A resplendent sunrise spread across the eastern horizon, casting a multicolored glow on the boundless surface of the Jueyu Spring, creating ripples that shimmered in the breeze.

    Chen Yun, who was focusing on tinkering with the "body outside the body," suddenly woke up, realizing that he had spent the whole night thinking about this strange body.

    At that moment, the magic wand transmitted a pitiful consciousness of Merlin, "Master...I have told you all the secrets of the undead. Can you spare my life?"

    Chen Yun burst out laughing, his consciousness piercing into the magic staff and asked with interest, "If our roles were reversed, would you spare my life?"

    As soon as this was said, Merlin immediately realized what was going to happen and began cursing loudly.

    Chen Yun was too lazy to care about the other party, directly increased the strength of his divine consciousness, and crushed the soul of the other party at once.

    As a cultivator, one should follow the principle of respecting life in the Taoist path.

    Chen Yun has always adhered to this belief.

    In a situation where there is no alternative, he generally would not beat someone to the point of their soul dissipating.

    He would give them a chance at reincarnation.

    For example, the previous Kang Yuan and Lv Cheng, and even further back, there was Xu Ming.

    He did not beat them brutally to the point of their souls dissipating.

    The main reason is that he knows sending these souls to rebirth will not bring any more trouble to him and his companions, so he tries to give them a chance whenever possible.

    However, not everyone deserves a second chance.

    For instance, Liu Guibai, Lin Feiyun, Yan Wumu, and the ghost commander of Li Zhou.

    These people are either deeply sinful to the point of being universally detested by both gods and humans, or letting them off would later bring endless threats to him or those around him, so he can only resort to harsh measures out of necessity.

    Merlin is of the second type.

    Chen Yun knows that if he lets go of the other party today, there will definitely be a repetition of the two previous surprise attacks.

    By then, the other party would have made even more preparations. While he might be able to survive with the lifesaving divine aura, his companions, numbering over forty, are not a match for the high-level wizard Merlin. There's a possibility that they could be annihilated instantly.

    Compared to his companions' lives, he prefers to be more ruthless, and completely shatter Merlin's soul.

    "In essence, it's because I'm not strong enough."

    With Merlin's soul shattered, Chen Yun gazed at the rising sun, unable to suppress a sigh within his heart.

    "If I cultivate to the realm of true immortal, could a high-level wizard like Merlin still pose a threat to me and my companions?"

    Even without reaching the realm of True Immortal, just being a sect master would be enough to make him think that the old scoundrel Merlin wouldn't dare to challenge him repeatedly.

    The reason why the other side dares to keep coming and attacking is entirely because there are no people with enough power to restrain them on our side.

    Thinking about this, Chen Yun yearns for strength more than anything.

    This time, his desire to become stronger is not just because a higher realm would extend his lifespan, for he is already an upper-level wizard and has taken some elixirs, granting him at least a thousand or two years of life. There's no hurry for him at the moment. The main reason he wants to become stronger is to protect those around him and all the myriad sentient beings.

    Yes, Chen Yun's aspirations are vast.

    Since formally joining his master's door and receiving the guidance of Daoist knowledge, his heart no longer confines itself to one room but holds the heavens and earth.

    For instance, this time when he fought with Merlin, it caused countless aquatic creatures to suffer.

    This matter is still very regrettable to Chen Yun in his heart.

    It's not that he is a virtuous person.

    It's not because he is saintly or not. Rather, such unwarranted disasters should not have beenfall upon those countless aquatic creatures, and they were avoidable.

    This is his compassionate heart.

    A Daoist practitioner, if he lacks the basic compassionate heart, what Dao is there for him to cultivate and what truth is there for him to understand?

    Chen Yun put the magic wand into the spatial pocket created by the Taoist Treasure Box and looked at the duplicate of himself beside him, unable to help but shake his head. "I still have to go to the Silver Dragon Island. I don't have time to practice for now. When I finish my last mission, let my avatar use flying magic on his way back, and for myself, I can be in a cultivation sprint to refine water snake blood and centipede leg meat. It's all right."

    Now that his cultivation is approaching the mid-stage of upper-level mage, he is confident that by refining the essence blood of the water snake or the flesh of the centipede's feet, he can at least reach the mid-stage.

    After refining both the water snake's essence blood and the centipede's leg meat, it's possible to reach the late stage of an upper-level mage.

    As for whether he can reach the high-level mage, Chen Yun is still uncertain.

    Originally, he had considered that he would have time to refine himself during the journey back.

    Who would have thought that a bit of an accident occurred.

    As Chen Yun was about to gather with the others to continue his journey, he suddenly saw that the water in the distance was swallowed by Buddha's light, and then terrifying demonic energy instantly surged up. The two forces shook the heavens and earth in this area violently, and even Jueyu Spring was engulfed in giant waves.

    "What's happening?"

    "Why are those two real-level strong ones fighting again?"

    "Whew, from this distance, it seems that the battle this time is very close to us!"

    A commotion came from the camp direction, and the slightly fearful voices of Wu Kejiu, Qin Ming, and Long Nu Sanjiu among others floated on the wind.

    Looking at the golden Buddha light covering the sky and the dense demonic energy that didn't seem to let up, Chen Yun couldn't help but be secretly alarmed while experiencing the same doubts as everyone else.

    A few months ago, the Buddhist monk and the demon race's supreme being fought for nearly a month and a half, forcing many people to change their routes.

    However, just two months later, the two strong individuals ceased their disputes.

    "How did they start fighting again now?"

    The most crucial thing, Chen Yun can feel from the two terrifying power fluctuations that this time the Buddhist monk and the demon race supreme being are no more than ten thousand miles away from his side.

    Ten thousand miles is a very distant distance for ordinary people.

    However, for realms-level cultivators, ten thousand miles are not a significant distance.

    The energy tremors caused by the battle between the two parties could potentially unleash their power instantaneously.

    Disputes at this level are not something that Chen Yun, Wu Kejiu, Qin Ming, and their group can meddle in.

    Even simply watching from a distance could potentially cause harm.

    Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Chen Yun didn't waste any more time and quickly joined Wu Kejiu, Qin Ming, and Long Nu Sanjiu among others.

    ...

    Camp.

    The group of people all had unsightly expressions.

    Originally, everyone had planned to head to the Silver Dragon Island today, figure out a way to obtain the Silver Dragon Spur, and then conclude this journey.

    Never thought, that the Buddhist monk and the demon race supreme being would start fighting again.

    If the group of people were to continue to bravely head to the Silver Dragon Island, there's a high possibility they could be affected by the battle between the two realms-level cultivators, or even perish in this place.

    "Mr. Chen, what should we do?"

    "Mr. Wu, Mr. Qin, what do you think?"

    Long Nu Sanjiu, Gao Chen, and Ding Xu and others looked eagerly at the three "decision-makers."

    Although everyone was very surprised to see a "masked man" suddenly appear beside Chen Yun, these people were sensible enough to know not to ask about things they shouldn't, so no one inquired about who the "masked man" was.

    Chen Yun did not volunteer to explain about his "twin-body."

    He glanced at Wu Kejiu, sensing that the other party yearned for the Silver Dragon Spur and didn't want to leave just yet.

    However, for the safety of everyone's lives, Chen Yun still made a resolute order: "Let's leave the area of Jueyu Spring temporarily. We will return to fetch the Silver Dragon Spur after these realms-level cultivators finish their dispute."

    Wu Kejiu may not be entirely content with Chen Yun's order, but he knows that the current order is the most appropriate choice.

    Taking a deep breath, he said: "Everyone, do as Mr. Chen's intention. Leave this place immediately."

    "Okay!"

    "We're retreating now."

    Qin Ming, Long Nu Sanjiu, and Ding Xu responded in unison.

    Subsequently, the group left without even washing up.

    ...

    The group retreated to the edge of the Lalu Island, which is quite close to Jueyu Spring.

    In a small forest, they set up camp and stopped.

    The Buddhist light and demonic energy in the distance were still continuously entangling with each other, causing the earth and sky to tremble.

    No one knew how long the Buddhist monk and the demon race supreme being would continue their dispute, so everyone had to find something else to do.

    Someone took the initiative to take on the duty of patrolling and guards.

    Some people also took the opportunity to wash themselves or eat some dry food.

    Chen Yun was different from the others.

    After hesitating for a moment, Chen Yun resolutely took out a portion of the water snake's essence blood used for making wine, then used his magical power to ignite a bonfire and heat the wine until it was warm, before drinking it all at once.

    Since there's nothing to do currently, it's better to refine the water snake's essence blood.

    The essence blood of a jar of wine was consumed.

    Chen Yun sat cross-legged, waiting for the medicine's power to manifest and refine.

    At the same time, he gave an order to his double-body, that is, to protect himself well.

    Just as the instruction was sent, Chen Yun felt a sudden surge of intense heat rising from his stomach.

    "What a massive amount of energy!"

    Chen Yun felt a bit surprised.

    He hadn't expected that by simply consuming one-third of the water snake's essence blood, he could generate such a powerful medicine force.

    Without a moment to spare, Chen Yun quickly followed the practice path of the "Chen's Internal Elixir Canon."

    A warm current suddenly arose from his stomach, gradually spreading to his spleen.

    Following that, a massive spray of essence was released.

    The essence that was emitted was so much that Chen Yun could judge that it seemed to be more than that of the medium-grade Refining Essence into Qi soup.

    "Looks like the water snake's essence is truly an extraordinary treasure. With it, I may have a chance to breakthrough to the late-stage of an upper-level mage."

    Chen Yun thought in silence, and the essence that was emanating from his spleen began to travel around inside him.

    He woke up and focused his full attention on refining the effects of the water snake's essence, trying to convert as much of it into true qi as possible.

    As usual, the essence divided into two, each emanating from the right and left solar meridians, then soared up to the root of the tongue, through the temple, and into the Meridian Palace.

    Suddenly, the qi flowed into the Meridian Palace and then into the back of the head, gradually descending through the Twelve Rings, crossing through the waist, threading through the tail bone and rising up into the heart and Dan channel.

    Chen Yun felt a slight bitterness in his mouth, and a full mouth of golden and jade-like saliva was produced, transforming into nectar.

    After swallowing it, he felt warm in his chest.

    Following that, when the true qi descended, Chen Yun "felt" his body gradually enlarged, his spirit soaring, the moon and mountains all within him, with a feeling of towering above the sky and standing firmly on the ground. His limbs were all unaware of their existence.

    At this moment, he noticed something slightly different from before.

    Before, the true qi either directly descended to the lower Dantian, or a portion of it would be actively refined into shape.

    However, this time, when the true qi was generated, it was likely that only half of it flowed into the lower Dantian, while about three-tenths of it were refined into shape. As for the remaining two-tenths, they even spread to the Meridian Palace and continuously nourished and cultivated the essence mind!

    If it were not for Chen Yun's previous continuous refinement of a large amount of Refining Essence into Qi soup with the Wolf Stomach Soup, and his clear understanding of the changes in the generation of true qi within his body, perhaps he would not have been able to sense it immediately.

    "I've always felt that my cultivation speed seems to have slowed down. I couldn't figure out what was going on, but it seems that a part of the true qi is being used for refining shape and another part for nourishing the spirit. That's why my accumulation of true qi has been slowing down."

    Chen Yun thoughtfully pondered, but remained calmly refining the essence.

    A small circulation of the cosmic Qi.

    Five small circulations of the cosmic Qi.

    Ten small circulations of the cosmic Qi.

    Time passed minute by minute and second by second.

    Chen Yun did not count how many small circulations of the cosmic Qi he had performed. He only knew that the number of small circulations he had refined the water snake's essence for, was much more than that of the medium-grade Refining Essence into Qi soup per day.

    It might have been an hour.

    It might have been several days.

    When Chen Yun's body felt unable to bear the burden, the effects of the water snake's essence finally subsided.

    Chen Yun slowly opened his eyes, looking rather exhausted.

    The previous refinement of the water snake's essence had put his body under some overload.

    He did not immediately take out the water of life to repair the risks brought by the overload.

    Instead, he looked at the pitch-black sky as if it were midnight, and then began to check his body.

    When Chen Yun inspected himself internally, he found that this time, he had refine the water snake's essence to make his true qi surge a lot!

    "Why?" he was surprised, "After I reached the late-stage of an upper-level mage, the effects of the medium-grade Refining Essence into Qi soup have become very weak. Even when using the Wolf Stomach Soup to continuously refine it, it's impossible to produce that feeling of a surge in true qi. How can I gain so much by just refining the water snake's essence once?"

    It's not just that the amount of true qi has surged.

    Because the amount of true qi generated is quite large, his body seems to have become a bit more sturdy.

    This is something Chen Yun hadn't expected.

    After all, he had stopped cultivating the Fei Ling Jade Script taught by Xie Ziran.

    "Apparently, my internal elixir cultivation is more profound. Even when just cultivating true qi, I can still automatically refine shape and continuously enhance physical strength."

    Chen Yun was really curious about how strong the bodies of Wang Zixī, Cai Rújīn, Wang Lǎozhì, and Zheng Wénshū, who had not cultivated refining body techniques, would be after practicing the internal elixir art alone.

    He did not know the answer to this question for the time being, nor was it the right time to consider it.

    Chen Yun observed that besides making his physical body stronger through refining shape, it seems that his spirit also became stronger under the nourishment of a large amount of true qi.

    This enhancement was not as intense as the one gained through refining shape.

    "It seems that it is much more difficult to strengthen the spirit than to refine the body."

    Chen Yun finally knew how difficult it was to cultivate a divine being.

    He had refined so much true qi from the water snake's essence blood, yet his spirit had only slightly enhanced.

    Therefore, it could be inferred that the energy required to truly cultivate a Yang spirit is so vast that he cannot currently calculate it.

    Regardless, Chen Yun had at least felt the benefits of the water snake's essence blood today.

    This thing's effects are very powerful.

    Based on the refinement situation tonight, it might be possible that if all thirty portions of water snake's essence blood are refined, it could reach the late-stage of an upper-level mage.

    By then, if I take the centipede foot meat after that, there's a chance I could even reach the level of a high-grade mage.

    "In this case, it seems that I don't have to rush to gather the three missing ingredients for the high-grade Refining Essence into Qi soup. As long as I use the water snake's essence blood and the meat of the centipede foot well, I'm confident that I can cultivate to become a high-grade mage."

    Chen Yun felt very happy in his heart.

    "By the way, since my true qi has increased so much tonight, let's use the Qi Observing technique to see if my spiritual radiance has reached the middle stage of an upper-level mage."

    In the first place, he was already bordering on the middle stage of an upper-level mage.

    Now, he grew so much true qi by refining one portion of water snake's essence blood.

    He felt about seventy to eighty percent certain that he had reached the middle stage of an upper-level mage.

    Thinking of this, Chen Yun activated the Qi Observing technique and looked towards his own body.

    Then, he saw infinite crystal brightness emanating from his body, almost illuminating half of the sky!

    Upon seeing this, Chen Yun couldn't help but be overjoyed, "Finally, I've reached the middle stage of an upper-level mage!"

    Six months ago, when he first entered the Yueyue Spring Cave, he was only a mediocre middle-level mage.

    He hadn't expected that in about half a year, he would break through a major level and reach the middle stage of an upper-level mage.

    Chen Yun knew that his rapid increase in cultivation was entirely due to the collection of the ingredients needed for the medium-grade Refining Essence into Qi soup, as well as the water snake's essence blood, all thanks to the heavenly and earthy root essence.

    These heavenly and earthy roots are not lacking outside, but it is difficult to obtain them so quickly and all at once.

    It has to be said that exploring the Yueyue Spring Cave this time was indeed wise.

    If I hadn't come here, I might still be struggling as a mediocre mage, not knowing when I could reach the upper-level mage. Let alone being at the middle stage now, which isn't too far from becoming a high-grade mage.

    Chen Yun deeply inhaled a breath and said, "After helping Wu Kgevity obtain the Silver Dragon Needle, I will fully commit myself to sprinting towards the realm of high-grade mages in the next half year!"

    (The end of this chapter)

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