Chapter 77: The Limits of the Physical Body

In the boundless darkness of the underground river, Chen Chen did not know where the current had carried him, but this did not hinder him from focusing on catching fish with the ancient mirror. The value of the black stone fish was immeasurable; in the outside world, even a half-tail would cause countless cultivators to fight over it with red eyes. However, at this moment, Chen Chen was using these rare treasures to satisfy his hunger.

In fact, apart from satisfying his hunger, Chen Chen was more often acting as a bridge for the ancient mirror to refine. Each black stone fish that entered his stomach, the dense spiritual energy refined from it, was mostly devoured by the vortex that the ancient mirror had formed.

Gradually, the two cracks on the surface of the mysterious mirror, which had just split, began to show signs of healing. The two fine cracks were emitting streams of light, colorful and dazzling...

"Great, I never thought that the black stone fish could not only satisfy my hunger and heal the internal injuries in my body, but also help you, Mirror Brother, repair the cracks!" In the water barrier like a bubble, Chen Chen was very happy, as if talking to himself. Noticing the signs of repair on the ancient mirror, he closed his eyes and accelerated the speed of refining the flesh of the black stone fish in his stomach.

This process took about half an hour. Chen Chen was very focused on running the "Spirit Concentration Inquiry Technique." After all, the black stone fish was not like ordinary vegetables or pork. The true value of such a rare treasure was not just to satisfy the taste, but to make full use of its effects!

Chen Chen did not overindulge; each time he swallowed the flesh of a black stone fish, he would sit cross-legged and begin to refine it. As the flesh of the black stone fish gradually dissolved in his stomach, Chen Chen finally experienced the immense value of this rare fish!

For some reason, Chen Chen vaguely felt that his meridians were gradually becoming thicker and stronger. Even though many major acupoints were still unopened, running the "Spirit Concentration Inquiry Technique" was much smoother than before. This was not an illusion but a real change.

In addition, with the thickening and strengthening of his meridians, the blood qi in Chen Chen's body also increased dramatically. This could be considered a miracle. Ordinary cultivators, in the Blood Fusion Realm, unless their cultivation level improved, the amount of blood qi stored in their blood vessels would be limited to a certain extent.

This is also why, within the Blood Fusion Realm, every time a cultivator's cultivation level improved, their strength and speed, among other abilities, would directly advance to a new level.

Chen Chen was currently at the fifth level of the Blood Fusion Realm, but the amount of blood qi stored in his meridians felt like it had far exceeded several times what it was before. Chen Chen estimated that under normal circumstances, he should be able to exert a force of about 5,000 pounds. However, Chen Chen clearly felt that his entire body was full of inexhaustible strength, and with a single swing of his arms, he could easily exert a force of over 30,000 pounds.

30,000 pounds!

What does this mean? This is a level that cannot be reached within the Blood Fusion Realm.

After the last battle with Tian Zhan, Chen Chen learned from Senior Brother Qi Zheng some secrets about the cultivation of Blood Fusion Realm cultivators.

It turns out that before the ninth level, every time a cultivator's cultivation level improved, their strength would increase by 1,000 pounds, which is like climbing a step. However, once they could successfully break through the bottleneck from the eighth level to the ninth level of the Blood Fusion Realm, their strength would double to over 16,000 pounds. From the ninth level to the peak of the twelfth level, every time their cultivation level improved, their strength would increase by another 3,000 pounds. In other words, if a Blood Fusion Realm cultivator reached the peak, they could exert a force of about 25,000 pounds!

For ordinary cultivators, this was already a very impressive feat. A force of 10,000 pounds could even create a large hole in a city wall.

However, the power that Chen Chen now possessed, which was far beyond the peak of the Blood Fusion Realm, was like child's play. With the expansion and thickening of his blood vessels, Chen Chen, at the fifth level of the Blood Fusion Realm, easily surpassed the ultimate strength that someone like Liao Yan, the patriarch of the Flowing Cloud Sect, could exert!

"Could the black stone fish really have such a terrifying effect..." Feeling the sudden surge of strength in his body, as well as the vast and powerful blood qi in his dantian and blood vessels, Chen Chen was overjoyed and could not help but ponder.

He felt that his understanding of the Blood Fusion Realm might have been somewhat skewed, or more precisely, it was limited by the constraints of a small sect like the Flowing Cloud Sect. The patriarchs like Liao Yan's understanding of this level was just the tip of the iceberg. 25,000 pounds of strength was definitely not the limit of the Blood Fusion Realm!

Thinking about this, Chen Chen was secretly alarmed. He was not complaining about the limitations of the Flowing Cloud Sect, but he was afraid that he might miss something in this realm and regret it for the rest of his life!

It can be imagined that if 25,000 pounds is not the limit of the Blood Fusion Realm, then... 30,000 pounds is also not the limit!

"Mirror Brother, quickly, give me the information about the Blood Fusion Realm from the memory of that old ghost of the Nether Spring!" Thinking about this, Chen Chen did not dare to speculate wildly and immediately turned his gaze to the old ghost of the Nether Spring, whose soul had been refined by the ancient mirror!

That old man was a top expert at the Condensing Aura Realm, and with the terrifying power of the Nether Spring Palace, his exploration and understanding of cultivation were definitely more profound and extensive. Chen Chen believed that the ancient mirror should have the answers he wanted. Although the old ghost's soul had been refined, his memory was still retained by the ancient mirror. To have such a vast wealth of knowledge and not use it would be a waste!

"Hum hum..."

As if hearing Chen Chen's urgent request, the ancient mirror in his mind slightly trembled, and a ripple mixed with white light instantly spread throughout Chen Chen's mind. Soon, a series of strange images and obscure, profound texts began to appear in Chen Chen's consciousness.

"Great, thanks, Mirror Brother. I'll explore this first, and then I'll refine more black stone fish for you!" Chen Chen was overjoyed, feeling as if the door to a treasure trove was slowly opening before him. The immense joy made him forget that he was still trapped in the boundless darkness...

...

This time, Chen Chen closed his eyes and drifted in the dark water for several days, completely immersed in a state of extreme self-forgetfulness.

The memories of the old ghost of the Nether Spring about cultivation were indeed rich, far exceeding what Chen Chen had learned from the elders and the library of the Flowing Cloud Sect.

"Huff huff..."

After drifting in the darkness for an unknown amount of time, Chen Chen finally opened his eyes with a deep breath.

After sitting at the bottom of the water for several days, Chen Chen showed no signs of fatigue. The essence of the black stone fish he had consumed had not yet completely dissipated, and the black stone fish, being one of the rarest treasures in the world, indeed had immense value for cultivators, with countless benefits that were hard to estimate.

"Ah, so that's how it is..." As he opened his eyes, a hint of excited relief appeared in Chen Chen's pupils.

He had obtained the answers he wanted. Over these few days, he had gained a lot, and the cultivation secrets and explorations that the old ghost of the Nether Spring had remembered were thoroughly digested by him.

"Within the Blood Fusion Realm, 25,000 pounds of strength is just the limit for ordinary cultivators. True geniuses and prodigies often gather a force of over 50,000 pounds in this realm, and some young supreme beings can even break the 100,000-pound limit. Sigh... This is the true direction of the Blood Fusion Realm..." Chen Chen sighed, realizing that the strange and varied path of cultivation was even broader than he had previously thought. Just the Blood Fusion Realm alone was so profound and vast!

At the same time, Chen Chen also vaguely understood why the patriarchs of the Flowing Cloud Sect had never been able to break through the Blood Fusion Realm. In Chen Chen's view, Patriarch Liao Yan, who had done him a great favor, was definitely a cultivator with good talent. Unfortunately, his cultivation methods over the past few decades were too limited, making it impossible for him to make any further progress.

From the memory of the old ghost of the Nether Spring, Chen Chen learned that the Blood Fusion Realm was a critical stage for cultivators to temper their bodies. The more solid the foundation, the further they would go in their cultivation journey. To advance beyond the Blood Fusion Realm, one needed to accumulate at least 30,000 pounds of blood qi as a foundation. Otherwise, they would stagnate at a bottleneck, just like the patriarchs of the Flowing Cloud Sect.

However, this was not the fault of the patriarchs and elders of the Flowing Cloud Sect. Chen Chen had experienced the cultivation resources of the Flowing Cloud Sect firsthand. Even a basic elixir like the Body Tempering Pill was considered a rare treasure by the sect. Many excellent disciples chose to leave the mountain for training due to the lack of resources...

"Rest assured, Patriarch Liao and the elders, I will never forget the kindness you showed me. Now that I have survived this great calamity, I swear in this dark and hopeless place that if I can see the light of day again, I will definitely return to rebuild the sect and make the Flowing Cloud Sect achieve unprecedented glory..."

In the darkness, Chen Chen's eyes could not help but become slightly moist. The more the fallen sect came to mind, the more he found it hard to let go. The home he left behind had given him a life of luxury for over a decade, with endless riches and honors. The small sect that had just been destroyed did not provide him with much material help, but it gave him something he had never received in his past or present life.

It was a heavy debt of gratitude, and Chen Chen felt that if he did not achieve something in the future, he would truly