Apotheosis

However, Zen was still at the marrow refining level. Although he was also capable of pouring life energy into a weapon, the energy would dissipate and lose its effects once the weapon left his hand.

But now, the purple-black nature-level life energy hadn't disappeared after it was separated from Zen's body.

'Have I reached a level higher than the marrow refining level?' wondered Zen.

Before entering Hell Mountain, Zen had been able to estimate that he had reached the peak of the marrow refining level.

On the previous day when he battled Vale on Hell Mountain, Zen's body had been severely battered by Vale's lotuses. Under their assault, Zen found that it was almost impossible to bear the heavy pressure. At that time, he had been fighting for his life, and so, Zen hadn't paid much attention to changes in his body. However, in retrospect, Zen remembered feeling a great surge of warm currents inside his body. As in all other situations, the currents refreshed his physical form.

Had impurities been completely cleared away from his marrow at that moment?

Since Zen had been focusing on defending against Vale, he hadn't noticed that all the impurities in his marrow had been refined and purified. Now, as Zen felt the warm stream of currents inside his body, he concluded that it was highly likely that all impurities had been removed from his marrow.

At this thought, Zen examined his body carefully. Once he confirmed his theory, a smile grew on Zen's face. In the heat of the battle with Vale, his marrow had been incomparably purified, and so Zen had upgraded to a cultivator half-step into the nature level.

Five levels of body refining were the foundations for practicing and mastering martial arts.

Only when a person's physical form was free from impurities could he become a nature creature.

However, reaching the half-step into the nature level was different from entering into the nature level because of the difference between life energy and life vitality. A person couldn't become a nature creature before his life energy was converted into life vitality.

Although Zen didn't accomplish his goal of freeing Yan from Hell Mountain, he had unexpectedly reache

while shaking his head. Afterward, he added, "That was going too far. Do you know what the Illuminating Soul Realm is? A man at the Illuminating Soul Realm can kill a refiner at the marrow refining level only by the overbearing power exuded from the combustion of life vitality. The differences in the power of such refiners are like that of an ant and an elephant."

"You can't say that for sure! Zen is an exception. He defeated a nature creature even though he was only at the marrow refining level." Apparently, Nory was blindly optimistic about his belief that the weak could defeat the strong.

However, Sean, who had been at Cloud Sect for a longer period, understood how huge the gaps were between realms, and so he continued, "Nory, perhaps you don't quite understand the Illuminating Soul Realm. As far as we know, the Burning Sky Empire has a vast territory and possesses abundant resources. Its population is as large as hundreds of millions, but how many of them can reach the Illuminating Soul Realm? The gap between the Illuminating Soul Realm and nature level is far wider than you expect. I suggest that you shouldn't take this rumor that seriously."

"Unlike you, I believe that miracles happen..."

"Do you mean that something like an ant eating an elephant would happen?"

The two of them argued with each other about the issue all the way. They didn't stop until they arrived at the other side of Drizzle Peak and got their refining pills.