Chapter Eleven: The Body Tempering Technique Achieves Initial Success

With a heavy splash, Liu Junhuai plunged into a pool of water. In an instant, a bone-chilling cold seeped into his body. He hurriedly activated his cultivation technique to protect himself, and only then did the numbing sensation abate somewhat.

He looked around. The pool was situated in a cavern shaped like a basin, stretching several hundred feet across. All around the water, the area was bare rock. As the ripples disturbed the surface, shifting patterns danced upon the stone walls, casting an eerie and unspoken terror throughout the space.

Finding a lower spot along the shore, Liu Junhuai climbed out and moved toward a patch of darkness nearby. It was a cave entrance, from which faint sounds of air currents could be heard, whistling softly. Activating his Heavenly Eye, he glimpsed a faint glow deeper within the cave.

At this moment, he could clearly sense that the spiritual energy here was several times denser than outside, which soothed his nerves considerably. Testing the air at either side of the cave entrance, he found the spiritual energy there much thinner. Evidently, this cavern contained a natural feng shui formation. Liu Junhuai even suspected there might be a spiritual vein’s source somewhere within.

He sat down at the mouth of the cave and began to meditate. He immediately felt waves of spiritual energy pouring into him, flowing smoothly through his meridians and gathering in his dantian to form a small vortex. As the vortex grew and sped up, his spiritual power multiplied several times over, and his dantian gradually filled to the brim. He continued to circulate his technique, purifying and compressing the spiritual energy in his dantian, until it began to overflow again. Through countless cycles, his dantian swelled and expanded, and his cultivation advanced to the sixth level of Body Refinement.

Rising to his feet, Liu Junhuai felt clear and invigorated, his senses and strength both significantly enhanced.

Suddenly recalling something, he released his divine sense. Yet, it seemed something in the surroundings was obstructing him—his perception vanished before it could even stretch six feet away. Even his Heavenly Eye could only extend to a tenth of its usual range. It was clear that some sort of formation or barrier was present here. A chill ran through him. If this was a natural formation, it might be tolerable, but if it was artificial, this place could be extremely dangerous.

With this in mind, Liu Junhuai decided to investigate further and be on guard.

He acted without delay, opening his Heavenly Eye and proceeding cautiously toward the depths of the cave.

The cave passage extended irregularly, like a natural tunnel, with no sign of human handiwork. Occasionally, droplets would fall from the ceiling, striking the ground with crisp, echoing sounds—each drop ringing with a distant clarity, as if hinting at the presence of life.

Reflected light from deeper within occasionally broke through the gloom, shifting between light and shadow, filling the space with a potent sense of mystery. Accompanied by the faint beat of his own heart, Liu Junhuai’s curiosity was piqued, mingling anxiety with anticipation.

The glow drew closer, and his skin began to feel a growing warmth, intensifying as he advanced.

“It must be a magma pool,” Liu Junhuai thought, hoping there wouldn’t be any flame beasts or magma-scaled monsters lurking within.

Silently praying as he approached, he was soon met with an intense wave of heat. He dared not go further and stopped in his tracks. Peering ahead, he saw it was indeed a magma pool. The molten rock rolled and boiled, roasting countless fiery-red stalactites above. More stalactites hung down, forming hollowed, jagged formations, while viscous steam drifted through the air, painting a terrifying tableau of a sea of fire.

Yet, to his astonishment, in the midst of all that red, a single lush green lotus was thriving in midair.

“Devouring Fire Lotus!” Liu Junhuai could not suppress his exclamation. The Devouring Fire Lotus was considered a treasure of heaven and earth. According to ancient texts, consuming it could bestow a hundred years of cultivation, but because of its domineering cold energy, refining it was extremely difficult—often taking centuries to fully assimilate. Within the heart of the Devouring Fire Lotus grew the Celestial Lotus Heart Flame; only by refining this flame could the lotus itself be truly mastered.

Furthermore, the Celestial Lotus Heart Flame was a divine fire. With its power, one could forge high-grade elixirs, making it even rarer and more precious than the lotus itself.

Liu Junhuai’s blood raced, his eyes glinting with greedy red light, a few drops of saliva slipping from his lips onto his chest.

But true treasures come with great peril, and wealth breeds greed. Fortunately, reason prevailed. The lotus was guarded by a legendary beast: the Crimson Nine-Infant.

The Crimson Nine-Infant was a creature of extreme yang. It could spew magma and fire, its cry like a baby’s wail. Its body resembled a qilin, with a snake-like tail ending in a triangular tip, capable of drinking human blood. Nine serpent heads crowned its shoulders, each tongue sharp as a spear, and two wings sprouted from its back, granting it flight and burrowing powers. An adult Crimson Nine-Infant was a supreme celestial beast, its strength beyond even that of a divine emperor.

The “Encyclopedia of Marvelous Creatures” described the beast in detail, then briefly mentioned its weakness: a crystal of extreme cold from the farthest north could instantly freeze its fiery blood.

Liu Junhuai could only smile wryly. The far north was as distant as the nine heavens themselves, and the cold crystal was impossible for him to obtain. Besides, he was far too weak; by the time he advanced enough to retrieve the crystal, the lotus would surely have been devoured by the beast.

A wave of frustration rose within him, but he soon set it aside. If the burden was too great, why force it? Prudence and caution were the true path of cultivation.

Having entered such a perilous realm, ensuring his own safety was his first priority. Finding a way out came before all else—if he found any useful treasures along the way, so much the better. Resolute, he turned away and headed back toward the cave’s entrance.

Yet Liu Junhuai still thought of the pool outside. Its icy waters were perfect for tempering the body—perhaps there was something extraordinary within that could aid him. Even if not, the difference in spiritual energy between the cave and outside was worth investigating. If he couldn’t escape, he would dig until he found the truth.

Before long, he arrived at the entrance. Taking a deep breath, he felt his tension from the magma pool dissolve.

After a moment’s thought, Liu Junhuai decided to explore the pool first.

He slowly waded into the water, once again feeling that bone-penetrating cold. Circulating his true essence to protect himself, he felt much better.

He tried channeling his cultivation technique to absorb a strand of the icy energy. Immediately, he sensed a rich spiritual power concealed within the cold. Carefully, he drew it into his meridians, then into his dantian, where he purified and compressed it. With his Heavenly Eye, he could see a wisp of white cold energy swirling around a ball of gray true essence, the gray fading as the white merged with the golden orb at the center. To the naked eye, the golden orb seemed to quiver with excitement.

“I did it!” Liu Junhuai exulted inwardly, quickly absorbing a second strand, then a third...

He continued refining the energy for two hours before he began to feel cold, knowing he had reached his limit for the first session. He surfaced to rest. Once the chill in his body subsided, he returned to the pool to cultivate again.

After another three hours, he emerged once more. In this manner, over ten days, he was able to withstand over a dozen hours in the pool at a time. The true essence in his dantian grew denser, his meridians widened, and their walls grew tougher.

After a month, he could last two days in the water.

After three months, he could endure ten days, and even without using his protective true essence, he could last several hours.

A month later, he no longer needed his true essence for protection. His skin, torn and healed repeatedly by the water, endured and regenerated again and again—his Body Tempering technique had finally taken shape.