Gao Wu insists on cultivating immortality.

Chapter 246 Spiritual Energy

The setting sun cast its last rays upon the boy, making him radiant and almost divine.

Gao Wu cupped his hands in greeting to Xie Bei, and then saluted Song Chunqiu and the other soldiers.

At that moment, all the spectators remembered this spirited young man!
In reality, Xie Bei was also bathed in the afterglow of the sunset, but who would pay attention to a dejected loser?

Song Chunqiu was most moved when Gao Wu won the Xuetao Cup last year, and at his granddaughter's request, he taught Gao Wu a set of Zhanbingquan (a style of boxing).

In just over a year, Gao Wu Zhanbing's boxing skills have become superb, surpassing even his own.

For the elderly, a year is practically nothing; it's just a blink of an eye.

That young martial artist, however, grew into a martial arts master in just one year!
As a witness, Song Chunqiu found it unbelievable. Watching Gao Wu grow so rapidly, he really felt old.

Song Chunqiu turned to the crowd and said, "Gao Wu Zhan Bing Quan has reached perfection. You should seize this opportunity to learn from him."

Everyone was delighted upon hearing this; such a good thing was happening!

Immediately, some bold and shameless individuals went to Gao Wu to ask for instruction. Zhanbingquan (Battle Soldier Fist) is the most basic martial art used by the military; everyone knows it.

However, due to limitations in aptitude, most people only reach the level of proficiency. Truly talented soldiers will also devote their energy to higher-level martial arts and will not waste too much energy on combat fist.

It's generally acknowledged that the skill ceiling for Zhanbingquan (a martial arts style) is very low.

Gao Wu's punches just now shattered this perception and made everyone realize the power of Zhanbing Fist.

Regardless of whether one specializes in Zhanbingquan (a martial arts style), it's always good to take the opportunity to learn from a master martial artist.

Gao Wu had taught Zhanbingquan (a type of martial art) at Camp 341, and he was very skilled and experienced in dealing with the crowd.

More and more people gathered, and soon they surrounded Gaowuli in layers.

Xie Bei originally wanted to leave, but he was really curious about Gao Wu's Zhanbing Fist, so he stood outside and listened.

Song Chunqiu walked up to Xie Bei and said, "Gao Wu is much stronger than you in every aspect. He defeated you with the same level of source power, and he even used the Battle Soldier Fist. You didn't lose unjustly."

"Hmm," Xie Bei replied sullenly, head down.

"Gao Wu can even kill the chief priest, it's not normal for you to lose," Song Chunqiu said with great emotion. "The Battle Soldier Fist has reached such a high level, it's truly eye-opening. You should learn from Gao Wu, this is a great opportunity to improve!"

"Yes." Xie Bei had wanted to go and learn from him, but he had just taken the initiative to challenge him and lost badly, so he was a little embarrassed.

With Song Chunqiu's words, they had a way to back down.

Gao Wu had no problem with Xie Bei; it was perfectly normal for martial artists to spar. In fact, he should thank Xie Bei for allowing him to demonstrate his skills in public and establish his reputation in the camp.

Everyone was very enthusiastic about learning martial arts, especially Xie Bei, who had many questions to ask about Zhanbingquan.

It wasn't until 11 p.m. that Song Chunqiu saw that the crowd hadn't dispersed, so he stepped forward and told them to go home and rest.

The next morning, a large truck arrived at the camp, bringing a large box.

Opening the box revealed the mechanical warhorse inside.

The black mechanical metal warhorse stands 1.9 meters tall at the shoulder and is 4 meters long, with a majestic and powerful appearance.

Such a cool mechanical warhorse immediately attracted a lot of attention.

Song Chunqiu curiously circled the warhorse twice. He reached out and gently patted the horse's belly, feeling its thick, heavy, and cold texture.

He asked, "Is this the mechanical knight mount under the throne of the Qilin King?"

"Yes, these are the spoils I acquired in the secret realm."

Gao Wu also circled the mechanical warhorse twice. The wounds on the warhorse were repaired with welding technology, and the work was so meticulous that the welding marks could not be seen unless you looked closely.

The Ankyo University lab has been researching for months without much success. The main problem is that the mechanical warhorse's central nervous system is an alien spirit; without the spirit's activation, studying the warhorse's mechanical structure is meaningless.

In the real world, source energy is relatively scarce, making it difficult for mechanical warhorses to function properly.

Gao Wu had completely forgotten about this thing until the Qilin Divine Hero Mantra reached its perfect state. He then sensed the Spirit Control Seal left on the mechanical warhorse and the hidden spirituality within it.

Although this thing looks like it's about to die, it actually possesses a deep spiritual nature and won't die anytime soon.

The environment inside the secret realm is complex, making it difficult for modern vehicles to pass. Having mechanical warhorses would be much more convenient; these things can fly!

Gao Wu helped himself onto the horse with the saddle. The perfected level of the Spirit Control Seal gave him a very stable connection between his spirit and the spirituality of the mechanical warhorse.

As he activated the Spirit Control Seal, the mechanical warhorse's eyes flashed red, and it galloped around the field at high speed.

The sight of the colossal, steel sculpture-like object coming to life drew gasps of astonishment from many.

Song Chunqiu was somewhat curious: "How do you activate this thing?"

Gao Wu dismounted, grinning, "It requires a spiritual connection."

This isn't exactly a lie; ultimately, the Spirit Control Seal is also a special kind of spiritual power transformation.

Song Chunqiu patted the warhorse with a hint of regret. This thing was really impressive, but unfortunately, he couldn't use it!
At noon, Song Chunqiu, Gao Wu, Song Mingyue, and Xie Bei entered the 197 Secret Realm.

The four of them prepared two backpacks, mainly containing supplies, medicines, and some special equipment.

Since Song Chunqiu was traveling with him, Gao Wu couldn't ride a horse, so he put his backpack on the horse to reduce the burden.

The 197 Secret Realm is just like the outside world, with a vast lake as big as the sea and rolling mountains, and the weather is just as refreshing.

Xie Bei led the way, and the group walked more than ten kilometers to the entrance of the mine. It was a huge natural cave with steel tracks on the ground, and several ore-carrying wagons were parked haphazardly at the entrance.

Large patches of dried, dark bloodstains remained around the carriage, indicating that a fierce battle had taken place there.

Xie Bei was most familiar with this place. He wore a black triangular arm shield on his left arm, with the Tiger Roar Blade tucked behind his back, and served as the vanguard.

The cave was spacious enough for mechanical warhorses to pass through, which is why Gao Wu brought his warhorse.

Gao Wu followed behind Xie Bei, followed by Song Mingyue and Song Chunqiu, and finally the mechanical warhorse.

Not far into the cave, the environment became very dark, and the temperature dropped rapidly.

Out of caution, Xie Bei walked very slowly. Gao Wu followed for a while but felt it was too inefficient.

He suggested that the mechanical warhorses, equipped with light sources, should lead the way to minimize the risk of being attacked.

Song Chunqiu and Xie Bei were very supportive of this, as it made things much safer.

The mechanical warhorse was equipped with a flashlight, which increased the speed of the group several times over.

The mine tunnels were actually formed naturally, which is why they were so wide. Rails were later laid to facilitate the transport of ore.

After walking down the track for more than half an hour, we entered a very spacious underground cave.

The walls of the cave were inlaid with specks of gold light, which shone with a dazzling spiritual light when illuminated by the lamplight of the warhorse.

Gao Wu's eyes were sharp; he could see the digging marks on the four walls, clearly indicating that this was the so-called diamond crystal, a special mineral embedded deep within the stone.

He released his Yin spirit to observe the surroundings and saw that deep underground, clusters of dark energy were rapidly gathering and taking shape.

According to Song Chunqiu and his group, these things should be the so-called shadow ghosts.

Like a phantom, it can transform into a physical form with the support of source energy. Once it comes into contact with a human body, it freezes the person's blood and causes them to lose consciousness.

The shadow ghost likes to suck human blood and brains. The victims often have their hearts and brains emptied out, and the photos of the scene are horrifying.

"Watch out, the Shadow Ghost is coming," Gao Wu warned.

Song Mingyue also sensed something was wrong, and she activated her source force field.

Xie Bei and Song Chunqiu also adopted a defensive posture.

Clumps of black energy rose from the ground and instantly coalesced into human form, rushing towards Gao Wu and the others.

Just as Xie Bei was about to make a move, he saw a sharp, menacing sword light flash by, and the surrounding black figures shattered under the sword light.

Xie Bei was startled. He couldn't tell what sword technique Gao Wu was using, or even how Gao Wu drew his sword.

The sword light that suddenly appeared was too fast; it was so fast that he couldn't even react.

Not only Xie Bei, but Song Chunqiu was also shocked; Gao Wu's sword was too fast. With just that one strike, he could only rely on his source energy field to withstand it, and had no chance to dodge.

Looking at Gao Wu, he appeared calm and composed, clearly not using his full strength...

No matter how much Song Chunqiu overestimated Gao Wu's strength, he now felt that Gao Wu was extremely outrageous.

He suppressed his turbulent emotions and reminded them, "Be careful, these Shadow Ghosts are difficult to kill. You need to constantly destroy their physical forms. When they truly die, they will condense into energy crystals the size of rice grains."

The Shadow Ghosts are just ordinary martial artists, and they don't know any martial arts techniques. What makes them really troublesome is their large number and the fact that their bodies can switch between reality and illusion, making them very difficult to kill completely.

Gao Wu also noticed that the two pieces of the Shadow Ghost were drifting around but did not collapse or disintegrate.

Through the observation of the Yin spirit, one can see a glimmer of life light shining on the Yingying Ghost's body, which should be the life center of the Yingying Ghost.

Dozens of shadow ghosts, severed in two, coalesced into sharp black spears and shot towards Gao Wu simultaneously.

Gao Wu drew his sword, and the sharp sword light transformed into rings of crimson light, severing all the black spears in two.

The Heavenly Destiny Sword was enhanced with the Vermilion Bird Divine Light Mantra, and the intense heat caused the temperature inside the cave to rise sharply.

The shadow demon, severed by the crimson sword light, almost simultaneously decomposed into wisps of gray smoke, from which tiny green crystals, the size of rice grains, fell.

Xie Bei and Song Chunqiu, who were about to make their move, fell silent upon seeing this scene.

They all knew that Gao Wu had the ability to control flames, but they didn't expect it to be so powerful and so effective against Shadow Ghosts.

With a single sword strike, the Shadow Demons were completely annihilated.

With a flick of her wrist, Song Mingyue caught the energy crystal that had fallen to the ground.

Gao Wu casually picked up an energy crystal and handed it to the mechanical warhorse. The thing stared with its crimson eyes, lowered its head, and swallowed the crystal.

Gao Wu was pleasantly surprised. He knew from the Spirit Control Seal that the mechanical warhorse needed to absorb spiritual energy, but he had nowhere to get these things.

After reviewing the information on the 197 Secret Realm, Gao Wu felt that the Shadow Ghost's energy crystals might be useful.

If it works, then things are much easier.

Gao Wu said to Song Chunqiu, "Master Song, you all go back and rest. Leave this to me!"

Song Chunqiu couldn't help but chuckle: "Don't worry, I'll give you all the Shadow Ghost Energy Crystals..."

(End of this chapter)