Chapter 8: Another Surprise

Wei Yang's face was pale as he opened his eyes, a hint of exhaustion visible.

This kind of soul confrontation was very dangerous and extremely taxing.

«Success,» Wei Yang muttered, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

He looked down at the black scroll in his hands, circulating his Dou Qi according to the scroll's instructions, letting it flow slowly within him.

Moments later, the Dou Qi reached his palm, emitting from his hand.

When the Dou Qi appeared in his palm, the eagle wings on the black scroll suddenly glowed brightly.

The black and purple light intensified, eventually transforming into two tiny beams of black-purple light that shot into Wei Yang's palm.

These two tiny beams of black-purple light flowed rapidly through his meridians after entering his body.

When they reached the meridians in Wei Yang's back, they paused, then started forcefully opening up new meridians.

Two very fine branch meridians were pulled out from the main meridians.

These two branch meridians extended from the main meridians and stopped slowly when they reached his back.

«Ah~»

Wei Yang gritted his teeth and let out a painful scream from his throat.

Large beads of sweat dripped from his forehead, his fists tightly clenched.

The tearing pain of his meridians was torturous and unbearable.

«Damn it~»

Bang! Wei Yang fell to the ground, his fists pounding on the ground, his eyes bloodshot, veins bulging on his forehead.

Bang! His fist struck the stone floor, sending small fragments flying.

At this moment, every second felt like an eternity.

It was unclear how long had passed; it seemed like a moment, yet also an eternity.

The excruciating pain gradually receded like a tide.

Wei Yang lay curled on the ground, drenched in sweat, as if he had just been pulled out of water.

Gasping for breath, his entire body still felt like it was pricked by needles, and he felt numb, completely devoid of strength.

After resting for a while, the piercing pain slowly subsided, and his strength gradually returned.

«Is it finally over?»

Wei Yang slowly got up, looking apprehensively at the black scroll discarded to the side.

The scroll was now blank, the eagle wings and characters had disappeared.

Shaking his head, he no longer paid attention to the empty scroll. Wei Yang took off his soaked shirt, revealing his muscular upper body.

Touching his back, he could feel that there was now a pair of black feathered patterns, each about the size of a palm.

These patterns were slightly raised, like tattoos or protruding vein patterns.

With a thought, Dou Qi circulated within him, pouring into the wing tattoos on his back.

Receiving the Dou Qi, the black tattoos immediately lit up, emitting a faint black-purple glow.

Swish~ Finally, the tattoos transformed into a pair of tangible black wings with mysterious purple patterns, slowly spreading out from Wei Yang's back.

These black wings, with a wingspan of about a meter, extended from his back.

Each feather was clear, as if alive, and had a metallic texture, as if forged from fine steel.

It was a peculiar feeling, like he had truly grown wings on his back.

Wei Yang tried to control them, gently flapping.

Whoosh~ The wings flapped.

Instantly, wind arose in the stone chamber, and a lifting force appeared, causing Wei Yang to slowly float, his feet leaving the ground.

It was his first attempt, and he was not yet proficient, making him look awkward, like a fledgling bird learning to fly, his movements somewhat comical.

Wei Yang eagerly continued to try, correcting his movements and mastering balance.

After a long time, he finally managed to adapt.

Now, he floated steadily in the stone chamber, about a foot off the ground, his black wings gently flapping behind him.

«I can fly now.»

Wei Yang grinned, satisfied, before landing and retracting his wings.

Stopping the input of Dou Qi, the black wings retracted, forming a pair of black tattoos on his back again.

Stretching lazily, he put on his clothes.

«With these wings, it will be much more convenient and safe. Even if I encounter an enemy I can't defeat, I can always fly away.»

«As for enemies at the Dou Wang level or above? Such strong foes are few and far between in the entire Jia Ma Empire. I won't go provoking them for no reason.»

Wei Yang clenched his fist, feeling the surging Dou Qi within him. «Due to the transformation of my cultivation method, although I have fallen to the two-star Dou Shi level, my strength has not decreased but increased.»

«With this high-level Xuan class cultivation method, I believe I can fully unleash my potential. In three to four months, I should be able to return to the six-star Dou Shi level.»

Before becoming a Dou Zhe, the stages of Dou Qi cultivation were limited by the weak constitution of the practitioners and the foundational nature of the stage, so the means of improvement were few.

Thus, most cultivators were considered geniuses if they could advance one stage of Dou Qi in a year.

However, after becoming a Dou Zhe, due to differences in cultivation methods, aptitude, and resources, the cultivation speed was much faster than in the Dou Qi stage.

For those with excellent conditions, resources, and aptitude, breaking through several stars in a year was not difficult.

Although Wei Yang did not have a mentor like Yao Lao to guide him or countless pills to assist, his current cultivation method was a high-level Xuan class method, several levels higher than the initial Chi Huo Jue, and even higher than Xiao Yan's initial low-level Huang class Fen Jue.

Combined with his own aptitude and the compatibility of his cultivation method, the effect was more than additive, offsetting the lack of pills and resources.

Overall, Wei Yang's early cultivation speed would definitely be no slower than Xiao Yan's.

When Xiao Yan recovered his talent three years later and began cultivating from the third stage of Dou Qi, Wei Yang would have already pulled ahead significantly.

This was his confidence.

With excitement, Wei Yang surveyed the stone chamber he had stayed in for nearly half a month.

Here, he had gained immense benefits, enough to change his fate in the early stages.

Wei Yang took a deep breath, calming his excitement.

After composing himself, he walked to the stone table, looking at the scattered bones on the chair behind it.

«Senior, I'm sorry,» Wei Yang said, feeling a bit embarrassed as he bowed.

When he successfully changed his cultivation method earlier, he couldn't control the surge of energy, causing the senior's skeleton to scatter.

«Please wait a moment, senior. I will lay you to rest,» Wei Yang said softly.

He carefully gathered the scattered bones beside the chair and planned to find a place to bury them.

Observing the surroundings, Wei Yang moved the chair aside.

The ground beneath the chair was cracked, with many web-like cracks and scattered stones, unlike the rest of the stone chamber's smooth floor.

«Hmm?»

Wei Yang examined the cracked ground, discovering it seemed to have been dug up before and then filled back.

«Could the senior have buried something here?» Wei Yang couldn't help but guess, feeling a bit excited.

His hands covered in Dou Qi, fingers like claws, he began digging.

As he dug out the stones, Wei Yang soon excavated a stone pit about two feet long, a foot wide, and a little over a foot deep.

This was a pre-dug stone pit, previously refilled.

It seemed the senior had even prepared his own burial pit.

This made it easier; he just had to dig it up and bury the bones.

Suddenly, Wei Yang's movements paused.

«What's that!»

At the bottom of the pit, amidst the intact rock, lay a simple black ring.

Wei Yang's eyes lit up.

(Chapter End)