Qin Nan had not given the two brothers a second thought; when dealing with life-and-death adversaries, he showed no mercy.
After carefully scanning the surroundings and finding no trace of beasts or warriors, he finally felt at ease and stepped into the Spirit Essence Pool.
Sitting cross-legged in the pool, Qin Nan summoned his War God Soul, which floated behind him. His feet firmly planted, the indistinct figure emitted a powerful吸力, drawing the spiritual essence from the pool in torrents.
Qin Nan guided this essence to nourish his body, healing the internal injuries he had sustained during his battle with the demonic ape.
After depleting about one-third of the pool’s spiritual essence, Qin Nan’s body shivered slightly, a flush of vitality appearing on his face. The pallor that had once marred his brow vanished, and his entire demeanor revitalized.
“Ah, finally healed,” Qin Nan said with satisfaction as he opened his eyes. He then mused, “With so much essence left in the pool, I can further my training and achieve a breakthrough!”
He promptly closed his eyes again, fully concentrating on channeling the War God Soul to continuously draw in the essence.
At present, Qin Nan’s cultivation had reached the Third Layer of Body Refinement. His flesh and bones had undergone initial tempering, but his internal organs and blood still required significant enhancement.
His current focus was on refining his internal organs.
Unlike tempering flesh and bones, refining internal organs was far more delicate due to their inherent fragility. A slight mistake could result in severe injury.
Qin Nan had heard of a rogue cultivator in Linshui City who had exploded due to a misstep while refining his organs.
With utmost caution, Qin Nan guided streams of pure spiritual essence into his internal organs, allowing it to merge completely for effective tempering.
This process took a full three hours.
The moment the pool’s spiritual essence was entirely consumed, Qin Nan’s eyes snapped open, and a series of muffled, drum-like explosions echoed from within his body.
“I’ve broken through to the Fourth Layer of Body Refinement!” Qin Nan’s eyes gleamed with joy as he nodded in satisfaction.
He could now distinctly perceive the changes within himself. For instance, when using the low-level technique, Crush Fist, he previously could only generate an external force.
Now, however, he could channel internal and hidden forces, elevating the power of Crush Fist to the level of a mid-grade technique.
The Fourth Layer of Body Refinement not only brought physical changes but also enhanced his mastery over power, making it more refined.
“Considering I’ve only been in the Longhu Mountain Range for two days, although I’ve gained much, it’s still too early to return. It’s better to continue honing here!”
After a brief contemplation, Qin Nan made up his mind.
It would take some time for Qin Tian to procure the five hundred Body Refinement Pills. Returning to the Qin family would leave him with only solitary cultivation, whereas remaining in the Longhu Mountain Range offered the chance to gain combat experience and possibly encounter fortuitous events.
For instance, he had discovered this Spirit Essence Pool.
In the days that followed, Qin Nan became fully immersed in his training. He moved through the forest like a lone wolf, engaging in frequent battles with demonic beasts, facing Fourth and even Fifth Layer beasts.
“My Thunderclap Blade Technique is growing stronger. I feel that it won’t be long before I achieve another breakthrough!”
As Qin Nan dashed through the forest, he mused that his speed with the blade had significantly increased. Sometimes, the demonic beasts would fall before he even realized it.
This situation aroused some curiosity in him. He was well aware of his own comprehension abilities, and it seemed unusual for him to reach this level. What could have enhanced his perception?
After much thought, Qin Nan focused on the War God Soul, though he couldn’t yet confirm its influence.
“If the War God Soul truly enhances one’s comprehension and can also elevate its grade… then it’s indeed extraordinarily formidable…”
While Qin Nan pondered this, faint sounds emerged from ahead.
Since advancing to the Fourth Layer of Body Refinement and refining his internal organs, Qin Nan had noticed a significant improvement in his senses. He could detect any disturbances within a twenty-meter radius with sharp precision.
“I’ll check it out.” Qin Nan decided, concealing his presence and moving stealthily.
Soon, he came upon a group of people. Among them were three middle-aged men, each exuding a formidable aura of the Third Layer of Body Refinement. Their eyes, marked by a fierce, long-standing battle-hardened quality, indicated their experience in combat.
In the midst of these men was a young woman.
She wore a white fur shawl and an ice-blue skirt that accentuated her graceful figure. Her fair, pointed face gave off a striking, vibrant impression.
However, her face was etched with impatience and arrogance.
Qin Nan was taken aback. “It’s her?”
The young woman was someone Qin Nan recognized well—Fang Xue, the youngest daughter of the Fang family’s head.
In Linshui City, the Qin and Fang families were two of the most prominent clans, each with innate experts and numerous talented disciples. The Qin family had risen to prominence only in the past decade under Qin Tian’s leadership, while the Fang family had been a prestigious presence for a century.
There were even rumors of a Fang family prodigy with an Eighth-grade Yellow-level Martial Soul, though the truth of this claim was unverified.
In recent years, as the Qin family rose to prominence, there had been minor conflicts with the Fang family. Qin Nan had met Fang Xue a few times, but they had no deep relations.
“What is she doing here?” Qin Nan wondered.
Half a month ago, the Qin family had held a Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony, and the Fang family had held theirs as well. However, the attention had been on Qin Nan’s transformation from a prodigy to one with a useless Martial Soul, overshadowing the Fang family’s events.
Given that Fang Xue had awakened her Martial Soul, she should be focused on training within her family. Why had she come to the Longhu Mountain Range with her personal guards?
As Qin Nan pondered, Fang Xue suddenly screamed, “Why haven’t we arrived yet? You three fools, did you even follow the map properly? If you led me astray, I’ll make you pay!”
“Miss, the map isn’t wrong. Besides the shabby cave we encountered earlier, there are no other caverns. It’s possible the map is a fake…” one of the middle-aged men said with a sigh, clearly frustrated.
“What?” Fang Xue’s face hardened, “How could the map I brought be fake? Find it properly. If you can’t, see how I deal with you!”
The three middle-aged men wiped their sweat and quickly scattered to search the area.
One of them was heading towards Qin Nan’s direction.
Qin Nan remained concealed and motionless. With the middle-aged man’s cultivation level, detecting him would be nearly impossible. The difference between the Third and Fourth Layers of Body Refinement was substantial.
From the brief exchange between Fang Xue and her subordinates, Qin Nan deduced that they were here in search of treasures, much like Qin Yu and Qin Xiao.
He was curious to see what treasures they might find.
Just then, the middle-aged man approaching Qin Nan suddenly halted and fixed his gaze in Qin Nan’s direction, his eyes filled with murderous intent. “Who’s there? Show yourself!”
Qin Nan’s expression changed slightly. Had he been discovered?
