107: Chapter 107 Cultivation Knows No Time

Time on Green Bamboo Island passed quietly amidst the rising and falling tides.

A month might seem long to an ordinary person, but for Jiang Hanzhou, who was immersed in martial arts cultivation, it was nothing more than the blink of an eye.

The open space in front of the bamboo house became his daily training ground for Martial Skills.

The Jade Slips and books for the twelve Profound Rank Martial Skills were laid out one by one. As he immersed his mind, the extraordinary Comprehension Ability granted by his fourth-tier fate, Late Bloomer, was fully revealed.

The 'Wave Splitting Fist' emphasized fist force like waves—layer upon layer, with endless follow-up power.

Jiang Hanzhou stood at the edge of the bamboo forest, facing the turbulent sea, throwing punch after punch.

At first, his fist wind was chaotic. Three days later, he could strike with triple hidden force. Seven days later, his punches surged like waves, causing continuous air explosions.

The 'Raging Waves Palm' required wide, open movements, drawing upon the Qi and blood throughout his body like a tide.

On the beach, Jiang Hanzhou met the crashing waves, his palms flying, forcibly splitting and scattering the surging seawater.

Ten days later, with one strike, the surface of a reef three zhang away silently cracked with spiderweb-like fissures.

The 'Swimming Fish Steps' featured agile and adaptable footwork, simulating the movement of a school of fish. Jiang Hanzhou wove through the bamboo forest, his figure like a fish entering water, leaving behind trails of afterimages among the dense bamboo stalks without a single leaf touching him.

The 'Star Shattering Finger' focused finger strength into a needle, specifically designed to break through Protective Aura. Using his finger as a pen, he carved into the hard bluestone slabs. At first, he could only leave shallow marks; half a month later, he could pierce through an inch-thick stone slab with a single finger, his finger strength concentrated and unscattered.

There were also the advanced 'Clear Wave Sword Art' (an evolution of the Tidal Sound Sword), the supplementary 'Flow Breaking Saber Technique' (for the Wave Splitting Saber Art), and even niche skills like 'Conch Sound' and 'Flying Fish Darts'...

For every Martial Skill, Jiang Hanzhou only sought 'Major Achievement', not 'Perfection'.

Major Achievement meant mastering the essence, operating it freely, and having no obstacles in actual combat.

Perfection meant pushing a Martial Skill to the absolute limit of his current Realm, or even incorporating personal understanding to innovate.

That required more time for polishing and comprehension; for Jiang Hanzhou right now, it was not cost-effective.

What he wanted was quantity—a rapid accumulation of Martial Arts Comprehension to fill the remaining 1,020-year void.

Thus, on Green Bamboo Island, Jiang Hanzhou's figure could be seen every day.

When the morning light first appeared, he climbed the reefs by the island, facing the ocean to Cultivate the Li Huo Golden Body Art.

This Earth Rank Medium Grade Body Refining technique was indeed perfectly compatible with his extremely Yang and rigid Qi and blood.

The first level, 'Skin Quenching', required guiding Qi and blood to wash over the body surface, combined with special breathing techniques and visualization, to form a layer of invisible 'Lihuo Astral Membrane' under the skin.

Jiang Hanzhou only took three days to get started.

Seven days later, the first level reached Minor Achievement.

He stood shirtless amidst the ocean waves, letting the cold seawater crash against him. His skin faintly shimmered with a pale golden light, as if plated with a thin layer of gold foil.

Ordinary swords and blades could only leave white marks that vanished in an instant.

After half a month, the first level reached Major Achievement.

He tried using a sharp reef fragment to scrape his arm hard; the friction between the fragment and his skin actually produced the sound of metal clashing, leaving only a faint red mark that vanished in the blink of an eye.

"What strong defense!" Jiang Hanzhou thought with pleasant surprise.

This was only the first level. If he practiced to the ninth level, 'Blood Burning', and his entire body's Qi and blood turned into Lihuo, he would truly be impervious to water and fire, and untouchable by swords and blades.

What satisfied him even more was that when cultivating the Li Huo Golden Body Art, the wisp of Heavenly Dipper Precious Qi within his body became exceptionally active, complementing the Lihuo Qi and blood, doubling the quenching effect.

During the day, he took turns practicing the twelve Profound Rank Martial Skills.

At night, he sat cross-legged in the bamboo house and did two things.

First, trying to absorb Spirit Stones.

He took out the two Spirit Stones he had received this month from his sumeru pouch.

They were about the size of a thumb, pale green, crystal clear, with mist seemingly flowing inside. Holding them in his hand, he could feel the pure Spiritual Qi contained within.

According to the 'Compendium of Common Cultivation Knowledge in the East Sea', Spirit Stones were formed by the condensation of Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence and were divided into four grades: Low, Medium, High, and Supreme.

These were Low-Grade Spirit Stones, but even so, they were rare treasures for a Martial Artist in the Viscera Burning Realm.

Jiang Hanzhou held a Spirit Stone and operated the Dragon Subduing and Tiger Taming Skill, trying to draw out the Spiritual Qi within.

At first, he didn't know the method, and the Spirit Stone had no reaction.

He calmed his mind and used his Divine Sense to sense delicately, capturing the flow rhythm of the Spiritual Qi inside the Spirit Stone.

Three days later, he finally found that subtle resonance.

With a thought, he operated his Cultivation Technique.

"Hum..."

The Spirit Stone in his palm trembled slightly. A wisp of pure, gentle, pale green Spiritual Qi, several times denser than the Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence outside, flowed slowly into his body along the Meridians in his arm like a trickling stream.

The moment the Spiritual Qi entered his body, Jiang Hanzhou shuddered!

It was as if a long drought had met sweet rain.

Wherever the Spiritual Qi passed, his Meridians felt as if they were being soaked in warm water, bringing waves of comfort.

The crimson-gold blood pill in his Dantian spun even faster, greedily devouring this pure energy.

After one cycle of circulation, Jiang Hanzhou clearly felt that his Qi and blood had grown a bit. Although it was negligible, the efficiency was more than ten times higher than simply absorbing Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence!

"No wonder Spirit Stones are hard currency..." Jiang Hanzhou opened his eyes, looking at the slightly dimmed luster of the Spirit Stone in his palm, and sighed.

At this rate, one Low-Grade Spirit Stone would probably be enough for him to absorb and Cultivate at full strength for three days.

But he couldn't bear to use them.

Spirit Stones were precious, and he only had a few; every one used was one less.

Moreover, he was currently at Perfection of the Viscera Burning Realm, and his Qi and blood had reached their Peak. Absorbing Spirit Stones was more for purification and consolidation rather than growth.

He carefully put the Spirit Stones back into his sumeru pouch, saving them for the critical moment of breaking through to the Dragon Elephant Realm.

Second, visualizing the True Intent Map.

The True Intent Map included with the Li Huo Golden Body Art Jade Slip was activated by his Divine Sense and hovered in his Sea of Consciousness.

It was an extremely profound pattern: in the vast Void Realm, a crimson-gold sun hung high, casting endless light and heat. Below the sun was a sea of churning flames, where a Golden Crow seemed to be spreading its wings, and a fire dragon was tossing and turning. Every leap of the flames and every flow of light and heat contained a certain 'Concept' of being extremely Yang and rigid, burning everything.

However, progress was slow.

The 'Lihuo True Intent' contained in the True Intent Map was of too high a level, far beyond what he could understand right now.

Every time he visualized it, he could only vaguely sense that scorching, bright, and domineering Concept, but trying to capture and comprehend it was like looking at flowers in the fog or scooping the moon from the water.

The consumption of Divine Sense was immense; often, after visualizing for half an hour, he would have a splitting headache and have to stop to rest.

"It seems that True Intent is really not easy to comprehend." Jiang Hanzhou was not discouraged. "I have the Epiphany during fate advancement as a trump card. When the time comes, I will visualize with all my might, and it will surely yield twice the result with half the effort."

He continued to insist on visualizing every day. Even if the progress was negligible, the vague sense of 'fire', 'Yang', and 'light and heat' gradually left an imprint in his heart.

Time passed quickly in such regular and fulfilling cultivation.

Within a month, all twelve Profound Rank Martial Skills reached the Major Achievement Realm.

【 Current Martial Arts Comprehension accumulation: 2430 years / 3000 years 】

An increase of 450 years.

Only 570 years away from 3000!

Jiang Hanzhou estimated that once the Martial Skills reached Perfection, and he cultivated the Li Huo Golden Body Art and the Dragon Subduing and Tiger Taming Skill to Perfection, he would be able to step into the fifth-tier fate!

And the Li Huo Golden Body Art, under this month of arduous training, had also steadily stepped into the second level, 'Bone Refining', which counted as Minor Achievement.

His skin defense was stronger, his bone density further increased, and a wisp of extremely faint 'Lihuo Astral Malice' began to gestate within his Qi and blood. Although still weak, its restraint against Yin and evil Qi was already beginning to show.