The four characters "开始修炼" were like a curse.

Like a rooster that had been injected with chicken blood, Wutie raised his head, took big strides, and arrived at the location Old Tie had mentioned in just a short quarter of an hour.

He rolled and crawled along the way, falling countless times, covered in mud and moss, and adorned with numerous spider webs. He looked dirty and disheveled, like a mud monkey. Wutie placed Old Tie on a mound, propping himself up with his knees and panting heavily as he looked at him.

"You... have you gone crazy? Why did you run so fast?" Old Tie sneered. "I don't know, which... fool said you can't cultivate?"

Chuckling, Old Tie's dark red eyes darted around. "Even if you're missing a limb, how does that prevent you from cultivating?"

"I, I... My father taught me the 'Breaking Heaven Fist,' but I...," Wutie gasped for breath and stammered, "I... can't fully execute the entire set of punches. My body is too weak..."

A red light flickered in Old Tie's eyes, and countless tiny, invisible lights swept quickly across Wutie's body.

"Do it and let's see," Old Tie dryly said.

Wutie looked at Old Tie, gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and straightened his posture. He spread his legs, with one fist in front and one fist behind, assuming a majestic fighting stance.

"Hey, ha!"

Wutie shouted loudly as he flawlessly executed the Wutie Clan's foundational cultivation technique, the "Breaking Heaven Fist."

When Wutie threw the first punch, his muscles suddenly twitched, and Old Tie coldly snorted.

When Wutie threw the second punch, blood vessels under his skin violently swelled, and Old Tie let out two consecutive cold snorts.

After the third punch, Old Tie's eyes lit up, and he spoke loudly, "That's enough, I understand. This 'Breaking Heaven Fist' has extremely high requirements for physical quality... each punch is like self-mutilation."

"Ha, ha," Old Tie chuckled a few times. "Who's the fool who created this fist? But..."

His eyes dimmed, and Old Tie fell silent for a while before whispering, "Perhaps this is the correct choice as well. But whether it's right or wrong, it has nothing to do with me. Strategic analysis is not my specialty."

A blood light suddenly lit up, and Old Tie's eyes sprayed out large patches of blood light, which transformed into a giant light curtain several meters in size beside Wutie.

Within the light curtain, a figure dressed in a fully enclosed white tight-fitting armor appeared. The armor was radiant like white crystal. A soft and melodious female voice suddenly rang out, "Foundation Building Technique, first move, begin!"

The figure performed its movements extremely gracefully, slowly spreading its legs and arms, slightly tilting its body, and assuming a subtle position.

Wutie stared in astonishment at the light curtain and the figure within it.

He was even more startled by the beautiful female voice.

There were only the two of them, him and Old Tie, yet this female voice clearly did not belong to Old Tie.

"What is this?" Wutie exclaimed.

"What are you stunned for? Do it with her," Old Tie impatiently snorted. "With blood and sweat, with blood and sweat... quickly follow her movements. I'm being exhausted by this."

"Exhausted?" Wutie looked at Old Tie's pale, seemingly unchanging skeletal face and stuck out his tongue. "Foundation Building Technique, the name doesn't sound impressive at all!"

A bright red light flashed in Old Tie's eyes. "I can call this thing 'Heavenly Destruction Fist That Slays Immortals and Causes World Shattering,' or 'Primordial Shattered Chaos Supreme Technique'... Sounds interesting, doesn't it?"

"Let me teach you a lesson... The name doesn't matter; what matters is the essence!"

"Second lesson... Never doubt me, if you doubt, you'll get beaten!"

With a crack, a blue light flashed on Old Tie's teeth, and a thin electric light fiercely struck Wutie's thigh. His entire body spasmed as if pricked by countless needles, and Wutie howled in pain, plopping down on the ground.

"Foundation Building Technique, first move, begin!" Old Tie dryly shouted.

Wutie looked at the figure in the light curtain, stood up, and imitated its movements exactly.

Without unleashing the Breaking Heaven Fist, his body didn't feel as heavy as lead, nor did his muscles ache as if they were being torn apart. He had never experienced the violent, uncontrollable surge of hot power bursting from his organs when he secretly cultivated the technique in the Wutie Clan training grounds.

Wutie assumed the first move of the Foundation Building Technique. He heard a crisp sound of tendons and ligaments popping around his neck, and he felt a few bones shift. His arms' muscles became slightly sore, and a pleasant numbness spread throughout.

The figure in the light curtain didn't move its lower body but smoothly changed its stance, extending its arms slightly backward like bird wings.

"Foundation Building Technique, second move, begin!"

Wutie closely followed the figure's movements. He heard faint sounds coming from his neck muscles, and he felt some muscles in his back itch and warm up.

"Foundation Building Technique, third move, begin!"

...

Each move was smooth and gentle. The beautiful female voice had a mysterious charm to it, and unconsciously, Wutie's movements became exceptionally natural, harmonious even. His breathing frequency also changed unintentionally.

Between every breath, Wutie seemed to be inhaling some peculiar substance from the air and expelling useless waste from his body.

Tiny beads of sweat continuously seeped out of his pores. They carried a faint fishy odor.

By the time he reached the eighteenth move, Wutie's body was drenched in sweat, his skin turned reddish, and white mist rose above his head. He squinted his eyes and fell into a dazed state, his body suddenly going limp. He actually fell to the ground and fell asleep with a loud snore.

He didn't know how long he slept, but when he woke up, there was a dead blind rat lying next to him.

This blind rat had extremely poor eyesight, almost blind. It fed on various mushrooms and moss found in the cave, which made it plump and meaty. After quickly tearing the rat apart, Wutie felt full of energy.

He had never felt this good before, and Wutie even had a feeling of being completely refreshed.

"Hold on to me, look in the right direction, and walk forward!" Old Tie yelled loudly. "Listen carefully, pay attention to your breathing frequency, one-two-one... one-two-one... one-two-one... march!"

Wutie picked up Old Tie and walked quickly in the direction he had indicated.

After taking only a few steps, he slipped and fell with a loud smack, throwing Old Tie several meters away.

Without saying a word, Wutie got up, ran to Old Tie, picked him up, and continued marching forward.

Forward, forward, forward...

In this strange place, a circular basin in the center was thousands of miles in diameter, surrounded by vast stretches of sandy wasteland. The basin was shaped like a bowl. Following Old Tie's directions, Wutie steadily advanced toward the central part of the basin.

The light ahead gradually brightened, and the temperature rose. The moss on the ground grew thicker, and large clusters of mushrooms began to appear. Unfamiliar vegetation, with numerous branches, gradually increased. Dense forests formed in many areas among the mushroom clusters and plants.

"These are ferns!" Wutie secretly cultivated the Foundation Building Technique while accompanying Old Tie. Whenever he encountered unfamiliar things, Old Tie would teach him the name and characteristics of these plants.

"These ferns are mutated species that can grow by relying on the heat and light from the lava." Old Tie's eyes emitted a red light as he swept his gaze over a fern. "This species is edible... Remember its appearance and characteristics; sometimes, they can save your life!"

Which fern was edible, which fern was highly toxic, which fern could paralyze people, which fern could self-destruct...

Which mushroom was delicious, which mushroom was lethal when eaten, which mushroom had venomous snakes or spiders underneath it, which mushroom was most loved by those little creatures...

Which snake had the strongest venom, which snake had the fastest speed, which snake had the most powerful strangling force, which snake could spray venom at people...

Old Tie was a huge repository of knowledge, and Wutie absorbed every bit of information from him.

"You know more than Confucius," Wutie finally broke through to the nineteenth move and smoothly continued to the twenty-seventh move. After completing the eighteen moves, instead of falling asleep, he continued until his body became hot and weak, then sat down.

Although exhausted, he felt very good and didn't fall asleep. He looked at Old Tie and sincerely praised him.

"Nonsense, I'm..." Old Tie's eyes flashed with blood, and his tone became solemn. "Professional."

"What kind of professional?" Wutie curiously looked at Old Tie.

In the past few days, Wutie had traveled with Old Tie and learned many new and fascinating things. The dark cloud in his heart had dissipated quite a bit. He buried the hatred for his father and elder brother deep in his heart, etching the words "revenge" onto his mind, and his behavior had returned to what a normal young man should be.

"Professional... in saving lives." Old Tie's tone became a bit strange. "I am the ninth generation of medical-type ancient divine weapon from Bian Que!"

Wutie stared at Old Tie dumbfoundedly.

He couldn't understand what Old Tie was saying.

"Bian Que, you don't know?" Old Tie's eyes emitted blood light.

Wutie shook his head.

"Divine weapon... You must have heard of the reputation of 'divine weapons'." Old Tie snorted.

"I've never heard of it," Wutie honestly shook his head again.

"I like honest kids... Come, stand up, Foundation Building Technique, first move, begin!" Electricity flickered on Old Tie's teeth, and thin electric currents struck Wutie's belly. It hurt so much that he jumped and yelped in pain.

"No, it's not the first move of the Foundation Building Technique; it's more like, 'Start running, young one!'"

"Cling to the fire burning in your heart and the passion that fills your belly. Run, let me see your progress over the past few days!"

"Run, run around me, yes, keep running... Run happily, young one!"

Old Tie's body was surrounded by a thin electric light, and thin electric currents relentlessly struck Wutie's body. His muscles and internal organs convulsed and trembled due to the electric shocks.

Old Tie's electric current carried a strange vital energy, and Wutie's physical functions slowly improved.

Gradually, bit by bit, he ran with more vigor. Wutie panted heavily, and there was a hint of a fishy smell in his breath.

He ran without interruption for almost an hour. He had never thought that he could continuously run for such a long time.

Finally exhausted, he suddenly collapsed on the ground.

A snake as thick as a bowl shot out from a fern bush and bit Wutie. A red light flashed, and the snake's head vanished, its body disintegrating into hundreds of segments that rained down on Wutie with a crackling noise.

"Eat your fill quickly, then continue forward!" Old Tie stiffly laughed. "You have great potential, young one. It seems that we will arrive at our destination much earlier. Eat your fill and drink your fill, then continue forward!"

Wutie grabbed a piece of snake meat and tore into it with big bites.

In the past few days, he had witnessed Old Tie's methods, so he wasn't surprised by the snake's tragic state.

Moving forward, cultivating the Foundation Building Technique, running, being struck by electric currents, eating his fill, and drinking his fill...

"We've arrived. Right here, beneath our feet!" After more than ten days, Old Tie suddenly exclaimed, telling Wutie to set him down.

Wutie's clothes were already in tatters, and he only wrapped his waist with a few large fern leaves, barely covering his body. He, who had been thin and weak like a bean sprout, had become more erect within these short ten days. A thin layer of muscles appeared on his chest, arms, and legs.

"There's nothing here." After setting down Old Tie, Wutie looked around.

This place was near the center of the basin, about a hundred miles away from the exact center.

The ground was rich with soil covered in a thick layer of moss, and large mushroom clusters surrounded the area. Thick ferns grew all around, and countless green and shimmering eyes appeared and disappeared in the shadows of the mushroom clusters and ferns.

Spiders, poisonous snakes, lizards, and other unique creatures...

"Old Tie, there's nothing here." Wutie subconsciously leaned closer to Old Tie.

"Of course, there's something here; you just can't see it." Old Tie chuckled. "Young one, get to work here. Specifically, it's about a meter and a half in front of your right toe."

"Dig a hole, dig down, work hard, young one!"

"I can let you cultivate... You've already started cultivating the Foundation Building Technique."

"But the Foundation Building Technique has a big problem." Old Tie chuckled a few times.

"What problem?" Wutie anxiously asked.

He wanted revenge, he wanted to find the enemy who attacked the Wutie Clan and seek vengeance. He needed to cultivate; only through cultivation could he gain strength.

He should not have been able to cultivate, and the Foundation Building Technique was his only hope. The Foundation Building Technique couldn't have any problems!

"The Foundation Building Technique is too mild. Being mild means its efficiency is low, so progress is slow."

"You're already eleven years old; perhaps it will take you twenty years to complete your foundation. That's too slow."

"There's something here that can accelerate your cultivation." Red light shot out from Old Tie's eyes and drew a two-meter diameter circle on the ground at the specified location.

Without a word, Wutie jumped over it and began digging with both hands, continuously throwing away chunks of dirt and rocks.

Old Tie silently watched Wutie, watching him dig out clumps of soil and rocks, throwing them aside.

(End of Chapter 9)