For example, that “David Spencer” has reached this realm, far surpassing ordinary body-refining mortals, trampling families like Henry Spencer's and other poor households firmly underfoot.

The tattered phantom sighed, “After cycles of reincarnation, most of the memories in the sea of stars are broken beyond repair, or sealed in slumber. Without earth-shattering power, it’s nearly impossible to fully restore them.”

“Sealed in slumber?”

Henry Spencer felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, his heart filled with disappointment.

“However, in this entire sea of memories, though most are broken and dormant, there is still a relatively complete segment.”

The tattered phantom suddenly reached out, pointing to the star beneath their feet.

Henry Spencer's eyes lit up as he gazed at the vast starry sky, among billions of stars, at the only bright little star.

“Could there be a cultivation technique inside?”

Henry Spencer felt uneasy and anxious.

After all, a person’s entire lifetime of memories is immense—who could guarantee that this memory fragment would contain a cultivation method?

“This memory fragment is awakening for the first time, which shows its importance in your previous life!”

The tattered phantom’s voice was extremely grave.

“Very important?”

Henry Spencer felt even more urgent and expectant.

“Heh, just step in and you’ll know.”

As soon as the tattered phantom finished speaking, it merged into the only bright star in the sea of stars and disappeared.

Henry Spencer was startled, but with a thought, his form merged into that bright star.

Whoosh!

The scene before his eyes changed instantly:

This was a simple, bright training room, with curling sandalwood incense wafting through the air, ethereal and dreamlike.

On a meditation cushion sat a handsome young boy, his face set with determination.

Henry Spencer felt his mind and spirit instantly merge with the boy.

“Body Refining Tenth Layer—I will never give up! Even if I lose the best chance to advance to the Qi Refining stage.”

The boy, now Henry Spencer's incarnation, declared resolutely.

“My disciple, the Body Refining Tenth Layer has always been just a legend—impossible to achieve, even for a genius like you, the rarest in our sect in a hundred years. For us cultivators, solidifying the seventh layer is enough to draw in spiritual energy. Now that you’ve forged the rare foundation of the ninth layer, why pursue the illusory and unattainable tenth?”

Another old man’s sigh came, though his face was indistinct.

Other than the boy, everything else in the room appeared blurry and unclear.

“This was my father’s dying wish. The ‘Nine Transformations of Dragon and Serpent’ passed down in my family may break through to the tenth layer and open the door to the ancient path of ‘body cultivation.’”

“So what if you reach the tenth layer? ‘Body cultivation’ is the hardest and most useless path in this world.”

“I will never give up!”

The boy’s voice was so stubborn.

“Alas, what a pity for your extraordinary talent…”

The old man let out a long sigh, as if he understood that he could not change his disciple’s mind.

The boy’s eyes were clear, his face as resolute as iron. He slowly stood up, closed his eyes tightly, and breathed in a strange rhythm, sometimes long, sometimes short.

His body and limbs, sometimes bent, sometimes twisted, took on all sorts of bizarre and incredible postures and movements—some even surpassing the limits of human bones.

The boy’s movements grew slower and slower, as if he had become the center of space itself. Every gesture seemed to twist and transform the space around him, with countless stars swirling overhead.

……

“So this was me in my previous life—reaching the ninth layer of body refining before the age of sixteen. That’s terrifying!”

Henry Spencer was filled with shock and disbelief, his eyes tinged with awe.

At the same moment, memories and insights of that boy from his past life surged into his mind like a tide…

Chapter 003: Nine Transformations of Dragon and Serpent

Body Refining Ninth Layer.

Already the pinnacle for body-refining mortals.

For Henry Spencer, this was an utterly unattainable realm—even the domineering David Spencer in the village had only reached the fourth layer.

Looking at the more than two thousand people in Yangmu Village, Henry Spencer had never heard of anyone reaching the ninth layer.

Yet, in his previous life, he had reached the terrifying ninth layer before the age of sixteen, and could have stepped into the ranks of “immortal cultivators” that countless mortals looked up to at any moment.

All cultivators, at the beginning of their path, must first temper their bodies.

Thus, all beings who remain at the ninth layer of body refining are called “mortal practitioners,” commonly known as ordinary people.

If one has talent and can break through the limits of the body refining stage to enter the mysterious and sacred “Qi Refining Stage,” they can become one of the exalted “Qi Refining Immortals.”

It is said that Qi Refining Immortals possess powers beyond mortal imagination, with abilities as mysterious as gods and ghosts. At that level, ordinary body-refining mortals can be wiped out with a flick of the finger, as insignificant as ants.

However, those who reach the level of Qi Refining Immortal are all peerless talents, one in a thousand.

At this moment, Henry Spencer was receiving the memories of his past life, his heart surging with waves of shock. Compared to his previous life, he was also not yet sixteen, but only had the first layer of body refining.

The difference was like heaven and earth.

“You need not be discouraged. Your talent in your past life was indeed extraordinary, but looking at this body, your aptitude is quite ordinary…”

The tattered phantom appeared beside him.

Hearing this, Henry Spencer felt a little better.

At this moment, the tidal wave of memories rushed into his mind, making his head spin and almost collapse.