Chapter 26 - Terrifying A Man

“Aman, what happened earlier? Why did your strength suddenly explode like that?” After returning home, Long Chen couldn't help but ask about the situation at that time. At that moment, Aman gave Long Chen a feeling of unease. “I don't know either. When I saw that person about to hit you, my head went 'buzz', and my whole body became hot, as if I had endless strength,” Aman said, scratching his head. Long Chen placed a hand on Aman's shoulder, and his soul force spread out. When Long Chen's soul force entered Aman's body, he was shocked. Aman's body was unlike anyone else's. Normally, a person's body is crisscrossed with countless meridians. However, inside Aman, there were only four, extending from the dantian to the limbs. Such a meridian network was something Long Chen had never seen before. But what shocked Long Chen even more was not his strange meridians, but his physical body. Most of Aman's cells were actually closed, as if they were dead. Yet, they weren't truly dead. Long Chen could feel that once heat flowed through, these dormant cells would immediately devour the passing cells and then return to dormancy. This Aman was simply a monster. Long Chen was puzzled, but he thought of a possibility. “Aman, let me ask you, have you ever truly eaten your fill?” Long Chen suddenly asked. “Yes, at home, I eat quite full,” Aman replied, shaking his head. “Tell the truth,” Long Chen said, his face darkening. “Well, I can at least eat half full. I'm quite content,” Aman admitted, not daring to lie. “Aman, remember, I'm your Brother Long. At any time, you must not lie to me, understand? Otherwise, I'll be angry,” Long Chen said very seriously. “Brother Long, I... understand,” Aman said nervously, seeing Long Chen's serious expression. “Let me ask you, what food makes you feel full of energy?” “Meat.” “What kind of meat?” “Any kind, but beef is best. I've had it once.” Long Chen nodded. Aman's physique was special, with ninety-nine percent of his cells in a dormant state. That's because there wasn't enough energy to sustain them, so they had to protect themselves by reducing consumption. Even with the memories of the Pill Emperor, Long Chen had never seen such a strange physique. Such a powerful body, yet only one percent of the cells were active. If all the cells were activated, how terrifying would that be? Long Chen shuddered at the thought, but Aman was on his side, and the stronger his power, the better. “How much beef can you eat in one sitting?” “One hundred pounds...” Aman hesitated, holding up a finger. “Tell the truth.” “A whole cow...” “Tell the truth.” “I could eat five cows.” “Tell me the truth,” Long Chen's voice was almost a roar. “I don't know, but if there were ten cows, I think I could be full,” Aman said with a pained expression, having never actually eaten that much. Long Chen shook his head, somewhat speechless. “Alright, I'll buy you a farm tomorrow, and you can eat to your heart's content.” The next day, Long Chen had Bao'er find a farm on the outskirts. It wasn't very large, but it had over a thousand cows. Long Chen let Aman go himself, and by the afternoon, all the farm workers had fled. Later, they came to Bao'er to complain, saying that Aman was like a wild man, grabbing a cow, punching it to death, and tearing off a bloody leg to eat. They were terrified, fearing that Aman might eat them too. Long Chen had no choice but to hire dozens of cooks to specifically prepare beef for Aman, so he could finally eat cooked food. What shocked Long Chen was that Aman initially only ate ten cows a day, but as time went on, his appetite increased rapidly. However, a cow only cost two or three gold coins, so Long Chen wasn't worried about going broke from feeding him and was instead very pleased. Aman's growing appetite indicated that his cells were gradually awakening. Once all his cells were awake, Aman was bound to undergo a monumental transformation. After solving Aman's issue, Long Chen began his own seclusion. The battle with the scar-faced man had given him a great sense of crisis. That day, he sensed that the scar-faced man had been holding back. Although he was later stopped, Long Chen felt this matter wouldn't end so simply. After merging with the Pill Emperor's soul, his sensitivity to danger had heightened. This time, the opponent might not have been prepared. Once the opponent was ready, Long Chen might only face death, yet he had no regrets. Even if it happened again, he would still do the same. Otherwise, the whip Aman took that night would leave a knot in his heart, preventing him from having a pure mind, which could become a heart demon in the future. In this seclusion, Long Chen was determined, fully absorbing the Wind Mansion Pill. Seven days later, the Wind Mansion Star beneath Long Chen's feet erupted with a loud bang. Originally the size of a pea, the Wind Mansion Star underwent a huge transformation after Long Chen absorbed countless medicinal energies. The once full shell began to peel away, and to Long Chen's astonishment, it revealed a star-like form beneath. Though the star was somewhat blurry, it was full of life, strikingly impressive. This was the first star Long Chen condensed for the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art—the Wind Mansion Star. Long Chen could no longer sense its actual size, his heart filled with awe. “Boom!” The Wind Mansion Star, with its shell removed, suddenly trembled, and a terrifying energy caused the entire room to shake. “Not good, what a commotion,” Long Chen was startled, but it was too late to stop it. The entire room shattered like paper. At the same time, the energy of heaven and earth surged toward Long Chen like a tidal wave, ignoring his senses, like seawater flooding a riverbank. “Bang!” Long Chen spat out a mouthful of blood, his body seemingly exploding, and he instantly lost consciousness. When Long Chen awoke again, his mother was worriedly watching him. Seeing Long Chen awake, Lady Long was both surprised and delighted. “Chen'er, you scared Mother to death. What happened to you?” Long Chen quickly replied, “Mother, it's nothing serious. Alchemists exploding their furnaces is common.” He could only use the excuse of a furnace explosion to cover it up. After finally comforting his mother and sending her off, Long Chen used his spiritual sense to look inside himself and nearly cried out in shock. He actually had a dantian. He discovered that his once empty dantian now had three vortices, slowly rotating. “What on earth is going on?” Long Chen was astonished. Seeing the Wind Mansion Star beneath his feet still operating, his heart calmed somewhat, but looking at the three vortices in his dantian, he fell into deep thought. His spiritual roots had been removed, leaving his dantian barren, impossible to reactivate, unless... Could it be that condensing the Wind Mansion Star had rebuilt his dantian? Thinking of this, a flash of insight occurred to Long Chen, recalling the scene before he lost consciousness. That terrifying energy of heaven and earth was not something a normal person could withstand. Such energy was extremely violent, unusable by humans. Could it be that the energy was meant to destroy the original dantian, and then rebuild it from the ruins? But Long Chen was mistaken. The Nine Star Hegemon Body Art was even more terrifying than he imagined. If his original dantian had existed, he would have been shattered to pieces. Though Long Chen couldn't understand it, looking at the three vortices in his dantian, he found he could actually connect with them. “Could it be that I've really rebuilt my dantian?” Long Chen tried to channel the energy from the vortices into his limbs and found no obstruction; he could use it freely. Moving his foot, the energy from the Wind Mansion Star also flowed without hindrance. Long Chen wondered what it meant to have an extra spiritual energy storage space. With a thought, Long Chen directed the energy from the Wind Mansion Star into his dantian. “Puff!” Long Chen immediately felt like a volcano erupted inside him, the terrifying energy exploding like a tsunami, and he spat out blood, nearly fainting again. Lying on the ground, Long Chen panted wildly, his eyes filled with shock, his internal organs shattered. Quickly taking a healing pill, he swallowed it, and moments later, the medicinal energy enveloped his body, his complexion gradually turning rosy from pale. “Can anyone tell me what is going on?” Long Chen shouted in frustration. He had nearly killed himself with his own energy. If he had died, it would have been too unjust. But there was no answer. His memories only contained the cultivation method of the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art, with no other introduction. No grade, no origin, no instructions—like Long Chen himself, the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art was a typical three-no product. Long Chen chuckled bitterly. He had no spiritual roots, no spiritual bones, no spiritual blood; all three had been taken away, making him a perfect match for the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art. But if he couldn't figure out such a bizarre situation, Long Chen wouldn't be able to eat. Gritting his teeth, he continued to touch the Wind Mansion Star. This time, Long Chen learned his lesson. Instead of letting it run naturally, he cautiously ran a tiny bit of the Wind Mansion Star's energy. “Boom!” When that tiny bit of energy flowed into his dantian, Long Chen saw clearly that the three vortices instantly expanded tenfold. What shocked Long Chen the most was that they had been slowly rotating, but with the Wind Mansion Star's energy added, they turned into rapidly spinning windmills. As the three vortices spun wildly, countless energies flowed into Long Chen's limbs and bones, filling him with power. “Phew.” Long Chen finally understood a secret of the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art. This discovery was so shocking, so terrifying, that even Long Chen himself felt a bit scared. “Could this be the Star Transformation mentioned in the memories? Now that there are three vortices in my dantian, does that mean I've reached the third transformation?” After a long time, Long Chen finally calmed his mind. With the three vortices in his dantian, in the terms of this world, Long Chen was just a novice at the third level of Qi Condensation. But whether he was a novice or not, only Long Chen knew. With this discovery, Long Chen was both shocked and excited. With a stroke of his ring, a piece of ancient beast hide appeared in his hand. It was something Long Chen had acquired by bribing a Blood Condensation realm expert with pills. “Sky Opening, Sky Opening, hehe, let me see what secrets you hide.”