Chapter 103: Chapter 103 - The Repeated Sign-Ins and the Breakthrough
Su Bai returned to the Lotus-Rot Poison Marsh.
Today marks the thirteenth day inside the Ancestral Sanctum.
Su Bai circulated the Void-Sunflower Supreme Method.
At the end of the day, the system automatically signed him in.
He got another Heart-Seed of the Rot-Lotus.
Su Bai looked at it for three breaths, then he swallowed it.
Like before, it tried to rush toward his heart.
The effect reversed.
However, this time, the reaction was weaker.
Su Bai silently sensed the change.
His vitality had increased. His lifespan had also improved a little. But compared to the first time, the effect was much smaller.
Su Bai nodded slowly.
’Fair enough.’
Lifespan was not cabbage. Even with his Reversal Body, he could not expect every repeated item to give the same heaven-defying result.
The first Heart-Seed had changed his body. The second reinforced that change.
It was till useful, just not as shocking. Su Bai was not disappointed.
After recording the result in his notebook, Su Bai continued cultivating.
...
On the following days, he began to discover something else.
The rewards from each dangerous biome were keys. Each one helped him endure the environment where it had been born.
The Fire-Venom Ember, for example, came from the Nine-Suns Lava Chambers.
At first, Su Bai had only treated it as a useful item. When held, the aggressive Fire Qi that should have incinerated his internal organs reversed into a cooling sensation.
But when he returned to the Nine-Suns Lava Chambers with the ember in hand, the result changed.
The moment the heat surged toward him, the Fire-Venom Ember released a thin stream of fire poison. That fire poison entered his body, then reversed.
A refreshing coolness spread through his chest and lungs, allowing him to remain inside the chamber longer than before.
The external heat was still fierce. But he could now endure it.
More importantly, when Su Bai began circulating the Void-Sunflower Supreme Method, the side effect surged strongly.
His body refinement began to move. Su Bai stood inside the lava chamber, feeling his flesh tighten under the heat.
His expression became strange.
The backlash of the method and excess stimulation of the environment were continuously being pushed into his physique.
Su Bai looked at the nine artificial suns floating above the chamber. then he looked at the Fire-Venom Ember in his hand.
He suddenly felt that this place was slightly less unreasonable than before.
...
Afterward, Su Bai tested the Mountain-Crushing Caverns again.
This time, he held the Earth-Vein Heavy Blood.
The cursed drop of earth-vein blood released crushing Qi-pressure toward his heart and bones. Under the Reversal Body, that internal pressure became a strange buoyancy.
His body felt lighter.
When he stepped into the first layer of the Mountain-Crushing Caverns, the pressure still descended from all directions.
But this time, he did not immediately feel like a stack of papers under a stone mill. He could walk.
Su Bai stepped into the second layer.
Then the third.
The external pressure pressed against him, while the reversed internal buoyancy supported him from within.
The two forces clashed inside and outside his body.
When Su Bai tried to cultivate here, the body-refining side effect of the Void-Sunflower Supreme Method responded again.
The pressure forced his body to become denser.
...
Su Bai tried the same approach with the other biomes, and the same miraculous effect occurred.
Days passed like this.
At first, every biome felt like a threat without the sign in rewards.
Then, slowly, Su Bai noticed something.
The second time he entered, the pressure was less shocking.
The third time, his body reacted faster.
The fourth time, his meridians adjusted before he consciously commanded them.
His body was adapting.
Su Bai sat in the Lotus-Rot Poison Marsh one night, looking at his own hand.
His skin looked the same. His bones looked the same. His blood felt the same.
But he knew they were different.
The dangerous environments were carving changes into him.
It was not a proper body-refining path. Any orthodox body cultivator would probably look at his method and faint from anger.
But it was working.
...
On the twentieth day inside the Ancestral Sanctum, Su Bai broke through again.
His Dao Pedestal trembled. The Yin-Crystal Asteroid rotated slowly, drawing in the accumulated energy from many days of cultivation.
Then the barrier loosened.
Foundation Establishment Ninth Stage.
Su Bai’s aura rose, deep and steady.
He opened his eyes.
But before Su Bai could fully settle into the breakthrough, his body changed again.
Heat. Cold. Pressure. Lightning. Poison. Wind. Sword intent.
All the traces accumulated from the different biomes stirred inside his flesh.
The body-refining side effect that had been growing quietly finally crossed a threshold.
Su Bai’s bones released a faint sound.
His blood became heavier. His muscles tightened. His skin became denser. His organs felt as if they had been washed and hammered at the same time.
A surge of strength spread through his body.
Su Bai lowered his head.
He clenched his fist.
The air around his hand trembled faintly.
Body Refinement Second Stage?
Su Bai was not certain.
He did not cultivate according to a proper body-refining method. He had no manual, no clear standard, and no patient teacher explaining which bone should ache first.
But one thing was certain.
A normal second-stage body cultivator would probably not be able to endure the Mountain-Crushing Caverns as well as he could.
Su Bai sat silently for a while, then he sighed.
...
On the next day, Su Bai finally saw the other four disciples arrive near the branching paths.
Ji Ruyue came first.
Her white robes were calm and clean, and faint frost lotuses appeared beneath her feet before disappearing silently.
Su Bai noticed at once.
Dance of the Winter Fairy. She had already begun practicing it.
Han Yuelin followed, carrying his sword with a strange expression.
He looked both excited and troubled.
Qin Baoshan walked steadily behind him. His shield was strapped to his back, and his steps were slower than before, but each one seemed more rooted.
Liu Meng came last. There was a subtle burning rhythm to her movement, as if each step left behind an ember that refused to die.
Su Bai looked at them and smiled.
"It seems everyone gained something."
Han Yuelin immediately looked at him.
"Junior Brother Su."
His expression was serious.
"Your jade slip..."
Su Bai waited.
Han Yuelin took a deep breath.
"That sword intent is extremely strange."
Su Bai nodded.
"It is."
Han Yuelin frowned.
"It tells the sword not to hurry."
Su Bai nodded again.
"That is also true."
Han Yuelin’s brows tightened even more.
"But if the sword does not hurry, how can it arrive first?"
Su Bai thought for a moment.
"Perhaps because it refuses to waste time traveling."
Han Yuelin froze, then his eyes slowly widened.
He turned silent.
Qin Baoshan cupped his hands toward Su Bai.
"Senior Brother Su, the Unshakable Mountain Stance is extremely useful. I have only begun practicing it, but my defensive root has already improved."
Su Bai returned the gesture.
"It suits you. Just be careful not to move while fully rooted."
Qin Baoshan nodded solemnly.
"I understand. I nearly forgot once."
Su Bai’s eyelids twitched.
Liu Meng smiled.
"Senior Brother! The Wildfire Step is very suitable. I tried combining it with powder placement, and the result was better than expected."
Su Bai nodded.
"That technique was almost made for you."
Ji Ruyue, meanwhile, just looked at Su Bai.
Then, Su Bai glanced toward the Biomes of the Mortal Purge.
To save time, Su Bai briefly explained what he had learned about the biomes.
"Each place is dangerous in a different way. Do not enter deeply at first. Test the outer edge, understand the pressure, then decide whether it suits you."
The four listened seriously.
Su Bai continued, "Senior Sister Ji, the Black-Ice Regions should suit you, but the cold there is not ordinary. It attacks the blood and meridians."
Ji Ruyue nodded.
"Good."
Su Bai looked at Han Yuelin.
"Senior Brother Han, the Ancestors’ Sword-Scar Cliffs contain heavy sword intent. It can temper the spirit if you are careful."
Han Yuelin smiled.
"I understand."
Su Bai continued.
"Junior Brother Qin, the Mountain-Crushing Caverns are suitable for defensive and body-tempering paths, but the pressure becomes dangerous quickly."
Qin Baoshan’s expression became even more solemn.
"I will remember."
Finally, Su Bai looked at Liu Meng.
"The Nine-Suns Lava Chambers may suit your fire path, but the external heat is fierce. As for the Lotus-Rot Poison Marsh..."
He paused.
"The poison is very strong."
Liu Meng smiled slightly.
"I have a Fire and Wood Spirit Root. I will be careful."
Su Bai nodded.
He was not too worried about her.
Liu Meng was an alchemist. She understood poison better than most disciples here. With her Wood Spirit Root and fire control, she can filter the poisonous air or refine something useful from it.
After the brief discussion, the four disciples separated.
Su Bai watched them leave.
This was good.
The Ancestral Sanctum was not only for him.
Each of them had their own path.
As for Su Bai...
He looked upward toward the Heaven-Strike Lightning Zones.
His gaze became thoughtful.
The Tribulation Lightning Bead reward had been very useful.
One bead could already improve his reaction speed and help him grow familiar with lightning.
Then what about enough beads to string together?
He wanted to create a bracelet of Tribulation Lightning Beads.
Su Bai’s eyes slowly brightened.
That sounded dangerous. Which meant it sounded useful.
He adjusted the Glacier-Lung Bone Mask.
Then he walked toward the stone steps leading into the lightning zone.
There were not many days left inside the Ancestral Sanctum.
He needed to make full use of them.
Before leaving this place, he wanted to touch the peak of Foundation Establishment.
He wanted to begin preparing for Golden Core.
And before the Mystic Realm opened, he wanted to become someone the outside world could not easily understand.
