Chương 383: Xiao Hu's elder brother

"Who the hell created this technique?" Long Feng frowned. The first stage of the technique as he could see was the method to actually cultivate the nexus. And the process was beyond ridiculous.

"What bullshit about destruction and rebirth? Who in his sane mind would shatter his own core just to cultivate some unknown technique?" He snorted. The process described was a complex method, and to comprehend it, one would need to destroy their core, ending their lifelong cultivation. Now that Long Feng was seeing this, he was left speechless. Those predecessors who had cultivated the technique and ended up with crippled cultivation… could it actually be that they read the details and still decided to go ahead?

Could they really be that stupid? There was no clear indication of what would happen even if they succeeded! Who would give up their entire life worth of cultivation for a vague technique? Frowning deeply, Long Feng picked up the jade and threw it into his void ring. This was an absolute waste of time. What insight could he possibly gain? Unless he was interested in ruining his cultivation.

"Ah. I should focus on building my strength." He facepalmed and sighed.

"I still have Qiu Yushi to worry about, and there's even Ren Ji to top it up." He walked over to the meditation mat and sat on it, sensing the enormous amount of energy contained beneath it. After taking several deep breaths, he drew upon a tiny amount of energy from below and began to slowly refine it.

After acclimating himself to the energy, he increased the amount slightly, causing his meridians to fill up with energy that circulated throughout his body before settling in his Dantian to strengthen his cultivation. As time passed, his aura became more and more stable, though the change was too tiny to be noticed clearly. More than a day passed before Long Feng was suddenly interrupted from his cultivation. He opened his eyes with a frown as thunderous sounds echoed through his cave.

"The hell…?" He stared blankly at the metal door that was creaking under a ridiculous amount of force. Clearly, someone was knocking on the door in a not so gentle manner. Rising up, Long Feng walked over and pulled the doors open, only to be greeted by an enormous frame blocking the entire path with a huge fist slamming down upon him.

"Oh?" The fist suddenly came to a halt as the person realized that the doors had been opened, then Xiao Hu lowered his head to smile at Long Feng.

"Little fellow! I'm back!" Long Feng forced an awkward smile, not expecting Xiao Hu to actually return.

"I've brought your present! Come and see them!" Xiao Hu beckoned excitedly then moved aside, finally allowing the light to stream into the cave. Long Feng helplessly strolled out, curious to see what exactly the present was. What awaited him were two huge beast corpses that couldn't be any more dead.

"This…" the suffocating aura they both emanated left him startled. One was a huge ape, so large that it wouldn't lose out at all to Xiao Hu's bulky frame. It's black fur was currently drenched in crimson blood that no doubt belonged to it. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. And the other was a python that was as thick as a grown adult and several hundred meters long.

Both of them had been extremely powerful judging from the remnant aura around them, nearly as strong as Ren Ji. Xiao Hu's feat of killing them both left Long Feng shocked at his strength. But he was also speechless at the present. What was he supposed to do with two beast corpses that were several times larger than he was? Staring at Xiao Hu's expression, he was clearly waiting for a praise of some kind.

"This… um, what exactly…?" His voice trailed off, not knowing what to say. Xiao Hu scratched his head and grinned foolishly.

"Oh. That big ape, um," he tilted his head and thought for a while before continuing, "I can't remember it's name. It's blood is extremely good for body tempering! Your skinny arms and legs will become much stronger if you bathe in it! I use it often." He then pointed at the python.

"That one… I can't remember it's name as well. It's flesh is extremely delicious, and it also makes the body and blood stronger as well." He explained and paused before quickly adding, "They're very strong! Xiao Hu smashed them both and dragged them over!" He said that with a prideful and expectant look on his face. Long Feng noticed the long scars on the ground that extended all the way down the mountain, realizing that Xiao Hu had really pulled the two corpses over.

He couldn't help but smile as he imagined the scene.

"Elder brother Xiao is so strong!" He finally gave the latter the praise he was waiting to hear. Xiao Hu's face instantly lit up as he roared with laugher.

"That's right little fellow! I'm very strong, I smash everything!" Long Feng shook his head with a smile. When he glanced at the two corpses, he felt a headache coming up. That ape should have enough blood to bathe a dozen people for a few days right? And that python… Long Feng couldn't finish it in a month. Xiao Hu's eyes suddenly brightened as he thought of something.

"Little fellow, come and meet my elder brother! He's very strong, he is stronger than Xiao Hu!" He uttered eagerly, leaving Long Feng dazed. Elder brother… Long Feng assessed Xiao Hu's huge frame that was like a mini mountain and he couldn't imagine what his elder brother would look like.

"I'm afraid I have to cultivate. We can go meet him some other time." He promptly replied. He really wasn't willing to get too involved with this Xiao Hu. Unfortunately, Xiao Hu wasn't listening to him.

"My elder brother would be glad to meet you! Hahahaha! Now Xiao Hu no longer the youngest!" He laughed as he strode to the side of the python and grabbed it's tail before pulling it with him while beckoning to Long Feng.

"Wasn't that mine…" Long Feng couldn't help but ask as he followed and glanced at the python.

"Eeeh?" Xiao Hu paused and blinked before grinning.

"Elder brother like snakes. We share it with him!" He replied. Sighing, Long Feng followed. Glancing back at the over conspicuous ape, he wondered if anyone would be bothered to steal it. Not considering if someone would, could anyone transport it easily? It was unlikely that the thief would happen to be as huge as Xiao Hu. Xiao Hu pulled the huge snake along for nearly an hour, drawing the attention of many disciples.

Long Feng couldn't help but notice how indifferent they all acted, as though such a scene was anything but normal. Xiao Hu soon approached a cave residence and threw the python by the side before rushing over to start pounding his fists on the metal doors. A few seconds later, the doors were pulled open and a scholarly looking youth walked out with messy hair and black smoke on his fair face. He glanced up at Xiao Hu's face before groaning.

"You fool, didn't I told you to knock more gently? You caused me to waste a furnace of good pills!" He cleaned the dust from his face as he chided. Xiao Hu laughed awkwardly before drawing out a huge pole from his void ring all of a sudden. The pole was made of a unique metal, and a single glance was enough to leave anyone fearing it's might. It emanated an aura similar to a peak mortal grade armament.

It's size was even more ridiculous, with a width that would compare to an adult's thigh and a height that made Long Feng look like a dwarf. Only someone like Xiao Hu would be able to wield such a weapon without looking out of place. He raised the pole high and brought it down upon the scholarly youth with overwhelming force. The space between the youth and the pole was instantly turned into a vacuum as a ridiculous amount of force surged out of Xiao Hu's bulging muscles.

Long Feng's eyes couldn't help but shrink, both at the sudden attack as well as the force contained within that pole. Ten of him wouldn't be able to withstand that single pole! But before his eyes, the scholarly youth lifted his palm, and a formless force suddenly blasted Xiao Hu several meters away without him being able to resist. The difference was clear at a glance; the youth hadn't even changed his expression. A playful smile danced on his face as he glanced at Xiao Hu.

"Big guy, you're still not strong enough. Untill then, you'll remain the younger one." Xiao Hu regained his footing and stumped his feet in annoyance before storing his pole and rushing over again with an excited grin.

"Elder brother Cheng, Xiao Hu is not the youngest anymore! Look! I found a new junior brother! He extremely weak and fragile, he the youngest!" He pointed at Long Feng who was still staring slack jawed at the scholarly youth. That palm strike… Long Feng replayed it in his mind, trying to deduce a way to resist it even slightly. The result? Even if he burned his life source in its entirety, he would still die to that palm!

Just from his ability to send Xiao Hu skidding backwards, one could imagine the power of the scholarly youth. The youth's gaze focused on Long Feng and a wide smile lit his face.

"Oh, I heard some rumors that Xiao Hu tricked a poor fellow into becoming his junior brother. So that's you?" Long Feng nodded, trying as much as he could to stay calm. For the first time, he realized the terror of the inner disciples. Were they really deities? This scholarly youth should have refined his cultivation at least twice right?

"Hm. Not bad. You must be a new disciple. An Imperial becoming an inner disciple… you must have something unique about you." The scholarly youth traced his chin and waved his hand.

"Come on in. You too, little Hu." He turned to walk back in, only to pause as he caught a glimpse of the python's corpse by the side.

"Oh?" He raised a brow.

"Little Hu, not bad. You didn't smash its corpse to pieces this time. Place it behind the cave. I'll prepare a good dinner for us later." Xiao Hu instantly nodded with drool by the sides of his mouth. Glancing at Long Feng, he nudged.

"Elder brother Cheng cook deliciously! Little fellow will love it!" Long Feng nodded slightly and followed the scholarly youth into the cave, and Xiao Hu followed as well, squeezing his burly frame in.