Chapter 5 - Unexpected Boon
Instead of returning to his residence, Chen Fan took a few detours along the way and eventually arrived at a secluded grove far removed from the bustling city.
Within the heart of the grove, there was a clearing approximately ten meters in radius, where massive stones, around two meters high, stood scattered haphazardly,
Adjacent to the grove, there was a magnificent waterfall. A torrent of water, resembling a white dragon, cascaded down from a cliff that stood tens of meters tall. The spray of water droplets filled the air, occasionally creating the enchanting sight of a rainbow.
Chen Fan had accidentally found this serene and picturesque place hidden from the main thoroughfares and immediately recognized its potential for cultivation.
Sitting down atop a limestone, Chen Fan took out the Thousand Hands Seal manual, which he had previously tucked away in his bosom. He couldn't contain his excitement as he prepared to practice this martial skill for the first time.
Earlier, he had taken a quick look at the manual in the Martial Arts Pavilion. Now, he had to dedicate his time to carefully reading and comprehending the profound teachings within the Thousand Hands Seal.
The golden light had altered his martial arts comprehension level, but even he found the passage and its small, densely packed words quite complicated.
In the past, it would have taken him days, if not weeks, to fully grasp their meaning. However, his mind now worked like a machine, allowing him to comprehend many aspects with just a single glance. He could even understand the more intricate sections after some thoughtful consideration.
About an hour later, Chen Fan flipped over to the last page of Thousand Hands Seal.
Suddenly, he realized that something was off with the last page—it was thicker than all the other pages.
Curiosity piqued, Chen Fan carefully examined the edges of the page and noticed that they were thinner than the middle portion. Narrowing his eyes, he muttered, “Is something hidden here too?”
Chen Fan picked up the Thousand Hands Seal manual and held it against the sun, revealing the item concealed within the pages. Had he not examined the page, he would have failed to detect the hidden item.
Using a bit of saliva on his finger, Chen Fan delicately moistened a corner of the thin sheet of paper, allowing him to lift it. As he slowly unfolded it, a golden piece of paper slipped and fell to the ground.
Chen Fan picked up the golden paper at his feet. He discovered that it contained nearly a thousand minuscule black words, densely written. Each character was no larger than a mosquito. It took him the better part of a day to decipher the contents.
The golden paper recorded a body refining method called the Myriad Elephants Divine Art. It was an earth-tier body refining cultivation technique with a total of fifteen layers.
After mastering it, a cultivator’s physique would become as strong as an ancient ferocious beast, with each move carrying the might of ten thousand elephants.
The first to third layers were called Strength Refining.
The fourth to sixth layers were called Bone Tempering.
The seventh to ninth layers were called Body Strengthening.
The tenth to twelfth layers were called Divine Strength.
The thirteenth to fifteenth layers were known as Myriad Elephants.
His shirt was already drenched in sweat, and white smoke rose from his head.
He had already spent half a day practicing here, but there was no sign of fatigue on his face; instead, he looked extremely energetic and excited.
Primeval qi surged into Chen Fan’s hands and soon gained a faint golden color, emitting a faint yellowish light.
“Go!”
Chen Fan suddenly struck a large stone ahead with his palm. With a boom, the air shook, and he saw a faint golden palm materialize.
This faint golden palm instantly flew and landed on that large rock. A deep handprint was imprinted into the surface, accompanied by tiny cracks radiating from the impact.
Seeing the outcome of this palm strike, Chen Fan furrowed his brow and shook his head, extremely dissatisfied.
Even though he was only practicing a remnant of the complete manual, the Thousand Hands Seal should possess far greater power as a lower profound tier martial skill.
In his imagination, that palm strike should have pulverized the large stone into fine powder, rather than merely leaving a palm print several inches deep.
Of course, the half of the Thousand Hands Seal Chen Fan had was only a middle dirt tier martial skill at best, but it still wasn’t easy to practice. Even with the enhancements to his cognitive abilities granted by the golden light, Chen Fan still needed to dedicate considerable time and effort to practicing the skill.
The palm strike from before was merely at the basic level of mastery, not yet reaching the level of minor mastery. He could only display the Vajra Seal’s true might after reaching the minor mastery stage.
Chen Fan started practicing again.
He directed his primeval qi along the same path as before when he executed the Vajra Seal, channeling it into his palms. With each strike, he bombarded the large stone, palm after palm.
Every time Chen Fan practiced, he would notice the areas he was lacking in and improve them. As a result, each palm strike became stronger than the last; soon, he had mastered the Vajra Seal to a higher level.
Practicing the Vajra Seal required substantial amounts of primeval qi. Despite having abundant primeval qi, Chen Fan couldn’t keep up with endless practice. Therefore, he would switch to the Myriad Elephants Divine Art whenever his primeval qi was depleted.
The Myriad Elephants Divine Art didn’t consume much primeval qi at the Strength Refining layer. It only needed a minimal amount of primeval qi to nourish his body after borrowing external forces to temper it.
Upon reaching the fourth layer of Bone Tempering, he would need to transform his primeval qi into wild elephants and integrate them into his blood, flesh, tendon, and bones. At that time, the consumption of primeval qi would become very high.
As for using external forces to temper his flesh, Chen Fan chose a self-mutilation method without hesitation. He exposed his torso and charged toward the surrounding large stones, slamming into them repeatedly.
Chen Fan could feel his organs shaking with each slam, feeling like he would vomit them out soon. He felt woozy from the impact; every inch of his body was in pain and covered in bruises.
However, all this pain made Chen Fan think of strength, becoming stronger. He gritted his teeth and persisted.
After all, body cultivation demanded unwavering perseverance. If Chen Fan could endure all of it, all his efforts would be rewarded.
Every time he was about to crumble from the impact, Chen Fan would sit down with his legs crossed and activate the Heaven Seizing Art. By doing so, he would guide more Qi into his body, replenishing the primeval qi in his dantian. Consequently, a portion of this primeval qi would also nourish his physical form.
As a result, he grew stronger with each practice session.