The wind whistled, unsettling the forest. A cacophony erupted in the dense outer area of the Qingyang Mountain Range, resembling the tumultuous seas.
Chen Fan soared through the air, his precious sword unleashing explosive thunder-like strikes, relentlessly slashing at the Blood-pupiled Black Python.
This tier-one, sixth-level demon beast was the Violent Ape’s nemesis. It bore the scars of Chen Fan's relentless assault, its blood staining the ground, presenting a pitiable sight.
On the day when the Violent Ape was hunting down Chen Fan, he had been a mere third-level martial artist. A sixth-level demon beast like the Blood-pupiled Black Python could have easily killed him if they crossed paths. However, fate had a way of turning the tables. The situation had now reversed.
The Blood-pupiled Black Python fought its hardest, its huge body crushing countless trees in the surrounding area. Yet, it eventually succumbed to Chen Fan's unyielding bombardment and collapsed lifelessly on the ground.
Chen Fan was full of smiles seeing the Blood-pupiled Black Python’s corpse.
The Blood-pupiled Black Python was a sixth-level demon beast. Its entire body was full of treasures. Its venomous fangs could be fashioned into weapons for stealthy attacks, capable of instantly killing those with lower cultivation.
The snake-scaled leather could be made into a powerful protective soft armor, which was very popular among martial artists below the seventh level. Additionally, the snake gall could be used for detoxification.
After harvesting all the valuable parts, Chen Fan dragged the massive python, weighing a thousand jin, towards the Violent Ape's cave.
The ground trembled lightly as he approached, indicating that the Violent Ape had sensed the commotion outside and was charging out in a frenzied state.
A fierce wind swept out from inside the cave. The Violent Ape charged out of its lair, its eyes the size of copper bells fixated on Chen Fan. Momentarily stunned, it let out a furious roar.
The Violent Ape vividly remembered the thief who had stolen the Jade Lotus Flower it had guarded for so long. Now that Chen Fan had revealed himself, a flicker of surprise flashed in the ape's eyes.
The Violent Ape pounded its chest crazily.
Chen Fan rolled his eyes and shouted, “Stop hammering, big guy. I’m here to discuss something with you. Of course, you’ll have to say yes even if you disagree.”
He had stolen the Jade Lotus Flower from the Violent Ape and even used its pool to temper himself, so Chen Fan felt a sense of gratitude towards the ape. As such, Chen Fan didn’t want to slay the Violent Ape and occupy its nest.
“Roar!” The Violent Ape roared at Chen Fan, seemingly comprehending his words.
“Forget it. Look what I’ve got here,” Chen Fan waved his hand, unleashing thousands of jins of strength that propelled the Blood-pupiled Black Python's corpse behind him into the air. With a loud thump, it crashed heavily onto the ground, raising a layer of dust.
When the Violent Ape saw that corpse, its fur stood on end, resembling a rooster caught in an explosion. It emitted a low hiss from its throat.
Its intellect wasn’t low. The Blood-pupiled Black Python was its greatest enemy, and not even the ape itself could defeat the python. The ape could only defeat the python after consuming the Jade Lotus Flower and advancing to the next level. However, after Chen Fan had stolen the flower, it had become impossible for the ape to feast on the python.
However, Chen Fan had slain the Blood-pupiled Black Python and even harvested its skin. The human had slain the Blood-pupiled Black Python the ape was helpless against. The human was so strong that he could kill it?
Immediately, the Violent Ape’s gaze turned cautious and apprehensive, afraid that Chen Fan would suddenly attack it.
“Don’t worry, I’m not here to kill you. After all, I am a tiny bit indebted to you. I, Chen Fan, won’t show mercy to my enemies, but I also don’t kill indiscriminately. I’ll naturally repay anyone if they show kindness to me.”
“I’ve already helped you get rid of your nemesis. Take it as me paying you back for taking the Jade Lotus Flower you were guarding, but I need to borrow the pool in your cave to cultivate,” Chen Fan said plainly.
The Violent Ape let out a low cry, not showing any of the domineering attitude from before. It nodded, agreeing to Chen Fan’s request.
What could it possibly do except agree to it?
Chen Fan smiled and stepped forth, walking into the cave.
The Violent Ape looked at Chen Fan’s back; a light flashed in its eyes, seemingly thinking of something. A short moment later, it approached the Blood-pupiled Black Python’s corpse and started devouring it.
Chen Fan approached the pool at the end of the cave. He promptly removed his clothing and jumped into it. A stinging pain assaulted him, forcing Chen Fan to suck in cold air.
The water in this pool was icy cold, making Chen Fan shiver. His lips turned a little purple from the cold, feeling the chill enter him through his pores, wanting to freeze his organs.
The pool contained a mysterious energy, which also entered Chen Fan through his pores.
Chen Fan felt as if countless ants were crazily biting him from head to toe. The stinging pain also carried a numbing sensation.
The human body was a fragile thing. Even martial artists, despite absorbing the primeval qi of heaven and earth and strengthening their innate breath, constantly tempered their bodies to become stronger, still possessed relatively delicate bodies.
During a battle, if their primeval qi was exhausted by an enemy's attack, leaving them unprotected, a simple punch could break their body or even lead to their death.
However, after becoming Qi Grandmasters, martial artists could envelop themselves in protective qi, capable of withstanding sword slashes and spear thrusts. However, they could still be easily killed if their protective qi was broken.
Take the battle between Chen Fan and Liao Fan, for example. If Chen Fan's Myriad Elephants Divine Art had not reached the third layer, facing Liao Fan's sharp attacks would have resulted not only in a deep bloody wound but also in severed tendons and bones, perhaps even the loss of his limbs.
So, for a martial artist, the importance of having a tough body was self-evident.
However, physique cultivation was an extremely arduous path. Body cultivation had long declined since ancient times, so body cultivation techniques were scarce now.
Nowadays, most martial artists couldn’t endure the pain and suffering associated with body cultivation; therefore, they only focused on their qi cultivation. The higher their cultivation, the better they could protect themselves from harm.
Chen Fan was only at the fifth level but could fight toe to toe against sixth-level martial artists. However, what could he do against those at the seventh, eighth, or even Qi Grandmaster and Yuanfu realms?
If he could temper his body to be impervious to weapons and immune to elemental forces, his vitality would become incredibly tenacious, even if his cultivation level was slightly weaker.
At that time, even if he stood in place and allowed others to hack at him as they wished, they couldn’t kill him. They would have no way of piercing his flesh, so how could they kill him then?
Ancient body cultivators specialized in refining their bodies. Those experts were capable of feats like destroying a mountain with a single punch. They could easily kill qi cultivators with their bare hands.
Although Chen Fan did not follow this path, he chose the even more challenging path of two-fold cultivation, refining his body and qi. While difficult, the benefits were undeniable.
Chen Fan roared in his heart, absorbing the energy in the pool like a madman to temper his physique and make it even stronger.
Four hours later, Chen Fan shook; it seemed like a trumpet had gone off inside him. A mighty oppressive force radiated from his being.
This oppressive force didn’t originate from his qi cultivation but from his flesh. His strong body was comparable to gold or iron.
“Third layer complete mastery!”
A hint of disappointment flashed across Chen Fan’s eyes. He had not anticipated that the pool would be unable to propel his Myriad Elephants Divine Art to the fourth layer, only reaching complete mastery of the third layer.
Chen Fan stood up and went to put on his clothing. He looked at the pool water that had become clear and translucent, no longer emitting a faint golden glow. He had absorbed all the energy from the pool that could effectively temper his physique.
“It’s time to return to the sect.”
Chen Fan smiled faintly and made his way toward the cave entrance.