Chapter 274 - 139: Gang Body Perfection

Deep in the swamp, the fog was impenetrably thick.

Liang Cheng leaned against a decaying tree, the wound under his left ribs still seeping blood. He glanced at his cultivation progress and took a deep breath.

[Mixed Element Gang Body: Great Success (10,726/20,000)]

[Third Layer of Broken Wave Technique: Great Success (11,352/30,000)]

[Mountain-Breaking Saber: Minor Success (3,891/12,000)]

Gritting his teeth, he took the Purple Cloud Dragon Pattern Fruit from within his robes.

The skin of the fruit was cool to the touch. He took a bite, and a sweet juice suffused with immense Medicinal Power flooded his throat, searing a path down his esophagus.

The instant the Medicinal Power began to spread—

"Found you."

A calm voice drifted from the fog to his front right. Every hair on Liang Cheng’s body stood on end, and he threw himself to the left without a second thought!

BOOM!

The decaying tree he had been leaning against exploded into a shower of splinters. A faint golden Sword Aura, its momentum unchecked, blasted a three-foot-deep trench in the ground.

Shi Podang’s figure emerged from the fog, walking at a leisurely pace. His Moon White Daoist Robe was immaculate, and the Penglai Jade Token at his waist glowed faintly.

"You’ve been running for an hour," he said faintly. "You must be tired by now."

Liang Cheng rolled to his feet, a sweet taste welling up in his throat.

The Medicinal Power of the Purple Cloud Dragon Pattern Fruit had just started to spread and nourish his internal injuries, but his sudden dive had torn at the wound, and the pain made his vision go dark.

He had originally planned to sit and meditate to absorb the Spirit Medicine, but now, that was impossible.

He didn’t dare to stop. He could only rely on the Crossing the Sea True Intent Fragment to circulate automatically, absorbing the Medicinal Power while he pushed his Wandering Dragon Step to the absolute limit and charged deeper into the swamp.

’But just fleeing like this, I’ll never be able to shake Shi Podang.’

As the thought crossed his mind, a flicker of cunning appeared in his eyes.

Liang Cheng suddenly made a sword gesture with his fingers. The mud to his left exploded, and a Fester-Bone Crocodile covered in black scales and baring sharp fangs lunged out, its foul stench hitting them like a physical blow!

Liang Cheng pressed forward without a second thought. The Fester-Bone Crocodile, spotting the approaching Shi Podang, snapped its jaws and swept its massive tail, splintering deadwood on impact.

Then came the whistle of a Sword Aura splitting the air!

SCHLICK!

The golden Sword Aura descended, sending the Fester-Bone Crocodile’s head flying as blood sprayed five paces wide.

Shi Podang stepped out of the fog, his Moon White Daoist Robe still spotless. His eyes locked onto the direction in which Liang Cheng was fleeing.

"Trying to use a Fierce Beast to delay me?"

He let out a cold laugh.

"How naive."

Liang Cheng ignored Shi Podang’s reaction completely, focusing only on his frantic escape.

The Medicinal Power of the Purple Cloud Dragon Soul Fruit spread through his body, nourishing his internal injuries like a spring fountain. But since he couldn’t stop to meditate and regulate his breathing, he could only rely on his Crossing the Sea True Intent Fragment to slowly digest the power.

’It’s too slow!’

But for now, it couldn’t be helped.

This was the most dire and humiliating situation Liang Cheng had faced since he began his Cultivation.

’A Disciple of the Penglai Sect... their strength is truly on a different level from an ordinary True Gang Realm cultivator.’

Just then, the sound of something tearing through the air came from behind him again!

Liang Cheng ducked abruptly. The golden Sword Aura grazed his scalp, severing a few strands of his hair. He used the forward momentum to dash another hundred feet ahead.

At that moment, his eyes lit up.

He had stumbled upon a thicket of Ghost-faced Vines.

The vines were shaped like ghoulish faces and would frantically wrap around anything that gave off the scent of flesh and blood. As soon as Liang Cheng stepped into the thicket, dozens of vines shot toward him like striking vipers!

He didn’t resist. He let the vines ensnare his left leg and right arm, pulling him deeper into the thicket.

Shi Podang arrived moments later.

"Quite the clever place to run to."

He stood outside the thicket and eyed the mass of Ghost-faced Vines. In no hurry to enter, he simply made a gesture with his fingers, and three golden Sword Auras shot into the tangle in a triangular pattern.

Liang Cheng gritted his teeth, pulled all his True Essence into his core, and relying purely on his physical might, forcibly ripped apart the vines coiling around him. He then lunged toward a muddy sinkhole to his left!

SPLOOSH!

After submerging himself in the mire, leaving only his mouth and nose exposed, the three Sword Auras shot past just over his head, shredding a huge section of Ghost-faced Vines.

Under the mud, the vines wrapped around Liang Cheng and began pulling him deeper into the swamp. Liang Cheng held his breath and simply went with the current, offering no resistance.

Meanwhile, Shi Podang was still amidst the vines, using his Sword Aura to clear them out.

But the vines were incredibly numerous. He would cut down one wave, only for another to sprout in its place. They were actually managing to hold him up.

’Heaven itself is helping me...’

Liang Cheng sighed inwardly, finally feeling a sense of relief.

’I have to buy myself time to absorb the Medicinal Power!’

Half an hour later, the vines had dragged him downstream through the swamp. He then used his raw physical strength to break free, quickly ducking into the hollow of a dead tree.

The hollow was just large enough for a single person to curl up inside. With poisonous vines dangling over the entrance, it was perfectly concealed.

He finally had a moment’s respite.

He checked his injuries. The wound on his left ribs had split open, the sword wound on his right leg was seeping blood, and his body was covered in puncture wounds from the Ghost-faced Vines. Fortunately, none of the injuries were life-threatening.

It was the only bit of luck in this whole disaster.

’I have to refine this Medicinal Power quickly...’

This time, able to sit and meditate with the guidance of the Crossing the Sea True Intent, refining the Medicinal Power in his body proceeded much more smoothly.

The immense Medicinal Power began to hammer and forge his physical body. His Mixed Element Gang Body repaired his wounds, the color of his Gang Shield visibly shifted toward a faint gold, and his Qi Blood grew increasingly vigorous.

The Broken Wave Technique accelerated its Circulation of the Celestial Qi, frantically devouring the Medicinal Power and converting it into True Essence.

’If not for my Mayfly Life Chart and the Crossing the Sea True Intent Fragment, no one else could pull this off.’

Outside, Shi Podang was still frantically slashing through the Ghost-faced Vines. Liang Cheng was, by all rights, a defeated foe, yet here he was, held up by these damned things.

As time dragged on, Shi Podang finally ran out of patience.

He unleashed his True Gang, instantly obliterating all Ghost-faced Vines within a hundred-foot radius.

This time, the Ghost-faced Vines finally sensed the threat and retreated in a frenzy, burrowing into the swamp and no longer daring to block his path.

Shi Podang took a sharp breath, then his breathing returned to normal. With no vines to obstruct him, his gaze shot downstream into the depths of the fog.

"There you are!"

Liang Cheng had been frantically Refining the Medicinal Power, but he had kept his senses extended outside his body the entire time. The very instant Shi Podang cleared away the Ghost-faced Vines, Liang Cheng cut short his Cultivation, shot to his feet, and fled for his life.

He had absorbed the majority of the Medicinal Power. As expected of the Purple Cloud Dragon Pattern Fruit—so effective for Body Refinement—his injuries were essentially healed, and his Cultivation had advanced another step.