Haotai Hotel rooftop.

Chu Xuan rubbed his hands together eagerly, flipping open the book in front of him, "Giant Elephant Body Refining Technique."

The first page of "Giant Elephant Body Refining Technique" was filled with praises for the Golden Core ancestor Situ Jie, highlighting his life's achievements.

Between the lines, Chu Xuan could discern the trajectory of Situ Jie's life. Born with only a medium-grade water spirit root and no family backing, Situ Jie rose from a mere Qi refining cultivator. For survival, he chose to simultaneously refine Qi and body, supplementing with gu worms and corpse puppets.

It was unclear where he obtained the body refining resources, but his body refining realm advanced rapidly. With formidable body refining strength, he sought the rare treasures needed for Qi refining.

Thus, his Qi refining realm also progressed in tandem, creating a cycle of advancement that eventually established him as a powerhouse of the Golden Core stage.

Situ Jie fell during an external campaign by the Heaven Burning Sect, but his body was never recovered. Many descendants of the Situ family believed that their ancestor had not perished but had escaped the battlefield to heal elsewhere. They anticipated that one day Situ Jie would return like lightning, restoring the supreme glory of the Golden Core family.

Chu Xuan paid little attention to Situ Jie and continued flipping through the pages. After a brief scan, he revealed a look of astonishment.

"Truly worthy of a high-grade body refinement technique, to achieve such miraculous effects!"

The "Giant Elephant Body Refining Technique" viewed the human body as an aggregation of 360 million micro-particles. Its ultimate goal was to fully develop each micro-particle into a giant elephant micro-particle.

Each micro-particle contained the strength of a giant elephant. With this technique mastered, every movement and gesture would harness the power of 360 million giant elephants!

The physical body would rival that of a medium-grade magic treasure, impervious to ordinary poisons.

To practice this technique, one must constantly visualize the roaring image of giant elephants. Awakening the strength of one micro-particle marked entry into the first level of body refinement. Ten micro-particles opened the second level, and a hundred micro-particles opened the third level, and so forth.

However, not even the Golden Core powerhouse Situ Jie managed to fully develop all 360 million micro-particles throughout his entire body.

As one progressed further, the daily requirement for life essence intake became increasingly terrifying. Even for a Golden Core cultivator like Situ Jie, supplying the daily consumption of "Giant Elephant Body Refining Technique" was uncertain.

Thus, his body refinement realm eventually reached a standstill.

"A headache for Golden Core powerhouses, but not a concern for me," Chu Xuan chuckled.

Flesh rich in life essence? That's the one thing I have in abundance!

Chu Xuan immediately sat cross-legged, fixing his gaze on the first page of the tome, depicting a roaring giant elephant, and began his visualization.

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Visualization, crudely put, is not unlike daydreaming. However, while daydreaming involves emptying the mind entirely, visualization requires clearing the mind of all but one focused image—the roaring giant elephant.

Initially, it might be difficult to capture even a fraction of the essence of the giant elephant, but as one's realm improves, so too does the integration with the giant elephant, until every movement embodies the essence of this majestic beast. Achieving this signifies an advancement into a profound realm.

At the start, capturing just a fraction of the elephant's essence is enough to be considered as having entered the doorway of this technique.

"The title page states that a beginner needs at least six months of deep contemplation to successfully capture this essence, with daily intake of flesh not to be interrupted. Situ Jie, who had a natural aptitude for body refinement, managed to capture it within a month."

Chu Xuan was curious about how long it would take him, given his own dedicated efforts.

He focused intently on the image of the roaring giant elephant. In a blink, all distractions vanished, leaving only the ancient elephant, whose roar shook the heavens, before him. Beneath this titanic figure, he felt like a mere ant.

Roar!

The sound of the elephant's roar seemed to shatter his soul. In an instant, Chu Xuan found himself back in his original position, as if nothing had happened. He frowned, took a few steps, and moved about.

For some reason, he noticed an added ferocity and terror in his movements, reminiscent of ancient beasts.

Chu Xuan blinked in surprise, "Is it done? Just like that? This Giant Elephant Roar visualization isn't that difficult…"

"I must credit my remarkable aptitude in this area," he remarked, impressed with himself. It was definitely his unique advantage in body refinement, unrelated to any merits.

Then, Chu Xuan began consuming blood-food. Casually, he stuffed soft chunks of meat into his mouth, swallowing them whole.

As the cube released primal Psionic energy, the meat was restored in the blink of an eye. With such rapid supplementation, it only took three days for Chu Xuan to achieve the first level of body refinement.

He could feel his physical body becoming somewhat stronger, though the change wasn't pronounced. It seemed that several more levels would need to be attained to see a significant transformation.

"Continue cultivating! With two or three more years, I should reach the ninth level of Foundation Establishment. If no better core condensation method appears, I might as well focus on body refinement. Cultivate while searching."

Since there was a chance to pursue a superior core condensation method, he certainly wouldn't miss it.

Chu Xuan calmed his mind and continued his cultivation.

The downfall of the Situ Clan sent ripples of unease through the other cultivation families in Yue Kingdom, who were preparing to migrate north.

Even though the Situ Clan had weakened with only one Foundation Establishment patriarch remaining, it had once been a Golden Core family.

As the saying goes, a camel starved to death is still larger than a horse. How could such a lineage be wiped out?

Yet, undeniable was the truth they had to believe. The news reached the Heaven Burning Sect, prompting them to dispatch a team led by two Foundation Establishment cultivators to investigate.

It was their own cultivation family that had inexplicably vanished, and some form of response was necessary. Despite their efforts, only scattered clues emerged from the investigation.

In the ruins of the Situ Clan estate in Pingyuan City, the two Heaven Burning Sect cultivators, a robust man named Luo Feiyong and a charming young woman named Shang Yue, sat contemplating the findings.

Furrowing his brow, Luo Feiyong said, "One rogue cultivator claimed the assailant justified killing the gatekeepers for stepping out with their left foot first, and slaughtered the maid in the courtyard for screaming too loudly. Acting without restraint, it must be a demonic cultivator."

Shang Yue whispered, "Another rogue cultivator reported seeing golden light soaring within the mansion, accompanied by faint Buddhist chants and layers of Buddha's radiance..."

Luo Feiyong looked astonished. "Buddha's radiance? That conflicts with demonic cultivation."

Shang Yue nodded in agreement, "Indeed. Whoever destroyed the Situ Clan couldn't possibly possess any merit."

Luo Feiyong's voice deepened, "In that case... it must have been the work of the Golden Dragon Temple. Within the borders of Yu Kingdom, they are the only Buddhist sect."

Shang Yue stood up promptly, "Then we must report this immediately. Further investigation will likely yield no additional results. We can state that it was the monks of the Golden Dragon Temple who slaughtered the Situ Clan. This blame should be placed squarely on their shoulders."

Luo Feiyong nodded, "I share your sentiment."

With a tacit understanding, the two swiftly departed, reporting the incident to the Heaven Burning Sect.