Chapter 123

Next day.

Inside a dim great hall.

Chu Huanlin stood in the center of the hall, his face full of terror, while several Guardians stood beside him.

"His strength is becoming ever more terrifying; if my subordinates weren't fast enough…"

The opponent's power was clearly no longer something that someone at the early nascent stage like me could withstand.

Hearing that Wu Changsong's three blades had failed to stop him, his heart filled with dread.

If he hadn't been clever enough to let Wu Changsong take the rear, he would probably have been the one to die.

"I will dispatch a strong fighter to assassinate the enemy; you need not linger in battle when you encounter him."

Zhao Yuanjing's eyes flashed with cold light, and waves of murderous aura radiated from them.

He hadn't expected this person to still dare a surprise attack, and their anger surged.

…

Changping County.

Lu Zhangsheng returned once more to his modest courtyard; after this move, he fell into silence.

Each day, aside from training martial arts, he dug for Spiritual Creatures deep underground; life was exceedingly simple.

He guessed that those cultists were probably scouring the world for him; striking now would easily fall into a trap, and after his strength grew, dealing with those monsters would not be too late.

Coincidentally, during this period, the deep underground seemed to present some obstacles.

Time drifted slowly.

Night fell, silent as water.

Lu Zhangsheng lay on his bed, his mind stirring as he infused a thread of thought into the Pangolin's body.

Looking around, it was still the familiar cave.

The ground was strewn with rubble, and the air gave off a sharp, acrid odor.

He immediately brandished his two claws, digging toward the mouth of the tunnel.

Clank clank clank…

A massive amount of rubble, like tofu dregs, was scraped away into the cave.

Relying on his keen senses, he swiftly traversed the depths of the cavern.

According to Lu Zhangsheng's estimate, deriving the next level of technique would require at least several thousand, even over ten thousand Source Energy Points, and his current resources fell far short.

This foray into deeper veins hoped to unearth something valuable.

Otherwise, he would have to rely on time to slowly accumulate resources.

Time rushed by as Lu Zhangsheng kept digging.

A few days later.

Southeast of the mine, in some underground cavern.

Huh?

While Lu Zhangsheng was digging, he suddenly sensed an unusual fragrance wafting to his nose, jolting his spirit.

"Is there a heavenly material or earthly treasure ahead?"

He instantly recognized the scene; it was all too familiar.

The unique scent of such a treasure intoxicated him.

Clank clank clank…

He quickened his pace, digging forward with all his might.

Soon enough, he reached a corner of the cavern and dug forcefully with his claws.

Boom boom boom…

As the front rubble burst apart, a huge underground cavern opened before his eyes.

In the center, a pool of white liquid in a spring instantly caught his attention; the earlier unusual fragrance emanated from it.

"It must be the treasure, then."

Lu Zhangsheng thought to himself.

However, around the pool, four giant serpents coiled over the open ground, their eyes flashing with cold murderous intent.

Seeing Lu Zhangsheng's sudden intrusion, the four serpents stared at him intently.

They seemed to sense his tenacity and did not choose to strike first.

"Four fifth‑rank Shadow Serpents?"

Lu Zhangsheng fixed his gaze on the serpents before him, his eyes heavy with gravity.

He had clearly trespassed into the snake clan's territory; these serpents were the guardians of the place.

Even just these serpents alone gave him some pressure.

If a Snake King were to appear suddenly, the danger would be considerable.

A sixth‑rank exotic beast bearing ancient bloodlines would also be hard for him to resist.

Whoosh…

Lu Zhangsheng slowly retreated, quickly moving to the rear of the cavern entrance.

He did not rashly charge out, yet he was determined to claim the treasure here.

A pool of Spiritual Creatures of this size could cause his cultivation to surge dramatically.

Lu Zhangsheng plans to elevate this Pangolin to the sixth rank, then obtain the Spiritual Creatures.

Clank clank clank…

He dug rapidly along the passage, heading sideways.

Not even half an hour later, just around the corner ahead, he discovered a small elemental stone wall.

His face lit up with joy, and he immediately began digging at the elemental stone wall.

……

【Source Energy Points +1.】

【Source Energy Points +1.】

……

The resources in his hand were also rapidly increasing.

After the elemental stones here were completely mined, he immediately rushed to the next location without stopping.

The following month.

Prompt sounds of increasing Source Energy Points constantly rang in his ears.

Lu Zhangsheng stayed honestly in the courtyard all day, controlling the pangolin to dig deep underground.

Whenever he sensed the aura of high-level exotic beasts, he would choose to avoid them.

He kept digging like this frantically for over a month.

The resources in his hand finally became abundant again.

That day, deep at night.

In an unfamiliar cave.

Lu Zhangsheng leaned against a large stone and opened the interface.

A blue light curtain appeared before him.

Source Energy Points: 3200.

Although this amount of resources couldn't let him break through the fetal transformation, upgrading the pangolin by a major level should be enough.

A sixth-level creature would likely awaken a new talent ability, which he eagerly anticipated.

According to the faint divine bloodline within him, he had a premonition that this breakthrough would bring astonishing benefits.

Lu Zhangsheng hesitated no longer, repeatedly clicking the plus sign after the level.

As the Source Energy Points rapidly decreased.

「Boom—boom—boom……」

His qi and blood surged wildly within him, and faint golden light emanated from his scales, appearing extremely mystical.

A powerful aura suddenly burst forth, shattering the surrounding boulders.

【Mountain Spirit level is rising……】

【Talent ability is awakening……】

……

Prompt sounds kept coming from his ears, incessantly.

He didn't know how long had passed.

Lu Zhangsheng slowly opened his eyes, a sharp light piercing the void.

He lowered his gaze to examine himself; his whole body became more slender, his claws metamorphosed into a pale gold, and cold light flickered.

At a glance, they were extremely sharp.

Even his scales became denser, his defense obviously surged greatly.

Next, he opened the interface.

The information there changed dramatically.

Bound exotic beast: Mountain Lord 【Sixth Level】

Level: 60.

Divine Talent Abilities: 【Dominion】 (Perfect), 【Soul Pain Strike】 (Perfect), 【God Slaying】 (Ordinary).

Skills: 【Earth Drilling】 (Perfect), 【Underwater Breathing】 (Perfect), 【Armor Enhancement】 (Perfect).

Divine Bloodline: one-thousandth.

Source Energy Points: 200.

Note: A powerful species metamorphosed from Mountain Spirit, possessing a certain miraculous bloodline.

Divine Bloodline continues to awaken……

This increase was enormous, not only boosting attack and defense in all aspects, but the talent ability also awakened another one.

The level also became a completely new species.

Mountain Lord.

It sounds much higher than Mountain Spirit.

Moreover, the bloodline also greatly increased; he guessed that as the bloodline continues to awaken, even stronger talent abilities may awaken later.

This upgrade consumed a total of three thousand Source Energy Points, yet it was extremely worthwhile.

With his current strength, even if a sixth-level Snake King descended, he could still forcibly clash with it.

Thinking of this, Lu Zhangsheng hesitated no longer and immediately rushed toward that Spirit Spring location.

He traveled along the passage, and after several hours.

Lu Zhangsheng returned to the cave entrance again; seeing that the central Spirit Spring was still intact, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Four giant snakes also guarded the central Spirit Spring in their original spots.

「Hiss—hiss—hiss……」

Sensing an incredibly powerful aura descending, the four giant snakes' eyes filled with terror as their bodies began to tremble. Lu Zhangsheng immediately sprang out from the passage and steadily landed in a corner of the cavern.

「Roar……」

Four giant snakes loomed like a great enemy, staring fixedly at Lu Zhangsheng, daring not to move a muscle.

"Swoosh…"

Lu Zhangsheng kicked off his foot, surged forward suddenly, swift as lightning, and in a few flickers reached the four giant snakes.

"Whoosh…"

Residual afterimages appeared in the void, endless cold light darted through the heads of the four giant snakes.

Immediately, four massive snake heads slammed onto the ground, a torrent of fresh blood gushed out, staining the broken stones red.

In but an instant, the four shadow snakes were cut down by Lu Zhangsheng.

His power after the breakthrough was several times stronger than before.

Just as Lu Zhangsheng had just gathered the snake corpses on the ground and was about to head to the edge of the Spirit Pool, an anomaly suddenly erupted.

"Roar…"

An earth‑shaking roar came from deep within the dark cave ahead.

The roar carried a thread of authority that filled listeners with dread.

Immediately, a massive python head burst out of the passage entrance.

A pair of blood‑red eyes stared fixedly at Lu Zhangsheng, murderous intent glinting in them.

"Sixth‑Stage Shadow Snake King?"

Sensing that aura, Lu Zhangsheng's expression shifted slightly.

Even with just a single head, it was several times larger than an ordinary giant snake.

Its aura was beyond that of a regular Fifth‑Stage Shadow Snake, clearly a higher‑grade beast.

"Roar…"

Seeing the abundant blood on the ground, the Snake King let out an angry roar and charged straight at Lu Zhangsheng.

In an instant it reached Lu Zhangsheng and snapped a fierce bite.

From its blood‑filled gaping maw, a pair of fangs glimmered with cold light, and a strong, putrid stench assaulted the nose.

"Swoosh…"

Lu Zhangsheng kicked his foot, swiftly sidestepped, and evaded the lethal strike.

Relying on his own scales for defense, he could not be sure he could block that bite.

A Sixth‑Stage beast infused with ancient bloodlines is still quite terrifying.

At the same time.

He suddenly leapt to the Snake King's right‑rear, extended his sharp claws, and thrust forward fiercely.

"Hoo…"

Sharp light flickered, and even the air rang with bursts of sonic booms.

"Bang bang bang…"

Lu Zhangsheng's claws struck the Snake King's scales hard, sparking flashes of fire.

A recoil force followed, hurling Lu Zhangsheng back several meters.

"What a strong defense."

Lu Zhangsheng's eyes flickered.

That strike had been his full effort, yet the opponent emerged unscathed; its defense was excessively formidable.

"Roo roo roo…"

The Snake King, in pain, roared repeatedly, and massive sound waves caused the surrounding stones to crash down.

Immediately, it opened its blood‑filled maw again and lunged at Lu Zhangsheng, its aura growing even fiercer.

"Boom boom boom…"

Both sides fought a relentless blood‑battle inside the Cavern, fierce energy sweeping all directions.

Broken stones above rained down wildly.

As time passed.

Relying on his own foundation, Lu Zhangsheng firmly suppressed the Snake King into a disadvantage.

The giant snake's body was already soaked in blood, and prolonged combat had left its scales cracked and broken.

Even its breath had waned.

In contrast, Lu Zhangsheng remained at his peak.

Clearly his strength surpassed the opponent's by a notch.

The duel continued.

Another half‑hour passed.

"Roar…"

Seeing it could not defeat the strong foe, the Snake King's eyes filled with fear as it turned its head and charged toward the cave entrance.

The stones blocking the way were smashed apart.

At that moment.

Lu Zhangsheng seized the chance and unleashed the innate divine skill 【Soul Pain Strike】.

A strange wave formed swiftly in the void, turning into a flash of light that surged into the Snake King's mind.

"Aooo…"

The Snake King rolled wildly on the ground, its wailing echoing throughout the Cavern.

Seizing the moment, he aimed to end its life.

Lu Zhangsheng immediately activated another innate divine skill 【Assassin God】.

"Hum…"

A powerful wave of spirit energy descended instantly, as if the entire void had been frozen.

In front of Lu Zhangsheng, a pitch‑black opening suddenly appeared, spinning rapidly and emitting a dim glow.

"Roar…"

The Snake King instantly felt disaster looming, fear filling its eyes.

Immediately thereafter, the light in its eyes gradually dimmed.

A miniature phantom of the Snake King materialized in the void, flying toward the vortex above.

In a breath, it vanished into the vortex, disappearing completely.

Only an empty husk remained on the ground's broken stones.

Lu Zhangsheng watched the scene before him, his complexion flickering slightly.

"What a powerful innate divine skill."

It can directly extract the target's soul, crush it into a spirit essence to compensate for one's own deficiencies.

He felt his own spirit power seemed to have increased a bit.

This new innate divine skill pairs perfectly with 【Soul Strike】.

First severely damage the target's soul, then extract and crush it…

After reaching Sixth‑rank Mountain Lord, his strength surged dramatically again.

Moments later, Lu Zhangsheng gathered his thoughts.

After retrieving the Snake King's corpse from the ground, he rushed swiftly toward the edge of the central pool.

Reaching the poolside, he plunged his claw into the water.

【Detected high‑grade heavenly material spirit milk, absorb?】

A crisp Prompt Sound rang through his mind.

"Absorb."

Lu Zhangsheng's face lit up with joy; it was indeed a high‑grade heavenly material.

【Source Energy Points +10.】

【Source Energy Points +10.】

……

The resource points in his hand surged rapidly, endless as if without limit.

The spirit milk in the pool also lightened quickly, revealing the surrounding milky‑white jade walls.

…………

Three days later.

Changping County.

Late night, the moon and stars were sparse.

Lu Zhangsheng stood in the center of the courtyard, the bright moonlight spilling over his body as if coating him in a silver sheen.

Open the panel.

Source Energy Points: 11000.

The resource points in his hand broke ten thousand for the first time, and the plus sign after the technique lit up again.

This harvest was undoubtedly the greatest ever recorded.

This spirit milk supplied so many resource points.

It was not in vain to have expended such effort.

Lu Zhangsheng no longer hesitated and headed straight for the 【Golden Body Technique】 node.

【Golden Body Technique has reached its apex, cannot upgrade further, begin extrapolation…】

"Extrapolate."

Lu Zhangsheng nodded.

As Source Energy Points dropped by ten thousand, a subtle wave instantly descended into the depths of his mind, as if a supreme master were practicing the technique.

His internal qi and blood began to surge wildly, his skin emitting threads of golden light, exceedingly wondrous.

Even his internal essence blood underwent intense Metamorphosis; a hundred drops of golden blood coalesced into a golden sphere.

A powerful aura burst from his body, scattering the fallen leaves on the ground.

【After years of arduous cultivation, you have finally extrapolated a higher path for the Golden Body Technique…】

【Rename the new technique…】

"Imperishable Golden Body."

Lu Zhangsheng slowly uttered a few words.

【New technique is being recorded…】

Technique: Imperishable Golden Body (Introductory).

Note: a transcendent, peerless technique, forged and extrapolated from numerous arts; attaining perfection grants immense power.

(End of chapter)