As the sword’s tip burst from the back of a neck, it split into eight phantom images. At the same instant, lines of blood blossomed on the throats of the other fifteen disciples.

"Ghk... ghk..."

Yan Qi’s gasp was swallowed by the bloody foam bubbling from his throat. As he stumbled backward, he saw the other five longswords swimming through the air like living creatures, just as one of them suddenly slashed at him horizontally.

His vision spun, and the world turned upside down.

As Yan Qi’s head flew toward the Yin River, the sword’s blade clearly reflected the fine scales appearing on Qi Huan’s right cheek.

Heavy gasps escaped Qi Huan’s lips. As his Blood Qi receded, the fine scales on his face began to sink back into his skin.

He lifted his arm and watched the coarse scales there soften, shrink, and vanish back into his flesh. His fingers, which had sharpened to points, slowly returned to their normal shape.

A black, thread-like vein slithered like a snake in the corner of his eye before vanishing into the sclera.

After a long moment, Qi Huan rose. He glanced at the sixteen elite Hidden Blade Pavilion disciples he had slaughtered, and a laugh suddenly escaped his lips.

The laughter was so forceful it made the nearby subterranean Yin River tremble, yet it was still swallowed by the perennial Gang Wind that swept through the Ghostly Wail Abyss.

Scattered searchlights illuminated the skeleton of a Demon Fiend. The ten-foot-tall, once pitch-black skeleton had now faded to a ghastly white. Its twelve pairs of ribs were crawling with a dark green patina, and an asphalt-like substance was congealed in the blood grooves of its spiraling horn.

The most frightening sight was the dark purple Crystal Core suspended within the skeleton’s ribcage. It pulsed in rhythm with Qi Huan’s laughter, and with each flicker, a fine powder of bone dust drifted down from the skeleton.

Qi Huan caressed the dark tattoo on his chest. The instant his fingertips touched the Demon Fiend’s Crystal Core, the entire skeleton collapsed with a thunderous crash.

From amid the flying bone fragments, a translucent, vein-like substance of ethereal blue flowed into his seven facial orifices. The weathered bones turned to ash the moment they hit the ground, yet they formed a runic pattern that perfectly matched the scales on Qi Huan’s face.

The Profound Iron Bracelet on his left arm suddenly shattered into dust. Beneath Qi Huan’s bare skin, dark red veins began to bulge.

A sickening CRACK echoed from his knuckles as his fingernails shot out three inches, transforming into curved bone blades. The ulna of his forearm tore through his flesh and curled into a vicious barb. As scales spread along the back of his hand, they made a clanking sound like dragging chains.

"BOOM!"

The instant his demonic claws slammed into the rock wall, the entire cliff face shuddered.

Huge chunks of rock cascaded down from the shattered wall, completely burying the corpses of the sixteen disciples.

-----------------

"We’ve scouted the Ghostly Wail Abyss and confirmed our landing position. We can set down anytime."

Hearing the message from Mo Shisan, a smile touched Hong Baichuan’s lips. He turned to Xiong Kun. "Brother Xiong, why don’t we go outside and see how this Celestial Craft Fortress of ours lands?"

"Of course! I have to see this!"

The moving fortress from Celestial Craft Cave had been a true eye-opener for him; of course he wanted to watch.

And he wasn’t the only one. Many of the Mortal Wandering Heroes who had come to see the spectacle had already claimed spots on the surrounding mountain peaks, all waiting to watch the colossal Celestial Craft Fortress come to a halt.

As the fortress completed its final turn, sixteen massive support pillars simultaneously retracted into its armor. The entire fortress then sank with a great rumble into the mountainside adjacent to the Ghostly Wail Abyss, leaving behind a perfectly circular hole one hundred feet deep in the cliff face.

Xu Yunfan, who was watching from the side, couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.

He looked up at the Celestial Craft Cave disciples gathered before him.

’Finally, we don’t have to keep running all over the place. From now on, I’m going to focus on my Martial Arts and diligently cultivate my Qi.’ 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Suddenly, Xu Yunfan’s gaze froze. He turned to look toward a corner.

Seeing Xu Yunfan’s gaze upon him, Qi Huan offered a faint smile and a slight nod.

Xu Yunfan returned the nod politely.

’This top True Inheritor of the Hidden Blade Pavilion is quite skilled. If he were in the Profound Daoist Sect, he wouldn’t qualify as a True Inheritor since he hasn’t reached the Outer Three Harmonies yet. Still, with his transcendent Fast Sword technique, he’d easily be considered the best in the Inner Sect. And from the looks of it, he’s about to reach Perfection in the First Level of one of his skills,’ Xu Yunfan mused.

「Three days later.」

Xu Yunfan stood atop a mountain peak, facing the rising sun and breathing in the first wisp of purple qi from the dawn.

Barefoot and bare-chested, he gripped the ground with his toes. The veins on the tops of his feet bulged, resembling ancient, gnarled vines.

After a long period of rhythmic breathing, Xu Yunfan shaped his mouth as if to shout. He took a deep breath, inhaling the first rays of the nascent sun. A faint, misty wisp of purple, barely visible to the naked eye, flowed into his body through his mouth and nose.

’You train diligently every day, rain or shine. By visualizing the aspect of Purple Qi and Pure Yang, you have absorbed a mote of Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit. A warm current now flows through your flesh and blood, seeping into your meridians like morning dew. Every breath accumulates Pure Yang Power. Your Pure Yang Qi Skill Level has increased slightly.’

’...’

Xu Yunfan’s heart skipped a beat as he glanced at the notification that appeared in his field of vision.

’A critical hit!’

That single notification just now had increased his Skill Level by at least three points.

He distinctly felt the muscles beneath his skin tremble. The instant that floating thread of purple qi entered him, it transformed into a hundred warm currents, each as fine as an ox’s hair, seeping into his body along the grain of his muscles.

His scapulae suddenly made a sound like tearing silk. Two balls of scalding heat spread from his trapezius muscles down to the crooks of his elbows.

To his astonishment, Xu Yunfan felt the muscles in his arms swell as if fermenting, seemingly tripling in size. The cord-like muscle fibers were now clearly visible beneath his skin.

The anomaly lasted for the space of three breaths before his arms returned to normal as the heat subsided, leaving only faint, web-like red patterns on his skin.

"This is..."

He curled his fingers and tapped his left breast. His intercostal muscles spasmed, emitting a dull thud like metal striking leather.

’The Golden Skin phenomenon seems to have deepened.’

That mote of Primordial Spirit Qi had now scattered into countless sparks, weaving through the spaces within his fascia.

Wherever the heat flowed, his subcutaneous fat took on a jade-like, fish-scale luster, as if it were being rendered down like cow-hoof jelly over a low flame.

As the warmth spread up the nape of his neck, his Adam’s apple protruded by half an inch under the skin. Layers of new fascia were generating, wrapping around this vital spot.

’With a Horizontal Training Body, if you want to reach the point of having no weak spots, you have to focus on tempering these vital areas.’

’However, to truly achieve a Horizontal Training Body with no vulnerabilities, one has to enter the Flesh Refining Realm. Only then can the Strength generated from sinews, bones, and skin be twisted into a single cord and infused into the flesh, allowing for focused reinforcement based on one’s Martial Arts.’

’Reaching that stage means you’ve completely transcended the limits of an ordinary person.’

He clearly felt the warm current travel along the great tendon of his spine. In its wake, his vertebrae popped and cracked with the crisp sound of new bamboo growing.

The most peculiar change was in his palms. It seemed as if cultivating the Sunrise Qi Skill to a certain degree would do this; the once calloused edges of his hands had become as smooth as a baby’s skin. Yet when he channeled his strength to strike a stone, a web of dark, bluish veins would suddenly erupt across his palms.

As rock fragments flew, Xu Yunfan discovered his knuckles could now expand and contract at will. It was reminiscent of the legendary Bone Shrinking Skill from the Jujutsu of the northern frontier, but his version possessed a completely different, ferociously powerful quality.

An Hour later, facing a sun that was now high in the sky, Xu Yunfan exhaled. A bolt of qi, clearly visible to the naked eye, shot out thirty feet before dissipating into the air.

’In a few more days, my Pure Yang Qi Skill will reach the stage of Minor Achievement.’

(There should be another Chapter later, still writing...)