Star Martial Soaring Cloud

Wang Xiao pushed the Seven Star Rain Steps to its limit, his figure transforming into a blurry afterimage as he sped along the coastline into the depths of the jungle.

The whistling wind in his ears and the resentful and stern roars behind him made him dare not linger for even a moment.

He spread out his spiritual senses as far as they could, like a fine net covering a hundred meters around him, perceiving everything—the swaying of grass and trees, the surging of air currents, and the aura of hidden creatures—nothing could escape his detection.

The jungle of the Demon Island was far more complex than imagined. Towering ancient trees rose from the ground, their branches and leaves so thick they blocked out the sun, and vines as thick as bowls intertwined on the trunks like tangled snakes.

The ground was covered with unknown thorns and decaying leaves, and one could easily fall into danger if one was not careful.

With her agile movements, Wang Xiao moved freely among the vines and tree trunks, always landing precisely on a safe spot.

His goal was clear: to get away from this dangerous area as soon as possible, and then find a secluded place with plenty of water and easy defense to settle down in.

After running for about half an hour, Lingju suddenly caught a strange scent—the fragrance of grass and trees mixed with the moisture of water vapor, and an extremely pure spiritual energy fluctuation, different from the rich spiritual energy on the beach before, but more gentle and lingering.

Wang Xiao's heart stirred, and he immediately adjusted his direction, rushing towards the direction from which the aura was coming.

After passing through a dense broad-leaved forest, the view suddenly opened up before us.

Ahead lay a secluded valley, its entrance obscured by several enormous ancient trees, making it virtually impossible to spot without careful exploration.

A continuous bamboo forest grows in the valley. The bamboo is green all over, with thick joints and large leaves. Sunlight shines through the gaps in the bamboo leaves, creating dappled light and shadow on the ground.

What's even more peculiar is that the surface of each bamboo stalk is covered with faint silver patterns. When a breeze blows, the bamboo leaves rustle, and there seems to be a subtle spiritual energy flowing through them.

"This is... Green Bamboo?" A hint of surprise flashed in Wang Xiao's eyes. "How come this Demon Island is filled with ancient artifacts recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas?"

Legend has it that the Green Bamboo grows in an ancient spiritual realm. Its bamboo has spiritual patterns that can gather energy and spirit. Its bamboo is as hard as iron and also has toughness, making it an excellent material for crafting wood-elemental magical artifacts.

Deep in the bamboo forest, a clear stream meanders through, its waters flowing gently and crystal clear, revealing the smooth pebbles at the bottom.

The banks of the stream were covered with unknown medicinal herbs, their petals adorned with glistening dewdrops and emitting a faint fragrance.

Wang Xiao walked slowly to the stream, bent down and scooped up a handful of water. It was cool and refreshing to the touch, sweet to the taste, and carried a faint trace of vitality, which invigorated him.

He then carefully explored the entire valley and found that the area had very obvious advantages: the terrain was hidden, the valley entrance was narrow, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack; the dense bamboo forest could not only serve as a natural barrier to prevent outside exploration, but its bamboo materials could also be used directly; and the stream provided an abundant water source.

More importantly, no powerful creatures could be detected in the entire valley, making it extremely safe.

"This is it." Wang Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, his tense nerves finally relaxing a bit.

He leaned against a green bamboo tree, feeling the warm spiritual energy around him, his heart still pounding in his chest—both the elation of having obtained the pearl and the lingering fear of the near-death experience.

After calming his agitated emotions, Wang Xiao carefully took the blue gem out of his pocket.

As soon as the pearl was taken out, it emitted a soft, shimmering blue light, illuminating the surrounding environment in a deep blue hue.

The cool, refreshing sensation upon contact with his hands, combined with the pure water-attribute energy flowing into his body like a tide, instantly soothed his meridians, which had become slightly hot from his long escape.

He could clearly feel that the pearl contained a vast and pure water elemental energy, far more powerful than he had imagined. Just close contact with it made his entire body feel comfortable.

"As expected of a treasure fought to the death by two great beasts, this risky trip was well worth it!" Wang Xiao was overjoyed.

This precious pearl is completely lustrous, without any impurities, and its surface shimmers with a faint watery sheen, as if liquid is flowing within it.

He held it in his palm, focused his mind, and discovered that at the core of the pearl, there was a wisp of extremely condensed water essence slowly rotating—that was the essence of water-attribute treasures, which ordinary natural treasures simply do not possess.

"With such pure water elemental energy and such rich spiritual essence, my water-based body refinement will surely be twice as effective!"

He suppressed the urge to refine it immediately, put the blue pearl back into his bosom, and wrapped it with his own energy.

Now is not the time to refine the treasure; the most urgent task is to build a stable shelter.

After all, the trip to the Demon Island will take at least several months, so there must be a place where I can cultivate and rest in peace.

Wang Xiao got up and walked into the bamboo grove, selecting several bamboo stalks that were of uniform thickness and grew upright.

With a flick of his wrist, a flash of sword light appeared, precisely severing the roots of several green bamboo stalks.

The bamboo of the Green Bamboo was indeed hard; he needed to use his vital energy to cut it successfully, and when he did, it made a crisp sound like metal clashing.

He dragged the cut bamboo to the stream, trimmed off the excess branches, polished it smooth, and then began to build the frame of the bamboo house according to his design.

He chose to build his house near the depths of the bamboo forest and not far from the stream, so that he could use the bamboo forest for cover and have easy access to the stream water.

Ten years of cultivation on Qixing Mountain made him adept at these tasks. He precisely carved mortise and tenon joints at both ends of the green bamboo and spliced ​​them together to fix them in place.

To make the frame more stable, he also moved several huge stones from the stream and placed them at the four corners of the bamboo house to enhance its load-bearing capacity.

After the framework was completed, he cut down a large number of green bamboos, split them into even strips, and used them as the walls and roof of the bamboo house.

He filled the gaps between the bamboo strips with crushed grass and wood mixed with moist soil, which not only blocked the wind and rain but also provided some insulation. The roof was covered with two layers of bamboo strips, and then covered with a layer of large leaves to further enhance the rainproof effect.

It took two whole hours to complete a simple yet extremely sturdy bamboo house.

The bamboo house was not large, about two zhang square, but the interior space was enough for Wang Xiao to live and cultivate.

Looking at the shelter he had built with his own hands, Wang Xiao nodded in satisfaction, and then immediately set up warning traps.

He dug several half-person-deep pits beside the only path leading to the valley entrance, filling the bottom with sharp bamboo thorns. He then used vines to connect the bamboo strips to stones, setting up a trigger trap. As soon as someone stepped into the trigger area, the stones would roll down from above, and the bamboo strips would instantly spring up, blocking the escape route.

Around the bamboo house, he also wove a fine net of vines, which wrapped around the green bamboo. The vines were covered with tiny bells—these bells were made by him from hollow stone cores from the stream. Whenever a creature touched the vines, they would make a crisp sound, giving him an immediate warning.

After a flurry of activity, all the warning traps were set up.

Wang Xiao then circled the entire valley again to make sure there were no oversights before returning to the bamboo house.

As the sun sets, its afterglow filters through the bamboo grove and dapples the stream, creating a shimmering effect.

"I can rest easy for now." Wang Xiao decided to use this valley as a base to consolidate his strength before gradually exploring the outer regions of the Demon Island. After all, he knew very little about the Demon Island and would only increase the risk if he ventured too far.

After finishing everything, it was already completely dark.

The day-night cycle on the Demon Island was exactly the same as in Kyushu. Wang Xiao looked up and saw countless stars in the sky, a dazzling Milky Way.

The only difference was that the moon in the sky was larger than the one in Kyushu, and its light was brighter and softer, carrying a faint spiritual energy and moonlight, which sprinkled on the earth, enveloping the entire valley in a hazy halo.

"Now, it's time to temper my body!" Wang Xiao turned and walked into the bamboo house, sat cross-legged on the bamboo bed in the center of the house, and took out the blue pearl again.

Under the moonlight, the pearl shone even more softly, and pure water essence continued to emanate outwards.

Wang Xiao took a deep breath, circulated his own cultivation technique to boost his vital energy, and slowly approached the blue pearl.

Previously, in the Lishan sinkhole, he unintentionally completed the tempering of his body by karmic fire and unexpectedly found a way to make up for the shortcomings of his physical body - to temper his internal organs with the five elements and strengthen his foundation, and finally to make himself into an indestructible physical treasure.

In the Five Elements theory, the kidneys govern water. The kidneys are the hub of the body's water element and the source of water-attribute energy storage and transformation. The core of this water-based body refinement is to temper the kidneys with the pure water element of the blue pearl.

He held the blue orb in his palm, guiding the water-attribute energy within it to slowly flow into his body, flowing along his meridians like a stream towards his kidneys.

The moment this pure water essence touched the kidneys, it was firmly absorbed like a bird returning to its nest—at this moment, the kidneys were like a dried-up pond, greedily absorbing this sweet rain.

Wang Xiao could clearly feel that, under the influence of the water element, the slightly dark texture of his kidneys gradually relaxed, and countless tiny meridians were awakened like dormant streams, beginning to absorb and transform water element.

The kidneys' natural function of "governing water" is gradually activated. They not only absorb water elements, but also actively purify and transform this energy, removing the impurities contained within and leaving only the purest essence of water, which is then integrated into the body's structure.

As the tempering process deepens, the kidneys' ability to "govern water" becomes increasingly apparent.

It acts like a sophisticated water element converter, breaking down the vast water element of the blue pearl into strands of pure spiritual energy. One part is used to strengthen the kidneys themselves, making them crystal clear and indestructible; the other part spreads along the main meridian of the kidneys to the limbs and bones, nourishing the flesh, bones and meridians of the whole body.

The vital energy that was originally flowing somewhat sluggishly in the body becomes increasingly smooth and fluid under the harmonization of the kidney's water element, full of vitality and life.

This is the mystery of "the kidneys govern water"—the kidneys are not only a reservoir of water, but also the core of regulating the balance of vital energy in the whole body. Only when water is abundant can it nourish the five internal organs and make the foundation of the physical body more stable.

The tempering process is extremely long and tedious, and every bit of progress requires a lot of time and effort.

Wang Xiao focused his mind and cleared his thoughts, immersing himself completely in the tempering process. The moonlight outside the window gradually slanted westward, and the valley was silent except for the babbling of the stream and the even breathing inside the bamboo house.

As the night passed quietly, and the sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn, Wang Xiao slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath.

He looked down at the blue orb in his palm and found that its light had dimmed slightly and its size had shrunk, indicating that it had only absorbed about half of the energy.

His kidneys, after being tempered overnight, had become as clear as jade, with water-attribute energy flowing freely within them.

"Huh? Why is the refining speed so much slower this time? It took a whole night to refine this little bit." He thought to himself, "But the feeling of improvement in my physical body is exceptionally clear, and it's obviously much stronger! It will probably take several more days to completely refine this pearl."

Although he hadn't slept all night, he didn't feel tired at all; on the contrary, he felt full of energy, and his vital energy had become even stronger.

He got up and stepped out of the bamboo house. The morning sunlight filtered through the bamboo forest, carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees. Wang Xiao stretched his limbs, his bones crackling and popping, and he felt a surge of power throughout his body.

Instead of continuing to refine the pearl, he first went around to the valley entrance to check the warning traps, confirming that all the traps were intact and showed no signs of being touched.

He then found some vines and stones to further reinforce the bamboo house and fill the gaps in the walls more tightly.

After reinforcing the bamboo house, Wang Xiao decided to conduct a simple exploration around the valley.

He didn't dare go too far, only staying within a hundred feet around the valley—partly to familiarize himself with the environment, and partly to look for usable medicinal herbs and remedies.

His intuition was always sharp, keeping him constantly alert to any movement around him.

Most of the plants around the valley were spiritual plants he had never seen before. Some leaves were covered with glistening dewdrops, containing a faint spiritual energy; others bore small fruits, emitting an enticing fragrance.

Wang Xiao carefully picked some common spiritual herbs, and along the way he was pleasantly surprised to find a few "Water Condensation Grasses" growing by the stream. This kind of spiritual herb is an auxiliary material for water-attribute body tempering, which can be used in conjunction with the blue pearl, making him overjoyed.

Wang Xiao spent the entire morning familiarizing himself with the environment and collecting spiritual herbs. He encountered no danger during this time, which made him feel more at ease about this stronghold.

Around noon, he returned to the bamboo house and used the medicinal herbs he had picked, clear stream water, and a few crucian carp he had caught from the stream to boil together and make a pot of delicious fish soup.

In the afternoon, Wang Xiao did not rush to cultivate, but continued to improve the valley's defenses and expand the exploration range. This time he went further away from the bamboo house, and even hoped to encounter other cultivators to gather information, but in the end he found nothing.

As evening fell, Wang Xiao added several more layers of vine netting to the trap at the valley entrance, making the trigger mechanism more sensitive. At the same time, he also carved out a hidden escape route in the bamboo forest, so that they could quickly evacuate if the bamboo house encountered danger.

As night fell again, Wang Xiao returned to the bamboo house, sat cross-legged, and took out the blue pearl once more to continue refining his kidneys.

With the rest and preparation during the day, he was in better shape and had more precise control over his water elemental energy.

Pure water energy continuously flowed into the kidneys, accelerating the tempering process, and the water attribute aura around the body became increasingly strong.

And so, Wang Xiao began a regular life of cultivation: during the day he would either reinforce his shelter and improve his defensive traps, or carefully explore the area around the valley to collect spiritual herbs and medicines and familiarize himself with the environment of the outer region of the Demon Island; at night he would return to the bamboo house and use the power of the blue pearl to focus on tempering his physical body.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye. During these five days, Wang Xiao's life was regular and peaceful. Not only did he not encounter any danger, but he also thoroughly understood the environment around the valley. The defense of the bamboo house became more and more solid, and the traps at the entrance of the valley were layered on top of each other, enough to prevent ordinary cultivators from breaking in.

On the fifth night, inside the bamboo house, the blue pearl in Wang Xiao's palm grew dimmer and smaller.

When the last wisp of water energy was completely absorbed, the pearl emitted a soft hum, turned into specks of blue light, and finally dissipated into the air.

At the same time, a violent throbbing suddenly came from Wang Xiao's body - his kidneys, under the repeated tempering of pure water energy, had completely transformed, becoming as clear and transparent as glass, and surrounded by a rich water-attribute spiritual light.

His physical strength was greatly enhanced, his skin became more resilient, and his muscles were well-proportioned and full of explosive power.

Just then, the fire within Wang Xiao's heart suddenly stirred—his kidneys, having been tempered to perfection, had resonated with the fire within his heart.

The red fire elemental energy and the blue water elemental energy both emanated from his body, intertwining and swirling within him, gradually rotating.

Ultimately, they coalesced into two light bands, one red and one blue, which intertwined and rotated like yin and yang fish before rushing straight into the Jianmu seed in the sea of ​​primordial energy.

The Jianmu seed, which was originally suspended in the center of the Qi Sea, instantly grew fine roots that burrowed deep into the primordial energy at the bottom of the Qi Sea. The roots extended rapidly, greedily absorbing the primordial energy of the Qi Sea, making the seed more and more plump, and it also emitted a faint bluish-green spiritual light.

The next moment, two tender shoots, one red and one blue, broke through the seed coat and quietly unfurled.

As the tender buds unfurled, a surge of powerful energy emanated from Wang Xiao's body—five days on the island, the fish leaped to perfection!