Due to the Wuzhou Army's presence at the foot of the mountain, to prevent Xianghuo Cult spies, information could not be transmitted and could only be transmitted through specific channels controlled by the Wuzhou Army.
Now that the situation was settled, Xu Yunfan devoted himself to his cultivation for the next few days.
He rose before dawn each day to practice and continued until the moon reached its zenith before resting.
Immersed in his arduous practice, oblivious to the world outside, and fueled by a sufficient supply of Qi and Blood elixirs, he was rapidly advancing his Red Copper Cloak Wind Hammer to perfection.
After finishing his practice that day, Xu Yunfan reviewed the data on the system dashboard.
His proficiency in the Red Copper Cloak Wind Hammer had reached 4,000, just one step away from perfection.
He took out a Qi and Blood Pill and swallowed it, feeling the medicinal power dissolving within his body, nourishing every inch of his body.
He had already reached 80% of his 5,000 proficiency, and the remaining less than 1,000 proficiency was constantly being refined.
With the aid of the Tianchan Sect's elixirs, his proficiency level increased by around 20 to 30 points daily.
In no more than two months, the skin training would be complete, appearing golden.
As for the Heavenly Zen Power, Xu Yunfan glanced at the attribute panel on his vision.
It wasn't far from full perfection.
At the current rate, it would be fully developed within half a month.
—
Wuzhou City is forever secure.
At three quarters past the hour of the yin, a horn blast tore through the morning mist.
One hundred thousand Black Armored Soldiers transformed into seven torrents of steel, rushing along the Wuzhou water veins.
Ning Wuque stood at the camp gate, observing the detachment belonging to the Tianchan Sect. Twelve hundred heavy cavalrymen, all clad in black scale armor, carried special city-breaking crossbows slung beside their saddles. Their arrows were spiral-shaped, a type of cloud-piercing arrow specifically designed for horizontal training.
The core martial arts of the Tianchan Sect inherently possessed the effect of horizontal training.
"Captain Ning, please."
The eunuch supervising the army pointed his whisk southeast, the outline of Jilei Mountain faintly visible in the morning glow.
Behind the eunuch, twelve Golden Sword Guards stepped forward simultaneously, their iron soles scraping sparks on the ground. These twelve Golden Sword Guards were all white-faced and beardless, with feminine features. They were all eunuchs.
Ning Wuque was silent for a moment, then pulled the reins and followed his orders.
As they passed the Qingxia Sect camp, Ning Wuque smelled a strong smell of blood.
The Seven Sons of Qingxia, who had been sparring yesterday, were now being strung through the bones by iron chains by the Xuanjia Army, dragging them behind their warhorses as human signposts.
Their swords were stuck in the camp gate, their tassels dripping with blood in the wind.
The disciples of the Qingxia Sect, one of the Seven Mountains of Wuzhou, had refused to obey and were massacred by the Xuanjia Army last night.
Ning Wuque's gaze shifted to a certain place, where two men with glaring eyes lay in a corner, their eyes wide open.
They were none other than Pi Zhian and Zhu Yi, true disciples of the Tianchan Sect.
Having surrendered rather than surrender, they were killed by a single sword piercing their hearts, a token of their loyalty.
He turned to glance at the remaining Tianchan Sect disciples following behind him. Ning Que, whose expression, flickering with an inexplicable light, quickly calmed, his gaze deep.
"Don't blame me. Blame your bad luck."
—
Standing atop Jilei Mountain, Xu Yunfan looked up at the perpetually dark clouds ahead, lightning flashing and rumbling in the center, with occasional thunderclaps.
He stretched his arms like a crane, and as they moved, tiny vibrations emanated from his body, his bones vibrating simultaneously like the chirping of cicadas.
The sound began as gentle rain hitting tiles, then transformed into a torrential downpour, finally resembling the desperate chorus of thousands of golden cicadas within him.
In just three months, the Tianchan Jin martial art had reached its peak, today.
He was in no rush to break through to the Outer Three Combinations realm. Although he had read and reread the Pure Yang Qigong, reciting it almost by heart, he had yet to practice, merely cultivating the perfection of his muscles, bones, and skin.
Today's Heavenly Cicada Power has reached its peak, naturally adding another level of strength to his skill.
'You have diligently practiced Heavenly Cicada Power. The subtle force of your energy emanates from the vibrations of your bones, creating a chirping sound. With the high-frequency vibrations of your bones, you unleash unimaginable attacks. Your proficiency in Heavenly Cicada Power has improved.'
'Through continuous practice, you have mastered the essence of Heavenly Cicada Power. The frequency and strength of your bone vibrations have reached new heights. Your proficiency in Heavenly Cicada Power has improved.'
"…"
As the sun set in the west, Xu Yunfan's body, bathed in the crimson glow of the setting sun, glowed red, his muscular form bulging like a sculpture.
The blood vessels beneath his skin suddenly tangled into a web, dark red streaks crisscrossing the veins of his muscles.
Xu Yunfan could clearly feel his blood rushing faster, the roar of his heartbeat even drowning out the thunderstorm overhead. This was the sign that his Heavenly Cicada Energy had reached a critical point.
"Your Heavenly Cicada Energy has reached full maturity."
"Heavenly Cicada Energy 0/5000 (Full Mastery)
Special Effects: Bone-Transmitting Thunder Patterns, Cicada Chirping Energy, Thousand Chirps Transformed into Blades, Merging with Cicada Principles, Vajra Iron Tripod, Myriad Bone Armor, Shocking Cicada Breaking Through the Air."
Instantly, a warm current surged through his body, permeating his bones. His bones, originally forged from the Iron Bridge Town Bone Training Chapter, gradually transformed into the quality of uncut jade under the Heavenly Cicada Energy. Simultaneously, the changes in his bones began to have a swift impact on his body.
The humerus in his right arm was the first to undergo a transformation. The once-solid bone wriggled and reorganized itself as if alive.
Fine, cicada-wing patterns appeared on the periosteum, and every tremor triggered a chain reaction in the tendons.
Xu Yunfan clenched his fist, and the muscles in his forearm instantly contracted like a block of iron. The tangled muscle fibers stretched the skin into sharp, angular grooves .
With his previous foundation, Xu Yunfan felt no pain at all. On the contrary, some areas that had been lacking in practice began to slowly fill in.
"Crack!"
He took a tentative half step forward, the sound of his arch crushing the green rock mingling with the thunderstorm.
His entire skeleton seemed to have become a resonating chamber, and with each beat of his heart, new ripples of vibration spread from his chest to his limbs.
Memories of cultivating the Heavenly Cicada Energy to perfection resurfaced in his mind. The arduous and brutal training scenes in those scenes were so intense and brutal that even the mere sight of them made Xu Yunfan shudder.
"Bang!"
His right fist slammed into the rock wall without any fanfare. The instant contact, the bones of his entire arm vibrated seven times at high frequency.
The hard granite first cracked like a spiderweb, then exploded into stone dust from within.
Xu Yunfan watched his right arm, sunk into the rock wall to the elbow. The skin on his surface was fading from its abnormal reddish color. With a body that had achieved peak Heavenly Cicada Power, tiny blood streaks appeared when exerting force.
"Hmm?"
From his perch atop the mountain, he looked down and saw a tiny, black, snake-like column at the foot of the mountain, advancing towards Jilei Mountain.
...
When the army reached Feiying Gorge, the morning sun was hanging high above Jilei Mountain's main peak.
Suddenly, a deafening roar erupted from outside the mountain gate.
In the martial arts arena, the disciples, fresh from their morning exercises, were in a state of chaos.
Someone's sword tassel became entangled in their hair. A staggering disciple, clutching a copper incense burner, fell to the ground, splattered with scorching charcoal.
A mountain-guarding disciple tumbled into the main hall, a half-spent Cloud Piercing Arrow lodged in his back.
"Xuanjia. It's the Hu Ben Xuanjia! Enemy attack!!!"
The shrill cries of the enemy's attack instantly resounded throughout the mountain gate.
Chu Xuan shot out of the doorway, grabbing the collar of an outer disciple who had escaped from the mountainside. "Speak clearly! What's going on?"
Before she could finish her words, the mountain gate collapsed with a bang. Eight hundred Xuanjia heavy cavalrymen poured in like a black tide. Amid the trembling sound of three thousand armored men crushing the mountain gate, Ning Wuque's gentle declaration echoed.
"I have been ordered to annihilate the rebels. Master, please accept death."