Chapter 30

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Looking out at the Xilin Ridge stretching a hundred miles away, Chen Xun stopped his northward steps at the edge of the dense forest.

The cold here was already extremely severe, and after nightfall, it could freeze the blood to a standstill.

At this moment, Chen Xun could only勉强resist the extreme cold by visualizing the barbarian soul; if the cold energy were any stronger, not only would he be unable to use it to temper his muscles and skin, but he might also suffer serious internal injuries and freeze to death on the snowy plain.

Moreover, the Xilin Ridge spanned a thousand miles, and not only were the Bai Xi tribes not easy to provoke, but the wild and fierce beasts in the deep mountains and valleys were even more numerous and powerful than those in the Python Tooth Ridge. Chen Xun did not yet have the ability to cross the Xilin Ridge and continue northward.

Calculating the time, Chen Xun should return.

Otherwise, if he waited until spring, the ice and snow on the lakes and marshes would melt, making the journey even more dangerous. The venomous insects and snakes hibernating under the ice would be even more lethal, blocking his path back south.

Chen Xun really wanted to take a closer look at the Bai Xi tribes living in the Xilin Ridge, but considering that the Bai Xi tribes were full of powerful warriors, he, a mere mid-level barbarian warrior, would be torn apart if caught as a spy. It was not worth taking such a great risk.

In such extreme cold, the barbarian hunting teams of the Bai Xi tribes in the southern part of the Xilin Ridge would not easily venture out of the mountains, and they would also need to guard against the wild beasts in the deep mountains.

The surrounding hundred miles were the hunting grounds of the Bai Xi tribes. Chen Xun observed for two days and confirmed that there were not many fierce birds or beasts in these dense forests, making it relatively safe.

Chen Xun planned to stay here for a few more days.

Apart from intending to refine a few more bottles of Yuan-gathering Ointment from the herbs he had collected over the past ten days, to prepare for any emergencies on his journey back south, Chen Xun also wanted to make good use of the dense cold energy in the air to temper his muscles and bones.

After two months of hard training, the skin and muscles all over Chen Xun's body had been tempered to a new extreme, truly reaching the level of being as tough as armor.

In his divine soul sea, the visualization of the Nine Abyss Barbarian Soul became increasingly solid, resembling a black python martial god, four inches tall, emitting a dark light, existing in his divine soul sea.

His blood and qi were also becoming increasingly pure, even more so than when he fought the Black Mountain tribe's barbarian warrior Gu Lei in the stream valley, by a factor of two.

The visualization of the barbarian soul is the foundation of a barbarian warrior's training.

Even with sufficient intake of spiritual herbs, the speed of absorbing blood, qi, and divine essence during combat is limited by the strength of the barbarian soul.

The more profound and powerful the barbarian soul, the faster the speed of condensing divine essence in the body, which can be ten or even a hundred times faster.

However, the more profound and powerful the barbarian soul, the more pure blood and qi it requires to support it.

This is also the profound and difficult aspect of the Black Python Nine Abyss Barbarian Soul.

Chen Xun's ability to visualize such a clear and solid Nine Abyss Barbarian Soul indicates that his blood and qi are already as pure as those of a peak-level sixth-layer barbarian warrior, with the only difference being the degree of physical tempering.

However, the greatest gain for Chen Xun over the past two months was the successful integration of the five postures of the Great Peng Secret Fist into his sword techniques.

During combat, the divine essence of the barbarian soul in Chen Xun's body could continuously surge, merging into the layers of sword light, significantly enhancing his combat power.

Perhaps due to the continuous tempering by the cold energy and the divine essence of the barbarian soul over the past two or three months, his blood and qi were thoroughly permeated by the cold energy. When he used the barbarian soul sword technique, it revealed a slight cold energy, increasing the power of the sword qi by two or three points.

However, Chen Xun did not know if such an enhancement would have hidden dangers in the future, nor did he know how to become even stronger.

This is probably the greatest drawback of the Black Python barbarian warrior tradition, which lacks a rigorous system.

The thousand-year-old tradition of the Black Python barbarian warriors only provides a general direction for the training of the barbarian soul. Many things need to be explored and understood on one's own, making it difficult to grasp the essence and easy to go astray.

To return to the normal path of barbarian soul training, after reaching a new extreme in the tempering of his skin and muscles, Chen Xun would need to go to higher peaks of the Xilin Ridge or the Python Tooth Ridge to receive even purer cold energy for further tempering.

The deep mountains and valleys of the Xilin Ridge and the Python Tooth Ridge are home to many powerful wild beasts, which he is not yet capable of entering.

It was now mid-winter, and Chen Xun had traveled nearly three thousand miles north into the marshy wilderness. The cold energy at the edge of the dense forest was more than twice as dense and pure as when he first entered the marshy wilderness.

When he first entered the marshy wilderness, he thought his bones had been tempered to the extreme, but now he found that there was still room for further tempering.

Chen Xun planned to use the next few days to thoroughly temper his bones and then consider returning south.

Over the past ten days, Chen Xun had gained a lot in the marshy wilderness and the edge of the vast primeval forest.

Apart from the sixteen herbs needed to refine the Yuan-gathering Ointment, Chen Xun also collected many other spiritual herbs with more abundant spiritual energy, which he could not yet identify.

Chen Xun dug a snow cave in the depths of the dense forest, hid inside, and refined two small bottles of Yuan-gathering Ointment. He then patiently hid in the snow cave to train, not even coming out during the day.

The cold energy varied in strength between day and night. When it was extremely strong, Chen Xun had to fully absorb blood, qi, and divine essence to resist it; when it was slightly weaker, he used the divine essence of the barbarian soul to protect his internal organs, allowing the cold energy to permeate and temper the deeper layers of his body.

On the fourth day, Chen Xun's mind was immersed in his divine soul sea when he suddenly felt the surrounding cold energy become chaotic, like a turbulent current, almost tearing apart his internal organs.

Startled, Chen Xun quickly expelled the cold energy that had invaded his body and remained hidden in the snow cave, not knowing what had happened outside.

The sudden chaos in the cold energy could be due to a strong cold wave, but this possibility was extremely low.

The cold wave is caused by the terrain of the Western Wasteland, a major natural phenomenon.

Unless there was a massive change in the terrain of the Western Wasteland, the cold wave itself would not easily become chaotic.

The most likely cause of the local chaos was the influence of a powerful celestial barbarian warrior on the surrounding natural energy.

The cold energy fluctuated and surged like a turbulent current. Chen Xun knew that there must be two celestial barbarian warriors fighting nearby. Unable to resist his curiosity, he poked his head out of the snow cave and saw a human and a beast fighting fiercely on a low mountain ten miles to the east.

When Chen Xun recognized the figure of the human, he was shocked:

It was the girl who had watched him burn the corpses on the cliff in the isolated valley. The world is indeed small.

After the isolated valley, Chen Xun had not seen the girl again, but he did not expect her to be in the Xilin Ridge now.

The battle on the mountain was so intense that Chen Xun saw the girl wield a divine sword, emitting brilliant divine light, slashing at a massive golden giant ape.

The divine light was so powerful that it could split mountains and valleys, almost illuminating the surrounding ten miles of dense forest. However, when it struck the golden giant ape, it only produced even more astonishing light without causing any harm.

The girl was as tall as Chen Xun, while the golden giant ape was about ten meters tall, five or six times her height, making her look extremely small in comparison. The giant ape casually pulled up a huge tree and swung it at the girl.

The girl must have had some divine technique or treasure to protect her, as the tree, carrying immense power, shattered into pieces when it hit her, emitting a ring of light.

However, the giant ape's strength was boundless. After shattering one tree, it immediately pulled up another, launching a continuous attack. Finally, it swung its massive fist, larger than a millstone, at the girl, causing brilliant light to flash frequently.

Although the battle was on the mountain peak, the resulting shock waves destroyed the surrounding trees.

Chen Xun, though ten miles away, still felt the shock waves, which cut his face and caused pain.

The countless birds and animals in the mountains, startled by the shock waves, were cut to pieces and fell to the ground before they could escape.

The snow particles, dead branches, and leaves blown out of the dense forest formed huge clouds, scattering in all directions, darkening the sky and obscuring the stars and moon.

Fortunately, Chen Xun was close enough to see the battle clearly.

When he saw the girl transform into a rainbow and leave that day, Chen Xun knew she was extremely powerful, perhaps not inferior to the deputy commander of the Black Mountain tribe, Su Qingfeng.

The girl was indeed extremely powerful, but in the fierce attack of the golden giant ape, she was in grave danger. Her divine sword could not harm the giant ape at all, and the protective divine light around her body gradually dimmed.

Chen Xun had always thought there were no powerful wild beasts in this dense forest. The mountain was low and small, and he did not expect a golden giant ape to be hiding there.

Chen Xun thought that perhaps the giant ape simply did not care about him, so it allowed him to train at the edge of the dense forest.

Thinking about it made him break out in a cold sweat. Regardless of who won between the girl and the beast, Chen Xun knew he did not even have the qualifications to be a spectator, let alone know if the battle would attract the ultimate powers of the Xilin Ridge.

Whether the girl or the giant ape died, they would have valuable treasures, attracting others to covet them.

This place was so close to the Xilin Ridge, only a hundred miles away. The celestial barbarian warriors of the Bai Xi tribes would certainly notice, and some might already be watching the battle, waiting to reap the benefits.

Chen Xun knew he did not have the qualifications to be a beneficiary. To avoid being eliminated by the celestial barbarian warriors of the Bai Xi tribes, he had to run away as soon as possible.

Without hesitation, taking advantage of the fierce battle between the giant ape and the girl, Chen Xun packed his herb basket and ran southward.

Chen Xun, at the edge of the dense forest, ran like a galloping horse, with his mouth containing the Yuan-gathering Ointment, visualizing the barbarian soul, and divine essence surging continuously, giving him endless strength.

By the time the Yuan-gathering Ointment in his