Zhi Xuan immediately took the initiative to absorb the Spirit Qi that had gathered into a single point before him!
Rumble!
Suddenly, cracks appeared across the cave ceiling!
With a wave of his hand, Zhi Xuan knocked away several falling rock fragments that had nearly struck him!
Then he immediately circulated the Heaven Shattering Cultivation Method, absorbing Spirit Qi while simultaneously developing his Body of Calamity!
The Spirit Qi condensed into a single point and continuously refined itself, laying the most basic foundation for the Body of Calamity.
It strengthened the durability of his body and subtly transformed the structure of his Sacred Body!
"Break through!"
Zhi Xuan's shout echoed throughout the cave as explosions erupted from time to time!
Zhi Xuan felt a warm current spreading from his heart!
Then his bones and meridians were damaged, only for the Body of Calamity to passively regenerate them by using Spirit Qi to reconnect and restore everything that had been destroyed!
Zhi Xuan repeated the same process over and over again!
Every time his bones and meridians were damaged and restored, the strength of his body increased significantly!
...
Suddenly, Zhi Xuan's eyes flew open, and golden light burst from his pupils, illuminating the cave as several explosions erupted almost simultaneously!
Several hours later.
Zhi Xuan let out a sigh of relief.
He smiled and muttered to himself,
"Success... Mid Layer of the Xuan Qi Realm."
Zhi Xuan recalled something.
When the protagonist discovered these Eight Jade Stones, he had directly broken through from the Late Layer of the Jindan Realm to the Early Layer of the Yuanying Realm.
Yet when Zhi Xuan used them himself, he only advanced a single layer, from the Early Layer of the Xuan Qi Realm to the Mid Layer of the Xuan Qi Realm.
This clearly showed just how difficult it was to cultivate and perfect the foundation of a cultivator possessing the Body of Calamity.
Breaking through even a single layer required an enormous amount of Spirit Qi!
...
Outside the cave.
Zhi Xuan walked toward the lake.
As he stared ahead absentmindedly, the figure of a woman suddenly entered his sight.
She appeared to be bathing in the lake, surrounded by rising white mist.
The mist obscured part of Zhi Xuan's vision, but her figure remained visible.
Her body appeared slender, and her long hair covered her back.
The next moment—
The woman suddenly turned around and screamed loudly!
"Kyaa! Who's there?!"
Hearing the question, Zhi Xuan immediately answered carefully. He did not want any misunderstandings here.
"I-I was just passing by!"
Zhi Xuan waved his hand and quickly took several steps backward!
The woman shouted angrily,
"Liar!"
After saying that, she immediately grabbed the clothes beside her and put them on in an instant before leaping out from the white mist!
"Xingfa Sword Technique!"
Ten sword slashes burst out from the mist and nearly struck Zhi Xuan, who instinctively dodged them with some difficulty!
"W-Wait! Listen to my explanation first!"
The woman gritted her teeth and said,
"You can explain yourself after meeting King Yama in Hell!"
After hearing that, Zhi Xuan realized he had no other choice.
He could only sigh before circulating his Spirit Qi and using the Qi Condensation Technique.
"There is no other option. This might hurt a little, but I hope you can endure it."
Zhi Xuan pointed forward with his index finger.
Suddenly, a wave of energy surged through the air toward the woman!
The woman's eyes widened instantly, and she immediately activated a defensive technique!
A protective barrier roughly one square meter in size formed before her!
In the next moment, the energy wave slammed violently into the barrier!
The impact forced her backward, and she spat out a mouthful of blood!
She curled up on the ground helplessly, staring ahead as she asked in a heavy voice,
"Who are you?"
Hearing her ask that, Zhi Xuan's eyes suddenly widened.
A smile appeared on his face in the next second.
As he walked toward her, Zhi Xuan said,
"Finally, you're willing to listen to me."