Chapter 8: Xu Yan Refines His Bones (Seeking Follows and Votes)

The sky was beginning to lighten, and a ray of morning sunlight pierced through the narrow alleyways of the village, shining on Xu Yan, who was in the midst of his cultivation.

As always, Xu Yan, who had risen before dawn to cultivate, was now filled with excitement. As his qi and blood circulated, at a certain moment, his skin tightened, emitting a sound like a taut steel string suddenly snapping.

His skin instantly felt perfectly round and seamless.

His strength had become even greater, and his qi and blood had instantly improved.

The refinement of his skin was complete!

"Twenty days, I spent twenty days, and finally completed the refinement of my skin. Although I am far from the ancient prodigies, I still belong to the prodigy level!"

"As long as I refine my bones into gold, I will not be inferior to the ancient prodigies!"

Xu Yan was extremely excited. He raised his hands, clenched his fists, and felt his own power.

Even unarmed, he was almost fearless of blades and swords!

Fighting a hundred enemies alone was no problem!

And this was just the completion of skin refinement, the most basic stage of the Foundation Realm!

"Today, I will rest and consolidate. Tomorrow, I will begin refining my bones!"

Xu Yan finished his cultivation, picked up the hoe to plant vegetables and feed the chickens, relaxing his mind to prepare for the bone refinement the next day.

He remembered his master's teachings, to balance work and rest, and to be patient!

Li Xuan got up, washed up, and came out of the house, surprised to find that Xu Yan was not cultivating!

This was the first time since becoming a disciple that Xu Yan had not cultivated early in the morning!

"What's going on? Has he given up?"

"That's impossible. He was still diligently cultivating yesterday, and suddenly gave up?"

Based on his understanding of Xu Yan over the past few days, he was a stubborn person, and not very smart, so it was impossible for him to give up suddenly.

Li Xuan went to the chicken coop and saw that the chickens had just been fed. From a distance, he saw Xu Yan weeding in the vegetable garden.

So he walked over.

"Master!"

Xu Yan respectfully greeted him.

"Hmm, not bad. You can calm your mind and tend to the vegetable garden so neatly..."

Li Xuan glanced at the vegetable garden, somewhat surprised. The weeds had all been removed, and the vegetables were thriving, even better than what he had grown!

"It's all thanks to Master's guidance!"

Xu Yan smiled foolishly.

"Why did you come to the vegetable garden so early today?"

Li Xuan was probing to find out why Xu Yan had not cultivated this morning.

From what he could see, Xu Yan did not seem to have given up.

"Disciple is following Master's teachings, balancing work and rest, and consolidating to prepare for the upcoming intense cultivation."

Xu Yan respectfully replied.

Li Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. Indeed, he had not given up but was just taking a break to relax his mind before continuing his cultivation and sensing his qi and blood.

How could a stubborn person give up so easily?

Thus, he smiled with satisfaction and said, "I am pleased to see your awareness!"

Xu Yan was instantly elated, thinking to himself, "Indeed, after completing the refinement of my skin, immediately rushing into bone refinement was the right choice. Taking a break to relax my mind is the correct path of cultivation!"

"Maintain a good attitude, neither arrogant nor impatient, and you will surely achieve success!"

Li Xuan encouraged him and then turned to leave.

He wandered around the village. Since the last elderly villager had passed away, the village houses had all fallen into disrepair.

A few houses had been converted into chicken coops, while the rest were overgrown with weeds.

"How did Xu Yan cross the Evil Forest? Was it luck, avoiding the fierce tigers and beasts?"

"I can't stay trapped in the village forever. I need to think of a way to leave, and the breakthrough lies with Xu Yan..."

Li Xuan pondered.

"What a miserable life as a穿越者 (穿越者 means '穿越者', a term often used in Chinese literature for a person who has been transported to another world or time). I can't even leave the beginner village!"

Li Xuan sighed.

...

The next day.

Before dawn, Xu Yan got up to cultivate.

"Qi and blood seeping into the bones, refining the bones... It's slightly different from refining the skin, but not much. My goal is to achieve golden bones. Only by refining golden bones can I match the ancient prodigies."

Xu Yan's gaze was resolute.

"Although Master doesn't say it, he must also hope that I can refine golden bones. Only by matching the ancient prodigies can I be worthy of being Master's successor!"

"As for jade bones, Master says it's not just about persistence and talent... I will do my best. If I can achieve jade bones, I will definitely surpass the ancient prodigies!"

Jade bones are extremely difficult and cannot be achieved through talent and persistence alone, so Xu Yan's primary goal was to refine golden bones!

Xu Yan circulated his qi and blood, starting to seep it into his bones. Initially, it was very slow. At a certain moment, his entire skeleton felt as if it was being bitten by ants, a tingling and itchy sensation, quite uncomfortable!

"Qi and blood are seeping into the bones, refining them, and this is the feeling!"

Xu Yan gritted his teeth and persevered.

"No wonder Master said that refining golden bones relies on talent, persistence, and willpower. Just starting to refine the bones is this difficult. Once I reach the golden bones stage, seeping into the bone marrow, the discomfort will surely be even more intense!"

His entire skeleton tingled and itched, as if ants were crawling on it. Sweat appeared on Xu Yan's forehead, but he gritted his teeth and persevered, his gaze resolute. No matter how uncomfortable it was, he had to keep going.

Fortunately, as the qi and blood continued to seep in, after the initial stage, the tingling and crawling sensations began to weaken.

Next, his entire skeleton felt as if it was being refined, similar to refining the skin, but much more difficult.

The progress of qi and blood seeping into the bones was very slow, remaining on the surface of the bones and unable to penetrate deeper.

At this moment, Xu Yan realized that the difficulty of refining bones was beyond imagination.

No wonder so few people could refine golden bones.

Li Xuan came out of the house and saw Xu Yan cultivating, nodding in approval. Indeed, a stubborn person would not give up easily.

His attitude was good!

Xu Yan, seeing his master nod out of the corner of his eye, was instantly invigorated.

"Master must recognize my perseverance in enduring the pain of bone refinement!"

"Persevere! Persevere! No matter how much pain, I must persevere and never give up!"

Xu Yan encouraged himself.

Continuing to refine his bones, as more qi and blood seeped in, more and more qi and blood covered his bones, continuously refining them. The sensation of ants crawling disappeared.

However, a sensation like sand rubbing against the bones appeared.

Sweat dripped from Xu Yan's forehead, but he gritted his teeth and remained silent, continuing to refine.

Time passed, and the sensation of sand rubbing against the bones became increasingly intense. Xu Yan felt he was about to reach his limit.

Sweat continuously dripped from his forehead.

Li Xuan, lying on a chair under a tree, looked at the time and then at Xu Yan.

"It's almost lunchtime. What's wrong with this disciple today? He forgot the time? He should go cook!"

So Li Xuan said, "Alright, go cook. It's not early anymore!"

Xu Yan was instantly shaken by these words and began to finish his cultivation. The sensation of sand rubbing against the bones gradually disappeared.

He was deeply moved: "Master must have seen that I had reached my limit, so he let me take a break."

"Yes, Master!"

Xu Yan finished his cultivation and respectfully replied.

PS: Seeking follows, votes, and everything!