An empty facade, stepping into Blood Refining!
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Specks of crystalline brilliance, dazzling as stars, emerged within his flesh. These points of light shone even brighter than blood-red light, and even showed signs of becoming tangible.
"Radiance Born of Flesh and Blood!"
At that moment, light gleamed in Qingyang Huan's eyes. Clusters of dawnlight shone within him, and every strand of blood Qi had merged into every inch of his flesh. This was the transformation brought about through the slaughter bone rune.
Yet when he mobilized his blood Qi, seeking to connect the crystalline specks within his flesh into a hazy expanse of rosy bloodlight, he could not complete that final step, no matter how many times the pure blood Qi washed through him.
He was stuck!
His strength was already approaching ten thousand jin, something truly difficult to imagine. After all, only when a martial cultivator at the Peak of Body Forging opened the first Divine Repository within their body would their strength surge. An ordinary martial cultivator at the Peak of Body Forging possessed no more than ten thousand jin of strength!
"Why is this?"
He could not help murmuring. He could clearly sense specks of rosy dawnlight forming within his flesh, yet they would never join together. This also left the strength born within him forever a sliver short of ten thousand jin-the strength of one dragon horse.
"I refuse to believe it!"
The next moment, Qingyang Huan gritted his teeth and drew another two streams of pure blood Qi into his body. Now, even his tempered flesh continually sprayed blood Qi straight out.
Yet even this could not carry him that final sliver forward and join the rosy bloodlight together. Instead, under that tremendous pressure, he distinctly felt the blood Qi surge faster, piercing toward the blood vessels within him.
It had actually begun pouring into his blood vessels. He was all too familiar with this phenomenon: it was a sign of Blood Refining, the third step of Body Casting. Before the second step had reached perfection, the third had already begun!
"An empty facade!"
At that moment, however, a faint, elusive thought reached his mind.
It was the stone spear!
Qingyang Huan immediately looked toward the stone spear, which he had planted beside the pool earlier. Yet just as he eagerly awaited what it would say next, the stone spear fell silent!
"This..."
The anticipation on his face froze. What did the stone spear mean by this?
He soon understood. In truth, he had broken his promise. Ever since he had begun cultivating anew in the ancient forest, he had agreed that the stone spear's assistance would not come for free: he would repay its pure blood Qi tenfold. Later, during the affair with the Wood Race, he had also relied almost entirely on the stone spear to obtain the thousand-year tree heart, giving the Qingyang Clan the possibility of growing stronger.
Through this string of events, he seemed to have forgotten the stone spear's payment!
Clearly, the stone spear was reminding him!
Looking at the pure blood Qi he had yet to finish absorbing, Qingyang Huan pursed his lips. It seemed that even with the tribe devoting its full resources to his cultivation, abundant resources alone could not resolve the matter of advancing his cultivation.
With the nurturing of his flesh stuck at the final step, he could only appease the stone spear first. Besides, as long as the stone spear was willing to speak, the problem with his body would surely be easily resolved. Within moments, Qingyang Huan made his decision!
Stepping out of the pool and pulling out the stone spear, he first sought out his eldest brother, Qingyang Luan, and told him he would be leaving the tribe again. Since his father had already given him permission to go out, there was naturally no need to sneak around.
"Although I'm stuck at the second step of Body Casting, my strength is close to ten thousand jin, enough to contend with some martial cultivators at the Peak of Body Forging. This time, I can venture deeper into the ancient forest!"
Under the gazes of several tribespeople, Qingyang Huan rode his Scale-Horned Horse out of the Qingyang Mountain Range.
To appease the stone spear!
He needed to hunt fierce beasts and compensate His Lordship the Stone Spear at a ratio of ten to one!
Three days later, atop a low mountain a hundred li from the Qingyang Tribe, Qingyang Huan sat cross-legged beneath a massive rock on the summit. This spot allowed him to survey the distance, while its single approach made it easier to defend.
In three days, he had hunted a total of twenty-three ordinary Body Casting fierce beasts, giving them all to the stone spear to absorb their blood Qi.
At that moment, bloody light bloomed beneath his beast-hide robe. The hazy light shone through the robe, tinting the rock face behind him with a faint red dawnlight, like the glow of morning clouds spilling down, possessed of an enchanting brilliance.
When the faint rosy bloodlight dissipated, Qingyang Huan opened his eyes, a flicker of delight passing through them.
"Thank you, Senior Stone Spear!"
After just three days of fighting in the ancient forest, the brilliant specks within his previously tempered flesh were already showing signs of joining together.
Coming out to hunt fierce beasts had indeed been the right choice, and he had also come to understand!
"This junior's intentions weren't pure. Senior saw through every little scheme."
He had left the tribe to hunt powerful fierce beasts and appease the stone spear, so that he could learn from it why the bloody dawnlight within him would not merge. Now it seemed the stone spear had remained silent because it had already been certain he would do just that.
"Well... Senior Stone Spear, only when this junior grows stronger can I hunt higher-level fierce beasts for you, isn't that right?"
"Hmph!" A cold snort rang out in his mind, followed by the stone spear's voice once more.
"Martial cultivation has its limits. Whatever strength you wish to command, you must temper yourself to the corresponding degree. Your bloody dawnlight fails to manifest because your flesh has reached its limit. That waterfall can no longer meet your needs for tempering your flesh and making it nurture dawnlight!"
"What is martial cultivation for? It is for fighting and killing! Even if your bloody dawnlight blankets an entire area like rosy clouds, if you cannot bring all your accumulated blood strength to bear in battle and command your power as readily as your own limbs, what use is it!"
"Senior, earlier, this junior felt a bloodthirsty impulse, as though the slaughter bone rune within me was enticing me to attack!"
Having finally gotten the stone spear to speak, he naturally would not let the opportunity slip by. Such personal instruction was a true fortuitous opportunity.
Yet after the stone spear finished speaking, it paid him no further attention. A moment later, however, he realized that the slaughter bone rune enticing him
with that bloodthirsty feeling was no different from the specks of bloody dawnlight failing to gather into rosy dawnlight. Wasn't the cause still his inability to control them?
He had previously absorbed several times as much blood Qi as an ordinary martial cultivator. It seemed to have tempered the depths of his flesh, but in truth, some of it remained hollow, unable to unleash solid, genuine strength!
To make that hollow portion solid, he needed to keep fighting and killing. These three days of hunting powerful fierce beasts had not been wasted. The specks of rosy light within him had already begun connecting, suffusing into rosy dawnlight. Martial Body Casting was not merely a matter of relentless tempering; it required fighting and honing as well. Only then could the strength born within him be refined into his flesh.
At this rate, it would not take long to complete the second step of Body Casting. More importantly, he had already begun Blood Refining, the third step of Body Casting!
"One hundred Body Casting fierce beasts within ten days!"
Just then, the stone spear's voice sounded in his mind again.
"Agreed!"
This time, Qingyang Huan did not refuse. Three days of fighting, together with the stone spear's guidance just now, had given him a clear understanding of his own strength.
It was true that his skin and membranes had developed folds and his flesh had given birth to dawnlight, but he had not fully brought that combat strength to bear. Simply put, his martial cultivation had reached the level, but his actual fighting strength did not match it. He could not unleash the strength he should have possessed!
"An empty facade, is it!"
Rising to stand on the summit, he gazed out over the boundless land steeped in desolation and the scent of blood, pulled the stone spear from the ground, and charged down the ancient mountain. Since it was an empty facade, he would go and make it solid!