Chapter 129: Great Earth Spirit Gold, Nine Dragons Living Tendons

In ancient times, the Hegemon King famously lifted cauldrons; today, Wang Yu mirrored that feat by shoulder-throwing an ox.

The Earth-Rock Ox, covered in rock armor and weighing what seemed like tens of thousands of pounds, was expertly leveraged and violently lifted by him. With a single shoulder throw, it was slammed down, shattering the surrounding ground!

The dazed ox had barely mooed a few times when countless fist blows rained down on its soft abdomen. Each strike, powered by the might of nine flood dragon tendons, caused the ox to spit blood in less than three breaths.

This scene strikingly resembled Wang Yu three years prior, only now, the roles of victim and aggressor had been completely reversed.

As a second-tier ox demon, it was not easily subdued. Instinctively activating its bloodline secret art, rock spears suddenly erupted from the Earth-Rock Ox's armor, flying outwards to pierce.

Wang Yu had no choice but to leap back and dodge, quickly retreating while shielding his head with his arm.

When he lowered his arm and regained his vision, the Earth-Rock Ox had already gotten to its feet, its body shimmering with earthy-yellow spiritual light. It unexpectedly took to the air, and a large quantity of shattered rocks, condensed from spiritual energy, rotated before it.

This formed a drill-like rock spear, which charged towards him for a second assault.

Wang Yu's eyes narrowed.

This was the first time he had pushed the Earth-Rock Ox to such an extent using only his physical strength. Since it had resorted to its bloodline secret art, the physical training portion of their encounter had to conclude.

"Since you're playing dirty, I won't hold back either," Wang Yu thought.

With a thought, he activated the Soul Devouring Evil Armor technique. Black fiendish qi swirled and gathered around him, his killing intent surging to its peak. He gently stomped his right foot. Chilling ice spiritual energy surged forth.

Ice Coffin Curse!

Having refined this spell numerous times, he now had complete mastery over it. Immediately, thick walls of ice erupted from the ground, blocking the ox's path.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! —

Five consecutive ice walls were all shattered by the high-speed rotating rock spear, but its spiritual light had dimmed considerably, leaving little power remaining.

Wang Yu's lips curved upwards, and he brought his fists together.

Profound Yin Hand!

Grayish-white giant hands, perfectly materialized from fingertips to elbows, each 3.3 meters long, attached themselves to the outside of his hands.

The Earth-Rock Ox and Wang Yu were now in close proximity.

Suddenly.

Wang Yu clapped his hands together, his Profound Yin Hands clamping down on the high-speed rotating rock spear. With an upward snap, it shattered completely.

The ox's eyes widened, and it opened its mouth to spit out a golden light.

It was a rhombus-shaped piece of metal imbued with an intensely sharp aura, slicing through even the air itself.

"Well, well, you old ox, still hiding a killer move, are we?" Wang Yu exclaimed.

Wang Yu pulled his left arm back, and the Profound Yin Hand detached from its outer side. With two powerful slaps, it slammed the Earth-Rock Ox into the ground, holding it firmly.

His left arm, now charged, unleashed the immense power of the Divine Strength Corpse Arm. He punched at the incoming golden gleam, and at the moment of impact, the golden light pierced through the flesh and crushed the bones.

It drilled completely into the corpse arm's forearm before finally stopping. Wang Yu felt no pain in the corpse arm, but his mouth hung open in surprise.

The power of this killer move was beyond imagination. If it had struck his head, his Black Fiend Armor might not have been able to withstand it, considering the Divine Strength Corpse Arm already possessed the defense of mountain-ridge-patterned corpse qi armor.

For it to have penetrated so deeply, this Earth-Rock Ox was certainly not weak.

"I underestimated you," he murmured.

Without delaying, after blocking the golden gleam's assault, Wang Yu struck with both hands, using the Profound Yin Hands to continuously pound the Earth-Rock Ox deeper into the ground.

He fought for several minutes, shattering the rock armor on its body, before finally punching the ox to death.

Years of their 'relationship' were lost in a single day.

He shook his head and placed the corpse into his storage bag. This early second-tier Earth-Rock Ox was quite valuable; just consuming its meat would greatly benefit Wang Yu's physical cultivation.

Then, he extracted the golden gleam's original form from his left arm. It was, in fact, a somewhat irregular rhombus-shaped piece of metal, about the size of a fingernail. But after Wang Yu's careful observation and purification with spiritual energy, a look of delight appeared on his face.

"A third-tier spiritual material – Earth Spirit Gold!"

The third-tier corresponds to the Core Formation stage, and this material was indeed suitable for refining a Natal Magic Treasure. However, its size was a problem; it wasn't even half a portion, making it difficult to fully utilize its value.

Integrating it into a second-tier magic tool would feel like a waste.

It was a bit of an awkward treasure to use effectively, but as an unexpected bonus, it was still a minor stroke of luck, so he had no complaints.

The Earth-Rock Ox couldn't refine this spiritual material, so it had only used it crudely.

After safely storing the item, Wang Yu then controlled his flying sword to gather the 'Earth Spirit Dendrobium' from the cliff face. This was essentially a type of moss that grew on rocks, possessing significant medicinal value.

By alchemist standards, there was roughly enough for five portions.

With a satisfying harvest, he returned to soak in the hot spring.

Half an hour later.

In the Rift Cliff Cave.

As usual, he bathed while treating his injuries. The damage to his corpse arm couldn't be healed by ordinary methods; it required the Corpse Devil Secret Art to slowly absorb Yin and Corpse Qi for recovery.

However, these two types of energy could only be generated in specific environments.

Wang Yu temporarily placed the Corpse Devil Secret Art in Slot 4 and would remove it once his injuries healed. According to his plan, he wouldn't permanently keep this incomplete secret art in a slot until after he broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

As for the body-refining cultivation method, 'Flood Dragon Vigor,' he had not only fully comprehended it but also brought its realm to perfection.

Namely — Nine Dragon Live Tendons!

With the main spine as the core, nine flood dragon-like veins extended throughout his limbs and bones, significantly boosting his physical strength. This was also the foundation for his ability to wrestle with the Earth-Rock Ox.

Overall, his physique was not as strong as the Earth-Rock Ox's, but it wasn't far off—at most 30% weaker, a gap he could bridge with skill.

The dragon-species demon beast essence blood he had purchased at a hefty price from Jinman Tower back then had all been used up, in exchange for this peak first-tier physique. His qi and blood were so abundant that they were not inferior to demon beasts of the same tier.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this physique would be sufficient for his breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment stage.

But Wang Yu was not satisfied.

He still possessed the wondrous item for body-refining Foundation Establishment, 'Vajra Liquid.' After a few more months of preparation, he could attempt to consume this treasure to complete his body-refining Foundation Establishment, thus acquiring the combat strength of a Foundation Establishment cultivator ahead of time!

At that point, the Divine Strength Corpse Arm could also be honorably retired.

He could then seek out a third-tier corpse arm for temporary use, provided, of course, that the Corpse Devil Secret Art was also perfected to the second-tier level. Otherwise, if he couldn't suppress the death qi, he would ultimately suffer the consequences.

For now, the matter of his body-refining breakthrough still needed to be postponed.

The issue of subsequent cultivation methods was also a bother, and Wang Yu preferred to use the placement slot's derivation and advancement effects to compensate for this.

Placement Slot 4: Flood Dragon Vigor (Deriving...)

'Flood Dragon Vigor (20/100): Ninety-six practices per day, sixteen years to completion.'

Like the 'Cold Blood Art,' this cultivation method also required twenty years to advance. For a long time, Slot 4 would remain occupied.

However, Slot 3 was available.

Because the moment Wang Yu had been eagerly anticipating was finally approaching!

Placement Slot 3: Demonic Embryo Profound Origin Secret Curse (Perfected↑)

'Demonic Embryo Profound Origin Secret Curse (100/100): One hundred and eight practices per day, one hundred years to complete.'

To further advance this secret curse, a full century would be required.

For a long time to come, Wang Yu wouldn't consider placing it in a slot, as the secret curse itself was already of a high grade, sufficient for his use for a considerable period.