Everlasting

 

For cultivators, the ability to endure lightning powers longer meant more benefits for their fleshly body. Lu Ta practiced a fleshly body cultivation technique. Thus, his body was stronger compared to Chen Feng and Ye Ziming.

Although I practice the Longevity Scripture, my fleshly body is not particularly strong. Chen Feng thought to himself.

“Humph! I told you before, cultivation techniques are not omnipotent. In order to become strong, you need to depend on yourself. Even the most Heaven-defying cultivation techniques can only show you the path.” Tower’s voice rang out within Chen Feng’s mind.

Hearing those words, Chen Feng’s eyes lit up. That is right, cultivation techniques are unchanging while humans do. A cultivation technique is just a path. In order to become strong, I will need to rely on myself.

Having reached that line of thought, the barrier around Chen Feng’s body abruptly disappeared, retracting back into his body. Next, the vast amount of lightning powers intersected as they shot towards Chen Feng.

“Argh!”

Instantly, the hairs on Chen Feng’s body stood erect as a scorched scent wafted out from his body again. His body ached all over as his blood circulation sped up. The surface of some of his veins twitched uncontrollably. Countless muscles were torn, a result of the invading lightning powers. A pain akin to that of bones getting shattered wracked his whole body. This was more painful compared to getting stabbed a few times.

“Brother Chen, what are you going?” Ye Ziming exclaimed.

“Naturally, I am cultivating my fleshly body.” Chen Feng spurred his blood energy to resist the invading lightning powers while channelling the Longevity Scripture to repair the damaged muscles and tissues.

“Great! Great! Brother Chen, great! This is how a man should be!” said the nearby Lu Ta with a smile.

Vast amounts of lighting powers constantly invaded Chen Feng’s body. Soon enough, Chen Feng was no longer capable of speaking. His blood energy became like a giant dragon, roaring ceaselessly and thrashing about violently as it utterly wiped out the invading lightning powers.

First origin of emergence, the myriad phases renew themselves, the hundred openings return to the first, the myriad beings intersect one another, energy is absorbed, absorbed by the heavenly origin!

A flash of light suddenly crossed Chen Feng’s mind and he seemingly gained an epiphany. Various feelings of comprehension surged into his mind as he reflexively shouted those words out.

Following another shout from Chen Feng, the lightning powers invading his body flowed towards his Heavenly Origin acupoint. Like a bottomless pit, his Heavenly Origin acupoint exerted a powerful, spiral-shaped suction force to suck in the lightning powers and store them within itself.

“Well done, kid! You’ve finally grown some. In the past, you had only opened the door to the Heavenly Origin acupoint. Only now are you truly opening the Heavenly Origin acupoint. The human body is the most unique of existences. Despite cultivating throughout their entire lives, many cultivators cannot fully comprehend the mysteries of one minor Heavenly Origin acupoint.” Tower’s voice rang within Chen Feng’s mind once more.

Chen Feng ignored Tower. Instead, he took the initiative to absorb the lightning powers outside. With the Heavenly Origin acupoint’s absorption ability, the pain Chen Feng felt had lessened considerably. At the same time, Chen Feng could feel a faint but pleasant sensation. After considering it in detail, he understood. Due to the assault from the lightning powers earlier, some of the impurities within his body had been tempered out, leading to more resilient muscles, bones and skin.

What a pleasant feeling! This level of intensity is not enough, far from it. I want a stronger level of pressure. Chen Feng had seemingly become addicted. He could only feel his bones and body growing itchy. It felt as though something was on the verge of erupting. Thus, he strode forward, because the lightning powers up front was stronger.

“Hold up! Let’s practice together!” Lu Ta grinned as he chased after him.

“Those two fellows have gone crazy,” Ye Ziming could not stop himself from blurting out. After a moment’s consideration, he slowly retracted the protective shield around him. The surrounding lightning powers immediately engulfed Ye Ziming.

“Woaaargghhhh!”

Ye Ziming screamed out wretchedly as a scorched scent wafted out.

…

Crash! Crash! Crash!

At that moment, Chen Feng’s blood was surging like a great river. The power it generated was enough to break a giant boulder.

Rumble! Rumble!

That was the sound of Chen Feng’s muscles and bones quaking. It was as though there were lightning bolts surging continuously within Chen Feng’s body, tempering and scouring his fleshly body, strengthening it.

The surrounding lightning powers were gradually growing stronger and the attacks landing upon Chen Feng too, grew in power. The aching sensations of pain grew stronger. However, Chen Feng acted like one suffering from cultivation deviation. He opened up his pores, allowing the lightning powers to invade his body. The lightning powers proceeded to destroy his muscles and tissues.

At the same time, Chen Feng channelled his longevity-type primary energy to repair the damages inflicted upon his body. Every time his damaged muscles were restored by the longevity-type primary energy, Chen Feng could feel them becoming more resilient and powerful.

This was a type of improvement. While continuously growing stronger, a qualitative change would occur.

“Brother Chen, the lightning powers here are getting even stronger. Even I might not be able to hold on much longer. Don’t overexert yourself,” advised Lu Ta.

“Don’t worry, I am aware of my limits,” replied Chen Feng. The moment he opened his mouth, a large amount of lightning powers surged in through his mouth to nearly render him unconscious. Thankfully, his Heavenly Origin acupoint increased its rate of absorption, relieving some of the pain for Chen Feng.

The lightning powers here are actually so strong. It seems I won’t be able to hold on much longer. Chen Feng pondered silently.

“This is just one of the weakest types of lightning in this world. Kid, hold on just a little longer. When you can no longer hold on, leave it to me.” Tower’s voice resounded within Chen Feng’s mind.

“The weakest type? Then, what about the lightning strikes that Sky Human stage cultivators have to overcome during tribulation?” Chen Feng could not stop himself from asking.

“That is Sky Lightning. When a cultivator reaches the Sky Human stage, Heaven and Earth will be able to sense the cultivator’s presence. That will trigger the advent of Lightning Tribulation. Every time a cultivator successfully overcomes a Lightning Tribulation, his or her cultivation base will multiply in strength. Naturally, should they fail to overcome tribulation, they will most likely be reduced to ashes. After reaching the Sky Human stage, following the increase in their cultivation base, the Lightning Tribulation the cultivator faces will also grow stronger. For every level the cultivator gains, their next Lightning Tribulation will become tens of times more powerful. After overcoming nine Lightning Tribulations, the cultivator can become a Human Immortal,” said Tower.

“So, that is how it is. In other words, I still have a long way to go on my path of cultivation,” said Chen Feng with a sigh.

“Heh heh! Naturally! As it is, you are only at the starting line. If I have to be honest about it, with your current cultivation base, you can’t really be considered practicing cultivation.” Tower snickered.

“Oh? What level do I have to be at to be considered truly practicing cultivation?” asked a curious Chen Feng.

“Naturally, when you have attained the word immortal! Kid, let me tell you, only by entering the Immortal Plane can you understand the meaning of the word cultivation. You will understand that all beneath immortals are but ants!” said Tower with an excited tone.

“Immortal Plane, heh heh! That is too far away right now. I should cultivate at a steady pace and ensure a good foundation,” said Chen Feng with a smile.

Next, Chen Feng stopped chatting with Tower. Instead, he gave his all to absorb and refine the lightning powers invading his body. The surrounding lightning powers were growing ever stronger and tyrannical. By Chen Feng’s estimate, ordinary humans who enter this place would instantly be reduced to charcoal.

Weng! Weng! Weng!

With a thought, Chen Feng’s skin began trembling, causing the sounds of colliding iron armours to ring out. As pliable as cotton, as durable as iron. The strength of Chen Feng’s fleshly body had improved by another level.

“Thrumming sound of iron armours. Brother Chen, to think you have successfully broken through.” Lu Ta’s voice rang out from beside him.

At that moment, Lu Ta was taking on the bombardment from the surrounding lightning powers. Muscles from every part of his body were constantly quaking. Occasionally, they would emit exploding sounds.

This was a sign that would only appear after the fleshly body had attained a certain level of power. After reaching this level, astral energy was no longer needed to protect the cultivator’s body. The cultivator could rely on the toughness of his or her skin alone to block off the attacks from various mundane weapons beneath the Magic tier. Even the sharpest steel sword can not pierce the outer layer of the cultivator’s skin.

Chen Feng’s eyes flashed. He could feel his muscles bulging out one after another, seemingly formed using high-quality steel. As for the erect hairs on the surface of his skin, they were like sharp steel needles.

As expected, for cultivation, courage and the desire to improve is needed. If one is timid and lacking in courage, how can one improve? Cultivation is the equivalent of sailing against the current. Complacency means getting left behind. It seems I will have to work even harder. Chen Feng thought to himself.

After his fleshly body broke through, Chen Feng felt the pressure bearing down on him lessening. Thus, the rate at which he advanced increased further. It did not take him long to see Four Ears waiting for them. He was seated on a piece of rock.

Under the might of such formidable lightning powers, even Concealed stage cultivators had to form a layer of energy around themselves for protection. However, Four Ears remained unscathed. The golden fur on his body flashed about, not a single fur charred from the assailing lightning powers. It seemed as though the Four-eared Spirit Monkey was just sitting out on a normal day.

“The fleshly body of a yao beast is truly powerful. He is actually not afraid of the assaults from the lightning powers,” praised Chen Feng.

“It seems he is no ordinary yao beast. Although the fleshly body of a yao beast is incredibly strong, they tend to have an innate fear of lightning. In fact, their fear of lightning exceeds humans. Not to mention, even for those who do not fear lightning, reaching this point will not be so easy for them.” Ye Ziming caught up to them.

There was a thick protective shield, formed using potent energy, around Ye Ziming’s body. The surrounding lightning powers struck the surface of the shield non-stop, causing cracking sounds to ring out.

“Congratulations to Brother Chen on your breakthrough!” said Ye Ziming after casting an envious look at Chen Feng.

“Truth be told, you can do it as well. Just release the protective shield around your body and accept the tempering from these lightning powers,” said Chen Feng.

“Nah! I tried it for a bit earlier and almost fainted. I am not crazy monsters like you two,” said Ye Ziming with a bitter smile.

“Young Master, there is a situation up front.” Four Ears’ voice suddenly rang out within Chen Feng’s mind. Due to the Soul Shackle, Chen Feng and Four Ears could communicate with each other directly using their minds, a faster means of communication compared to speaking.

“Oh, what kind of situation?” Chen Feng became intrigued.

“The lightning powers up ahead is tens of times stronger,” said Four Ears.

“Come, let’s go check it out.” After saying that, Chen Feng took the lead and walked forward.

After advancing though a distance of 200 zhang, Chen Feng immediately halted his steps. He stared blankly at the scene unfolding before his eyes, a look of disbelief etched on his face (1 zhang = 3.333 m).

“No wonder. No wonder there are no guards here. If it is like this, there is simply no way to make it through.” Lu Ta could not stop himself from clicking his tongue.

There before their eyes, countless lightning bolts – each the size of an arm – surged about, intersecting one another to form a dense net which blocked their path forward.

On their way here, the strongest lightning power around them was only the size of a strand of hair. At that moment, each of the lightning bolts was as thick as an arm. That cannot be called tens of times stronger. That was probably over a hundred times stronger.