Several days later, the residual toxins from the third-tier spiritual material, Myriad Poison Spirit Marrow, were completely devoured by the Immaculate Jade Toad. Wang Yu looked as if he had just crawled out of water, his entire body drenched in sweat.
The torment of intense poison corroding the body was truly not something a human should endure. Fortunately, it was over, and the gains perfectly met expectations.
The essence blood accumulated within his Dragon Spine reached over eight thousand six hundred droplets. With a final push, he wasn't far from the peak.
And he happened to have on hand the boundary-breaking spiritual material for breaking through to third-tier in body refinement, which he had exchanged at the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion using the **[Molten Earth Core Fruit]**—**[Glazed Lotus Heart Liquid]**!
Over these past two years, his true essence had only grown to 2,822 droplets. Even refining all five Black Mistsky Buggrass plants would only increase it by four hundred droplets. He was still a stretch away from breaking through to the eighth layer of Foundation Establishment.
It was better to temporarily focus all his efforts on body refinement, pushing it to the third-tier first. Combined with his divine sense power, he would definitely be able to contend head-on with Core Formation cultivators.
Speaking of which, it was still the lack of divine sense secret arts holding him back. Otherwise, with his volume of divine sense, he could play a much greater role in combat.
"Once I complete the Ancient Soul Art legacy, everything will fall into place."
Turning his head to glance at Long Yiran beneath the ancient stone carvings, he saw a mysterious aura swirling around her. It seemed less like comprehension and more like fusion with some spiritual entity.
Her soul aura was intensifying. Perhaps she could also reach the third-tier ahead of her cultivation base.
"Does the Earth Array Master legacy involve the soul path...? It seems more complex than I thought. No wonder she's interested in the Heaven Soul Sect legacy. What a coincidence."
Observing for a while, he secretly probed the stone wall with his divine sense.
He found that without the 'Scripture Guide,' he truly couldn't perceive anything. Slightly disappointed, he turned away. He planned to search this underground herb garden. Since it had things like Black Mistsky Buggrass...
Perhaps there were also body refinement-type spirit herbs. Using poison for body refinement—he had just tried it, and it was definitely feasible.
"For body refinement in the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest, the beneficial toxic plants I remember are... Bone Barrier Poison Flower, Blood Thorn Tiger Cane, and Corpse Poison Earth Fruit!"
These were the three most famous during the Foundation Establishment stage.
Wang Yu had even seen the first type before. During the first Gui Ling Scent Gathering, what the Blood Blade Guest brought out was the Bone Barrier Poison Flower, which was exchanged by Daoist Rain Flower at the time.
Walking through the dim herb garden, and wouldn't you know it...
Wang Yu actually found some: one Blood Thorn Tiger Cane and three Corpse Poison Earth Fruits. These two only grow where corpses are buried, and the number of corpses in the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest... was countless.
The corpse essence around this herb garden had probably been completely absorbed by these two spirit herbs.
The most abundant find was the Bone Barrier Poison Flower—a full six blooms.
"Truly a treasure trove."
He inspected the entire herb garden this time. Apart from what he had picked, there were thousands of first-tier spirit herbs, a hundred second-tier ones, and twelve third-tier spirit herbs.
Quite a few had withered. Among them, Wang Yu recognized ninety percent. The remaining ten percent he didn't recognize were special toxic variants that had mutated due to the local environment.
For such spirit herbs, one needed to tailor a pill formula based on their properties to utilize them perfectly, or they could be used directly.
After walking around, Wang Yu burned the Blood Thorn Tiger Cane into a plasma using the Ice Flood Dragon Pill Flame and directly applied it to his body. He even swallowed all three Corpse Poison Earth Fruits.
Six Bone Barrier Poison Flowers floated around him. Granular pollen flowed from them, seeping into his body through the various acupoints along his meridians.
Having endured the baptism of the Myriad Poison Spirit Marrow, his body's resistance to toxicity had greatly increased. Ordinary poisons were almost useless. Such a bold, unrestrained method of refinement was something only he could attempt.
The Ice Flood Dragon Pill Flame burned from the inside out, tempering his body and integrating the medicinal properties of the toxic plants into his blood and bones.
Several days later, Wang Yu felt it wasn't quite enough.
He took out the Starfall Frost Furnace again, sealing himself inside using the furnace-sealing method, replicating his actions from years ago in the Thunderfall Deep Pit. Only this time, the heat of the Ice Flood Dragon Pill Flame was more intense.
Accompanied by the circulation of the Netherworld Demonic Flood Dragon Technique, Wang Yu's qi and blood surged violently from his body, taking the form of a Netherworld Demonic Flood Dragon, undergoing a new round of body refinement.
Within his Dragon Spine, essence blood was increasing at a speed far surpassing the past.
One year and two months later.
Essence blood smoothly reached 9,999 droplets.
Peak of second-tier body refinement, achieved!!!
"Haaa——"
Taking a deep breath, the white breath Wang Yu exhaled struck the pill furnace with a loud *clang*, as if hit by a massive rock, causing it to vibrate incessantly. This was a manifestation of the strength of his internal organs.
The saying "exhaling breath like arrows, exhaling air like thunder"—
Was exactly this.
Once he broke through to third-tier in body refinement, he would possess the power to hurl mountains. Swinging a single arm with the force of a million *jin* was a thing of the past. "Hurl mountains" meant exactly that—the literal meaning.
He could uproot a mountain and throw it to attack enemies.
Reaching this step made breakthroughs increasingly difficult.
The final process of "Three Condensations and Three Dispersals" was extremely challenging. Moreover, this single droplet of fused true blood not only needed to disperse throughout the body but also condense within the spine to form the fundamental essence of a third-tier body refiner.
—**[Divine Marrow]**!
Just like breaking through to Foundation Establishment granted "Protective True Aura" and "Bodily Flight," and breaking through to Core Formation granted "Samadhi True Fire" and "Indestructible Golden Core," these were the mystical traits that came with each realm.
They were also innate talents acquired after the metamorphosis of life, deeply embedded in the essence of one's bloodline. This was one reason why high-level cultivators found it difficult to conceive offspring.
These traits could be inherited, but their manifested essence resulted in different spiritual root aptitudes, or even the possibility of innate spiritual bodies.
When yin and yang combined, if one side was too weak or too strong...
The child born would have an extreme range between its upper and lower limits. It could be a Heavenly Spiritual Root or a Waste Spiritual Root, almost entirely a matter of luck.
When the strong combined with the strong, they either had no children, or the children they had were geniuses, without exception.
Not everyone possessed the qualification for such heritable realm traits. Even Nascent Soul cultivators couldn't. Only Divine Transformation Venerables could pass them on in this manner.
Divine Transformation Venerables were the only ones recognized as true powerhouses by heaven and earth. One could say this raised the difficulty of "strong-strong combination" to the maximum, as Divine Transformation Venerables were already the strongest beings under this heaven.
Divine Marrow was the root of a body refiner's qi and blood, the foundation of divine strength!
In terms of nature, it also belonged to the category of mystical realm traits, but it was equivalent to the Golden Core.
Pure body refiners being phased out by the era wasn't just due to the difficulty of cultivation. Part of the reason was also the life-threatening nature of this Divine Marrow, which could only be condensed at the third tier!
Once the breakthrough failed, one's life entered a countdown.
Boundary-breaking spiritual materials like Glazed Lotus Heart Liquid could only increase the success rate. If one failed, they still couldn't avoid the outcome of dried-up qi and blood.
At that point, the body would be like a sieve, unable to retain qi and blood, and life essence would leak away. The result would be rapidly aging to death within a dozen years.
Even though Wang Yu had used various body refinement spiritual materials and had a deep foundation with a not-low success rate, he still needed to consider this deeply at this point.
Moreover, breaking through to the third tier in body refinement also required a third-tier spirit vein environment and facing a lightning tribulation. He wouldn't choose to break through now; the place wasn't suitable.
After condensing **[Divine Marrow]**, a body refiner would undergo a transformation as if reborn, truly able to unleash the essence of their divine strength. It was also best to forge a **[Bloodline True Artifact]**.
This thing, like a bonded magic treasure, was a necessary item that could grow alongside one's realm advancement. It could be crafted without refined smithing skills.
By continuously fusing more heavenly and earthly treasures in the future, it could be promoted.
This was also why he kept collecting various third-tier materials. He genuinely didn't have enough. He had essentially exhausted his family wealth preparing for this. Once he broke through to the third tier, he would possess formidable combat power.
As his thoughts flowed, while Wang Yu was happily envisioning the future, he suddenly looked towards the distant stone wall carvings.
Long Yiran had finished her comprehension.
The next moment, two pairs of eyes met briefly across the distance.
"You're awake. How were the gains?"
"Not bad. Brother Wang can experience for yourself and find out."
"Hmm?"
While Wang Yu was puzzled, Long Yiran took out a blank jade slip, pressed it to her forehead, expended a considerable amount of divine sense and time, then flicked her wrist, tossing it into his arms.
"The Geomancy and Mystical Arts you wanted. What I learned before was only the foundational chapters. After completing the legacy, I now know its full scope.
"It contains various Feng Shui secret arts, as well as records and analyses of various strange layouts between heaven and earth. Apart from lacking array legacies, it is extremely complete."
She was fulfilling the contract. Wang Yu gave her a deep look.
He had never left over this past year. Her trust in him had clearly increased a notch.
While scanning the jade slip with his divine sense.
Wang Yu's eyes held a look of astonishment.
"A single Earth Mother Scripture actually records so much content."
"Of course. Legend says the Earth Mother was a descendant of the lineage of the Ancestor of Earth Masters. It's unknown how much of the true legacy she obtained. This scripture on geomancy and divination, you must not pass it on to others."
"Naturally."
After saying this, Long Yiran went to examine the spiritual materials in a pleasant mood. Wang Yu remained standing where he was, immersed in the content.
It was broadly divided into four sections.
The first section, **[Secret Chapter on Heaven-Earth Layouts]**, recorded various Feng Shui layouts, both seen and unseen, even ranking them. Analyses were attached afterward.
The top-ranked Heaven Layout was **[Star Doubles Yin-Yang Reversal Chaos Layout]**. No one in this world had ever seen it. One had to wait for a special celestial phenomenon for an extremely low probability of its formation.
Its effect was simple and brutal: reverse yin and yang, invert life and death.
No matter how long someone had been dead, whether any remnant soul remained, it could achieve perfect resurrection. This was a power not involving time; it was more like... creation!
The second Heaven Layout, **[Starry Sky Cauldron Mystic Pill Layout]**. Again, no one in this world had seen it. Legend said the birth of this layout would be accompanied by a divine pill. Consuming it would allow one to ascend to immortality on the spot, enjoying a natural lifespan.
Heaven Layouts were ethereal and intangible. Wang Yu scrolled down.
Seeing the last Heaven Layout, **[Empty Doubles Nine Stars Alignment Layout]**—only this one had truly been encountered by the Ancestor of Earth Masters.
When this layout formed, it would produce a "Boundary Gate." Cultivators passing through would travel to other worlds. There was no way to stop it.
Legend said the Ancestor of Earth Masters disappeared into a Boundary Gate. Before entering, he was ecstatic to the point of madness. The Earth Mother Scripture described it as "dancing with joy." The narrative tone even carried a thick sense of envy.
Wang Yu couldn't help but develop more questions.
Heaven Layouts were doubtful, but Earth Layouts had all been seen by predecessors.
**[Nine Dragons Paying Homage Layout]**, **[Earth Mother Life-Nurturing Layout]**, **[Nine-Nine Mountain Cauldron Layout]**, and so on. There were also many layouts beneficial for cultivation, but they were difficult to arrange by human effort; one could only search for them across the vast earth.
Among them, the ones that most stirred Wang Yu's heart were:
**[Golden Core Spontaneously Formed Layout]** and **[Nascent Soul Gazing at Divinity Layout]**. The former could exempt one from the lightning tribulation and also assist in Core Formation, equivalent to the assistance of a top-grade Core Formation spiritual material.
It had appeared three times in the records of the Earth Mother Scripture.
The latter... was even more incredible, difficult to describe in words.
Just the content of the first section left Wang Yu very satisfied. There were also later sections: **[Mystical Chapter on Feng Shui Secret Arts]**, **[Chapter on Gazing at Qi Golden Pupils]**, and **[Detailed Explanation on Capturing Dragons and Stabilizing Veins]**!
This content was exceptionally outstanding for broadening one's knowledge. Moreover, since the *Earth Mother Scripture* was not a mystical cultivation art, it couldn't be placed in just one Placement Slot.
Apart from the first section's Secret Chapter on Heaven-Earth Layouts, which was pure knowledge, the latter three were intermixed with many secret methods and mystical profundities, requiring separate placement slots.
In short, the gains this time were unexpectedly rich.
You might not be able to exchange them for a million spirit stones.
**(End of Chapter)**