Chapter 52: The Indestructible Primordial Scripture

With a flash of azure light, its massive body swiftly shrank, transforming into a small bird about ten centimeters tall before flying towards Qin Shu. It perched on his shoulder and exclaimed, “Master, I’ve broken through! Now I can change size!”

“Amazing, Xiao Yan,” Qin Shu stroked the creature fondly, then pointed towards the waterfall and asked, “I want to investigate inside there. Would you like to come along?”

“Of course,” Xiao Yan replied. “I’m now fourth-rank, capable of protecting you, Master. Let’s go.”

“Excellent, let’s move out.” Qin Shu wasted no time, using the Wind Escape technique with Xiao Yan to swiftly pass through the waterfall and stand before a three-meter-high cave entrance.

The entrance was smooth, gradually taking on a jade-like quality, devoid of any sharp edges.

The hundred-meter-long passage twisted and meandered downwards, so deep that not a hint of light penetrated from above.

Man and bird slid down the cavern together.

In no time, they reached the exit, lightly touching the ground below.

Looking up, the crystals embedded in the ceiling emitted a rainbow-like glow, as if refracted through a prism by sunlight.

Droplets of liquid dripped from these crystals, coalescing into streams that flowed into the lowest point, forming a small pond.

The stagnant water also emitted a shimmering, iridescent light.

Qin Shu sensed the spiritual energy emanating from it and couldn’t help but draw in a deep breath.

“Earth elemental milk,” he muttered. “Such a large pool. Perfect for a bath.” He turned to look at Xiao Yan. “Xiao Yan, watch over me while I bathe.”

“Understood, Master.”

Qin Shu swiftly stripped off his clothes and jumped into the pool of earth elemental milk.

This substance, condensed from the essence of the land and mountains, was akin to the very blood and bones of the earth itself. It had the power to strengthen bones, hone muscles, and purify the blood down to the marrow.

Normally, its spiritual energy remained inwardly focused. However, upon contact with foreign objects, this energy would become fiercely volatile.

Qin Shu immediately felt this change.

Immersed in the pool, he experienced an overwhelming surge of pressure. Earth elemental energy, more potent than even Karma True Yuan, invaded his body through every pore. As it coursed through him, a sensation of sluggishness began to take hold.

This was the assimilation effect of the earth elemental energy. If one could not withstand it, their body would be transformed into mere stone.

Within Qin Shu’s sea of consciousness, the Cyan Lotus Dao Seed trembled slightly, activating another strand of inherited knowledge:

The Foundation Art of Body Tempering, The Indestructible Primal Chaos Scripture: The Unyielding Chapter.

The Karma True Yuan circulated, moving in direct opposition to the flow of the Karma Primal Scripture.

As it circulated, the True Yuan dispersed throughout his limbs and bones, dissipating the sluggishness caused by the earth elemental force.

The two forces collided within his body. Thin tendrils of black qi emerged from Qin Shu’s pores, merging with the earth elemental milk to form grains of black sand that sank to the bottom of the pond.

Qin Shu turned his awareness inward. Under the influence of both the Karma True Yuan and the earth elemental force, his blood began to transform first.

A subtle blue hue appeared within the red, and as the blood flowed, points of blue light began to fill every cell in his body.

He could sense his body’s vitality surging at an extraordinary pace, far beyond what could be achieved through normal cultivation with the Karma True Yuan alone.

This blue light represented the concentrated essence of the Karma True Yuan, with each point of blue light being equivalent to a hundred points of the Karma True Yuan.

As every cell in his body filled with this blue light, true body tempering was about to begin.

At the center of the pond, a beam of blue light shot towards the heavens.

Qin Shu’s consciousness plunged into his sea of awareness. With a thunderous roar, his entire body exploded.

Only the Celestial Dragon Dao Seed, protecting his three souls and seven spirits, remained unscathed amidst the destruction.

In the blink of an eye, his body disintegrated within the green radiance, and the entire pool of earth elemental milk began to assimilate into the emerald glow.

Before long, the pond vanished entirely.

During the initial explosion, Qin Shu hadn’t felt even a twinge of pain. But as his body reformed, a soul-searing agony engulfed him.

It was the pain of rebirth. His very essence had dissolved into the green light, then, with the indigospirit lily seed as his core, his cells began to regenerate in a new cycle of growth.

In less than three hours, he went from a single cell to an embryo, which then fully developed and started to grow.

Throughout this process, his body constantly underwent the tearing sensation of tissues being ripped apart and reformed.

By comparison, a thousand cuts would have been a mercy.

Yet he never let out a scream.

It wasn’t due to fortitude; his body simply couldn’t make a sound. He could only howl silently within his mind.

As the green light dissipated and the supply of earth elemental milk ran dry, Qin Shu sat in the pit, his face contorted with desolation, his spirit yet to recover from that torment.

“Master, are you alright?”

Xiao Yan’s tender voice brought him back to reality.

” hum,I’m fine,” he said, his voice trembling slightly.

He had known that body tempering would be agonizing, but it had been beyond expectation.

Involuntarily, he probed himself and found that his cultivation base seemed to have broken through, now at the later stages of the Core Formation realm.

This must be due to the extra effects of the Earth Essence Milk.

His two Dantian Sea of Qi were now even more expansive, with qi vessels throughout his body as wide as mighty rivers.

The power of his physical body had skyrocketed; he felt an inexhaustible well of strength, as if a single punch could shatter the heavens and rend the earth.

Once again, confidence surged within him. Since I’m alive, might as well keep going. A classic case of learning nothing from past mistakes.

After roughly assessing his strength, he estimated that his physical body now matched that of a fourth-grade monster.

Once a mage, he could now also stand as a warrior.

Thunder Flame Tiger Roar Blade? There’s no reason I can’t use that too!

However, as Xiao Yan hadn’t fully adapted to the new surge of power, she instantly sensed Qin Shu’s increased aura and joyfully circled around him, humming, “Congratulations, Master! Your strength has significantly increased.”

“Heh heh, indeed, let’s celebrate our success together,” Qin Shu replied. Then he looked up towards the ceiling, where earth elemental crystals were embedded - excellent materials for crafting magical artifacts. Their main characteristic? Weight.

By inscribing gravity-enhancing restrictions, a fist-sized piece of earth elemental crystal could be made as heavy as a mountain peak.

However, when compared to the condensed earth elemental milk, their value paled somewhat.

After some consideration, he decided against excavating all of them. Instead, he took only three earth elemental crystals, each about the size of a millstone, which amounted to less than ten percent of the total weight.

These three crystals alone weighed no less than ten thousand tons.

Even with the enhancement of Karma True Yuan, he could barely lift one.

Apart from the earth elemental milk and crystals, there were no other precious materials or treasures in this cave.

Soon, the boy and bird retraced their steps back to the entrance.

After emerging from the waterfall, Xiao Yan asked, “Master, shall we leave now?”

“No!” Qin Shu shook his head. “I can still sense an opportunity here. Let’s stay for a while; this place is as good as any for cultivation.”

“Very well,” Xiao Yan nodded, finding a spot to rest and falling asleep.

For him, sleep was synonymous with cultivation.

Qin Shu, on the other hand, took out the Karma Cauldron and began refining Yin-Yang Pills.

Then, he delved into his sea of consciousness, entered the Divine Ability space, and sought enlightenment of the Five Elements Great Escape.

At present, combining the Five Elements Great Escape with the Five Elements Formation was his most potent trump card. Within the array, he could face opponents two tiers above his own level without issue.

As his understanding of the Five Elements Great Escape deepened, the speed of his escape techniques would also increase significantly.

Among them, the fastest was undoubtedly the Metallic Escape, which could greatly enhance the speed of flying on a sword.