Chapter 758: Research on the Body Refining Technique

Following the prompt, he scanned the lock with his personal terminal, and the box automatically popped open. Inside lay five neatly arranged little boxes, each sealed with a special material and labeled with a name and a serial number.

Dragon Bone Grass, Iron Thread Vine, Golden Stone Flower, Blood Jade Ginseng, and Red Dragon Fruit—all five items were present.

Xu Wuyi picked up the box containing the Dragon Bone Grass and gently opened it. A distinct aroma wafted out; though the scent itself was delicate, inhaling just a single whiff left his entire spirit reinvigorated. Resting inside was an entirely golden medicinal herb. It was shaped like a miniature dragon’s bone, segmented, with each joint giving off a faint glow. This was the Dragon Bone Grass, a rare treasure that, according to legend, grew only where a True Dragon had fallen. It contained a trace of a True Dragon’s legacy and could vastly strengthen a Martial Artist’s bones and muscles.

Xu Wuyi observed it for a moment before carefully closing the lid and putting it back. These items couldn’t be used directly; they needed to be combined with a Body Refining Technique to maximize their effects. He planned to wait until his Body Refining Technique was further perfected before using them. Storing the box away in the corner of the Cultivation Room, he resumed his research on the Body Refining Technique.

Over the following days, batches of resources were delivered one after another. From those meant to strengthen muscles and bones to those for refining blood, and from those that stimulated internal organs to those that nourished the spirit—everything was accounted for. The resources piled up in the corner of the Cultivation Room, gradually forming a small mountain. Xu Wuyi made a rough estimate. The market value of these resources was enough for an ordinary person to live in luxury for dozens of lifetimes. However, to a Grandmaster, they were mere consumables for cultivation.

Half a month later, the final batch of resources arrived. It was a “Heart Lotus.” Rumor had it that this plant grew at the bottom of a bottomless abyss, requiring the alternating impacts of extreme cold and extreme heat to mature successfully. Its function was to strengthen the heart, ensuring that it could maintain stable operation even in extreme environments.

Winter in Linjiang City was much milder than in Red River. Even though it was already December, the river surface hadn’t frozen; only a thin layer of white mist would rise in the early mornings. Xu Wuyi stood on the balcony, holding a cup of hot water as he watched a cargo ship slowly pass by on the distant river.

The recent period of rest had allowed him to completely relax, and the sheer exhaustion from his continuous battles had mostly dissipated. But he knew this state wouldn’t last much longer. The invitations from those Battle Groups were still waiting, his research on the Body Refining Technique had just begun, and the path of a Grandmaster was still very long. Resting was meant to prepare him for a better journey forward, not to bring him to a halt.

Finishing his last sip of water, he turned and went back inside. The living room was quiet. Sunlight spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a warm patch of light onto the floor. Taking a seat on the sofa, he activated his personal terminal and pulled up the complete files regarding the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace.

This was the fundamental Heart Method he had cultivated ever since his senior year of high school—an inheritance created by Grandmaster Yue Lianshan. From Martial Artist to Innate, from Innate to Quasi-Grandmaster, and now to Grandmaster, the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace had accompanied him through his most crucial years. His application of Heart Fire, his refining of Qi and Blood, and his understanding of the Heart Image had all been built step by step on the foundation of this Heart Method. But now, he needed to re-evaluate it. It wasn’t because the technique was lacking, but because it was no longer suitable for his current self.

Xu Wuyi closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into his mind. The pale blue Heart of Order was still slowly rotating, surrounded by an almost imperceptible halo. He quietly felt its operation, savoring the sensation of having everything under his absolute control. Then, he began to recall every single detail of the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace.

The burning of the Heart Fire, the circulation of Qi and Blood, and the condensation of the Heart Image—every step vividly replayed in his mind. The energy circulation routes he had cultivated countless times and the mantras and key principles he had long committed to memory all surfaced at this moment. He reviewed them over and over, pondering them time and again. But the more he pondered, the more acutely he became aware of a problem: a fundamental conflict.

The core of the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace was “fire”—it was burning, it was refining. Grandmaster Yue Lianshan’s Rule was Flame, which subsequently derived into refining. Therefore, the entire design of this Heart Method revolved around these Rules. The Heart Fire was the Flame, Qi and Blood were the fuel, and the Heart Image was the extension of the Flame. The process of cultivation was about using the Flame to repeatedly refine oneself, allowing both the body and the Heart Image to be continuously strengthened within the combustion.

However, his current Rule was Order, not Flame. Although Order contained Flame within it, that was merely a form of inclusion, not equivalence. He could invoke the Flame Rule, but it was only a fraction of Order, not its entirety. If he were to use the method of the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace to refine his body, the energy circulation routes designed around the Flame Rule and the refining methods optimized for the traits of Flame would actually become a constraint to his current self. It would be like trying to forge a gun using the techniques meant for a sword; although both dealt with metal, the approaches were fundamentally misaligned.

Xu Wuyi opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath. In truth, he had vaguely sensed this conclusion a long time ago. It was just that he had been constantly on the move and perpetually engaged in battles, leaving him with no time to stop and think carefully. Now that he had the time and a quiet environment, the realization became exceptionally clear.

The Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace was no longer suited for him.