Starting My Immortal Life by Upgrading Buildings

Chapter 119: Major Body Refinement Achieved!

“No, before—”

Before Ji Yuan could finish his sentence, he saw the iron hammer already approaching. He hurriedly raised his own hammer to meet the incoming strike.

“Dong!”

The two hammers collided, producing a sound reminiscent of clanging bronze bells.

Ji Yuan felt a numbing sensation in his hands, followed by intense pain at his wrists. His body was sent flying backward, rolling several times on the ground before coming to a halt.

He quickly looked at his hands, only to see blood oozing from his palms, and both hands were in severe pain.

Just this one clash left Ji Yuan feeling more injured than ever before.

After delivering a punch, the Iron Hammer Island Master lost interest upon seeing Ji Yuan's miserable state.

“Damn it, I rarely encounter a body refinement expert, and you turn out to be this weak. Come over and honestly start forging. Once your body refinement is complete, we can have a proper match.”

Struggling to his feet, Ji Yuan could only offer a respectful bow. “Senior, your divine might is impressive.”

“Enough with the flattery. Come over and learn the hammer technique.”

Seeing Ji Yuan take out a piece of blood essence and about to put it into his mouth, the Iron Hammer Island Master waved his hand, and the blood essence flew into his grasp.

“You want to use blood essence for such minor injuries? No wonder your body refinement is so poor. Fine, your body, having reached minor completion, isn't as fragile as you think. These wounds will heal in no time.”

As he spoke, the Iron Hammer Island Master swallowed the blood essence he had taken from Ji Yuan in a few bites.

He then lifted his double-sided cylindrical iron hammer, which was as large as a winter melon.

“Boy, watch carefully!”

The Iron Hammer Island Master seemed to be an impatient person. He began teaching without any delay.

Ji Yuan had no choice but to focus and learn attentively.

The massive iron hammer in the master's hands seemed weightless. Whether striking, lifting, sweeping, slicing, or twisting, he handled it with ease.

At the finer points, he wielded the hammer as if crushing garlic, producing continuous “dong dong dong” sounds.

It was the first time Ji Yuan found beauty in hammer techniques.

After a while, the demonstration concluded.

The Iron Hammer Island Master finally showed a hint of breathlessness. “How much have you learned?”

Ji Yuan initially wanted to say he had grasped most of it, but seeing the senior slightly out of breath, he reconsidered.

“Junior will perform it once; please judge, Senior.”

This hammer technique, executed through physical strength, differed from magical techniques that required deep comprehension.

As long as one remembered the moves, the hammer technique could be performed.

Ji Yuan then tried his best to lift the heavy iron hammer and, mimicking the master's earlier demonstration, began to practice slowly.

After a stick of incense's time, Ji Yuan, panting heavily, released the hammer, which fell to the ground with a dull thud.

Though his first attempt was clumsy, most of the issues stemmed from the hammer's weight.

Nonetheless, he managed to complete the routine.

Seeing this, the Iron Hammer Island Master immediately turned and walked toward the front yard.

“Xu Fugui, Xu Fugui, you damn fool! It took you three days to learn this, and now look at Ji Yuan. You're such a useless—oh wait, an old useless man!”

...

For the rest of the day, Ji Yuan went nowhere and didn't start forging.

He simply practiced the hammer technique repeatedly beside the forge.

Initially, his hands were extremely sore, then they became numb, and eventually, he felt a continuous surge of strength.

“How is it? Have you experienced the wonders of body cultivation?”

The Iron Hammer Island Master, munching on sunflower seeds nearby, asked cheerfully.

“I have,” Ji Yuan nodded eagerly.

He was already imagining the scenario where, after completing his body refinement, he could rival the peak of Qi Refinement with just his physical strength.

“By the way, Xu Fugui mentioned your Thunder Falcon Boat. Bring it over later; I'll hammer it a few times. Let's aim to upgrade it to a top-grade magical artifact.”

Upon hearing such good news, Ji Yuan immediately set down his hammer, summoned the Thunder Falcon Boat, and respectfully offered it with both hands.

“Much obliged, Senior.”

“No trouble at all.”

Another day passed, and Ji Yuan had already become thoroughly proficient in the unknown hammer technique. Only then did he find time to ask the Iron Hammer Island Master:

“Senior, when can I start forging?”

“Oh? Thinking about enduring hardship already?”

“Alright then.”

The Iron Hammer Island Master set aside the sunflower seeds in his hand and stood up, clapping his palms.

The ground in front of Ji Yuan bulged upward and instantly transformed into an iron stake.

“Come, start hammering.”

With another wave of his hand, a lump of iron fell onto the iron stake. “Remember, don’t stop until you meet my requirements.”

Ji Yuan: “...”

“Wait, Senior, I—”

Ji Yuan had just opened his mouth to explain, but before he could finish his sentence, he noticed a hammer suspended above his head.

“Remember, don’t stop. If you stop, the hammer will fall. If it smashes your head in, don’t blame me for not warning you.”

As soon as the Iron Hammer Island Master finished speaking, the hammer above Ji Yuan's head began to slightly descend.

Frightened, Ji Yuan quickly picked up his own hammer and struck the iron ingot once.

The hammer above immediately rose back slightly.

Damn it, this’ll drive someone to their death—Ji Yuan cursed inwardly, but his hands didn’t stop. He kept swinging the hammer strike after strike.

The Iron Hammer Island Master laughed heartily and walked back to the front yard.

After watching for a long time, Xu Fugui took the opportunity to ask, “Master, isn’t it a bit much to scare him like this?”

“What could be wrong with it?”

The Iron Hammer Island Master shook his head nonchalantly. “You don’t understand. That kid’s a sly one. Even if he’s got ten parts of strength, he’ll only use seven or eight—that already counts as trying his best.”

“If we don’t push him hard, his physique will never reach its limits. Without breaking past his limits, there’s no way he can achieve true completion.”

Xu Fugui thought it over and realized it actually made sense.

Just look at that flying boat—he’s already in the Water Dragon Sect but still hides the Thunder Falcon Boat while riding the Chixiao Boat.

That crafty fox. If he’s not pressured, he definitely won’t push himself to the limit.

Thinking of this, Xu Fugui relaxed.

“Besides, when it comes to limits, the longer you hold on, the better. Don’t say anything to him—just let him work it out on his own.”

After speaking, the Iron Hammer Island Master took Ji Yuan’s Thunder Falcon Boat and headed to another weapon refining room on the island.

Over the next five days, Xu Fugui just watched Ji Yuan forging away on the small island.

For the first two days, Ji Yuan seemed fine, but by the third day, his face had turned pale, and his hands trembled—

He looked like he was about to collapse.

The fourth day, still looked like he was about to collapse.

The fifth day, same.

It wasn’t until the eighth day that Xu Fugui finally saw in Ji Yuan a sense that he had truly reached his limit.

The hammer in his hands could only be swung after a long pause.

Rather than actual forging, it was more like repeating muscle memory—lifting, then striking, again and again.

As for Ji Yuan himself—he looked like he had already passed out?

It took quite a while before his eyelids stirred slightly, proving that he was still conscious.

Ji Yuan hadn’t expected he could last this long—honestly, he didn’t think his willpower was that strong.

The only reason he had endured this far was very simple.

He was afraid of dying.

Because the iron ingot was still two palms wide and hadn’t yet reached the one-palm target set by the Iron Hammer Island Master.

He was terrified that if he stopped, the hammer above his head would smash his skull into a bloody mess.

That was all.

Of course, if someone asked him afterward, Ji Yuan would definitely say that it was his unparalleled willpower that got him through!

No one knew how much time had passed.

Numb and no longer able to feel the existence of his body, Ji Yuan thought he couldn't hold on any longer.

He was going to collapse—not from exhaustion, but from sleepiness. So sleepy that he could fall asleep standing.

Death—his sluggish brain could no longer even comprehend what death meant.

In a daze, he felt as though he had fallen to the ground, but the hammer that had been suspended above his head hadn’t fallen. In his groggy state, he suddenly understood something.

The Iron Hammer Island Master’s warning had been false.

But the truth was—his physical body seemed to have broken through some sort of barrier; his physique was about to reach full mastery!

A surge of blood and qi, accumulated deep within his body over years of eating Spiritual Pig meat, began to continuously generate strength, nourishing Ji Yuan’s body.

As he collapsed, Xu Fugui and his master arrived at his side.

The Iron Hammer Island Master picked up the hammer floating in the air, swung it a few times, and put it away in his storage pouch.

“Finally achieved full body refinement?”

Xu Fugui looked at Ji Yuan lying on the ground.

Earlier he looked like a frail ghost about to die, but now his complexion was rosy.

Lying there as if in deep sleep—no, he was already deeply asleep.

Because only a moment later, Ji Yuan began to snore.

And the snoring was like thunder.

“He’ll be fine after he wakes up. Haha, finally someone I can spar with!”

The Iron Hammer Island Master rubbed his hands excitedly, his eyes filled with anticipation.

He hadn't experienced a purely physical fight in a long time.

With a perfected physique, if a cultivator didn't resist, even one at the Foundation Establishment stage couldn’t withstand a single punch from him.

But finding another cultivator who had also reached perfection in body refinement was extremely difficult.

“Master, remember to go easy on him. He’s still young,” Xu Fugui said with concern.

“Hah, so you really see him as a junior now, huh?” the Iron Hammer Island Master replied, his tone suddenly tinged with melancholy.

Time showed no mercy, especially when looking at someone as young as Ji Yuan—it made him think about his own age...

Xu Fugui nodded, then shook his head.

“At first, I wanted him to be my junior disciple, but since Master wasn’t interested in taking him in, I figured I’d treat him as a junior anyway. At this age, one just wants to have a younger person around.”

“Speaking of which, I really want to ask you something.”

The Iron Hammer Island Master turned around and, for once, looked seriously at this disciple who looked even older than himself.

“If I hadn’t taken you away back then, you’d probably be enjoying a mundane life, playing with your grandchildren by now. But look at you now—do you regret choosing this path of cultivation?”

Xu Fugui fell silent.

It was a long while before he raised his head and gave a carefree laugh.

“Sometimes, when I can’t sleep at night, I regret it. But once the sun rises and I wake up, I don’t anymore.”

“Oh? Why’s that?”

“Because nighttime is for dreaming, but daytime is reality.”

“You old rascal, playing riddles with your master—come on, let’s go drink!”

Ji Yuan felt like he had never slept so soundly in his life—not even in that lakeside hut in Zengtou Market.

It felt as though he was lying on clouds, his whole body warm and cozy, the bedding beneath him soft, and a pleasant fragrance in the air.

Even though he had woken up, he was reluctant to open his eyes.

“If you don’t get up now, the roasted antelope and horse meat will be all gone.”

The Iron Hammer Island Master’s voice reached his ears, and Ji Yuan finally snapped awake. His eyes flew open, and he immediately sat up.

It was still the backyard, with the large iron forge nearby.

The Iron Hammer Island Master and Xu Fugui were on the other side, eating roasted meat and drinking.

Seeing Ji Yuan awaken, the Iron Hammer Island Master wiped the grease off his body and stood up laughing.

He casually tossed the Thunder Falcon Boat—now upgraded to a top-grade magical artifact—beside Ji Yuan, then leapt over the table.

“Come on, boy, let’s spar a bit—loosen up your muscles!”

“Take this punch!”

The Iron Hammer Island Master swung a fist as large as a sandbag at him.

Ji Yuan reacted quickly.

With a burst of strength, he shot backward, simultaneously storing the Thunder Falcon Boat back into the ground.

The Iron Hammer Island Master’s fist struck the earth, producing a deep, muffled sound.

As Ji Yuan got up, he realized that the strength in his body was nothing like before—not to mention the seemingly endless well of power within him.

Even his reflexes and movement speed had improved significantly.

Had he really achieved full mastery in body refinement?!

“Don’t run, kid—take a punch and see how it feels!”

The Iron Hammer Island Master roared with laughter.

Looking up again, Ji Yuan recalled that this old man was also a master of body refinement. That meant he could go all out—it was a perfect opportunity to test his new limits.

“Alright!”

Ji Yuan charged head-on. Both raised their fists.

“Boom!”

Their fists collided, generating a powerful shockwave.

Ji Yuan felt like his right arm had smashed into an iron wall—completely immovable, leaving his hand painfully numb from the impact.

From then on, there were no more words.

No techniques either—just blow after blow exchanged, fist to flesh.

Dodge if possible; if not, take the punch head-on.

After all, body cultivators were tough and thick-skinned. Taking a hit wasn’t a big deal, and they recovered quickly.

And so the two brawled for a full incense stick’s worth of time.

Finally, the bruised and swollen Iron Hammer Island Master retreated to the forge.

Panting heavily, he said, “Enough, enough—I give up.”

Across from him, Ji Yuan—equally battered and bruised—finally lowered his fists.

“So you surrender, Senior? Then when I leave, I’ll be telling people: ‘I, Ji Yuan, beat a Foundation Establishment cultivator fair and square.’”

Ji Yuan noticed a sword-shaped flying boat hovering in front of him at some point and quickly changed his tone.

“Heh, just like Xu Fugui, not a good thing.”

The Iron Hammer Island Master returned to Xu Fugui's side, picked up a roasted lamb leg, and began eating it in large bites.

Xu Fugui, seeing that his master’s hands were still trembling uncontrollably, couldn’t help but sigh. Having trained in body refinement himself, he could naturally see that his master had truly reached his limit.

It wasn’t humility—it was exhaustion.

Fists, no matter how strong, would always be outmatched by youth.

Ji Yuan was barely in his twenties, but what about the Iron Hammer Island Master?

At over two hundred years old, he was already nearing the end of his lifespan.

With his body refinement now complete, Ji Yuan felt a newfound sense of confidence. He walked directly over to the two of them, and without any ceremony, picked up some meat from the table and began eating heartily.

At the height of his appetite, he even raised his wine cup.

“Come, cheers!”

After eating and drinking his fill, Ji Yuan finally sobered up when he heard Xu Fugui taking his leave.

He walked over to the Iron Hammer Island Master and bowed respectfully to the senior who had given him such a great gift upon first meeting.

The Iron Hammer Island Master received the salute without any fuss.

Seeing Ji Yuan rise, he said as he sat in a grand and relaxed posture:

“Ji boy.”

“Junior is here.”

“I’ve reached the end of the road for body cultivation, but you haven’t. As long as you don’t give up, achieving a body like diamond is definitely within your reach. As for the path beyond, I’ve consulted countless ancient texts over the years and always felt that body refinement shouldn’t end so quickly. There’s likely more to walk.”

“But I can’t take that path. You go and see for me.”

After saying this, the Iron Hammer Island Master seemed to release some long-held obsession, and his entire demeanor became more relaxed.

“I will, for sure!”

Ji Yuan nodded firmly.

As he spoke, he glanced at the [Pigsty] on his Panel.

His path of body refinement had begun thanks to the effects of the [Pigsty] building.

Currently, it was at level 2, and once upgraded to level 3, each pig would produce a “Meridian Tempering Pearl.”

Instinct told Ji Yuan this pearl must be related to body refinement.

“Senior, may I ask, how does one break through from full body refinement to attaining a body like diamond?”

“Temper the meridians. Refine all three hundred sixty-one acupoints throughout your body to perfection. Once your physique becomes harmonious and complete, entering the Diamond Realm will come naturally.”

Ji Yuan thought, “As expected!”

In that case, upgrading the [Pigsty] to level 3 could now be added to the agenda.

After bidding farewell to the Iron Hammer Island Master, Ji Yuan and Xu Fugui took over a day to return to Hatchling Dragon Island.

Once again, it was midnight by the time they arrived.

Late at night.

Ji Yuan was still piloting the Chixiao Boat back to his Room D-18 cave dwelling. But before he could land, he noticed two other flying boats already touching down ahead of him.

The two people aboard were his overly hostile left and right neighbors.

They noticed him just as he noticed them.

After landing, they immediately started cursing each other.

“Damn you! Still following me? What, you want me to give you one to be your mommy?!”

The childlike Tang Ran immediately shouted back, “You? Dream on!”

“You old man are nothing more than a toy for our amusement.”

Watching the two, Ji Yuan thought to himself: They appear to be fighting, but they sure didn’t seem that way on the journey back.

So this animosity was just a front?

Looks like they’re both smart people.

Ji Yuan didn’t want to get involved, so he gave each a nod and returned to his courtyard. He locked the door and resolved not to respond to anyone knocking for a while.

Only upon returning to his residence on Hatchling Dragon Island did Ji Yuan truly settle down.

He took out a piece of blood essence and swallowed it, activated his building effects, and released Tu Yue to tidy up.

The entire process was fluid and practiced.

As for himself, he began to contemplate things in the main hall.

It had been nearly half a month since he joined the Water Dragon Sect. He had met almost everyone he needed to, and learned most of what he needed to know.

Not much else remained. Since he wasn’t planning to head to the frontlines, and had already earned this year’s merit points, it seemed like a good time to return to Misty Island for peaceful cultivation.

But before returning, there was still one matter.

The Foundation Establishment Pill.

He would have to wait for Qinghui Grass and Illusion Spirit Grass, but he could begin preparing the auxiliary ingredients.

If he had the Qinghui Grass and Illusion Spirit Grass, and then gathered a set of auxiliary ingredients—that would be enough for one batch of Foundation Establishment Pills.

Unfortunately, his pill-refining skills still weren’t up to par.

Otherwise, he could have started refining immediately.

After a short rest of a few hours, Ji Yuan went out again.

Naturally, to get the Foundation Pill’s auxiliary ingredients, he had to visit the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

They had everything—though they didn’t sell the main ingredients, the auxiliaries were available.

A batch of Foundation Establishment Pills required 3 stalks of century-old Gentian, 5 stalks of century-old Rejuvenation Grass, and 2 vials of Trifloral Jade Dew.

As for the primer, it needed one Tier-2 demon core and one pot of Earth Vein Spiritual Spring.

Demon cores were common, so Ji Yuan wasn’t in a rush to buy one.

He could wait for other opportunities or save up more spirit stones to buy higher-quality demon cores later.

Even so, excluding the demon core, the auxiliary ingredients alone cost nearly 50 mid-grade spirit stones per batch.

And if you added other medicinal materials… damn, Foundation Establishment Pills were outrageously expensive.

Even with Ji Yuan’s current wealth, he could only afford to buy two sets of auxiliary ingredients.

Just enough to match his two stalks of thousand-year Illusion Spirit Grass.

Ji Yuan was still missing one more stalk of Qinghui Grass.

After buying all these items, his once-bulging storage pouch was instantly emptied, leaving him with only five mid-grade spirit stones.

It really felt like going broke overnight.

Given that, it was time to return and cultivate for a while.

After shopping on Wanwu Island, Ji Yuan didn’t even bother returning to Dragon Island. Piloting the Chixiao Boat, he headed straight south.

He flew at a leisurely pace for half a day. Once he was far from the Water Dragon Sect, he finally swapped out his vessel for the top-grade artifact—the Thunder Falcon Boat!

The Iron Hammer Island Master had indeed “hammered” it a few times, just like he said.

Ji Yuan felt the boat wasn’t as flat as before—it had become sleeker, or perhaps its overall lines had just become more elegant.

With a slight activation, the Thunder Falcon Boat shot off like an arrow loosed from a bow, streaking across the sky as a flash of light.

Now this was what a flying boat should be!

Ji Yuan sensed everything around him blurring past like a shifting illusion.

Since its upgrade to a top-grade artifact, the Thunder Falcon Boat’s ordinary speed had increased by at least thirty percent!

And its maximum speed?

Ji Yuan activated the lightning essence inside the boat. In an instant, several sonic booms echoed as the vessel tore through the air.

Ji Yuan couldn’t even make out his surroundings anymore.

This extreme speed gave him a renewed sense of survival.

Damn, with this thing, even without using talismans or treasure tools, an average early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator probably couldn’t catch him.

Compared to before, its max speed had improved by around fifty percent.

After experiencing the Thunder Falcon Boat’s enhancements, Ji Yuan stored it again and resumed flying slowly on his sect-issued Chixiao Boat.

A day later.

A streak of purple light shot down from the clouds and dove back into the mist.

It took Ji Yuan quite some time to locate his Misty Island again.

He had been away for nearly a month, and it was now springtime. Wild grasses and shrubs had grown wildly, and looking at the overgrown state of his residence, Ji Yuan felt like the domain he had built had fallen into ruin.

As for the big toad… where was it?

Ji Yuan circled Misty Island twice aboard the Thunder Falcon Boat but couldn’t find any trace of it.

“Damn… don’t tell me it’s dead?”

As soon as that thought came, Ji Yuan dismissed it.

Unlikely. The big toad was already a mid-stage second-tier demon beast. Not to mention, it had eaten so many Spiritual Pigs alongside him—its physique alone should allow it to survive even against a late-stage second-tier beast.

If that was the case, maybe it had gone out to hunt?

Just as Ji Yuan was thinking this, a sudden, anguished screech rang out from deep within the mist.

“Gwaah!”

This was followed by a surge of intense demonic energy.

That was… the big toad?!

Was it fighting another demon beast?

Ji Yuan hesitated briefly, then rode the Thunder Falcon Boat toward the source deep in the mist.

That big toad was his valuable helper.

After raising it for so long, he had developed a bit of affection for it. Ji Yuan didn’t want to see it die!

The Thunder Falcon Boat shot ahead in an instant.

When Ji Yuan arrived, he finally saw what was going on.

On the shore of an island roughly half the size of Misty Island, chaos reigned.

The big toad was desperately struggling to leap ashore—

But it was being dragged back underwater by a giant snake coiled tightly around it.

Not only that, there were two bleeding holes on the toad’s head.

Its original stone armor was also shedding—not from battle damage, but seemingly due to surface rot and corrosion.

Ji Yuan immediately understood.

The snake in the water was venomous, and the toad had been bitten.

Otherwise, with its strength, the toad wouldn’t have been so helpless.

Should he save it?

Of course—he had to.

If not now, the big toad might really be finished.

With that thought, Ji Yuan’s flying boat rose into the air. He extended his hand and pointed downward.

The surrounding spiritual energy was instantly drained. A black droplet appeared out of thin air and shot downward, striking the snake wrapped around the toad’s body.

The droplet exploded violently.

Countless water blades sliced at the snake’s scales from all directions.

Even though the snake was a mid-stage second-tier demon beast, the fierce barrage caused it considerable pain.

It instinctively loosened its grip on the toad’s body.

The toad seized the opportunity. With a powerful push from its hind legs, it leapt ashore.

Once on land, it finally recognized Ji Yuan’s form. Seeing the familiar flying boat, it opened its mouth and trembled.

“Gwaah, gwaaah!”

Its cry was full of misery.