Immortality Cultivation

Chapter 257: Fang Hao Wakes Up

Who knows how much time had passed—it could have been a day, or perhaps a month—before Fang Hao finally felt his soul being fished up, bit by bit, from the depths of the eighteen levels of Hell.

There wasn’t a single spot on his body that didn’t ache. His bones felt as if they had been dismantled and haphazardly shoved back together; the slightest movement caused them to creak with a heart-wrenching pain. His Meridians were empty, even hollower than a stomach that hadn’t seen food for three days. With just a slight attempt to sense them, his head throbbed with a sharp, needle-like pain. His back and shoulders felt even more fiery, itchy and numb; the Frigid Ghost Qi left behind by the’Shadow Demon’ was still wreaking havoc, clashing with the residual Flame Power in his body. It was a literal ’ice and fire’ ordeal, and it was anything but ’pleasant.’

"Hiss—" Fang Hao tried to move a finger, but the movement pulled at every wound on his body. He gasped in pain, feeling as if his very lungs were twitching.

He forced his eyelids open. His vision was a blur at first before slowly clearing. He saw a dark red sky that looked like clotted blood, making his chest feel tight just looking at it. The strange stench in the air—a mix of Devilish Qi, Death Qi, and the smell of blood—kept drilling into his nose, reminding him that he was still in that gods-forsaken place: the basin within the "Unknown Forbidden Land."

"Dammit, I’m still alive..." He twitched the corner of his mouth, trying to smile, but the facial muscles cramped and pulled on an unknown injury. He grimaced in pain; his expression was likely uglier than if he were crying.

To be alive was already a stroke of incredible luck. That final lunge at the Giant Skeleton Statue had been a complete gamble; he hadn’t expected to survive at all. As for that final sneak attack from the’Shadow Demon,’ if the battle heaven axe hadn’t flown back at the critical moment, there probably wouldn’t even be ashes left of him by now.

Thinking of the battle heaven axe, Fang Hao’s heart tightened. He struggled, enduring the pain that felt like his body was falling apart, and turned his head to look beside him.

With one look, his heart felt much more at ease.

That dark-gold, ancient, and heavy behemoth was lodged in the ground less than three feet away from him. The axe blade was still stained with some undried black blood and bone fragments. Under the reflection of the dark red sky, the nine cracked patterns on the axe body shimmered faintly. It didn’t look as dim as before; it was as if... it had drunk its fill of blood and regained some spirit. A reassuring, heavy warmth was flowing in threads from where the handle was gripped, nourishing his parched and aching body.

"Good partner, I owe you one this time," Fang Hao thought silently as he looked at the battle axe. He could feel that the connection between himself and this axe had become closer, almost as if they were joined by flesh and blood. Before, he had to rely on his will to move it, but now it seemed to have a bit of its own awareness, knowing how to protect its master.

Feeling slightly relieved, Fang Hao quickly performed an internal inspection of his condition. One look and—good heavens—it was truly a pathetic sight.

The Golden Core in his Dantian was as dim as a firefly running out of power, spinning listlessly. His Meridians were like a field plowed over by wild bulls, covered in tiny ruptures; he couldn’t muster a single shred of spiritual power. His Physical Body was even worse; the torn flesh was the least of it, as several bones were cracked, especially around his left shoulder, which throbbed with piercing pain at the slightest movement. His Divine Soul was also listless, feeling dizzy as if it had been struck repeatedly with a heavy club.

"These injuries... I shouldn’t even think about moving for ten days to half a month," Fang Hao smiled bitterly. He tried to circulate the Chaos Derivation Art, but the moment he started, his Meridians felt like they were going to explode. He failed to gather any spiritual power and instead broke out in a cold sweat.

"No, I have to deal with the external injuries first and stabilize my condition." He knew now was not the time for cultivation. Enduring the pain, he used his slightly mobile left hand to tremblingly fish items out of his storage ring. He had used up almost all his Medicinal Pills during the life-and-death struggle. After searching for a long while, he finally found a few bottles of decent quality healing medicine and Qi-Replenishing Powder he had prepared earlier. Regardless of whether they were for internal or external use, he stuffed the oral pills into his mouth all at once, then tore open his tattered clothes to sprinkle the medicinal powder onto the wounds that were deep enough to see bone.

The moment the powder touched the wounds, the sensation was so intense... Fang Hao nearly crushed his teeth. By the time he finished treating the heaviest wounds on his back and shoulders, he was drenched in sweat and his vision was darkening again.

"No, I can’t pass out. This damn place..." He pinched his thigh hard, forcing himself to stay conscious. Who knew if that’Shadow Demon’ would return, or if some other monster would pop up? In his current state, even a Third-Ranked Demonic Beast could carry him off.

He struggled, moving his body inch by inch, wanting to find a relatively safe and hidden spot. But in the center of this basin, aside from those three pitch-black stone tablets and the remains of the monsters he had killed, there was no cover at all.

Finally, his eyes landed on the pile of bones formed by the collapsed Giant Skeleton Statue. The bones were large enough and there were plenty of gaps, enough to hide a person. Gritting his teeth, he crawled toward the bone pile bit by bit like a worm. With every inch he moved, his wounds felt as if they were being torn open again, making him gasp from the pain. It took him nearly an hour to cover a distance of just a few dozen yards before he finally crawled into a crevice in the bone pile like a dying dog.

Hiding in the crevice gave him a slight sense of security. Fang Hao could no longer hold on; his eyelids felt heavy as lead, and his consciousness began to blur again. Before losing consciousness, he used the last of his strength to drag the battle heaven axe into the crevice and hugged it tightly. This axe was now his greatest reliance and the only thing that could give him a sense of security.

"Sleep... just a little while, just a little..." he muttered, his head lolling to the side as he fell into a deep sleep.

This time, he was truly exhausted. He didn’t even have the energy to dream, sleeping like a log.

After an unknown amount of time, Fang Hao was woken up by hunger. His stomach was growling, feeling completely empty. He opened his eyes and felt slightly better—at least his head wasn’t as dizzy. Although the wounds on his body still hurt, the areas where he had applied medicine felt cool, no longer as fiery.

He tried moving his fingers; yes, he could move them. He then tried to circulate the Chaos Derivation Art. Although it was still very painful, he could at least manage to guide a faint wisp of Spiritual Qi into his body to slowly begin repairing those damaged Meridians. The Golden Core in his Dantian also regained a faint glow and began to rotate slowly, autonomously absorbing the thin Spiritual Qi from the surroundings, which was still mixed with Devilish Qi and Death Qi. The dominance of the Chaos Derivation Art showed itself now; it didn’t care what kind of Qi it was—Spiritual, Devilish, or Death Qi—it would refine it upon entry. Though slow, it was effective for replenishment.

"I can finally move a bit." Fang Hao breathed a sigh of relief, knowing his life was temporarily saved. He first checked the battle heaven axe in his arms; the axe was quiet and normal, and that warmth continued to flow steadily, nourishing his body and seemingly aiding his recovery.

He performed another internal inspection. The ruptures in his Meridians were healing slowly, and the cracks in his bones were mending under the nourishment of the medicine and Spiritual Qi, though the speed was frustratingly slow. The fatigue in his Divine Soul had also lessened, but he still felt groggy, as if he hadn’t slept for three days and nights.

"No, relying on natural recovery is too slow. This place isn’t safe; I need to regain some self-defense capability quickly." Fang Hao felt anxious. He remembered the monsters he had killed earlier, especially that fifth-rank Demon Ape and the Magma Lizard. Their monster cores and some of the Materials on their bodies were great tonics, especially for a Body Cultivator.

Enduring the pain, he pulled the corpses (mostly) of the Demon Ape and the Magma Lizard out of his storage ring. Looking at these two mountain-like corpses and smelling the foul stench, Fang Hao didn’t have the luxury of being disgusted. He first carefully dug out the Demon Ape’s fifth-rank monster core—fist-sized, pitch-black, and radiating pure Devilish Qi and violent energy—and then dug out the Magma Lizard’s dark-red core, which flowed with scorching energy.

"Chaos Derivation Art, I’m counting on you!" Fang Hao gritted his teeth, holding a core in each hand as he began to run the technique at full power. Immediately, two distinct but equally overbearing energies surged into his body like an opening dam, following his palms!

The energy from the Demon Ape’s core was cold and violent, carrying a demonic nature that eroded the mind; the energy from the Magma Lizard’s core was scorching and frenzied, carrying a heat that could incinerate everything. Once the two energies entered his body, they began to rampage through his Meridians. His already fragile Meridians were further damaged, causing Fang Hao to twitch in pain. Veins bulged on his forehead as pea-sized beads of sweat rolled down.

"Refine for me!" Fang Hao’s eyes were bloodshot as he grew ruthless. He desperately pushed the Chaos Derivation Art, and the Golden Core in his Dantian rotated madly, emitting the aura of Chaos to forcibly envelop and refine these two violent energies. The Chaos Qi was like the most overbearing furnace; no matter the attribute, it would crush, decompose, and fuse everything that entered!

The process was incredibly agonizing. Fang Hao felt as if his body were a battlefield where two energies were fighting wildly while the Chaos Qi desperately suppressed and harmonized them. His skin turned pitch-black one moment and red like a hot iron the next. His veins bulged, looking as if they might burst at any second.

After an unknown amount of time, just when Fang Hao felt he was about to burst and his consciousness was fading, the Chaos Derivation Art finally gained the upper hand. The two violent energies were gradually refined, transforming into pure, slightly scorching special spiritual power filled with Battle Intent. This power began to rapidly repair his damaged Meridians, bones, and flesh. The effect was better than any healing pill he had ever taken!

"Huff... huff..." Fang Hao collapsed in the bone crevice, panting heavily, feeling like he had just crawled back from the gates of death. But the sensation from within told him it was worth it! The ruptures in his Meridians were healing at a visible rate, and the cracks in his bones were mending quickly, even becoming tougher. His physical strength was returning, and his parched Dantian began to accumulate spiritual power again. Although he was far from fully recovered, he at least had the strength to fight!

He looked at the two monster cores in his hands, which had clearly shrunk and dimmed significantly, and he grinned, though the smile was uglier than a cry.

"Finally... I’m back to life."

He tightened his grip on the battle heaven axe, feeling the increasingly clear warmth and Battle Intent coming from it. His gaze pierced through the gaps in the bone pile, looking out at the basin and the dark red sky above.

"Sun Family... Zhao Family... and you bastards waiting to pick up the scraps..." Fang Hao’s eyes gradually grew sharp, carrying a cold killing intent. "Just you wait for this young master. Once I get out, we’ll settle our debts, one by one!"