Achieving physical sainthood begins with the Iron Shirt technique!

Li Changfeng took out a pure white silk handkerchief and carefully wiped away non-existent dust from the jade thumb ring. He glanced down at the muddy alley below, plowed deep by sword energy, with severed limbs and broken bricks soaking in dirty water.

"How can we lay out a red carpet when everything is so messy?"

Li Changfeng casually tossed the silk handkerchief into the muddy puddle and made a hand gesture towards the area below the spirit boat.

"Go, clean it up. Hurry up, don't leave any bone fragments."

As he moved, the massive azure-green unicorn snorted. It took a step in mid-air with its forelegs, and its enormous body leaped directly off the edge of the spirit boat. Without using any magic, its four hooves simply created a few ripples of azure light in the air before it landed steadily in the center of the muddy alley.

The azure scales glowed eerily in the dim alley. It flicked its mane and gracefully strode forward. For it, this was not just about cleaning up trash, but also a mealtime bestowed upon it by the immortals.

Deacon Zhao crawled out from under the half-collapsed courtyard wall, not caring at all about being covered in mud, and immediately ran forward with a stoop.

"Immortal Master is wise! Look at this spirit beast, it truly exudes auspicious energy!" Deacon Zhao rubbed his hands together, his fat face squeezing together in a smile. "Look at its fur, so moist and shiny! This beast... this treasure, just being able to roam around our Xuanni City is a blessing these lowly commoners have accumulated over ten lifetimes! For it to enter your belly, Master, is to wash away their base mortal blood!"

Li Changfeng didn't even glance at Deacon Zhao, completely ignoring what he had heard.

Wang Xuan, holding his flying sword, chuckled.

"You're lucky you have some sense, you lackey. This is a young beast that the sect elders went to great lengths to capture. They usually feed it rare and precious herbs that even we can't afford. Today, these peasants are getting a good deal; consider it a treat to replenish its spiritual energy."

The Azure Water Qilin strode to a corpse cleaved in two by sword energy. It lowered its massive head and opened its mouth, which was filled with fangs.

It bit off half of the body.

He tilted his head back, his Adam's apple bobbed, and swallowed it whole.

The remaining mortals in the alley covered their mouths tightly, all lying in the mud, trembling wildly. They had no strength left to even get up and run away.

The Qilin turned its beastly eyes and suddenly locked onto A-Nan, who was a few steps away.

The little girl lay in the sewage pit, blood still gushing from the hole in her chest where a blue shard had pierced her. She convulsed unconsciously, her fingers weakly pawing at the mud.

Although the life force was extremely weak, for the young beasts who were used to eating spiritual herbs, this fresh heart's blood was the best dessert.

The Qilin swung its long tail, approaching step by step. Its enormous shadow completely enveloped Anan's slender body.

It lowered its head and opened its blood-red maw. Thick saliva dripped from its barbed tongue, and a foul stench assaulted Anan's cheeks.

Just as the big mouth was about to close.

"Bang!"

A muffled thud suddenly erupted from the pile of rubble not far away.

Lu Chen, who had been pinned to the ground by spiritual pressure and injuries, suddenly sprang up from the pool of blood without warning. Two large craters were punched into the mud and bricks beneath his feet, and his muscles swelled to the limit of what a mortal could achieve in that instant.

He didn't touch the rusty machete at his waist, nor did he adopt any defensive stance.

Lu Chen transformed into a completely crazed lone wolf, using the reaction force from pushing off the ground to directly ram his flesh and blood into the Azure Water Qilin!

The sound of bones and scales colliding is enough to make your teeth ache.

"boom!"

This several-thousand-pound spirit beast cub was actually rammed from the side by a mortal, sliding several feet to the side. Its hooves dug deep furrows in the mud.

The Qilin's mouth brushed against A-Nan's scalp and turned away, snapping the half-broken stone millstone next to it into pieces with a "crack".

It turned its head sharply, and a look of utter astonishment flashed in its light blue eyes.

An insect that could be stepped on at any moment actually ran into me on its own?

The shock lasted only a moment, immediately replaced by a furious rage. A dignified guardian beast of a celestial sect had been provoked by a mortal without any spiritual roots.

The Qilin let out a low growl and raised its powerful forelimbs. With a piercing shriek that tore through the air, it slammed its claws down on Lu Chen.

Lu Chen showed no intention of avoiding the situation.

He charged forward toward the enormous claw.

"Pfft!"

The sharp claws easily tore through the flesh on Lu Chen's shoulder. Three deep, bone-revealing cuts instantly ran from his collarbone down to his chest. Blood gushed out, staining the Qilin's hooves crimson.

But at the very moment he was being torn apart, Lu Chen used the intense pain to forcefully press himself close to the Qilin's body.

He opened his arms and hugged the Azure Water Qilin's thick neck tightly. His ten fingers dug into the gaps in the hard scales, and his nails broke off on the spot.

Looking down from mid-air, Li Changfeng and Wang Xuan, and even Deacon Zhao beside them, all thought that this mortal was just making a futile struggle on his deathbed.

The next second, everyone's eyes widened.

Lu Chen opened his mouth and bit down hard on the softest part of the Azure Water Qilin's lower jaw, its throat!

There were no skills involved, only the most primal savagery.

The teeth pierced through the tough skin and flesh, penetrating directly into the large blood vessels.

"roar--!!!"

The Azure Water Qilin let out an extremely shrill scream. The excruciating pain completely robbed it of its elegance. Its massive body suddenly stood up, frantically shaking its neck, trying to throw the mortal it had bitten off its throat.

But Lu Chen's arm was like an iron hoop, locking it in place, his teeth deeply embedded in the flesh, no matter how much he shook it, it wouldn't loosen its grip.

The Qilin has gone mad.

Its massive aquamarine spiritual energy completely spiraled out of control, transforming into a raging vortex that swept around it.

The sewage, broken bricks, and rotten wood in the muddy alley were all swept into the air by this vortex of spiritual energy. Several dilapidated courtyard walls around the alley collapsed in sections under the impact of the spiritual energy.

"presumptuous!"

Li Changfeng's expression changed drastically in mid-air, and he roared angrily. He pointed his two fingers down sharply, and the flying sword on his back was instantly unsheathed, bringing with it a blinding white light.

Just as the sword energy was about to condense at his fingertips, Wang Xuan grabbed his wrist.

"Senior brother! Don't be impulsive!" Wang Xuan lowered his voice, his tone full of fear. "That's the Grand Elder's most beloved cub! The spiritual energy below is all in chaos. If you strike with this spell, this mortal will surely die, but this spirit beast will also be severely injured!"

Li Changfeng's finger hovered in mid-air. Sword energy flickered at his fingertip, yet he hesitated to strike.

If they injure an elder's spirit beast, not only will the two outer disciples be in deep trouble, but even the inner disciples will be in serious trouble.

"Wait until this beast throws that mortal off before you make your move." Li Changfeng gritted his teeth and forcibly retracted his flying sword.

Because of this slight hesitation, the disciples of the immortal sect missed the golden three breaths to kill Lu Chen.

Below, the Azure Qilin, carrying Lu Chen around its neck, crashed heavily into the only remaining thick earthen wall beside it.

"Boom!"

The entire wall collapsed, and a large amount of loess and broken bricks buried a person and an animal inside.

Lu Chen's body was mostly squeezed between the rocks and the beast's body.

The vortex of spiritual energy erupting from the Qilin continuously assaulted his body. Lu Chen's skin cracked inch by inch, and blood seeped out layer by layer, turning him into a blood-soaked figure.

But he refused to admit it.

Lu Chen's eyes grew brighter and brighter in the darkness and dust. It was a fierce light, even bordering on madness.

If you want to eat people, I'll eat you alive today.

The scalding liquid flowed directly into Lu Chen's mouth through the ruptured blood vessels in the Qilin's throat.

His Adam's apple bobbed violently as he greedily swallowed the large gulp of liquid.

The first mouthful of true blood from a high-level exotic beast entered his stomach.

According to the common knowledge of the immortal sects, mortals do not have spiritual roots and have not undergone marrow cleansing. If they were to swallow the true blood of such a ferocious spirit beast, the only outcome would be that all their meridians would be instantly burst by the spiritual energy, turning them into a pile of minced meat on the spot.

But no explosion occurred the moment the real blood slid into Lu Chen's stomach.

Something dormant deep within his flesh and blood was completely ignited by this mouthful of true blood.

That was the ultimate furnace of the Great Wilderness and Nine Provinces, buried by the immortal path for countless years.

Just as the raging, azure spiritual energy within Lu Chen's true blood was about to erupt, the power of the Extreme Dao Furnace instantly enveloped it. Without any rhyme or reason, this power crushed the pure spiritual energy that immortal cultivators so desperately craved into dust on the spot.

The spiritual energy was crudely filtered, crushed, and incinerated.

Only the largest and purest life essence remained, rushing through the blood vessels and into the limbs and bones of the sunken man.

"Thump!"

A deafening roar, even more muffled than thunder, erupted from Lu Chen's chest.

It was as if some invisible chain that had imprisoned humanity for thousands of years had been forcibly broken at this moment.

Li Changfeng, suspended in mid-air, frowned and stared intently at the collapsed ruins.

"What's that noise?"

Beneath the ruins, Lu Chen's eyes were bloodshot.

A tremendous life force surged through his muscles and bone marrow. The power was overwhelming, far beyond what his mortal body could withstand. His skin was bulging at a visible rate, and his blood vessels were so large they seemed about to burst from his skin.

He had to release it! If he didn't immediately consume this energy, even if he wasn't overwhelmed by the spiritual energy, he would be suffocated by this enormous life force.

Having no cultivation experience whatsoever, Lu Chen relied entirely on his beastly instincts.

He gritted his teeth and forced himself to recall the tacky martial art he had acquired on the street by exchanging spoiled steamed buns.

Iron Shirt.