Totem

Previously, with the help of the Golden-Winged Roc, Gu Qingfeng's strength had already reached a level comparable to a Half-Step Heavenly Being. Now, after being tempered by the heavenly tribulation, along with the addition of hundreds of Heavenly Thunder Pearls and thousands of divine swords honed by the tribulation and imbued with heavenly thunder power, he felt that even if a true Heavenly Being were to appear, he could stand his ground and fight!

Of course, whether he could win was another matter, but at the very least, he wouldn’t be chased around like before.

Just as Gu Qingfeng was swelling with confidence, an unexpected turn of events occurred.

"Oooohhhh..."

Wild, savage howls echoed from all directions.

Then, over a dozen giants clad in beast hides, wielding stone axes, and covered in mysterious, intricate tattoos emerged, surrounding Gu Qingfeng.

"Damn it! The Barbarian Tribe! What a cursed coincidence!" Gu Qingfeng sneered.

Clearly, the commotion from his tribulation had drawn their attention.

The Primordial Forbidden Land held three great dangers: the first was the Curse of Heaven’s Law, the second was the Soulless Dao Slaves, and the third was the man-eating Barbarian Tribe.

As the ruler of a Minor Thousand World’s Heavenly Law, Gu Qingfeng had no fear of the Curse of Heaven’s Law.

The Soulless Dao Slaves regarded him as one of their own, leaving him alone as long as he didn’t provoke them.

But these barbarians? They were utterly unreasonable—they’d devour any human on sight.

"Three ten-meter barbarians and twelve five-meter ones. Perfect. Today, this venerable one will use you all to test his newfound strength!"

Back when Gu Qingfeng first arrived in the Primordial Forbidden Land, he had been at his weakest, forced to flee from the barbarians. But now, things were different.

If he could even challenge a Heavenly Being, why fear these savages?

From his first encounter with them, he had already gauged their strength.

The five-meter barbarians were roughly equivalent to cultivators at the Human Core Realm, while the ten-meter ones matched the Heavenly Core Realm. To be honest, this level of power was nothing worth worrying about!

Gu Qingfeng struck first, moving with lightning speed. He didn’t bother with any divine abilities—instead, he charged bare-handed into the barbarian encirclement.

"Isn’t your fleshly body your greatest pride? Today, this venerable one will crush it!"

Boom!

His fist, wreathed in divine light and unstoppable force, smashed into the head of the nearest barbarian.

The barbarian’s skull exploded like a watermelon.

He repeated the process, punching through them as if they were nothing.

Moments later, over a dozen headless corpses littered the ground, their blood pooling into a crimson lake.

"Hmph. Pathetic trash."

Gu Qingfeng snorted coldly, then habitually began looting the bodies.

Unfortunately, after searching for a while, he found nothing.

The barbarians had no souls, didn’t cultivate realms, and focused solely on tempering their fleshly bodies. Their bodies were their greatest treasures, leaving no external valuables behind.

However, their flesh was still fundamentally human, unlike demonic or monstrous corpses, which held significant value.

The stone axes they wielded, though, were somewhat useful—forged from an incredibly durable material known as Black Obsidian Divine Stone, a rare and precious material for crafting divine weapons.

Too bad these barbarians had no skill in refining artifacts, merely shaping the stones crudely before using them.

"Damn it, this is the poorest haul this venerable one has ever gotten!" Gu Qingfeng grumbled.

Still, even scraps were better than nothing. In the end, he collected all the stone axes.

Just as he was about to leave, though, he couldn’t shake the feeling of being shortchanged. He had just killed three Heavenly Core Realm-level barbarians and over a dozen Human Core Realm ones—yet this was all he got?

Was this some kind of joke? Did they think he was a scavenger?

So, he turned back to the corpses, determined to find something else of value.

After a moment, his gaze settled on the dense, intricate tattoos covering the barbarians’ bodies—a type of Dao Rune unique to their kind, a form of body-tempering divine ability.

"The barbarians’ fleshly bodies are so strong not just because of their mutations, but also because of these tattoos. If this venerable one can decipher and master them, wouldn’t his own fleshly body reach even greater heights?"

Muttering to himself, Gu Qingfeng began studying the tattoos.

To others, these markings might as well be scribbles—utterly incomprehensible. But to him, though profound, they weren’t impossible to understand.

His Seven-Aperture Exquisite Body began to work its magic.

The tattoos squirmed like living worms in his vision, shifting and twisting.

Gu Qingfeng analyzed them fervently. After a long while, his face lit up with excitement.

"These tattoos really are useful!"

Though he hadn’t fully deciphered them, he had grasped the general principles.

The barbarians focused solely on their fleshly bodies, yet these tattoos allowed them to wield divine abilities while further enhancing their physical strength.

Tattoos depicting flames granted control over fire, while those of wind and thunder enabled them to tread upon storms.

But these elemental tattoos were useless to Gu Qingfeng.

With his Innate Sacred Body, he could already command the five elements and the duality of yin and yang—no need for external aids.

However, the tattoos that strengthened the fleshly body? Those were priceless treasures!

They acted like amplifiers—if fleshly body strength was compared to sound volume, then the tattoos were the speakers, magnifying the effect.

In other words, the stronger one’s body, the greater the enhancement from the tattoos!

Of course, tattoos weren’t without drawbacks. As Dao Runes, they bore the weight of Dao Rhyme and power. If an ordinary cultivator’s body wasn’t strong enough, forcibly inscribing them would be a death sentence.

Naturally, Gu Qingfeng was an exception.

His physique was beyond question—these flesh-enhancing tattoos were practically tailor-made for him.

"Treasures! Absolute treasures!" Gu Qingfeng’s eyes gleamed as he stared at the barbarian corpses, itching to caress them gently. These were essentially walking cultivation manuals!

The tattoos on the five-meter barbarians were crude and sparse, while those on the ten-meter ones were numerous and complex—hence their greater strength.

"Each barbarian’s tattoos are different, meaning they aren’t universally applicable. They must be tailored to the individual’s physique. No wonder these miraculous tattoos haven’t spread beyond the Primordial Forbidden Land."

Gu Qingfeng pondered.

The fact that tattoos hadn’t proliferated outside wasn’t just because people feared entering the Primordial Forbidden Land—it was also due to their highly personalized nature.

They weren’t one-size-fits-all. Copying them blindly wouldn’t work; they had to be modified to suit the user.

Moreover, the tattoos on each barbarian were like fragments of a grand, profound Dao Rune that had been shattered and dispersed among them.

Collecting tattoos was like assembling a puzzle—the more pieces gathered and the more complete the picture, the greater their effect.

Thus, simply inscribing more tattoos didn’t guarantee strength—they had to be pieced together coherently.

But none of this posed a challenge to Gu Qingfeng. His Seven-Aperture Exquisite Body excelled at this very task!

Analyze. Integrate. Comprehend. Master!