In the main sect, within a scenic courtyard, Lin Zheyu and Liang En sat by a stone table.

"...It's a pity you advanced to the Force Transformation realm. With your talent and potential, you would have definitely placed in the top twenty of the Hidden Dragon List this time," Liang En said with some regret.

After learning that Lin Zheyu had advanced, Liang En truly felt it was a shame. He knew the limits of his own talent. By delaying his own breakthrough, he had only wanted to continue benefiting from the Hidden Dragon Token's assistance in cultivation. Lin Zheyu's rise had eased the burden on his shoulders, yet in just a few months, news came that Lin Zheyu had already advanced.

"There's nothing to regret. Misfortune can turn into fortune. This might even work out in my favor. Originally, I planned to perfect the Primordial Wuji True Technique before breaking through. With my talent, the chances of successfully advancing with that technique weren't high. If not for this experience, I would have kept forcing it and never let go," said Lin Zheyu with a smile. Liang En returned the smile and did not dwell on it further.

"I heard the top twenty on the Hidden Dragon List can enter a secret realm in Great Wei. Do you know much about it, senior brother?" Lin Zheyu asked curiously. He was quite interested in what might be inside that secret realm.

"The secret realm... Anyone who enters has to sign a confidentiality contract. No one knows what's inside. But most people come out with considerable gains. You remember Xiao Shi, right? He seems to have had a fortuitous encounter. His strength has surged, and he made it into the top twenty this time. After coming out of the realm, even his aura felt different. His strength has become far more unfathomable," Liang En said.

"Oh? Xiao Shi actually made the top twenty? That opportunity must have been quite significant," Lin Zheyu said in surprise.

It was a pity he had not known this back in Wuling City. Otherwise, he would have sought Xiao Shi out and tried to glean some clues about the secret realm.

"How long do you plan to stay in the main sect this time?" Liang En asked.

"Probably a bit over two months," Lin Zheyu replied.

The main sect's collection was incredibly rich. It contained many ancient fragments, along with all kinds of strange records and techniques. In just over a month, Lin Zheyu had read extensively, and it had greatly broadened his horizons.

"Then there's still time. I'll come by often to spar during this period. I hope you won't mind," Liang En said with a smile.

"You're too polite, Senior Brother. I spend most of my time at the Library Pavilion. If you plan to come, it's best to do so at night, or make arrangements in advance," Lin Zheyu said.

"Of course. Your matters come first," Liang En said, raising his cup in a toast.

"By the way, how are things between you and Senior Sister Baoyu? Are you getting married?" Lin Zheyu asked with a curious blink.

"Uh, she hasn't agreed yet," Liang En said with an awkward smile, shaking his head.

"Did you two fall out?" Lin Zheyu asked in surprise.

"No. It's just that Senior Sister Baoyu doesn't want to marry so soon. She said she doesn't want to distract me, and will only consider it after I advance to the Grandmaster realm," Liang En said helplessly.

"Then you'll be waiting a while," Lin Zheyu said with a smile.

The two chatted a bit longer before Liang En left. Lin Zheyu closed the courtyard gate. With a flick of his right hand, a technique manual floated out from his robes and into his palm. As time passed, his control over spiritual sense grew stronger, and he handled his storage pouch with increasing ease.

A gentle breeze stirred as Lin Zheyu calmed his mind and began studying the technique in his hand. The manual was called Seven Fiend Body Refining Technique, a body-refining technique. It was very similar to the Seven Fiend Ghost Manual he had obtained earlier, both belonging to demonic techniques that harness Baleful Yin force.

He was not studying it to cultivate, but to draw inspiration. Living corpses possessed formidable defenses. At the same realm, their durability was nearly unmatched, rivaled only by the Buddhist sect's golden body.

Since he could not obtain a Buddhist sect golden body technique, he could only study corpse refining methods to see if he could derive inspiration and create a technique comparable to it. After more than a month of research and extensive reading, he had already established a rough framework. However, it was still far from being a complete, cultivable method.

"It's a pity those two barbarian experts didn't have any of their cultivation techniques. Otherwise, they would have been quite valuable for reference," Lin Zheyu said, shaking his head slightly.

The storage pouches of the two barbarian experts contained quite a few valuable items. Just the spirit stones alone totaled fifty-six. There were also various dharma artifacts and herbs that could fetch a good price. Unfortunately, there were no technique manuals.

The sky gradually darkened as night fell. Lin Zheyu put away the manual, closed the courtyard gate, and left. In an empty alley, his appearance slowly changed, his muscles swelling until he became broad and imposing.

After disguising himself, Lin Zheyu moved and left Guanghua City. Traveling south for over a hundred kilometers, he soon heard the roar of water. Great Wei bordered the sea, and although the Guanghua Region was inland, it still contained several inland seas. This was the one closest to Guanghua City.

Reaching the inland sea, Lin Zheyu stripped off his upper garments and trousers, leaving only a pair of shorts, and leapt into the water. He sank rapidly as all kinds of marine creatures swam past him, including massive ones over ten meters long. He ignored them all. After descending more than thirty meters, he felt the immense pressure around him, but it was still not enough.

He tapped his toe and kicked off the seabed, shooting forward like a torpedo. After moving farther from shore, he continued to descend. His physique had already reached inhuman levels. This level of pressure meant nothing to him. He no longer even visited brothels, as ordinary women could not withstand his strength.

After descending to nearly two hundred meters, Lin Zheyu finally stopped. He began cultivating in the deep sea. Under such intense pressure, the strain on both his physique and true origin was immense, but the results were equally remarkable. The movement caused by his cultivation churned the surrounding waters. After completing one cycle, he stopped, moved to a slightly shallower depth, and continued training.

After more than an hour, Lin Zheyu returned to shore. His true origin was completely depleted, and his stamina was near its limit. He continued cultivating by the shore for another dozen minutes. A strained yet exhilarated expression appeared on his face as his essence, qi, and spirit fused into one. In that instant of breaking past his limits, he sensed a strange change in his spirit, emitting a peculiar frequency. The sensation vanished in a flash. When he tried to grasp it, it was already gone.

Is the secret of Origin Force related to that strange frequency produced when the soul breaks past its limits? Lin Zheyu pondered.

That spiritual fluctuation was peculiar. He had tried to imitate it, but failed. No, he could not even perceive it again. It was too fleeting. With his current strength and spiritual power, he could not capture that momentary change. Still, he believed that as he grew stronger, he would eventually uncover the secret of Origin Force. After resting briefly, he weakly reached to his waist and retrieved three bottles of spirit liquid from his storage pouch.

Gulp, gulp—

The spirit liquid entered his stomach and was instantly converted into energy, rapidly absorbed by his body. His physique was so powerful that his digestion far surpassed that of ordinary people, and his absorption speed was unmatched.

After recovering some strength, Lin Zheyu slowly stood up. The strands of true origin he gathered instantly turned red. As it circulated, intense heat radiated from his body. Steam rose from his shorts, drying them completely in moments.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 55]

[Skills: Primordial Concealment Technique (Perfection), Ninefold Profound Turtle Art (Third Stage: 93%), Phantom Flash Soul-Chasing Steps (Third Stage: 89%)]

"55 units of Origin Force... If I want to create a truly powerful body-refining technique, this is far from enough," Lin Zheyu said, glancing at the data in his mind and shaking his head.

He had hidden the data for the Thunder Roaring Purple Cloud Technique and replaced it with the Ninefold Profound Turtle Art. This technique was also a body-refining method, and its consumption of true origin and strain on the physique exceeded that of the Thunder Roaring Purple Cloud Technique.

With 55 units of Origin Force, it's time to bring some advanced body-refining techniques to Perfection, Lin Zheyu thought.

Simply reading manuals did not grant a deep understanding. Once he accumulated enough Origin Force, Lin Zheyu planned to select several body-refining techniques and cultivate them to their peak to deepen his comprehension. He tapped his storage pouch, and five spirit stones appeared in his hand.

Use 10 units of Origin Force to cultivate the Ninefold Profound Turtle Art, he transmitted the thought.

Lin Zheyu's spirit blurred and entered his consciousness space, where he began endless cultivation. Vast mysterious energy swept up the energy within the spirit stones and poured into his physique. His already formidable body grew even stronger as the technique advanced. His muscles, skin, and bones, already near perfection, became even more refined. However, compared to before, the improvement was not especially dramatic.

After multiple enhancements, Lin Zheyu's physique had already reached an astonishing level. Even top-tier body-refining techniques could hardly bring significant improvement. Only something like the legendary Buddhist sect's golden body could allow his strength to surge forward once more.

***

Time passed slowly. In the blink of an eye, more than two months had gone by. Autumn gave way to winter. The winter in Guanghua City was much colder than in Wuling City.

The river poured into the sea, roaring loudly. Bare-chested, Lin Zheyu leapt out of the icy sea and returned to the shore to continue cultivating. After more than ten minutes, the familiar sensation returned. His spirit once again emitted a mysterious soul fluctuation. The frequency of that fluctuation was strange. No matter how he tried, he could not clearly capture it.

Lin Zheyu exhaled a long breath and sat down weakly on the ground.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 35]

[Skills: Primordial Concealment Technique (Perfection), Phantom Flash Soul-Chasing Steps ( Third Stage: 89%), Ninefold Profound Turtle Art (Sixth Stage: 100%), Thunder Roaring Purple Cloud Technique (Fifth Stage: 100%), Heavenly Astral Body Refining Technique (Sixth Stage: 100%), Nine Revolutions Golden Body Art (Fourth Stage: 100%)]

***

Lin Zheyu looked at the data in his mind. After such a long period of accumulation, his Origin Force had actually decreased. He had raised a number of classic body-refining techniques to Perfection. In total, there were twenty-three of them, covering nearly all of the strongest body-refining methods in the main sect's Library Pavilion. Many of them were also rare techniques he had picked up from the black market.

As he cultivated more and more body-refining techniques, the Origin Force and energy required to bring a new technique to Perfection kept decreasing. Otherwise, he would not have been able to accumulate even 35 units of Origin Force.

My knowledge of martial cultivation has more or less reached its limit. There's no need to keep learning more techniques.

At this point, his physique had nearly reached the limit of martial cultivation. Ordinary techniques could no longer improve him in any meaningful way. At best, they could only refine minor imperfections in his body.

I'll call the new technique Primordial Golden Body.

His ambition was great. He wanted to create a body-refining technique that could rival, or even surpass, the Buddhist sect's golden body. He sent out the thought and looked at the data in his mind, but saw no entry for Primordial Golden Body. Clearly, his idea was not yet viable.

Still not working... Is it because the Seven Fiend Body Refining Technique conflicts with other martial cultivation techniques? Lin Zheyu wondered.

The Seven Fiend Body Refining Technique was similar to the corpse-refining methods of immortal cultivators, akin to the Seven Fiend Ghost Manual, which was used to refine living corpse puppets. It belonged to a completely different system from martial cultivation techniques.

Lin Zheyu believed he had already practiced nearly every type of martial body-refining technique. If he focused purely on martial cultivation, he was confident he could create a top-tier technique. But that was not what he wanted. What he sought to create was something extraordinary, a body-refining technique comparable to the Buddhist sect's golden body.

"If nothing else works... maybe I should bring the Seven Fiend Body Refining Technique to Perfection as well?"