Chapter Forty-Four: The Fivefold Post-Heaven

  The stands were silent for half a moment before erupting into a chorus of gasps and cries.

  "Chu Shixiong actually lost! Good heavens, I can hardly believe it. Half a foot into the Sixth Stage of the Post-Heaven realm and he's defeated by a new disciple!"

  "This Xia Chen is simply too strong, he's only been practicing for less than half a year and can already defeat Chu Zhen Tian, such a powerful senior disciple. This kind of growth rate is simply monstrous!"

  "I was still unconvinced before and thought Gu Yuan's divine body wasn't that impressive, but now I only feel terrified!"

  Li Fang, Yu Hao and Chu Zhenhai were all shocked to the extreme, never expecting that Chu Zhen Tian would rise to a higher level again, only to be defeated by Xia Chen's Blood Palm!

  "Take Zhen Tian away, let's go!" Zheng Yi squeezed out a few words from between his teeth, his face deathly pale, and strode away without looking back.

  Today was a huge loss, not only did he fail to get rid of Xia Chen, but also lost the precious yuan stone. On his way back, he might even have to endure a scolding from Xu Fang, Zheng Yi's heart was burning with anger.

  Liang Fa and others rushed onto the scene and carried down Chu Zhen Tian who was unconscious, as Zheng Yi went far away.

  Sun Li and the other two were overjoyed, just now they also held their breath in anxiety, now the heart that was lifted can finally be put down.

  However, under the gaze of everyone, Xia Chen remained motionless, standing stiffly in the arena, as if he had become a sculpture, without even changing his posture.

  Everyone's face changed color, as if they felt something was off.

  "Xia Chen, what's wrong?" Sun Li shouted, as Chen Lie and Fang Qiu were about to go on stage.

  "Wait, don't disturb him yet." Chen Qiushui suddenly said, her beautiful eyes fixed on Xia Chen, her gaze revealing a hint of surprise, as if she had noticed something.

  "Master sister, is Xia Chen injured? What's wrong with him?" Sun Li stopped in her tracks and asked anxiously.

  "Don't worry, he's fine." Chen Qiushui's mouth corners slightly curved upwards, revealing a hint of enchanting smile.

  Rustling and crackling sounds...

  Suddenly, a crystal clear cracking sound came from Xia Chen's body, and immediately after, he slowly sat down on the ground, closing his eyes to meditate.

  This... broke through? Everyone was stunned.

  Xia Chen closed his eyes and sat upright, the true energy inside his body circulating endlessly. From the Dan Tian, it flowed through the meridians, cycling back and forth, penetrating into his skin, flesh, and tendons, yet not stopping for a moment, continuing on to his bones.

  Clap! Clap! Clap!

  His entire skeletal system kept crackling with explosive sounds, which was the sound of true energy tempering his bones. Every surge of true energy would make his skeleton as hard as fine steel and as flexible as tape.

  With each piece of bone refined, Xia Chen would become stronger by a fraction.

  His cultivation was originally the peak of the four post-heavens, and after bitterly cultivating the Thunder Seal and the Great Diamond Body, he should have already entered the Five-Element Bone Refining Realm. However, Xia Chen had been deliberately suppressing it, waiting for his foundation to be solid before breaking through to the fifth post-heaven, at which point his cultivation would become even stronger.

  The battle with Chu Tian was especially the strongest blow that combined Raigeki and Dàjīnshēn, which became the catalyst for breaking through the last.

  The process of refining his bones was originally quite painful, after all, the skeleton is not as soft as muscles and skin, and it's hard to avoid intense pain. However, after Xia Chen cultivated the first layer of the Great Golden Body, this bone-refining process for him was not only painless but felt like taking a hot bath, feeling extremely comfortable.

  With a thought, in the process of breaking through, Xia Chen also activated the first layer of Da Jin Gang's gong method, using true energy to refine his bones while also tempering his skeleton with Da Jin Gang once again.

  This is equivalent to two rounds of bone refinement, and the benefits Xia Chen obtained are self-evident. Under his inner vision, Xia Chen saw that his entire skeletal system was radiant, like crystal-clear white jade emitting a dazzling brilliance.

  Under this radiant light, the meridians, muscles and skin throughout his body also lit up, forming an unprecedented continuous whole, constituting a luminous human form.

  In his dantian, the treasure basin emitted a cyan glow that complemented each flash of light, and with each flash, a large amount of true energy was born, infinitely replenishing Xia Chen's cultivation.

  In the blink of an eye, a quarter of an hour had passed. The explosive sounds from Xia Chen's skeletal system not only did not weaken but instead became more sustained and louder, just like igniting countless firecrackers that would never end.

  Everyone started to get up.

  Many of his fellow disciples who were also one of the Five Great Disciples of the Sect Master had their eyes wide with wonder, and their faces filled with an expression of incredulity.

  "This is the fifth day after breaking through? How can it be possible for such a long time? When I broke through to the fifth stage, it was over in just a few incense sticks. Such a long breakthrough time, I've never seen or even heard of it."

  "It's truly unbelievable, and the explosive sound of his Bone Forging is simply deafening! I've never seen anyone make such a huge commotion after breaking through to the Fifth Layer of the Acquired Realm."

  "I've heard that the longer it takes to break through, the louder the sound of refining one's bones will be, and the stronger one's cultivation will become after breaking through. This Xia Chen is indeed worthy of being a Gu Yuan Sacred Body."

  Chen Qiushui's eyes revealed shock, she clearly remembered that when she broke through the fifth layer of Heavenly Tribulation, it only lasted for almost an hour, and the explosive sound of refining her bones was far from comparable to Xia Chen.

  Xia Chen, what kind of existence are you? Is the ancient Yuansheng body really that powerful? Chen Qiushui thought silently, her eyes filled with complex thoughts.

  Another moment passed, and Xia Chen still sat in the arena, the sound of bones bursting continued, seemingly endless, and the sound was still stubbornly superimposed, step by step, advancing towards the upward stairs.

  The faces of the fellow disciples turned numb, such a cultivation breakthrough had already exceeded their understanding ability, and even the seniors of the sect, the gods who had broken through the Five Heavens, were far from having such an extraordinary phenomenon as Xia Chen.

  Finally, after the third quarter of an hour had passed, the explosive sound of Xia Chen's skeleton gradually weakened, and the disciples finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that you're finally done, if we wait any longer, we won't even be able to hold in our urine.

  As the last bone-crushing sound came to an end, Xia Chen's massive body finally moved a little, then slowly opened his eyes and stood up.

  His eyes were bright and clear, with a depth that seemed bottomless. There was no trace of confusion in them; it was as if they had seen through the entire void.

  Everyone couldn't help but lose their minds for a moment when they saw Xia Chen's gaze, as if they had vaguely felt something, yet seemingly nothing at all.

  Xia Chen's body was in motion, feeling an explosive power within him. It seemed that with just a casual punch, he could blast through the air itself. He knew that he had already broken through to the fifth stage of his acquired skills, and his heart couldn't help but feel thrilled.

  After breaking through the Five Layers of Heaven, it was completely a physical reaction, and had nothing to do with his initiative. Moreover, it was in sync with the Mahayana Body. The increase in power after the breakthrough was simply unimaginably powerful.

  Taking a glance around, Xia Chen couldn't help but exclaim in surprise: "Huh? Where's Chu Zhen Tian? How did he leave? Didn't I win in the end?"

  Everyone was silent for a moment, looking at this guy who seemed quite awake, but it turned out he hadn't woken up yet and didn't even know whether he had won or lost...

  "Xia Chen, you won, they've already left, just now you were breaking through and didn't know." Chen Qiushui smiled.

  "Master sister." Xia Chen walked down the stage and bowed his fist to Chen Qiushui, saying, "Thank you again for lending a helping hand, my junior brother is very grateful."

  He was indeed very grateful in his heart. If Chen Qiushui hadn't been holding down the fort, even if he could defeat Chu Zhen Tian, when breaking through to the fifth heaven, Zheng Yi might have played some dirty trick that no one could stop.

  Since last time, Chen Qiushui has helped him twice, and he doesn't know what virtue or ability he has to be worthy of such assistance from this stunning Shifu.

  "You're just going to be polite to me, huh?" Chen Qiushui's beautiful eyebrows furrowed slightly, but quickly relaxed again. "I'm helping you because I admire you, Xia Chen. You haven't disappointed me."

  "Shi jie......" Xia Chen gazed at Chen Qiushui, his heart burning with a fiery passion.

  Chen Qiushui stretched out her slender hand and handed Yuan Shi and Da Yu Dan to Xia Chen: "Xia Chen, this is what you deserve."

  Xia Chen was shocked: "Senior sister, this is the prize money you and Zheng Yi won from gambling, how can I take it?"

  Chen Qiushui didn't say a word, directly grasped his hand, and placed Yuan Shi and Da Yu Dan together in the palm of his hand: "This treasure was originally prepared for you by me. Xia Chen, Shifu is waiting for the day when you grow up to have a good fight with you!"

  She didn't wait for Xia Chen to speak either. With a flash of her slender figure, she was already far away, leaving behind only a faint and delicate fragrance.

  Xia Chen gazed at Chen Qiushui's receding figure, his palm still able to feel the smooth and tender skin of Chen Qiushui. His heart was both fluttering and joyful, with an indescribable aftertaste.

  He suddenly felt a little feverish, touched his face and thought to himself, what's going on? The senior sister was just appreciating her own progress and helping the younger generation, don't think wildly.

  Everyone looked at Xia Chen with envy and jealousy, thinking that this guy was really lucky, not only did he get the yuan stone and the great jade pill, but also got the favor of the great sister, damn it, why didn't they have such good luck.

  "Xia Chen, let's go back. Chu Zhen Tian was defeated by you, even if he wasn't crippled and lost his cultivation, at the very least he's heavily injured, serves him right!" Sun Li exclaimed excitedly, not hiding her delighted gaze.

  She almost got insulted by Chu Zhen Tian and was extremely angry in her heart.

  Xia Chen nodded, secretly sneering in his heart. At the final blow, he used the shadow of the Seven Shadows Fist as cover and combined the Thunder Seal and the Great Golden Body to unleash the strongest attack. Chu Zhen Tian's tendons would at least rupture, his bones shattering into dust. Not to mention his cultivation, it was uncertain whether he could even preserve his life.

  This mouthful of bad air has also been vented out completely.

  "By the way, Xia Chen, now that you've broken through to the fifth stage of the Heavenly Realm, you're qualified to take on a mission from the Sect. Are you thinking of going down the mountain to gain some experience?" Chen Lie suddenly asked.

  Xia Chen was taken aback for a moment, and then his eyes lit up.

  According to the sect's rules, disciples who cultivate up to the Fifth Realm of the Post-Heaven can receive sect tasks and go down the mountain for training.

  This is mainly because the acquired fivefold has reached the watershed of the acquired boundary, and the bottleneck of the acquired sixfold is very large. Even if you continue to cultivate in the sect, you may not be able to achieve good results. You can take advantage of completing the sect's tasks to seek opportunities for a breakthrough.

  And going down the mountain to practice, not only can you get whatever skills or treasures for yourself, but completing tasks also rewards your sect.

  That earth-shaking Blood Palm was a powerful skill he had acquired during his descent from the mountain, far surpassing that of an ordinary Five-Element Sect disciple.

  Almost all post-heaven fifth-grade disciples or above have gone down the mountain to practice, and the vast majority of post-heaven sixth-grade disciples also broke through after practicing.

  Accept the task and go down the mountain, can avoid Yuezi Peak and Xufang's conspiracy, do not have to entangle with Handongyu in a battle of wits, while also broadening one's horizons, waiting for an opportunity to break through, achieving multiple goals at once, this is not bad...

  Xia Chen thought it over in her mind and made up her mind.