Chương 153: Return to Qinghe

The Black Iron Stronghold, in the cave behind the mountain. Initially sensing his body after consuming the Golden Bone Fruit, Song Que's spirit became incredibly excited. Not to mention his cultivation level advancing significantly, the external refinement portion of his Glazed Immaculate Body, which had originally reached grand completion, was now thoroughly perfected with the help of the medicinal efficacy!

The skin and flesh all over his body became firmer, tougher, and possessed astonishing elasticity, truly resembling a layer of ultra-durable flexible plastic. Song Que also vaguely felt his skin and flesh acting exactly as described in the Glazed Art. With external refinement at perfection, his epidermis could automatically generate force, effectively blocking and even reflecting an enemy's Ming Jin! Combined with the Thousand Hammer Art, his physical defense had skyrocketed by a large margin!

The bone refinement portion of the internal refinement section had also advanced to grand completion in one fell swoop! The 206 bones in his body felt as if they had been washed clean, shedding a massive amount of impurities. The bones themselves had become bright, glossy, and vastly harder and tougher. He hadn't tested how much his physical strength had increased, but Song Que felt that right now, he possessed at least the force of seven or eight bears!

He even vaguely sensed the gestation of a fierce elephant within his body, which could break out of its cocoon at any moment and shock everything within a hundred li! But these were all within expectations and weren't enough to make him this excited. What thrilled Boss Song more than anything else was a new discovery within his mind! He actually faintly sensed his own soul—or 'Spirit' in Daoist terms—hidden within the Niwan Palace at the crown of his head. Essence, Qi, and Spirit—the Three Treasures of Life.

From the moment he started practicing martial arts, constantly nourishing his body was refining Essence. The day his An Jin was completed and his essence introverted marked the beginning of refining Qi. Only today did he truly sense his Spirit! Although it was an incredibly profound, mysterious, and hazy sensation, Boss Song was absolutely certain: that was one of his Three Treasures, his Spirit!

At this moment, his spirit was vastly stronger than before, and consequently, he felt an unprecedented sense of ease and refreshment. Song Que suddenly realized: previously, his Essence and Qi had developed too quickly, while his Spirit had been neglected and left behind. That was why he often felt powerless to control his own body. It was just like a computer loaded with too many high-end software programs while its hardware couldn't keep up.

Running it would obviously be difficult, not to mention it would frequently crash! He was the same. Leaving aside how he had previously often acted like an ox in heat with irresistible urges, his personality had also become much more hot-tempered and impulsive. No one noticed these subtle, imperceptible changes, but today, with his spirit cleansed and his mind clear, it wasn't hard for Boss Song to figure it out: it was all because his spirit wasn't strong enough!

His spirit had been so weak that it had begun failing to guide his body's instinctive actions. If this continued, it wouldn't be long before he lost all reason and became a reckless brute driven entirely by emotions. At that point, Boss Song wouldn't be far from END GAME! Fortunately... Thinking of today's harvest, Grandee Song was extremely, extremely satisfied!

Even though the vast majority of the Golden Bone Fruit's energy had been used to remodel his body, leaving not enough surplus energy to cause any changes in the Tesseract, this didn't affect the big picture. He was already content. The smooth, natural flow of every movement and the feeling of complete control were immensely enjoyable to Song Que. After testing it out for a while, he finally smiled at Xiong Ba and Nie Feng.

"Absolutely wonderful! Truly worthy of being a rare treasure of the world! Xiong Ba, you take it first, followed by you, Old Nie. Today, the three of us will strive to break through our current realms!"

"Yes! Young Master!"

"Xiong Ba, eat that fruit. There will be some pain; try to endure it. Once you endure it, your gains will be substantial." Hearing the Young Master's instructions, Xiong Ba didn't hesitate at all. He stepped forward and shoved the Golden Bone Fruit, skin, flesh, and all, into his mouth, chewing vigorously. Hearing the crunching sounds, Song Que and Nie Feng couldn't help but feel a toothache. This idiot! Did he not pay attention to how I ate it just now?!

Fortunately, the shell was only slightly harder than a coconut shell, so it didn't pose too much of an obstacle. Shortly after swallowing it, Xiong Ba's face flushed red, and he hurriedly sat down to cultivate the Glazed Immaculate Body.... A night passed. All three of Boss Song's group successfully finished digesting the Golden Bone Fruits. After taking some time to adapt to their newly elevated realms, they happily returned together.

The harvest from this trip was truly abundant; all those days of waiting hadn't been in vain. Not only had Song Que completely resolved the hidden dangers in his spirit, but his cultivation had also increased significantly. With the external refinement of the Glazed Art at perfection, the Thousand Hammer Art also showed faint signs of breaking through to grand completion, and his brute strength had skyrocketed by more than two Bear forces. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen.

Please report the violation. Xiong Ba's gains were not small either. His external refinement of the Glazed Art was just shy of perfection, and his brute strength was no less than three Bear forces. It wouldn't be long before he could break through to the Fourth Grade. Nie Feng had even reached the peak of the Fourth Grade, his strength breaking through four Bear forces!

He just needed to spend some time polishing his physique and bones to perfection, and he would officially begin stepping into the Fifth Grade of organ refinement. At that time, relying on the wondrous effects of his family's Five Qi Towards the Origin Art, his strength would more than double! Thinking of all this, the gloom and melancholy that had plagued Song Que for the past few days were completely swept away.

With the combined strength of the three of them, even if a Seventh-Grade First-Class expert came, they were confident they could resist! They wouldn't be chased like dead dogs anymore! Thinking of the old Blood-Robed dog playing cat and mouse with him, Boss Song's resentment ran very deep!... At the villa. Seeing them return, Li Xin, who had been on edge all night, joyfully came out to welcome them:"Big Brother! You're back! Were there any problems?"

Smiling and patting his shoulder, Song Que was in a great mood:"Haha, better than I imagined! We went to collect a piece of fortuitous fortune today. A'Xin, you can't use it right now, but once your strength is sufficient, Big Brother will get a share for you."

"As long as everyone is safe, that's what matters! I was worried you had to go fight someone again, Big Brother, and I wouldn't be able to help." Li Xin felt slightly disappointed but quickly rejoiced and congratulated the three.

"Haha, there's no need to worry anymore. You've been up all night; go back and rest. Old Nie, have the brothers in the stronghold lift the curfew. Everyone can go back to their regular duties."

"Yes, Big Brother!"...

"Understood, Young Master!" Boss Song and Xiong Ba also returned to their respective rooms to continue studying the changes in their bodies.... For the following week, Song Que, Xiong Ba, and Nie Feng did nothing but focus entirely on adapting to the sudden surge in their strength. Every day, apart from sparring fiercely with each other, they sat together to share their insights and experiences. The effects of the Golden Bone Fruit were truly wondrous beyond compare!

In just a few days, the skeletal structures of the three men had almost completely transformed. With the exception of Nie Feng, both Song Que and Xiong Ba had grown significantly taller, as if the medicinal efficacy in the fruit had helped them thoroughly mature. Song Que was now roughly the same height Xiong Ba had been previously, reaching a towering 1. 93 meters. The foolish Bear was even more terrifying—at least 2. 2 meters tall, truly like a giant!

Having constantly consumed medicinal meals for nourishment over the past few days, this guy had also packed on a massive amount of muscle, truly looking no different from the Hulk! The violent aura deep within his soul, constantly seeping out faintly, genuinely made the people around him occasionally tremble in fear. Because of this, Song Que frequently had to assist him in cultivating the Glazed Immaculate Body, so the Buddha nature within it could help the guy rein it in a bit.

Furthermore, every night, Boss Song secretly visited the Golden Bone Tree, using his half-baked agricultural knowledge to take cuttings from the tree; he was truly quite busy. Not having much faith in his own skills, he only dared to take three small cuttings, leaving the main branches of the original tree intact. At least if something goes wrong, I'll still have this rare treasure tree preserved! Fortunately, the Tesseract was reliable. After a few days, the three small cuttings were growing normally.

Checking them last night, he found they had already grown quite a few small roots. Only then did he safely transplant them into a few plots of soil nearby. He planned to visit and nurture them once or twice a week moving forward.... Today, Boss Song's Thousand Hammer Body-Refining Art officially broke through to grand completion! Even a Third-Grade martial artist wielding a sharp weapon would find it hard to injure him in the slightest. Only then did he feel satisfied. It's time to return to Qinghe County.

The day before yesterday, Brother Hong had sent a message saying that in the city, the old man Yun Shan and Wu Yi had asked about him several times. Furthermore, the people from the Six Doors had announced the conclusion of their investigation, stating that the demonic practitioners had been driven away, and he could safely return. Reading those lines at the time, Grandee Song felt a severe toothache. If I trusted these bureaucrats, the grass on my, Boss Song's, grave would probably be knee-high by now!

What kind of grand, fanfare investigation did you conduct while that old Blood-Robed dog is still acting as if nothing happened, bouncing around everywhere?! Truly unbelievable! Yesterday, Xiong Ba had also managed to project An Jin, officially stepping into the ranks of the Second Tier! As long as he continued to refine his bones according to the Glazed Art, in a short period, this foolish Bear's strength would skyrocket once more.

Unfortunately, Old Nie still couldn't break through to the Fifth Grade, but judging by the situation, it would be soon. With no further lingering attachments, Boss Song's group officially packed their belongings today, preparing to return to Plum Manor under the cover of night. He would leave the Black Iron Stronghold under the management of Knife and Bucktoothed Su. After all, there were no enemies around now; having the two of them hold the fort was more than enough.

Boss Song just needed to send someone to collect the money every month; there was no need to waste more manpower. Once bitten by a snake, ten years fearing a rope. Cherishing his life, Boss Song felt that having two more underlings guarding his side would be a bit safer. Even though the threat from the Blood Demon Cult seemed to be temporarily resolved, what made his balls ache was that he was inextricably entangled with this terrorist organization!

If on some fine day an idiotic First-Tier expert came looking for him to 'eliminate demons and defend the Dao', he would at least have some power to resist and explain himself! Cherish life, stay away from trouble! Boss Song felt he had finally grasped the true meaning of life. That very night, the group loaded an extra carriage to transport the pets and secretly left the Black Iron Stronghold, entering Plum Manor without alerting anyone.

Returning to their own home, even though they had only been gone for a month, it felt like a lifetime had passed, and everyone couldn't help but sigh with emotion. Fortunately, all the disasters had passed.

"A'Que, Xiong Ba, Brother Nie! Long time no see!" Hearing the sounds of their return, Zhong Hong joyfully came out to welcome them.

"Brother Hong! Haha, it really has been a long time!" Returning from the wilderness to urban civilization, seeing an acquaintance again made Boss Song very happy, and he stepped forward to give him a bear hug.

"You guys have truly changed more and more! I almost didn't recognize you!" Looking at the drastically altered appearances and physiques of the group, Zhong Hong couldn't help but sigh. If they met every day, he wouldn't find the silent changes so strange, but seeing them again after a long time truly gave him a shock.

If it weren't for the fact that his brothers' facial features were still faintly the same and their mannerisms hadn't changed, he wouldn't have believed they were the same people even if beaten to death!

"Alright, Brother Hong, let's go inside and talk!" Smiling and letting everyone unpack, Song Que briefly recounted some of their experiences at the Black Iron Stronghold before telling everyone to get some rest. Naturally, the important matters were impossible to mention. It wasn't that he didn't trust Brother Hong, but there was no need to share them; it would only increase the risk of a leak.