"To cultivate the Seven Fiend Body Refining Technique, you need Baleful Yin force. That kind of energy isn't easy to obtain in Great Wei."

Lin Zheyu shook his head slightly.

Like the Seven Fiend Ghost Manual, the Seven Fiend Body Refining Technique required finding areas rich in Baleful Yin force and setting up special formations to gather it. Over time, through constant tempering and erosion, one could use the properties of Baleful Yin force to refine the body's defenses to an astonishing level. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

This process took a long time, measured in decades at the very least. If Lin Zheyu wanted to raise the technique quickly using Origin Force, he would need a vast amount of Baleful Yin force.

This won't work. I've built up enough in martial cultivation, but it still feels like something is missing. Once I bring the Seven Fiend Body Refining Technique to Perfection, I'll see if inspiration comes. If not, I'll have to find another way. I should ask around to see if there are any nearby space-time nodes.

However, he was not in a hurry. With Lin Zheyu's current strength, even in the Immortal Dao world, he had some ability to protect himself. In terms of Immortal Dao realms, he was roughly at the Foundation Establishment realm. Advancing from the Foundation Establishment realm to the Golden Core realm was no easy task. It required decades of hard cultivation, strong natural talent, and a measure of opportunity to succeed. Lin Zheyu's current situation was equivalent to attempting that leap, so the difficulty was only natural.

***

Bright moonlight spilled across the river, its surface shimmering. Ornate pleasure boats with red lanterns drifted slowly along the water. This was one of Guanghua City's famous river scenes, bustling every night. Lin Zheyu and Liang En sat on the second floor of the largest boat, looking out through the window. The Song River at night was beautiful.

"You're leaving tomorrow?" Liang En asked, taking a sip of wine.

"Mm. It's about time I headed back. I only planned to stay here for about three months." Lin Zheyu smiled and said, "I wonder how Azure Tide Pavilion is doing, and whether they're short on manpower."

"Over in Wuling City, ever since the space-time node closed, things seem calm on the surface. But I've heard the undercurrents are intense," Liang En said.

While handling sect affairs, he had seen reports about Wuling City. But it wasn't just there. The entire Great Wei was seething beneath the surface, and Guanghua City was no exception.

"I hope Great Wei can get through this crisis." Lin Zheyu looked at Liang En and said, "Senior brother, are you about to break through to the Force Transformation realm?"

"Mm. The situation isn't good. I can't delay any longer. Great Wei is offering very generous rewards right now. It's a once-in-a-century opportunity. If I miss it, who knows when another will come." Liang En nodded.

Over the past two years, the sect's disciples had advanced rapidly. His potential in the Marrow Refining realm had already reached its limit. There was little point in remaining at this level any longer.

"That's for the best." Lin Zheyu shifted the topic casually and said, "Senior Brother, do you know about the Martial Alliance?"

Besides bringing the Seven Fiend Body Refining Technique to Perfection and seeking inspiration, the Martial Alliance was another possible path.

"I do. It's a very powerful martial cultivation faction. Why do you ask about the Martial Alliance all of a sudden?" Liang En nodded, and a trace of curiosity appeared on his face.

"I heard that in the Martial Alliance, martial artists who reach the Martial Innate realm don't switch to the Immortal Dao, but continue along the path of martial cultivation. Do you know if there's a path beyond that? What comes after the Martial Innate realm?" Lin Zheyu asked.

Creating the Primordial Golden Body was far more difficult than he had expected. Lin Zheyu felt he had hit a bottleneck. Aside from cultivating the Seven Fiend Body Refining Technique to Perfection and searching for inspiration, he could also draw on the Martial Alliance.

The Martial Innate realm experts within it did not turn to the Immortal Dao, but devoted themselves entirely to martial cultivation. The Martial Alliance surely possessed techniques beyond the Martial Innate realm, containing deeper martial knowledge. If he could obtain those techniques, he might find inspiration within them. It was even possible that the Martial Alliance held body-refining techniques powerful enough for his needs.

"The Martial Alliance... They're not walking an easy path," Liang En said with a sigh.

As the top figure among the younger generation of the Wuji Sect, he knew many hidden matters. Some he had heard from the sect elders, others from fellow prodigies he had befriended.

"What do you mean?" Lin Zheyu asked, intrigued.

"The Martial Alliance keeps a low profile. I've never even seen one of their members. They mainly operate in the Fengchuan Region. But from what I've heard, they follow a purely martial cultivation path. Beyond the Martial Innate realm, the path corresponds to the Immortal Dao, so it has a special name—Immortal Martial Cultivation." A sharp gleam flashed in Liang En's eyes.

He had devoted his life to martial cultivation. If there truly was a path beyond the Martial Innate realm, he would rather continue down it. But it was not an easy road. The path beyond the Martial Innate realm was filled with thorns. It was dozens, even hundreds of times harder than switching to the Immortal Dao. Otherwise, so many martial artists would not abandon it after reaching the Martial Innate realm. Immortal Martial cultivation was simply too difficult.

"Immortal Martial Cultivation! Senior Brother, can you tell me more?"

A gleam also burst into Lin Zheyu's eyes. The name alone hinted at how extraordinary this path was. It carried immense ambition, aiming to rival the Immortal Dao.

"I don't know much about the Immortal Martial Cultivation either. Martial cultivation refines the body, while the Immortal Dao refines the spirit. Immortal Martial Cultivation is different from the Immortal Dao's focus on the spirit and soul. It centers on the body, using a mortal frame to rival immortals.

"Martial cultivation focuses on transforming the body itself. It's said that beyond the Martial Innate realm lies the Divine Repository realm, which utilizes the so-called three great divine repositories. These three repositories are extremely mysterious. Only one in ten thousand can open them. This stage has stopped countless Martial Innate realm experts who hoped to pursue Immortal Martial," Liang En said with a sigh.

He had learned about Immortal Martial Cultivation during his recent trip to the Fengchuan Region for the Hidden Dragon List challenge from prodigies of other regions.

"The Divine Repository realm... no wonder," Lin Zheyu said in realization.

The difficulty of opening the three great divine repositories was almost unimaginable. With his current strength, he could not even sense their existence, let alone open them.

"Exactly. Opening the three great divine repositories is far too difficult. I've heard most martial experts can only open the spirit divine repository. Very few manage two. As for all three, I don't know if anyone has ever done it," Liang En said with a sigh.

Even hearing about it secondhand was enough to sense how terrifying the difficulty of the Divine Repository realm was.

"Are you planning to walk the Immortal Martial path?" Liang En asked.

"I'm just curious. I'm only at the Force Transformation realm. It's too early to think about that," Lin Zheyu said, shaking his head.

He might not find any inspiration for the Primordial Golden Body technique within the Martial Alliance, but the three great divine repositories were different. Since the realm beyond the Martial Innate realm was the Divine Repository realm, the Martial Alliance must have conducted extensive research on it. Opening the three great divine repositories might depend on them. The problem was that even locating the Martial Alliance would not be easy.

"That's true. With great chaos approaching, the thorn-filled Immortal Martial path isn't the best choice. If this were before, I might have chosen it." Liang En shook his head slightly, his expression unreadable.

He still held great expectations for Immortal Martial Cultivation. But the times had changed. In this chaos, he could no longer cultivate steadily and improve slowly. The best choice now was to grow stronger as quickly as possible.

Soft music drifted through the air. The dancers on the pleasure boat moved gracefully, their slender figures accentuated by thin gauze. Lin Zheyu and Liang En chatted for a while, gradually shifting the topic to space-time nodes.

After asking around, Lin Zheyu learned of several locations with space-time nodes. The largest was in the northern lands, and it was said to still be open. The entire north seemed on the verge of falling. In the Guanghua Region, several areas had space-time nodes, though none had been successfully opened yet.

Only one had been successfully opened. It lay in the Southern Barbarian Region, which had already fallen into the hands of the Nine Nether Sect. With their cooperation, a space-time node had been opened near Ruyang City, and it remained active to this day.

Lin Zheyu and Liang En drank deep into the night. At dawn, after bidding farewell to the sect elders and his friends, Lin Zheyu left. Once outside Guanghua City and into the forest, his bones cracked softly as his appearance and aura shifted. When traveling, he was used to disguising himself to avoid exposing his identity and secrets.

Lin Zheyu tapped lightly on the ground, darting swiftly through the forest. His Perception Domain expanded to its limit, covering the entire area. After his previous lesson, he kept it within about 200 meters in cities, not daring to extend it too far to avoid trouble. Only in the wilderness did he use it without restraint.

Infiltrating the space-time node in the Southern Barbarian Region is no less dangerous than entering an immortal market. My Primordial Concealment Technique is complete. With it, I may not be able to fully hide myself, but playing the weak to strike the strong won't be a problem.

Those two barbarian experts and the three immortal cultivators were weaker than me, yet they still roamed freely. Since I'm stronger than they are, entering an immortal market shouldn't be too much of a problem.

The nearest space-time node was located in the Southern Barbarian Region near Ruyang City. The Southern Barbarian Region was now under the control of the Nine Nether Sect. After so much time, the entire area enveloped by the demon god barrier was likely fully demonized. It would be fraught with danger. Compared to that, Lin Zheyu preferred to try his luck at an immortal market.