Chapter 117: The Pinnacle of the Human Form

Facing this Yuan-Fa realm powerhouse, Yi Tian unleashed his full strength, yet he still could not suppress or kill his opponent. He channeled the Sun-Shooting Heavenly Art to its limit, every strike erupting with heaven-shaking power. Hand-to-hand, he contended with the opponent’s magical treasure, the two locked in an evenly matched and grueling struggle.

However, each burst of the Sun-Shooting Heavenly Art consumed a vast amount of his True Essence. While not as extreme as the single, ultimate strike he could unleash with the Void-Piercing Bow, the drain was rapid; he could only sustain thirty to forty such attacks before his reserves were depleted. The Sun-Shooting Heavenly Art possessed overwhelming offensive power but was incredibly taxing, whereas the Great Sun Heavenly Art was less demanding, allowing for prolonged combat. Each had its own advantages and drawbacks.

Seeing that he could not overcome Yi Tian after such a long engagement, the man in black began to falter, an intent to retreat growing within him. It was clear that Yi Tian and his group were a hard nut to crack. The man’s fierce and violent attacks gradually smoothed out, his body shifting intentionally or otherwise in preparation for withdrawal.

"Trying to run!" Yi Tian’s eyes sharpened.

Suddenly, an incomparably refined sword aura manifested in his hand. The moment it appeared, a vast, heaven-piercing sword intent saturated the surroundings. The Firmament Sword Aura slashed through the heavens in an instant, cutting toward the man in black. The man felt his hair stand on end as a terrifying aura of death washed over him.

"Die!" He swung his own blade, summoning massive waves that transformed into an endless ocean, attempting to suppress the attack.

Boom!

The sword aura tore through the vast ocean, struck the man’s sword, and detonated. The treasure in the man’s hand shattered instantly.

A perfect opportunity!

Yi Tian teleported forward, arriving before his opponent. Channeling the Sun-Shooting Heavenly Art with all his might, he threw a punch that felt like an indestructible divine arrow, radiating brilliant light as it slammed into the man.

Boom...

The man in black was instantly engulfed by the strike, his flesh and blood disintegrating.

Yi Tian stood in the void, his breathing gradually steadying. That fierce battle had forced him to exhaust almost all his techniques. The Firmament Sword Aura was indeed worthy of being the introductory chapter of a Heavenly-grade battle skill. Even as a fragment, when evolved through his Great Sun True Essence, its power was astounding—reaching half the intensity of a full-power shot from his Void-Piercing Bow. In close quarters, that strike was a cataclysmic disaster for the man in black.

The next moment, Yi Tian retrieved the man’s storage ring. In the distance, the members of the Samsara Squad, seeing the outcome, converged upon him.

"This guy wasn’t so strong; he couldn't even take thirty moves from the Captain!" Yi Shan said with a touch of disdain. He had been completely engrossed in the fight, and its sudden end left him somewhat disappointed.

"Captain, let’s see how many treasures are in this ring. If there’s a large haul of resources, it will make things much easier for us," Yi Feng urged from the side, eager to see the man’s net worth. The others were equally curious.

Yi Tian refined the storage ring with his True Essence, instantly grasping its contents: five Yuan Crystals, twelve Dragon Crystals, a Low-grade Precious Herb sealed in a jade box, a heritage jade slip, over a dozen battle skill manuals, and some food and seasonings.

The man's wealth did not move Yi Tian. Having spent time training in Huangqin City, his perspective had broadened significantly. These resources were exactly what one would expect from a Yuan-Fa realm expert. The total of less than twenty crystals was expected; most practitioners absorbed such resources to improve their strength rather than carrying them around.

The Low-grade Precious Herb was a Red-Mist Grass, translucent and glowing with a crimson, mist-like radiance. It was said that Red-Mist Grass grew from ordinary blades of grass in sun-drenched locations, absorbing the dawn’s light for thousands or even tens of thousands of years before maturing. Out of hundreds of thousands or even millions of blades, only one might transform into this rare herb. However, because ordinary grass was uncountable, the Red-Mist Grass was not truly rare, though it was seldom seen by practitioners because it grew in inaccessible places or was guarded by ferocious beasts. This herb was a mission objective in Huangqin City, valued at thirty contribution points.

Yi Tian brought out the heritage jade slip and channeled his True Essence into it. A burst of light erupted, and profound information flooded his mind: it was a Middle-grade Earth-tier cultivation technique called the Thousand-Water Profound Art.

The loot provided Yi Tian with a small windfall. By the time they returned to Huangqin City, their wealth was sufficient to sustain their cultivation for some time. In the following days, they each retreated to their respective buildings to train. In Huangqin City, one could earn Dragon Crystals and Yuan Crystals through various missions, accelerating cultivation tens of times faster than merely absorbing the ambient energy of heaven and earth. A Yuan-Gang level expert might spend twenty or thirty years of hard toil in the outside world to reach the peak of that realm, but here, with an abundance of crystals to burn, one could achieve the same in just two or three months.

In the cultivation chamber, Yi Tian took a Dragon-Vein Fruit from his storage ring and bit into it. A surge of warmth rushed down his throat, turning scalding hot as it flooded his limbs and bones. He felt as if his body were being tempered in a furnace, every inch of his flesh undergoing a transformation.

When the heat finally dissipated, Yi Tian opened his eyes. He felt as though a layer of dust had been washed away; his body felt light, vibrant, and bursting with life. He clenched his fist, feeling his blood roaring through his veins, his strength having increased significantly.

"The efficacy of the Dragon-Vein Fruit is truly formidable!" he exclaimed with joy.

During their trip to the Savage Mountains, the Samsara Squad had harvested nearly seventy Dragon-Vein Fruits. Instead of exchanging them for points, they had chosen to consume them. Yi Tian continued his regimen, eating one, then two, then three... After consuming all twelve fruits, his physical strength had surged from thirty thousand catties to seventy thousand.

Of course, this was only his base physical strength; once he activated the Sun-Shooting Heavenly Art, his power would multiply exponentially. Still, the body remained the fundamental foundation of a practitioner. The physical limit of the human body was one hundred thousand catties; beyond that, there was no path forward. Breaking this shackle required immense fortune or the slow, multi-generational evolution of one’s bloodline to unlock the deepest treasures of the flesh and achieve the Heaven-Man Realm, capable of contending with gods and demons.

After consuming twelve fruits, Yi Tian noticed that the effects were diminishing. The first fruit had increased his strength by at least ten thousand catties, the second by seven thousand, the third by five thousand, and so on. Furthermore, his own Great Sun Heavenly Art was becoming less effective at tempering his body; he estimated that a month of training with the art was now worth only as much as one Dragon-Vein Fruit. At this rate, the number of fruits required to reach the next level was becoming unsustainable.

To make matters worse, their operations in the Savage Mountains were becoming increasingly perilous. As they ventured deeper, the resident beasts grew more terrifying, and the areas where they could harvest the fruits were dwindling, with the number of mature fruits dropping sharply. The dream of relying solely on these fruits to reach the human limit was fading.

Just as Yi Tian emerged from his seclusion, an unexpected visitor arrived.