Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty-Two: Body Strengthening Method.

"Since we met on the way, we guessed you would leave the Savage Beast Mountains first, so we headed towards the exit. We didn’t expect to really meet you here." Shen Yan said to Guo Ming, then his gaze fell on Du Shaofu, and he asked, "Junior Brother Guo Ming, who is this?"

"I forgot to introduce him." Guo Ming smiled and immediately said to Shen Yan, "This is Brother Du Shaofu. If it weren’t for Brother Shaofu’s help on the way, Senior Sister Zhu Xue and I would have been in trouble."

Then Guo Ming told everyone about the events with the Sky Snake Sect’s Lu Kun and the White Leopard Demon Hunting Team, which made the Xuanfu Sect disciples clench their teeth in anger, vowing to deal with the Sky Snake Sect and the White Leopard Demon Hunting Team when the time came.

Shen Yan, upon hearing that Du Shaofu had killed a cultivator of the Profound stage of the Innate realm, couldn’t help but look at Du Shaofu again.

"Brother Shaofu, now we are even safer. Let’s leave the Savage Beast Mountains together." Guo Ming said happily to Du Shaofu, feeling more secure with a fellow disciple.

"Junior Brother Guo Ming, I think you and Junior Sister Zhu Xue don’t need to trouble Brother Du anymore. He probably has his own matters to attend to. We shouldn’t delay him further."

Just as Guo Ming finished speaking, Shen Yan smiled and looked at Du Shaofu, saying, "Brother Du, thank you for taking care of Junior Brother Guo Ming and Junior Sister Zhu Xue. If there’s a chance in the future, we will definitely repay you. For now, we will part ways and not trouble you further."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xue and Guo Ming’s faces changed dramatically.

"Ha ha."

Du Shaofu, of course, understood that Shen Yan didn’t want him to follow them. It was clear that he was being dismissed. He smiled at Shen Yan and said, "Since you have met your fellow disciples, let’s part ways here."

"Brother Shaofu, it’s not right for you to be alone. You should come with us." Zhu Xue stepped forward and said to Du Shaofu. She knew the dangers within the Savage Beast Mountains well, and being alone was indeed risky. Moreover, she was aware that Du Shaofu had offended the White Leopard Demon Hunting Team and the Sky Snake Sect for her and Guo Ming. If they encountered those people, it would be even more troublesome.

"Brother Shaofu, why don’t you come with us? I’m not at ease with you being alone." Guo Ming also tried to persuade Du Shaofu to stay.

Faced with their attempts to persuade him, the slight displeasure in Du Shaofu’s heart quickly dissipated. He smiled and said, "It’s fine. Be careful, and we’ll meet again."

With that, Du Shaofu turned and left. Since someone didn’t want him to stay, Du Shaofu wasn’t the type to force himself upon others. Besides, Du Shaofu didn’t really like being in large groups. Seeing Zhu Xue and Guo Ming reunite with their fellow disciples, he had already planned to leave.

"Junior Sister Zhu Xue, Junior Brother Guo Ming, Brother Du probably has his own matters to attend to. We shouldn’t force him."

Seeing Du Shaofu’s departing figure, Shen Yan’s eyes showed a hint of doubt. He had thought it would take some persuasion to get rid of this person, but it turned out the person was quite sensible.

"Senior Brother, if it weren’t for Brother Shaofu saving us, we might have been in grave danger." Zhu Xue looked up at Shen Yan with bright eyes, her gaze showing some displeasure. She knew Shen Yan was deliberately trying to get rid of Du Shaofu, and she could clearly understand the meaning behind his words.

Looking at Zhu Xue’s gaze, Shen Yan’s eyes darkened slightly, then he said, "Junior Sister, when there’s an opportunity, we can give him some compensation. But he is an outsider, and it’s not safe for us to have him follow us."

"But..."

"Junior Sister, human hearts are treacherous. You need to be more cautious. With me here, I will take good care of you."

Zhu Xue wanted to say more, but Shen Yan interrupted her, saying, "Junior Sister, I have my reasons for letting Du Shaofu leave. We found a place ahead where the spiritual energy is dense, and there are even rays of light at night. It’s likely that there are extremely high-grade medicinal herbs maturing there. It’s not good to have outsiders around at such times. I believe you can understand my actions, and I’m doing this for the good of all our fellow disciples."

Zhu Xue and Guo Ming’s expressions changed slightly, and they couldn’t find any words to counter Shen Yan. In the end, they could only remain silent.

In the evening, the sunset cast a fiery red glow over half the sky.

As the sun set, the dense forest gradually became darker.

After leaving Zhu Xue and Guo Ming, Du Shaofu planned to find a place to rest for the night and continue his journey back to Stone City early the next morning. He guessed that after so long, the elegant woman in white was no longer in the Savage Beast Mountains, and his drunkard father at home must be worried about him.

As for the Du family, Du Shaofu sighed inwardly. In the past, even if he didn’t appear for half a year, someone would have noticed.

As night fell, the cold moonlight slowly spread from the sky, casting a soft, gentle veil over the entire mountain range.

In a canyon, a low, muffled sound echoed. A young man, wearing only a tight pair of shorts, revealed a lean but exceptionally strong chest and broad shoulders. His body was enveloped in a faint golden glow, with secret runes faintly flowing on his skin. He then began to collide with the stone wall repeatedly, as if in a fit of madness.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

The young man used his arms, elbows, back, chest, knees, shoulders, and every inch of his skin to collide with the stone wall. Each collision made the wall tremble and crack, with many stones falling off.

After two hours, the young man, bruised and battered, finally stopped. He retracted his hand seal, and the faint golden glow around him dissipated. The secret runes that had appeared on his skin gradually faded back into his skin.

"The cultivation method of the Golden-winged Great Peng is simply self-torture."

After exhaling a deep breath, Du Shaofu couldn’t help but sigh. The continuous collisions without using any mystical energy were part of the Golden-winged Great Peng’s body strengthening method. When the young Golden-winged Great Pengs took medicinal herbs to enhance their bodies, they would collide with their bodies in a self-torturing manner to achieve the purpose of unblocking and activating their meridians, ultimately allowing their bodies to absorb the herbs most effectively.

For human martial artists, taking medicinal herbs meant converting the medicinal power into mystical energy to absorb into the dantian to strive for a breakthrough. Many demon beasts also absorbed the medicinal power to convert it into mystical energy for a breakthrough. However, the Golden-winged Great Peng absorbed the medicinal power directly into their flesh, enhancing their bodies to a terrifying degree.

The body strengthening method of the Golden-winged Great Peng was divided into three levels: the first level was to refine the golden feathers, the second level was to cleanse the bones and marrow, and the third level was to temper the divine body. If one could cultivate to the third level of tempering the divine body, the Golden-winged Great Peng would become one of the most terrifying top-tier demon beasts in the world.

Du Shaofu was not a demon beast, but by cultivating the Golden-winged Great Peng’s method, he realized he could fully cultivate this body strengthening method. He didn’t have golden feathers, but he had skin and flesh, which could make his body’s defense even stronger. The second level of cleansing the bones and marrow and the third level of tempering the divine body were even easier to understand.

In the experiment just now, Du Shaofu proved that he could fully cultivate the Golden-winged Great Peng’s method. The medicinal herbs he took came from the Innate realm cultivator he killed from the White Leopard Demon Hunting Team. After taking the medicinal herbs and practicing the body strengthening method, although his body was in pain and his bones felt like they were about to shatter, Du Shaofu could clearly feel the medicinal power spreading through his skin and flesh. The medicinal power that had spread through his body did not convert into mystical energy and absorb into his dantian but was distributed throughout his skin and flesh. The self-torturing collisions allowed his body to absorb the medicinal power evenly and effectively.

If someone’s body could be as strong and terrifying as the top-tier demon beast, the Golden-winged Great Peng, it was something Du Shaofu looked forward to. Just from this one session of cultivation, he could feel his body becoming stronger, even more so than before.

"It seems I need to find more medicinal herbs to take in the future."

Du Shaofu thought to himself, then put on his clothes and tidied up. His figure disappeared like a ghost in the moonlight, leaving the canyon.

It was early autumn, and the leaves in the dense forest were beginning to turn yellow. Occasionally, leaves would fall, and under the sunlight filtering through the layers of leaves, they appeared even more golden and beautiful.

"Crack, crack..."

Five large men were walking through the dense forest, their feet stepping on dry branches, making crackling sounds.

"Who would have thought that the third captain was actually killed. Anyone who dares to kill someone from our White Leopard Demon Hunting Team must be tired of living."

"Some say the one who killed the third captain was a young boy, which seems unlikely."

"That young boy must have some background. In any case, we just need to find the one looking for death and then inform the second and third captains to deal with them."

...

Du Shaofu’s body was curled up in the bushes, his brows slightly furrowed. It seemed that after killing the so-called third captain of the White Leopard Demon Hunting Team, the people of the White Leopard Demon Hunting Team had no intention of letting him go. There were White Leopard Demon Hunting Team members searching for him all over the mountains.

"Since that’s the case, I’ll strike first. I wonder if these guys have any medicinal herbs."

In the bushes, Du Shaofu’s pupils narrowed as he watched the five men pass by, his face turning serious.

"Someone is said to have obtained a treasure in the Savage Beast Mountains. If I could get it, that would be great."

"During the recent beast tide, many demon beast corpses were obtained by people. Fortunately, we from the White Leopard Demon Hunting Team entered early, so we didn’t suffer any losses. Selling those demon beast materials will make us rich."

The five men walked slowly, but they instinctively formed a defensive circle, wary of sudden attacks. This proved that they were experienced demon hunters in the Savage Beast Mountains.

"Thank you, Brother Xuanba Tianxia, for your support."