With each breath he took, Song Changsheng felt his entire musculature being activated. The spiritual energy floating in the air seeped into his body through every pore, fusing into his muscles and tempering his flesh.
His muscle strength was gradually increasing. Looking inward, he noticed his spleen radiating a faint earthy yellow glow it even seemed... heavier than before.
"This Earth Dragon clan's body refinement method is truly simple and efficient. Once you get used to the breathing technique, it's like tempering your body nonstop even while sleeping."
Song Changsheng marveled inwardly. This might be the most comfortable cultivation method out there, he thought. No wonder Earth Dragons spend most of their time asleep.
But thinking further, it made sense. Given their talent, if Earth Dragons didn't sleep and wandered around, they'd be a walking catastrophe.
Song Changsheng cultivated like this for several days. There was no sign of the Earthfire Sect or the Earth Dragon. Instead, his physical body had grown noticeably stronger. Still, according to the Five Beast Body Refining Art, when a technique reaches the mastery stage, the corresponding beast image the Earth Dragon Reversal Diagram would appear on the spleen.
For now, his spleen merely felt denser than before. The image hadn't appeared yet, which meant mastery was still far away.
"My body strength now far surpasses that of a first-grade magical artifact and has reached the level of a second-grade one. I can practically ignore most spells from cultivators of the same rank."
Song Changsheng was quite pleased. Just a single Earth Dragon Reversal Diagram had produced such results. If all five diagrams were cultivated to mastery or even perfection the results would be unimaginable.
Suddenly, his expression tightened as he turned to look southeast. Although there was only a cold stone wall visible to the naked eye, he could sense two powerful auras rapidly approaching from that direction.
"So they're finally here. No wonder no one made any moves they were waiting for reinforcements. Now, the question is: is it the Earthfire Sect or the Lieyang Sect?"
He rose swiftly and waved his sleeve to open the stone door only to see Song Xianhe approaching quickly with several clan members in tow.
"Young Patriarch, that Qu Jinshen is back again. This time he brought along a middle-aged man in battle armor he didn't look ordinary. What should we do?" Song Xianhe asked, concerned.
"No need to worry, Elder. I'll go meet them."
The group headed outside the mine. The protective formation had already been activated. Song Changsheng looked up and saw two figures standing in mid-air atop flying swords.
One wore a gray robe, thin, with pronounced cheekbones and sinister eyes it was none other than Qu Jinshen, a familiar face to Song Changsheng. When they first met, Qu had only been at the early Foundation Establishment stage, but now he had advanced further.
Beside him stood a dark-skinned, middle-aged man clad in black armor that gleamed with a cold light. He wore a battle helmet and stood atop a broad-bladed sword. He didn't look like a cultivator at all more like a general from the mortal world.
"I've heard that the Lieyang Sect possesses a set of Xuan Gang War Armor," Song Changsheng said casually, flying up on his Soul-Slaying Gourd. "It was originally the armor of a provincial governor of the ancient Qi Dynasty a man who left fields littered with corpses. His armor was soaked in blood and murderous aura, becoming a fiendish artifact feared by both the living and the dead.
"The one you're wearing looks imposing, but it lacks that ferocious aura. I suspect it's just a replica."
The middle-aged man sneered. "Heh, not bad for someone so young you've got a sharp eye. You're right, it's a replica. But even that is more than enough to deal with you."
"Why waste words with this brat?" Qu Jinshen said with a cold glint in his triangular eyes. "Let's just take his head and return for our reward."
Zhang Chenlong glanced at him but said nothing best not to delay.
"Do you dare come out and fight?" Zhang Chenlong bellowed.
Song Changsheng burst into laughter. "What a joke. You two are both mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, and I'm just early-stage. If it were you, would you step outside?"
"Oh, so the young patriarch of the Song Clan is just a turtle hiding in its shell?" the black-faced man growled. "Then allow me to smash that shell wide open!"
Just as he finished speaking, the two attackers struck simultaneously, unleashing a barrage of spells against the protective formation. The ground trembled, and the mountain shook under the relentless assault.
Song Xianhe and several stewards quickly pulled out their jade tokens to help reinforce the array.
But this time, they were not just dealing with Qu Jinsheng there was also the much stronger Zhang Chenlong. After only a few exchanges, they were already starting to tire.
Just then, Song Changsheng suddenly made his move. Yin and yang energy erupted from the gourd beneath his feet, pouring into the formation and transforming into a great Taiji diagram that blocked all the incoming attacks.
The pressure on Song Xianhe and the others instantly disappeared.
"I've taken over full control of the formation. All stewards, fall back."
"Yes, sir!" Song Xianhe quickly led the others to retreat. This level of battle was no longer something they could participate in not getting in the way was the greatest help they could offer.
The protective array guarding the mine vein was a lower-grade second-rank formation. Under Song Changsheng's control, its full power was unleashed. Not only did it withstand the combined onslaught, it even had power left to counterattack.
Seeing that their continued attacks were ineffective, Zhang Chenlong grew anxious. He reached into his storage pouch and pulled out a yellowed talisman.
"A second-rank formation-breaking talisman!"
Song Changsheng's expression changed slightly. He had seen the power of these talismans before they were the bane of defensive arrays.
"I can't wait any longer. Gourd, unleash the Soul-Slaying Blade!"
In an instant, an invisible blade shot out, aiming directly for Zhang Chenlong's Sea of Consciousness. He suddenly felt a raging storm surge within his mind, as if a beam of light had pierced straight through his spiritual sea, striking at his very soul.
Although taken by surprise, Zhang was still a Foundation Establishment cultivator his soul had both defensive and offensive capabilities. He rapidly gathered all the power within his spiritual sea to form a large shield, which he slammed against the incoming beam of light.
In the blink of an eye, the shield shattered from the center outward. But it bought him just enough time to shield his soul.
The Soul-Slaying Blade grazed the edge of his soul, slicing off a portion. Zhang Chenlong felt a searing pain tear through him, and his face instantly went pale as a sheet.
Before he could recover, a deep hum erupted from Song Changsheng's body as his blood and qi surged. Like an arrow released from a bowstring, he shot straight toward Zhang Chenlong.
Zhang's damaged soul left his awareness in chaos. By the time he regained his senses, Song Changsheng's flame-wreathed fist was already in his face.
Boom!
Zhang Chenlong felt like he'd been hit by a raging bull. His body was flung backward, crashing into a nearby mountainside, embedding itself deep into the rock.
Song Changsheng was about to press the advantage when Qu Jinsheng charged in, spirit sword in hand. Both sects had gone all-out to kill him: Lieyang Sect had brought a replica of the Xuan Gang Battle Armor, and the Earthfire Sect had even lent out a powerful spirit weapon.
"Get lost!" Song Changsheng roared, his body trembling with force. His blood and qi gathered in his fist, which visibly swelled several times its normal size.
When his bare fist clashed with the spirit sword, a metallic clang rang out, like steel striking stone.
Song Changsheng remained motionless.
Qu Jinsheng, however, was shaken his arm went numb from the impact. Stunned, he exclaimed,
"You're using your body to challenge a magical weapon?!"
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