Boom!
As Gu Chen's mind moved, the Superior Martial Skill, Golden Bell Shield, was elevated to the initial mastery, and a corresponding wave of martial arts knowledge poured into his mind.
At the same time, a mysterious force emerged from within his body, transforming every part of him—skin, flesh, tendons, bones, membranes, and even his internal organs—little by little.
Not only that, Gu Chen felt that every part of his body, no matter how minute, was being tempered and sublimated.
It could be said that the Golden Bell Shield comprehensively enhanced his physical body, caring for even the most minute details.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The sound of tidal surges came from within his body, the noise of his blood washing through his veins. In fact, the sound faintly escaped his body; his heart beat like a drum, and with every thump, vigorous vitality burst forth from his pores, diffusing across his skin.
Within his limbs and bones, a mystical power flowed, immensely warm and comfortable. Gu Chen felt as if he were submerged in a hot spring, or returned to the womb. His body, like being electrified, faintly glowed from his flesh and bones.
Gu Chen was acutely aware that his physical body was steadily growing stronger, becoming lighter and more robust. Everything was developing in a positive direction.
And as his physical body improved, Gu Chen's senses also sharpened. His hearing, in particular, could now detect the slightest rustle of wind and grass within a dozen yards.
Moreover, he began to perceive something profound and mysterious.
This was a result of a significant enhancement of his intuition; also, Gu Chen felt that his thoughts were quicker than before, or rather, his spiritual power had increased.
Even with his eyes closed, he could sense the presence of Song Yu, Wang Yan, and Xu Qing very clearly.
This was not the previously known sense of energy, which, although now clearer and more precise, could not compare to his current perception.
Gu Chen felt as if his surroundings had formed a three-dimensional image in his mind. The figures of the three people, Xu Qing included, and all the nearby scenery were vividly projected in his mind.
Of course, achieving this required Gu Chen to concentrate.
This was the power of the "spirit."
The martial path is divided into detailed realms, but overall, it can be grouped into three parts: essence, energy, and spirit.
That is to say, cultivating in martial arts involves refining the essence, energy, and spirit.
Though they seem independent, they are interconnected.
Indeed, martial cultivation begins with tempering the body, refining the essence.
When the physical body reaches a certain level, and the first thread of inner energy emerges from the flesh, the refining of energy begins.
Gu Chen, having cultivated physical martial arts and experienced several transformations, plus his profound cultivation level and abundant essence and energy, as well as condensing true martial intent, had a "spirit" that already surpassed ordinary martial artists by a significant margin.
Now, after deducing the Superior Martial Skill, Golden Bell Shield, and reaching its initial mastery, his body received a considerable boost; the physical enhancement fed back to the "spirit", combined with earlier accumulations. That's why the scene just now took place in his mind.
From this point alone, Gu Chen's "spirit" had surpassed most martial artists in the world, even those in the Gang Qi Stage.
Buzz!
Suddenly, Gu Chen's body trembled. The purification of his flesh was nearing its end. In that moment, his flesh and organs vibrated in unison, resonating together. Under the night sky, his skin was incredibly pale and appeared as beautiful as artwork, glistening with a translucent sheen like jade.
Xu Qing, as if sensing something, abruptly opened her eyes to witness this scene and exclaimed in shock, "Your body is like jade, your defenses like fortified walls, impervious to water and fire. Have you reached the Vajra Stage?!"
With those words, even the sleeping Song Yu and Wang Yan were startled awake. They stared at Gu Chen's robust body under the night sky, shining with a faint jade light, and were too astonished to speak.
When they first met, they had all been at the Meridian Opening Stage, but now, in just a few months, while they had only just broken through to the External Energy Stage, Gu Chen had reached the Vajra Stage?
Truly, comparison is the thief of joy; both Song Yu and Wang Yan were struck with envy, their desire to sleep completely erased.
Feeling his body full and powerful, Gu Chen did not hesitate to use all sixty merit points in two installments, converting them all into cultivation age.
With this increase, the merit points hit zero and Gu Chen's cultivation age broke through the four-hundred-year limit, reaching an astonishing four hundred and fourteen years.
Yet, as expected, his realm continued to be in the Late Stage of Outer Qi, failing to reach Great Perfection.
Gu Chen did not feel troubled by this; it was a good thing to accumulate more cultivation age. Others could not even manage to do this.
What's more, with the panel's help, as long as he had merit points, he could break into the Vajra Stage at any time.
And with more than four hundred years of profound cultivation age, even Great Perfection of the Vajra Stage could not compare.
However, despite this, Gu Chen did not conceive the idea of arm-wrestling with warriors of the Gang Qi Stage.
After all, he had seen the strength of Gang Qi Stage warriors that day; the qualitative difference between inner breath and Gangqi was incomparable, and they should not to be mentioned in the same breath.
The next morning, Gu Chen and his companions set out again, riding fast horses towards the county city of Xu'an County.
At this point, they were still unaware that the great battle at the county city had reached a critical stage.
...
In the dead of night, the Red Flame Demon Sect and the Holy Shadows Sect launched a surprise attack on the county city. Although the city's defenders kept a watchful eye out for the enemy, the city almost fell, plunging into the direst of circumstances.
It was because the Holy Shadows Sect controlled hundreds of iron corpses and somehow managed to tunnel their way from outside the city directly into the county city.
The reason why the Demon Sect had been quiet over the past few days was that they were secretly undertaking this task.
Only the iron corpses, specially refined by the Holy Shadows Sect, could tirelessly create such a passage in just a few days, catching Chen Yu and the others completely by surprise.
"Kill them!"
Inside the county city, cries of battle were incessant. In order to protect the common people from harm, most of the city defense forces were deployed inside the city, guarding the tunnels to prevent the cultists from coming through the tunnels and slaughtering the innocents.
But the cultists were very shrewd too; they sent iron corpses, each one hard as copper and iron, very difficult to kill. Even if their heads were chopped off, the bodies would still move, posing a significant threat.
Meanwhile, at the city gates, Chen Yu, Deng Zi An, and Cui Yu, three commanders, were leading the Jing Tian Department and Metropolitan Procurators in battle against the people from the Red Flame Demon Sect and the Holy Shadows Sect.
"Chen Yu, today the fall of the county city is imminent, and you won't be able to defend it!" an elder of the Holy Shadows Sect said with a cold laugh.
In fact, the Six Union God Sect had been planning this day for a long time and was very prepared. They intended to capture the county city of Xu'an and the hundreds of thousands of civilians within it.
Even more, they planned to capture the lives of Chen Yu and the other Jing Tian Department's officers. With so much flesh and blood for demons to consume, and with Chen Yu and two other Gang Qi Stage warriors, it was not impossible for them to raise a Hell-grade demon!
Yes, this was the real purpose of the Six Union God Sect. Otherwise, they would not have expended so much effort in sieging the city.
Demons can evolve, not through the hard cultivation that the Human Clan warriors undergo, but by devouring flesh and blood, through which demons can continuously grow stronger.
The flesh and essence of over a million commoners, combined with numerous warriors, as well as the three Gang Qi Stage commanders, made the Six Union God Sect believe that there was a high probability of raising a Hell-grade demon this time.
Hell-grade demons are extremely terrifying in strength, with the weakest among them comparable to the Human Clan's Innate Realm. There haven't been many Hell-grade demons in Jiuzhou over the years.
The emergence of each Hell-grade demon is a disaster for Jiuzhou, and the Jing Tian Department has to dispatch at least one Town-keeping Envoy to suppress it.
Otherwise, if a Hell-grade demon were to run rampant, the entire Jiuzhou would be in catastrophe.
And the Six Union God Sect wanted to use this operation to raise a troop of Hell-grade demons and then merge them with the innately capable grandmasters of the Demon Sect, thus creating a force that no one in the Innate Realm could rival.
Chen Yu was also a quick thinker and could vaguely guess the Six Union God Sect's motives.
"Today, with me here, your plans will not succeed, and all of you are going to die!" Chen Yu said coldly, his face stern.
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