“Boom!”
Suddenly, a thunderous sound rang in his ears. Ye Qiu quickly turned his head.
In the next second, his pupils contracted sharply.
About a hundred metres away, a towering giant tree grew.
This towering tree was even larger than a palace. Its bark was rough, its trunk thick, and some roots were exposed on the ground, like a coiling dragon.
Ye Qiu had never seen such a huge tree before.
The most amazing thing was that this tree had no leaves at all. On its bare branches hung fruits the size of winter jujubes, at least a few hundred of them.
These fruits were bright and juicy. Their skins were filled with thunderbolts that occasionally made booming sounds.
“Thunderbolt Fruits!”
Yun Xi saw those fruits and exclaimed in surprise. Then she explained to Ye Qiu, “This is a Thunderbolt Ancient Tree.”
“The Thunderbolt Ancient Tree is a strange tree. Its branches and trunk are incredibly hard, tougher than ten-thousand-year-old black iron. It is good material for refining weapons.”
“The fruits it bears contain lightning, so they are called Thunderbolt Fruits.”
“Thunderbolt Fruits hold very powerful energy. After taking them, one can enhance their strength.”
“The Thunderbolt Ancient Tree is extremely rare. I did not expect to find such a large one here, bearing so many Thunderbolt Fruits.”
Ye Qiu’s heart stirred. Thunderbolt Fruits could enhance strength?
Swish!
He stepped to the front of the Thunderbolt Ancient Tree in one stride and reached for a Thunderbolt Fruit.
“Be careful…” Before Yun Xi finished, Ye Qiu’s palm had already grasped a Thunderbolt Fruit.
In an instant, Ye Qiu felt his palm burning hot, as if holding a piece of burning coal.
At the same time, strands of thunderbolts wrapped around his fingers like electric snakes, causing waves of stinging pain.
Fortunately, Ye Qiu’s physique was extraordinary. Otherwise, he would have been scorched by these thunderbolts.
“Yun Xi, you said earlier that taking Thunderbolt Fruits can enhance strength?” Ye Qiu turned and asked.
“Yes, Thunderbolt Fruits contain extremely pure power. You can try it.” Yun Xi said.
Ye Qiu did not hesitate. He popped a Thunderbolt Fruit straight into his mouth.
In a flash, his mouth crackled with pops, like eating popping candy.
Soon, the Thunderbolt Fruit turned into a warm current that entered Ye Qiu’s dantian. Then this warm current transformed into powerful energy that spread through his meridians.
At this moment, Ye Qiu felt his whole body heating up. The strength inside him kept growing.
“It really enhances strength?”
Ye Qiu was a bit excited. He picked all the Thunderbolt Fruits from the tree at once, a total of five hundred and forty.
Then, he and Yun Xi sat under the tree. While eating Thunderbolt Fruits, they boosted their strength.
After a while.
Ye Qiu had eaten a full hundred Thunderbolt Fruits. He clearly felt his strength had at least doubled. He had endless energy in his body.
Now, even without using the God-Striking Whip, just relying on pure strength, he could punch a Cave Heaven early-stage cultivator to death.
However, after eating so many Thunderbolt Fruits, Ye Qiu found that continuing to take them was not very useful. Not only could his strength not improve further, but the absorption speed was also very slow.
“How about trying the Nine Revolutions Divine Dragon Art?”
Thinking of this, Ye Qiu immediately circulated the Nine Revolutions Divine Dragon Art.
He started practising from the first revolution of body refining. As soon as he activated it, he clearly felt his strength increasing again.
“It really works?”
Ye Qiu was overjoyed. He quickly ate Thunderbolt Fruits while running the Nine Revolutions Divine Dragon Art.
Gradually, Ye Qiu ate another three hundred Thunderbolt Fruits.
Finally, the power from these Thunderbolt Fruits turned into vast life essence that spread through Ye Qiu’s meridians. Then his bones, flesh, and even the surface of his skin flowed with strands of thunderbolts.
Ye Qiu clearly felt his fleshly body growing stronger.
“What a treasure!”
Ye Qiu was thrilled. He fully urged the Nine Revolutions Divine Dragon Art to absorb the power of the Thunderbolt Fruits.
Moments later.
A “boom” sounded from inside Ye Qiu’s body. It was loud and grand, like a thunder god.
The huge commotion woke Yun Xi, who was boosting her strength. She stopped and looked at Ye Qiu with shock in her eyes.
“What a freak!”
“He is clearly only at peak Golden Core, yet his physical strength is already not weaker than mine.”
“If this continues, perhaps one day he can achieve sainthood through the fleshly body.”
Yun Xi stared at Ye Qiu and saw thunderbolts constantly emerging from his pores.
At this moment, Ye Qiu only felt his whole body warm and comfortable, like soaking in a bath, thoroughly relaxed.
His bones, flesh, and internal organs were all undergoing transformation and sublimation.
This scene lasted a full two hours.
After two hours, only a dozen Thunderbolt Fruits remained in front of Ye Qiu. His body shone with brilliant golden light, like a deity.
Ye Qiu began using the second revolution of the Nine Revolutions Divine Dragon Art, Bone Tempering.
“Crack…”
A crisp sound rang out. Ye Qiu’s sternum fractured.
“What happened?” Yun Xi was startled and was about to ask when she heard the sound of bones cracking again.
“Crack…”
Immediately after, “crack, crack” sounds filled the air nonstop. In just a few minutes, all of Ye Qiu’s bones shattered. Golden blood soaked through his white clothes.
Then, Ye Qiu’s broken bones began reconnecting on their own, making popping sounds like popcorn frying. It was chilling to hear.
Yun Xi sat not far away, watching Ye Qiu. Her beautiful eyes were filled with heartache.
Because she could not imagine how much pain this man was enduring.
Ye Qiu sat cross-legged, his body shining with golden light. He looked solemn and dignified, like a Buddha deep in enlightenment.
In fact, his body was being tempered. This feeling was truly unbearable. Every inch of skin felt like it was being sliced by knives.
But he made no sound, enduring desperately.
Because Ye Qiu knew that once he succeeded, he would gain huge benefits.
Time passed quietly.
Ye Qiu’s bones inside broke and reformed, over and over, a full nine times.
After nine times.
Ye Qiu opened his eyes.
He clearly felt that now, immense power was stored in his body. Every cell was filled with unparalleled might.
Ye Qiu had an intuitive sense that now, even if a mountain stood before him, he could punch it to pieces.
“If I encounter a Cave Heaven realm cultivator again, even without using the God-Striking Whip, killing across realms should not be a problem. I just do not know if pure strength alone can defeat a Cave Heaven peak?”
A smile appeared at the corner of Ye Qiu’s mouth.
Yun Xi saw Ye Qiu’s expression and said, “It seems you gained quite a bit.”
“It is alright. Now I feel like I have endless strength.” As Ye Qiu spoke, he suddenly remembered that Yun Xi was a Cave Heaven peak genius. His heart stirred, and he said, “Help me with something. I want to test my strength.”
