Rain poured heavily on Desolate Mountain, bringing with it a thick fog that draped the peaks like a shroud of death.
The wind whispered through the cracks in the stone, as if carrying echoes from the past.
Within a hidden cave, Huang Tian sat cross-legged, eyes closed, body still — but inside, a small universe was being constructed.
In his dantian, an energy core pulsed slowly, like the heartbeat of a newborn.
Qi Condensation Layer 3.
His age: 160 years.
His body appeared like that of a 15-year-old youth, yet every cell had transformed — stronger, tougher, closer to immortality.
He opened his eyes.
For a brief instant, golden light flashed within his pupils, then vanished.
*"It's time to move on,"* he whispered.
*"Phase 2: Body Refinement. Stage 1: Muscles."*
He drew a leather pouch from within his robe.
Inside was a brownish metallic powder — sacred bronze from the ruins of an ancient city.
A metal no ordinary man could forge.
It could only be found in ruins struck by heavenly lightning for a thousand years.
He mixed it with a concoction of seven mountain herbs:
* Full Moon Leaf — stabilizes energy flow.
* Lesser Thunder Root — accelerates cell regeneration.
* Eternal Ice Blossom — dulls the pain.
The mixture was burned with a flame of spiritual energy, stirred until it became a thick dark-brown paste.
He named it: "Bronze Muscle Purification Pill."
He swallowed it.
It tasted like molten metal tearing through his throat.
But he did not cry out.
He simply held his breath, shut his eyes, and let the effect spread.
---
At the first second, his muscles trembled.
Like tiny insects crawling beneath his skin.
At the fifth, heat erupted in his arms, chest, and back.
At the seventh, his muscles began to *collapse from within.
Not ordinary destruction.
This was forced regeneration.
Each fiber was broken, then rebuilt with the sacred bronze he had absorbed.
The pain was excruciating — as though pierced by thousands of burning needles.
Blood dripped from his lips.
Yet he remained seated.
Unmoving.
Silent.
Because he knew: if he faltered now, he would remain weak.
He remembered Earth.
The hospital.
The heart machine.
The body that could not move.
And he whispered:
*"I am no longer that person.
I am the first.
And I will surpass all things."*
---
Two hours later, the process was complete.
His muscles had evolved.
The skin on his arm looked the same, yet to the touch it felt like compressed metal.
He lifted a 300 kg boulder with one hand — effortlessly.
On the stone, he inscribed:
*"Phase 2: Success.
Muscles now resistant to extreme pressure.
Physical strength increased by 500%.
Regeneration time: 3 seconds.
Ready for Layer 4."*
A faint smile crossed his lips.
*"This is only the beginning.
I haven't even touched the bones."*
---
The next day, he descended to the village.
Not to buy food.
But to observe.
To gather information.
To avoid threats.
He overheard an old man speaking with a neighbor:
*"That boy is rarely seen. He hasn't been to the market in six months. Is he even alive?"*
*"But his skin looks strange. Like metal. I fear he's not human."*
*"I heard he often goes to the mountain. Perhaps he's a cursed qigong practitioner."*
Huang Tian heard everything.
But he did not respond.
He simply walked away, herbs in hand.
In his heart, he noted:
*"The village grows suspicious.
If they learn I can absorb spiritual energy, they'll kill me.
I need complete isolation.
I need a concealment formation."*
---
That night, he returned to his cave.
He brought out 37 spiritual stones gathered over three months.
Arranged them into an eight-directional circle, forming a Temporary Spiritual Concealment Formation.
A technique he designed himself, based on principles of energy refraction.
It didn't hide his body, but erased the trace of spiritual energy.
From the outside, the cave looked empty.
No qi flow, no soul pressure.
He activated it with a drop of blood.
The circle pulsed, glowing faintly red for three seconds, then faded.
The formation was active.
Undetectable to low-level qigong practitioners.
He sat in the center.
*"Now, I can cultivate without disturbance."*
---
The following morning, he began meditation for Layer 4.
His goal: increase the density of spiritual energy in his dantian by 200%.
If successful, he could begin controlling energy from afar.
He inhaled.
The cave trembled.
Crystals in the walls pulsed rapidly.
Spiritual energy flowed like a river into his dantian.
But this time, he didn't allow it to enter directly.
He created an energy barrier in his main qi channels.
Each stream of energy had to pass through a filter woven from his delta brainwaves.
This slowed absorption but refined the energy's purity.
He wanted quality, not speed.
After eight hours, he reached the critical point.
The core within his dantian trembled violently.
Pressure mounted.
If he didn't release it, his body would explode.
He extended his right hand.
A wave of energy surged forth, striking the cave wall.
A boulder the size of a house crumbled to dust.
The cave shook.
But the concealment formation held firm.
He smiled.
"Layer 4… complete."
His age: 165 years.
Now he could control spiritual energy within a 100-meter radius.
He could summon wind, shatter stone, or kill insects with a mere wave.
---
On the seventh day, he began gravitational experiments.
Purpose: to prepare for organ refinement.
According to his notes, organs must be tempered with extreme gravity, then purified with elemental materials.
He built a training chamber in the cave's corner.
Using nine spiritual stones, he generated tenfold gravity.
Inside, every step felt like carrying a mountain on his back.
He entered.
First step: his legs nearly snapped.
Second: blood leaked from his ears.
Third: he collapsed to his knees.
But he rose again.
Fourth step.
Fifth.
Sixth.
After 30 minutes, he could walk.
After 2 hours, he could run.
After 12 hours, he could leap unscathed.
He wrote:
"Tenfold gravity tolerable.
Internal organs intact.
Ready for Heart Trial with Sacred Wood."
---
On the tenth day, he ventured into the forbidden forest east of the mountain.
A perilous place — swarming with beasts and poison.
But there grew the Heavenly Heart Tree, the sole source of Sacred Wood for organ refinement.
He arrived at midnight.
The full moon bathed the forest in silver bloodlight.
The wind carried the stench of rot.
Suddenly, a massive tiger appeared — three meters tall, eyes blood-red, claws like blades.
Not an ordinary beast.
But a Grade 3 Aura Beast, capable of destroying a village.
The tiger roared.
The soundwave flattened trees around them.
But Huang Tian did not move.
He merely raised his left hand.
A wave of spiritual energy burst from his palm.
It struck the tiger's chest.
Bones cracked.
The beast flew twenty meters, slammed into a tree, and died.
Huang Tian walked calmly.
He cut a small piece of the Heavenly Heart Tree's root.
He did not destroy the tree — he knew disrupting nature would draw the attention of powerful cultivators.
He returned to his cave.
Crushed the root into powder.
Mixed it with herbs, forming a small green pill.
"Heart Purification Pill – Stage 1."
---
That night, he began organ refinement.
He entered the tenfold gravity chamber.
Swallowed the pill.
It felt like a thousand thorns sprouting inside his chest.
His organs ruptured.
His heart convulsed.
His blood thickened.
But he endured.
Using spiritual energy, he accelerated regeneration, forcing the sacred wood essence into his cells.
For 18 hours, the process raged.
Blood poured from his mouth, nose, and eyes.
But his heart emerged stronger.
Its color shifting from deep crimson to faint green.
He had succeeded.
"Heart: Stage 1 complete.
Resistant to mid-level poisons.
Heart regeneration: 1 second.
Ready for Kidneys with Eternal Water."
---
By the fourth week, the village acted.
A senior qigong practitioner arrived — Master Wei, 280 years old, at the Inner Elixir Peak.
He came after hearing: "There's a boy who doesn't eat, doesn't drink, yet survives on the mountain. And strange energy has been sensed there."
Master Wei brought two disciples.
They climbed the mountain, searching for traces of energy.
But Huang Tian's concealment formation masked everything.
They neared the cave.
One disciple muttered: "There's nothing. Likely just rumors."
Master Wei shook his head. "I feel something. Like emptiness. But a living emptiness."
Huang Tian heard from within.
He knew: if they uncovered the formation, he would have to kill them.
But he wanted no attention.
He wished to remain hidden.
So he did the unexpected.
He weakened the formation, by just 0.3%.
Enough to emit a false aura, resembling a weak forest spirit.
Master Wei sensed it.
"Only a forest spirit. Harmless."
They left.
Huang Tian wrote:
"Threat handled without combat.
Strategic victory.
Formation must be upgraded.
Goal: undetectable even by Emperor Realm."
---
By the fifth month, he reached Qi Condensation Layer 5.
His age: 170 years.
The core in his dantian was now marble-sized, rotating slowly.
He could draw energy from earth, air, and even moonlight.
Now he could create energy shadows — small illusions lasting ten seconds.
Useful for deception or formation testing.
He also began measuring time precisely.
With spiritual energy, he sensed Earth's rotation, the stars' movement, and natural cycles.
He knew:
"If I am to reach Pseudo-Emperor Realm within 10,000 years, I must accelerate cultivation speed by 3.6x."
He designed a night cultivation technique harnessing moonlight and starlight.
A method unknown in this world.
For none believed the stars contained spiritual energy.
---
On the new moon night, he climbed the highest peak.
The sky was dark, stars blazing.
He sat cross-legged, pores opened to the extreme.
For the first time, he tried absorbing energy from the stars.
Not the light.
But the spiritual essence flowing across millions of li.
At first, he failed.
But he adjusted his brainwave frequency.
Tuned it to the rhythm of a distant pulsar.
Gradually, energy began to flow.
Thin, like golden threads.
But pure.
Purer than air itself.
He smiled.
"I am not just forging a path.
I am creating one that has never existed in this universe."
---
On the final day of that month, he received a sign from the higher world.
Not a voice.
Not a vision.
But a shift in spiritual energy's flow.
For an instant, the air grew heavy.
Like pressure from another dimension.
And faintly, from afar, he sensed a trace of Dao law.
"Impossible," he whispered.
"The Dao laws exist only in the higher world.
Why can I sense them here?"
He wrote:
*"Hypothesis: There is a dimensional rift between this world and the higher realm.
Location: Central Mountain, 3,000 li east.
Risk: Extremely high.
Priority: Low.
But will investigate after reaching Body Refining Realm."*
---
At age 15 years, 11 months, Huang Tian completed Stage 1 of the Indestructible Desolate Body Scripture.
His skin and muscles refined.
His heart strengthened.
He was ready for the bones.
He took a stone tablet.
Wrote with his blood:
> Project Immortality – Year 15, Month 11.
> Qi Condensation: Layer 5/9
> Age: 170 years
> Body: Skin & muscles refined. Heart Stage 1.
> Next Target: Layer 7 + Bone Refinement with Silver
> Materials: Heavenly Silver, Small Flame from Ancient Fire Formation
> Threat: Master Wei may return
> Plan: Seek deeper cave, establish permanent formation
> Note: This world is too small. But still useful as a foundation.
He closed his eyes.
Entered meditation.
Outside, the wind blew.
The stars gleamed.
And within the cave,
an architect of immortality continued building his design — one layer, one organ, one step toward infinity.