Chapter 153: Completion of the Bronze Casting

The Earth Spirit Fire Cave was located in a small, dense grove at the northeast corner of the Zhang Estate. The closer one got, the stronger Xu Xuan felt a wave of dry, blazing heat. The trees before him possessed many fire-attribute spiritual properties and were considered quite precious spiritual materials.

"Brother Xuan, this is our clan's 'Crimson Wood Forest'. It sits upon a vein of fire spirits and produces all kinds of fire-attribute spiritual woods in abundance. The Earth Spirit Fire Cave is located deep within the Crimson Wood Forest."

Zhang Yuhan smiled sweetly as she led Xu Xuan into the Crimson Wood Forest.

Outside the woods, there were some patrolling immortal cultivators. Once they stepped into the dense grove, the surrounding temperature noticeably climbed, making one feel hot and restless.

However, to Xu Xuan, there was a warm and comfortable sensation. The remnant soul from his past life was right; his constitution favored the fire attribute, and after embarking on the path of body refinement, the primordial energy generated within his flesh and blood was also fierce and unyielding.

"Tsk tsk, a fire spirit vein. This place is indeed very suitable for your cultivation; breaking through to the Spirit Condensation stage within a year should be no problem. By then, if you find some soul treasures to unlock the true core memories of your past life's body refinement..."

The voice of the remnant soul echoed in his mind.

Xu Xuan followed closely behind the beautiful woman who was right beside him, weaving through the dense grove. The elegant and refreshing fragrance was enough to make any man's heart race.

Zhang Yuhan harbored no guard against Xu Xuan, her words and actions intimate and natural. When her pretty eyes occasionally met Xu Xuan's, they flickered with gentle ripples, filled with delight as well as a maiden's shyness.

Their bodies occasionally brushed against each other. Xu Xuan's expression remained normal with no special reaction; Zhang Yuhan's cheeks flushed slightly and her heart beat faster, feeling secretly annoyed. Was this Xu Xuan really such a wooden and unromantic person?

At this moment, if Xu Xuan were to hold Zhang Yuhan's hand, she most likely would not refuse, yet he showed no reaction whatsoever.

Such an opportunity was something many young talents in Huanglong City would not even dare to dream of.

Their pace was unhurried. After about the time it takes to brew half a cup of tea, they arrived in front of a dark red cave.

The cave clearly bore the traces of being artificially excavated, with steps at the entrance. Walking deeper inside, one could clearly see an underground fire grotto.

The rocks surrounding the fire grotto were semi-solid like magma, constantly surging, occasionally spitting out wisps of red flame.

Xu Xuan thought to himself that without cultivation approaching the Spirit Condensation stage, one could not endure staying in the fire grotto for more than a day, let alone cultivating here for long periods.

At this moment, deep inside the fire grotto, an old man in a red robe sat cross-legged, condensing a ball of red true fire in his palm, emitting a terrifying and scorching heat that made one uneasy.

Xu Xuan could be certain that this old man's cultivation was above the fourth level of Spirit Condensation. The true fire condensed in his palm was the essence of his internal magic power, and its might was by no means weaker than his own Dragon's Breath.

Generally, once cultivators reached the Spirit Condensation stage, they could refine their own true fire. Regarding this, Xu Xuan, who possessed a fire-affinity constitution, was quite looking forward to it.

"Senior Guest Ke, your allotted time in the Earth Spirit Fire Cave has expired. Now it is time for Guest Ke Xu to use it. This was decided by the high-level members of the clan."

Zhang Yuhan said with a respectful smile.

"Guest Ke Xu?"

This red-robed elder surnamed Nan looked Xu Xuan up and down slightly, somewhat startled. After all, those qualified to use the Earth Spirit Fire Cave were either core members of the clan's upper echelons or second-tier Guest Kes at the Spirit Condensation stage.

However, since this was a decision made by the clan's higher-ups, the red-robed elder did not raise any objections and left the fire grotto with evident reluctance.

When the red-robed elder had walked far away, Zhang Yuhan said happily, "Brother Xuan, it's your turn to use this Earth Spirit Fire Cave for a full year. The allotted time for ordinary elders is usually just a few months, never exceeding half a year."

"Thank you for your trouble, Yuhan."

Xu Xuan felt somewhat flattered and quickly expressed his gratitude.

"Why is Brother Xuan being so polite? Father said that you made great contributions in the contention for the God-Connecting Ancient Ruins, bringing honor to the Zhang family. Making an exception for you this time is only reasonable."

Zhang Yuhan seemed somewhat displeased with Xu Xuan's polite and reserved manner.

However, Xu Xuan knew that this matter was undoubtedly the result of Zhang Yuhan and her father fighting hard for it.

Before leaving, Zhang Yuhan took out the Origin-Fixing Stone that Xu Xuan had given her previously, smiled brightly, and said, "The gift Brother Xuan gave me, I have always worn by my side..."

Watching the graceful retreating figure of the beauty, Xu Xuan couldn't help but ponder the implication of those words.

"Hehe, the master's charm in this lifetime is also extraordinary. Not only does this young lady favor you greatly, but I'm afraid she has also secretly given you her heart, hahaha..."

After a bout of teasing, the remnant soul burst into loud laughter.

"Scram!"

Xu Xuan immediately grew somewhat annoyed and ashamed. This remnant soul would pop out from time to time and never missed an opportunity to tease him.

"Aren't you truly moved? I can clearly sense that your heart has stirred. Why not make your move and win this woman over? This will be of immense benefit to your cultivation path."

The remnant soul said without the slightest trace of shame.

"Once I do that, I will be thoroughly and completely tied to the Zhang family's camp."

Xu Xuan replied indifferently, then remained silent. He quietly sat cross-legged in the fire grotto, feeling the surging fire energy rushing towards his face, as if his flesh and blood were being nourished.

Inside the Earth Spirit Fire Cave, there was not only rich fire energy, but spiritual flame wisps occasionally surged from the surrounding rock walls, capable of tempering Xu Xuan's body.

In the memories of ancient body refinement, Xu Xuan searched diligently and managed to find some methods to nourish the physical body with the help of external forces.

Ancient body refiners took physical strength as their foundation, neither borrowing from heaven and earth in terms of realm, nor cultivating or relying on external spiritual energy.

However, this did not mean that body refiners did not use external forces at all.

Whether swallowing heaven and earth spiritual materials or using true fire to temper the body, these were basically methods of borrowing heaven and earth to nourish oneself and strengthen oneself.

A person who had just stepped onto the path of body refinement was like an infant, taking oneself as the foundation and the source of power, utilizing everything outside to nourish and strengthen oneself.

The method Xu Xuan sought was to guide these fire energies, and even pure spiritual fires, to nourish and strengthen his physical body.

After just a few days of effort, Xu Xuan found the trick. His hands danced slowly, and two counter-rotating vortices appeared within his dantian. Those fire energies were washed repeatedly from the outside in, and then from the inside out.

In the fire grotto, Xu Xuan could be seen surrounded by a layer of red light waves, spinning continuously.

During the cultivation process, Xu Xuan occasionally frowned slightly, feeling a trace of burning pain, and sometimes even a piercing pain straight to the heart.

After all, the human body is a complex system, and some parts are extremely fragile, such as the eyes and various internal organs.

The secrets of ancient body refinement were simple and primitive, and the cultivation process was somewhat painful, but Xu Xuan understood that every time he overcame a pain, it represented a slight increase in strength, accumulating over time.

Hard cultivation and perseverance; in the blink of an eye, two or three months passed.

Xu Xuan's cultivation steadily improved, taking a step forward from the threshold of the early ninth layer of Qi Condensation.

There was an undeniable chasm between the ninth layer of Qi Condensation and the Spirit Condensation stage. Without a powerful and heaven-defying opportunity, wanting to break through in just a few months was extremely difficult.

In two or three months, although Xu Xuan was still far from advancing to the Spirit Condensation stage, his copper-cast body, with the help of the Earth Spirit Fire Cave, finally stepped into a new level.

From minor accomplishment in copper casting... to major accomplishment in copper casting!

Major accomplishment in copper casting meant that the body-refining stage of the "copper-cast body" was already approaching its peak.

Xu Xuan was also extremely excited in his heart. He originally thought that major accomplishment in copper casting would require reaching the peak of the ninth layer of Qi Condensation or even the Spirit Condensation stage, but he didn't expect to achieve it now as a matter of course.

He took a deep breath and slightly exerted his strength, feeling his entire skin reveal a dark, profound bronze luster. If he circulated his primordial energy, his skin would also display a red-gold luster, giving off a powerful and heavy sense of suppression.

After the tenth layer of Body Refining, there were initial, minor, and major accomplishments in copper casting.

At this moment, Xu Xuan, who had achieved major accomplishment in copper casting, possessed a strength countless times greater than when he was at the tenth layer of Body Refining.

If he exerted just a little bit of force, the Earth Spirit Fire Cave he was in would tremble faintly. One must know that the hardness of the rocks here was stronger than copper walls and iron bastions.

This result greatly boosted Xu Xuan's confidence, prompting him to cultivate even harder to impact the Spirit Condensation stage, which countless low-tier cultivators found out of reach.

If this trend continued, Xu Xuan would definitely be able to break through to the Spirit Condensation stage within a year, and even have time to spare.

However, within the Zhang clan, there were inevitably some people who were unwilling to watch him break through so rapidly.

On this night.

A few sneaky figures slipped into the deep, scorching Crimson Wood Forest and slowly approached the Earth Spirit Fire Cave.

"Linhui, is this plan of yours really going to work? In case something goes wrong, we're finished."

Grandmaster Zhong Hong, holding a giant sword, lowered his voice and said.

"Hmph, I've been plotting this for a month or two, it is absolutely foolproof. I managed to get myself transferred to the patrol team for experience two months ago, and today I just happen to be the deputy law enforcement captain. A few flasks of Fierce Tiger Wine were enough to pull them away. I have enough time to slip away for half the cup of tea's duration. Under such circumstances, the three of us ambushing a brat who is in closed-door cultivation will be as easy as taking candy from a baby."

Linhui looked like victory was in his hands.

"Hehe, don't worry. This place is not like the Green Hills and Lucid Residence, which is heavily restricted by formations and heavily guarded by the clan. A deserted place like this is very easy to make a move on. The 'Seven Poisons Powder' I concocted has terrifying toxicity. Below the Spirit Condensation stage, no one can last ten breaths. Even if this brat's constitution is extremely strong, if he doesn't die from this poison, he will lose most of his combat power. With the three of us attacking together, how could we fail?"

Huang Wandu smiled sinisterly, first taking out the antidote and giving it to Linhui and Zhong Hong to swallow.

Afterwards, the three of them quietly sneaked into the entrance of the fire grotto. Huang Wandu was also cautious enough to place the poison powder on an inconspicuous little insect, letting it crawl into the Earth Spirit Fire Cave.

In this way, even if the restrictions inside were triggered, it would not attract much attention.

Xu Xuan, who was sitting cross-legged and cultivating deep within the fire grotto, inexplicably gave birth to a sense of crisis, and the moonlight bead in his body trembled slightly.

"Very well, this is just the time to wipe all these people out in one sweep. I hope Linhui is among them."

A fierce light flashed in Xu Xuan's eyes. Suddenly, he caught a whiff of a strange scent, and the blood and Qi in his body stagnated. His expression changed slightly: "Poison? Is Huang Wandu here too?"

Thud!

Inside the Earth Spirit Fire Cave, a strange sound suddenly echoed.

"Jie jie, this brat actually lasted ten breaths before being poisoned down. Truly extraordinary."

Huang Wandu took the lead, bringing the other two into the Earth Spirit Fire Cave.

Under the faint light of the spiritual flames, the young man could be seen lying on the ground, trembling all over and looking on the verge of death.