Chapter 2: The Great Perfection of the Body Refining Realm, Zhang Xiaoxin Gives Another Opportunity

Zhou Chen returned to room 444. In the dead of night…

“Claim.”

Zhou Chen silently chanted in his heart.

Suddenly, a Medicinal Pill appeared out of thin air in Zhou Chen’s hand. It exuded an astonishing Aura, and faintly, the sounds of a Dragon and Phoenix harmonizing could be heard.

Without hesitation, Zhou Chen decisively took the Dragon-Phoenix Marrow Cleansing Pill.

As soon as the Medicinal Pill entered his stomach, Zhou Chen felt a burning sensation in his abdomen.

Waves of heat flowed from his Dantian to his limbs and bones. At the same time, Zhou Chen’s bones creaked, his entire body turned crimson, and his veins bulged.

Blood mist condensed on Zhou Chen’s body, making him look quite terrifying.

At this moment, Zhou Chen’s bones felt as if they were being forcibly broken, only to regrow under the continuous scouring of the Medicinal Pill’s power. The immense pain of this process nearly made Zhou Chen faint.

Zhou Chen endured the pain, vaguely finding a towel and stuffing it into his mouth.

This seemingly ordinary action almost exhausted all of Zhou Chen’s strength.

Zhou Chen gritted his teeth against the excruciating pain. He dared not make a sound, fearing that if he fainted, he might subconsciously cry out and be discovered by other Outer Sect Disciples, thus interrupting his Body Tempering process.

This continued for half an hour until the Medicinal Pill’s power slowly began to recede, and the pain gradually subsided.

Zhou Chen wanted to hold on, but his entire body felt drained, unable to move, and his head grew heavier and heavier. Eventually, he passed out.

If someone had been nearby at that moment, they would have seen Zhou Chen covered in black blood scabs. Beneath the mottled blood, a tender, newborn-like skin was faintly visible, and the bones beneath his skin were crystal clear and flawless.

Two and a half hours later, dawn was just breaking.

Zhou Chen slowly woke up.

He suddenly felt incredibly light, yet full of power. His entire body was comfortable, with an indescribable sense of clarity.

He examined his body and found that all his previous injuries had healed. His swollen face had returned to its original handsome appearance, and he even had a more refined demeanor, giving off the feeling of a noble jade-like figure.

His physique was even more exaggerated; there wasn’t an ounce of excess fat on his body, and he now had an eight-pack. His muscle lines were sharply defined, and he felt as though he could single-handedly kill a Body Refining Realm Yao Beast.

It should be noted that at the same level of Cultivation, Human Race Cultivators have no advantage against Yao Beasts. An ordinary Qi Refining Realm Cultivator would not be able to kill a Body Refining Realm Yao Beast with bare hands.

More importantly, Zhou Chen was surprised to find that his Spiritual Qi circulated without any stagnation. The toxins in his body had been completely cleared, and his Cultivation had actually broken through to the Great Perfection of the tenth level of the Body Refining Realm!

Terrifying!

As expected of a Heaven Rank Low Grade Medicinal Pill; System-produced items are always of High Grade.

The Dragon-Phoenix Marrow Cleansing Pill not only helped Zhou Chen clear the toxins from his Meridians but also greatly widened his Meridians, significantly increasing the speed of Spiritual Qi circulation.

If the original owner’s Meridians at his Peak were a small stream, Zhou Chen’s Meridians now resembled a surging river, incomparable to before.

The excess Medicinal Pill power even helped him return to Body Refining Great Perfection, just one step away from the Qi Refining Realm.

In fact, what Zhou Chen didn’t know was that with his current Cultivation, he couldn’t fully absorb the power of a Heaven Rank Medicinal Pill. More of its power had settled in his Meridians, slowly releasing over time.

“Now I don’t have to worry about being expelled from the Outer Sect. And as for Ye Fan, who is suspected to be the Holy Son, and his past insults to the original owner, I’ll settle that score slowly.”

Zhou Chen thought to himself.

He looked at his profile again and found that it had changed.

Name: Zhou Chen.

Realm: Body Refining Realm, Tenth Level Great Perfection.

Fate: Family Disciple, Cultivation Genius, Pill Dao Root, Heaven-Envied Genius.

Destiny: In two months, he will display his Body Refining Great Perfection Cultivation, shocking the Outer Sect. However, during a sparring match, he will be poisoned, rendering him unable to use Spiritual Qi, and will be accidentally beaten to death by other Outer Sect Disciples.

Recent Opportunities: Meridian Cleansing Pill (obtained), Dragon-Phoenix Marrow Cleansing Pill (obtained).

“Damn it! Why am I being poisoned again? Who did the original owner offend to be so relentlessly haunted?”

He pondered for a moment, recalling the original owner’s experiences, and roughly guessed that the person who poisoned him before had noticed his Cultivation recovery and decided to harm him again.

After all, based on Zhou Chen’s previous Cultivation talent, if he grew stronger, he would be a huge threat to the person who poisoned him, so they chose to poison him again.

“It seems I need to break through to the Qi Refining Realm as soon as possible to gain more self-preservation ability.”

Zhou Chen secretly made up his mind.

The Cultivator Realms on the Tianxuan Continent are divided into Body Refining Stage, Qi Refining Stage, Foundation Establishment Stage, Golden Core Stage, Nascent Soul Stage, Saint Realm, and Emperor Realm, with ten levels in each Realm.

In Wenxian Sect, most Outer Sect Disciples are in the Body Refining Stage.

Inner Sect Disciples generally have a minimum Cultivation of Qi Refining Stage, with a small number of Genius Disciples having broken through to the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Ordinary Disciples who break through to the Qi Refining Realm, if they don’t have a prominent background or Cultivation resources, can become Sect stewards, completing tasks to obtain more Cultivation resources.

Disciples in the Foundation Establishment Realm can apply to become Outer Sect Elders. Becoming an Outer Sect Elder offers many benefits, such as receiving a certain amount of Spirit Stones and Medicinal Pills as a fixed monthly stipend.

Moreover, Outer Sect Elders have considerable power in assessing Sect Disciples.

With just a word, those Cultivation Families would eagerly compete to send Cultivation materials to Outer Sect Elders. Many Cultivation Families even went to great lengths to arrange marriages with Outer Sect Elders of major Sects.

After all, the essential 'wealth, companion, land, and technique' for Cultivation would all be readily available if one aligned with a Wenxian Sect Outer Sect Elder, which held a fatal attraction for Cultivation Families.

As for Wenxian Sect Inner Sect Elders, they generally need to be at least at the seventh level of the Core Formation Realm to serve.

Therefore, Inner Sect Elders can be said to be among the most powerful individuals within Wenxian Sect. Even Core Disciples must address them as Elder.

Above that, the Nascent Soul Realm Cultivators are also known as Nascent Soul Old Ancestors within the Sect. This is the level of the Wenxian Sect Leader and the various Peak Masters.

As for the Saint Realm, it is said that Wenxian Sect once had a Saint Realm Saint Grandmaster, who was also the founding Old Ancestor of Wenxian Sect. He hasn't appeared for over a thousand years, and rumors say he might have already passed away into the Immortal Realm.

Zhou Chen’s immediate priority was to improve his Cultivation and uncover the mastermind to prevent any unforeseen events. He certainly didn’t want to die young right after Awakening his Golden Finger.

— The next morning, outside the Third Pill Refinement Peak, in the Outer Sect Disciple living quarters.

Several exclamations were heard from outside the door, occasionally accompanied by a distant scream.

“Ah, please don’t hit me anymore! Please return my Spirit Stones! Those are the Spirit Stones I painstakingly saved for a year to buy Body Tempering Pills!”

Zhou Chen pushed open the door and saw Zhang Xiaoxin and his group from a distance.

At this moment, Zhang Xiaoxin, with a few of his lackeys, was punching and kicking a Disciple wearing Outer Sect attire.

While hitting him, he shouted loudly:

“Let’s see if I don’t beat you to death! You actually secretly hid so many Spirit Stones, a full 30 Low-Grade Spirit Stones!”

“Brother Xin, please spare me! All this money I saved for a long time to buy Body Tempering Pills. Without Body Tempering Pills, I definitely won’t be able to pass the Sect assessment. Please, be merciful!”

The Outer Sect Disciple, with his hands covering his head, curled up on the ground, crying out.

Zhou Chen recognized the beaten Outer Sect Disciple, Zhang Qiang, an Outer Sect Disciple with ordinary talent. When Zhou Chen was in his prime, Zhang Qiang used to follow him every day.

However, after Zhou Chen’s incident, this person never appeared again, a typical opportunist and snob. So, Zhou Chen watched the commotion from the side, with no intention of intervening.

There were quite a few Disciples passing by, all watching from a distance with a spectator’s mentality, and no one dared to speak up in his defense.

Even Outer Sect Disciples stronger than Zhang Xiaoxin watched indifferently. After all, they were not relatives, so who would be willing to help a complete stranger, especially in the Cultivation world where the strong prey on the weak?

Dignity always exists only within the scope of one's own strength.

After all, no one wanted to stand up for a worthless nobody and offend Zhang Xiaoxin, who had an Outer Sect steward uncle backing him.

After a while, Zhang Xiaoxin and his group seemed tired of beating him and stopped, sneering:

“Normally, when I ask you to borrow one or two Spirit Stones, you say you don’t have any. Now you can make it up. These thirty Low-Grade Spirit Stones are what I’m lending you, and you have to return them to me today.”

“Hahahahahahahahaha.”

Zhang Xiaoxin’s followers burst into laughter. Seeing the people around them remain silent, Zhang Xiaoxin became even more smug.

Then, the group swaggered away, and the surrounding Outer Sect Disciples shook their heads and dispersed.

Only Zhang Qiang was left groaning on the ground.

Zhou Chen looked at Zhang Xiaoxin’s retreating figure, and his profile information had changed again.

Name: Zhang Xiaoxin.

Realm: Body Refining Realm, Eighth Level.

Fate: Family Disciple, Swordplay Mastery, Minor Luck.

Destiny: Ultimately stopped at the first level of Foundation Establishment, serving as a Wenxian Sect Outer Sect Steward. Five years later, during an outing, he will be ambushed and killed by villains.

Recent Opportunity: To prepare for the Outer Sect Disciple Grand Competition, this afternoon, while choosing a Cultivation Technique and combat skill on the first floor of the Technique Pavilion, he will discover a hidden compartment in a Cultivation Technique called “Mang Niu Fist,” obtaining the Heaven Rank High Grade combat skill Qingfeng Swordplay.

Zhou Chen noticed that Zhang Xiaoxin, who was originally destined to stop at the third level of Foundation Establishment, had now changed to the first level of Foundation Establishment. It seemed that the loss of the Meridian Cleansing Pill had a significant impact on him.

After all, Zhang Xiaoxin’s body had long been hollowed out by wine and women. Without the Meridian Cleansing Pill to cleanse his Meridians and Body Tempering, Cultivation would be more difficult, and stopping at the first level of Foundation Establishment was foreseeable.

But he didn’t expect that even after an Opportunity was intercepted, it could still refresh. Is this the joy of harvesting leeks? Zhou Chen thought with a mischievous grin.

“But there’s actually a Heaven Rank High Grade combat skill on the first floor of the Technique Pavilion. I didn’t expect Zhang Xiaoxin, despite his terrible character, to have such good Luck. He actually has another Opportunity.”

Zhou Chen muttered.

Treasures on the Tianxuan Continent are divided from top to bottom into Emperor, Saint, Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow Ranks, with each treasure further divided into Supreme Grade, High Grade, Medium Grade, and Low Grade.

Among them, Emperor Weapons are treasures that only Emperor Realm Grandmasters can fully utilize. They have always existed in legends, possibly only found in some ancient Hidden Families and top Holy Lands. At least in the Southern Domain, there have been no traces of Emperor Weapons for over ten thousand years.

The first floor of Wenxian Sect’s Technique Pavilion is only open to Body Refining Realm Cultivators, and generally only Yellow Rank Low Grade Cultivation Techniques are found there. Finding a Yellow Rank Medium Grade is already lucky, and Yellow Rank High Grade usually appears on the second floor and above.

Inner Sect Disciples, however, can freely enter and exit the first floor of the Technique Pavilion, but no Inner Sect Disciple would be foolish enough to go back and Cultivate the Cultivation Techniques on the first floor of the Technique Pavilion.

Sect rules state that only Disciples in the Qi Refining Realm can enter the second floor of the Technique Pavilion.

Wenxian Sect’s Outer Sect Disciples can enter the Technique Pavilion to freely choose one Cultivation Technique or combat skill each time they break through a Realm level.

Cultivation Techniques and combat skills cannot be exchanged with Spirit Stones, but they can be exchanged with Sect contribution points. However, the exchange prices are often very expensive, and ordinary people simply cannot afford them.

“However, Zhang Xiaoxin, my leek, your Opportunity is very good, and now it’s mine.”

At this moment, Zhou Chen felt like a sly old fox.

He still had a chance to claim a Cultivation Technique and planned to go to the Technique Pavilion in advance to intercept Zhang Xiaoxin’s Opportunity.

To avoid any complications, taking advantage of the early morning and Zhang Xiaoxin’s recent departure, Zhou Chen immediately stopped hesitating and headed straight for the Technique Pavilion.

Wenxian Sect is based on the Luojia Mountain Range. The sprawling mountain range is composed of towering Peaks that reach into the clouds, with countless smaller Peaks surrounding each main Peak.

In the central area of the mountain range, the largest Peak is the main Peak of the entire Wenxian Sect, and also the daily residence of the Sect’s Core Disciples, Sect Elders, and the Sect Leader.

The Spiritual Qi here is the most concentrated in the Sect. Even low-level Disciples, even Utility Disciples, who can do odd jobs on the main Peak are incredibly lucky, as the Cultivation speed here is several times faster than outside.

Important Sect buildings such as the Technique Pavilion, Artifact Refining Pavilion, Pill Refinement Pavilion, and Internal Affairs Pavilion are all distributed in different locations on the main Peak.

Between each Peak, there are Immortal Crane stations serving as connection points, similar to commuter vehicles in his previous life, but the vehicles are Immortal Cranes. Each Immortal Crane can only carry five Disciples, and it is the only way for low-level Disciples to travel to the main Peak.

If one were to simply walk from the Third Pill Refinement Peak to the main Peak, it might take several days and nights, and one could easily accidentally trigger the Sect’s Formations. Many Disciples have died from accidentally intruding into Sect Formations, and every new Disciple is warned about this.

Zhou Chen quickly arrived at the Immortal Crane station, submitting one Spirit Stone to the Disciple at the station. He was left with only a pitiful one Spirit Stone in his pocket for the return journey.

“I have to say, this is too miserable. I need to find a way to earn some Spirit Stones, otherwise, I can’t move an inch.”

Zhou Chen lowered his head in thought.

The original owner’s Spirit Stones had all been taken by Zhang Xiaoxin while he was unconscious. These two Spirit Stones were borrowed by Zhou Chen, thick-skinned, from Elder Li.

“Caw!”

With a cry of a crane, the Immortal Crane flapped its wings and soared straight into the clear sky. The wind whistled past Zhou Chen’s ears, and white clouds were within reach.

Looking out.

The entire Luojia Mountain Range was visible, with towering Peaks reaching into the clouds, enveloped in Immortal Qi and surging with colorful light. In the distance, the main Peak could faintly be seen, like stars surrounding the moon, piercing the sky and standing tall between heaven and earth.

On the main Peak, pavilions and towers were scattered in an orderly fashion, and the grand halls were magnificent and widely distributed.

On the other side of the main Peak was a sheer cliff. From afar, one could see the three powerful characters “Wenxian Sect” carved into the cliffside, as if by a master craftsman.

“What a scene of immortal beauty.”

Zhou Chen was involuntarily awed.

“We’ve arrived,” said the Disciple piloting the Immortal Crane.

So, Zhou Chen jumped off the Immortal Crane and walked towards the Technique Pavilion, following the route from the original owner’s memory.