Zhang Kui's Journey to the West in the Investiture of the Gods

Chapter 3 Breakthrough, Earth Witch Realm

The governor's grain officer's tent was more than ten times more spacious than his own previous barracks, and it was located in the core area of ​​the entire rear army.

Dismissing his attendants, Zhang Kui stroked the cold, dark dragon scale armor, feeling the astonishing power contained within it. He then glanced at the "resources" listed in the logistics inventory, his eyes burning with fervor.

"Someone come here! Select the supplies I listed and report back immediately."

Zhang Kui handed the adjusted materials list to the guard, and then continued to review the supplies ledger.

These are all good things!

Outside the camp, the wind and snow in Beihai continued.

For Zhang Kui, this journey to the North Sea seems to have begun to take a different turn because of his uniqueness.

Behind the governor's grain officer's tent, in the drill ground, the stench of blood mixed with demonic energy was so strong it was nauseating.

A pile of demon corpses of various shapes were arranged around the perimeter. Zhang Kui sat cross-legged in the middle, his palm resting on the still-warm head of a tiger demon. Zhang Kui's eyes were closed, veins bulged on his forehead, and his skin was an eerie red. Wisps of dense, visible blood energy were forcibly drawn from the demon corpses and entered his body through his arms.

The whole process was extremely painful.

Zhang Kui's Wu clan bloodline greedily devoured the foreign blood and energy, but because the instincts derived from his bloodline were too crude, the absorption efficiency was outrageously low, causing most of the mottled demonic energy to run rampant in his body, making his meridians ache faintly.

"No...it's too slow. At this rate, how long will it take to refine these materials?" Looking at the mountain of "resources" around him, Zhang Kui slowly released the gradually shriveling tiger demon corpse, his brows furrowed.

Such reckless actions not only lead to worrying progress, but could also result in a backlash from demonic power, with unimaginable consequences. He needs a more efficient and safer method.

Zhang Kui got up and began searching through the miscellaneous items listed in the logistical supplies inventory, hoping to gain some inspiration. The demon clan under Yuan Futong of Beihai had been plundering for many years and had also gathered a large number of extraordinary individuals; perhaps searching through their legacies would yield some valuable insights.

These "miscellaneous items" included a large number of damaged weapons and fragments of magical artifacts, as well as a large number of jade slips recording various spells and techniques.

After flipping through the pages for a while, Zhang Kui found nothing. Just as he was about to give up, his fingertips touched a piece of charred animal hide that had fallen from the crack of a fragment of a magical artifact. He pulled it out and saw that the edges of the hide were torn, as if it had been scorched by a raging fire, and hundreds of mysterious and ancient runes were written on it.

These runes twisted like clouds, appearing chaotic at first glance, but upon closer inspection, they seemed to conform to some profound principle of heaven and earth. Zhang Kui instinctively felt that this thing was not simple, so he focused his divine sense to observe it, trying to decipher the content of the characters.

When his gaze focused on the first rune, something unexpected happened.

The dormant bloodline of the Wu clan within him suddenly trembled, but it wasn't the previous yearning for the essence of the demon clan's blood; rather, it was an indescribable spiritual resonance.

hum!

The runes on the charred animal hide suddenly lit up, turning into a stream of light that instantly disappeared into his brow.

"Ugh!"

Zhang Kui groaned, feeling as if his head was about to explode, with countless pieces of information flooding his consciousness.

Nine-Breath Breath Cultivation: One of the Thirty-Six Methods of the Heavenly Gang, it involves absorbing the primordial energy of heaven and earth into one's own body through breathing. Within nine breaths, one can absorb and exhale the essence of heaven and earth, transforming the origin of all things into resources to nourish oneself and restore magical power. It is a supreme method of cultivating qi.

This torrent of information eventually solidified into a mysterious and profound cultivation technique.

Zhang Kui's heart pounded wildly, almost bursting out of his chest. The Thirty-Six Heavenly Divine Techniques! This was one of the most powerful divine abilities in the mythological world. Even if it was just a fragment, its intent and level of mastery far surpassed the crude methods Zhang Kui had previously groped out based on his bloodline instincts.

The Nine-Breath Breathing Technique was practically tailor-made for his current predicament.

Transform the origin of all things into resources.

Aren't these demon corpses and their inner cores ready-made "resources"?

Suppressing his excitement, Zhang Kui immediately followed the Qi cultivation method in his mind and began to practice.

The first time, my blood and qi surged, and I almost lost my breath.

The second time, the demonic power surged, almost causing a backlash.

The third time, Zhang Kui held his breath and focused his mind, fully activating the bloodline of the Wu clan, while carefully circulating the true essence within his body for cultivation.

"breathe--"

With each breath, the dense blood energy, demonic power, and even the spiritual energy scattered throughout the world seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, frantically converging towards Zhang Kui's mouth and nose, even forming a vortex around him.

Zhang Kui took the opportunity to press his palm against the tiger demon's corpse again, but this time the absorption was no longer as slow as before; it was an almost predatory devouring.

A surge of chaotic spiritual energy rushed into Zhang Kui's body. He felt as if his body was about to burst, and waves of excruciating pain almost made him faint. But he gritted his teeth and persevered, continuing to forcibly refine the energy according to the "Nine Breaths Breath Absorption" method.

Nine breaths, one cycle.

boom!

Within his heart, an incomparably pure and superior essence of the Wu clan erupted, instantly circulating throughout his entire body. The feeling was like rain after a long drought; Zhang Kui felt every cell in his body rejoice, and the Wu clan bloodline within him was rapidly growing stronger.

efficient!

And the efficiency is astonishing!

A terrifying glint flashed in Zhang Kui's eyes. Without further hesitation, he grabbed several murky-colored demon beast cores from the side and began to circulate the "Nine Breaths Breathing Technique" once more.

Devour, refine.

More energy continued to flow in, and the swelling and pain in his meridians reappeared, but Zhang Kui ignored it and focused all his efforts on breaking through the increasingly obvious barrier—the bottleneck of the Earth Witch Realm.

The blood was boiling and roaring; it craved more replenishment.

Without further hesitation, Zhang Kui lunged at the surrounding demon corpses, using both hands to push his still-unskilled "Nine Breaths Breath Control" to its limit. He transformed into a humanoid vortex, frantically plundering all the energy around him.

A fierce wind suddenly rose around the training ground, blood mist filled the air, and demonic energy howled.

Zhang Kui forcibly absorbed all sorts of chaotic energy, and through the initial refinement of the Nine Breaths Breathing Method, he purified it, leaving only the essential elements to nourish himself.

Gradually, a yellowish-brown glow began to appear on Zhang Kui's body, faintly revealing a rock-like texture. The sound of his blood and qi flowing was like a mighty river, resounding throughout the entire training ground.

The bottleneck of the Human-Witch Realm began to vibrate violently.

"Not enough! This isn't enough!"

Zhang Kui let out a low growl, his gaze locking onto the corpses of several demon generals with even stronger auras in the corner—the "hard stuff" he had deliberately left behind to slowly digest. He couldn't care less now; he rushed over and pressed his hands directly onto them.

"Nine breaths to inhale, then swallow!"

Rumble...

In an instant, Zhang Kui's body was like a flood bursting its banks, with fine beads of blood seeping from his seven orifices. His body began to tremble violently, and the yellowish-brown light on his skin flickered erratically, making him feel as if he were about to collapse at any moment.

Just as Zhang Kui felt he was about to be burst apart by this violent energy.

Click!

It felt as if something inside my body had been completely shattered.

An ancient, vast, and profound aura suddenly erupted from Zhang Kui.

hum!

The earthy yellow light began to stabilize, then intensified, rendering Zhang Kui as if he were a golden statue. A surge of power filled every muscle and bone of his body; all the energy he had previously absorbed was completely subdued, absorbed, and integrated by this newfound power.

He broke through to the Earthly Witch Realm.

Moreover, along with the breakthrough in his realm and the purification of his bloodline, a clear message emerged from the depths of Zhang Kui's bloodline.

Kuafu chased the sun, measuring heaven and earth, his body transforming into mountains and rivers, his blood nourishing all things.

He wields the power of earth and controls the pulse of the earth.

It turns out that Zhang Kui's Wu clan bloodline originated from the ancient great shaman Kuafu. At the same time, he also awakened a bloodline supernatural power - the Earth Walking Technique.

With a thought, he can merge with the earth and travel thousands of miles in an instant. Although Zhang Kui's cultivation level limits his travel distance and speed, he can still rely on the earth's veins to penetrate most of the array restrictions, making it a supreme divine ability that can be used for both sneak attacks and self-preservation.

After adjusting his breathing, Zhang Kui slowly opened his eyes, a fleeting image of changing mountains and rivers, of the earth rising and falling, flashing before his eyes. He gently clenched his fist, the air bursting open with a muffled sonic boom.

Feeling the surging, powerful energy within his body, and the incredibly intimate connection with the earth—a resonance that felt like he could borrow boundless power at any moment—Zhang Kui exhaled a long breath.

This breath, condensed like an arrow, shot three zhang away, striking the flagpole beside the training ground with a muffled crack, causing the flagpole to fall to the ground.

"Earth Witch Realm... Earth Element Power... Earth Movement Technique..."

Zhang Kui looked down at the magical power surging in his hands, and an uncontrollable smile crept onto his lips.

For him, this calamity in Beihai contained an unparalleled opportunity.

"Report..."

Outside the tent, a guard's urgent voice suddenly rang out: "My lord! The Grand Tutor has issued an urgent order to summon all generals to the central command tent for a meeting. It seems there has been a change at the front."

Zhang Kui concealed his aura, the yellowish-brown light in his eyes fading. He waved his hand and cast a spell, erasing the remaining bloodstains and debris around him. In an instant, the training ground returned to normal. He then stood up, and the Dragon Scale Armor automatically flew over and attached itself to his body. He leaped onto the unicorn-like Black Smoke Beast that was pacing restlessly and spitting out wisps of black smoke, and walked outside.

The wind and snow lashed at my face, but I felt no chill.

"understood."

He responded with a steady voice, carrying an unprecedented confidence.