CHAPTER 41: GOLDEN DRAGON SKIN

"I'll smooth out the area first. We can't let anyone discover that this heaven and earth phenomenon was caused by someone at the Qi Absorption Realm."

Nantian Xiu formed a hand seal and cast the Earth-Flattening Seal to level the massive craters the tribulation lightning had left behind. Once the terrain was restored, he walked over to the remains of the Purpleflame Fire Flood Dragon.

Now, only a shed snakeskin and a severed dragon horn remained. The beast itself had completely vanished.

Nantian Xiu said, "I didn't expect that sword strike to fail at killing the beast."

He picked up the horn and snakeskin from the ground and tossed them to Lu Chen. "These are materials from a Qi Condensation Realm creature. They're good stuff. Once we're out of here, we'll use them to forge you something useful."

Lu Chen quickly stowed them away. "Thank you, Grandpa Xiu!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

In the distance, several flying artifacts cut through the air. Cultivators were starting to close in on the area.

"Come, young man, let's go. Someone's heading this way."

With a wave of his hand, Nantian Xiu erased the lingering traces of their presence, then took Lu Chen and Nantian Wan'er with him as they left the site of the tribulation.

***

Just moments after the trio left, two cultivators, one fat and one thin, slashed through the trees with their swords.

One of them was holding a leash, at the end of which a large black dog was sniffing around the area restlessly.

"Big Brother, it's here. This is the place of that heavenly tribulation."

"Huh? Blacky's nose is never wrong. Why is no one here?"

The portly cultivator cast a slow glance over the surroundings before speaking in a calm, steady voice, "I'm sure this is the place. I can feel a reaction from the lightning spirit inside me."

Had Lu Chen still been here, he would've immediately recognized this man as the one who led the massacre of his village nearly a year ago.

Now, the man faintly gave off the aura of someone in the Qi Condensation Realm.

"Big Brother, I can clearly sense that the tribulation struck here. There's no doubt about it. But I don't understand why the person ran off."

"Isn't the first thing a cultivator does after ascending from the mortal world to the immortal path to manifest their Dharma Form across heaven and earth and begin preaching the Dao?"

"That... I'm not too sure."

The leader paused in thought, then said, "That tribulation was powerful. He must've been gravely wounded. Send a signal to the chief. Someone at the Core Breakthrough Realm isn't someone we can handle."

"Yes, big brother. Should we keep moving forward or wait for the chief to arrive?"

"We're heading to the center of the Fire Region to seize the Fire Essence. Our chief will deal with the Core Breakthrough Realm cultivator."

The leader's eyes remained fixed on the direction Lu Chen had gone as he pulled out a fiery-red pill from his storage pouch. "If we follow the trail down that path for two more hours, we'll reach the center of the Fire Region. With the Fire Repellent Pill the chieftain gifted us, we're bound to obtain the Fire Essence. I have a feeling that we might even stumble upon something unexpected."

***

Meanwhile, Lu Chen and the other two were on their way to the heart of the Fire Region.

Lu Chen's upper body was bare. His muscles rippled with defined lines, and faint traces of golden light flickered across his skin.

Ahead of them, a Flame Leopard that had just stepped into the Qi Regulation Realm charged forward with a fierce aura.

It fiercely struck Lu Chen's chest with its claws, yet all it left behind was a pale white mark.

Lu Chen countered it with a backhanded strike, sending the leopard flying. It crashed into a cliffside, let out two miserable howls, and fled.

Lu Chen didn't chase after the leopard and let it go. He turned to Nantian Xiu and said, "Grandpa Xiu, take a look! How strong is my body now?"

Nantian Xiu placed both hands on Lu Chen's arms and examined his body. "The Golden Dragon Skin... at this stage, your physical strength is probably on par with an average Qi Condensation cultivator."

"Grandpa Xiu, could you teach me more about body tempering? I've never heard of this Golden Dragon Skin before."

Although he now possessed Feng Tiancheng's memories, Lu Chen wasn't sure whether those old cultivation concepts still aligned with the current system.

Nantian Xiu infused spirit qi into his palms and conjured an ethereal human anatomy diagram before Lu Chen's eyes. As the image expanded, he began to explain the secrets of body cultivation.

"Body cultivation is divided into four stages: initial, basic, advanced, and perfect mastery, also known as the Golden Body.

"The early phase starts during the Qi Absorption Realm, where cultivators use spirit qi to repeatedly cleanse the impurities in their bodies and continually strengthen the tendons and bones.

"The sign of reaching initial mastery in body tempering is the ability to withstand ten waves of tribulation during the Qi Absorption Realm.

"Only by achieving an initial mastery can one be considered to have truly stepped into the path of body cultivation, much like how cultivators officially begin their journey upon entering the Qi Regulation Realm.

"The first phase focuses on tempering the skin. Through continuous purification, all impurities within the skin are expelled. When the skin glows with golden light, the cultivator has achieved what's called the Golden Dragon Skin. This marks the level of basic mastery.

"Next comes the refinement of the bones, the muscles, and the internal organs. Only when all of those emit golden light does one reach advanced mastery.

"The final stage is the purification of the soul itself. When the soul begins to radiate golden light, it integrates with the rest of the body, completing the formation of the Golden Body."

***

Half an hour later, Nantian Xiu finished his demonstration. He stopped and turned to Lu Chen. "Young man, do you get what I said? These are the key points of body cultivation."

"I did, Grandpa Xiu. So... what level have you reached now?"

Lu Chen couldn't help but be curious. He also wanted to use Nantian Xiu's progress as a benchmark for his own training.

Nantian Xiu raised his hand. A golden glow radiated from his skin, and the faint outline of a dragon shimmered around his body.

"I have also tempered my body to the level of basic mastery, but I'm one step closer to advanced mastery. The stage I'm at is called Golden Dragon Bones."

Lu Chen looked at him in confusion. "Grandpa Xiu, your physical strength seems too low for someone of your cultivation. I thought you'd be far beyond this?"

Nantian Xiu said calmly, "There are countless cultivation paths in the world. My focus has never been the physical body. Enhancing my cultivation alone is enough to withstand heavenly tribulations."

Lu Chen frowned. "But Grandpa Xiu, I don't get it. Didn't you just say that one could only endure tribulations through body cultivation? Now you're saying increasing cultivation alone is enough?"

The contradiction only left him more confused. In Feng Tiancheng's era, such diverse cultivation methods didn't exist. Back then, cultivators focused on cultivating through their bloodlines, and they rarely trained their bodies deliberately.

Nantian Xiu stopped releasing the golden light around his body and explained, "What I demonstrated earlier was a rule established by a powerful figure who achieved the Dao through body cultivation alone.

"That man couldn't absorb spirit qi at all, but he refused to accept that fate. He trained his body relentlessly, day after day, and ascended by forcing open a passage to the outside world with a physique forged through thirty-six layers of Golden Body tempering."

Lu Chen's eyes lit up with interest. "Then what would happen if someone cultivated both their body and spirit qi at the same time?"

He had already attained the Golden Dragon Skin in the Qi Absorption Realm. Perhaps he could pursue both paths in parallel.

"Don't ever think about doing that. There was once a woman of extraordinary talent who chose to cultivate both her physical body and spirit qi at the same time.

"She did succeed... but in doing so, she lost too much time. She passed away of old age before she could break through the final barrier."

As he spoke, Nantian Xiu formed a hand seal and looked straight at Lu Chen.

"Young man, I can see that you're incredibly gifted, and I have no desire to pry into your secrets. But you must also understand that the Eastern Pole Continent is vast beyond imagination. Over the years, countless prodigies have risen and fallen, yet how many names have actually been written down in history?

"Without true power, trying to forge your own cultivation path is nothing but self-destruction. This is especially true for a genius without the strength to back it up. More often than not, it leads straight to an early grave. Remember that, Lu Chen."

Nantian Xiu hadn't meant to say so much, but the look in Lu Chen's eyes made it clear that he was already falling into delusions. So Nantian Xiu struck him with a harsh reality check, trying to jolt him awake from those dreams of greatness.

Lu Chen snapped out of it instantly. Cold sweat trickled down his back as the weight of his earlier thoughts hit him. "Thank you, Grandpa Xiu... for the lesson."

It was natural for Lu Chen to feel this way. After all, he was only eighteen, which was the age when youthful pride and grand fantasies ran high.

Most people took ten years just to absorb qi, while Lu Chen had done it in less than six months. When cultivation outpaced mental growth, it was far too easy to fall into obsession and lose control.

Lu Chen thought to himself, Sigh... my time in cultivation is still too short. Last time, Grandpa Feng said he'd help me temper my state of mind, but he fell into a deep sleep before we even began. I need to find another way to strengthen my mind as soon as possible...

Just then, Nantian Wan'er's voice echoed in Lu Chen's mind. "Lu-gege, I know a place that can help you temper your mind."

The moment he heard her voice, Lu Chen felt like Wan'er was his lucky star, always showing up just when he needed her most.

Overjoyed, Lu Chen hugged Nantian Wan'er tightly. "Wan'er, tell me! Where is it?"

Wan'er struggled to push him away. "Lu-gege, let go, you're hurting me."

Lu Chen's strength was too much for her.

"Ah! Sorry!"

Lu Chen quickly released her and turned around, only to find Nantian Xiu watching them with a wide grin.

"Go on, don't mind me."

Lu Chen scratched his head, letting out an embarrassed laugh. "Hahaha, Grandpa Xiu, Wan'er just told me she knows a way to temper my mind. I got a little excited."

Nantian Xiu stroked his beard and walked over to Wan'er. "Oh? Wan'er knows a way to train the mind? I'd like to hear it too."

"You're always teasing me, Grandpa. I'm not telling you! I'll only tell Lu-gege."

Nantian Wan'er leaned close and whispered into Lu Chen's ear about the changes inside the Twin-Fish Medallion.

During their journey, Lu Chen had been focusing on observing changes within his body and hadn't realized that the changes within the medallion were already complete.

Lu Chen prepared to enter the small world within the medallion and see what method it offered.

"Grandpa Xiu, I know how to temper my mind now. I'd like to give it a try, but I'll need your help to guard me."

"Alright, young one. Go ahead, I'll keep watch. Now I'm really curious about what secret Wan'er's been keeping."

Nantian Xiu watched as Lu Chen sat cross-legged and began channeling his qi. With a wave of his hand, he set up a protective barrier in front of Lu Chen.

Lu Chen's consciousness entered the small world inside the Twin-Fish Medallion. The moment he opened his eyes, he sucked in a breath of cold air. "What happened to this place?"