Chapter 310: Superior - Earth and Wood Holy Body

Chapter 309: Advanced Earth Elemental Saint Body (8/8)

Zhang Yu, a civil engineering freshman, is also a master of construction site survival. For months, he has been on a quest for wild delicacies found on building sites, risking his life to obtain the freshest, most delicious, and most expensive ingredients.

Days ago, he traveled thousands of miles by flying boat to this perilous post-war ruin. Covering over a thousand acres, the area was fraught with unimaginable dangers: residual Golden Core magical power, still-active array formations, and various invisible yet harmful contaminants. High temperatures, explosions, and diseases all threatened his life, attempting to break down his mental fortitude. If Zhang Yu were severely injured by these dangers, he would be sent to the team's doctor, bringing his adventure to an end.

However, what he was most wary of was not the deadly threats from the wild, but rather other predators who were also seeking their own targets. Stronger, older, and more experienced civil engineering upperclassmen could easily snatch food from him. To avoid competition with his peers, Zhang Yu had to travel further to find precious ingredients growing in remote, rarely visited locations.

At this very moment, he carefully navigated the ruins, his divine vision fully active, wary of every sound and movement around him. A swirling mist accompanied him, sweeping over fragmented building materials, unidentified parts, and shattered equipment. From time to time, he would pick up materials with a metallic sheen or tools of unknown purpose, and after examining them, casually toss them back to the ground. In these perilous ruins, food was always hidden in obscure corners.

Suddenly, Zhang Yu’s eyes narrowed slightly; he seemed to have found something. The Wuxiang Yungang transformed into spiraling energy currents, drawing a cylindrical object directly before him. This appeared to be a module from a puppet production line. It contained Erosion Abyss Membrane, a material with acid-resistant, high-temperature resistant, and impact-resistant properties—precisely the industrial treasure Zhang Yu had long sought.

Zhang Yu touched the cylinder’s inner lining, using the knowledge and experience he had gained over the past few days to identify it. Soon, a smile spread across his face as he carefully began processing this "gift from nature." With a gentle flick of his index finger, an Azure Silk Flying Sword wrapped around it activated, sweeping a beam of sword light across the cylinder and slicing it into dozens of pieces. After the single cut, the green silk rewrapped itself around Zhang Yu’s index finger, but it had lost its mystical properties and would require a full day and night to reabsorb spiritual energy to recover.

Picking up the fragments from the ground, Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Good thing Ah Zhen gave me this Azure Silk Flying Sword. Otherwise, even if I found these materials, it would take me a lot of time to process them for concealment or ingestion." Zhang Yu opened his mouth and swallowed the fragments of Erosion Abyss Membrane. Although ravenously hungry, Zhang Yu did not immediately activate his Scholarly Saint Body or employ the Earth-Eating Saint Art to digest the food in his stomach. He knew that in such a dangerous environment, he would be extremely vulnerable while fully digesting. So, Zhang Yu merely stored the Erosion Abyss Membrane in his stomach for the time being, intending to process the day's harvest after work.

A moment later, Zhang Yu found another section of pipe, which required three Azure Silk Flying Swords to cut open. "No. 15 Spirit-Law Secret Steel," he mused, "is a weaker version of No. 20 Secret Steel, yet it still required three swords to cut. Indeed, I’m still a long way from being able to digest No. 20 Secret Steel." Zhang Yu swallowed the fragments of No. 15 Secret Steel, thinking, "Like No. 20 Secret Steel, I’ll store this for now. After I’ve strengthened my stomach and intestines with Erosion Abyss Membrane, and then further reinforced them with this No. 15 Secret Steel, I can attempt to digest No. 20 Secret Steel…"

While clearing the ruins, he continued to collect and process ingredients. Soon, it was time for Zhang Yu to clock off. While his classmates went for massages, he buried the collected ingredients in a prepared pit. He then retrieved some Erosion Abyss Membrane, activated his Scholarly Saint Body, employed the Earth-Eating Saint Art, and began to fully digest this rare find. "Too bad, food but no elixirs to enhance it." But Zhang Yu knew that one couldn’t be too picky on an outdoor construction site. He shook his head and circulated his magical power, diligently digesting the food in his stomach. Bit by bit, the strands of Erosion Abyss Membrane were refined into his stomach, gradually enhancing its resilience and resistance, as if his stomach were slowly being covered in a layer of armor. With each refined strand of Erosion Abyss Membrane, his digestive capabilities grew stronger, gradually resembling a massive millstone, grinding away every item that entered his stomach.

In the following days, Zhang Yu dedicated himself to collecting and refining ingredients, all while continuing to clear the ruins. In just over a week, relying on the peak Foundation Establishment digestive power granted by his Scholarly Saint Body and his Level 20 Earth-Eating Saint Art, he refined over 10 spirit coins’ worth of Erosion Abyss Membrane into his esophagus, stomach, and intestines, training all three to become as impregnable as bronze walls and iron fortifications.

Thus, a few days before the ruins were fully cleared, he finally began to attempt digesting No. 15 Secret Steel. First, he expended the energy of seven Azure Silk Flying Swords to cut more than a dozen metal blocks into hundreds of minute fragments. Zhang Yu then swallowed the fragments, and the voracious magical power condensed by his Earth-Eating Saint Art surged forth. Aided by his peak Foundation Establishment digestive power, he began to continuously break down the No. 15 Secret Steel. Feeling the No. 15 Secret Steel being slowly and arduously digested, gradually diminishing, Zhang Yu then activated his Battle Demon Life-Sapping Art, temporarily boosting his physical strength level by a full 1.0. His internal organs instantly erupted like a volcanic explosion, unleashing incredibly ferocious power. Like a massive millstone, they relentlessly ground the No. 15 Secret Steel under the enhancement of the voracious magical power. Zhang Yu then activated his Level 20 Limitless Tremor Zen, further accelerating his digestion through high-frequency vibrations. Feeling bits of No. 15 Secret Steel being digested by his stomach, enhancing its strength along with the Erosion Abyss Membrane, Zhang Yu finally felt a trace of satisfaction.

"This No. 15 Secret Steel already requires my utmost effort to barely digest." "Once I refine No. 20 Secret Steel into my bones, what level of strength will I achieve?"

Days later, with the ruins cleared, the construction site entered its second phase: the construction of the Magic Corpse Factory’s workshops. With the start of workshop construction, teachers and students from the Artifact Forging Academy, along with those from the Architecture Department, successively began to arrive. However, unlike the civil engineering department, which used this project for student training, for the Artifact Forging Academy and Architecture Department, this outdoor Magic Corpse Factory project was merely a moneymaking venture. Furthermore, as their roles were primarily design, supervision, and quality inspection, not many personnel were required.

Without the dangerous ruins, Zhang Yu activated his Scholarly Saint Body daily, diligently working while simultaneously practicing his Earth Elemental Saint Body cultivation art. Previously, his constant reliance on the Earth Elemental Saint Body art for safety had slowed his progress in the Mountain True Form Scripture; now, however, his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds. With the Mountain True Form Scripture activated, Zhang Yu’s body expanded, and he slammed down palm after palm, firmly securing the steel bars before him. Watching the departing seniors around him, Zhang Yu's eyes displayed precise measurements as he reminded them, "1.3 millimeters won't do here; the requirement is no more than 1 millimeter." That day, he also advanced the Mountain True Form Scripture to Level 10. After the cultivation art reached Level 10, Zhang Yu felt his body’s expansion was no longer full-body; it could now locally expand his muscles and sinews. "After Level 10, can I expand muscles and sinews locally?" After sensing the cultivation art's new power, he checked the group chat messages and, with a sigh, urged, "Have the architecture department's blueprints not arrived yet? Can someone urge them along? We've been waiting for almost an hour."

After a day and night of busy work, it was finally time to clock off again. Zhang Yu usually refrained from casually using the Spirit World Network and was equally reluctant to use the similarly expensive Sky Patrol Flying Sword Network. But at this moment, Zhang Yu held a Profound Creation Relic, drawing upon its high-quality magical power. At the same time, he connected to the site’s Spirit World Network to report his safety to Bai Zhenzhen and Zhang Pianpian, request class videos from Yu Xinghan, and greet Le Mulan. "Ah Zhen," he messaged, "my seniors went for massages again. Of course, I didn't go. Those six masseuses work overtime every day and don't even have time to bathe; I find it quite unhygienic." The fulfilling life at the construction site made Zhang Yu feel like a piece of steel being repeatedly forged, constantly tempered under high temperatures and pressures, advancing on the path of immortality with every passing second.

Half a month later, not only had his cultivation greatly advanced, but he also grew increasingly familiar with the construction site, gaining richer experience. Looking at the size of the steel bars before him, Zhang Yu said to Che Yufei beside him, "It's only off by two millimeters. I think it's good enough; we're not forging immortal artifacts." Che Yufei frowned, about to speak, but upon seeing a piece of No. 20 Secret Steel slipped to him, he subtly raised an eyebrow and discreetly tucked it into his sleeve. "Just this once," he said, "but don't let it happen again." After Che Yufei left, Shi Yunxiang, who was nearby, asked, "Did Teacher Tu's group say the blueprints have been sent?" Zhang Yu replied, "What blueprints are you waiting for? I finished installing that layer ages ago. How could those designers understand the on-site situation as well as we do?" "It's time to clock off. I'm heading out."

Shi Yunxiang returned to his room, only to find Che Yufei and the others already there. "None of you went for massages?" he asked, puzzled. Che Yufei replied helplessly, "Those masseuses haven't bathed in a long time, and we all found them unhygienic. Only Zhang Yu went."

With a soft thud. Zhang Yu dug open the pit where he had buried his stash, retrieving a portion of No. 20 Secret Steel. As Che Yufei and the others had stopped going for massages these past few days, Zhang Yu simply used "massage" as an excuse to slip out for his daily "meal." "The masseuses are bathing tomorrow," he thought. "Che Yufei and the others will probably resume their massages and relaxation then." Zhang Yu looked at the No. 20 Secret Steel in his hand. Now that he had strengthened his stomach and intestines with No. 15 Secret Steel, it was finally time to digest the No. 20 Secret Steel. This precious material, used to protect the core parts of puppets, possessed strength comparable to certain body parts of peak Foundation Establishment Body Refining experts. It was not only explosion-proof and impact-resistant but also capable of evenly absorbing martial force. Previously, when Zhang Yu used his Azure Silk Flying Swords for cutting, he could only barely cut off a palm-sized piece, consuming the power of seven green silks in a single day.

At this very moment, Zhang Yu’s mouth, abdomen, and chest suddenly swelled. This was because, having advanced the Mountain True Form Scripture to Level 20, he now possessed the ability to temporarily expand his esophagus, stomach, intestines, and other internal organs when the cultivation art was active. And with the Mountain True Form Scripture having reached Level 20 a few days prior, his Earth Elemental Saint Body had finally advanced to its second layer.

**Advanced Earth Elemental Saint Body (8/8):** During the Foundation Establishment stage, the consumption of lifespan from activating cultivation arts, ingesting materials, and taking elixirs is greatly reduced. The Earth Elemental Saint Body allows you to work until old age, always on the path of labor.

"What a truly beneficial Saint Body!" he mused. "With this Earth Elemental Saint Body, I can more freely activate certain cultivation arts and consume some longevity-draining elixirs. It’s also fortunate that I only expended a maximum of one year of my lifespan during this period; I still have plenty of life left to spare."