"It's just that the way it appeared is different from ordinary spirit rings, and also different from Ning Wudi's."
Touching his gaunt chin, Wang Zhong tilted his head to look at the massive spirit ring, two meters in diameter, standing behind him, with a hint of confusion.
The little fox also completely didn't understand. It had only seen qi and blood spirit rings a few times, and was equally unclear about such a change.
But the only thing it could be sure of was that this was indeed a qi and blood spirit ring.
Reaching out and clenching his fist, a sonic boom echoed in the air, as if it were being crushed.
Staring at the vast ocean before him, Wang Zhong lightly and casually waved his withered fist.
A terrifying gust of wind churned the sea surface, stirring up ten thousand waves. Under Wang Zhong's gaze, the ocean, due to his punch, presented a giant chasm a meter wide and nearly a thousand meters long.
Wang Zhong stared dumbfounded at the change before his eyes, looking at his withered fist in disbelief.
He hadn't exerted much force at all with that previous punch! It was just a casual swing, like stretching an arm, that caused such a chasm. The terrifying extent of his strength was imaginable.
"So strong!"
A look of wild joy appeared on his dried face. Wang Zhong was extremely excited; the power of the qi and blood spirit ring far exceeded his expectations.
However, it wasn't time to be happy yet. Using his second spirit skill, he conjured a set of clothes and put them on. Wang Zhong took out piles of precious medicinal herbs from his spirit tool, stacking them into a small mound on the ground, and stuffing them into his mouth one by one.
He didn't care about their medicinal properties, nor whether they counteracted each other. He stuffed them all into his mouth, chewed them a few times, and swallowed them.
Under the powerful digestive capacity of his body, the medicinal power contained in those herbs was instantly digested and absorbed, spreading throughout his body.
In just a few breaths, the mound of medicinal herbs had all entered Wang Zhong's stomach, and their immense medicinal power became energy to nourish his body.
His gaunt body gradually became fuller, and the scorched skin from the flame burns also peeled away bit by bit, revealing smooth, tender new skin beneath. Even his hair began to grow longer.
Only when his body returned to its original appearance did Wang Zhong stop his gluttonous actions.
He exhaled a deep breath, put the excess medicinal herbs back into his spirit tool, and tied his long hair at the back of his head at his neck. He looked vibrant and energetic.
"With my current strength, the Deep Sea Demon Whale King is no match for me."
"Coupled with the Sea Butterfly's Merman Pearl in hand, I can live freely in the sea, and then I can begin my true cultivation..."
Before he finished the word "cultivation," Wang Zhong suddenly thought of something. With his current body and strength, could the pressure in the deep sea still serve as a means of cultivation?
His pupils twitched slightly. Wang Zhong's expression became extremely complex. With his strong control over himself, he had already obtained the answer.
No! Impossible!
His current bodily strength and power were no longer at a level where simple external physical factors could exert pressure.
"Ah!"
"My Bagua Sky! My Eight Inner Gates!"
Clasping his head with both hands, Wang Zhong squatted down, filled with extreme regret. If he had known it would turn out like this, he would never have condensed the qi and blood spirit ring first. At the very least, he would have practiced these two techniques to the current limits.
But after a couple of cries, Wang Zhong suddenly raised his head, his face filled with intense surprise and disbelief.
In his perception, all eight gates of the Eight Inner Gates were in an active state, able to be opened or closed at any time!
"This, this, this..."
"How is this possible!"
The Eight Inner Gates had actually been cultivated to the limit!
Wang Zhong fell into deep thought at this moment. After a few breaths, he suddenly understood the reason.
The Eight Inner Gates were about breaking through the body's limits and restrictions. To open the eight gates, one could only rely on diligent physical training and tempering over time, gradually loosening and prying open those eight gates.
However, the condensation of the qi and blood spirit ring had almost emptied Wang Zhong's body, exhausting all his qi and blood. This state was far more extreme than any kind of training or tempering.
Based on this, the conditions for cultivating the Eight Inner Gates were met, and reaching the limit was naturally a logical outcome.
"A blessing in disguise?"
"No, it should be double happiness! Not only was the qi and blood spirit ring successfully condensed, but the Eight Inner Gates also reached their limit. This is simply tremendous news."
Wang Zhong stood up abruptly, grinning foolishly and chuckling nonstop.
"The Eight Inner Gates have reached such a point without me realizing it, what about Bagua Sky?"
With a sense of anticipation, Wang Zhong repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists, occasionally interlocking his wrists alternately with his left and right hands. After sensing for a while, Wang Zhong frowned.
"I can't feel it."
The cultivation level of Bagua Sky was related to the body's strength and hardness. Strength was not an issue due to the qi and blood spirit ring, but this hardness was something difficult to gauge from anywhere.
"To know the extent of my Bagua Sky's progress, relying on feeling alone is useless."
"I must experience it through actual combat!"
He sighed lightly, letting his hands hang by his sides, speechless.
The little fox walked up to him, tilted its head, and asked, "Wang Zhong, what were you doing just now? Why were you happy one moment and depressed the next?"
Wang Zhong reached out and ruffled the little fox's head, smiling lightly. "I was happy just now because of the changes in my two self-created techniques, Bagua Sky and Eight Inner Gates."
"It's just that I didn't notice before, which is why I was depressed and happy at different times."
But the little fox tilted its head in a very human-like manner and asked with confusion, "Say that again, what and what?"
"I didn't hear clearly!"
Wang Zhong was stunned for a moment. He then remembered that things given by the system could not be revealed to outsiders.
But the little fox was his martial soul, wasn't it? Even this wouldn't work!
"Oh, it's because I have two self-created spirit skills that seem to have made significant progress. That's why I was happy, but then I didn't know what level they had reached, which made me a bit depressed."
"Oh, I see."
"If you want to know, why not just find a powerful soul beast to verify it?"
"The Deep Sea Demon Whale King is the best test subject!" the little fox nodded understandingly and replied casually.
"Right, here, this is for you."
As the little fox spoke, a sea-blue pearl flew out from between its eyebrows and landed before Wang Zhong. It then leaped back into Wang Zhong's right hand.
Wang Zhong held the Sea Butterfly's Merman Pearl in his palm, swallowed it in one gulp, and then thought of another matter.
Shouldn't the system be in his mind? But in fact, there were many things in his mind, but the system was nowhere to be found.
"This is somewhat strange!"
He could sense the system in his mind, yet his spiritual power couldn't locate it. This fact left Wang Zhong puzzled.
Where is it?