Gou Zai Wudao Shi Lian Shen

It was already evening when they returned to Yunzhou Prefecture.

The bustling city and the desolate, ghostly mist-shrouded mountains of Chixia seemed like two completely different worlds.

Lu Chen headed straight for the Tian Ce Academy. When the disciples of the Divine Weapon Academy saw Lu Chen, they were about to go up and greet him, but they stopped in their tracks.

It was still that familiar face, but Lu Chen now exuded an aura that made people afraid to look him in the eye.

He had restrained his internal energy to the extreme, and there was no trace of sharpness in his movements. However, the occasional low rumbles emanating from deep within his flesh and blood caused the swords and blades on the weapon racks around him to tremble slightly.

"Senior Brother Lu is back."

"This aura... Could it be that Senior Brother Lu has already broken through to the Nourishing Organs Realm?"

The crowd whispered among themselves.

Lu Chen nodded slightly to them, then went straight to the main hall of the Divine Weapon Academy without stopping.

Ouyang Xuanfeng sat cross-legged in front of the desk, holding a coarse cloth in his hand, slowly wiping the long sword on his lap.

The old man was still wearing that long black robe, and there was no trace of any aura or blood around him. Yet, as he sat there, he was like a peerless divine weapon; though his sharpness was concealed, he still commanded respect.

"Disciple Lu Chen greets Master."

Lu Chen stood outside the door and bowed respectfully.

Ouyang Xuanfeng paused slightly as he wiped his sword.

He raised his head, his gaze falling on Lu Chen. A sharp glint suddenly flashed in his previously calm eyes, as if he wanted to see through Lu Chen from his skin to his internal organs.

The next moment, Lu Chen felt an invisible aura descend upon him.

The lightning hidden deep within the flesh and blood seemed to be stimulated, and suddenly emitted a low rumble.

Ouyang Xuanfeng raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Nourish the environment."

"And your physical body..."

He put down his long sword, his gaze lingered on Lu Chen for a moment, and finally a meaningful smile appeared on his face.

"It seems you've gained quite a bit from this Red Tide event."

Lu Chen did not hide anything.

He entered the room, stood in front of Ouyang Xuanfeng, and recounted his experiences after entering Chixia Mountain in detail.

From fighting for the Crimson Tide Spirit Essence, being besieged and killed by four experts from the Ning and Meng families, to escaping into Burning Wind Ridge, refining the Spirit Essence, and completing the Golden Crow Blood Transformation.

Then, after mastering the "Five Saints Life-Changing Scripture," he advanced to the Nourishing Organs stage, cultivated the Four Harmonies Subduing Demon Golden Body, and followed the people of the Martial Temple deep into the Crimson Cloud Mountain to suppress the third wave of ghost tides.

Ouyang Xuanfeng did not interrupt.

As Lu Chen continued his narration, the coarse cloth he was using to wipe the sword gradually stopped.

When Ouyang Xuanfeng heard that Lu Chen had killed a Ghost General at the peak of the Nourishing Viscera realm while only at the initial stage of the Nourishing Viscera realm, a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.

When he heard that Lu Chen had used the Heavenly Thunder to temper his golden body and pushed the Four Directions Demon Subduing Golden Body to break through its limits, his eyes shone even brighter, and he even sat up slightly.

Finally, when Lu Chen revealed that he had personally killed the Thunder King, Ouyang Xuanfeng couldn't help but laugh.

At first, it was just a low chuckle, but then the laughter grew louder and louder, making the weapons hanging on both walls of the hall vibrate.

"A demon king from the Dragon Realm!"

"Even if someone were to hold you back, an ordinary martial artist would probably not even be able to get close to the Ghost King, let alone seize an opportunity. You were able to withstand the Heavenly Burial Lightning and rush to its front, then kill the Ghost King with a single strike... Hahaha, our Tian Ce Academy might not produce a martial arts prodigy like you in decades!"

Ouyang Xuanfeng clapped his hands and laughed, his eyes filled with undisguised satisfaction.

He had noticed the boy's extraordinary talent during the entrance examination, but he never expected Lu Chen to grow up so quickly.

When he left the academy, he was only at the Bone Forging Realm.

In a short period of time, he not only advanced to the level of a cultivator, but also personally killed a dragon-slaying demon king.

Such a record is astonishing, even among the younger generation of the entire Tian Ce Academy.

"Activate your golden body and let me see."

Ouyang Xuanfeng spoke.

Without hesitation, Lu Chen activated his Four Directions Subduing Demon True Energy, which instantly circulated throughout his body.

A layer of deep, golden light slowly emerged from beneath the skin.

The pale golden membrane seemed to be covered with a layer of transparent gold glaze, with the four-colored demon-subduing patterns of blue, white, red, and black faintly visible within. Deeper inside, dark red lightning patterns spread along the bones and muscles, eventually converging in the chest to form an ancient lightning prison.

A low rumble of thunder followed.

"The Golden Body that Subdues Demons..."

Ouyang Xuanfeng slowly stood up and came to Lu Chen.

He extended two fingers and gently tapped Lu Chen's shoulder.

A sharp force suddenly pierced into the golden body.

Lu Chen's golden light rippled slightly as the four layers of Demon-Subduing Force were activated simultaneously. The force that had invaded his body was suppressed by the Azure Dragon, torn apart by the White Tiger, and refined by the Vermilion Bird before being sealed into the Thunder Prison.

boom!

A dark red lightning pattern suddenly lit up.

The force transmitted through Ouyang Xuanfeng's fingers was quickly neutralized by Lei Yu.

The old man could no longer hide the shock in his eyes.

"What a magnificent golden body that subdues demons!"

"The four forces act as a lock, and the Thunder Prison as a prison. Any force that invades your body will be suppressed and refined."

However, after a moment, his expression turned serious again.

"You are glad that you were able to kill the Thunder King, but you should not underestimate the Dragon Realm because of this."

"That Ghost King has just revived and is being held back by Zhang Zhen, so its strength is far from being restored to its peak. If you were to encounter a Dragon-Seeing expert in his prime, even with the Thunder Prison Demon-Subduing Golden Body, you might not be able to gain much of an advantage."

Lu Chen suppressed his smile and nodded seriously.

"Disciple understands."

"Good that you understand."

Ouyang Xuanfeng sat back down at the desk, but his gaze remained fixed on Lu Chen.

The more he looked, the more satisfied he became.

"Your senior brothers and sisters have all returned to the academy recently, so you can get together with them. The future of the Divine Weapon Academy still depends on you."

"Disciple understands."

Lu Chen only knew his second senior brother Qin Bailian before; he had not yet met his eldest senior sister, third senior brother, and fourth senior brother.

After leaving the main hall, Lu Chen went to find his second senior brother, Qin Bailian.

As soon as Qin Bailian saw Lu Chen, his gaze suddenly froze on the latter.

"etc."

He strode up to Lu Chen and circled him once. The more he sensed it, the more surprised he became.

"Your blood and energy..."

Qin Bailian stretched out his large, fan-like hand and pressed it heavily on Lu Chen's shoulder.

A surge of powerful energy followed.

Lu Chen did not dodge. His internal organs trembled simultaneously, and his Golden Crow Qi and Blood circulated on their own. The flesh below his shoulder tightened, and a faint golden light flashed by, easily blocking the power coming from Qin Bailian's hand.

Boom!

Dark red lightning patterns appeared along Lu Chen's shoulder.

A low rumble of thunder echoed through the courtyard.

Qin Bailian recoiled as if he had touched a red-hot iron, abruptly pulling his hand back and staring wide-eyed at Lu Chen.

"A breeding ground for the dead?"

"You went out for a while and actually broke through to the level of 'cultivating filth'?"

Lu Chen smiled and nodded: "I had some good fortune at Chixia Mountain and managed to cross the threshold by luck."

"Just lucky?"

Qin Bailian looked him up and down, and said irritably, "Ordinary people might not even get this kind of luck even when they're old and gray."

He reached out and patted Lu Chen's chest, feeling the booming thunderous power beneath the golden body, his expression becoming even more strange.

"Your physical body isn't quite right either."

"Could it be that you have mastered some kind of special invincible body?"

Lu Chen did not hide anything and briefly recounted what had happened inside Crimson Cloud Mountain.

Upon hearing that Lu Chen had charged into the horde of thunder beasts, tempered his golden body with the Heavenly Thunder, and finally used the power of the Thunderous Fiend to kill the Ghost King, Qin Bailian remained silent for a long while.

"You mean...?"

Qin Bailian pointed at Lu Chen, as if he were getting to know his junior brother all over again.

"You used the Ghost King's Burial Thunder to practice your skills, and then you even killed that Ghost King?"

"Thanks to Lord Zhang Zhen's help in restraining me, I was able to seize the opportunity," Lu Chen explained modestly.

Qin Bailian's facial muscles twitched slightly: "To be able to seize an opportunity in front of a Ghost King of the Dragon Realm and kill him with a single strike, you can't find many people with this skill in the entire Tian Ce Academy."

Then, Qin Bailian burst into laughter: "As expected of someone from my Divine Weapon Academy!"

"To be so young and yet able to defeat a Ghost King at the Dragon Realm while only at the Nourishing Viscera Realm. Once the news spreads, let's see how those guys from the Heavenly Martial Academy will dare to swagger in front of us!"

Qin Bailian put his arm around Lu Chen's shoulder and led him outside.

"Come on, I'll take you to see Senior Sister, Third Junior Brother, and Fourth Junior Brother. Even if they have something extremely important to do today, they have to put that aside for now!"

The two arrived at the back mountain of the Divine Weapon Academy, where Gu Ling Shuang's true disciple's courtyard was located in a bamboo forest.

There were no flowers or plants in the courtyard that ordinary women would like, only a blue stone sword stand. Dozens of unsharpened iron swords were stuck around the sword stand. The cold wind blew through the bamboo forest, making the sword tassels sway gently, and the whole courtyard was shrouded in a cold and sharp atmosphere.

Gu Ling Shuang was practicing her swordplay in the center of the sword platform.

She wore a white, fitted martial robe, and her long, black hair was tied up high with a silver ribbon. The long sword in her hand moved seemingly slowly, but wherever the blade passed, the falling bamboo leaves silently parted, only splitting into neat two halves after hitting the ground.

Sensing someone approaching, she suddenly paused, her longsword still in her hand.

Clang!

The long sword was sheathed.

The omnipresent sharp aura in the courtyard also subsided.

Qin Bailian walked into the courtyard and laughed loudly, "Senior Sister, stop practicing your swordsmanship for now. Our junior brother is back, and he's brought great honor to the Divine Weapon Academy!"

Gu Ling Shuang turned around.

Her face was aloof, and her eyes exuded a commanding presence. Although she did not deliberately release her sword intent, people subconsciously forgot her identity as a woman and felt as if a peerless sword was standing in front of them, ready to be drawn at any moment.

Her gaze fell on Lu Chen.

At first, it was just an examination, but then I keenly sensed the powerful and fiery blood and qi in his body, as well as the dark red lightning lurking deep in his flesh and blood.

A hint of surprise flashed in Gu Ling Shuang's eyes.

"I heard that when Master first accepted you as his true disciple, you had just reached the Perfection of the Meridian Opening stage. At that time, I was out chasing a cult member and was unable to see you. I never expected that when we meet again, you would have already entered the Nourishing Organs stage."

Lu Chen clasped his hands in a salute.

"Lu Chen greets Senior Sister."

"No need for such formalities."

Gu Ling Shuang nodded slightly. As soon as she finished speaking, two more figures walked in from outside the courtyard.

The man walking in front was tall and wore a dark blue martial arts robe. Every step he took was steady and powerful, and his aura was as heavy as a mountain. He was Zhou Yunji, the third true disciple of the Divine Weapon Academy.

The other person was wearing a set of black military armor that he had not yet changed out of.

He wasn't particularly burly, and his face was even somewhat delicate, except for a faint scar on his left eyebrow.

This person was none other than Xie Qingyun, the fourth senior brother.

"My second senior brother sent word that my junior brother has returned from Chixia Mountain."

Zhou Yunji walked into the courtyard, his gaze lingered on Lu Chen for a moment, and a smile immediately appeared on his face.

Xie Qingyun glanced at Lu Chen.

His years of fighting demons and monsters in the army made him exceptionally sensitive to danger. What he sensed from Lu Chen was not only the powerful blood and energy of a martial artist, but also a sharp killing intent honed from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Qin Bailian didn't keep him in suspense and immediately recounted Lu Chen's experience at Chixia Mountain.

His voice was already loud, and when he talked about Lu Chen's slaying through the thunder beast horde, he spoke with great enthusiasm, as if he had witnessed it firsthand. His description of the final strike that killed the Ghost King was so exaggerated that even Lu Chen found it somewhat over-the-top.

After Qin Bailian finished speaking, the courtyard was quiet for a moment.

Gu Ling Shuang looked at Lu Chen, her scrutiny turning into genuine surprise.

She had also once reversed the slaying of a Dragon-Seeing Realm expert in the Nourishing Viscera Realm.

But by then, she had already reached the peak of her cultivation, only half a step away from the Dragon Realm. She barely managed to kill that demonic expert at the Dragon Realm after suffering severe injuries.

Lu Chen had only just entered the Nourishing Organs Realm.

Fifth Junior Brother.

A faint smile appeared on Gu Ling Shuang's cool face.

"You surprised us at our first meeting. To participate in the Dragon-Seeing Battle at the initial stage of the Nourishing Realm and slay a Ghost King is something that should be the first among the true disciples of the Divine Weapon Academy."

Zhou Yunji laughed heartily, "I was wondering why Master chose you out of so many new students."

"Looking back now, his foresight was indeed ruthless. When we first started out, we weren't nearly as intimidating as you are."

Xie Qingyun, who had followed the Yunzhou Prefecture army to suppress demons for many years, had never killed a Dragon-Seeing Realm Ghost King in the Nourishing Viscera Realm. He praised, "Junior Brother's talent is extraordinary; he is a blessing to our Divine Weapon Academy!"

Everyone chimed in with their own comments, making Lu Chen feel embarrassed by the praise.

"I still have a long way to go."

"You're much better than your second senior brother at not being arrogant after winning."

Gu Ling Shuang glanced at Qin Bai Lian, then took out a cyan jade bottle from her bosom and casually tossed it to Lu Chen.

Lu Chen raised his hand and caught it.

The moment he held the jade bottle, he felt a warm sensation seep into his palm through the bottle. The pills inside seemed to have a life of their own, vibrating slightly with his breath.

"This is the Dragon Essence Pill."

Gu Ling Shuang explained, "This is made primarily with the essence of dragon blood and exotic beasts, combined with over ten kinds of spiritual herbs. It nourishes the bones, muscles, and internal organs, and strengthens the qi and blood. You've just broken through to the Nourishing Organs Realm, and this is the perfect time to solidify your foundation. Consider this a gift to celebrate your triumphant return from Crimson Cloud Mountain!"

Lu Chen opened the bottle, and a rich medicinal fragrance immediately filled the air.

Three crimson-gold pills lay quietly in the jade bottle, each with fine blood-like patterns swirling around its surface. The aroma of the pills filled his nostrils, causing the Golden Crow Qi and blood within Lu Chen's body to circulate more rapidly, and the illusory image of the Golden Crow cried out incessantly.

Lu Chen did not refuse and solemnly put away the jade bottle.

"Thank you, Senior Sister."

Qin Bailian grinned and reached into his pocket for a moment before pulling out a fist-sized piece of dark red metal.

The metal surface was rough and uneven, but inside, streaks of purplish-black lightning slowly moved. Even without the stimulation of qi and blood, it still emitted faint crackling sounds from time to time.

"Since Senior Sister has already taken out the Dragon Essence Pill, I, as the Second Senior Brother, naturally cannot be stingy."

Qin Bailian stuffed the dark red metal into Lu Chen's hand.

"This is Crimson Thunder Meteorite Iron, which I found in a lightning-struck canyon. This item contains both fire and lightning powers, which perfectly match your Golden Crow Bloodline and Thunder Prison Golden Body."

The moment Lu Chen grasped the meteorite, a tingling sensation ran through his palm.

A wisp of dark red lightning climbed up his wrist, but it did not harm his body. Instead, it caused the Thunder Prison within his body to vibrate slightly, as if it had some kind of response to this meteorite.

Qin Bailian reached out and patted the Jinyang Blade at Lu Chen's waist.

"Your sword is of good quality, but with the addition of this Crimson Thunder Meteorite Iron, it can be further improved."

"After some time, hand over the Ember Sun Blade to me, and I will reforge it for you using this piece of Crimson Thunder Meteorite Iron."

Qin Bailian raised his chin, his face full of confidence: "I dare not say anything else, but when it comes to sword forging, your second senior brother is the best in the entire Yunzhou Prefecture."

Zhou Yunji and Xie Qingyun also took out their treasures and gave them to Lu Chen.

Zhou Yunji gave her a manual on cultivating internal organs and regulating breathing, while Xie Qingyun gave her a Soul-Suppressing Jade.

Lu Chen carefully put away the items, then clasped his hands in thanks to the four people.

Gu Ling Shuang raised her hand, gesturing for everyone to sit down at the stone table in the courtyard. She then took out a jar of Qingzhu wine, which she had treasured for many years, from inside the house.

"It's a rare occasion for the five of us to be together today, so let's not rush to leave."

The wine jar was opened, and the clear aroma of wine drifted into the bamboo forest on the evening breeze.

Gu Ling Shuang personally filled everyone's glasses with wine, then picked up her own glass and looked at Lu Chen.

"This cup is to congratulate Fifth Junior Brother on his advancement to the Nourishing Organs stage."

"Congratulations on your slaying of the Demon King and your safe return."

Qin Bailian, Zhou Yunji, and Xie Qingyun raised their glasses at the same time.

Looking at the four people in front of him, Lu Chen felt a long-lost warmth rise in his heart, and he picked up his wine glass.

Five wine glasses gently clinked together in mid-air, their crisp sound echoing through the bamboo grove.

"Congratulations on the triumphant return of our Fifth Junior Brother!"