Hard Cultivation

Hard Cultivation

Time flowed like water, and in the blink of an eye, two months had passed. For some reason, Iron Mountain had not come looking for trouble with Ye Yun, but Ye Yun did not care. With his current strength, it was still uncertain who would win and who would lose.

In the woods behind Sunrise Peak, a figure flashed about. In his hands, a set of fist techniques that had nearly reached perfection flowed as smoothly as drifting clouds and running water. His fist wind struck the grass and trees, and whistling sounds echoed through the forest.

In the space of a breath, the figure suddenly shifted his stance and rushed forward with a single stride. His right fist slammed into a tree trunk as thick as a water bucket. With a crack, the trunk snapped cleanly in two.

That figure was Ye Yun. After two months of grueling cultivation, not only had he recovered his cultivation, he had also opened seventy-two acupoints. He was only one step away from High-Stage Body Tempering.

His progress in the Layered Waves Fist was even more astonishing. Three days ago, he had already broken through to the realm of great mastery.

Ye Yun withdrew his fist and exhaled, calming the churning blood and qi within him. Feeling the surging inner qi swell his acupoints until they tingled faintly with pain, Ye Yun said in delight, "This is the limit of the Body Tempering Intermediate Stage. I'm finally about to break through."

Ye Yun found a secluded, safe spot and sat down cross-legged. His mind sank completely into his body as he controlled his inner qi and drove it toward the impurities blocking his seventy-third acupoint. The impurities clogging the acupoint trembled under the impact. Again and again, he struck. At last, the impurities shattered, and his inner qi immediately flooded into the new acupoint, nourishing it.

"Ah..."

Having successfully broken through to High-Stage Body Tempering, Ye Yun cried out excitedly.

After a long while, Ye Yun regained his calm. Feeling the power contained within his body, he clenched his left hand into a fist and threw it at the air with all his strength. In an instant, a crisp sound rang out. A punch thrown through pure strength alone carried at least five thousand jin of force. If he used a fist technique and mixed in inner qi, how powerful would it be?

"It's time to go out and gain some experience, to temper my actual combat ability." Ye Yun felt that he had only just broken through to High-Stage Body Tempering, and his fist techniques had already reached a certain level. Continuing to train would not bring much improvement. Rather than spend his time like this, he might as well hone his combat ability and gain practical experience. Only then could he bring one hundred percent of his strength into play.

However, actual combat ability was not so easy to train. He was only an outer disciple and was not permitted to leave the mountain and roam the martial world, much less engage in life-and-death battles. Besides, a martial artist like him, who had never been tempered by blood and flames of war within a sect, might lose his life within a few moves if he encountered a desperate outlaw.

Still, he did not have to fight people to achieve the effects of actual combat. Fighting demonic beasts could produce the same result. Since ancient times, demonic beasts had been humanity's natural enemies. They could absorb the spiritual qi of heaven and earth and evolve. Naturally, beasts that were nourished by spiritual qi day after day could also evolve into demonic beasts once they reached a certain point. Unlike ordinary beasts, demonic beasts were more ferocious and far more aggressive.

Over countless years, the predecessors had divided demonic beasts into several grades. First-grade demonic beasts corresponded to the Body Tempering Realm, second-grade demonic beasts to the Qi Refining Realm, and third-grade demonic beasts to the True Essence Realm. As for demonic beasts above the fourth grade, they could generally only be found deep within mountains and ancient forests.

Battling demonic beasts was even more dangerous. In terms of momentum, demonic beasts often surpassed humans, because they had experienced countless battles from the time they were young. When facing a ferocious demonic beast, a single savage gaze could make one's heart tremble with fear, leaving one able to wield only eighty percent of one's full strength.

Therefore, Ye Yun planned to temper himself in the Blackwater Mountains, thirty li away from the Purple Extreme Sect. Low-grade demonic beasts often appeared there.

He looked at the sky and saw that it was getting late. Ye Yun turned and headed back toward the sect.

After returning to the sect, Ye Yun first prepared some dry rations and medicine for wounds. Then he went to the dining hall to fill his stomach before returning to his room and going to sleep early.

Before dawn the next morning, Ye Yun got up. After washing up, he checked the things he had prepared and found that nothing was missing. He then closed the door and headed down the mountain.

When he reached the mountain gate, Ye Yun reported to the elder guarding it before descending the mountain. After confirming his direction, he quickened his pace.

It was nearly noon before he reached the outskirts of the Blackwater Mountains. Traces of demonic beast activity had already begun to appear here. In such a dangerous place, ordinary Body Tempering Realm martial artists would not dare come. Ye Yun had no choice but to heighten his vigilance and strengthen his guard against the surroundings, ready to attack immediately at the first sign of anything amiss.

As he traveled onward, he did not encounter any demonic beasts, but he killed several ordinary beasts. With Ye Yun's current realm, killing a few beasts was as easy as turning his hand over.

As he walked, Ye Yun sensed a trace of danger. He stopped. At that moment, a black shadow attacked him from a nearby tree branch.

Ye Yun circulated the Little Shift Body Technique beneath his feet and twisted his body aside, evading the attack. At the same time, his right hand formed into a claw and shot out with lightning speed. He accurately seized the black shadow by the head. Looking closely, he found that it was a snake covered from head to tail in crimson patterns.

According to the sect's records, this should be a first-grade demonic beast, a Red Chain Snake. Its venom was extremely potent. Even a Qi Refining Realm martial artist would die from a single bite.

Ye Yun tightened his grip and crushed the demonic snake to death, then casually tossed it onto the ground.

Ye Yun continued forward. Along the way, he encountered two more demonic beast attacks, but they were both low-grade first-grade demonic beasts, equivalent to Low Body-Tempering Stage martial artists. They could not stir even the slightest desire for battle in Ye Yun, and he dealt with them casually.

After walking for over half an hour, he finally encountered a demonic beast worth facing. It resembled a leopard, with black fur and scarlet eyes. It was a high-grade first-grade demonic beast, a Shadow Leopard. Shadow Leopards were incredibly fast and could conceal themselves in darkness. They were the ultimate assassins among demonic beasts.

Battle was about to erupt. The Shadow Leopard and Ye Yun stared fixedly at one another, both ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment.

The Shadow Leopard moved, pouncing at Ye Yun like lightning. Ye Yun flashed aside and dodged. Before the Shadow Leopard could land, Ye Yun pushed off the ground and shot toward it. His right hand clenched into a fist as inner qi gathered around it. He swung his fist and smashed it heavily into the Shadow Leopard's waist, sending it flying four or five meters.

Ye Yun did not waste the opportunity. Seizing victory to press the attack, he continued charging toward the Shadow Leopard. At that moment, the Shadow Leopard's tail swept toward Ye Yun like a whip. Unable to evade in time, Ye Yun was struck by the tail and staggered back several steps.

The Shadow Leopard opened its bloodthirsty maw, revealing sharp fangs as it bit toward Ye Yun.

Instead of retreating, Ye Yun advanced. Just as the Shadow Leopard's attack was about to reach him, Ye Yun leaped into the air and landed on its back. He launched a fierce assault at its head. The Shadow Leopard struggled to throw Ye Yun off, but Ye Yun gripped its fur tightly with one hand while swinging his other fist, smashing blow after blow into its skull. Man and beast remained locked in a stalemate for several minutes. At last, the Shadow Leopard was beyond saving and died at Ye Yun's hands.

Without having time to rest, Ye Yun picked up the Shadow Leopard's corpse and swiftly left the battlefield.

Such a huge commotion might draw other demonic beasts over, and Ye Yun was not confident he could handle them.

Please vote and bookmark, generous bosses, spare a little for me.

End of Chapter