Chapter 138: Advancement

Ye Jun had studied about the Black Wind Wildlands in the Scripture Hall because of its important position, not to mention it housed the most number of Spiritual Beasts in the whole world in various types of terrain.

After all, he had planned to farm in these Wildlands.

So, after Han Yuexin agreed to his request and dropped him off, he made his way towards a certain location that became his destination because of its special terrain.

It took days or maybe even weeks to reach there, especially since he didn’t stop hunting on the way. Though, he had to run away many times after encountering Tier 3 or above Spiritual Beasts.

He also reached the Ninth Stage of Qi Condensation Realm during that time. It was quite easy as he just needed to hunt a lot of powerful Spiritual Beasts. A much better option than collecting Attributes through duels.

Currently, he was in a land of endless black canyons made by the haunting black winds. This area was specially affected by them, as even now Black Winds persisted here throughout the year, except they were a bit weaker.

They had carved these canyons out of mountains and plateaus. It created a cold atmosphere here with little to no vegetation, so calling it a cold desert also wouldn’t be wrong.

However, the reason Ye Jun made his way here was because of the fact that this region had lower Qi compared to other regions, which forced the Spiritual Beasts to either leave or adapt. The adapting ones created species focused on physiques.

That was his target.

As of now, he was running between canyons with black surfaces, filled with some light patches. They grew narrow at the bottom, while being bigger at the top.

He skillfully maneuvered through the rough and jagged terrain, all while hearing short, but frequent howls behind him. Even creepy giggling was mixed in with them.

However, he didn’t turn and continued to run. Finally, he spotted the end of the canyon where the two sides joined together and smiled. ’Pack it up, guys.’

Using quick Ashen Phantom Steps, he crossed the distance and jumped, using the protruding rocks to climb higher and higher until he reached a bigger one. He stopped there and looked down.

At the base, a small pack of Hyenas awaited him, howling at him. Their jaws were split widely, giving them their name of Splitfang Hyenas.

“Fell right into my trap, eh?” Ye Jun chuckled before joining his hands together. “Fire Arrow.”

The arrow hit directly at a small rock behind the hyenas, exploding instantly. The ground shook as a giant boulder that had been stationary for years moved from its position.

The hyenas panicked upon seeing the boulder rolling towards them. They howled loudly, then tried to climb the walls like Ye Jun but failed miserably.

While their physiques were very strong because of living in these canyons for centuries, they weren’t made to climb steep cliffs. Even if they somehow succeeded, Ye Jun was ready to rain down a barrage of fire arrows.

And he did it, just in case any hyenas managed to get up.

’Can’t take risks.’

Ye Jun watched with a smile as the boulder came rolling over, bringing death to the small pack of Hyenas. They were crushed beyond recognition. He hoped it would do the work.

The boulder collided with the far wall, shaking the cliff he was standing on so he jumped down and landed atop it. Dusting off his hands, he went down and found many Attribute bubbles glowing.

With a wide grin on his face, he collected all of them.

[Strength +19]

[Qi +15]

[Endurance +13]

[Strength +23]

’Ah! So many of them!’

He closed his eyes, basking in the warmth provided by the visible improvement in him. It was then he sensed something amiss. He quickly sensed his physique and cursed, “Shit! Not now!”

Without any hesitation, he used every movement technique he had on him and ran away from the site. Before long, more Splitfang Hyenas would come here after hearing the howls.

That was their speciality. They always fought in groups and, strangely, the more there were, the stronger their groups would be. It was a qualitative change rather than a simple matter of adding numbers.

So, Ye Jun didn’t want to handle them now, especially in his current condition. He crossed three canyons before he found a small cave carved high in the canyon walls. His shelter for the time he stayed in this region.

He climbed up and entered the cave. He didn’t bother looking around and closed the entrance. Then, he sat down in a lotus position and closed his eyes.

Entering the meditative state, he started cultivating the Grand Genesis Foundation Sutra. By now, he had become proficient in its first part, so he circulated the overflowing Qi according to the instructions.

’It is not breaking through to the Soul Tempering Realm,’ he thought.

Ye Jun could feel it was different and he knew exactly what was happening. That was the reason he had come here, so he focused entirely on it.

After around an hour, he groaned in pain, feeling as if someone was hammering his body from every side, all while pouring boiling lava inside his body. It hurt, but he didn’t give up.

’As if I’m giving up so easily.’

Even with all the pain, he continued circulating the Qi. After what felt like an eternity, visible changes began to take place on him. His skin began showing cracks, as if it were land that hadn’t seen water for ages.

From head to toe, his body began to crack. It sent another dose of pain coursing throughout his being, but he persevered. He had to if he was going to become the strongest.

“I will not give up!” he muttered, clenching his fists tightly.

In the next second, his skin began to fall off, showing the inner flesh and muscles. Even veins and tissues became visible. Before long, he looked no longer like a human. Or rather, he was a human without his skin.

However, things didn’t stop there.

White mist formed around his body, slowly sticking to the flesh like a suit. It was thin, but it glowed with a durability that would shock most Cultivators of his rank.

The layer of mist stayed there until it slowly turned pitch black. Then, it also peeled off like his skin, which brought no less pain to Ye Jun. Every fibre of his being screamed at him to stop, begged him to just die instead of enduring such torture.

However, he didn’t stop. Images of Meihui and Song Liangxue passed through his mind, giving him strength and resolve. As if that wasn’t enough, he also remembered the Ye Clan and his revenge.

His inner spiteful nature woke up, giving him another boost.

“Bring it on!”

The mist gathered again, only to change colours before being peeled away. The process repeated a few times, bringing pure agony to Ye Jun.

“Aghh!”

Finally, a new layer of mist formed around his body but this time it didn’t change colours. It remained white and stayed on his body, gradually becoming a part of it.

’Fuck!’

The sudden burst of pain was worse than everything he had endured during the process, almost causing him to lose consciousness. But he bit his cheeks and brought back his sanity with the same pain that stole it.

The white mist began to change shape and colour, giving him pale skin that covered his entire being. The remaining mist dispersed in the wind, signalling the end of the process.

Ye Jun’s eyes snapped open as he gasped for breath. His chest heaved up and down, as he coughed up blood in the process of taking in air.

“I… I succeeded!” He smiled, even though the stretch of his facial skin felt strange to him.

It was his skin and flesh, yet it felt strange. It reminded him of the first day of his transmigration. That day, he found himself in a complete new body of a stranger.

Now, he felt somewhat similar.

He gathered himself and stood up. He was going to check the changes when he smelled the foul odour around him and, without any hesitation, abandoned his shelter.

“Ain’t no way I’m staying there.”

His work was done here anyway.

Ye Jun climbed up the canyon walls, though he almost fell a few times due to the changes in his body. Fortunately, his passive skill Adaptation came to help.

Just as he reached the top, he felt a chill run down his spine, as his eyes widened. He could sense multiple powerful auras drawing closer to his location. It wasn’t just the hyenas.

’No. They are probably here because of my advancement.’

Knowing that he couldn’t escape if targeted by so many powerful beasts, he wasted no time and used the Escape Talisman. He didn’t stop at just one and used it twice.

Then, he used Ashen Phantom Steps to widen the gap even more. He only stopped when he left the canyons completely.

’Phew! Now I can study the changes in peace.’

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