Chapter 18 Ashfell Family Arrives, Refining the Organs

After swallowing a Body Tempering Pill, Arius sat cross-legged on the ground, guiding the spiritual energy within him according to the first volume of the Crimson Flame Path Scripture.

The four stages of Body Refinement involved tempering the body with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth—from the skin to the organs. Only when the body returned to its innate state could one step into the Level 1 Realm.

Time flowed on, and the night gradually descended.

Even before slaying the Ashfell family's Third Elder, Arius had sensed the faint signs of a breakthrough.

Now, as he continued his steady breathing and circulation of energy, his momentum surged higher and higher.

With the combined effects of the Body Tempering Pill and his mysterious-grade spiritual root, it took Arius only two days to reach the pinnacle of the Bone Tempering stage.

"Hah…"

Opening his eyes after his breakthrough, Arius let out a slow exhale.

The progress had come at a cost. Of the eleven bottles of Body Tempering Pills he originally possessed, only twenty pills remained—a single bottle of six pills was all that stood between him and his next stage.

Staring at the remaining pills, Arius's gaze turned resolute.

He was just half a step away from advancing to the Organ Tempering stage.

But time was no longer on his side.

Several days had passed since he killed the Ashfell family's Third Elder, and retaliation could come at any moment.

Any extra ounce of strength would give him more confidence when facing the Ashfell family's forces.

Without hesitation, Arius grabbed all the remaining Body Tempering Pills and swallowed them in one go.

The prolonged use of these pills over the past days had caused his body to develop a resistance.

It was a universal truth for all pills—continued use dulled their effects.

As a cultivator's strength advanced, lower-grade pills eventually became entirely useless.

Even Body Tempering Pills, when enhanced to their peak quality by the Mirror of Immortal Appraisal, would have no effect on Level 1 cultivators.

But for now, the twenty pills Arius consumed unleashed a tremendous surge of medicinal energy within his body.

The process of advancing to the Organ Tempering stage was far more agonizing than breaking through to the Bone Tempering stage.

The five vital organs had to be shattered and then reconstructed.

Arius's eyes remained tightly shut, his forehead glistening with cold sweat.

Inside his body, his five organs began to crack and collapse. The pain that followed was beyond imagination—surpassing the cruelest tortures in the mortal world.

Only an unshakable will could endure such torment.

In the Body Refinement stages—skin, blood, bone, and organ—every step forward came with excruciating pain. Every step tested the strength of the heart and the clarity of one's resolve.

Three days passed.

Gradually, the searing pain within Arius's body began to subside.

His five organs had been successfully reforged.

The early stage of the Organ Tempering Realm—achieved.

Feeling the transformative change within himself, Arius couldn't suppress his joy.

Reaching the Organ Tempering stage extended his lifespan to 160 years.

Though Arius was already 110 years old, he now had fifty more years to live.

But what mattered more than longevity was the staggering increase in strength.

At the Bone Tempering stage, even at full power, Arius could only muster a force of one million kg.

But now, at the Organ Tempering stage, a casual swing of his arm could unleash ten million kg of raw strength—a devastating force equivalent to 5,000 tons.

After successfully advancing to the Organ Tempering stage, Arius rose to his feet, no longer continuing his cultivation.

Ever since leaving the Albigensians Sect and returning to his family, Arius's rapid advancements had left little time for consolidation.

The next step would be to let his strength settle and stabilize.

If Arius continued cultivating at such a breakneck pace, it could destabilize his foundation, jeopardizing his future path in immortality.

The journey of cultivation required steady progress. Blindly pursuing speed would only lead to disastrous consequences.

Concluding his cultivation session, Arius picked up the three Organ Tempering techniques gifted by the Blue Pavilion shopkeeper and slowly made his way out of the secret chamber.

After being enhanced by the Mirror of Immortal Appraisal, these three techniques had been elevated to Level 2.

Though Arius primarily practiced the Crimson Flame Path Scripture, studying other techniques would still benefit his overall cultivation.

As the saying went, "In the pursuit of immortality, all paths ultimately converge."

The three techniques were:

A beast-taming method called The Ten Thousand Beast Codex.A water-based technique named Water Melody Art.A swordsmanship technique titled The Minor Five-Element Sword Arts.

Of the three, The Minor Five-Element Sword Arts piqued Arius's interest the most. Once he broke through to the Level 1 Realm, this technique would be worth cultivating.

Mastering the Minor Five-Element Sword Arts would make one nearly invincible within the Level 2 stage.

However, the path of swordsmanship was a difficult one, requiring not only perseverance and talent but also unique opportunities and fortune.

Arius lay on a grand armchair, leisurely flipping through The Minor Five-Element Sword Arts, a faint smile playing on his lips.

But his peaceful moment was interrupted by hurried footsteps outside his courtyard.

"Patriarch, we have a major problem!"

The voice was frantic.

Arius turned his gaze to see Simon standing outside, his face pale with worry.

"The scouts have reported: ten miles from here, a force of nearly twenty thousand is approaching Nezier Town."

"The group includes Ashfell family elite guards as well as allied forces from several nearby towns around Purple River City. Their target… is us."

Simon's voice was filled with urgency, and his anxiety was evident. Ever since Arius had killed the Ashfell family's Third Elder, Simon had been on edge.

The mounting pressure over the past days had left him haggard, his frame noticeably thinner from stress.

Though he had taken precautions—relocating some of the family members and intensifying the training of the guards—none of that seemed sufficient when facing the full might of the Ashfell family.

For centuries, the Ashfell family had been the dominant force within a thousand Miles of Purple River City.

Many powers had tried to challenge their rule, but all had been wiped out—erased from existence, their legacies extinguished.

"So, the Ashfell family has finally come?"

Hearing Simon's report, Arius remained calm, his expression unperturbed.

He had been prepared for this the moment he broke through to the Organ Tempering stage.

Originally, Arius had assumed the Ashfell family would interrupt his breakthrough, forcing him to halt his cultivation early to deal with their attack.

But to his surprise, they had waited—delaying long enough for him to complete his breakthrough.

On second thought, it wasn't entirely unexpected.

The Ashfell family was notoriously cautious. Whenever they suffered a loss, no matter how seemingly minor or insignificant the opponent, they would mobilize their entire force and unleash their full power to eliminate the threat completely.

"Understood…"

"And you, as the patriarch, running around in such a panic—what kind of example is that?"

"The Ashfell family's forces will be dealt with by me."

"Your task is to calm the family members and maintain order in Nezier Town."

"Go now, and don't disappoint me."

Arius's voice was steady, his tone commanding, as he addressed Simon from within the courtyard.

Stepping lightly, Arius disappeared in a blur, leaving the courtyard and heading toward the outskirts of Nezier Town.

Meanwhile…

Thirty Mile from Nezier Town, a massive force was making its way over mountains and rivers, their momentum shaking the land itself.

The army consisted of five hundred heavy cavalry, five thousand elite guards, and over ten thousand regular soldiers.

Banners bearing the Ashfell family crest fluttered in the wind as the long convoy stretched endlessly into the distance.

In the surrounding villages, terrified mountain folk watched the army's advance, their hearts trembling with fear and unease.