These were rare fruits that had accumulated on Spirit Mountain over countless years. Moreover, they were treasures that didn't require much refining; once consumed, they released most of their medicinal potency directly. Of course, if refined into pills, the effects would be even stronger, but the flavor wouldn't be nearly as exquisite. In this case, it was simply impossible to refine them all into pills.
To avoid wasting their power, one naturally had to operate their cultivation technique to absorb as much as possible.
How much one could absorb depended on the cultivation method, visualization technique, and the speed of internal refinement.
Those with powerful techniques absorbed quickly and efficiently, with little of the medicinal essence escaping from their bodies. Conversely, those with weaker methods and slower refinement would allow much of the energy to leak out, dispersing in radiant five-colored light.
However, for cultivators on the level of Xiang Yu, Lu Bu, and Ah Qing, though their bodies glowed, not a single wisp of light escaped. All the medicinal energy from the spirit fruits was completely locked inside them. They even sealed their body's pores to suppress the energy within. Though they couldn't immediately refine it, it was stored and slowly processed over time—nothing was wasted.
If left alone, these radiant streams of energy would soon dissipate into the air, turning into natural essence. But now, they were being madly devoured by the gourmet cells, converging in a wild surge toward Yi Tianxing, forming a vortex of glowing light around his body and continuously pouring into him.
This became a vast reservoir of accumulated energy—a tremendous tonic.
The power contained in these light streams was even more potent than innate essence. A true, overwhelming boost.
The gourmet cells were utterly overjoyed by the delicious flavors of the spirit fruits—especially when they encountered the Immortal Peach King and Flame Date King. The excitement was so intense, it couldn't be restrained. Yi Tianxing's flesh and blood visibly transformed. If one looked closely, they could faintly see mysterious Dao patterns emerging within his tissues—subtle, flickering, engraved into his flesh and bones.
[ Dao patterns (道纹) – Mysterious inscriptions appearing within Yi Tianxing's body, enhancing its divine essence and structural strength.]
These Dao patterns infused his body with an even more divine nature.
His bodily power became more concentrated—each movement brimming with destructive force.
One thousand jin!
Two thousand jin!...
With each breath, his strength soared by thousands of jin. This sensation was more exquisite than anything else. It was a slow, steady process of becoming stronger—a true evolution of life itself.
Witnessing one's own transformation was the ultimate joy and satisfaction.
Even his soul vibrated with delight.
The stronger the body, the more nourishment it could provide the soul.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Unknowingly, the sound of a cauldron resonating echoed once more inside his body. This time—eight consecutive chimes. The vibrations from this cauldron were like iron hammers and blazing furnaces, tempering his body further.
White Cauldron Eight Chimes – His physical strength had reached 800,000 jin.
Only Yi Tianxing could hear this sound. Others sensed nothing. The energy and blood released during his transformation were completely absorbed by the two cauldrons within his body. No external signs revealed the breakthrough in his physical cultivation.
Take Xiang Yu and Li Yuanba for example—they too practiced body cultivation. But even as they absorbed the essence, they had to rely on their cultivation techniques to grind it into usable strength. Compared to them, Yi Tianxing simply ate, and the strength naturally became his, enhanced further by the gourmet cells, which even absorbed the surrounding natural energy, constantly evolving his body.
With the added refinement from his Life Orifice: Food Cauldron, he truly was—getting stronger while eating.
[Life Orifice – Food Cauldron (食鼎命窍)] – A unique life aperture in Yi Tianxing's body that enhances his power through consumption, making him stronger the more he eats.
"Yaoyue, Lianxing, you two eat as well. These fruits are gentle in nature. They won't damage your foundations—in fact, they'll enhance your inner reserves. Some even contain Longevity Roots, which can increase your lifespan and nourish your Life Wheel."
While eating, Yi Tianxing handed some of the top-tier fruits, like the Immortal Peach King and Flame Date King, to the two women beside him so they could enjoy them too.
Outside, across the battlefield of gods and demons, countless warriors from all races watched in awe. Many couldn't help but secretly swallow their saliva, eyes filled with envy. They gazed at the Spirit Mountain shrouded in radiance, wishing they could be part of it.
"The Fruit Banquet lives up to its reputation—a tremendous opportunity. These spirit fruits release energy that manifests as visible light. Incredible. Eating them surely saves years of cultivation."
"The Stone Emperor has truly given away an enormous blessing this time. Any one of these fruits would cause a bloodbath in the Eternal Continent. Cultivating this many rare fruits is no easy feat. Without the Stone Emperor, no race could provide this on such a scale—not without becoming utterly broke."
"I want to try one so bad... I'm practically drooling here."
Countless cultivators whispered with envy.
But no matter how envious they were, they couldn't swap places. They could only pull out their own food and pretend they were tasting rare and exotic fruits.
Time passed quietly.
Before long, the sound of a cauldron chiming rang out again inside Yi Tianxing's body.
White Cauldron Nine Chimes – His physical strength had reached 900,000 jin.
The breakthrough came as naturally as breathing.
At the same time, within the white cauldron inside him, his blood essence surged and churned, intertwining with mysterious Dao rhythms. His blood became the fire of the cauldron—and strange vibrations flowed in from the earth.
Moo!!
Inside the cauldron, the roar of a colossal bull echoed.
A mighty Bull Demon—towering, earth-shattering—materialized within the cauldron. The sheer weight of its aura could crush the heavens and earth.
"This is the Great Strength Bull Demon Body reaching mastery—condensing the Bull Demon Battle Body."
[ Great Strength Bull Demon Body (大力牛魔体)] – Yi Tianxing's second major body refinement technique after the Diamond Dragon Elephant Art. It allows one to gain endless strength by connecting with the power of the earth.
Unlike other body refiners who rely on a single method to push their strength to the limit, Yi Tianxing took an unconventional path. The fusion of gourmet cells enabled his body to evolve naturally as he ate.
Now, after acquiring the complete Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art, he had begun to merge both his previous body techniques into that single supreme method during his closed-door cultivation. However, the divine ability forming within the white cauldron still drew on the Bull Demon Body as its core blueprint, nourishing it into a new form.
Under the operation of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art, the evolution became faster and more profound. The transformation of his blood into golden essence proved this point. Compared to before, each strand of blood was now ten times more powerful—enhancing the nourishment of any divine abilities.
Within the cauldron, the golden blood flowed with intertwining Dao patterns—inseparable and harmonious.
The Bull Demon Body housed the Bull Demon Battle Heaven Diagram, which could be visualized to temper the body, granting the Bull Demon's Indestructible Body—extremely resilient and overwhelmingly powerful. Once achieved, one could charge across the battlefield like a demonic bull, stomping the ground and sweeping all before them.
It was a body refinement art rooted in the earth, drawing on its power to endlessly replenish the cultivator's strength. Now, those Dao rhythms fused into his blood were deeply attuned to the earth.
"White Cauldron Nine Chimes—I've reached the peak of the second stage of body refinement. Next, I just need to gestate a divine physical ability. Once complete, I can move on to a new realm."
Yi Tianxing's heart surged with both joy and anticipation.
Physical divine abilities were the most overbearing, fusing directly with the body and blood. With just a thought, they could unleash tremendous power.
But their creation wasn't instant—it required time, constant absorption of heaven and earth's Dao, and the essence of the Bull Demon Body to evolve.
He already had the Prison Suppression Seal, a body divine art with immense power. Now, he eagerly awaited the birth of a second.
What would it become?
As he pondered, he continued eating without pause.
His strength continued to increase, his golden blood pouring into the cauldron as nourishment, accelerating the process of divine ability formation.
Before he knew it, the table full of exotic fruits had been completely devoured.
Around him, the vast sea of radiant energy had also been mostly absorbed.
Once the fruits were gone, the excitement of the gourmet cells slowly subsided, and their devouring of the light faded. Even so, Yi Tianxing had absorbed more than half of all the fortune present during the Fruit Banquet—directly seizing a large share of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Unfortunately, his strength still didn't reach one million jin—it stopped at 950,000 jin.
He was just a step away from breaking through.
Yi Tianxing finished eating, and so did the other prodigies.
None of them left even a bite behind. No one would disgrace themselves by packing leftovers here. These were all proud elites—none would risk such humiliation.
Each of them wore looks of satisfaction, though still wanting more.