Chapter 286: Chapter 286: Indomitable Progress

Before the mace’s tip even arrived, the sheer force flattened all vegetation within a thirty-foot radius, the pressure carving a bowl-shaped crater into the earth.

As he withdrew the mace, its lingering vibrations echoed for a long time, like the cry of a dragon.

’Your Eight Desolates Dragon Fall Mace Technique has reached the Initiate Stage.’

As the notification appeared on the Attribute Panel, Xu Yunfan’s Sea of Consciousness churned, and countless scenes of his training flooded forth.

In his mind’s eye, he stood atop a towering precipice, wielding the Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace against the celestial winds. As the Heavy Mace descended, mountainsides cracked and crumbled. Its tip triggered the collapse of a vortex of clouds, like a great dragon diving from the heavens. He had trained this way for three full years, until a single strike of his mace could command the wind and clouds, flowing as smoothly as quicksilver.

The scene shifted abruptly to a blood-soaked battlefield littered with corpses. He brandished his mace, sweeping through a thousand-man army. The force of his swing was like a meteor crashing to earth, its shockwave flinging heavily armored cavalry into the air. The cracks that fissured the ground faintly glowed with red-hot scorch marks.

...

These memories not only contained the True Intent of the techniques but also gradually seared them into his very muscle memory.

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Ever since initiating the Eight Desolates Dragon Fall Mace Technique, Xu Yunfan had completely immersed himself in the Sea of Suffering that was Cultivation.

He never set foot in the Langhuan Book Tower again. Aside from paying his respects to Bi Yuan whenever he emerged from his secluded training, he spent all his time in closed-door cultivation within his courtyard, squeezing every last second into fuel for his progress on the Martial Dao.

After all, seeing the system notifications pop up in his field of vision during his training filled him with motivation; it was what drove him to persist.

In his past life, he had been an avid player of monster-grinding, level-up games. Now that he could experience it for real, he was naturally, hopelessly addicted.

Before the first light of dawn, Xu Yunfan was already standing at the Gathering Spirit Land atop Qingwei Mountain.

He expertly popped open the Profound Steel Mechanism Box, revealing the Ginseng Child. He deftly plucked a Ginseng Root and put it in his mouth, pressing the Ginseng Child back into the box before it could even cry out.

A bittersweet medicinal power exploded between his teeth, transforming into a hot current that surged through his body. The scalding warmth instantly made his muscles swell and tense.

Facing the pale white glow spreading from the east, he began to circulate his Pure Yang Qi Skill. His mouth and nose opened and closed like Dragon Scales. Guided by the Spiritual Qi unique to the Marrow Cleansing Realm, he drew the very first ray of the East Coming Purple Qi into his body.

The purple qi merged with his Pure Yang Inner Breath, forming a reddish-gold torrent within him. It surged through his body, scouring the bones that had yet to be fully cleansed by the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

Occasionally, an early-rising disciple of the Taoist Sect would glimpse this from afar: the figure on the summit, robes billowing, exhaling a radiant glow with every breath, like a divine being feasting on clouds and drinking the dew.

When the scorching sun reached its zenith at noon, Xu Yunfan sat before a special cut of Exotic Beast Flesh provided by the Taoist Sect. It was the heart of a Red-eyed Wild Bull, a beast comparable to a Marrow Cleansing Realm cultivator, and even after being seared, it still oozed scarlet Blood Beads.

As the Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit Breath revived, Demon Fiends grew more numerous, and the flesh of Exotic Beasts became a tangible resource for Martial Artists to strengthen their bodies.

The cut before Xu Yunfan was the heart muscle of a Marrow Cleansing Realm Exotic Beast, the Red-eyed Wild Bull. The muscles were gnarled like Iron Chains and its surface glowed with a dark-red light. Even after being seared over a blazing fire, one could still hear the faint vibrations of the sinews deep within the meat.

His five fingers hooked into the slab of meat and he tore at it fiercely. The sound of the sinews snapping was as crisp as the clash of metal on metal.

An ordinary Martial Artist who dared to bite down on it would likely have their teeth shattered by the meat fibers, which were as tough as hardened steel. Xu Yunfan, however, didn’t even frown.

Sparks flew as his own iron-hard teeth clashed against the meat. As he chewed, a low, grinding sound, like a dragon’s growl, rumbled in his throat. Ever since his Yijing Marrow Cleansing Skill had reached Minor Achievement, his Strength had tempered his teeth to be as hard as steel.

With every mouthful he swallowed, a surging wave of Blood Qi from the meat poured into him like molten lava.

Bulging, knotted veins pulsed under Xu Yunfan’s skin as the Blood Qi, Strength, and Pure Yang Inner Breath within him furiously refined the Essence Qi from the Exotic Beast’s flesh.

After licking up the last scrap of meat, he suddenly opened his mouth and exhaled a three-foot-long, scarlet bolt of qi. It shot across the courtyard, shattering a stone lantern, after which he let out a long, satisfied belch.

That scarlet bolt of qi was composed of all the impurities from the meat, now completely expelled. If such impurities were to remain in his body, they would compromise the purity of his Blood Qi and slow his Martial Arts progress.

The Yijing Marrow Cleansing Skill from Mituo Temple could transform one’s Constitution and reshape their fundamental aptitude for cultivation; it was uniquely effective at purging such impure Blood Qi.

If anyone had been there to witness it, they would have been shocked to find that the potent Blood Qi of a Fierce Beast—enough to make an ordinary Marrow Cleansing Realm Martial Artist explode—was devoured by his body in an instant, like a stream flowing into the sea.

He washed it all down with a bowl of Blood Trout Marrow Cleansing Soup. The fish floating within released a faint Spiritual Light, making the muscles all over his body tremble.

As soon as he finished the soup, he began practicing the Yijing Marrow Cleansing Skill. The medicinal power, activated by his punches, condensed into countless tiny, blood-red vortexes beneath his skin. These squeezed the impurities out from his bone marrow and through his pores. The expelled grime was so dense it pitted the ground where it landed.

As dusk settled, Xu Yunfan sat cross-legged on a bluestone slab in the courtyard. The Triple Jiao Meridians throughout his body began to emit a faint, silvery glow.

He formed a sword seal with his hands, using the Triple Jiao Sword Nurturing Technique to guide the Sword Force he had cultivated within his body. These Martial Arts, which he had pried from Pei Yan, were truly extraordinary. Under his guidance, the Sword Force moved through his Triple Jiao Meridians like a living creature.

Each time the Sword Force swept past his internal organs, it brought a piercing pain like ten thousand needles, yet his expression remained unchanged. He used the Linn Character Technique, chanting its True Words to calm his mind and suppress the agony. This allowed him to force the Sword Force to patrol his Triple Jiao Meridians repeatedly. With every cycle, the Sword Force grew a fraction denser.

Given time, once the Sword Force metamorphosed into Sword Qi, he would be able to unleash it with astonishing power, even without a blade in hand.

At midnight, having finished his practice of the Triple Jiao Sword Nurturing Technique, Xu Yunfan immediately—without a moment’s rest—gripped the Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace.

He needed no light. Relying solely on the resonance between his body and the mace, he could perfectly execute the nine deadly forms of the Eight Desolates Dragon Fall Mace Technique in the pitch-black darkness.

When he executed the Ninth Form, "Dragon Fall," the ground in the courtyard instantly caved in. Before the tip of the mace even descended, its power snapped an ancient pine tree a hundred feet away clean in half.

After completing the form, the draconic hum of the vibrating mace lingered for so long that it startled a patrolling Daoist Child, who mistakenly thought a Fierce Beast was storming the mountain.

After a brief rest, Xu Yunfan glanced at his courtyard, which looked as if it had been plowed over, and couldn’t help but grin. ’Looks like I’ll need to have the Taoist Sect’s construction disciples come fix this tomorrow.’

Back in his room, Xu Yunfan did not lie down to rest. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the Cyan Jade Meditation Mat.

He formed the Linn Character Seal with his hands, his ten fingers positioned as if grasping the Celestial Spirits themselves. A peculiar radiance flowed between his knuckles. As his practice deepened over time, the Linn Character Technique began to reveal its wonders. He silently recited the Supreme Kindness Heart Spell, each syllable stirring invisible ripples in the void.

As the Linn Character Technique circulated, his Sea of Consciousness began to fill with a chaotic fog—an illusory barrier formed from stray thoughts, restless Blood Qi, and external disturbances.

Suddenly, a ray of clear light pierced through the depths of the chaos. Xu Yunfan’s Self God broke through the fog and emerged.

This deity-like phantom was clad in Dragon Scale Armor. Its face was identical to Xu Yunfan’s, yet it possessed a far greater sense of majesty and profound gravity.