Chapter 261: The Complete Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Art
“…Immortals and Buddhas press down from above, all living beings are like grass… bones broken and sinews torn, blood dried and marrow withered…”
“…Nine deaths and no surrender, sacrificing the body without regret, only then can the spirit return to its fleshy home.”
Zhang Yu read the lines of the blood-red mantra in his mind intermittently, and in an instant, all sorts of insights flooded his heart.
This blood-red mantra had first appeared when Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were fighting Wang Yin together, when he had fought to the very last moment and his Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art had been operating at an unprecedented peak.
But later, when Zhang Yu read these lines, he could never quite grasp their meaning or comprehend their mysteries.
It wasn’t until his second, solo fight with Wang Yin, after a desperate struggle where he pushed his physical body to its limits time and again, that Zhang Yu gradually began to understand the profoundness of the mantra.
It was like a clap of thunder in his mind. The original Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art, the mysteries of the mantra, and the sensations from Zhang Yu’s desperate struggles all pieced themselves together, combining to form a more complete, more profound Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art.
With his eyes closed, Zhang Yu began to circulate this brand new Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art.
This update to his heart art felt to Zhang Yu as if he needed to slowly correct his own thoughts, to change his very will.
This would normally be an extremely difficult task.
But after the series of confrontations with Wang Yin, especially after today’s successive life-or-death battles and struggles, Zhang Yu’s own mentality and thinking had already undergone a great change.
Now, as he switched to the complete version of the Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art, it felt as natural as water flowing into a channel, perfectly smooth.
And as Zhang Yu converted the old version of the Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art into the complete version bit by bit, a roar echoed from the depths of his mind.
Roar!
The white ox that had been struggling and crawling with difficulty in the mire, its body covered in wounds from blades, spikes, fire, and lightning, began to see its injuries gradually disappear.
Even its four limbs, which had been completely broken, began to twitch and then regrow.
Its blinded eyes opened anew, and its deafened ears became sharp once more.
Roar!
With another roar, as the surrounding mire boiled, the fully healed white ox let out a long cry, its four hooves treading on air as it stood proudly above the sea of mud.
The vast sea of mud below roared and churned, as if forming into countless black hands reaching for the white ox, but with a single bellow from the beast, they were all firmly suppressed beneath its feet.
Visualizing this white ox treading the air, standing proudly and suppressing the sea of mud, Zhang Yu felt his mind sink completely into his physical body, as if he had become every piece of his own flesh and blood, controlling his body in an unprecedented way.
Every piece of his flesh, every one of his bones, seemed to have accepted his thoughts and ‘come alive’.
If before, when Zhang Yu was injured, his body would recover based on instinctual biological processes, now, his ‘living’ body would recover according to his will.
The method of wound healing, whether the immune system was on or off, how broken bones should thicken and enlarge… Zhang Yu could feel that these were all things his will could control.
This was the physical activation brought about by the Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art.
And Zhang Yu could feel that as he continued to improve the Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art, in the future, external injuries would leave no scars, blood vessels would clear themselves, organs could even open and close at his command, and nerves could be rebuilt according to his will…
As long as I continue to improve this true Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art, my self-healing ability can become several times stronger than before.
Even some severe injuries that were originally difficult to heal on their own and required treatment will be able to heal by themselves in the future.
Sensing the true power of the Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art, an even deeper understanding flashed through Zhang Yu’s mind. The true Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art wasn’t just created to encourage disabled people to work.
The so-called crippled ox body-sacrifice is about fighting until the very last moment. Even if grievously wounded, with severed limbs, one must resist, sacrifice one’s body to fight again, and never surrender even after a hundred deaths.
And to be able to sacrifice one’s body to fight again and again, one needs a powerful self-healing ability in order to find life in death.
Otherwise, a single sacrifice would destroy the body, leaving no strength to fight again.
Zhang Yu lamented, The Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art I cultivated before could enhance my recovery a bit, but it was worlds apart from the complete version.
Did the cultivation technique platform intentionally castrate this heart art into a flawed version?
Zhang Yu thought back to the crippled ox he originally visualized. Castrating a cultivation technique… it’s like chopping off this ox’s limbs, blinding its eyes, and deafening its ears.
Just then, Fu Ji spoke up, “Zhang Yu, why do I feel like your aura just changed? Did you learn a new heart art?”
Upon hearing Zhang Yu describe the power of the complete Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art, Fu Ji was slightly taken aback and commented, “From what you’re saying, this complete version of the Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art seems to be close to a military-grade cultivation technique.”
“Even if it’s not military-grade, it should be at least pre-military-grade.”
“You must never reveal the effects of this technique to outsiders. In the future, if anyone asks why your injuries heal so quickly, just attribute it to having a special constitution.”
Fu Ji sighed with emotion, “As for the platform castrating cultivation techniques… that’s perfectly normal. Not to mention that the complete version of this technique is nearly military-grade, just think about this powerful self-healing ability. If it were widely promoted… wouldn’t it shake the very foundations of the medical market?”
“If everyone could treat their own injuries, how would the medical companies make money? All sorts of pills, alchemical enhancers, and even protective equipment and magical treasures would likely be greatly affected.”
Zhang Yu nodded slightly. Both the astonishing healing ability of the Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art and the platform’s act of castrating it made him decide not to easily reveal the secrets of this technique.
Other than Zhen, I won’t tell anyone else.
I just don’t know if Zhen will be able to learn it.
Zhang Yu thought about the process through which he had comprehended the Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art, and a new question arose in his mind. “Since this technique was already castrated into a flawed version, how was I able to comprehend it?”
“Could it be that the creator of this technique, the Great Sage Desolate Ox, hid the mysteries of the complete version within it? So that even those who practice the flawed version have a chance to comprehend the complete one?”
But no matter how hard Zhang Yu thought, he couldn’t figure out how such an incredible thing was possible.
He then tried searching for the Great Sage Desolate Ox online, only to find that there was pitifully little information about the creator of this technique. Most of what he found were complaints from workers cursing the creator of the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra and the Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art.
Zhang Yu curiously asked Fu Ji, but it turned out that even this veteran evil god knew nothing about the Great Sage Desolate Ox.
“Someone who could create a technique like the Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art shouldn’t be an ordinary person.”
“But why does it feel like all information about him has been erased?”
“It seems the Great Sage’s Successor set in the Technique-Chaining Diagram will be very difficult to complete.”
Zhang Yu shook his head, knowing that thinking about it now was pointless. He temporarily suppressed these distracting thoughts and focused on cultivating the complete version of the Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art.
In the blink of an eye, a night passed.
Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art Level 10 → Level 11 (3/110)
Dao Heart Level 11 (0.3%)
Physical Strength Level 10.01 → Level 10.02
As the first ray of sunlight shot through the floor-to-ceiling window, Zhang Yu slowly opened his eyes.
Zhang Yu slowly stood up, a series of crackling sounds echoing from his body as he felt a sense of complete renewal.
After a night of cultivation, the complete version of the Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art had been thoroughly stabilized by Zhang Yu. It could now operate constantly with his thoughts, just like his previous heart art, running 24/7 as long as he remained conscious.
And after a night of activation, his body had been subtly adjusted according to his will. Its structure had become more rational, better suited for his cultivation and combat, and as a result, even his physical strength had slightly improved.
Zhang Yu thought, If I continue to cultivate and circulate the Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art like this, my body will remain in a constantly activated state. It will gradually adjust and grow according to my will, which will also be a long-term enhancement and optimization for my physical body.
At this moment, Zhang Yu felt the formidable and domineering power of this cultivation technique more and more.
Then Zhang Yu picked up his silenced phone from the side.
Ever since he defeated Wang Yin yesterday, his phone had been vibrating non-stop.
It seemed like people were constantly sending him messages.
There were congratulatory messages, flattering ones, and friend requests.
There were also phone calls, video call requests, people asking to borrow money, loan repayment reminders, people @ing him in group chats, demanding he send red packets, sending selfies, sending pornographic pictures… it was a whole universe of notifications, making Zhang Yu realize for the first time that he had so many friends in Kunxu.
At first, Zhang Yu had enjoyed reading them, savoring the rare ego boost, but later, there were simply too many to read, and he had no choice but to silence his phone.
At this moment, Zhang Yu picked up his phone again. A quick glance revealed rows upon rows of red dots, all notifications from various apps.
Too lazy to go through them one by one, Zhang Yu just randomly clicked on messages from a few acquaintances.
Yu Xinghan: “Bro, are you still short on cash? Want me to lend you some more? No need for 1.3 times, just 1.1 is fine.”
Qian Shen: “Do you know Wang Yin’s college entrance exam and competition scores? I’ve searched everywhere and can’t find them.”
Le Mulan: “You’re not restricted by Oasis Group’s contract anymore, are you? I want to ask you for something. I’ll be waiting at the usual place.”
He Dayou: “Old classmate, Songyang High School is proud of you. We know you must be very busy lately, so the school has already arranged for your leave of absence. The principal asked me to ask when you’ll be free to come back and give a speech to everyone, to encourage the third-year students and inspire the first and second-year underclassmen.”
Zhao Tianxing: [Message retracted]
Zhao Tianxing: [Message retracted]
Zhao Tianxing: “Congratulations! May you rise through the ranks and have a long and prosperous journey on the Immortal Dao!”
An’an: “Thanks to you! I’m not getting laid off! I thank you on behalf of all the demon-kin in the reserve.”
Mo Tianyi (Away, working overtime): “That was a beautiful fight! To see you smash that rich bastard’s head in, I subscribed to a video membership for the first time. I feel like you’ve struck a huge blow for all the poor people out there. I was just excited and wanted to tell you this. You’re probably very busy now, so no need to reply.”
Song Hailong: “Immortal Resonance Group wants to renew your endorsement contract. Contact me if you’re interested.”
Director Long of Red Pagoda: “Wanna fuck a dragon?”
(End of Chapter)