101: Storm Body Tempering! I've devoured the forbidden area!

At the center of the storm was absolute Chaos and disorder.

There was no distinction between up, down, left, or right here; only endless white currents of Qi roaring madly.

These currents were no ordinary Astral Winds, but the Origin Immortal Qi that had dissipated after the fall of a True Immortal ten thousand years ago. Mixed with spatial fragments and Law turbulence, they had transformed into billions of indestructible bone-scraping steel knives, performing high-frequency cuts thousands of times per second within the narrow space.

"Zizizi—"

The moment Gu Yang's Golden Body charged in, an ear-piercing friction sound erupted.

That Glazed Crimson Gold Skin, which was strong enough to withstand Nascent Soul Magic Treasures, was now as fragile as thin paper, riddled with holes the moment it made contact.

Golden blood evaporated as soon as it flowed out, and flesh was ruthlessly sliced away the moment it grew, revealing the golden-glowing skeleton beneath.

Even the skeleton, as hard as divine iron, began to be covered in dense cracks, as if it would crumble into dust at any moment.

Pain!

This was a severe pain that reached deep into the Soul, as if his entire being had been thrown into a millstone to be repeatedly crushed!

Every inch of nerve was screaming, and every muscle was convulsing.

But this did not make Gu Yang shrink back; instead, it stirred the long-suppressed ferocity and madness in his bones.

"Not enough! Still not strong enough! You think this is enough to grind me to death?"

Gu Yang's face was covered in blood, and his features were somewhat blurred, but he grinned widely, revealing a row of ivory-white teeth stained red with blood, his eyes frighteningly bright.

"Since you want to shred me, then I'll eat you all up!"

He suddenly opened his arms, no longer maintaining any defense, but fully opening every pore of his body, even proactively welcoming the most violent currents.

"Swallowing Heaven Will—Full Power Overclocking!"

"Five Elements Great Millstone—Suck for me! Suck it dry!"

Gu Yang treated himself as a greedy humanoid black hole. The Five Elements cycle within his body reversed madly, generating a terrifying suction force.

The violent, lethal Immortal Qi that even those at the Soul Transformation Stage dared not touch was forcibly sucked into his body and sent into the Five Elements Furnace, which was already running at its limit and emitting an overburdened roar.

Rumble!

The roaring inside his body was like thunder; it was the sound of energy surging and roaring through his Meridians.

[Warning! Ingesting high-purity violent Immortal Qi... Energy +50,000... +80,000... +100,000!]

[Warning! Energy severely overloaded! Meridians have reached their limit! Physical Body collapse at 60%... 70%... 85%!]

The System's red alerts flashed madly on Gu Yang's retina, each jumping number representing another step he had taken toward the line of death.

Gu Yang ignored this; in his eyes, there was only a thirst for power.

"Collapse? Then let it collapse!"

"Out with the old, in with the new! This mortal Physical Body should have been replaced long ago!"

He intended to use this great power of heaven and earth to break the existing shackles of his Physical Body, completely eliminate those old and weak cells, and recast an "Indestructible Saint Body" in the destruction, one capable of carrying the power of the Soul Transformation Stage and even touching the Saintly Dao!

Behind him, Overlord, who was shielded from most of the storm by Gu Yang's broad back, did not have such a good mindset.

Although Gu Yang's wide back blocked the lethal torrent for him, even the slight aftermath of the dissipated Immortal Qi caused him unbearable pain, as if he had been thrown into a frying pan.

"Aaaaah! Big Brother! I can't take it! I'm going to be cooked! I'm really going to be cooked!"

Overlord's skin was purple-red all over, like a cooked shrimp, and he even emitted a smell of roasted meat.

But his hands gripped Gu Yang's thighs tightly, his nails digging into Gu Yang's flesh, not daring to let go even if it killed him.

Under this extreme pressure of life and death, the Heavenly Overlord Blood that had been dormant in his body for a long time was finally fully triggered.

Purple blood boiled in his veins and began to frantically repair his broken body. With each repair, his Physical Body strength increased by a notch.

His originally bronze skin gradually transitioned toward purple-gold, and a domineering and peerless aura quietly underwent Awakening within him.

"Following Big Brother... indeed... there's meat to eat... although this meat burns the mouth..." Overlord screamed while hypnotizing himself in his heart.

As for Er Gou... this fellow was simply an anomaly that defied common sense.

It swam around in the storm like a happy little duck in a rainstorm.

It took a bite of the wind here and swallowed a ray of light there, occasionally letting out a cheerful "gege" cry.

As a cub of the Starry Sky Giant Beast, its talent was originally to devour the starry sky and roam the Void Realm.

This environment, filled with spatial fragments and high-energy particles, was Hell to other creatures, but to it, it was like an acceleration track filled with nitrogen—a dream playground.

Its size did not increase, but the starlight on its body became more and more brilliant, and its fur became as gorgeous as a nebula, as if a vast galaxy was being nurtured within its body.

Time lost its meaning in this chaotic storm.

One day.

Two days.

Ten days.

On the outskirts of the Forbidden Ground, Venerable Jin Ling sat cross-legged in the Void Realm, staring fixedly at the white storm pillar that was still violent and connected heaven and earth.

He had tried to approach the edge of the storm, but even the aftermath of the outskirts almost shaved off a layer of his protective treasure light, scaring him into retreating three miles.

"It's been half a month... That kid hasn't come out yet?"

Venerable Jin Ling's brow furrowed, his fingers unconsciously tapping his knee, a faint sense of unease in his heart.

Logically speaking, even a Body Cultivator at Nascent Soul Perfection would have turned to ash within fifteen minutes of entering such a desperate place.

But not only had the storm not weakened, it had become even more violent, as if something was stirring inside.

"Could it be that he has a top-tier defensive Spirit Treasure? Or some kind of Ancient Death-Substitution Talisman?"

"Hmph, impossible! Even with a Spirit Treasure, under the day-and-night washing of that Immortal Qi, the spiritual power would have been exhausted long ago. He must be dead, his bones gone. This commotion now might be those two demon pets struggling in their death throes."

Venerable Jin Ling constantly comforted himself, forcibly suppressing the unease in his heart, but he did not leave.

He needed to see the person if alive or the corpse if dead. The taiyi essence gold concerned his future path of the Dao and could not be lost.

That Graveyard Guardian Puppet did not leave either; it stood at the edge of the storm like an eternal statue, the ghost fire in its eyes flickering gloomily.

It rigidly executed the command to "guard." As long as someone came out from inside, it would launch a thunderous strike immediately.

Until one day, a month later.

The Immortal Qi storm, which was originally incomparably violent and emitted a deafening roar, suddenly had a strange pause.

Immediately after.

Like a bathtub with the plug pulled out, the white storm that covered the sun and moon began to shrink, collapse, and rotate at a speed visible to the naked eye.

All the Immortal Qi and all the energy were madly converging toward a single point at the center of the storm!

"What's going on?!"

Venerable Jin Ling stood up abruptly, looking at this scene in disbelief, several strands of the whisk in his hand snapped from his grip.

"The storm... is weakening? No, it's disappearing?!"

"This, this, this... how is this possible? This is a Forbidden Ground storm that has existed for ten thousand years and that even Soul Transformation experts are helpless against! How could it disappear into thin air?"

When the last wisp of the storm dissipated completely.

Only a deathly silence remained between heaven and earth.

At the original center of the storm, a golden giant cocoon the size of a house appeared, suspended in mid-air.

The surface of the giant cocoon flowed with a luster like five-colored glazed glass, inscribed with countless natural Dao runes.

Every rhythm would trigger a violent vibration in the surrounding space, as if a deity was being nurtured inside this cocoon.

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

That was the sound of a heartbeat.

Heavy and powerful, like the beating of war drums, every throb made Venerable Jin Ling's blood surge.

Venerable Jin Ling's face instantly turned pale, and a chill rushed from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

"Not dead... He actually didn't die?!"

"Not only is he not dead, has he... used this storm to refine some kind of divine technique?!"

Crack!

A crisp cracking sound interrupted his thoughts and shattered his last bit of hope.

A crack appeared on the surface of the golden cocoon.

Then, a palm as white as jade, flawless, and with lines as perfect as a work of art, stretched out from the crack and gently pried.

Crash!

The incomparably hard giant cocoon shattered instantly, turning into golden light spots all over the sky and merging into the body of the palm's owner.

Three figures were revealed.

The leader was stark naked (of course, key parts were covered by Holy Light or residual rags).

His skin was no longer the previous dark gold but had turned into a warm mutton-fat jade color.

He didn't seem to have any exaggerated muscle bulges; instead, he appeared somewhat thin and slender, like a scholar who lacked the strength to even truss a chicken.

Returning to simplicity!

This was the highest Realm of a Body Cultivator—restraining all power within every single cell, without leaking a single bit.

Gu Yang slowly opened his eyes.

At that moment, two substantial golden divine lights shot out from his eyes, directly piercing the Void Realm a hundred meters away, leaving two long-lasting charred marks in the air.

[Congratulations to the host! Physical Body recasting complete!]

[Realm Breakthrough: Half-step Soul Transformation Body Cultivator (Pseudo)!]

[Note: Although the Law of Strength has not been fully mastered, the Physical Body strength has surpassed Early Spirit Transformation Stage Magic Treasures and is difficult for all methods to harm! Every movement possesses Dragon-Elephant Mighty Power!]

"Burp—"

Gu Yang opened his mouth and let out a long, satisfied burp.

A cloud of white mist sprayed from his mouth, like an air cannon, directly blasting a deep pit several meters deep into the ground ahead.

He rubbed his belly, which was only "eighty percent full," sighed with some regret, and shook his head.

"Is that all?"

"The taste was indeed not bad, but it's a pity the portion was a bit small. I just started to get a taste for it, so why is it gone?"

He raised his head, his gaze crossing the ruins to look at the dazed and stiff Venerable Jin Ling in the distance, as well as the Graveyard Guardian Puppet that was still standing and ready to attack.

The corners of Gu Yang's mouth slowly curled up, revealing a smile that was hair-raising yet exceptionally bright.

"Hey, old man over there, and that iron lump."

"Do you... have any food on you?"

"I'm only half full, and I've been exercising a lot, so I'm looking for someone to borrow some things to fill my stomach."

"Don't be so stingy. I see that you... are all very nourishing."