CHAPTER 39: CHAPTER 39: BODY TEMPERING LAYER IX_1

"Even basic martial arts techniques can be incredibly powerful when cultivated to a high level."

Gripping the Dragon Sparrow Sword tightly, Shen Mo was deeply excited.

But this sense of excitement subsided quickly.

A feeling of emptiness welled up from within his body.

"Ugh..."

He let out a groan as a sensation of soreness and pain rapidly spread throughout his body.

This sudden agony and weakness overwhelmed him, causing him to lose his footing and plop heavily onto the ground.

That sword strike just now... drained all the True Yuan in my body...

He examined his current condition internally and let out a bitter smile.

During his moment of enlightenment, he had successfully executed an unprecedented sword strike, which greatly improved his experience points with the Supreme Clarity Sword Technique.

However, the True Yuan Mana required for this sword technique was also terrifyingly immense.

He had almost drained himself by delivering just one strike.

It was only because of his extreme excitement earlier that he hadn’t noticed his body’s depletion.

Now, the side effects quickly began to manifest.

GRUMBLE!

He quickly pulled out a handful of Qi Restoring Pills that he had concocted from his Universe Bag, swallowing them hastily as if they were beans.

PHEW!

As the medicinal effects spread through his body, gradually permeating his meridians, Dantian, and internal organs like a spring rain, his overexerted body slowly regained its vital essence.

This sword technique, despite its formidable power—even surpassing low-grade profound level magic—has a terrifyingly high consumption.

Before reaching the Qi Gathering Realm, my body can’t store a large amount of Spiritual Qi. Every time I use this technique, it will overdraw my physical reserves...

While Shen Mo was circulating his cultivation method to replenish his depleted Spiritual Qi and True Yuan, he pondered deeply.

Although the advancement in his Supreme Clarity Sword Technique proficiency had greatly increased his combat power, giving him another powerful killing move, his cultivation realm still lagged behind. Before reaching the Qi Gathering Realm, forcibly using this technique would leave him utterly depleted of combat ability after a single strike.

This was acceptable during routine Martial Performances and training. However, if he were in a perilous situation, exhausting all his strength with a single strike would undoubtedly be courting death.

PHEW!

As the medicinal effect of the Qi Restoring Pills gradually took hold, the feeling of emptiness within Shen Mo’s body slowly dissipated.

However, he did not stop circulating the Heavenly Origin Technique.

This was because he sensed that the cultivation bottleneck within his body seemed to have undergone some subtle changes after this enlightenment.

For some time now, the Heavenly Origin Technique, being Shen Mo’s foundational cultivation method, had also been a primary focus for him to grind its proficiency.

Although Shen Mo hadn’t dedicated as much effort to the Heavenly Origin Technique as he had to the Supreme Clarity Sword Technique, through daily cultivation, the Heavenly Origin Technique had also smoothly reached the Senior realm.

After entering this realm, the speed and efficiency at which the Heavenly Yuan Magic (the skill itself) absorbed nature’s spiritual energy were significantly faster than before.

With each breath, it vaguely exuded the imposing aura of a Taotie, as if capable of swallowing mountains and rivers.

PANT! PANT!

With his breathing, his chest heaved continuously, and a low dragon’s roar seemed to echo from within his body.

Invisible chains seemed to bind the surrounding nature’s spiritual energy, drawing it continuously into his body.

I’m going to break through!

As Spiritual Qi continuously poured into him, Shen Mo’s Qi and blood began to boil.

This was a sign that a breakthrough was imminent.

Then, let the breakthrough begin!

He exhaled a long breath of Turbid Qi, his eyes resolute, and gradually guided his Mana to assault the bottleneck within his body.

Unlike previous times, his accumulation was incredibly profound this time, and he hadn’t tried to force progress prematurely.

Ever since breaking through to Layer VIII of the Body Tempering Realm at the Zhao Family and receiving Uncle Chen’s warning, Shen Mo had resolved to solidify his foundation meticulously, tempering it thoroughly.

Therefore, even when he felt his cultivation had grown enough to challenge the realm barrier, he did not attempt it.

Instead, he had been constantly suppressing it, consolidating his foundation.

Only now, when his foundation was stable and his cultivation could no longer be suppressed, did he allow the breakthrough to occur.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

Within his body, torrents of surging Qi and blood, no longer suppressed by Shen Mo, began to boil.

This vast power of Qi and blood, without his intentional restraint, surged uncontrollably like the Yellow River bursting its dikes.

The barriers hindering Shen Mo’s breakthrough were effortlessly crushed by this overwhelming momentum.

A series of dull thuds echoed continuously from within his body.

Each of these thuds signified that one of Shen Mo’s previously unopened internal Chakras had been thoroughly cleared by the scouring of his Qi and blood.

I’ve broken through... to Layer IX of the Body Tempering Realm!

When the tenth dull thud sounded, Shen Mo’s entire body trembled.

The already abundant physical strength within his body surged, increasing tremendously once more.

"Wonderful!"

Feeling the surge of power brought by the breakthrough, his spirit soared, and the exhilaration lingered for a long time.

Having reached this realm, I’m now at the final stage of the Body Tempering Realm!

With a bit more accumulation, I can attempt to condense my Dantian!

Shen Mo’s eyes glinted with eager anticipation. I heard Uncle Chen say that typically, a cultivator who reaches Layer IX of the Body Tempering Realm is considered qualified if their physical strength reaches two thousand kilograms.

I wonder how much strength I have now!

Needless to say, as Shen Mo possessed the Heaven’s Mandate Blessing and had profound accumulation, his physical strength was naturally far greater than that of an ordinary cultivator at the same level.

But to know exactly how much higher, he still needed to verify it.

"Talisman!"

He searched around in his Universe Bag for a while and pulled out a light-green talisman, activating it.

BUZZ!

The moment the talisman activated, it transformed into a large, azure curtain of light that descended before Shen Mo.

This talisman was called a Power Measurement Talisman, one of the commonly used talismans among cultivators.

Its main function was to test the physical strength of a martial artist.

BANG!

As soon as the large screen condensed by the Power Measurement Talisman appeared, Shen Mo punched it without hesitation.

His powerful fist landed on the pale azure screen, sending ripples across its surface.

Simultaneously, a number appeared at the top of the Power Measurement Talisman’s screen.

[Strength: 3,571 kilograms]

Over three thousand five hundred kilograms of strength. Shen Mo was quite pleased with this data. This means my strength is nearly double that of a typical cultivator at the same level!

This amount of physical strength not only determined the magnitude of one’s power.

It also indirectly reflected the state of a cultivator’s physique and the accumulation of their Qi and blood.

Shen Mo’s numbers were already considered outstanding.

With my current accumulation and the Purple Sun Red Fruit, condensing two Dantians in the future is practically guaranteed. If my opportunities are sufficient, who knows... I might even have a chance to condense all three Dantians!

Initially, Shen Mo’s highest goal was merely to condense two Dantians, putting him a step ahead of other cultivators and giving himself a better starting point.

But now, as his strength and accumulation gradually reached completion, he couldn’t help but feel greater anticipation and ambition for the future.

I’ll think about that later... For now, I need to eat something.

After a series of exhilarating thoughts, his mind returned to reality.

He touched his stomach and felt hungry.

The earlier enlightenment and cultivation breakthrough had consumed a massive amount of Shen Mo’s energy.