With Gou Liu's head severed, Lian Chen lowered himself to the ground, his breath ragged. Even though his cultivation had returned to the Nascent Soul, Middle Stage, the intensity of the battle had left him exhausted, both physically and mentally.
Lian Chen closed his eyes and took a moment to catch his breath, his chest rising and falling in sync with the rhythm of his deep inhales and exhales. The adrenaline that had surged through his veins was gradually receding, replaced by a sense of accomplishment mixed with lingering belief.
As Lian Chen sat there, he couldn't help but replay the events in his head. The confrontation with Gou Liu, the taunts and jeers, the realization of his own vulnerability without the Lotus Flower in his dantian, and the surge of determination that had propelled him to fight back despite his cultivation only being at the Body Refinement, Middle Stage in the illusion.
