Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

"Huff... huff..."

Xilun collapsed onto the cold, slippery rocks, his chest heaving violently like a broken bellows.

He greedily swallowed the surrounding air, the cold oxygen rushing back into his burning lungs through his nasal cavity, where an extremely intense energy exchange took place between the alveoli.

Every breath was accompanied by a tearing, stinging pain.

Qi and blood, like the receding tide, slowly seeped into the deepest parts of the body, and the violent energy that had been forcibly overdrawn was finally completely absorbed into the body.

As his mind relaxed, an overwhelming sense of fatigue and exhaustion washed over his body, and his taut muscle lines instantly relaxed.

The wound, which had been forcibly suppressed, began to unleash its pain without restraint.

Xilun's shoulders, back, waist, abdomen, chest, and even legs were covered with eight or nine deep knife wounds that revealed the bone.

At this moment, dark red blood was flowing out uncontrollably, staining the gray rocks beneath him in a shocking way.

He collapsed there, his eyes rolled back, his pupils dilated, as if he had fallen into some kind of deep daze.

Even at the edge of the most blurred consciousness, the breathing rhythm of the "Great Sea Whale Guiding Technique" still operated naturally. This was no longer a deliberate practice, but a muscle memory deeply imprinted in the bone marrow.

After an unknown amount of time, roughly several hundred breaths, Xilun felt a warm energy begin to slowly circulate within his parched dantian.

He subconsciously adjusted his breathing frequency and began to continuously practice that ancient breathing method.

The surrounding free-floating energy was forcibly drawn into his body, nourishing his parched meridians like sweet rain and slowly repairing his shocking injuries.

The extraordinary talent of "Golden Tortoise Cicada Shedding its Shell" was also fully activated at this moment.

A faint golden light emanated from beneath the skin on her back, and granulation tissue began to grow from the edges of the rolled-up skin, intertwining and healing at a visible speed.

In a daze, Xilun felt the pressure of each breath he exhaled gradually becoming heavier.

The unique aura of the Heavy River was transforming into a visible white mist, slowly spreading to his side.

With his eyes closed, he felt as if he were no longer lying on the cold shore, but at the bottom of a bottomless ocean.

With each breath, it is like an ancient whale swallowing the ocean.

Each expansion and contraction of the chest cavity seems to shake the surrounding world.

Strands of water-attribute energy, like materialized divine light, were forcibly pulled into his body.

In a hazy vision, he seemed to transform into a giant whale lying across the abyss, its breath capable of shaking the deep waters.

The surrounding heavy water and dense fog grew thicker and thicker, eventually forming a giant white eggshell that completely enveloped Xilun's broken body.

While Xilun was in a semi-conscious state of cultivation, the pale red data stream deep in his mind began to flash wildly.

The experience points "+1" kept appearing like a waterfall.

He could clearly feel that his mastery of this ancient breathing technique was deepening at an incredible speed.

The feeling was extremely mysterious, as if one were underwater yet moving freely, and one was the absolute king of this body of water.

A mere casual breath can shake rivers and stir up waves.

The body's sensations gradually returned, the pain subsided, and was replaced by waves of numbness and itching.

The heavy moisture around them was inhaled, washing over their bones and internal organs.

He felt the wounds healing rapidly. The deep, bone-revealing knife marks formed dark red scabs, which then peeled off piece by piece with the movement of his muscles, revealing the snow-white, new skin beneath.

Half an hour later, Xilun slowly opened his eyes.

Those eyes were as sharp as newly honed iron, their indifference revealing an undisguised sharpness.

He looked down and saw that his skin, which was originally covered in scars, was now as white as snow, gleaming with a chilling light in the dim light.

His eyes flickered, and he slowly stood up.

The "Great Sea Whale Guiding Technique," as an ancient cultivation method used by cultivators to record the breathing techniques of exotic species, does not actually have very high requirements for the cultivator's comprehension, and its resource requirements are only barely sufficient.

But after that brush with death, Xiren seemed to have gained a profound understanding of the breathing technique, and his mastery of it instantly leaped to a whole new level.

He clenched his fists instinctively, and heard a series of sharp cracking sounds from his knuckles.

He was so full of energy that it almost overflowed from his body, and his vital energy was as powerful as a mountain.

This state seems to indicate not only a return to the pre-war peak, but also a significant step forward.

This is absolutely impossible according to common sense.

Such a fatal injury is almost fatal. It would be a miracle if he could even survive, let alone recover completely within a few hours, let alone achieve any further progress.

Xilun frowned slightly, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes, as rows of pale red data quickly swept across his pupils.

A moment later, his expression froze.

I only closed my eyes and adjusted my breathing for a short while, and the experience points for this breathing technique increased dramatically.

He carefully compared the data and found that the progress bar for the fifth layer had been nearly half filled in just a few hours!

If this were done in a manor, it would be absolutely impossible to achieve without half a year of painstaking effort, relying on taking medicine and enduring hardship to resist blows.

"Could it be due to this heavy water environment?"

Xilun's sharp gaze swept across the surging white river ahead, exuding a terrifying pressure, and he quickly made a judgment in his mind.

With just over four days left before leaving the Snow Mountain Wonderland, we must make the most of this rich water environment.

As for the elusive ancient ruins and treasures deeper in the canyon, Xilun has completely given up the idea of ​​exploring them.

The saying goes, "Contentment brings happiness," and the acquisition of extraordinary resources requires the utmost consideration of suitability.

The properties of this heavy water river are a perfect match for the "Heavy Sea Giant Whale Guiding Technique". Even if there are treasures deep within that can make one rise to the top in one step, they may not be suitable for him, and he may not be able to get them alive amidst the many powerful figures around him.

Once he made up his mind, Xilun's eyes became incredibly determined.

We must seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and make the final sprint through this turbulent river.

He turned his head and glanced coldly at the two corpses on the ground not far away.

Li Desak and Li An, these two noble Silver Hand geniuses, have now been completely transformed into two pale, skeletal corpses under the devouring power of his blood seal.

Randomly piled on gray rocks, weathered by time, it's likely that anyone passing by wouldn't recognize these as modern extraordinary beings who had just died a few hours ago, but would mistake them for nameless remains left from an ancient battlefield.

Turning his gaze away, Xilun slowly walked to the edge of the heavy water river.

Just now, he made such amazing progress simply by practicing breathing exercises near the riverbank.

If one were to directly plunge into this raging river, what terrifying tempering effect would it produce?

Under normal circumstances, such thoughts would be tantamount to suicide.

Even Li Desak, who had reached the second tier, was nearly crushed into mincemeat by the terrifying pressure after falling into the heavy water.

Heavy water has a density far exceeding that of ordinary water; a single drop weighs as much as lead or mercury, and the scouring force of an entire river is enough to tear steel apart.

However, after quickly considering the possibilities in his mind, Xilun felt that it might not be impossible.

He slowly took a step forward, his body close to the Chongshui Yunhe River.

You can clearly feel that what is floating above the river is not ordinary water mist, but highly condensed air.

Below, the river roared deafeningly, the sound of the water crashing against the shore like thunder exploding in your ears.

If an ordinary person were to fall in, they would likely be instantly crushed into a bloody mess by the pressure surging in from all directions.

Xilun closed his eyes, carefully sensing this all-encompassing, terrifying pressure, and his breathing techniques began to operate at an unprecedented high frequency.

As he breathed deeply, as if swallowing a whale, the raging, chaotic water around him seemed to find some outlet, and began to resonate subtly with Xilun's breathing rhythm.

Xilun seized this fleeting opportunity with precision.

He opened his eyes and glanced across the rushing river, noticing a large, protruding black stone platform not far from the riverbank.

With a sudden burst of strength from his legs, he leaped across the water like a nimble black panther and landed steadily on the stone platform.

Without hesitation, he slid down the edge of the stone platform and sat cross-legged on the side facing away from the water.

Because this massive stone platform blocked the most violent water flow from the front, when the heavy water bypassed the platform and fell on Xilun, the destructive force that was enough to tear through steel was reduced by more than half.

Even so, the remaining power is still terrifyingly chilling.

Xilun immediately pushed the "Great Ocean Whale Guiding Technique" to its limit. Under the guidance of the breathing technique, the surrounding water seemed to merge with his body, generating a force of resistance.

The immense pressure that had been weighing on him was suddenly reduced by seven-tenths thanks to the resonance.

Only this last bit of pressure remained, relentlessly striking his flesh and bones.

"snort……"

Xilun clenched his teeth tightly, letting out a muffled groan.

The "Bone Forging Iron Armor Ascetic Method" activates automatically upon sensing a deadly threat from the outside world.

A powerful surge of energy coursed wildly between the skin and muscles, transforming into an invisible iron net that forcefully absorbed the impact of the heavy water.

Although the pain was excruciating, this strength saved him from having his bones shattered.

Immediately afterwards, the talent of "Golden Tortoise Cicada Molting" began to take effect continuously.

It frantically consumed the energy stored in its body, transforming it into vitality, and immediately stitched up and strengthened itself the moment the heavy water tore through its flesh.

Finally, there's that talent for swimming.

Under heavy water, Xilun not only did not feel any suffocation, but was also able to extract oxygen from the water flow very naturally through the pores on his skin, completing the cycle.

Xilun thus resembled a black iron tower, steadily perched deep in the water.

The raging water roared around him, and for a moment he found himself firmly rooted to the ground.

After fifty deep breaths, Xilun's body remained perfectly still, without swaying in the slightest.

Just like on the shore before, the surrounding area, which exuded a high concentration of heavy water, formed a semi-transparent, eggshell-shaped water shield under his breathing.

He was tightly protected inside, isolated from most external interference, allowing him to devote himself wholeheartedly to this extremely dangerous and rapid cultivation.

"This level of baptism also kept me occupied for about a year..."

Xilun sat cross-legged underwater, oblivious to the turbulent currents outside, yet his mind remained clear and serene.

He pondered silently in his heart. Through countless life-and-death battles, assassinations, and years of daytime meditation and nighttime arduous training, he had already gained a profound understanding of the true nature of the power of a first-tier extraordinary being.

Now, it's finally time to break through this thin veil completely.

He reflected on his journey over the past year, from struggling in the slums to working hard in the club, and then to the power struggles within the fraternity.

The assassin's patience, the madman's brutality—all these experiences were transformed into the purest nourishment at this moment.

He gradually came to understand that the first stage of baptism was to temper the mortal skin to its extreme, breaking the limits of human physiology.

The second stage is so infamous as the "Tearer" because it requires practitioners to cruelly tear apart their original weak body, giving birth to new flesh and skin capable of bearing higher levels of power from the ruins.

This is a kind of destruction and rebirth from the inside out.

He could clearly feel that, under the terrifying tempering of the heavy water day and night, the progress bar of the extraordinary physical path within his body was soaring wildly.

Those blind spots that are usually difficult to reach during cultivation, those old skin and flesh hidden deep in the crevices of bones and the most secret places of internal organs, are slowly torn apart under the heavy pressure of the water. Then, nourished by qi and blood and talent, they quickly grow into new tissues that are more resilient and denser.

The breathing technique completely broke free from his subjective control, operating at high speed within his body in a mysterious trajectory.

The efficiency of cultivation under such extreme conditions is more than a hundred times faster than the ordinary ascetic cultivation in the Southern District Manor, where one is struck with a cast iron ruler.

"This opportunity with heavy water is truly extraordinary..."

Xilun's mind gradually returned to absolute peace.

He sat cross-legged at the bottom of the dark water, like an old monk in deep meditation, forgetting time and forgetting the killing.

The entire body is like a rough, unpolished stone, being sculpted and molded little by little by some magnificent and extraordinary force, giving birth to an unprecedented new life.

The thick eggshell formed from condensed heavy water kept all dangers at bay. The final mysteries of the first-tier extreme realm began to open their doors to Xilun without reservation.

He began a deeper transformation.

With each breath, he could extract a trace of extremely rare spiritual life force from the heavy force of the heavy water.

These life-giving factors flowed slowly along his meridians, nourishing not only his strong physique but also silently enriching his spirit and will.

During this transformation, the acupoints all over his body seemed to come alive, opening and closing with each breath, frantically absorbing and releasing the surrounding energy.

Gradually, Xilun was enveloped in a layer of brilliant yet soft pale blue light.

In the darkness of the water, he seemed to be receiving some kind of divine blessing.

Xilun fell into a state of complete ethereal emptiness.

He cast aside all his distracting thoughts about power, revenge, and profit, finding complete inner peace and immersing himself in the profound understanding of the source of power.

He was naturally aloof and taciturn, and was accustomed to deep thinking in solitude.

At this moment, in this secluded underwater world, he was completely immersed in the deep sea of ​​thought.