[Ancient Primordial Body Refining Art]
Grade: Divine Grade!
Everything was completely different.
Not just the name, but the contents within had undergone a thorough and radical transformation, becoming vastly more profound and esoteric.
If the [Basic Body Refining Art] was merely street-trash merchandise, common and utterly substandard, then this [Ancient Primordial Body Refining Art] was a supreme, divine-grade body refining technique whose complexity and profundity were countless times greater than those of the [Basic Body Refining Art].
Beyond that, the [Ancient Primordial Body Refining Art] actually recorded several medicinal decoctions to assist with cultivation.
These medicinal formulas were all meant to aid him in practicing the [Ancient Primordial Body Refining Art].
The [Basic Body Refining Art] used three circulation pathways connecting a few dozen acupoints to complete a single cyclical rotation.
In contrast, the [Ancient Primordial Body Refining Art] utilized a full 365 circulation pathways connecting countless acupoints to form a single cycle.
Not only was it more than 120 times more complex, but the difficulty of cultivating it had also soared by a hundredfold.
Yet, the benefits were even more terrifying.
Based on what he understood, during the Body Refining Realm, upon breaking through each minor realm, depending on one's innate talent, aside from various physical transformations, one would generally gain an additional increase in strength ranging from 500 to 1,000 catties.
Of course, this was merely incomplete information he had gathered through certain channels, and whether it was actually so remained unknown.
Still, even if there were discrepancies, they shouldn't be too large.
What others experienced, he did not know.
However, from the [Ancient Primordial Body Refining Art], he had learned some information that left him both ecstatic and deeply shocked.
First, the energy required to cultivate the [Ancient Primordial Body Refining Art]—such as body-refining spiritual liquid, Demon Beast essence blood, spirit meat, and spiritual herbs and fruits—was a hundred to even several hundred times greater than that required by the [Basic Body Refining Art].
Second, the benchmark for breaking through a realm was no longer the commonly accepted 500 to 1,000 catties, but a staggering 10,000 catties of force.
In other words, once he reached the Ninth-Order Perfection Realm, his physical force would reach a terrifying 90,000 catties of mighty strength.
And to break through the Body Refining Realm and step into the Spirit Vein Realm, his strength needed to shatter the 100,000-catty mark!
100,000 catties of force... What kind of concept was that?
Strength akin to an ancient primordial savage beast?
He did not know.
He only knew that such terrifying strength would absolutely surpass that of ordinary Body Refining Realm cultivators by several dozen times.
He might even be able to shatter an ordinary Spirit Vein Realm powerhouse with a single punch!
Naturally, the resources consumed would be an astronomical figure.
However, so what?
If he was going to cultivate, he would cultivate to become the strongest immortal.
"This [Ancient Primordial Body Refining Art] is simply too powerful!"
"I must recultivate! I must recultivate!"
Beigong Yu took a deep breath, completely stunned by the contents detailed in the overarching synopsis of the [Ancient Primordial Body Refining Art].
At the same time, it ignited the excitement and soaring ambition deep within his heart.
However, now was not the time to cultivate.
Every session of cultivation required absorbing a massive amount of energy; otherwise, a single careless mistake would drain him dry into a husk.
At times like this, his human tool was expected to report for duty.
An hour later, the human tool arrived in the valley on schedule, carrying everything Beigong Yu had requested.
Beigong Yu did not show himself immediately.
Instead, he hid in the dark to observe for a while, confirming that the other party had not brought anyone else along before finally revealing himself.
"It seems you've been very obedient."
The human tool squeezed an ugly smile onto his face.
With only an hour's time, he dared not pull any stunts.
He certainly wouldn't dare wager his little life on it.
If he won the bet, all would be well and he could even seek revenge.
If he lost the bet, it meant death.
Looking into the package, Beigong Yu caught sight of nearly fifty bottles of mortal-grade body-refining spiritual liquid ranging from the seventh to the ninth grades, along with three drops of first-order, first-grade Demon Beast essence blood, a large bag of dried meat, and three large bottles of spring water. A flash of delight crossed his eyes.
As expected, his impromptu decision had been correct.
If he had attempted to purchase these supplies himself, managing to buy even a tenth of them would have been a miracle.
Yet, with primary human tool stepping forward, he had managed to acquire this much.
"Here is your antidote for today."
"Go. I need to get back to killing beasts."
"Yes."
The human tool nodded and turned to leave.
Watching the human tool disappear from view, Beigong Yu picked up the bundle and vanished into the valley.
True to his cautious nature, however, he certainly didn't drink the items directly. Instead, he grabbed a young Red-Scaled Tiger he had caught along the way—a cub with a completely crimson body covered from head to toe in scaly armor—and brutally pried open its jaws, dripping a few drops of the body-refining spiritual liquid into its mouth one by one.
A short while later, seeing that the Red-Scaled Tiger showed no adverse reactions, he divided out roughly a tenth of the Demon Beast essence blood and fed it to the cub as well.
The Red-Scaled Tiger still showed no problems at all.
Only then did his mind finally rest at ease.
However, right at that moment, the Red-Scaled Tiger that had been acting as his test subject suddenly began to roll frantically on the ground and howl, as if it had been scalded by boiling water.
The tiger cub, originally no larger than a puppy, rapidly grew in size. In the span of just a moment, its length expanded to around two meters, and its height reached roughly one meter.
Simultaneously, the crimson scales on the Red-Scaled Tiger's body shed, replaced by a fresh set of bright, gleaming new scales.
Its tail whipped about like a giant lash, radiating a formidable aura.
A faint tiger majesty and oppressive force erupted from the Red-Scaled Tiger's body.
"This is... a breakthrough? Good grief, it directly jumped two grades and reached a grade-five beast?"
"You really lucked out."
Beigong Yu muttered to himself as he looked at the drastically altered Red-Scaled Tiger.
It must have been because of that one-tenth portion of Demon Beast essence blood.
Well... if he killed it now, it should still be able to contribute some 'experience points' for him.
With that thought, he picked up the blood-colored battle saber at his side, intending to hack it to death.
However, just as he raised his blade, he caught a glimmer of gratitude in the tiger eyes of the Red-Scaled Tiger before him. The creature shook its head and wagged its tail, rubbing itself affectionately against him.
Beigong Yu was startled. That shouldn't be right.
From what little meager knowledge he possessed, mere beasts possessed very little intelligence.
Furthermore, once creatures of this type laid eyes on the human race, it was a fight to the death; their hatred was carved into their very bones.
Yet, this Red-Scaled Tiger was acting like this. Could it be because it hadn't fully evolved into a Demon Beast yet?
Even so, that made even less sense.
A mere beast, where would it get any intelligence?
While Beigong Yu's mind was racing with thoughts, a flash of slyness suddenly darted across the Red-Scaled Tiger's deceptively cute eyes. Then, with a whoosh, it bolted into the jungle and vanished without a trace.
Hearing the commotion and witnessing this scene, Beigong Yu shook his head, abandoning the idea of killing the Red-Scaled Tiger. After tidying up the stone cave, he prepared to cultivate.