Chapter 233 - 227: Great Success Five Beasts, Not a Heart Scene, but May Fight One

Chapter 233: Chapter 227: Great Success Five Beasts, Not a Heart Scene, but May Fight One

’If it doesn’t work once or twice, I’ll just have to try a few more times. It’s bound to succeed eventually.’

’But this Microscopic Skill cultivation is fundamental. I have to find a way to compensate for it.’

Fu Juemin thought to himself.

Now that he had a clear method for his breakthrough, there was no way he would go back to the tedious, grinding practice of "Fire Refining" and "Gold Refining" with candles and copper coins.

The solution Fu Juemin came up with could only be one thing—allocating his Skill Points!

After killing the Toad Demon from the Toad Palace, he now had two more Skill Points.

His Pharmacist Skill and Dragon Elephant Skill were both already at the Great Success stage. To advance them further would require more than two Skill Points—perhaps three, or even four.

Fu Juemin wasn’t certain of the exact cost, but he didn’t want to just hoard the points, so he decided to upgrade his other Martial Arts first.

The next tier of upgrade choices was much broader—the Six Great Seal Techniques of Dragon and Elephant, the Pharmacist Master Purifying Light Saber, the Five Aggregates Profound Slaughter Technique, and the Five Beasts Skill.

To compensate for his weakness in Microscopic Skill, the Five Beasts Skill was undoubtedly the most suitable choice. Moreover, upgrading the Five Beasts Skill provided an additional bonus to his [Life] Attribute, so spending one point on it was a must.

’As for the other point... upgrading the Dragon Elephant Seal Technique would probably be best.’

Currently, Fu Juemin relied mainly on the Five Beasts Skill Five Forms of Movement and the Dragon Elephant Seal Technique in combat.

The Pharmacist Master’s Blade didn’t suit his style, so unless he had Skill Points to spare, he wouldn’t be actively upgrading it anytime soon.

Having made his decision, Fu Juemin no longer hesitated, tapping the golden "+" symbol next to the entry for the Five Beasts Skill.

In an instant, the word "Mastery" after Five Beasts Skill changed to "Great Success," and the golden "+" symbol vanished. It seemed that upgrading the Five Beasts Skill beyond the Great Success stage would require more than one Skill Point.

A massive torrent of memories poured into his mind, and countless flashes of light and shadow merged into the very depths of his flesh and blood.

Tiger Form, Bear Form, Deer Form, Ape Form, Bird Form.

Fu Juemin closed his eyes. Beneath his soft bathrobe, his skin and muscles undulated ceaselessly, like ripples on water.

The aura he projected cycled constantly, shifting between ferocity, solidity, unpredictability, nimbleness, and swiftness.

Fu Juemin felt like a dry sponge, rapidly absorbing the ocean of "nutrients" that came with advancing the Five Beasts Skill from Mastery to Great Success.

The three hundred and ninety-six movements of the dynamic skill were further deconstructed and reassembled in his mind. At first, the forms became infinitely complex, exhausting every possible variation, but then, from the height of complexity, a simple elegance was born, gradually returning to its purest form.

The feeling of his body being like uncarved jade, repeatedly forged and polished, grew ever more distinct.

This "polishing" sensation wasn’t merely mental; it had a physical component as well.

Fu Juemin clearly perceived his Qi Blood beginning to rise again. Newly generated Vitality circulated on its own, scouring and opening deeper, more hidden meridians and acupoints within his Great Success Tongxuan realm, connecting them one by one...

A vast and pure stream of clear qi formed in his chest, "washing" over all his internal organs before sinking into his Dantian to merge with the vortex of Innate Primordial Qi.

"SNAP!"

A crisp sound, like shattering glass that only he could hear, emanated from deep within his Dantian.

When the countless phantoms faded and the enlightenment from the upgrade subsided, he looked down and was stunned to discover that the vortex of Innate Primordial Qi within him...

...had transformed into a single drop of warm, mellow, milky-white liquid that exuded a rich aura of Life, floating silently in his Dantian.

In both quality and quantity, it was more than ten times greater than before!

’Great Success Five Beasts Skill, [Life] +7, and it actually added 10 points to [Attack]?!’

’Did my [Life] Attribute reaching 20 trigger a further qualitative change?’

Fu Juemin was a bit stunned as he looked at the values displayed on his character panel.

He thought for a moment, then rose from the soft couch.

The importance of the [Life] Attribute was self-evident; it was directly related to his sustainability after activating the Black Flower and his [Demon Body].

Moreover, after the Innate Primordial Qi underwent a qualitative change, his intuition told him that this drop of liquid, condensed purely from life force, likely had applications far beyond this.

Of course, he had no time to ponder this now; his first priority was to test the effects of the Five Beasts Skill at the Great Success stage.

The Great Success stage of the Five Beasts Skill provided a full seven more points of bonus Attack than the Mastery stage, pushing Fu Juemin’s [Attack] to a high of 43 points!

It might not seem like a large increase, as there was significant "overlap," but considering his [Attack] was already starting at 40, the value of those three points was terrifying if one considered them as free Attribute Points.

As Fu Juemin made a tentative move, a powerful feeling of perfect, unobstructed harmony flowed through his entire body.

’According to the five great realms of the Five Beasts Skill—Form Movement, Spiritual Resemblance, Transformation, Integration, and Returning to the Origin—I should have now reached the realm of ’Integration’!’

What was Integration?

It meant the true essence of the Five Beasts was integrated into one’s Qi Blood and bone marrow, so that every movement embodied the natural way!

No wonder his [Attack] Attribute had soared.

Fu Juemin had intended to test the Vitality generated by his 43 points of Attack, but the moment he began the Five Beasts Qigong, he changed his mind.

He lifted the tent flap and stepped outside. There on the tidal flats, amidst the biting river wind, he began to practice the Five Beasts Five Forms Dynamic Skills, one form at a time.

Tiger Form, Listening to the Wind.

Fu Juemin initiated with a "Fierce Tiger Out of the Cage" lunge. The instant he struck, a puff of white air, sharp as a sword, pulsed from his lungs with his breath.

Vitality generated spontaneously, his intent channeling to his fingertips. In an instant, his sinews and bones rang like iron, and his clawing fingers tore through the air with the sound of ripping silk, emitting a frightening metallic hum!

Then he transitioned to the Deer Form, raising his head. The sharp, exposed aura instantly retracted, replaced by the supple, enduring resilience of a vine winding around a tree, ceaselessly flowing.

Next came the Bear Form, heavy and stable as a mountain; the Ape Form, like fire, agile and unpredictable; the Bird Form, elusive and silent as water...

The Five Beasts and the Five Elements cycled endlessly. He grasped the spirit and forgot the form, shattering physical shackles to resonate with the world itself!

Again and again, Fu Juemin practiced, the Five Beasts Five Forms coming to him effortlessly. Each movement contained the beast’s intent, all perfectly integrated, creating a fluid, exhilarating, and natural display that was beyond words.

Gradually, the Vitality in his body surfaced, forming wisps of near-tangible, pale white vapor. This vapor condensed but did not disperse, and as he shifted between forms, it faintly coalesced behind him into the corresponding images of the Five Beasts!

As he reached the peak of his practice, even the sound of his strikes tearing through the air changed. Similar to the Dragon Elephant Wisdom Seal, the sound mimicked a tiger’s roar, a deer’s call, an ape’s shriek...

The biting river wind on the tidal flats was stirred by an invisible force, twisting into countless chaotic vortexes that howled and spiraled above Fu Juemin.

"WHOOSH—!!!"

At a certain moment, the core of the vortex, condensed to its absolute limit, exploded violently!

In a daze, it was as if tens of thousands of translucent birds made of Vitality had burst from the epicenter, scattering with a great flapping of wings... one could almost hear the dense, rain-like patter of their fluttering!

"BOOM—WHOOSH!"

A violent torrent of air rushed outward in all directions like a tidal wave, kicking up a storm of sand and stones. On the tidal flats, the remaining men of the Ghost Camp who were watching Fu Juemin’s practice were all but stunned, their hearts reeling in shock.

Who would believe such a supernatural, miraculous sight if they hadn’t witnessed it themselves?

Ever since the battle at Rust River Crossing Railway Station, this "Young Master" they followed had continuously reshaped their understanding of the world in ways that defied imagination.

When the wind died and the air settled, a circular clearing had been carved out on the tidal flats, the sand and stones pushed evenly outward.

In the center of the clearing, Fu Juemin stood quietly in the final pose of the Bird Form. Small vortexes of air still lingered around him, causing his bathrobe to flutter.

The Five Beasts Skill was known for its dynamic movements, but it naturally had corresponding killing moves. What Fu Juemin had just executed was the ultimate move of the Bird Form—[Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix]!

Previously, Fu Juemin had always found its power to be mediocre. Only now, having achieved Great Success in the Five Beasts Skill, did he comprehend the subtle and intricate transformations of Vitality it entailed, which were nothing short of incredible!

And with the current power and depth of his Vitality, in the Tongxuan Gratitude realm, he could be considered peerless in this era, if not unprecedented in all time!

The power of this [Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix] had increased severalfold in his hands, to the point where it could manifest that extraordinary spectacle, like ten thousand birds paying homage to their sovereign.

Fu Juemin stood quietly in the center of the clearing, his gaze profound, as if lost in thought.

Suddenly, with a shift in his thoughts, a bewitching Black Flower bloomed on his chest.

"BZZZT—"

As the Black Flower activated, his already immense and unparalleled Vitality surged once more, its color shifting from pale white to a deep, inky black, its texture becoming as thick and turbid as a living miasma.

Countless streams of black qi steamed from his pores. Instead of dispersing, they slowly interwove in mid-air, gradually coalescing into a massive, blurry, and constantly writhing, ferocious phantom.

At that moment, Fu Juemin’s eyes shone with a strange light as he called out in a low voice, "Big Cat!"

Big Cat approached silently.

Fu Juemin asked, "What do you see?"

Big Cat tilted his head up, staring blankly at the terrifying, ever-shifting phantom behind Fu Juemin, his throat working.

Finally, he murmured, "I see it.

Young Master’s Heart Scene... it’s a great serpent."

"How could someone like me, merely in the Tongxuan realm, have a Heart Scene."

Hearing this, Fu Juemin shook his head in amusement, but then he spoke again, slowly.

"But, you’re not entirely wrong... This thing just might be able to fight a Heart Scene!"

After saying this, he chuckled, suddenly shrugging off his bathrobe. His entire being transformed into a black streak that tore through the air. Wrapped in his Vitality, he resembled an enormous, indistinct black python as he plunged headfirst into the roaring, bone-chilling heart of the river.

The Great Success Five Beasts Skill had shored up the final weakness in Fu Juemin’s Martial Dao. Now, he couldn’t be bothered with upgrading the Dragon Elephant Seal. He had only one thought... to try again!

To try and see if he could ascend to the Gratitude realm as soon as possible!