Achieving physical sainthood begins with the Iron Shirt technique!

The scalding hot blood of the Qilin poured down his throat into his stomach.

That wasn't blood at all; it was molten lava boiling over. Wherever it passed, the meridians in Lu Chen's body shattered inch by inch. His internal organs were on the verge of being torn apart and exploded by this violent spiritual energy.

Mortals lack spiritual roots and cannot withstand the energy of such high-level exotic beasts. This is a rigid rule engraved in the ironclad laws of the Nine Provinces Immortal Alliance.

But the Extreme Furnace doesn't follow the rules.

The ancient, dormant life force deep within his flesh and blood was completely awakened by the stimulation of the immense energy. With an extreme ruthlessness, it tore apart all the azure spiritual energy. No gentle guidance was needed, no flow of spiritual energy was required. The spiritual energy was brutally crushed into the purest essence of flesh and blood, forcibly injected into Lu Chen's broken meridians.

Meridians rupture. Regenerate. Rupture again. Regenerate again.

An unimaginable, inhuman pain suddenly struck. Lu Chen gritted his teeth, and a low growl, like that of a wild beast driven to the brink of despair, escaped his throat.

In his mind, the tacky martial arts manual he had acquired in exchange for half a moldy, spoiled steamed bun was undergoing a dramatic transformation.

This book, "Iron Shirt," which only teaches ordinary martial arts techniques, was originally intended to teach people some basic physical skills and how to withstand a few blows from a whip. An ordinary person could practice it their whole life and at most develop thick skin and tough flesh.

Now, the ancient blood and energy directly rushed over.

Those crude and vulgar methods of cultivating qi were forcibly dismantled, distorted, and reconstructed by this domineering force. Ordinary stances and horse stances became a heaven-devouring furnace for seizing the creation of heaven and earth. The flesh and blood of mortals were used as an anvil to forge an ultimate body.

The "Iron Shirt" technique was deducing and operating wildly within Lu Chen's body.

"Gulp."

Lu Chen gripped the Qilin's scales tightly with his ten fingers and swallowed another mouthful of true blood.

His skin began to change at a visible speed. A faint iron-gray sheen spread rapidly from his neck to his entire body. The deep, bone-revealing wounds that had been inflicted by the sword energy began to heal rapidly within a few breaths as the iron-gray sheen circulated.

The surrounding temperature suddenly rose.

The rain falling from the sky and the mud splashing in the alley evaporated instantly into a large cloud of white mist the moment it touched his burning skin. The white mist enveloped him and the enormous body of the Azure Water Qilin.

A series of popping sounds emanated from between the bones.

"Crackling and popping!"

That was the sound of bone marrow being forcibly raised.

level one!

The previously shriveled muscle texture began to swell, and the skin was stretched to its limit.

the third floor!

The iron-gray sheen grew stronger, and the skin surface even developed a metallic texture.

Seventh floor!

Lu Chen's body visibly grew taller and stronger, with large veins bulging on his back, crisscrossing into a terrifying web of flesh. The mud beneath his feet could not bear this increased weight, and his feet sank deep into the soil, even crushing the bluestone slabs below.

In the air not far away.

Li Changfeng and Wang Xuan had been watching the show with amusement. In their eyes, it was nothing more than a snack for spirit beasts to devour mortals.

The Qilin's mournful screams abruptly ceased as the massive white mist below rose into the air.

The playful expression on Li Changfeng's face froze.

He suddenly leaned forward, his jade ring clenched so tightly it turned white, staring intently at the ruins where spiritual energy was completely chaotic. The elder's most beloved high-level cub, the azure guardian spirit beast, was convulsing violently.

The mortal lying on its throat was not burst by the raging true blood; instead, his own blood and qi were rising wildly.

"This is impossible!" Wang Xuan exclaimed, frantically pulling out the broken flying sword. "A mortal who consumes the true blood of a spirit beast should have turned into blood by now!"

Li Changfeng roared in exasperation, "You audacious mortal! How dare you harm my sect's spirit beast! I'll extract your soul and refine it, then throw you into the sect's furnace to burn for a hundred years!"

He dared not wait any longer, and immediately formed hand seals in front of his chest. Intricate magical symbols flowed between his ten fingers as he rapidly chanted incantations.

Wang Xuan also realized what was happening and began to make hand seals and chant incantations.

Cultivators cast spells, drawing upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Two water arrows, each as thick as an adult's thigh, rapidly formed in mid-air. A chilling aura emanated from their surfaces, their sharp tips pointing directly at the sunken land amidst the ruins below.

"Die!" Li Changfeng pressed down hard with his two fingers together.

Two water arrows, accompanied by a piercing whistle that tore through the air, shot straight toward Lu Chen's unsuspecting back.

Lu Chen was still swallowing large gulps of Qilin blood. He didn't even turn around.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two piercing, sharp sounds exploded in the muddy alley.

There was no flying blood and flesh. There was no dull sound of magic piercing through the body.

The water arrow struck Lu Chen's back, which was covered in an iron-gray sheen, producing a sound that was a symphony of metal clashing violently.

The water jet had barely touched the metal sheet when the immense impact deflected it. Not even a white mark was left on the skin.

The water arrow, formed from pure spiritual energy and powerful enough to pierce city walls, disintegrated into countless tiny water droplets that splashed into the mud pit.

Li Changfeng gasped. He remained frozen in mid-air, still in the hand seal and pressing down.

Wang Xuan's mouth gaped open, his hands still lingering in front of his chest, the second half of the incantation stuck in his throat.

This is a mid-stage Qi Refining attack spell! It hit a mortal and didn't even break the skin?

In a muddy pit.

Deacon Zhao had just gotten up from the ground, ready to watch the good-for-nothing who had defied him get riddled with magic.

Hearing the noise, he rubbed his eyes, then rubbed them harder.

The mortal not only did not die, but not even a single hair on his head was lost.

Deacon Zhao's legs trembled violently, and urine flowed down his crotch into the muddy water.

"What the hell... This must be a hallucination. How could a mortal possibly withstand divine magic?"

In the ruins.

The struggle of the Azure Water Qilin has completely subsided.

Its once azure scales turned dull and lifeless. Its limbs, which had been so strong, withered and lost all their power.

The arrogant ferocity in the beast's eyes vanished, replaced by utter terror. It died without understanding why a mere mortal with no cultivation possessed a terrifying black hole within its body capable of draining all its life force.

The last drop of essence was drained.

Lu Chen opened his mouth.

He slowly stood up. Hot, reddish steam rose from his iron-gray skin.

"Tenth level, Great Perfection of Ordinary Iron!"

A roar, completely inhuman, exploded from his chest. The sound wave even shattered the surrounding white mist.

He raised his right foot, without any fluctuation of spiritual energy, relying solely on the weight of his physical body, and stomped heavily on the head of the Azure Water Qilin.

Just moments ago, this was a high-level beast that was arrogant and domineering above the immortal city, treating mortals as its food.

"Snap!"

The immense force of ten thousand jin was unleashed.

The spirit beast skull, as hard as a magical artifact, was crushed to pieces. Bone fragments and brain matter exploded in the muddy water.

A shriveled corpse lay tragically in the middle of the muddy alley.

One moment it was trampling mortals to death with its hooves, the next it was being used as a stepping stone by mortals.

Li Changfeng's face turned completely ashen.

A precious guardian spirit beast was drained of its blood and had its skull crushed right before its eyes by a mortal.

If they can't report back to the sect, they won't even be able to keep their status as outer disciples.

"I don't care what kind of evil practices you've taken! You mere mortal, die!"

Li Changfeng's eyes were bloodshot as he slapped his hand on the storage bag at his waist.

A low-grade cyan flying sword whistled out. Its blade hummed, and its sharp light sliced ​​through the surrounding air, creating tiny cracks. This was a true magic weapon, far superior to the water arrow technique from before.

"go!"

Li Changfeng roared, and his flying sword transformed into a streak of cold blue light, trailing a long, fiery tail, heading straight for Lu Chen's head. Its speed was so great that mortals couldn't even see its trajectory.

Lu Chen stood still.

Muddy water flowed down his bulging muscles.

He slowly turned his head. His eyes were bloodshot, and the rapidly enlarging, cold glint of the flying sword was reflected in his pupils.

There was no retreat. There was no attempt to dodge.

Facing the sword energy that could easily cut through steel, Lu Chen stretched out a rough, large hand.

He spread his five fingers and grabbed at the flying sword that was hurtling through the air.

"laugh--!"

The incomparably sharp blade slammed into Lu Chen's palm.

There was no blood splattering.

The flying sword rubbed violently against his palm, the ear-piercing metallic scraping sound making one's teeth ache. Sparks flew out from between his fingers, scattering everywhere.

The ground beneath Lu Chen's feet collapsed and caved in again due to the enormous impact, but he remained as steady as a mountain, his arms not even bending in the slightest.

Five iron-gray fingers suddenly tightened inward.

Grip it tightly.

Under the horrified gaze of the cultivators above.

The low-grade flying sword, forged from cold iron and supposedly indestructible, was so badly deformed by being squeezed that it emitted an extremely piercing wail.