Du Bufan sat peacefully and quietly in the secluded cultivation chamber, his entire body surrounded by a dazzling layer of golden light. The radiance was so tangible that it seemed as though he had been draped in the sacred robes of a deity, accentuating him like a god descended to the mortal realm and emitting an ethereal, transcendent aura. It had to be known that this phenomenon of golden light protecting the body was a sign that one's physical strength had reached an extremely high level, resembling an unscalable peak. Ordinary practitioners of the Body Refining Realm could exhaust the energy of a lifetime and still fail to reach this realm, able only to gaze at it in despair and sigh. Du Bufan stared at his own dreamlike golden light, and his heart churned with towering waves that were hard to calm for a long time; his thoughts surged like turbulent billows, one wave rising before the previous one had settled.
In the long history of Tianwu City, the last person to possess such astonishing protective golden light was the renowned Zen Master Tianwu. He stood like a towering mountain, serving as a towering titan in the field of body cultivation within Tianwu City and holding a significant place among the top ten legendary practitioners, much like one of the most dazzling stars in the boundless night sky. Du Bufan had not expected that, after practicing for such a short time, his physical strength would have quietly risen to the top tier of Tianwu City. It was like an ordinary seed suddenly growing into a towering tree, truly exceeding his expectations.
"Perhaps I can go even further?" A thought stirred in Du Bufan's heart, rippling like a pebble dropped into a calm lake, and he immediately began his eleventh round of cultivation. However, when this round of cultivation ended, he did not perceive any increase in strength; it seemed he had encountered a bottleneck. This bottleneck stood across his path like an indestructible wall.
He paused slightly, and his gaze fell upon the ancient text *Heavenly Dao Movement Technique* lying nearby. This *Heavenly Dao Movement Technique* was a secret manual coveted by countless martial artists, resembling a mysterious treasure trove. It was said to contain the secrets of the universe and the cosmos, with every single character acting like a key to a mysterious world—as if opening these keys would allow one to appreciate the wonders of the world. "This is the one!" Du Bufan muttered to himself, his voice sounding like a declaration of war against the unknown in a silent forest, and he then focused entirely on cultivating according to the methods in the book.
To cultivate the *Heavenly Dao Movement Technique*, one must first calm the mind and settle the spirit. Du Bufan slowly sat down, crossed his legs, and placed his hands naturally on his knees like a devout believer. He tried hard to banish all distracting thoughts, but his mind ran wild like a wild horse without reins. One moment, bits and pieces of his past cultivation flashed before his eyes like a movie; the next, he harbored colorful, foam-like fantasies about increasing his future strength. He took a deep breath, trying to make his state of mind as calm as a still lake. Every breath felt like a gentle breeze brushing across the water, and the ripples it generated were like soft musical notes, gradually emerging before slowly fading away. After a long struggle, he managed to barely enter the state, a process akin to making his way with difficulty through a briar patch until he finally found a small path leading to the light.
Next came guiding the inner Qi downward to the Yongquan acupoint at the soles of the feet to feel the power of the earth. The difficulty of this step far exceeded Du Bufan's imagination. The inner Qi behaved like a group of mischievous children, rampaging through the meridians like a pack of unruly little demons, stubbornly refusing to gather obediently at the Yongquan acupoint. Concentrating fully, he guided it with the utmost care, yet he could only sense a faint, elusive hint of the earth's power. It felt like searching for a water source in the vast desert: just as he managed to catch a trace of moisture, it flickered like uncertain starlight in the night sky, making it hard to determine the direction. Yet he did not give up. Relying on his tenacious perseverance, he tried again and again, like the persistent Kuafu chasing the sun. Every impact of the inner Qi made the soles of his feet tingle slightly, as if countless tiny needles were pricking them, as though Mother Earth was testing him in a special way. Finally, a wisp of inner Qi met the power of the earth. In that instant, it was like finding a glimmer of dawn in the darkness—weak yet filled with hope, much like discovering a spring-welcoming flower breaking through the ice in a dead, cold winter.
Once this connection was established, the task was to continuously reinforce this fusion. Du Bufan felt as though he were weaving an intricate net, tightly intertwining the inner Qi and the earth's power like a meticulous weaver. During this process, his legs alternately ached with soreness—a sensation akin to the accumulated fatigue of long-distance running, like trudging through rugged mountain paths with a heavy boulder on his back—and stung sharply, as if sharp objects were weaving through his meridians, just like thorns relentlessly piercing his body. Every bout of pain was a test of his willpower, but he gritted his teeth and persisted, knowing this was the necessary path to becoming strong, much like the fire-trials a phoenix must endure to be reborn. As the fusion deepened, he could feel his strength gradually increasing, converging from a trickle into a small brook; this growth in power was like a young sprout flourishing under the nourishment of spring rain.
Once the fusion was complete, this refined power had to be guided to move slowly upward along the Du meridian of the spine. This step was fraught with danger; the slightest carelessness could damage the meridians, making it akin to walking a tightrope on the edge of a cliff. Du Bufan concentrated entirely, feeling the power climb upward bit by bit. Every spinal joint he crossed felt like clearing a checkpoint, as if breaking through a series of sturdy city gates. When the power passed the Dazhui acupoint, he seemed to hear a faint rumbling sound echoing within his body. The sound resonated like an ancient bell, making his soul tremble as if he had heard a call from antiquity.
Finally, the power was dispersed throughout the limbs and bones, with a key focus on the leg muscles and tendons. At this moment, Du Bufan felt his legs were like spring coils brimming with power. Every single muscle was trembling slightly, cheering and leaping like warriors shouting before a battle, awaiting the moment to unleash their strength. When everything was ready, he tried to execute the technique. In a flash, only afterimages flickered in the chamber. Accompanied by whooshing sounds, Du Bufan's figure shuttled like lightning to every corner of the room before finally returning steadily to his starting position, moving with a speed as swift as a shooting star streaking across the night sky.
"This first volume of the *Heavenly Dao Movement Technique* is actually a teleportation art, yet the teleportation distance is only ten meters, which is slightly lacking," Du Bufan frowned. If outsiders were to hear these words, their jaws would surely drop in shock, as if they had heard an Arabian tale. In this world, a teleportation movement technique of even a single meter was a peerless treasure, much like the most dazzling pearl on a royal crown, over which countless martial artists fought until their heads bled, resembling ravenous wolves competing for a succulent piece of fat.
Putting aside his thoughts on the *Heavenly Dao Movement Technique*, Du Bufan shifted his gaze to the *Heavenly Dao Fist*. He had originally wanted to practice swordsmanship, but there were no swords in the secluded chamber, so he had to start with fist techniques instead. This was akin to a painter unable to find a brush and having to outline a scroll with charcoal sticks. The Body Refining Realm version of the Heavenly Dao Fist consisted of only nine moves, named the Nine Dragon Forms. Du Bufan circulated his Qi and delivered a ferocious punch. In an instant, a resounding dragon roar echoed through the chamber, and the force of the punch whistled like a wild dragon bursting out of the sea, possessing an extraordinary momentum that swept forward like a surging tsunami. And this was still the result of him deliberately suppressing his power; if he were to unleash it at full strength, the chamber would likely be razed to the ground, resembling the descent of an apocalypse where all things would be turned to fine dust by this mighty force. After another half hour, he had completely mastered the first volume of the Heavenly Dao Fist, much like a highly skilled rider taming a fierce steed.