Star Martial Soaring Cloud

"What a treasure trove for cultivation! In just a few days, I've already broken through to the Great Perfection of the Fish Leap?"

Wang Xiao tried to activate his internal energy, and instantly, a cool aura spread out, and a thin layer of water automatically appeared around him.

This layer of water is crystal clear, enveloping the body as if it were a physical object, emitting a soft watery glow, yet it is invisible and colorless, making it difficult for outsiders to detect.

He could clearly sense that the water curtain contained a powerful defensive force—when attacked, it would automatically dissipate and divert the force, and only forces exceeding its tolerance limit would truly affect him.

His physical strength had reached new heights. Wang Xiao was overjoyed and couldn't wait to test his current physical power.

He got up and walked out of the bamboo house to the edge of the bamboo forest.

There stands a massive boulder weighing thousands of pounds, its surface smooth and hard, exuding a heavy and weighty aura.

Wang Xiao took a deep breath, and with a thought, an invisible water curtain instantly unfolded around him.

Without activating any martial arts techniques, he relied solely on his physical strength to crash directly into the boulder.

With a deafening crash, Wang Xiao's body collided violently with the boulder, which shattered into several pieces, sending fragments flying everywhere.

A recoiling force came towards him, but the water curtain around him instantly dissipated it, and the force that actually acted on him was so weak that it could be ignored.

He stood firmly in place, completely unharmed, not even his skin turning red.

"What a strong defense!" Wang Xiao was overjoyed, then turned to look at a thick green bamboo tree next to him.

This green bamboo requires two people to encircle it, and its trunk is as hard as iron, making it an excellent target for testing pure physical strength.

This time, Wang Xiao simply removed the water curtain and, without using any of his cultivation, punched directly at the trunk of the Qingyun bamboo.

With a crisp "crack!", the trunk of the green bamboo was dented by his punch, the bark cracked, and wood chips flew everywhere.

His fist remained intact, and he didn't even feel the slightest pain.

Wang Xiao was still not satisfied and decided to conduct an even bolder test.

He drew the Seven Star Sword from his waist, channeled his inner energy into the sword, and instantly the sword shone with a dazzling golden light.

He took a deep breath, not using his full strength, but only channeling 70% of his cultivation, and swung his sword towards his own arm.

With a crisp clang like metal striking metal, the Seven Star Sword struck Wang Xiao's arm, but was actually deflected.

The invisible water curtain around him swayed slightly, dissipating most of the 70% force from the sword, leaving the force that actually landed on his arm negligible.

Only a faint white mark remained on his arm, which disappeared in an instant.

"He could easily withstand a sword strike using seventy percent of my power!" Wang Xiao's eyes gleamed with excitement, his heart overflowing with indescribable joy. He couldn't help but laugh at himself, "I can't even beat myself?"

This means that even when facing someone with the same cultivation level but who has not refined their body, this physically trained body alone can withstand an attack without injury.

It seems that choosing the path of Five Elements Body Refinement was indeed the right decision!

Why rely on supernatural powers? This physical body alone can break through all laws!

If one can cultivate a primordial spirit in the future, wouldn't one be able to use oneself as a weapon to throw around? Just thinking about that scene is terrifying!

He even felt that with his physical body alone, he might have a chance to withstand a blow from that ten-zhang-long water ape.

His physical strength had reached an astonishing level.

Wang Xiao looked up at the sky and roared, filled with excitement and joy.

The hard work of the past five days has not been in vain. It was definitely worth the risk to seize the blue orb!

Moonlight shone on him, and the invisible water curtain around him shimmered with a faint blue light, reflecting off the bright moonlight.

Wang Xiao clenched his fist, a determined glint in his eyes.

With such formidable strength, he could finally leave the valley with peace of mind and explore the outer realms of the Demon Island.

The next day, just as dawn broke, the morning light pierced through the thick fog of the outer realm of the Demon Island, casting shimmering golden light among the branches of the ancient trees.

Wang Xiao emerged from the bamboo hut, his spirits high after a night's rest. He quickly tidied himself up and then resolutely stepped into the unknown jungle, his feet brushing against the dew-kissed bamboo leaves.

"Today I'll see just how many mysteries are hidden in the outer realm of this Demon Island. I wonder if I can run into a few cultivators from the Nine Provinces?" Wang Xiao focused his mind and spread out his spiritual senses, taking in all the movement of plants and trees and changes in the airflow within a hundred-zhang radius.

Unlike the tranquility of the valley, the spiritual energy of the outer jungle is mixed with the stench of various exotic beasts and the fragrance of spiritual plants, as if this land itself contains some kind of primal rage.

As he ventured deeper, the ancient trees grew increasingly thick and robust, some trunks requiring more than a dozen people to encircle them. Their bark was covered with moss and strange, rune-like patterns, and their intertwined branches and leaves almost completely obscured the sky.

The ground was no longer the soft, decaying leaves of the valley, but covered with hard rocks and sharp, blade-like stalagmites. Occasionally, one could glimpse a winding stream, but the water had a chilling edge.

Wang Xiao concealed his aura, lightly stepping with the Seven Star Rain Steps, his figure moving like a ghost through the jungle.

Instead of rushing deeper, he slowly advanced along the outer edge of the valley, marking tree trunks with pebbles along the way for his return journey.

After traveling for about an hour, just as Wang Xiao rounded a huge ancient banyan tree, his spiritual sense suddenly detected a very subtle fluctuation.

The fluctuation did not come from the front, but from the tree canopy above. If his cultivation had not advanced further and his spiritual sense had not improved significantly, he probably would not have been able to detect it at all.

"Huh? Someone's there?" Wang Xiao paused, subconsciously holding his breath, his gaze sweeping discreetly towards the top of his head.

Among the dense foliage, something seemed to be swaying gently, yet it made no sound. Even the surrounding spiritual energy seemed to be absorbed by some force, becoming unusually stagnant.

He slowly raised his head and looked closely, only to be surprised to find a figure resembling a woman hidden among the branches and leaves.

The "woman" was dressed in a silver-white gauze dress, with skin as white as jade and an exquisitely beautiful face, but her eyes were lifeless and exuded an inhuman coldness.

Even more peculiar is that she has a pair of translucent thin wings on her back, covered with fine silver patterns, and her fingertips are wrapped with strands of pale gold silk threads, as thin as hair, yet radiating a faint spiritual light, almost blending into the surrounding branches and leaves.

"This is...the Silkworm Girl?" Wang Xiao was startled, and the records in the Classic of Mountains and Seas instantly came to mind.

Just as he was about to observe further, he suddenly felt the silkworm silk on the silkworm girl's fingertips twitch slightly, and a dangerous aura instantly spread out.

Wang Xiao became alert and instinctively lunged backward several feet.

The instant he left his spot, several pale golden threads shot out from the branches and leaves like lightning, landing precisely where he had been standing. The threads instantly intertwined into a net upon landing, carving deep marks into the rocks on the ground.

"Such speed! Luckily it's not a beast from the Dragon Gate Realm." Wang Xiao clicked his tongue in amazement. This silkworm girl's attack was not only concealed, but also incredibly fast. If he hadn't reacted in time, he probably would have been entangled in the silkworm silk.

He looked up and saw that the silkworm girl was still hiding among the branches and leaves, but her cold eyes were fixed on him. The silkworm silk at her fingertips was ready to be released again, and the surrounding spiritual energy became more and more stagnant, obviously preparing to launch another attack.

Wang Xiao did not rashly retaliate. He sensed with his spiritual senses that several similar auras were lurking not far away.

"A wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall, sorry to bother you!" Regardless of whether the other party could understand, Wang Xiao thought for a moment, activated the Seven Star Rain Step to its limit, and his figure was like a blur, heading straight away.

The silkworm silk behind him chased after him again, but it was always a step behind him, leaving only intertwined webs behind him.

After fleeing for about half an incense stick's time, Wang Xiao finally shook off the silkworm girl's pursuit and then took a detour to continue deeper into the area.

Before we knew it, the sun had risen high in the sky. Just as we were about to find a safe place to rest for a while, we suddenly felt that the jungle in front of us opened up.

Wang Xiao was overjoyed and quickened his pace. After passing through the last dense thicket of bushes, the scene before him opened up before him—it was an open area several tens of feet square, with no dense stalagmites or decaying leaves on the ground, only a thin layer of grass like a velvet carpet, surrounded by towering ancient trees, forming a natural barrier.

"Finally found a quiet place." Wang Xiao breathed a sigh of relief and walked to the center of the open area. Just as he was about to sit down and rest, he suddenly heard the sound of rapid hoofbeats coming from afar.

"Hmm?" Wang Xiao's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly stood up and looked in the direction from which the sound of horses' hooves came.

In the distance, a dark figure sped towards them from the jungle at an astonishing speed. Its hooves pounded the ground, stirring up gusts of wind and raising clouds of dust, creating a terrifying spectacle.

The dark shadow drew closer and closer, and Wang Xiao finally saw its appearance clearly.

This is a strange beast that resembles a horse, much larger than an ordinary steed, with a shoulder height of over ten feet. Its body is covered with glossy black mane, and fine serrations can be vaguely seen between the mane, gleaming with a cold light.

Its head resembles that of a fine horse, but it has a pair of large, copper-bell-shaped eyes that surge with a violent and ferocious aura. Its four hooves are thick and powerful, making a loud "thump-thump" sound when they step on the ground, as if even the earth is trembling slightly.

"This is... a rebuke?" Wang Xiao's heart stirred slightly. "Could this demonic island be a small world of some ancient powerful being? How come it's filled with strange beasts recorded in ancient texts?"

He had lost count of how many ancient beasts he had encountered since arriving on the island. With focused perception, he discovered that this beast's strength had reached the peak of the Fish Leap stage. Its target was clear: it charged straight at Wang Xiao, obviously regarding him as prey.

"Fish leaping to the peak? Perfect, I'll use you to test the strength of my physical body in actual combat." A hint of excitement flashed in Wang Xiao's eyes.

Since breaking through to the Great Perfection of Fish Leap and completing the Water Element Body Refinement, his physical strength has become terrifying, but he has never actually fought in real combat.

Facing this powerful beast, he showed no fear whatsoever; on the contrary, he was eager to try.

With a thought, he gathered all the vital energy in his body, and the invisible water curtain around him temporarily dissipated—he decided to rely entirely on his physical strength to fight this barbarian head.

"Well done!" Wang Xiao shouted, advancing instead of retreating, charging towards the enemy.

Seeing that Wang Xiao not only did not flee but instead charged towards it, the ferocity in its eyes intensified. It let out a deafening neigh, its four hooves exerted force, its speed increased again, and the serrated teeth around its body gleamed with a faint black light as it slammed into Wang Xiao.

With a loud "bang!", Wang Xiao's body collided violently with Bo's body.

Wang Xiao felt a tremendous force come over him, and the grass under his feet was trampled flat, with fine cracks appearing on the ground.

But when this force landed on him, it only made him sway slightly, without even turning his skin red.

The creature was completely dumbfounded, involuntarily shaking its head, a look of astonishment flashing in its large, bell-like eyes—this human body was harder than solid rock? What enraged it even more was that Wang Xiao was beckoning to it with a finger, a mocking provocation on his face.

Enraged by this attitude, Bo let out an even more ferocious roar and turned to charge at Wang Xiao again.

This time, instead of crashing directly into him, it raised its front hooves, bringing a whistling wind, and stomped towards Wang Xiao's head.

Its hooves are incredibly hard, covered with a thick layer of keratin. If someone were to step on them, even a cultivator at the Lesser Mastery of the Fish Leap Technique would likely suffer broken bones and tendons.

Wang Xiao neither dodged nor evaded, but raised his hand to grab the pheasant's hoof. His movements seemed slow, but they were incredibly precise, and he firmly grasped the pheasant's hoof.

A tremendous force came from the hoof. Wang Xiao slightly lowered his wrist, dissipating the force, and then gently flicked the massive body away, sending it flying and crashing heavily to the ground with a dull thud.

"Awooo!" Bo let out a painful howl, struggling to get up from the ground, his fierce eyes now showing a hint of fear.

But it was, after all, a ferocious ancient beast, and it refused to admit defeat easily. It shook its head and charged at Wang Xiao again, its serrated teeth spinning wildly, trying to tear Wang Xiao's body apart.

Seeing this, Wang Xiao's lips curled up slightly, and he simply stood still, letting the saw teeth of the shovel hit him.

"Snap! Snap!"

The ear-piercing scraping sound was incessant as the jagged teeth of the saw frantically cut into Wang Xiao's body, leaving only fleeting white marks that couldn't penetrate his skin. Instead, the jagged teeth continued to break due to the recoil.

No matter whether it was impacting, stomping, or cutting with the saw teeth, it could not cause any harm to Wang Xiao. Instead, it made itself covered in wounds, with its mane in disarray, most of the saw teeth broken, and its breathing becoming somewhat disordered.

It looked at Wang Xiao, and the ferocity in its eyes was gradually replaced by despair. A trace of water even welled up in its large, copper-bell-shaped eyes, as if it were accusing Wang Xiao of being "unreasonable"—how could anyone's body be so hard?

Who exactly is the alien beast?

What's even more outrageous is that Wang Xiao still looked at it with a smile, and the provocative finger changed from one to two.

Perhaps it was this extreme mockery that completely provoked Bo, for it suddenly let out a deafening roar, its energy surging wildly, and its peak fish-leap strength bursting forth without reservation. With its four hooves stomping the ground, its body transformed into a black lightning bolt, charging towards Wang Xiao once again.

This time, it didn't use any fancy attacks, but instead concentrated all its power in its head, preparing to perish together with Wang Xiao.

"Hey, hey, is this for real?! Is he really going to fight to the death?" Wang Xiao's smile froze instantly upon seeing this. He hadn't expected Bo to be so fierce, wanting to take everyone down with him when he couldn't win.

But it was too late for him to dodge, so he could only instinctively tense his body and take the blow head-on.

"Bang—!"

Bo's head slammed into Wang Xiao's chest. Wang Xiao felt a tremendous force surge through him. Thanks to the water curtain, he only felt a slight tightness in his chest, but the ground beneath his feet collapsed, creating a half-foot-deep crater.

However, his physical body was too strong. This attack, which was enough to severely injure a cultivator at the peak of the Fish Leap stage, still failed to break through his defense, only causing him to take two steps back.

The barbarian rammed into Wang Xiao's chest, and the enormous recoil shattered its skull.

Its body jerked suddenly, its large, bell-like eyes instantly lost their luster, and its massive body slumped down, twitching twice before ceasing to move—it had died instantly.

"Hey bro, you started this, you didn't have to be so reckless, did you?" Wang Xiao looked down at the mangled corpse on the ground, shrugged, "Since you've gone this far, I'll see it through—let's have a taste of this mangled flesh tonight and see what it's like?"

Wang Xiao chuckled, bent down, grabbed one of Bo's legs, hoisted the beast, which weighed several hundred pounds, onto his shoulder, and strode lightly through the jungle toward the bamboo house.

"Finally back." As he was about to step into the valley, Wang Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, a satisfied smile on his face.

However, when he saw the scene at the entrance of the valley, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, his smile froze instantly, and his eyes were filled with disbelief and shock.

In front of the bamboo house he had built himself, a person was standing there.

All the traps and mechanisms he set up along the way remained intact.