Hedonist Prodigy

Chapter 87: Breakthrough, Escape from Death

Taking a deep breath, Jiang Feng sat cross-legged against the cave wall, his eyes slightly squinting as he focused on the faint flow of Qi circulating throughout his body. At that moment, his hands continuously formed various hand seals, striking them against his body. With each seal that landed, his breathing grew heavier.

The color of his skin gradually began to change, shifting from white to red, and then from red to a deeper crimson. Sweat poured off him like a torrent, making him resemble someone who had just been pulled from the water. 

The strands of hair on his head became saturated with this viscous sweat, and a misty white vapor swirled around him, as if he were trapped inside a steamer. 

Uncertain of how many hand seals he had executed, feeling his body reach its limit, Jiang Feng suddenly sprang up from the ground. His figure moved like a swimming dragon as he unleashed the set of boxing techniques he had acquired from the scripture pavilion of that sacred place.

As Jiang Feng threw his punches, the sweat on his body evaporated at an accelerated rate. A layer of dark brown salt crystals formed on the surface of his skin, shaking off in layers with each violent movement, revealing his dry, peeling flesh. Soon, the dry, dead skin began to shed in layers.

Jiang Feng felt a surge of joy, not expecting that this breakthrough to the third level of body refinement would be so easy. However, he did not let his guard down; he was well aware that it was due to the spiritual energy accumulated from the white fruit tree permeating every pore of his body. As his vital essence was rapidly consumed, those strands of spiritual energy were mobilized, resulting in such remarkable effects.

Seeing initial success, Jiang Feng did not stop; instead, he threw his punches with even greater intensity. In the path of cultivation, the human body serves as a cauldron for storing the world’s spiritual energy. Body refinement is the foundation of cultivation; only by solidifying this foundation can one achieve a perfect Dantian during the foundation establishment phase.

The first level of body refinement focuses on muscle, the second level on tendons, and the third level on skin and membranes. This is a transformation from the outside in, and only by completing a full cycle can one be considered to have achieved the third level of body refinement.

Now was a critical moment that allowed for no slackness; otherwise, he could easily suffer backlash. However, Jiang Feng’s expression soon changed drastically.

As the organs and tissues in his body rapidly grew and metabolized, the old, dead cells and tissues were pushed out from within. Yet, the new cells and tissues were slowing down in their growth at a visible rate.

“Ugh!” Jiang Feng opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of congealed blood, his body swaying unsteadily as he nearly collapsed to the ground.

Jiang Feng understood that this was a symptom of insufficient vital essence in his body. He already had old injuries, and forcefully attempting a breakthrough while those injuries had not healed was a very risky endeavor.

While he continuously expelled impurities from his body, the vital energy accumulated within him was also rapidly depleting. In this place devoid of any spiritual energy, the internal Qi that would naturally arise could not meet the demands of his body, leading to the backlash he was experiencing.

“Could it be that heaven really wants me dead?” Jiang Feng let out a bitter laugh, filled with immense unwillingness. It would be a tremendous joke if a genius cultivator from the Tianyuan Continent were to perish on the most basic path of body refinement.

A low roar erupted from deep in his throat as Jiang Feng bit down hard on his tongue, trying to gather the last bit of vital essence to force through the breakthrough. However, with another “ugh,” he spat out another mouthful of congealed blood.

His vision darkened, and Jiang Feng lost control of his body, falling backward. As he tumbled, the redwood box he had cradled in his arms fell to the ground, and the Spirit Suppressing Seal rolled out.

A drop of vital essence that splattered from his tongue landed on the Spirit Suppressing Seal. The copper-green seal suddenly radiated with light, spinning rapidly before transforming into a beam of green light that dove into Jiang Feng’s body.

Seeing this change, Jiang Feng’s expression shifted drastically.

When he first obtained this Spirit Suppressing Seal, he found it particularly strange, especially with its ability to devour souls, but he never expected that this Spirit Suppressing Seal would actually burrow into his body. However, Jiang Feng quickly sensed that something was off. At the moment he lowered his head, he saw a luminous, translucent green light emanating from his dantian, and under that light, his entire dantian seemed to become transparent. 

Inner vision? Jiang Feng was shocked; he knew very well that during the body refining stage, inner vision was absolutely impossible, and besides, his dantian hadn’t even formed yet—it was as stagnant as the Dead Sea. But after the Spirit Suppressing Seal burrowed in, it was as if his dantian had been instantly invigorated, bursting with vitality. At the same time, Jiang Feng felt countless warm currents surging wildly through his limbs and bones. 

That energy was completely beyond his control; it surged almost involuntarily, and under the flow of those currents, the depleted essence and blood within him gradually became replenished. Jiang Feng was dumbfounded, never expecting the Spirit Suppressing Seal to have such a miraculous side. But despite not knowing what was happening, Jiang Feng understood that if he allowed this energy to surge wildly within him, once it reached a critical point, his body could very well explode. 

Gritting his teeth, Jiang Feng forced himself to stand up, following the routine of the boxing technique, throwing punch after punch. At this moment, his internal energy had reached its peak; each punch he threw left a deep imprint on the cave wall. After an unknown number of punches, the wall before him could no longer withstand his strength and collapsed with a loud crash. Jiang Feng clearly felt his nails, hair, and skin flakes peeling off him like debris, while new hair and skin rapidly formed, revealing a layer of smooth, fresh skin.

Body refining third layer, achieved! However, the impact brought by the Spirit Suppressing Seal did not immediately dissipate; instead, it led Jiang Feng’s gradually accumulating internal energy to spread throughout his organs, repeatedly impacting the membranes and internal organs within him. This continued for a good half an hour, and only when he reached the late stage of the third layer of body refining did Jiang Feng slowly exhale a breath of turbid air, transitioning from extreme motion to extreme stillness. 

At this time, when Jiang Feng looked down again, his dantian had become utterly silent, and the Spirit Suppressing Seal that had entered his body now lay at his feet. If it weren’t for his internal injuries being completely healed and having broken through to the late stage of body refining, Jiang Feng would almost think that he had just been dreaming. 

But right now, Jiang Feng was acutely aware that this was definitely not a dream. The shock brought by the Spirit Suppressing Seal was immense; Jiang Feng had never imagined that such a small Spirit Suppressing Seal could possess such miraculous effects. If it weren’t for the insufficient spiritual energy of heaven and earth and his own weak foundation, he understood that with the aid of this Spirit Suppressing Seal, he could potentially break through directly to the late stage of body refining. 

At this moment, Jiang Feng picked up the Spirit Suppressing Seal from the ground. As soon as he held it, he felt a surge of qi and blood, but that uncomfortable sensation of forcibly devouring souls strangely disappeared. His face lit up; Jiang Feng knew very well that it must have been when a drop of his essence blood dripped onto the Spirit Suppressing Seal that it inadvertently recognized him as its master, which was why it burrowed into his dantian. 

Unfortunately, he hadn’t completed his foundation establishment yet; otherwise, with the support of this Spirit Suppressing Seal, his dantian would surely reach a perfect state immediately. Nonetheless, Jiang Feng was quite satisfied; he didn’t need that wooden box anymore and directly stuffed the Spirit Suppressing Seal into his pocket. 

Only then did he turn to look, and the pockmarked man and the fat man were still sound asleep. He smiled slightly, reached out, and gently poked them, causing both to wake up immediately. 

“Bro, how long have I been sleeping?” the fat man rubbed his eyes, speaking in a daze. 

“Not long, just one or two hours at most,” Jiang Feng replied with a smile.

“Oh, then I’ll just sleep for a bit longer.” The fat man didn’t understand what had happened earlier; he yawned and wanted to continue sleeping. 

Jiang Feng couldn’t help but feel speechless; this fat man was so carefree that even with death looming, he could still sleep soundly. He had awakened the two of them to discuss a way to escape. Now that he had reached the third level of body refinement, although he couldn’t split mountains or break stones, he could still lend a hand. Perhaps with the combined strength of the three of them, they could find a way out.

At this moment, he naturally couldn’t let the fat man continue sleeping, so he was about to speak when a faint “zzzz” sound reached his ears. The sound was very subtle, almost inaudible unless one listened closely. However, Jiang Feng heard it; he turned his head and his eyes sparkled with a glint as he locked onto the source of the sound, seeing a mouse slowly crawling out from a small hole.

“A mouse?” The pockmarked man also heard the noise and spoke up. 

“Damn it, we haven’t even died yet, and this mouse is already coming to eat our flesh? How despicable!” Upon hearing the pockmarked man’s words, the fat man immediately became furious, taking off one of his shoes and throwing it at the mouse.

“Stop!” Jiang Feng reached out to block the fat man’s action, and at the same time, his figure flashed. He reached out and caught the mouse in his hand.

“Buddy, are you planning to catch the mouse as a pet or what?” the fat man asked, confused.

The pockmarked man, however, remained silent. Although he didn’t have a flashlight, he had seen Jiang Feng’s speed when he moved just now. While he had sensed that Jiang Feng was extraordinary during their earlier conflict at the small inn, he hadn’t expected him to be this powerful. A tremor ran through his heart, and he felt immensely grateful that he hadn’t fallen out with Jiang Feng over the inn incident; otherwise, he and the fat man would probably have ended up dead by now.

He tugged at the fat man and said, “Stop talking nonsense and quickly untie your shoelaces.”

“What for?” the fat man asked, puzzled. But seeing that the pockmarked man had already started to untie his shoelaces, he followed suit and did the same. 

Jiang Feng cast an appreciative glance at the pockmarked man, surprised that such a subtle action had made him instantly understand his intention. He too untied his shoelaces, then tied all three pairs together and carefully bound them around the mouse’s leg. The frightened mouse, once released, immediately scurried back towards the small hole in a panic.

The fat man’s eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, “I get it! This place is completely sealed off, so there shouldn’t be any mice here. Since there is a mouse, it means there is a way out!” As he spoke, his tone weakened significantly, and he added hesitantly, “But if the mouse can get out, we probably can’t follow it, right?”

Jiang Feng smiled but didn’t respond to the fat man’s words. He wasn’t planning to follow the mouse; instead, he focused on sensing the mouse’s movements. Suddenly, he felt the mouse’s range of activity expand as it darted about. With a thought, he pulled the mouse back, measured the distance, and said, “Give me a Luoyang shovel.”

Although the pockmarked man didn’t understand what Jiang Feng intended to do, he quickly handed the Luoyang shovel to Jiang Feng. 

Jiang Feng picked up the shovel and forcefully dug towards the mouse hole. A large amount of soil was shoveled away, and after several more shovels, he directly dug out a hole. 

The fat man’s round eyes nearly popped out as he exclaimed, “Impressive! Buddy, with your strength, it would be a waste not to go tomb raiding!”

Jiang Feng didn’t have the time to chat with him. He waved his hand and climbed in first. 

As expected, this was indeed a burial chamber, and the thickness of the earth separating them from where they had been was only about a meter. It was just that they couldn’t clearly discern it due to the obstruction of the mountain rocks. 

Jiang Feng glanced around; although part of the burial chamber had collapsed, the main structure remained intact.

“How should we go now?” Jiang Feng, unfamiliar with the structure of the tomb, turned to ask the pockmarked man. The pockmarked man picked up a flashlight and shone it around, saying, “Follow me. It looks like there’s a chance to get out.” As he spoke, he quickly ran ahead, with Jiang Feng and the fat man closely following. The pockmarked man reached a stone wall, touched it a few times, and with a few clicks, a stone door opened, letting fresh air flow in. 

The three of them showed joy on their faces, and without daring to hesitate, they ran towards the direction of the wind. After about twenty minutes, breathing in the fragrant scent of grass and trees, Jiang Feng knew they had made it out. 

“Ah—” The fat man swung his sturdy arms, letting out a joyful roar, “Haha, we’re out!” 

The pockmarked man also had an uncontrollable excitement on his face. Who would have thought that a little mouse could save their lives? Of course, he also knew that without Jiang Feng, even if he found the mouse, he might not have been able to use it to successfully dig a tunnel. 

“Thank you for saving our lives,” the pockmarked man said gratefully to Jiang Feng. Jiang Feng smiled and replied, “You don’t need to thank me; I saved myself.” 

Even so, the pockmarked man still bowed to Jiang Feng and said, “It’s almost dawn; we should go. Are you coming down the mountain with us or…?” 

“You go ahead; I still have some matters to attend to,” Jiang Feng said. 

“Alright then, the green mountains remain, and the waters flow long. If fate allows us to meet again one day, I will definitely repay your kindness for saving my life,” the pockmarked man understood that Jiang Feng was not an ordinary person. After saying this, he quickly took the fat man down the mountain. Jiang Feng watched them leave, and as their figures faded, he began to search the area. 

About five minutes later, Jiang Feng heard a distant coughing sound, accompanied by voices. His gaze narrowed slightly, and without any hesitation, he walked over directly!