With immense effort, Zhong Shenxiu finally managed to tear the Five-Step King Snake from his arm. Two tiny, bleeding punctures were starkly visible on his snow-white limb.

Zhong Shenxiu stared at the fang marks left by the Five-Step King Snake, and within moments, the weeping punctures began to close at a rate visible to the naked eye. This once again confirmed his earlier conjecture: he was immune to all poisons, and moreover, he retained his previous regenerative abilities.

No, this shouldn't be happening! Zhong Shenxiu suddenly realized something, his expression turning grave.

What Zhong Shenxiu was considering was that he currently possessed no magical power. Even retaining the self-healing ability, the recovery shouldn't be this swift! This speed of recovery was only possible when his power was at its peak. Why, with absolutely no magic power now, did he still retain such a recovery rate? What on earth was going on? Could it be... could it be related to that strange ball of light? Zhong Shenxiu clearly remembered that after the seal on that strange stone broke, the seven-colored sphere had drilled into his body.

Could there be some lingering side effect? Zhong Shenxiu thought with a touch of worry, nervously patting himself all over. But after searching for quite a while, not only were there no abnormal symptoms, he discovered he felt incredibly well.

Could it be that misfortune had turned into a blessing in disguise? The man who rarely smiled even managed a faint, triumphant grin.

Perhaps this journey to another realm might turn out to be quite the opportunity for Zhong Shenxiu!

Looking at the Five-Step King Snake still struggling violently in his hand, Zhong Shenxiu did not, as an ordinary person might, retaliate by slamming it onto the ground and grinding it to death under his foot. Instead, he tucked it into the sack containing the "Ghost Stink Grass." Fortunately, the sack had been specially treated by Zhong Shenxiu, so there was no worry about the snake crawling out.

Afterward, Zhong Shenxiu carefully uprooted the Three Purity Grass, cherishingly tucking it into his belt. By this time, the sky had begun to darken.

Zhong Shenxiu recalled seeing a relatively shallow, small stone cave not far away when he first arrived. Spending a night there would certainly be better than staying outside.

Thus, Zhong Shenxiu casually pulled a few wild ginseng roots from the ground and walked toward the small cave.

From its exterior, the small stone cave did not look naturally formed; it appeared more likely to have been artificially excavated, as clear traces of manual chiseling were visible around the entrance.

Gathering some dry twigs and dead leaves, Zhong Shenxiu put forth considerable effort, managing to start a fire using the most primitive method of friction drilling. This dispelled a good amount of the biting chill.

As he roasted the fire, Zhong Shenxiu gnawed on the ginseng. Although ginseng was highly nourishing, consuming it in such a manner was quite wasteful; if it could be used in medicine or refined into a pill, the effect would be doubled.

Zhong Shenxiu understood this principle, but he was forced to eat it raw due to his circumstances. Many problems lay before him now, the greatest of which was simply how to survive.

Devoid of his magic power, even with his poison immunity, he was exceedingly vulnerable. While he didn't need to fear venomous insects or snakes, if he encountered wolves or tigers, his little life would certainly be forfeit.

For the sake of survival, it seemed he had to start from scratch again. Zhong Shenxiu had decided to re-cultivate, and the sooner the better, lest he meet his end unexpectedly one day.

With that thought, Zhong Shenxiu set down the ginseng in his hand and began to enter a meditative state to practice the Xuanwu Art.

In the cultivation world, Zhong Shenxiu had begun his journey with the Xuanwu Art. This technique was bestowed upon him by his mentor, the "Boundless True Man," and it was an utterly remarkable discipline. In his heart, Zhong Shenxiu held deep respect and admiration for his mentor. Therefore, despite possessing countless other techniques, he resolved to practice the Xuanwu Art first. A person must never forget their roots, and Zhong Shenxiu was the type who repaid every kindness. Thus, even though he was known in the cultivation world as an eccentric genius, many people still sought to curry favor with him, not for any other reason than the fact that everyone knew Zhong Shenxiu always repaid his debts.

The Xuanwu Art was an esoteric and profound technique; achieving any success without guidance was exceedingly difficult. Fortunately, having traversed to this other realm, Zhong Shenxiu retained all his memories, and his experience and insights remained perfectly intact. Practicing the Xuanwu Art thus proceeded smoothly, without significant hurdles.

He hadn't realized it until he started practicing!

Zhong Shenxiu discovered that the spiritual energy here was so abundant it was practically seeping out. Vast qi flooded into his body like a breached dam, circulated through a full celestial orbit, and then naturally surged toward his Dantian, where it began to compress autonomously.

After completing one cycle of the Xuanwu Art, Zhong Shenxiu felt incredibly invigorated, and his hearing and eyesight had undergone a qualitative leap. At this rate, it would take him less than two or three years to master the first layer of the Xuanwu Art.

Readers might think that this isn't fast! However, what you don't know is that when Zhong Shenxiu first practiced the Xuanwu Art in his world, it took him nearly two hundred years just to complete this first layer! And this was after his mentor had given him a Bì Shēng Pill to cleanse his meridians and temper his marrow, facilitating such divine speed. Otherwise, for an ordinary person, the fastest it could be achieved was five hundred years! The greatest characteristic of the Xuanwu Art is that it is difficult at the start but easier later on; the more you cultivate, the more you feel like a fish in water, and only then will you truly grasp its mysteries.

Now, with such abundant spiritual energy and such rapid cultivation speed, logically Zhong Shenxiu should be overjoyed. Yet, his expression grew stern instead. What was the reason?

It turned out that the Xuanwu Art possessed no offensive capabilities whatsoever before the first layer was completed. Each session of cultivation merely transformed the body, continuously sharpening one's hearing and vision. The first layer of the Xuanwu Art was dedicated to tempering the practitioner's spiritual power; only the second layer constituted officially stepping through the gate of a cultivator.

As the saying goes, a thousand-foot tower starts from the ground up; the Xuanwu Art emphasizes laying a solid foundation. Only with an unshakeable base can there be rapid improvement, demonstrating that the Xuanwu Art aligns with the objective laws of development.

The problem now lay here: although Zhong Shenxiu could complete the first layer of the Xuanwu Art in two or three years, how was he supposed to live through those two or three years? In this frail body? That was clearly too risky. Who knew what dangerous creatures might exist in this unknown world?

But everyone need not worry for Zhong Shenxiu. As the saying goes: where there's a will, there's a way; when a boat reaches the cliff, the path will naturally straighten. Knowledge is power; knowledge is leverage. And what Zhong Shenxiu lacked least was knowledge.

After a thorough analysis of his current situation, Zhong Shenxiu did indeed devise a feasible plan: while cultivating the Xuanwu Art, he would simultaneously practice some martial arts inner strength techniques and ultimate skills. This would provide him with more capital for self-preservation. (It wasn't that Zhong Shenxiu didn't want to cultivate other immortal techniques, but practicing multiple cultivation methods simultaneously could bring about incalculable trouble due to potential incompatibilities between techniques. Before he accumulated sufficient spiritual power, he would not rashly attempt it.)

Fortunately, the research projects Zhong Shenxiu was involved in were vast, including the martial arts of those very warriors, and he remembered them all clearly, which perfectly solved his immediate crisis.

(It seems learning broadly is beneficial; this is fully demonstrated right here. Therefore, I hope all children, young adults, and those in between will utilize every moment available to accumulate useful knowledge by "any means necessary"! Oops—it seems I've strayed off topic, hehe...)

Without further delay, Zhong Shenxiu began practicing the Shaolin internal strength ultimate skill, the Yi Jin Jing. As the saying goes, all martial arts originate from Shaolin, and internal strength is the fundamental bedrock every martial artist must train. Thus, Zhong Shenxiu first chose the Yi Jin Jing.

He didn't know until he practiced—and what a surprise! The speed at which he practiced the Yi Jin Jing was dozens of times faster than practicing the Xuanwu Art.

However, having the experience of the Xuanwu Art, Zhong Shenxiu was not overly astonished.

In only about an hour, Zhong Shenxiu had already reached the fourth layer of the Yi Jin Jing. He felt his body filled with power, and his perception of his surroundings became even sharper.

Zhong Shenxiu snatched up a small stone and tested it; the stone disintegrated into powder under his exertion.

Zhong Shenxiu smiled with satisfaction. He knew his choice was correct; he was no longer a weakling incapable of lifting a chicken.

Originally, Zhong Shenxiu could have pressed on to master the highest layer of the Yi Jin Jing in one go, but he did not. He understood the concept of haste making waste! The martial path values refinement; cultivating too quickly is counterproductive and carries the danger of qi deviation, which would be a loss outweighing any gain.

Although he wouldn't continue practicing the Yi Jin Jing today, Zhong Shenxiu certainly didn't sit idle. He started practicing another ultimate skill—the Heavenly Dragon Eight Steps.

The Heavenly Dragon Eight Steps was a superior movement technique, consisting of eight distinct steps. Those who master it move with the unpredictability of a divine dragon whose head is seen but tail is never glimpsed, moving with the swiftness of the wind! It was the essential escape art Zhong Shenxiu urgently needed for venturing out.

The Heavenly Dragon Eight Steps is neither entirely difficult nor entirely easy. If you say it's difficult, it only comprises eight steps; mastering those eight steps means you have learned it. But if you say it's easy, achieving fluid mastery over these eight steps is exceedingly hard, requiring not only deep internal strength from the practitioner but also the ability to deploy them as naturally as a bodily reflex to truly master them.

Zhong Shenxiu knew many lightness skills, but he was singularly devoted to the Heavenly Dragon Eight Steps. This was because this technique lacked the tedious layered progression of other methods. It relied solely on practice making perfect and the practitioner's mastery over qi manipulation—precisely what Zhong Shenxiu required.

Even for Zhong Shenxiu, by the time he had mastered the Heavenly Dragon Eight Steps, the sky outside was already bright; he hadn't realized that practicing had taken him an entire night.