"From this day forward," Mu Ye announced, his voice echoing with the gravity of a Sect Master, "both of you will follow me to cultivate the Innate Secret Technique."
While Mu Ye allowed Zhangting a certain level of autonomy—partly due to the boy's eerie maturity and partly because the Spirit Pagoda's wealth provided a safety net for "expensive mistakes"—he was far stricter with Aruheng. The bald-headed boy was the Body Sect's literal future, a raw diamond that Mu Ye refused to let shatter through negligence.
Aruheng, unlike the rebellious Zhangting, offered a swift, disciplined bow. "Yes, Teacher!"
Mu Ye nodded, finally feeling like a proper master again. He turned to the gathered elders. "I entrust the sect's daily affairs to you. I am taking my disciples to the Northwest."
As they trekked toward their destination, Mu Ye observed the other newly awakened disciples. Their soul power levels were average, proving to him that Zhangting's "Auspicious Beast" theory was likely just a lucky guess. A blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse, Mu Ye mused. He didn't believe for a second that a six-year-old could actually influence the heavens.
Soon, they reached a jagged scar in the earth: The Earthly Fiend Cave.
"This," Mu Ye gestured to the yawning abyss, "is one of the most brutal treasure lands of our sect. It is here that we master the three steps of the Innate Secret Technique: Integration, Purification, and Reshaping."
Aruheng peered into the dark, where a sickly, violet-black vapor swirled.
"The Earthly Fiend energy is malevolent," Mu Ye explained. "It erodes everything—flesh, bone, organs—until you are nothing but dust. To cultivate the secret technique, you must enter this cave, stay conscious as your body is eaten away, and use rare medicinal materials to force your flesh to regenerate faster than it can be destroyed."
Zhangting felt a cold chill that had nothing to do with the cave. This wasn't training; it was a perpetual cycle of being flayed alive. In the outside world, being "cut into a thousand pieces" was a death sentence. Here, it was Tuesday.
"Willpower is everything," Mu Ye warned. "If you pass out, the regeneration fails, and you waste the materials. Only by dancing on the edge of total destruction can you forge a Flawless Golden Body."
He flicked two azure pills toward them. "Ice Heart Pills. They calm the mind and dull the edge of the pain. Take them."
Aruheng swallowed his immediately, ready to prove his mettle. But Zhangting held his pill, standing still as a statue at the cave's mouth.
Mu Ye raised a thick eyebrow. "Zhangting? Are you afraid? This doesn't suit the boy who speaks of replacing gods."
"I'm not afraid, Teacher," Zhangting replied, his eyes fixed on the horizon. "I'm just waiting for the final ingredient."
"Ingredient?" Aruheng asked, blinking. "Big Brother, what else do we need?"
Before he could answer, a high-pitched whoosh cut through the air. A streak of brilliant blue light descended from the peaks, landing perfectly in Zhangting's outstretched hand.
It was a crystal the size of a longan fruit, shaped like a frozen teardrop. The moment it appeared, the temperature of the entire plateau plummeted. Frost began to creep across the rocks, and Aruheng's teeth began to chatter.
Mu Ye's breath hitched. He recognized that aura. The Federation had recently auctioned a "useless" divine relic for a price that would have bankrupted the Body Sect.
"The Ice God Pearl," Mu Ye whispered, a mix of awe and pure envy in his voice.
"The Ice Heart Pill calms the mind," Zhangting said, his voice undisturbed by the freezing mist radiating from his hand. "But the Ice God Pearl freezes the intent. With it, the 'Earthly Fiend' energy won't just erode my body—it will be tempered by absolute zero."
He turned to Aruheng. "Stay close to me when we enter. The radiation from the pearl will help stabilize your mind as well."
Mu Ye stood speechless. He realized that Han Tianyi must have been the one to deliver the artifact, bypassing even his own perception. He looked at the pearl, then at his two disciples—one a natural-born monster of the Body Sect, the other a wealthy genius who intended to buy his way into godhood.
"Fine," Mu Ye finally choked out. "If the Spirit Pagoda wants to use a divine artifact as a training weight, who am I to stop you? Into the cave. Both of you!"
Zhangting took the lead, the Ice God Pearl glowing in his palm like a captured star. As they descended into the violet maw of the Earthly Fiend Cave, the malevolent energy surged upward to meet them.
The pain hit like a tidal wave of acid. Zhangting's skin began to blister and peel instantly, but as the Ice God Pearl pulsed, a layer of crystalline frost surged through his veins, numbing the agony and slowing the erosion to a crawl.
One bite at a time, Zhangting thought, his eyes burning with a cold, terrifying light. The world, the godhood, and the golden body. I will devour them all.
Deep in the cave, the violet mist and the blue frost began to swirl together, forming a vortex that looked less like a cultivation session and more like the birth of a storm.
Next Chapter: The First Refinement — Breaking the Limit of Flesh