Chapter 318

Zhang Yu was a freshman in the Civil Engineering department and also a master of survival on construction sites. Over the past few months, he had been pursuing wild delicacies in the wilderness of construction sites, risking his life to obtain the freshest, most delicious, and most expensive ingredients.

A few days ago, he traveled thousands of miles by flying boat to arrive at this dangerous post-war ruin.

On this land covering over a thousand acres, there were remnants of Golden Core mana, still-operating formation powers, and various insidious polluting materials... all kinds of unimaginable dangers.

High temperatures, explosions, disease... all threatened his life and tried to break down his mental defenses.

And if Zhang Yu was severely injured by these dangers, he would be sent to the team doctor, ending his adventure.

But what made him most wary was not these deadly threats from the wild, but the predators also searching for the same target.

Those upperclassmen in Civil Engineering, stronger, older, and more experienced than him, could easily take food right in front of him.

To avoid competition with his peers, Zhang Yu had to travel even farther to find precious ingredients growing in remote, uninhabited places.

At this moment, he was walking cautiously through the ruins, his Third Eye divine ability fully activated, alert to every sign of movement around him.

His entire body was wrapped in rolling clouds of haze, sweeping over shattered building materials, unknown parts, and burst equipment.

From time to time, he would pick up materials with a metallic sheen or tools of unknown use, identify them, and then toss them back on the ground.

In this perilous ruin, food was always hidden in some unknown corner.

Suddenly, Zhang Yu's eyes narrowed; it seemed he had discovered something.

The Formless Cloud Aura transformed into spiraling air currents and immediately snatched a cylinder-like object in front of him.

This seemed to be some module from a puppet production line.

The Erosion Abyss Gel Membrane it contained had properties of acid resistance, high temperature resistance, and impact resistance—exactly the factory delicacy Zhang Yu had been seeking for a long time.

Zhang Yu stroked the inner lining of the cylinder, using the knowledge and experience he had learned these past days to identify it. Soon a smile appeared on his face, and he began to carefully process this gift from nature.

With a flick of his index finger, a strand of green silk flying sword wrapped around his finger suddenly activated, sending a sword light across the cylinder and cutting it into dozens of pieces.

After the sword strike, that strand of green silk coiled back around Zhang Yu's index finger, but it no longer retained its divine power, needing a full day and night to recover its spiritual energy.

Picking up the fragments from the ground, Zhang Yu thought to himself: "Good thing I have the Green Silk Flying Sword that A-Zhen gave me; otherwise, even if I found these materials, hiding them or swallowing them and processing them myself would take a lot of time."

Opening his mouth, Zhang Yu swallowed the pieces of the Erosion Abyss Gel Membrane in one gulp.

Though his hunger was unbearable, Zhang Yu did not rush to activate the College Saint Body and circulate the Earth-Eating Divine Art to digest the food in his stomach.

Because he understood that in the wilderness where danger was everywhere, digesting at full power would leave him extremely weak.

So Zhang Yu simply stored the Erosion Abyss Gel Membrane temporarily in his stomach, planning to process the day's harvest all at once after his shift.

A moment later, Zhang Yu picked up a section of pipe and needed three whole Green Silk Flying Swords to cut it open.

"No. 15 Arcane Secret Steel is a weakened version of No. 20 Secret Steel, but it still takes three swords to cut through."

"It seems I'm still far from being able to digest No. 20 Secret Steel."

Swallowing the fragments of No. 15 Secret Steel, Zhang Yu thought: "Same as No. 20 Secret Steel, I'll store it first. After I strengthen my stomach and intestines with the Erosion Abyss Gel Membrane, I'll use this No. 15 Secret Steel to further reinforce them, then I can try digesting No. 20 Secret Steel..."

So, while clearing the ruins and collecting and processing ingredients, Zhang Yu soon reached the end of his shift.

Taking advantage of the time when other students were going for massages, he buried the collected ingredients in a pre-prepared large pit.

Then he took out a portion of the Erosion Abyss Gel Membrane, activated the College Saint Body, and circulated the Earth-Eating Divine Art, beginning to fully digest this rare food.

"A pity, there's food but no medicine."

But Zhang Yu also knew that in the field, one couldn't be too picky. He shook his head and used his mana to work on digesting the food in his stomach.

Strands of the Erosion Abyss Gel Membrane were refined into his stomach, gradually enhancing its toughness and resistance, as if slowly wrapping his stomach in a layer of armor.

And with each strand of the Erosion Abyss Gel Membrane refined, his digestive ability grew stronger, becoming like a massive millstone grinding down any food that entered his stomach.

In the following days, Zhang Yu focused on collecting ingredients, refining them, and clearing the ruins.

In just over a week, relying on the peak Foundation Establishment digestive power of his College Saint Body and the Level 20 Earth-Eating Saint Art, he refined Erosion Abyss Gel Membrane worth over 10 spirit coins into his esophagus, stomach, and intestines, turning them as solid as iron walls.

So, a few days before the ruins were about to be fully cleared, he finally attempted to digest No. 15 Secret Steel.

First, he consumed seven Green Silk Flying Swords to cut over a dozen metal blocks into hundreds of tiny fragments.

Then Zhang Yu swallowed the fragments. The Gluttonous Mana condensed from the Earth-Eating Divine Art surged forth, and with the peak Foundation Establishment digestive power, he tried to break down the No. 15 Secret Steel.

But feeling the No. 15 Secret Steel being digested with difficulty, shrinking bit by bit, Zhang Yu once again activated the War Demon Longevity Sacrifice Art, temporarily raising his physical strength level by a full 1.0 grade.

The internal organs in his body instantly erupted like a volcano, unleashing incomparably violent power, like a huge millstone, under the blessing of the Gluttonous Dharma Power, continuously grinding against the No. 15 Secret Steel.

Then Zhang Yu activated the Level 20 Limitless Vibration Zen, further accelerating his digestion process through high-frequency vibration.

Feeling the strands of No. 15 Secret Steel being digested by his stomach, strengthening its toughness together with the Corrosive Abyss Glue Membrane, Zhang Yu finally felt a hint of satisfaction in his heart.

"This No. 15 Secret Steel already requires me to use all my strength just to barely digest it."

"When I refine No. 20 Secret Steel into my bones, what level of strength will I reach?"

A few days later, with the cleanup of the ruins complete, the construction site entered the second phase, starting to build the workshop of the Dharma Corpse Factory.

And from the start of the workshop construction, the teachers and students from the Artifact Refining Academy, as well as those from the Architecture Department, gradually appeared.

But unlike the Civil Engineering Department, which aimed to train students, this outdoor Dharma Corpse Factory project was merely a money-making venture for the Artifact Refining Academy and Architecture Department. Moreover, they mainly focused on design, supervision, and quality inspection, so not many people came.

And with no dangerous ruins left, Zhang Yu spent his days in the University Saint Body, working hard while diligently practicing the Earth Immortal Holy Body technique.

Previously, because he had been constantly maintaining the Earth Immortal Holy Body technique for safety, the cultivation of the Mountain True Form Chapter had slowed down. Now, however, his cultivation progress surged forward again.

Under the operation of the Mountain True Form Chapter, Zhang Yu's body swelled a round, and then he struck down palm after palm, fixing the steel bars in front of him.

Watching the senior students leaving around him, dimensional data appeared in Zhang Yu's eye sockets, and he reminded them, "This 1.3 millimeters won't do; the requirement must not exceed 1 millimeter."

That day, he also pushed the Mountain True Form Chapter to Level 10.

After the technique crossed into Level 10, Zhang Yu felt that his body's expansion was no longer just overall, but could partially expand his muscles and sinews.

"After Level 10, I can locally swell and expand my muscles and sinews?"

After sensing the new power of the technique, Zhang Yu looked at the messages in the group chat and urged helplessly, "Has the Architecture Department's blueprint not arrived yet? Can you hurry them? We've been waiting for almost an hour here."

After a busy day and night, it was finally time to clock out.

Zhang Yu usually hated to waste the Spirit Realm Network or the equally expensive patrol flying sword network.

But at this moment, Zhang Yu held the Mystic Creation Relic, inhaling and exhaling its high-quality Dharma power.

At the same time, he also connected to the Spirit Realm Network within the construction site, reported his safety to Bai Zhenzhen and Zhang Pianpian, asked Yu Xinghan for the class videos, and greeted Le Mulan...

"Ah Zhen, my seniors went for a massage again. I didn't go, of course. There are only six masseuses, working overtime every day, without even time to shower—I find it dirty."

Life on the construction site was so fulfilling that Zhang Yu felt like a piece of steel being repeatedly forged, constantly tempered under high temperature and pressure, advancing on the path of immortality every second.

And half a month passed, not only did his cultivation greatly improve, he also grew more familiar with the construction site and richer in construction experience.

Looking at the dimensions of the steel bars in front of him, Zhang Yu said to Che Yufei beside him, "It's only off by 2 millimeters. I think it's close enough; it's not like we're building an immortal artifact."

Che Yufei frowned and was about to say something, but when he saw the piece of No. 20 Secret Steel shoved his way, he raised an eyebrow slightly and discreetly slipped it into his sleeve: "Let it slide this time, but don't do it again."

After seeing Che Yufei off, Shi Yunxiang beside him said, "Teacher Tu said in the group that the blueprints have been sent?"

Zhang Yu said, "What blueprints? I've already finished that floor. How would those designers know the situation better than us on-site?"

"It's time to clock out. I'm off now."

Shi Yunxiang returned to the room and found Che Yufei and the others there. He asked in confusion, "None of you went for a massage?"

Che Yufei said helplessly, "Those masseuses haven't bathed in a long time. We all find them dirty, but Zhang Yu went."

With a soft rumble.

Zhang Yu dug open the pit he had buried and retrieved a piece of No. 20 Secret Steel.

In the past few days, since Che Yufei and the others stopped going for massages, Zhang Yu used the massage excuse to sneak out and have his daily meal.

"Tomorrow the masseuses will shower, so Che Yufei and the others should go back to massage and relax."

Zhang Yu looked at the No. 20 Secret Steel in his hand.

And after using No. 15 Secret Steel to strengthen his stomach and intestines, it was now time to digest this No. 20 Secret Steel.

This precious material used to protect the core parts of puppets had strength comparable to certain body parts of a Body Refinement cultivator at the peak of Foundation Establishment.

Not only was it explosion-proof and impact-resistant, it could also evenly absorb martial arts force.

Zhang Yu had previously used the Qing Silk Flying Sword to cut, consuming the power of seven strands of Qing Silk in a day, only barely managing to slice off a palm-sized piece.

At this moment, Zhang Yu's mouth, stomach, and chest suddenly expanded dramatically.

It was because, after pushing the Mountain True Form chapter to level 20, while circulating the technique, he temporarily gained the ability to expand his esophagus, intestines, stomach, and other internal organs.

And after cultivating the Mountain True Form chapter to level 20 a few days ago, his Earthwood Saint Body had finally reached the second layer.

Superior - Earthwood Saint Body (8/8): When cultivating, eating, or taking medicine during the Foundation Establishment stage, the consumption of lifespan is greatly reduced. The Earthwood Saint Body allows you to live until you're old and still work, forever on the road of labor.

"What a fine saint body. With this Earthwood Saint Body, I can also operate some techniques and take some lifespan-reducing medicines more recklessly."

"It's also fortunate that I've spent at most one year of my lifespan during this period, leaving plenty more to burn."