Inadvertently, Ye Long choked down a few mouthfuls of the fragrant, blood-rich vital essence, which unexpectedly left him feeling utterly refreshed and invigorated.
One had to know that the blood essence of a Great Silver Python was like divine nectar and jade dew, possessing boundless and miraculous properties.
Greavily opening his mouth, Ye Long began to gulp it down voraciously. An intense, uncontrollable heat flooded his entire body, making him feel as though his entire mind and body had been set ablaze from the inside out.
At that very moment, even the Qingshi Formula began to circulate frantically.
With Ye Long at its absolute center, a converging momentum formed around him.
If it were visible to the naked eye, one would surely discover that not only did Ye Long's previous injuries heal in the blink of an eye, but his physical body was also being further tempered.
From this, one could easily imagine just how vast and formidable the Great Silver Python's vital essence truly was.
Little did he know that a moment later, Ye Long would begin to tremble inexplicably, feeling as though his internal organs were being consumed by fire.
As the Great Silver Python frantically wrotted and twisted its colossal body, dizziness washed over him.
With no time to overthink, he suddenly dug his ten fingers deep, forcefully piercing straight through the inner lining of the python's visceral walls—all just to ensure he wouldn't perish before his mission even truly began!
Roar!
Yet the more violently the Great Silver Python thrashed, the more ceaseless its rolling became.
Faced with this, how could Ye Long possibly let slip such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?
Right now, the crisis was a matter of life and death, but it was also a supreme fortune.
As the old saying goes: better you die than I.
Since Ye Long had no desire to die, why not let the Great Silver Python serve as the stepping stone for his cultivation foundation?
Sensing the vital essence diminishing with every gulp, he abruptly lifted his head and suddenly bit off a chunk of raw flesh.
The essence melted the moment it entered his mouth, carrying an obscure yet exuberant surge of vitality.
While his mouth and nose filled with fragrance, he could hardly suppress his spirit, energy, and essence soaring upwards by leaps and bounds.
His heart pounding violently, he clearly no longer cared how precious the thing he was consuming might be; he simply swallowed it piece after piece, devouring it whole in a ravenous frenzy!
By this point, Ye Long had cast aside all other thoughts, surrendering entirely to this tyrannical feast.
Yet no matter how he imagined it, he never expected that the more he devoured, the further his Dantian would exceed its maximum capacity!
An inexhaustible wellspring of power surged through his entire body, transforming into one ferocious, unbridled punch after another.
Meanwhile, realizing it could not shake off the greed of this mere ant, the Great Silver Python abruptly ceased its struggling right before everyone's eyes, and then menacingly raised its head!
At this moment, Ye Long was still scurrying about inside, wreaking havoc.
The Qingshi Formula was on the verge of reaching Great Accomplishment, causing his entire body to harden as if covered in scales, giving him an eerie and unpredictable aura!
Suddenly turning his head, he noticed his clothes emitting a series of ripping, tearing sounds, which frightened him into letting out a continuous stream of roars.
"This is stomach acid! Dammit all!"
Mountain-Crushing Force!
Mountain-Crushing Force!
Mountain-Crushing Force!
Predictably, with no other options left, he could only frantically lash out with his fist strength.
Besides, he clearly did not want to end up being digested into a lump of excrement.
If that happened, his lifelong reputation would be utterly ruined!
Boom!
Suddenly, the war drums beat, deafening the ears.
Ye Long pressed forward step by step, heading straight for the python's heart.
Thus, this race-against-time life-and-death battle officially began.
Outside.
The graceful figure immediately discerned the Great Silver Python's intentions—it was clearly planning to go all out against Ye Long.
"Oh no, this is bad! All of you, strike at once! Our benefactor is in danger!"
Hearing this, Qin Hu immediately launched a flurry of attacks upon the Great Silver Python!
How could Ye Long not know this?
The fiercer the offensive he launched, the better the opportunity it would present; once missed, certain death awaited him!
Roar!
It wasn't until the span of an incense stick had passed, with everyone working in tandem from the inside and outside, that even something as powerful as the Great Silver Python finally found itself overmatched and drained of strength!
Inside the python's belly.
Ye Long continuously unleashed his fists, using the momentum to smash right through the outer wall of the python's heart.
Thud, thud, thud...
As the rapid, repetitive beating sounds assailed him, he suddenly exerted all his strength and thrust both fists upward!
Boom!
A fountain of blood erupted, soaking every inch of Ye Long's skin. Ignoring it entirely, he repeatedly threw out his cyan-hued fists.
Boom...
Not until he was utterly exhausted did Ye Long finally burst into wild, maniacal laughter, looking every bit like a raving demon.
Conversely, the people outside were still launching frantic attacks against the beast, treating it as though they shared an irreconcilable feud.
Only when they collapsed one after the other, unable to stand, did they look at each other and smile.
Glancing over, although Ye Long was covered in blood, there was no denying the fact that he had survived.
At this very moment, his face was flushed with health, and a cyan radiance shimmered across his entire body, appearing profoundly mystical!
It looked precisely like someone suffering from mild indigestion after a heavy meal, experiencing the physical discomfort that followed.
In his haste, Ye Long paid no heed to the shifting, complicated gazes around him. He crossed his legs and sat down on the spot, intending to leverage this momentum to break through in one go to the Meridian Opening Mid-stage Peak.
......
Within his Dantian.
As that single strand of spiritual essence grew a size larger, he unexpectedly discovered a brand-new continent: the spiritual essence was now autonomously circulating along a different pathway than that prescribed by the Qingshi Formula!
He couldn't help but quietly ponder the profound mystery of it all, only to discover yet another unbelievable phenomenon—ever since opening the Governor and Conception vessels, they had now evolved once again into the Eight Extraordinary Meridians.
Once this Dantian sea of Qi poured into the extraordinary meridians and vessels, it transformed into countless branching tributaries that ultimately converged into the grand momentum of a Heavenly Cycle!
Boom!
"All rivers run into the sea, tolerance is what makes it vast!"
Ye Long felt as though he had been struck by lightning right then and there, yet he could not suppress his wild, overflowing joy.
The reason for this transformation was simple... his Dantian had unexpectedly spawned the ability to cleanse the marrow and wash the tendons.
Before long, countless black impurities coated his pores, emitting a foul, pungent stench.
Yet of this, he remained completely oblivious!
Ye Long's consciousness abruptly plunged into his Dantian, where he was once again met with a mind-boggling sight.
The sea of Qi was growing increasingly majestic and boundless, rising higher and higher like a swelling lake, before expanding wildly beyond all control.
Yet unexpectedly, Qin Feng's words fell upon him like a thunderbolt from the blue.
"Without a sufficiently profound state of mind, forcing a breakthrough will only lead to deviation!"
It was not until this very moment that Ye Long finally realized the truth in hindsight.
To cultivate truly formidable power, he had to comprehend an extraordinary state of mind; the higher his mental realm, the more boundless the power he would be able to wield.
From this exact moment onward, he had officially touched the threshold of true cultivation!
When Ye Long opened his eyes once more, a tremor coursed uncontrollably through his entire body.
An imposing aura arose spontaneously from within him.
So much so that an invisible wind fiercely swept across a radius of five paces.
This strength, entirely different from anything he had wielded before, was as distinct as the gap between mountains and rivers!
He had actually broken through to the Meridian Opening Mid-stage Peak!
After a moment, Ye Long reined in his myriad emotions. The mere thought of the Great Silver Python's terrifying might still sent lingering waves of fear through his heart.
In truth, this couldn't entirely be blamed on Ye Long's ignorance; had the young man not struck the python's vital spot first, he probably would have struggled just to get close to it.
Yet through a series of coincidences and miscalculations, every single favorable opportunity had fallen squarely into Ye Long's lap.
Leaving aside the might of the dharmic instrument and the already-wounded python, it was the convergence of all these factors that yielded such a battle result.
Having figured out the cause and effect of it all, Ye Long was once again gripped by a deep sense of caution. If given another chance to do it over, he would never dare attempt it again!
Truly, every drop and morsel is predestined by fate!
At that moment, Qin Hu and the other two began cursing incessantly:
"Are you trying to die? Daring to provoke a Xiantian Great Silver Python!"
"Have you lost your mind? Why didn't you wait for us to join forces, or wait for the Hall Master to arrive? How much longer could that python have acted so arrogantly?"
"Still, thank goodness we won in the end! That was damn exhilarating, though."
......