering their bodies, were gathered.

Almost every inch of their exposed skin was covered in countless scars.

Each person carried either a mining pick or a bulging animal-hide sack on their back, their eyes burning with fanaticism as they stared at the man standing atop the Lotus Dharma Altar with his arms outstretched.

"My family! The emissaries of our Holy Sect have brought us a new message!"

The man on the Lotus Dharma Altar wore a black robe covered in patches, yet with his arms flung wide and his head held high, he carried himself as if he were draped in the most magnificent of vestments.

"The Holy Sect has not abandoned us! Those damned Green Flood Dragon Army dogs will sink forever into the Red Lotus Hell, repenting for their sins under the burning of the Holy Fire!"

"When the Blood Lotus Flame blooms, it shall be the moment of our counterattack. The great Holy King stands with us all!!"

Whoosh~~~~

Over a thousand miners raised their arms in unison, clenching their fists and waving them toward the sky.

"The raging Holy Fire, incinerating all evil!"

"The Blood Lotus Flame blooms, the Holy King descends!"

Fanatical roars erupted from every throat, the terrifying wall of sound traveling far and wide through the deep, winding tunnels surrounding the cavern.

On Crouching Ox Island, Zhou Hao walked down the mountain path.

"Commander!"

On the ridge of the Ox-Back, many Xiantian Lifeforms of the Jade Dragon Army bowed respectfully upon seeing Zhou Hao.

Seeing that the off-duty Xiantian Lifeforms had already selected their residences and some had even begun to cultivate, Zhou Hao nodded slightly and continued his descent.

He was here for an inspection.

Although he had given orders to his deputy commander, Hu Yong, he knew that without a personal patrol to show the Xiantian Lifeforms that their commander truly cared, it would be difficult to ensure that military orders were executed without compromise.

"Haha... Nan Ming, don't think that just because you cultivate a fire-attribute body-refining technique, you're any good at resisting the cold. You're still far off!"

Just as he reached the foot of the mountain, Zhou Hao heard a triumphant laugh echoing from the beach by the sea.

He didn't need to look to know who it was; the sound alone conjured the image of Shangguan Yun's wide-mouthed, smug grin in his mind.

"What cold resistance? Why aren't you two cultivating? What are you doing here?" Zhou Hao stepped onto the sand.

When looking down from the peak of Ox-Head Mountain, Zhou Hao had assumed the beach was white because of the sand itself.

But as he drew closer, he realized it was actually covered in a thick layer of frost, radiating a biting chill.

On the beach, both Shangguan Yun and Nan Ming were stripped down to their undergarments, their upper bodies bare and still slick with seawater.

The water dripped down their muscular frames, freezing into ice pellets in the air before even hitting the sand.

"Commander, I made a bet with Nan Ming to see who could last longer in the sea. I won!"

Shangguan Yun laughed, though his face was a sickly blue and his lips were purple from the cold, making him look rather comical.

As for Nan Ming, he was in an even more miserable state. He was shivering like a sieve, his hair and eyebrows coated in frost, and he was frozen so stiff he couldn't even speak.

Whoosh!

Seeing this, Zhou Hao activated the Golden Crow Solar Divine Pattern on his back. The fire-attribute essence of heaven and earth coalesced, forming a fire dragon out of thin air that enveloped the two men.

Under the scorching heat of the flames, it took a full half-stick of incense's time for Nan Ming to finally recover.

"Why on earth would you bet on something like this?" Zhou Hao said, speechless. "You know the waters around Crouching Ox Island are bone-chillingly cold, yet you insisted on testing it. Are you children?"

"It was Old Yun." Nan Ming glared fiercely at Shangguan Yun. "He said that before he joined the Jade Dragon Army, he used to dive to the seabed of his home island to train using the water pressure. He claimed it not only accelerated his body-refining progress but was also more effective for circulating his internal energy than training on land. I didn't believe him, so he goaded me, saying I was afraid of the cold..."

"And you just took the bait when someone goaded you?" Zhou Hao chuckled. It seemed the seemingly honest Shangguan Yun had a cunning side after all—he even knew how to use psychological tactics.

However, training using the pressure of the sea?

Thoughts raced through Zhou Hao's mind.

It actually made quite a bit of sense.

Just like the first time he cultivated the Chiming Nine Heavens Map, the Nine Cloud Seal Secret Patterns had ravenously devoured the divine power within his cells, causing his cultivation technique to accelerate rapidly and allowing him to leap from a Post-Heaven mortal to a Xiantian Lifeform in one go.

Everything at that time had been an instinctive, self-preserving reaction of his body when faced with a crisis.

Now that there was no internal crisis, what about external stimulation?

Setting aside the pressure of the seabed, the sheer cold that had nearly frozen two Xiantian-stage body-refining experts to death was certainly enough to trigger a sufficient crisis response in his body.

Zhou Hao looked at the biting seawater. Its temperature was far below the freezing point, yet it remained liquid.

Even the frost on the beach wasn't formed by the seawater itself, but by the moisture in the air crystallizing.

"I'll give it a try, too." Following their lead, Zhou Hao removed his Black Jade Dragon Armor, revealing his lean, powerful muscles.

Compared to Shangguan Yun's bulging, corded muscles, Zhou Hao's physique was naturally more understated.

Yet, his perfect Innate God and Devil Body, nurtured by Solar True Fire and Lunar True Water, gave his frame lines that seemed to follow the perfect proportions of the golden ratio.

In the distance, Shangguan Yu stood at the edge of the beach, constantly peering over, terrified that her brother might stir up some new trouble.

Seeing Zhou Hao strip off his armor to reveal his chest and abdominal muscles, she hurriedly covered her eyes with a squeak.

Yet, judging by the gaps between her fingers, it seemed covering her eyes was merely a gesture to express her astonishment.

"Commander, this seawater is wicked," Nan Ming said, sounding uneasy. "Although my Innate God and Devil Body isn't as perfect as the one nurtured by your Chiming Nine Heavens Map, it is still a fire-attribute technique. You... you must not venture too deep."

"Don't worry, I know my limits. If I feel I can't hold on, I'll return immediately," Zhou Hao smiled at the two of them and turned to walk into the sea.

"Nan Ming, how long do you think the Commander can last?" Shangguan Yun sent a telepathic message.

"When the Commander stepped into the Xiantian realm, he was nurtured by both Lunar True Water and Solar True Fire," Nan Ming thought for a moment, sounding uncertain. "He should at least last a quarter of an hour, long enough for the water to submerge his head."

Just moments ago, the seawater had only reached his chest, and a single wave slapping his face had nearly frozen him stiff, causing him to topple over.

Despite Shangguan Yun's smug smile, he had only managed to walk a few steps further than Nan Ming, with the water barely reaching his neck.

"Dare to make a bet? I bet the Commander can last more than a quarter of an hour," Shangguan Yun added.

"Get lost!"

...Zhou Hao was naturally unaware that his two subordinates were speculating on how long he could endure the bone-chilling seawater.

At this moment, he was feeling quite delighted as he sensed his Xiantian True Essence circulating through his meridians at a significantly faster speed.

It really works!

The sea surface near the beach was relatively calm, lacking the undercurrents and whirlpools found in the deeper outer regions.

Zhou Hao stepped deeper into the sea, step by step, and soon disappeared beneath the surface.

Xiantian Lifeforms have shed their mortal shells, with all meridians cleared; they can hold their breath underwater, switching to internal respiration by absorbing oxygen from the seawater through the countless pores on their skin.

Of course, Xiantian Lifeforms are still living beings and cannot completely forgo food or breathing, but their powerful physical functions allow them to go a day or two without breathing without any issues.

However, in the seawater surrounding Crouching Ox Island, doing so as easily as in ordinary seawater was simply impossible.

Whoosh... Whoosh...

As he moved further from the shore, the seemingly calm surface actually concealed powerful undercurrents on the seabed.

Zhou Hao felt as if countless immense forces were pulling at his body from all directions, trying to drag him into the deep sea.

Bubble...

A string of bubbles rose as Zhou Hao retrieved his Red Gold Copper Rod from his storage space and held it in his hand.

The moment the two Red Gold Copper Rods, weighing a combined twenty-seven thousand catties, appeared, Zhou Hao felt as if he had taken root in the sea, standing firm and unmoving.

Fortunately, the seabed was composed entirely of hard rock; had it been ordinary coastal silt, the weight of the rods alone would have caused him to sink straight into the mud.

After stabilizing his stance, Zhou Hao attempted to circulate the Water Source Sutra. Immediately, the Heaven and Earth Origin Energy, which was so dense it was nearly tangible, surged toward every pore on his body.

"Such rich Heaven and Earth Origin Energy; it's almost on par with a High-Grade Origin Stone," Zhou Hao rejoiced.

Compared to the pure energy within a High-Grade Origin Stone, the energy gathered through his technique contained more impurities that required a full cycle of internal refinement to cleanse, but that was more than enough to make him leap for joy.

High-Grade Origin Stones were finite, but the Heaven and Earth Origin Energy in the seawater was infinite.

To achieve similar cultivation results without consuming High-Grade Origin Stones—it couldn't be any better!

Absorb more. Every extra breath I take now is like saving a mouthful of High-Grade Origin Stone, Zhou Hao thought happily while frantically circulating his technique.

He had been plagued by the constant shortage of High-Grade Origin Stones for so long that he was truly terrified of being poor!