Yan Ling, the True Heir of the Cold Blood Peak in the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect, could likely form her Golden Core just past a hundred years of age. Wang Yu had started slower, but catching up wouldn't be difficult now.
According to common knowledge in the cultivation world, breaking through a major realm always brought a significant improvement in aptitude. This was the transformation brought about by the elevation of one's life level. Everyone could benefit from it.
It was said that after reaching the Nascent Soul stage, one's aptitude would at least be comparable to a Heaven-Grade Spiritual Root. Beyond that, there were even Innate Spiritual Bodies, but the specifics of that were beyond Wang Yu's current knowledge.
After his aptitude improved, Wang Yu became completely immersed in cultivation. Not only did the placement slots bring substantial progress, but his own cultivation efficiency was also no longer low. Although it couldn't match the relentless, year-round labor of a single placement slot, compared to the past, the feeling of external spiritual energy flowing through his body and being rapidly refined was incredibly exhilarating.
It was like floating on a cloud, feeling transcendent and blissful—almost comparable to the pleasures of the flesh, perhaps even surpassing them.
"This is cultivation! This is true cultivation!"
The hard days were finally behind him.
Time flew when one was engrossed in cultivation. After a month, the initial novelty wore off, and he settled down to seriously undertake the final stage of physical tempering.
'Nine Living Dragon Sinews.' If he could achieve Body Refining Foundation Establishment, he could condense the nine into one, obtaining a powerful spine comparable to that of a dragon-lineage demon beast—also known as a **[Dragon Spine]**! At that point, his body would possess fierce dragon-like strength, with dragon roars accompanying every punch and kick. If paired with close-combat techniques from the Body Refining Path, this power could be further unleashed.
But successfully condensing it wasn't simple. After all, the Vajra Liquid was like a high-grade Foundation Establishment Pill for the Body Refining Path; it provided assistance but didn't guarantee success. It still depended on the individual. Therefore, Wang Yu paid extra attention to this final tempering stage. He never slacked off in matters related to cultivation.
One day, while continuously circulating the **Flood Dragon Strength**, Wang Yu felt something was missing. An itch for action made him realize it was time to find a new sparring partner.
Drawing on past experience, he chose a stronger opponent this time: a newly advanced second-tier, early-stage **[Ironback Boar]** with Metal and Earth attributes! Its strength, speed, and defense all surpassed the Stonehide Bull's, especially its defense. Not only was it covered in a layer of hardened mud armor, but it also had a coat of metallic bristles, making it a very tricky opponent.
Relying solely on his body refining cultivation, he was completely outmatched. Perfect for providing the extreme pressure he needed.
The Black Mountain Demon Lands were indeed a blessed place.
Seeking his limits, Wang Yu deliberately created opportunities for direct clashes with the boar. Although his strength was inferior, under the boar's relentless assaults, his body was tempered like red-hot steel. Each impact was painful, but it also refined his physique. The dragon blood secret medicine potency hidden deep within his muscles, bones, and flesh was finally fully squeezed out during this final stage of cultivation.
His aura grew stronger daily, and his close-combat experience became increasingly proficient.
Demon beasts were ultimately inferior to humans, a characteristic that became more pronounced at lower cultivation levels. Their lack of intelligence was a major flaw. Comparing Yu Tangtang to these wild mountain demons highlighted the vast difference.
Every ten days, he engaged in a battle for tempering. Afterward, while recovering from his injuries, he digested the gains from the fight.
Maintaining this rhythm, three months passed in the blink of an eye.
The time reached the 4th year, 4th month of Wang Yu's Inner Sect life!
His body had been tempered to its limit. With no more dragon blood secret medicine and all hidden medicinal potency exhausted, he decided to stop this kind of grueling tempering. Going too far was as bad as not going far enough, and without medicinal power for recovery, he could easily cripple himself.
Having accumulated to this point was sufficient.
However, before attempting Body Refining Foundation Establishment, he needed to first break through to the ninth level of Qi Refining!
Breaking through Qi Refining realms held no difficulty. It was merely a matter of accumulating spiritual power. With his data-based calculations, there was almost no room for error.
Maintaining a calm heart, he began his seated meditation as usual.
Right around noon.
*Pop—*
A faint, almost imperceptible sound of a realm breakthrough echoed. Wang Yu's aura surged violently. His spiritual power reached 700 strands. Waves of turbulent spiritual power spread outwards from his body as the epicenter. The temperature within the cavern quickly dropped below freezing.
*Phew~*
He slowly exhaled a white breath. He had never felt cultivation advancement to be this simple! No... to be accurate, he had experienced the joy of rapid cultivation progress back in the early stages of Qi Refining. After many years, he was once again feeling the joy of a Dual Spiritual Root!
"Comfortable."
The next step was simple: continue cultivating until his spiritual power accumulated to 1,000 strands, which was considered Qi Refining Great Perfection, allowing him to prepare for the Foundation Establishment breakthrough. He already had suitable Foundation Establishment treasures, and his aptitude had been enhanced. This step held no difficulty for him.
At the current efficiency of his placement slots, it would take at most 300 days—less than a year—to reach that point. A speed he wouldn't have dared to imagine before.
Factoring in the **[Nether Heart Pills]** he had prepared back at Spider Mountain, just one pill would be enough to sustain his cultivation through the final stage of Qi Refining. He had prepared many sets of ingredients for the Nether Heart Pills back then, which he didn't need now, but it didn't matter. The excess could be sold to fellow disciples. These pills were very valuable, especially the top-grade ones. A significant part of their value came from the "top-grade" label itself, and countless cultivators were willing to pay for it.
After stabilizing his new realm for seven days, Wang Yu carved a three-meter by three-meter pool into the ground. Using his flying sword made the pool remarkably neat. He opened several storage pouches and poured in the collected spiritual spring water. He then ground ten top-grade healing pills and mixed them into the water, giving it healing properties.
Based on the knowledge he had gleaned from texts, breaking through in Body Refining Foundation Establishment was very dangerous. Cultivators often suffered severe injuries. The test of will was one aspect; the test of physique was another. Having cultivated the Body Refining Path to this point, his investment wasn't insignificant, but it wasn't enormous either. Whether he would succeed was not absolutely certain.
This pool of healing water was his life-saving measure. If everything went smoothly, it could also provide auxiliary support during the breakthrough process.
He lit a Mind-Calming Incense to adjust his mental state and condition.
Half a day later, he first activated the Corpse Demon Secret Art. His right hand gripped his left arm at the shoulder and tore it off with a fierce pull.
*Rip—*
The Divine Strength Corpse Arm was forcibly separated. Black, withered tendons twitched at the broken joint, and strands of death energy rose from it. This thing never truly belonged to him. During the physical breakthrough, it could likely cause side effects and had to be removed from his body first. Only then could he focus on the breakthrough with peace of mind.
This was also the main reason he lacked absolute confidence. The impact of missing an arm was too great. Even if he used the Corpse Demon Secret Art for limb regeneration in the future, he would need time to retemper the new left arm with the Flood Dragon Strength until its strength matched the rest of his body. That time wouldn't be too long.
He had already planned to temporarily assign the Corpse Demon Secret Art to the yet-unlocked fifth placement slot.
**(End of Chapter)**