Chapter Fourteen: The Unparalleled Strength of Body Cultivators
“Ah!”
As soon as he entered the array, a scream echoed!
Someone had clearly been injured!
Su Yizhao’s brows furrowed slightly.
They’ve encountered a body cultivator, the most troublesome opponent?
Across the southwestern frontier, three major cultivation systems dominate: Qi refinement, body refinement, and soul refinement.
No matter which path, if pursued to the extreme, one could move mountains and seas, and attain immortality.
The Profound Qi Sect specialized in Qi refinement.
He had once killed a body cultivator—whose skin was like iron and whose strength was immense. In fierce combat, the man wielded a heavy sword with dazzling speed, guarding his entire body. No matter how sharp Su Yizhao’s flying sword was, it could not harm him in the slightest. Though he completed his kill mission that time, he returned gravely wounded.
From then on, he wondered: If a cultivator practiced all three systems at once, would they become even more formidable?
Unfortunately, within the Profound Qi Sect’s territory, cultivators of the other two systems were exceedingly rare, and the arts simply didn’t exist.
Even stranger, when he asked the hall master where to find such cultivation methods, the man showed terror on his face, repeatedly warning him never to have such ambitions.
Su Yizhao withdrew his thoughts and looked ahead.
Upon entering the mine, over two thousand people scattered randomly.
Ahead, a body cultivator carrying a heavy sword approached him.
He fixed his gaze upon the figure.
Though this was a phantom conjured by the array, it was capable of true killing.
Such trials offered no spoils. The only reward was life-and-death combat experience.
But for Su Yizhao, he hardly needed more battle experience—especially against this body cultivator, who was only at the Blood Condensation Realm.
His right hand moved swiftly; a flash of white light.
“Clang!”
Sparks flew. The two-foot flying sword rebounded.
The eight-foot tall body cultivator had blocked it perfectly with his heavy sword.
Su Yizhao uttered a soft exclamation.
The phantom’s face was blurred, but he charged forward, sword whirling.
A gust of wind swept toward Su Yizhao, the pressure from the heavy sword causing his robe to billow.
His heart raced; he retreated quickly.
His left hand moved, summoning an ice shield before him.
The sword’s shadow arrived in an instant.
“Crash!”
The ice shield shattered, shards scattering.
Su Yizhao’s expression became grave.
“His sword technique is perfected!” he thought to himself.
This phantom was not conjured from nothing; it truly had a real counterpart!
It had been imprinted here by the Profound Qi Sect’s mighty ones, for disciples to practice against.
Clearly, this young body cultivator was a prodigy.
Yet, the Blood Condensation Realm of body refinement only matched the third level of Qi refinement.
Before Su Yizhao, it was no challenge.
He drew a deep breath, fingers forming seals, and the profound energy in his dantian surged.
“Swish, swish, swish...”
The two-foot flying sword split into a myriad of sword shadows, raining down like a storm.
His perfected sword-control technique erupted, and within a breath, the sword had struck over a thousand times.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...”
The phantom showed no emotion, heavy sword dancing, protecting his vitals.
“Clang, clang, clang...”
The sword tips struck his skin with a sharp sound, as if stabbing iron plates.
Su Yizhao’s eyes flickered. “If I were at the third level, I might win only with difficulty—but now! Die!”
With a thought, his fingers moved rapidly.
The sword shadows suddenly formed a straight line.
“Clang, clang, clang...! Thunk!”
A rush of sharp sounds, and a sword pierced the phantom’s chest.
The body cultivator gradually faded into nothingness.
No matter how powerful one’s body arts, a hundred flying swords striking the same spot cannot be withstood.
Su Yizhao beckoned with his right hand.
The cold light returned swiftly, coalescing into a short sword that spun among his fingers.
A year ago, the body cultivator who nearly took his life now required only a single strike.
He was about to breathe a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, his vision blurred; the surroundings shifted violently.
A moment later, as he made out his environment, shock surfaced on his face.
“This trial... is a gauntlet?”
In the distance, a burly man with a beard glared at him.
A wide, heavy sword rested on his shoulder, cold light flashing in his eyes.
When Su Yizhao saw the man’s skin, regret overwhelmed him. This fellow was a Tendon Transformation Realm body cultivator.
He had researched body refinement realms!
The first five are: Body Tempering, Bone Forging, Blood Condensation, Tendon Transformation, and Meridian Unblocking—corresponding to the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth levels of Qi refinement.
Body Tempering grants the strength of ten tigers.
Bone Forging makes one’s bones as tough as blades and spears.
Blood Condensation turns flesh and blood into iron walls.
As for Tendon Transformation, he had never encountered it, but legend said its strength was inexhaustible.
Not truly inexhaustible, of course, but certainly formidable.
The key was, fighting phantoms to the death yielded no benefit.
The bearded man calmly approached, heavy sword slung over his shoulder.
Su Yizhao’s face was bitter.
Had he known, he wouldn’t have killed the body cultivator on the first level!
With his perfected “Leap Technique,” he could have dragged out the fight for an hour.
“Die!”
When the bearded man was four or five yards away, he suddenly leaped, both hands gripping his heavy sword, slashing down at Su Yizhao’s face.
Before the man landed, the sword’s edge was already upon him.
Su Yizhao felt an overwhelming force like a mountain collapse, unable to move, a stabbing pain on his forehead.
No time to think, the profound energy in his dantian exploded.
“Boom!”
A thunderous crash, and in the solid mine, debris flew everywhere.
A figure, mixed with stones, tumbled out from the dust.
“Incredible! Not only is his realm equal, his sword technique is perfected!” Su Yizhao’s form flickered, phantom images curving through the air.
The heavy sword’s strike could immobilize a man; apart from perfected sword skills, he could not imagine what else.
This level’s body cultivator even seemed to have emotions.
The bearded man stared at a yard-deep pit on the ground, surprise flickering across his face.
Suddenly.
He sharply raised his head, eyes locking onto a phantom!
Su Yizhao felt a heavy weight in his heart, as if a fierce tiger had him in its sights.
He intended to rely on his movement technique, dodging and weaving, surviving for an hour.
But in this body cultivator’s eyes, his countless phantoms were meaningless.
The bearded man planted his sword tip into the ground!
Then, his right foot kicked the sword’s blade.
“Thud!”
The heavy sword instantly flew up; he punched the hilt with his right hand.
“Crack!”
“Zoom!”
The sword shot like a bolt, piercing through countless phantoms, heading straight for Su Yizhao.
A sharp pain struck Su Yizhao’s head.
There was no way to block it.
That heavy sword must weigh ten thousand pounds.
Add the force of a kick and a punch, and it was surely more than a hundred thousand pounds.
Even if he unleashed all the energy in his dantian, it would never match such strength.
Weak defense—this was the flaw of Qi cultivators.
Fighting a body cultivator in the confined space of the mine, he had no advantage at all!
His mind raced, body moving swiftly!
The mine filled with his blue silhouettes.
Behind him, a massive heavy sword relentlessly pursued, splitting the air with a sizzling sound.
A moment’s carelessness would mean death!
“Boom!”
A thunderous crash in the mine.
Countless stones shot in all directions.
From the midst of the roar came Su Yizhao’s furious shout: “Hurt me? Court death!”
Before his words even finished, a storm of sword shadows followed the debris, stabbing at the bearded man four or five yards away...