A Thought Through Eternity

Chapter 25 - Impenetrable Iron Skin!

After a month, there were still rumors. Even the ancestor of Purple Cauldron Mountain, Xu Mei, the old woman Zhang Fatso One claimed to be his master, had heard about it. At this point, Bai Xiaochun and Zhang Fatso One had no choice but to leave Purple Cauldron Mountain. Following Zhang Fatso One’s suggestion, they went to Third Sister Black to rescue her.

(ED Note: Black Fatso Three has been changed to Third Sister Black after Bai Xiaochun learned of her gender.)

And so, the two headed for Green Peak Mountain.

Black Sister Three had thinned down a bit. It wasn’t very obvious, but her body had started showing some slight curves, which stunned Bai Xiaochun and Zhang Fatso One. At that moment, the duo could barely recognize her. Even that dark face of hers now had some grace to it, if she lost all her fat, Black Sister Three would definitely be a beauty.

Merely hearing the cry of a Spirit Tailed Chicken caused Third Sister Black’s eyes to light up.

From that moment onwards, Green Peak Mountain’s Spirit Tailed Chickens started going missing.

At the moment, the name of the Mad Chicken-Stealing Devil had spread far and wide. All of the outer sect disciple knew about it, even the handymen did.

But before long, just when the elders started taking notice, the great thief suddenly vanished, never appearing again. Black Sister Three and Zhang Fatso One were both recovering, and though they were unable to go back to their former glory, they had grown a lot stronger.

On the other hand, Bai Xiaochun had finally completed the eighty-one day circulation. His hunger wasn’t as intense as before, so the three refrained from stealing any more chickens.

The eighty-one cycles of the Unending Longevity Technique were not completed in one go. Instead, it was accumulated overtime, however, the result was exactly the same.

On that day, Bai Xiaochun’s skin gained a metallic luster as he stood in the courtyard. His eyes burned with tenacity as black light shone from his body, emitting a strong aura.

Eighty-one days of pain, eighty-one days of hunger. At that moment, everything culminated into the birth of an overwhelming power that continuously bursted from within his body.

Each burst held immeasurable vitality that merged with Bai Xiaochun’s skin, enhancing the metallic color and black light. His skin rapidly hardened as the black light increased in intensity.

If an outsider were to see him standing there, he would mistake him for a metal statue instead of a human made of flesh and blood.

By the nineteenth burst, his mind was already trembling, yet the bursts showed no signs of stopping.

Bai Xiaochun didn’t move an inch, barely even breathing. If one were to take a closer look at him, they would discover that his pores were ceaselessly expanding and contracting, condensing the energy of the sky and earth.

“After the eighty-first burst, I’ll have an impenetrable skin. I’ll enter the world of metallic skin!” The formula appeared in his mind as he stared forward. All the efforts during the past year, all the starvation and all the excruciating pain he had endured, all of it was for these final bursts.

FWOOM!

The Qi inside him exploded once more, the metallic color of his skin became deeper as Qi spread to every inch of his body, tempering it in the process.

The Bai Xiaochun now was like a weapon of the gods. The bursts were like the booming strikes of a forging hammer that clanged inside him twenty, thirty, forty, forty-eight times…

Three days had passed. Bai Xiaochun still stood there, the surroundings tranquil and peaceful. The outside was quiet, but in his ears, Bai Xiaochun could hear the roaring thunder-like explosions from inside his body.

When his Qi burst for the forty-ninth time, the force of the impact amplified. His body shook as thin cracks formed on his skin, and it seemed like he was unable to withstand the bursts any longer.

“As expected, an unfortunate situation has arisen…” Bai Xiaochun frowned. He had once read that during the impenetrable-skin-tempering, cracks would inevitably appear. The longer the person could endure the bursts, the stronger the skin would become once the tempering stopped.

Even if Bai Xiaochun didn’t continue struggling, the impenetrable-skin-tempering would still be successful. However, he wanted it to be as perfect as possible. If he could endure a complete eighty-one Qi bursts, the resulting skin would be utterly flawless.

Closing his eyes, Bai Xiaochun continued to endure the bursts as they spread throughout his whole body. Fifty, sixty, seventy… With a single breath, Bai Xiaochun lasted for five more days. At which point, the Qi bursts numbered in the seventies.

The cracks on his skin had spread over his entire body, and a lot of them had even connected in various parts of his body. His body was like a shattered vase glued together.

It seemed as if it could shatter at any time.

“Seven more left!”

With bloodshot eyes, Bai Xiaochun clenched his teeth under rapid breaths.

Seventy-four!

Seventy-seven!

Seventy-nine!

Bai Xiaochun raised his head up to the sky and roared. It wasn’t loud, but it helped his trembling body survive one more Qi burst, finally reaching the eightieth Qi burst..

Qi rapidly flowed into his skin, cracking it to a shocking degree. Though his skin was filled with cracks, it still looked like it was made of metal.

“Last one!” Bai Xiaochun did not want to give up. As the last Qi burst was released, he raised his right arm and viciously slammed it on the ground.

The smash formed a deep pit as the final Qi burst ended. An immense quantity of Qi flowed into his body as the cracks which completely covered his body vanished along with the black light, leaving pure, white and glossy skin. However, this seemingly normal skin had already achieved unbelievable toughness.

After a long while, Bai Xiaochun raised his head as he breathed heavily. He looked at the pit which his fist made, and then he looked at his skin. He laughed, excited.

Lifting his right hand, he pulled out his wooden sword and shot it at his arm. Upon contact, an astonishing “clang” echoed as the sword was reflected. On the contrary, his arm felt nothing more than a mosquito’s bite, it was completely uninjured.

“Impenetrable skin!” Bai Xiaochun was unable to control his excitement. He knew the sword wasn’t a very good one, and its material was very common. However, it was refined twice, and the power that came with those refinements made it comparable to a higher quality sword. Even so, it did not hurt him in the slightest.

With a swing of his body, Bai Xiaochun shot out with all of his strength, his surroundings quickly disappearing far behind him. In the next instance, he had appeared a great distance away. This speed was multiple times faster than before.

As for strength, Bai Xiaochun knew what level he was at when he looked at the hole his fist had made. Right now, his body was essentially a new one.

“Only this type of defensive power is capable of aiding me on my path to immortality.” Bai Xiaochun was very pleased. Looking at his cultivation, he had already reached the peak of fourth level of Qi Condensation.

It wasn’t merely the fourth level of Qi Condensation. After the suppression of his inner Qi, the quality of the Qi inside him was not something a cultivator of the same level could compare with.

He was very pleased. Walking back and forth in the courtyard for a while, he finally stopped and stood completely still. Bai Xiaochun’s eyes brightened as he raised his right hand, arranging his thumb and index finger together to form a half-mouth shape. He squeezed the two fingers together and black light shone from within them. There was nothing in front of him, yet cracking sounds could be heard.

He repeated this action again, and this time, he aimed at a boulder. Black light shone as he pinched, destroying the boulder as if it was tofu.

He turned around and did the pinching motion once more on one of the bamboo shrubberies that had grown quite tall. Choosing the sturdiest of the bamboos, he once again pinched, shattering it in the process.

This scene made even Bai Xiaochun himself fall down as he took a deep breath. Looking down at his two fingers as the black light dissipated, he exhaled.

“So this is the throat-crushing grasp…” Bai Xiaochun mumbled to himself. This was one of the mystical abilities of the Unending Longevity Technique that could only be brought out from the impenetrable-skin-tempering.

Bai Xiaochun had only used half of his strength just now. He couldn’t even imagine its terrible destructiveness should he not hold back.

For Bai Xiaochun, this mystical ability was a lethal weapon. He silently contemplated for a while, realizing the viciousness of this ability. After much contemplation, he still continued to train in it. Within the courtyard, his figure could be seen dashing about, sometimes accompanied by a black light and cracking sounds.

Half a year had passed, Bai Xiaochun had not left the courtyard even once. He was constantly training. While ceaselessly training, Bai Xiaochun was of course oblivious that Li Qinghou has finally returned to the peak of Scented Cloud Mountain after being away for months, flying in a rainbow streak of light.

Before Li Qinghou even had the chance to rest, two more rainbows came from Green Peak Mountain and Purple Cauldron Mountain, all towards the peak of the Scented Cloud Mountain, searching for Li Qinghou. In one of the rainbows, the form of an old man could be seen. His body had an intimidating aura special to cultivators at the Foundation Establishment.

As for the other rainbow, a woman born with a natural allure could be seen. She was beautiful, but on her face, a complex mix of emotions could be found. It was complex since she seemed to be sad and happy at the same time.

These two were the ancestors of Green Peak Mountain and Purple Cauldron Mountain. The two conversed with Li Qinghou privately before leaving. At the peak, Li Qinghou sat there rubbing his forehead, sweeping his eyes over the chicken coops. After realizing that only chicks were left, he didn’t know whether he should be laughing or crying. With a sigh, he threw back his sleeves, left the hall, headed down the mountain road…

Straight towards Bai Xiaochun’s courtyard...