10: Tagor Desert

The dilapidated stone house was silent.

Li Ao sat cross-legged, his mind sinking into the system. In his consciousness space, the intricate diagrams and cultivation methods of the second stage of Black Iron Hegemon Body slowly rotated like stars, exuding a heavy, mountain-like, and indestructible aura. It was far more complex than the first stage, and the demands on his physical body increased exponentially.

He didn't hesitate at all, directly using the Seven-Day Cultivation Acceleration Card.

["The Black Iron Hegemon Body Second Stage Cultivation Acceleration Card has taken effect. Remaining time: 167 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds..."]

A scorching current of air materialized, pouring in from the top of his head and instantly sweeping through his limbs and bones! It was as if an invisible giant hammer, guided by that current, began to furiously pound every inch of his tendons and bones, every fiber of his muscles!

"Hmph!"

Even with Li Ao's will, he couldn't help but let out a muffled grunt. The bronze color beneath his skin rapidly deepened, transforming into a dark iron hue, and his muscle fibers groaned under the strain in destruction and rebirth. His blood surged like a bursting river, making a rushing sound that was clearly audible in the silent stone house.

The pain! It was several times more intense than when he cultivated the first stage! It felt as if his entire body was being disassembled, thrown into a furnace, and then forcibly forged into shape!

But his eyes remained calm, like a deep pool. His consciousness desperately followed the energy flow trajectory accelerated by the system, guiding that violent power to impact the specific meridians and acupoints required for the second stage.

Time slowly passed in extreme pain.

One day... two days... Outside the stone house, an occasional bird would land on the roof, but was quickly startled away by the heavy aura, like a fierce beast lurking, subtly emanating from within the house.

On the evening of the third day.

"Crack!"

A barely audible, yet truly existing, soft sound emanated from within Li Ao's body. It was as if some invisible barrier had been forcibly broken through!

His entire body trembled violently, the deep dark iron glow on his skin suddenly retracted, then exploded outwards again, as if plating his entire person with a cold metallic shell! A ferocious aura, several times stronger than before, spread out with a roar, like an ancient savage dragon awakening from its slumber!

The dust on the four walls of the stone house shook and fell with this aura. The ground trembled slightly.

Li Ao suddenly opened his eyes, a sharp light bursting forth from them like lightning streaking across the dark night, then receding. He slowly raised his right hand, clenching his five fingers.

"Buzz!"

The air around his fist let out a mournful cry of being compressed to its limit, subtly distorting.

Power! Pure and domineering physical power surged and roared within his body like a tide!

The second stage of Black Iron Hegemon Body was complete!

With his physical body alone, he was now capable of directly confronting low-level Dou Practitioners! If he combined it with Furious Wind Quick Blade and Thunder Sound Steps, he was confident in fighting anyone below a five-star Dou Practitioner!

He stood up, stretching his muscles and bones, his entire skeleton crackling like popping beans. Feeling the surging power within his body, Li Ao's lips curled into a cold arc.

It was time to go to the Tagor Desert... Magical Beast Mountain Range, secluded valley.

Yun Yun sat cross-legged on a large rock by the stream, her beautiful eyes closed. Faint green Dou Qi swirled around her as she attempted to draw in the violent elemental energy from between heaven and earth. After several days, she was no longer as disheveled as she was initially. Although each instance of drawing energy into her body was still accompanied by intense pain, the resolute expression between her brows grew increasingly prominent.

Suddenly, her ear twitched, hearing familiar, steady footsteps coming from the valley entrance.

She immediately reined in her aura, opened her eyes, and looked towards the valley entrance.

Li Ao's figure appeared there, still in his green cloth clothes, a saber at his waist. But his entire aura was deeper and more restrained than it had been a few days ago, like an iceberg lurking beneath a calm sea, revealing only a chilling tip.

Yun Yun's heart tightened slightly. She could feel that Li Ao's strength had made astonishing progress in just these few short days!

"Young Master Li," she stood up, nodding slightly.

Li Ao's gaze fell on her, sweeping over the still-damp sweat on her forehead and her slightly pale face, then he nodded: "Progress is acceptable."

Receiving his simple acknowledgment, a small, inexplicable joy arose in Yun Yun's heart. She softly said, "I've made some progress, all thanks to your guidance, Young Master." Having cultivated alone these past few days, she increasingly realized the difficulty and profundity of this body refining method, and her perception of Li Ao had quietly shifted from initial shock and curiosity to a few more points of heartfelt respect.

Li Ao walked in front of her, then suddenly pointed his fingers like a blade, flicking them in the air.

A subtle yet incomparably sharp surge of energy instantly entered Yun Yun's Jianjing acupoint.

Yun Yun's delicate body trembled. She felt that surge of energy act like a guiding awl, forcibly opening a path in one of her previously stagnant, subtle meridians. The cold toxins that had been lingering there were instantly dispersed and shattered by this sharp wisp of energy! An unprecedented sense of smoothness spread through her, and even the circulation of Dou Qi within her body became much smoother!

Surprise flashed in her beautiful eyes. This effect was even more significant than what she had achieved through several days of painstaking refining!

"I have helped you clear seventy percent of the remaining toxins in your body. The rest, with your own Dou Qi, should be completely removed within half a month," Li Ao withdrew his fingers, his tone flat.

Yun Yun felt the long-lost lightness in her body, and looking at the young man before her who had once again offered help yet remained expressionless, her emotions surged, complex and inexpressible. She took a deep breath and solemnly bowed: "Yun Yun thanks Young Master again for his great kindness."

Li Ao accepted the bow and said, "I am leaving today."

Yun Yun's movements stiffened. She looked up at him: "Leaving? To where?"

"Tagor Desert."

Sure enough... Yun Yun silently repeated the name in her heart. She had long had a premonition that this person was no ordinary being, and this small Jia Ma Empire could not contain him.

"Young Master... will you return?" She couldn't help but ask, and as soon as the words left her mouth, she realized her slip, her cheeks warming slightly.

Li Ao glanced at her, his gaze seemingly able to penetrate hearts. "Perhaps."

He didn't give a definite answer, changing the subject: "I have taught you the basics of body refining. How far you can go from here depends on your own fortune. Remember, the physical body is a precious raft for traversing the world, and also a sharp weapon for killing. Do not fail it."

After his words fell, he said no more, turning and leaving. His steps remained steady, without a trace of reluctance.

Yun Yun watched his resolute back disappear at the valley entrance, standing in a daze for a long time. The valley was silent, the stream gurgled, as if he had never appeared. Only the opened meridians in her body, the dispersed toxins, and the profound body refining method in her mind proved that none of this was an illusion.

She gently clenched her jade hand, feeling the slight strength that had grown in her fingertips due to the initial body refining, and a hint of determination flashed in her beautiful eyes.

Tagor Desert, huh...

Wutan City, Xiao Family.

"Bang!"

In the secret room, Xiao Yan slammed his fist fiercely into a hard ironwood stake, his knuckles cracked and bleeding, but he seemed oblivious. On the stake, a clear fist print, tinged with traces of black qi, was left behind.

He raised his head, his eyes bloodshot. His originally handsome face, due to days of venomous liquid tempering, appeared somewhat ferocious, yet his aura was several times stronger than before, having clearly broken through the Dou Practitioner barrier to become a one-star Dou Practitioner! However, mixed within this Dou Qi was an uncomfortable chill and savagery.

"Teacher, can I now fight that Li Ao?" His voice was hoarse, filled with suppressed madness.

Yao Lao's soul body floated beside him, looking at his disciple's almost berserk state. He sighed inwardly, but could only say in a deep voice: "Xiao Yanzi, your progress is astonishing. With this poisonous Dou Qi, even an ordinary three-star Dou Practitioner is no match for you. But that Li Ao... he's unfathomable. According to my perception, when he appeared in the city a few days ago, his aura was even more obscure than before, likely having made further advancements. If you go to him now, your chances of winning are less than thirty percent."

"Thirty percent..." Xiao Yan gritted his teeth, his eyes full of unwillingness, "Am I just supposed to watch him act so arrogant? Watch Nalan Yanran... watch him take everything from me?"

"Calm down!" Yao Lao shouted, "Your path is not about competing with him for a moment's glory! The Jia Nan Academy enrollment is approaching. There you will find the resources you need, and clues to the Heavenly Flame! As long as you obtain the Heavenly Flame and refine the Burning Technique, your future will be limitless! By then, why worry about not being able to repay today's humiliation a hundredfold?"

Xiao Yan's chest heaved violently. After a long while, he slowly suppressed the savagery that was almost bursting out of him. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, only frozen hatred remained.

"Jia Nan Academy... Heavenly Flame... Li Ao, just you wait!"

...Cloud Mist Sect's branch in Wutan City.

Nalan Yanran stood by the window, holding a piece of intelligence that had just arrived. It detailed how Li Ao had crushed Liu Xi in the market a few days ago, causing the Jiale Family to lose face.

She read it several times, and the cold, imposing figure in green robes, holding a saber and looking down on all beings, reappeared in her mind.

"Young Lady," Ge Ye said in a low voice beside her, "According to reports from our scouts, that Li Ao... left Wutan City alone this morning, heading in the direction of... the Tagor Desert."

Nalan Yanran's delicate body trembled slightly.

He left... so decisively, without saying goodbye to anyone.

She was silent for a long time, then slowly put down the intelligence in her hand, turned to look at Ge Ye, her eyes becoming more determined than ever before.

"Elder Ge, prepare. We will return to the Cloud Mist Sect immediately."

"Young Lady? What about the Xiao Family engagement...?"

"Postpone it for now," Nalan Yanran interrupted him, her gaze directed towards the distant horizon outside the window, in the direction of the Tagor Desert. "I need... to improve my strength faster."

She no longer wanted to be a bystander, passively waiting. The world that young man had revealed was vast and dangerous, and... full of fatal attraction. To touch it, she had to possess matching power.

Li Ao... She silently repeated the name in her heart, an emotion mixed with unwillingness, longing, and a certain resolve, quietly taking root.

The winds and clouds of the Jia Ma Empire seemed to have quietly changed direction because of this young man who suddenly appeared and then abruptly left.

And at this moment, Li Ao had already embarked on his journey to the Tagor Desert. Wind and sand brushed his face, the road ahead was unknown, but his eyes remained calm, his steps still firm.

The system's prompt sounded in his mind:

["New mission released: Rise to Fame in the Desert."]

["Mission requirement: Enter the Tagor Desert and obtain the Green Lotus Core Flame (initial contact is sufficient)."]

["Mission reward: Black Iron Hegemon Body Third Stage cultivation method, 5000 system points, one special item draw."]

["Failure penalty: Randomly strip the host of one sense (permanent)."]

Green Lotus Core Flame... Queen Medusa... Li Ao tightened his grip on the saber hilt, a sharp glint of determination flashing in his eyes.

The excitement of this Dou Qi Continent had just begun.