Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery
Chapter 153 - 127: Swordsmanship Advancement - Marrow Refinement

Chapter 153: Chapter 127: Swordsmanship Advancement - Marrow Refinement

Until evening, night fell.

The demon beast had still not been dealt with.

Loose Cultivators returning were no longer as relaxed as before, and an oppressive atmosphere pervaded the crowd.

For Chen Li, such a demon beast wasn’t much of a challenge.

The majority of Loose Cultivators were a disorganized bunch, with low cultivation levels. Faced with such a gigantic demon beast, it was already commendable that they could suppress their fear and not scatter and flee in panic, let alone fight.

In the following days, the demon beast occasionally circled in the sky as if waiting for an opportunity to strike at any moment.

The female cultivator surnamed Bai finally stopped shirking her duties, beginning to stay on the front lines of clearing the wilderness.

During this period, cultivators from the Returning True Sect tried various methods, such as pretending to be scattered Loose Cultivators fleeing in panic and feigning injury to return to the camp alone... But the demon beast was not fooled at all.

The anger of the female cultivator surnamed Bai grew day by day.

Whenever her grim gaze swept over, Zhang Yan’s body stiffened, he was silent as a cicada in winter, and he didn’t even dare to take a deep breath.

During the lunch break.

Zhang Yan looked up at the sky and exhaled, "We can’t live like this any longer, each day feels like a year. This demon beast holds such a grudge, it’s been so many days, and it’s still watching us every day."

"We did destroy its home, of course it holds a grudge!" Chen Li said with a smile.

There was no shortage of food here.

Every day, there were large numbers of wild animals that were burned or smoked to death.

Today’s meal was a land turtle the size of a small round table, with its shell layer upon layer, rugged and bizarre, like carrying a small mountain on its back. When found, half of its body was buried in the soil, but it was still thoroughly cooked by the fire.

After cutting open the turtle’s belly, the aroma of meat filled the air. Just sprinkle some salt for seasoning, and it became an unrivaled delicacy.

"Perhaps, its offspring were burned to death by the wildfire," Zhang Shuniang pondered aloud.

"That’s a possibility. Shu’s intelligence is indeed commendable!" Chen Li commended.

"Hee hee!"

Zhang Shuniang didn’t feel much fear towards the avian demon. With Uncle by her side, she felt a strong sense of security.

...

Days went by.

The avian demon seemed to have finally lost its patience and stopped showing itself.

However, as they ventured deeper into the forest, clearing the wilderness became increasingly dangerous. Demon beasts would often burst out of the fire line to attack the group, causing frequent deaths and injuries among the team. The most perilous encounter was at a river.

It was a wide river, more than a hundred meters across, that cut through the forest. The river was tumultuous and surging with abundant water.

When the forest fire reached this river, it was stopped by this large body of water.

Of course, such a river could not stop the steps of the Cultivators.

As the female cultivator surnamed Bai was patrolling back and forth above the river, suddenly, a creature resembling both a snake and a flood dragon burst forth from the water.

Mist shot up into the sky.

It was like an explosion had been set off.

A huge and elongated body shot out of the water like lightning, opened its vast maw, and charged straight at the female cultivator surnamed Bai.

The female cultivator surnamed Bai’s complexion changed dramatically, and in the nick of time, she threw out a bell-like object. The bell swelled with the wind and swiftly smashed toward the enormous creature.

"Dang!"

A ripple of invisible waves spread out.

The demon beast was hit on the forehead, its head tilted, its huge body brushed past Bai’s side and dove back into the water, disappearing without a trace.

Chen Li, although only exposed to the aftershocks, still felt his ears ringing and a wave of dizziness and nausea overwhelming him. When he came to his senses, he found the surrounding crowd staggering from the shockwave as if drunk.

Fortunately, there were no serious injuries.

The demon beast they encountered was undoubtedly a Second Order.

Having had a narrow escape from death, the female cultivator surnamed Bai announced her immediate retreat back to the camp for rest and refrained from advancing any further.

In the days that followed.

Twenty or so Foundation Establishment cultivators, in groups of three, searched back and forth along the river for traces of the Second Order demon beast.

Chen Li didn’t know what the ultimate fate of the Second Order Demon Beast was, but five days later, the team set off again, taking a Magic Artifact longboat to safely cross the river, which seemed to have resolved the issue.

...

More than a month had passed in the blink of an eye since they started reclaiming the wilderness.

The encampment had been moved five or six times, and the team had pushed forward several tens of miles,

Chen Li had been keeping a low profile, only doing what was necessary, and rarely taking action. He was inconspicuous in the crowd, and of course, there was little room for action since the Foundation Establishment Cultivator would handle any dangers.

For him, this forced labor wasn’t tiring, but what was most painful was the inconvenience of cultivating.

During the day, because he had to clear the land with the team, there was simply no time.

Even at night, while he could sit and practice Qi Cultivation without much disturbance, practicing swordsmanship and spells meant having to find a secluded spot.

However, even so.

His foundational swordsmanship was on the verge of advancing.

...

At night.

In the uninhabited wilderness.

Chen Li practiced his swordsmanship while sensing his body.

In his mind, a complex human anatomy chart clearly emerged.

Now his skin, fat, muscles, blood vessels, internal organs, meridians, and bones had all been refined completely, leaving only the spinal cord and its connected neural network, as well as the brain, shrouded in an unknowable fog.

However, today, it seemed that he had accumulated enough power to finally begin breaking through.

First, the nerve fibers connected to his skin were slightly illuminated. Then, these countless fine nerves flickered on as if electrified, rapidly expanding territory, and the shadows above were continuously driven away.

At last, they connected to the spinal cord.

In the sensation within his mind, a complex and dense neural network took preliminary shape. These nerves emitted a faint glow that fluctuated with breathing and the activity of muscles and internal organs—brightening and dimming intermittently, creating a stunning and shocking display.

...

He didn’t know how much time had passed.

"Hiss! After nearly three years, I’ve finally broken through!" Chen Li emerged from his trance-like state, suppressing the throbbing pain in his head that came after such an intense mental effort, and a look of joy appeared on his face.

"This is?"

He suddenly felt an intense difference.

At that moment, his senses seemed magnified by countless times, and everything came to life.

His ears were filled with sounds great and small, his nose could detect subtler scents, his sight developed a kind of low-light vision and saw richer colors, and at the same time, his sense of touch became extremely sensitive.

He could not help but touch his own face.

As his palm brushed his cheek, a rustling sound reached his ears, and a clear texture was felt on his face. He could even sense the minute roughness of his palm’s texture and the shape of its ridges.

An insect flew straight towards him.

Chen Li instinctively flicked his hand, and the insect was instantly burst by his strike.

"It’s not just the five senses!" Chen Li thought to himself.

He took a few steps, keenly feeling:

"This sensation... it’s as if the body’s delay has decreased."

Each command from the brain was executed swiftly.

Then he cast a Body Protection Skill.

He found that both the sign forming and the spell chanting were faster than before.

"My body has become more agile, the thoughts translate almost instantly into action... this refining seems to have greatly enhanced my nervous reaction capacity!" Chen Li pondered thoughtfully, feeling pleased.

He clenched his fists.

He felt that he could kill the version of himself from a day ago in just a few moves.