Beads of sweat, darkened with impurities, surfaced on his skin and evaporated into the surrounding mist. These impurities represented the removal of physical limitations, a necessary step in forging a divine body.
Tian Lei's focus deepened as he reached a crucial stage of the first layer. Visualizing the image of an ancient elephant, he synchronized his breathing with its imagined steps—steady, unyielding, and powerful. Each breath drew more energy into him, fusing the Qi with his very essence.
As the cycle of energy reached its peak, his body emitted a faint, golden glow, a testament to the first layer's successful cultivation. His skin, now glowing faintly, looked as if it had been polished by divine hands, while his aura exuded newfound strength and vitality.
Finally, after several hours, Tian Lei exhaled deeply, releasing a faint mist of black Qi—residual impurities that had been purged during the process. He opened his eyes, which shone with clarity and determination.
"The first layer is complete," he murmured, clenching his fists and marveling at the subtle but undeniable changes in his body. "This strength… it feels like I could move mountains."
Tian Lei shook his head, dismissing the faint sense of overpowering thought knowing its just an illusion due to breakthroughs.
"You're finally awake," Yuyan's voice called out to him, a mix of relief and amazement in her tone.
Tian Lei turned to her, noticing the subtle glow that now radiated from her figure. She looked stronger, more refined, her aura unmistakably reaching a higher level. "How's your progress, Yuyan? Did you manage to break through?" he asked curiously.
Yuyan nodded with a proud smile. "I've reached the peak of the Body Forging realm," she said confidently. "Half a month has passed since you started cultivating. It's unbelievable how much progress we've both made."
Tian Lei's brows furrowed as he processed her words. "Half a month?" he echoed, glancing down at his own body. The transformation he felt within him now made sense—his connection with the Ancient Elephant Divine Body Art had grown deeper, and his physical form had undergone noticeable refinement.
"It's true," Yuyan affirmed. "Time flew by. It's hard to imagine that you sat there for so long without moving, but your aura became stronger with each passing day."
Tian Lei muttered to himself, "Time… it feels so fleeting when immersed in cultivation. I must have lost myself in the process."
Yuyan smiled softly. "But it was worth it, wasn't it? You've grown significantly. I can feel the difference just standing near you."
Tian Lei took a moment to examine himself. His body felt light yet unyieldingly strong, as though he had been forged anew. He clenched his fists, testing the raw power coursing through his veins. "You're right. This strength… it's unlike anything I've ever felt before. But this is only the beginning."
Yuyan chuckled. "If this is just the start, I can't wait to see where you'll end up."
'Probably the peak,' Tian Lei thought as he looked at her. "Are you ready?"
"I am," Yuyan replied confidently. Around her, the temperature dropped noticeably. "Let's make sure these bandits and that traitor don't get to see another day," she said, her tone icy and resolute.
Tian Lei nodded in agreement.
He glanced at the pool where they had both cultivated. Though they had spent a significant amount of time here, the pool's resources were vast, and they had barely used 1/20th of its capacity. There was still an abundance of Yin and Yang energy remaining.
Tian Lei waved his hand, storing the pool within his Golden Realm, ensuring the time dilation around it was active to increase it even more.
"Let's harvest these herbs. I have a place where I can plant them later," he said.
Yuyan, who had been standing by the edge of the milky-white Yin and yang pool and was gobsmacked by its sudden disappearance understood its Tian Lei doing and, nodded in agreement.
Over the next few days, the two carefully harvested all the herbs growing around the pools. The plants had thrived, absorbing the dense Yin and Yang energy in the area.
"They've been nourished well by the Yin and Yang Qi," Tian Lei remarked, holding up a stalk of a rare herb. Its appearance was mesmerizing, with half of its petals black as night and the other half pure white.
"Yes, all thanks to these pools," Yuyan agreed, examining another herb she had picked.
Once they had gathered everything, Tian Lei waved his hand, storing all the herbs within his realm, near the Yin and Yang pools.
With the pools safely stored and the herbs secured, Yuyan turned to Tian Lei. "So, are we leaving this place as it is?" she asked.
Tian Lei nodded. "Yes, but I'll activate the formation as well to ensure that it produces more Sun and Moon nectar over time," he replied. Yuyan nodded in agreement.
"Now, let's see what's left inside this," Tian Lei said, holding up the storage ring he had taken from the skull.
"Yes, I'm also curious about it," Yuyan remarked as Tian Lei bound the ring to himself with a drop of blood, unlocking its contents.
"Whoa!" Tian Lei exclaimed, eyes wide with surprise. "This thing has over 10,000 kilometers of storage space!"
Yuyan's eyes widened too. "That's insane! We've been using a ring with only about 10 square meters of space, and we thought that was valuable."
"It's like heaven compared to that old ring," Tian Lei said with a laugh.
Yuyan smirked. "Just make sure you share some with me," she teased.
Tian Lei chuckled as he delved into the ring's contents, his Divine Sense sweeping through the seemingly endless space within. His eyes lit up as he encountered massive quantities of spirit stones—towering mountains of them. He focused, counting carefully.
"A total of sixty million top-grade spirit stones..." he muttered, his voice tinged with disbelief. "And that's not even including the mountains of high-grade, intermediate-grade, and low-grade ones!"
Yuyan, standing nearby, raised an eyebrow at his reaction. "Just the spirit stones alone are enough to make you one of the wealthiest people in our sect," she remarked.