Ascension Day

At night, Xu Ying and the Snake Demon Yuan Qi hid in an abandoned, dilapidated temple on Stone Mountain. Xu Ying started a bonfire, and the Snake Demon Yuan Qi moved closer to the flames to warm his body.

Snake Demons fear the cold. If they get too cold, their Qi Blood circulation is impeded, causing them to stiffen and enter hibernation. Therefore, he liked to stay close to the fire at night.

Xu Ying gave him the half-duck he had brought, while he himself made do with some dry rations.

Actually, Qinyan Cave on Wu Wang Mountain wasn’t far. At their pace, they could have reached it in a day at most. However, their path was swarming with rampant divine demons, and they were pursued by Nuo Masters, all of which delayed their journey.

While there was still some light left in the sky, Xu Ying explored their surroundings. The ruined temple wasn’t large. In the front stood a Great Hall, but he had no idea which Divine Spirit it was dedicated to. There were no statues, not even a Shen Kan.

In the backyard, there was a pavilion. Hanging within it was a Big Copper Bell, taller than a man and covered in rust.

Beneath the Big Copper Bell was a hexagonal, deep well. Peering down, he saw only pitch-black, bottomless depths. Thick, black iron chains, each as wide as a man’s calf, hung from the well’s walls, their other ends disappearing into the darkness below.

Xu Ying tugged on one of the black iron chains. It was incredibly heavy. A CLANGING echo reverberated from the well.

’The Divine Spirit worshipped here must have fled,’ Xu Ying thought.

He returned to the bonfire, slowly regulating his breathing and mobilizing his Qi Blood. He began to slowly perform the Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist. "Yuan Qi," he said, "I’ll teach you the secret to circulating your energy for the Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist. Watch me first, and follow along in the scriptures."

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi immediately raised his head. He watched Xu Ying demonstrate the Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist, using the firelight to cross-reference what he saw with the scriptures.

Wherever Xu Ying’s Qi Blood flowed, a light would follow. It was as if a great sun shone from within him, illuminating his Five Viscera, his flesh, and his skin. Light seemed to be flowing just beneath his skin!

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi was puzzled. ’That can’t be right. Is he practicing it wrong?’

The scriptures had no record of anyone activating their Qi Blood to form a great sun like Xu Ying was doing!

The three generations of the Niu Family were all Snake Demons, and they had all cultivated the Great Sun Guiding Skill and the Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist. But the way they practiced the Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist was clearly a completely different matter from how Xu Ying practiced it!

As Xu Ying demonstrated the Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist, the great sun of Qi Blood within him grew stronger and stronger, causing white steam to billow from the top of his head!

A faint, acrid smell lingered in the steam—impurities being refined from his body as the great sun of Qi Blood tempered his Flesh Body!

The Taiyi Guiding Skill included Thunder Sound Body Tempering, which had refined the impurities from Xu Ying’s body long ago. Yet this Great Sun Body Tempering could reach places the Thunder Sound could not, proving the Great Sun Guiding Skill also had its own unique advantages!

But the Snake Demon Yuan Qi had practically worn the scriptures out from flipping through them, and he still couldn’t find any mention of Great Sun Body Tempering!

"Stop looking," Xu Ying said. "Great Sun Body Tempering is a Magic Skill I came to understand while fighting Ding Quan. This Body Tempering Technique seems to be the missing Magic Skill from the Great Sun Guiding Skill and the Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist. It’s not hard to grasp."

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi was indignant. "You figured out a missing Magic Skill from a Fist Technique in the middle of a fight? Are you kidding me? Why couldn’t three generations of my family figure it out? Are all three generations of the Niu Family just idiots?"

Xu Ying said nothing.

He was a kind young man.

He continued to mobilize his Qi Blood. As its circulation reached its peak, his skin felt as if it were tearing apart, inch by inch. His progress with the Fist Technique had surpassed the limits of what his Flesh Body could withstand!

In the cultivation of the Martial Dao, it is crucial that the Flesh Body can withstand the impact of the Martial Dao’s power. Forcing one’s cultivation beyond this limit puts immense pressure on the Flesh Body. The more one trains like this, the less the body can endure, leading to severe internal injuries and leaving behind hidden dangers!

Just as Xu Ying was about to stop, the Great Sun began to temper his body, and a five-colored light suddenly shone from the region of his Five Viscera!

Without him even realizing it, the strength of his Five Viscera had increased dramatically, and his Qi Blood surged even more vigorously!

It was as if countless valves had opened in the pores all over his body, and his Qi Blood hissed out!

At the same time, his heart beat like a drum within his Flesh Body, THUMPING so hard it made one’s chest feel tight. It continuously generated new Qi Blood, keeping him in a constant state of peak Qi Blood!

Xu Ying felt a stir in his heart and continued to channel his Qi Blood.

The overflowing Qi Blood condensed into a baleful aura behind him. The auras of his qi and blood, Qi Evil and Blood Evil, merged to form the figure of the Elephant God—a being with an elephant’s head and a human’s body!

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi stared at the baleful aura behind Xu Ying, his thoughts a chaotic mess.

Xu Ying had only just obtained the Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist this morning. Then, he’d achieved its Fifth Layer, the Elephant God Phenomenon, while killing the Green-Robed Divine Spirit today.

And now, while teaching him this very Martial Arts Boxing Technique, he had somehow achieved the Sixth Layer of the Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist!

’It seems the Niu Family’s brains really aren’t that sharp.’

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi grunted. ’My grandfather, my father, and I... we’re not that smart. But some people are. Ying is so smart, if I just copy him, I won’t have to think, right? It’s not like thinking does me any good anyway.’

Xu Ying stopped his cultivation, feeling a bit embarrassed.

He was supposed to be teaching the Fist Technique, but he’d gotten sidetracked and achieved a breakthrough, forgetting to explain the key points to Yuan Qi.

The Fifth Layer of the Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist, the Elephant God Phenomenon, was merely a vague and indistinct phantom formed from Qi Blood. The enhancement it provided Xu Ying wasn’t that significant.

The Sixth Layer, the Qi Blood Evil Body, had a form but no physical substance. However, it contained immense power and could grant Xu Ying double his strength—it was on a completely different level from the Elephant God Phenomenon!

The Taiyi Guiding Skill was a top-tier Qi Refining Technique to begin with. Combined with Xu Ying’s pure mind, which allowed him to cultivate without distracting thoughts, his progress was naturally lightning-fast.

After seven years of cultivation, Xu Ying’s Qi Blood Cultivation was already on par with that of a Divine Spirit or a Divine Demon!

This was a classic case of a strong foundation leading to explosive growth. With his seven years of accumulated cultivation and extraordinary comprehension, it was only natural that he could make such rapid progress with the Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist.