"To temper the muscles and bones, strengthen the marrow, burn and grind the skin, and refine the flesh."
These sixteen words spoken by Zhang Ergou were the best interpretation of the Heavenly Desolation Body Tempering.
Tempering every inch of skin, every segment of bone, every sinew; this body tempering secret art brought pain during cultivation that was no less than the torture of a thousand cuts.
Zhang Ergou gasped for air.
"What kind of madman created this secret method!"
Opening his eyes, Zhang Ergou smacked his lips. This Heavenly Desolation Body Tempering was utterly overbearing.
But after smacking his lips, a fanatical, fiery light appeared in Zhang Ergou's eyes.
Although the Heavenly Desolation Body Tempering was excruciating to cultivate, requiring him to endure pain that ordinary people couldn't withstand, the benefits gained after tempering were incredibly terrifying.
Cultivated to great success, one would forge an indestructible body, capable of moving mountains and overturning seas.
However, this secret art was not something anyone could cultivate.
The cultivator must possess Dan Fire.
Zhang Ergou felt as if this secret art was tailor-made for him.
In a haze, he was first guided to obtain Dan Fire, and then the Heavenly Desolation Body Tempering. Could this be fate!
"Since everything is heaven's will, how can I, young master, let it be buried!" he decided in his heart.
Zhang Ergou had already resolved to cultivate this Heavenly Desolation Body Tempering secret art.
"Ergou, where are you? Master is looking for you!"
Liu Cuilan, dressed in white, rushed over from a distance.
Zhang Ergou quickly stood up. "Sister Cuilan, I'm here."
Saying so, he walked towards Liu Cuilan.
"Master said our class assignments are out. To conceal your low-grade heavenly spiritual root and my earth-grade spiritual root,"
"we've both been assigned to the profound class."
On the way back, Liu Cuilan informed Zhang Ergou of the class assignment results.
If it were before, Zhang Ergou would have cared about the class assignments.
After all, the different class levels received different cultivation resources.
But after obtaining Dan Fire and the Heavenly Desolation Body Tempering technique, Zhang Ergou's mindset had changed.
He wished others would pay him no attention.
"What else did Master say?"
"Master also said that in six months, there will be a grand competition between the Liuhai Sect and the Misty Sect, and he wants us to participate."
Liu Cuilan stuck out her tongue.
She hadn't recovered from the recent grand competition for new disciples.
"With our current cultivation, we can participate?"
"Master didn't say, he just told me to find you. It's probably about this!"
Zhang Ergou nodded. Since he had no leads, he might as well ask Chunyang Sanren.
"Old man, you looking for me?" Before even entering, Zhang Ergou called out towards the main hall.
"Whoosh!" Several gazes focused on Zhang Ergou.
"Sister Cuilan, so many people, why didn't you tell me?" Zhang Ergou turned back and asked in a low voice.
"You didn't ask either!" Liu Cuilan replied with an innocent look.
Zhang Ergou almost stumbled and fell!
Was this still his cute and beautiful Sister Cuilan!
He had only been at the Misty Sect for a few days!
It was all the old man's teaching! Zhang Ergou attributed the reason to Chunyang Sanren's guidance.
"Master, you were looking for me?" Zhang Ergou said with a thick skin.
Without even blushing, he bowed to Chunyang Sanren, who was seated at the head of the hall.
"Pfft!" A burst of laughter suddenly rang out.
It was the young lady Zhang Ergou had seen on the flying sword when he came out of the Treasure Artifact Pavilion earlier.
The young lady was dressed in snow-white robes, unstained by dust, like a celestial maiden from the mortal world, utterly pure and flawless.
Zhang Ergou winked at her!
"Hiss!" A sharp pain shot through his arm.
Liu Cuilan was tightly pinching the soft flesh of Zhang Ergou's arm, scaring Zhang Ergou into hastily lowering his head and no longer looking at the young lady.
"Where are you looking?" a cold voice came from beside him.
Turning his head, Liu Cuilan's dark eyes shot out a frightening glare.
Zhang Ergou hadn't expected Liu Cuilan to react so strongly.
He quickly composed himself and looked at Chunyang Sanren, who was seated at the head of the hall, with a serious expression.
He dared not look askance anymore.
Chunyang Sanren's face twitched. It wasn't convenient to reprimand his disciple in front of others.
He decided to turn a blind eye.
"Ergou, I called you here to tell you that in six months, the disciples of our Misty Sect and the Liuhai Sect will have a friendly competition."
"You should participate then!" Chunyang Sanren said calmly.
Zhang Ergou was immediately dumbfounded. "Master, I'm only at the early stage of Qi Condensation!"
He couldn't afford to be embarrassed at this point, or it would cost him his life if he actually went to the competition.
"Master naturally knows your cultivation. You only need to participate in the competition for disciples at the Qi Condensation stage."
Chunyang Sanren shot Zhang Ergou a glare.
Zhang Ergou chuckled and sheepishly scratched his head. "Master, I thought you were sending me to my doom!"
"Alright, there's nothing else for you here. You can go out now!"
Chunyang Sanren showed no intention of introducing anyone else to Zhang Ergou.
"That's it?" Zhang Ergou felt speechless. This Chunyang Sanren was too something.
He could have just let Liu Cuilan tell him directly, but he had to make a show of it.
He was planning to cultivate the Heavenly Desolation Body Tempering. This old man...
Zhang Ergou shook his head and walked straight out of the hall without even bidding farewell to Chunyang Sanren.
Returning to the original forest, Zhang Ergou slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and began to regulate his breathing and comprehend.
He secretly circulated the body tempering secret art he had long memorized.
*Crack.*
As soon as the body tempering technique was circulated, Zhang Ergou heard the sound of bones colliding within his body. The Dan Fire instantly surged throughout his body.
Ah!
The sudden, intense pain made him cry out involuntarily.
*Snap!*
Soon, continuous, subtle sounds emanated from Zhang Ergou's body. Despite the excruciating pain, he did not realize that his entire body had undergone a transformation.
All seven hundred and twenty acupoints in his body were continuously broken through, followed by the seven meridians and eight collateral vessels, which were also opened up as the secret art circulated.
Hiss!
Zhang Ergou gritted his teeth. Every part of his body ached, but he still forced himself not to faint from the pain.
*Crack, crack!*
The sounds of bones breaking echoed, and then Zhang Ergou felt his bones slowly rejoining, only to break again, repeating this cycle.
His bones were in a grotesque cycle of breaking and rejoining.
Zhang Ergou's dark eyes were now bloodshot, and his entire body felt as if it were pierced by ten thousand arrows.
After four to five hours, Zhang Ergou could no longer hold on and collapsed on the ground, utterly exhausted.
The first time he circulated the secret art, he had nearly lost his life and only managed to complete one small cycle.
"This is playing with my life! If I hadn't been lucky, I would have been killed long ago!"
Zhang Ergou felt a lingering fear, his face deathly pale, drenched in sweat, and he took deep breaths of fresh air.
Although the experience was difficult to bear, the gains were obvious.
Zhang Ergou understood that body tempering could not be achieved in a day or two.
Even so, the gains were not negligible. After internal observation, he found that his originally rough bones had become smooth and resilient, with a faint glow lingering on them.
His body's surface, however, was a mess, covered in black impurities. His clothes were all stained black and emitted a foul odor...