In this situation, Lu Wu could not count on cultivating normally at all.
As he constantly converted fire-element and earth-element energy, he discovered that not only the parts of his body submerged in the mud, but his entire body, were growing scorching hot.
Even... inside his body, things felt different.
Just as I thought!!!
Lu Wu was overjoyed.
It turned out that the most important step in tempering his body was to absorb energy other than fire-element energy to cultivate in this environment!!
Only this would temper his entire body!!
"If you want to try, go ahead. Nothing will wrap itself around you," Luo Long reminded the others. "You can stick a hand in and try the pain Lu Wu is feeling right now."
Hearing this, Nangong Pei was the first to approach the swamp mud.
Lu Wu's talent was outstanding, even top-tier, but Nangong Pei believed that talent alone, without effort, would not have made Lu Wu so strong.
He took off his jacket, rolled up the sleeves of the clothes underneath, and plunged his forearm straight into the mud.
Nangong Pei did not hesitate throughout the entire process.
Waves of intense pain came from his arm, as though something thorn-covered were repeatedly battering it.
"Ah!"
Nangong Pei screamed and instinctively pulled his arm back.
"Elder Luo, has Lu Wu been enduring this kind of pain the whole time?" Nangong Pei looked at Luo Long and asked.
"He's also enduring the pressure of the surrounding mud, and its cold." Luo Long nodded.
To be honest, he was becoming increasingly interested in this boy, Lu Wu.
He was quick-witted and could endure what ordinary people could not.
Even if it had something to do with the strength of his soul, that was still the truth.
Nangong Pei gave Lu Wu a long look, then turned to Luo Long and Shen Shitian. "Master Shen, Elder Luo, I'd like to go back and rest. I'll take my leave."
"Go on. There's no need to put too much pressure on yourself." Luo Long naturally knew Nangong Pei was not really going to rest, and offered some reassurance.
Presumably, compared with Lu Wu, once many people accepted it, the disparity they felt would still be considerable.
Seeing this, Mu Nujiao and Zu Yanzhi likewise went back to cultivate.
Mu Nujiao had originally wanted to try it, but now it seemed better to work hard on cultivating her magic and improving her combat strength.
Lu Wu did not exchange greetings with the others.
Once his body adapted, he slowly moved forward, but after moving just a tiny bit, the pain reached his limit.
It seemed that the farther out he went, the more terrifyingly the pain increased.
After two hours, the moon had risen, and a faint, thin layer of frost had formed on the water.
Lu Wu discovered that the pounding force had vanished, and something seemed to have sucked away the elemental energy in the mud.
A silver power enveloped his body. Lu Wu knew what it was.
"Uncle Jiang, let me first..."
Before he could finish, Lu Wu was already in a huge pool. The steaming hot water immediately made the searing pain in his body even more pronounced.
After washing himself, Lu Wu discovered obvious scars on his body.
Presumably, although his body had recovered, it had not returned to its previous appearance. Below his chest was even worse; after all, it had been soaking in the water for a long time.
He lowered his head to check. Still mighty, with no injuries. Lu Wu felt much more at ease.
As for the scars elsewhere, he could keep cultivating and growing stronger, then ask a Healing Element mage for help, and they could be restored to their original state.
But some places simply could not be allowed to scar carelessly.
After changing into a fresh set of clothes, Lu Wu went outside. The campfire was still burning, but only Grandpa Shen and Elder Luo were there.
"You look quite lively." Shen Shitian was very satisfied.
Over time, Lu Wu's body would become very strong, and he could then spend a long stretch cultivating with the Thought Stone without worry.
"That's all thanks to Grandpa Shen and Elder Luo." Lu Wu chuckled. "You must have put a great deal of thought into it."
"It's just a magic item I made on a whim back then." Shen Shitian did not mind.
"That thing belongs to me now. Lu Wu is thanking me, so what are you acting so nonchalant for?" Luo Long curled his lip at that.
"What do you mean, it belongs to you? You coveted it back then and took it yourself..."
Watching the two old men bicker, Lu Wu could not help finding it funny and prepared to go cultivate.
His cultivation schedule was rather busy now.
"Lu Wu, don't be too hasty about things. Working hard is good, but there's no need to keep yourself wound so tight." Noticing that Lu Wu was about to return to his lodgings, Shen Shitian hurriedly called him back.
"Exactly, exactly. Go get the meat Mu Nujiao put on skewers and grill it yourself." Luo Long wholeheartedly agreed and pointed at the raw meat skewers beside the woodpile. "You're not hungry now because you've been cultivating all this time, but eating something will help temper your body."
"Come keep Grandpa company and chat." Shen Shitian made his own request.
Hearing the two old men, Lu Wu walked toward the skewers.
There was even a jar of ground facing-heaven chilies sitting on the woodpile...
With Nangong Pei joining them, the item-refining process proceeded in full swing, and all three of them had a relatively easy time.
On the fifteenth day, everyone needed to stay a little more on edge.
Twenty-five days passed. Mu Nujiao had cultivated extremely hard during this time. With a Stardust Magic Tool, her cultivation progressed a thousand miles a day.
As for Lu Wu, he had not fallen behind in his cultivation, and had already consolidated the second level of the Basic Tier in his Fire Element.
The biggest change was that he was now as light as a swallow and had very agile reflexes.
Of course, this was not what satisfied Lu Wu most.
What satisfied him most was that he could now secretly prepare magic while discussing Fire Burst with Zu Yanzhi and Nangong Pei or doing other things.
Moreover, when he focused, the time needed to cast magic had shortened to a second and a half!!
Since the most critical stage was coming next, everyone was resting.
Seeing that Lu Wu and the others had not gone to refine items, Mu Nujiao did not go cultivate either.
"The weather's nice today. Want to have a look around?" Zu Yanzhi suggested.
They had been in Hanging Coffin Swamp for almost a month, but had mostly stayed nearby, with no time at all to properly explore.
"Go on, go on. This time, we'll cultivate for two days before resuming the refining," Shen Shitian said with a smile.
"You youngsters go. Don't wander too far. We've been attacked dozens of times during this period," Luo Long cautioned.
In the end, their party numbered five, and aside from Lu Wu and Mu Nujiao, all of them were Intermediate Mages.
Nangong Pei, Zu Yanzhi, and another Intermediate Mage, Wang Chong.
All five were in high spirits. Although they were mages, they were not particularly old, after all.
A month of camping without venturing very far had left everyone feeling rather stifled.
"This direction leads outward, and that direction takes us deeper into Mount Wuyi. Which way should we go?" Wang Chong majored in the Wind Element and acted as the party's scout.
"Let's head outward. It's safer," Mu Nujiao replied.
Everyone agreed, and they carefully made their way across the swamp.
Lu Wu took note of the route to keep from being unable to find his way back later, then followed the party.
They traveled roughly seven or eight kilometers, making smooth progress under Wang Chong's lead.
"There's a demon beast's aura up ahead." As they walked, Lu Wu sensed a demon beast's aura and spoke in a low voice.
Sure enough, Wang Chong was already rushing back from ahead on a Wind Track, looking somewhat panicked.
"Don't go any farther. We took the wrong path. This isn't the one we came along." Wang Chong arrived in front of them.
He was extremely fast, using the third-level Wind Track spell, Drifting Shadow.
"Lu Wu, how did you notice?" Zu Yanzhi looked at Lu Wu, then at the panting Wang Chong.
"Notice what?" Wang Chong was somewhat baffled.