Cultivation begins with forming a bond with a spirit bee.

Chapter 75 Blood, Flesh, and Essence

After handing over the talisman, the waiter gave Qu Ye a key to the courtyard gate and then tactfully left the courtyard.

Qu Ye put the key away, sat cross-legged on the futon, and first circulated the Gold Sharpening Technique to restore his magic power to its peak state.

He then patted his storage bag and took out not the jade slip for the Blood Melting Body Tempering Technique, but a red magic weapon shaped like a long axe.

It was the mid-grade magic artifact that Qu Ye had specifically left behind.

When he examined the long axe earlier, he found the engraved restrictions inside to be quite interesting.

One is the common "Flame Strike" restriction, which is to imbue a magical artifact with flames or to unleash a fire attack from a distance, with ordinary power.

As for the other restriction that Qu Ye was interested in, it was called "Heavy".

Its function is very simple: it infuses magical power, which can increase the weight of magical artifacts, up to three times.

This long axe is already quite heavy; if it were tripled in weight, it would probably be able to create a dent in a stone slab if thrown on the ground.

However, with the increased weight, the magical power required to control the flying artifact also increases significantly. For ordinary cultivators, this restriction is not only not an aid, but rather quite useless.

"This combination is quite peculiar."

Qu Ye carefully felt the weight of the long axe magic weapon and secretly clicked his tongue in amazement.

"Is Hou Ming going to keep using this magical artifact as a ranged weapon?"

He recalled Hou Ming's lean physique, shook his head, and felt that the other party did not seem like someone who would fight wielding a long axe.

"However, this item is quite useful to me."

Qu Ye switched the buff to iron pliers and gripped the long axe.

Suddenly, the bright red patterns on the long axe flickered slightly, exuding a strange aura that was both sharp and heavy.

"This is a fine item; I'll call it the Heavy Flame Axe."

Qu Ye nodded in satisfaction.

Although using the Heavy Flame Axe is still a bit difficult for me now, I'm sure I'll be able to wield it easily once I make some progress in my Blood Fusion Body Tempering Technique.

By then, with his magic power controlling the Frost Pattern Sword and his physical body wielding the Heavy Flame Axe, he would have almost no weaknesses.

After thinking it over, Qu Ye channeled his magic power and began the refining process.

Several days later, the Heavy Flame Axe was successfully refined.

After testing its power briefly, he put it away, took out the jade slip containing the Blood Melting Body Forging Technique, stuck it to his forehead, and carefully examined it word by word.

After a long while, he put down the jade slip.

"So that's how it is."

Most of the essence in the flesh and blood of demonic beasts contains ferocious energy, which cultivators cannot absorb and can only expel from their bodies, having almost no effect.

The Blood Melting and Body Forging Technique uses a special method to eliminate malevolent energy, and then absorbs the essence of blood and flesh through the technique to gradually strengthen the body.

This process will be very slow, but there are no other hidden dangers.

After memorizing the method of operation, Qu Ye rehearsed it several times in his mind, making sure he remembered every step perfectly before taking out a piece of processed demon beast meat from his storage bag.

After swallowing the monster meat, Qu Ye quickly closed his eyes and began to circulate the Blood Melting Body Tempering Technique.

As the cultivation technique circulated, the beast meat heated slightly in the abdomen and was quickly broken down into blood and flesh essence imbued with ferocious energy.

Qu Ye's heart tightened, and he used the special techniques recorded in his cultivation method to peel away the fierce aura bit by bit.

This process lasted a very long time.

Just as Qu Ye began to feel somewhat exhausted, the last trace of ferocity was stripped away and expelled from his body with each breath, dissolving into the world.

Only a wisp of pure blood and flesh essence remained.

Next, all that is needed is to guide it into the physical body.

Guided by magical power, that wisp of essence slowly merged into the edges of the meridians, and then gradually into various parts of the body.

In an instant, Qu Ye felt a slight heat rising throughout his body, and a very subtle tingling sensation came from deep within his muscles, as if something was slowly growing and accumulating.

After several breaths, the sensation subsided.

He opened his eyes, silently sensed the changes in his physical body, and found that the improvement was negligible.

"At this rate, it will probably take three or four years to reach the first level of the Blood Melting Body Tempering Technique."

Qu Ye did some calculations and felt somewhat helpless.

And this doesn't even include the spirit stones spent on purchasing monster meat over the past three or four years.

"Fine, let it be slow then."

Qu Ye let out a soft breath, not particularly disappointed.

Cultivation is a gradual process, and since this method is indeed effective and does not delay the accumulation of spiritual power, what is three or four years?

Once he had made up his mind, he stopped thinking about it, took out another piece of demon beast meat and swallowed it, then closed his eyes and began to circulate the "Blood Melting Body Forging Technique".

Two months later.

Inside the house, Qu Ye sat cross-legged on a futon, his breathing steady and long.

A moment later, he slowly finished his practice, opened his eyes, and a glint of light flashed in them.

Compared to two months ago, Qu Ye hasn't changed much, but upon closer inspection, you'll notice that his exposed muscles are more toned than before.

He raised his right hand, his five fingers slightly clenched, and a slight cracking sound came from the knuckles.

"My physical strength has increased by about 30%, but it's still quite a distance from the first level of the Blood Melting Body Tempering Technique."

Once he breaks through the first level, Qu Ye's physical defense will be sufficient to withstand attacks from low-grade first-tier magic weapons, greatly increasing his margin for error in battle.

Qu Ye stood up, stretched his body, then deactivated the soundproofing in the house and left the courtyard.

For two months, Qu Ye hardly left the spirit chamber. His progress in the Blood Melting Body Tempering Technique steadily increased. The only drawback was that the speed at which he consumed monster meat also increased significantly.

The remaining reserves, along with other monster meat, have been mostly consumed. They can only last for another three days at most before being completely depleted.

It has been exactly two months now. Qu Ye is preparing to leave the Spirit Chamber and then go to the Southern District to buy some monster meat before heading there to meet up with Zhang Yanliang and the others.

Soon, an hour later, Qu Ye changed his appearance, bought more than twenty spirit stones worth of demon beast meat, and headed towards the street where he had first met Zhang Yanliang.

When Qu Ye arrived, he found that more than twenty cultivators had already arrived.

These cultivators wore different clothes, and included both men and women. Their cultivation levels ranged from the third to the sixth level of Qi Refining.

As for those below the third level of Qi Refining, Qu Ye estimated that they most likely wouldn't have any.

These monks had by now formed several different small groups, huddled together, and talking in hushed tones.

One of the middle-aged female cultivators, who was at the fourth level of Qi Refining, saw Qu Ye and her eyes lit up. She quickly came forward and said, "This fellow Daoist looks unfamiliar. My name is Liu Yanqiu. May I ask how you are addressed?"

Qu Ye smiled and cupped his hands in greeting: "Greetings, Fellow Daoist Liu. My name is Zhang Mingyue."

"So it's Fellow Daoist Zhang. I've heard so much about you."

As the two were talking, another dark-skinned, thin young man standing next to Liu Yanqiu also came over.

"You flatter me. And who is this fellow Daoist?"

Liu Yanqiu smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, let me introduce you. This is Fellow Daoist Jiang Fan. He is quite capable and is a mid-grade first-level talisman master."