Chapter 21 - Third Layer Complete Mastery
The wind whistled, unsettling the forest. A cacophony erupted in the dense outer area of the Qingyang Mountain Range, resembling the tumultuous seas.
Chen Fan soared through the air, his precious sword unleashing explosive thunder-like strikes, relentlessly slashing at the Blood-pupiled Black Python.
This tier-one, sixth-level demon beast was the Violent Ape’s nemesis. It bore the scars of Chen Fan's relentless assault, its blood staining the ground, presenting a pitiable sight. The initial posting of this chapter occurred via N0v3l.B11n.
On the day when the Violent Ape was hunting down Chen Fan, he had been a mere third-level martial artist. A sixth-level demon beast like the Blood-pupiled Black Python could have easily killed him if they crossed paths. However, fate had a way of turning the tables. The situation had now reversed.
The Blood-pupiled Black Python fought its hardest, its huge body crushing countless trees in the surrounding area. Yet, it eventually succumbed to Chen Fan's unyielding bombardment and collapsed lifelessly on the ground.
Chen Fan was full of smiles seeing the Blood-pupiled Black Python’s corpse.
The Blood-pupiled Black Python was a sixth-level demon beast. Its entire body was full of treasures. Its venomous fangs could be fashioned into weapons for stealthy attacks, capable of instantly killing those with lower cultivation.
The snake-scaled leather could be made into a powerful protective soft armor, which was very popular among martial artists below the seventh level. Additionally, the snake gall could be used for detoxification.
After harvesting all the valuable parts, Chen Fan dragged the massive python, weighing a thousand jin, towards the Violent Ape's cave.
The ground trembled lightly as he approached, indicating that the Violent Ape had sensed the commotion outside and was charging out in a frenzied state.
A fierce wind swept out from inside the cave. The Violent Ape charged out of its lair, its eyes the size of copper bells fixated on Chen Fan. Momentarily stunned, it let out a furious roar.
The Violent Ape vividly remembered the thief who had stolen the Jade Lotus Flower it had guarded for so long. Now that Chen Fan had revealed himself, a flicker of surprise flashed in the ape's eyes.
Boom boom boom...
The Violent Ape pounded its chest crazily.
Chen Fan rolled his eyes and shouted, “Stop hammering, big guy. I’m here to discuss something with you. Of course, you’ll have to say yes even if you disagree.”
He had stolen the Jade Lotus Flower from the Violent Ape and even used its pool to temper himself, so Chen Fan felt a sense of gratitude towards the ape. As such, Chen Fan didn’t want to slay the Violent Ape and occupy its nest.
However, after becoming Qi Grandmasters, martial artists could envelop themselves in protective qi, capable of withstanding sword slashes and spear thrusts. However, they could still be easily killed if their protective qi was broken.
Take the battle between Chen Fan and Liao Fan, for example. If Chen Fan's Myriad Elephants Divine Art had not reached the third layer, facing Liao Fan's sharp attacks would have resulted not only in a deep bloody wound but also in severed tendons and bones, perhaps even the loss of his limbs.
So, for a martial artist, the importance of having a tough body was self-evident.
However, physique cultivation was an extremely arduous path. Body cultivation had long declined since ancient times, so body cultivation techniques were scarce now.
Nowadays, most martial artists couldn’t endure the pain and suffering associated with body cultivation; therefore, they only focused on their qi cultivation. The higher their cultivation, the better they could protect themselves from harm.
Chen Fan was only at the fifth level but could fight toe to toe against sixth-level martial artists. However, what could he do against those at the seventh, eighth, or even Qi Grandmaster and Yuanfu realms?
If he could temper his body to be impervious to weapons and immune to elemental forces, his vitality would become incredibly tenacious, even if his cultivation level was slightly weaker.
At that time, even if he stood in place and allowed others to hack at him as they wished, they couldn’t kill him. They would have no way of piercing his flesh, so how could they kill him then?
Ancient body cultivators specialized in refining their bodies. Those experts were capable of feats like destroying a mountain with a single punch. They could easily kill qi cultivators with their bare hands.
Although Chen Fan did not follow this path, he chose the even more challenging path of two-fold cultivation, refining his body and qi. While difficult, the benefits were undeniable.
“Absorb!”
Chen Fan roared in his heart, absorbing the energy in the pool like a madman to temper his physique and make it even stronger.
Four hours later, Chen Fan shook; it seemed like a trumpet had gone off inside him. A mighty oppressive force radiated from his being.
This oppressive force didn’t originate from his qi cultivation but from his flesh. His strong body was comparable to gold or iron.
“Third layer complete mastery!”
A hint of disappointment flashed across Chen Fan’s eyes. He had not anticipated that the pool would be unable to propel his Myriad Elephants Divine Art to the fourth layer, only reaching complete mastery of the third layer.
Chen Fan stood up and went to put on his clothing. He looked at the pool water that had become clear and translucent, no longer emitting a faint golden glow. He had absorbed all the energy from the pool that could effectively temper his physique.
“It’s time to return to the sect.”
Chen Fan smiled faintly and made his way toward the cave entrance.