Immortal Sword Master

Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Touching with Sincerity, Vajra’s Fury

The Liu Family.

On the mountain.

This time, Ning Jiang didn’t return to the Drunken Moon Pavilion. At Liu Yuanlong’s enthusiastic invitation, he temporarily stayed with the Liu Family.

He was given an entire mountaintop. The whole mountain became his private domain, as Liu Yuanlong had ordered that no one from the Liu Family was to approach or disturb Ning Jiang.

”Sister An, let’s just stay at the Liu Family’s place for a while. It’s nice and quiet here.”

”It’s good, all right. And my dear little brother can take the opportunity to get closer to the two great beauties of Luoyang,” Ning Yu’an huffed.

She had noticed that both Liu Xianyu and Liu Shiyi seemed to have a good relationship with Ning Jiang.

Ning Jiang laughed at her words. ”If Sister An doesn’t like it, we can just go back to the Drunken Moon Pavilion.”

”I was just teasing you, and you took it seriously.” Ning Yu’an shot him a playful glare.

”I’m going to see Du Wanqing,” Ning Jiang said with a smile.

Everyone else had already left; Ning Jiang had asked only Du Wanqing to stay behind.

Outside the house.

”Du Wanqing, I asked you to take Zhao Peng as a Direct Disciple. You handled that matter very well. So, tell me, what do you want?”

Ning Jiang had always been clear about rewards and punishments. Since Du Wanqing had done him a service, he naturally wouldn’t treat him poorly.

”Senior, you are too kind.”

Du Wanqing first cupped his hands in a salute toward Ning Jiang, then deliberated for a moment before speaking. ”This junior does indeed have an audacious request. I would like to ask Senior to accept Yanran as your disciple.”

Hearing this, Wei Yanran, who was standing to the side, froze. She clearly hadn’t expected Du Wanqing to make such a sudden request.

”Du Wanqing, you can ask for something else. For example, I could bestow upon you a Pill Formula. Within a year, you would be guaranteed to become a Grandmaster,” Ning Jiang said unhurriedly.

Guaranteed to become a Grandmaster within a year.

An offer like that was something no Alchemist could possibly refuse.

Moreover, Wei Yanran knew that Du Wanqing’s ultimate goal was to become a Grandmaster.

There were fewer than ten Alchemy Grandmasters in all of Cyan Cloud Country. Once he became one, Du Wanqing’s status and position would be completely transformed.

”Haaaah.”

Du Wanqing took a deep breath. ”I am ashamed to admit that this junior was indeed tempted just now, but...”

”This junior still wishes to ask Senior to accept Yanran.”

”Why?” Ning Jiang asked, hearing the determination in Du Wanqing’s voice.

”I heard from Yanran that she had some misunderstandings with Senior in the past, which might have given you a bad impression of her, but she is not a bad person by nature.”

Du Wanqing said slowly, ”Besides, only Senior can truly protect Yanran.”

”Hm? Speak plainly.”

Ning Jiang sensed there was a hidden meaning in his words. It was as if Wei Yanran was in constant danger.

”Fifteen years ago, the Wei Family of Dongling was completely massacred. The sole survivor... was Yanran.” Du Wanqing’s voice was heavy, his short sentence revealing a staggering piece of information.

”Dongling? You mean Dongling City in Cyan Cloud Country?” Ning Jiang asked.

”Yes.” Du Wanqing seemed reluctant to dwell on the matter and quickly finished, ”I happened to be in Dongling at the time. Yanran was lucky to escape, and I was the one who saved her.”

”The murderers, are they very powerful?” Ning Jiang asked again.

”Very.” Du Wanqing’s reply was tinged with awe and fear.

Ning Jiang nodded and looked at Wei Yanran. He could see a deep hatred in the Iceberg Beauty’s eyes.

”From the looks of it, you desperately want revenge.”

”I do.”

”Your strength is far from sufficient, so you want to become my disciple and borrow my power?”

”Yes.”

”You live only for revenge? Revenge is your only reason for living?”

”Yes.”

”A pity. Your story, while tragic, is not enough to move me.”

Ning Jiang raised his gaze, the vast, distant blue sky reflected in his eyes. ”In this world, there are countless people who have suffered more than you. I could probably find a whole crowd of people with sadder stories right here in Luoyang City. What gives you the right to ask me to take you as my disciple?”

He was speaking the truth. As a Venerable from a hundred thousand years ago, he had seen innumerable tragedies. If he had to accept every person with a sad story as his disciple, he would be annoyed to death.

”Then I will move you,” Wei Yanran said with determination.

”Oh? And how will you do that?” Ning Jiang was intrigued.

”With my sincerity!”

”Go on, try.”

Wei Yanran bit her red lips.

Then.

The famous Iceberg Beauty of Luoyang City dropped to her knees before Ning Jiang with a THUD.

”Kneeling? It’s foolish, but it is indeed one way to show sincerity.”

Ning Jiang looked at her, his expression unchanging. ”But let me tell you, the chances of this method moving me are infinitesimally small.”

”Then I will kneel here until I die.”

”I’ll be ready to collect your corpse at any time,” Ning Jiang said indifferently.

How could a Venerable being care about such things?

Others might feel pity for a beautiful woman and be moved to compassion, but he absolutely would not.

”Du Wanqing, you may go. I’d like to see how long this prospective disciple of yours can kneel,” Ning Jiang said with a wave of his hand.

Du Wanqing glanced at Wei Yanran, a flash of pity in his eyes, then turned and left.

Ning Jiang paid Wei Yanran no mind and returned to his room.

Night fell.

Wei Yanran had not left. She remained kneeling there.

Meanwhile, Ning Jiang was in his room, beginning his cultivation of the Great Sun Glazed Golden Body.

Advancing the Great Sun Glazed Golden Body from the Entry Level to Minor Achievement was another major threshold.

The Entry-Level Realm was enough to dominate the Postnatal Realm, but at Minor Achievement, one could kill an Innate Realm expert with their bare hands.

Once he reached Minor Achievement, his strength would take another huge leap forward, and he would also master a new Martial Technique.

At that point, with his Great Sun Glazed Golden Body at the Minor Achievement Realm, Ning Jiang would be strong enough to contend with the Ten Greats.

The Hundred Beasts Cauldron was placed in the center of the room.

A Flame burned beneath it. More than ten types of Treasure Medicines, including the Thousand-year-old Blood Lingzhi and the Innate Marrow Flower, were placed into the Pill Cauldron and melted into a liquid.

These had all been collected from Du Wanqing, Tan Jinglin, and the others.

Every single one was an Upper Grade Treasure Medicine.

An Upper Grade Treasure Medicine was worth tens of thousands of Primordial Stones. The dozen or so Treasure Medicines he was using were worth more than five hundred thousand Primordial Stones in total.

Ning Jiang sat cross-legged inside the Pill Cauldron.

This was a special Body Refining Technique: treating one’s own body as an Elixir and refining it.

Without exception, any extreme Body Refining Technique required enduring immense pain.

At this moment, Ning Jiang’s entire body grew scalding hot. It felt as if he were being incinerated by fire, on the verge of melting.

And as the boiling Medicinal Power entered his body, his internal temperature skyrocketed. He was enduring an unimaginably excruciating pain, both inside and out.

Anyone without great perseverance, great determination, great wisdom, and great fortitude would not be able to last for even a single breath.

Of course, not every Body Refining Technique in the world required enduring such agony.

Some Body Refining Techniques, if one had enough Heavenly and Earthly Treasures, could even be a pleasurable experience.

For example, by soaking one’s body in Dragon and Phoenix Blood, one could achieve a complete Rebirth and forge an Indestructible Flesh Body.

Unfortunately, for the current Ning Jiang, beings like Dragons and Phoenixes were far too remote.

In a tiny place like Cyan Cloud Country, one couldn’t even find a Flood Dragon, let alone a Dragon or Phoenix.

Sitting in the Pill Cauldron, Ning Jiang’s face was expressionless. Once he began cultivating, he completely lost track of time, his mind as still as water, utterly absorbed in the process.

As for the pain wracking his body, he simply ignored it.

As the first day passed, his skin became even more translucent than before.

Entry Level was Ice-Skinned Jade Bone—skin like ice, bones like jade. But now, faint golden flecks had begun to appear on his jade-like bones.

When all his bones turned into Golden Bones, he would have reached the Minor Achievement Realm of the Great Sun Glazed Golden Body.

This process of refining his body would take nine days.

Each day brought a new transformation.

On the second day, the golden flecks on his bones became more numerous, and the vital energy and blood in his body grew more active, surging and flowing with greater speed.

The third day.

The fourth day.

...

Until the ninth day.

By the morning of the ninth day, Ning Jiang’s bones had almost completely turned golden, with only one percent remaining unchanged.

The sound of his vital energy and blood surging was several times louder than before.

Slowly, night arrived.

SHIIING!

In the middle of the night, Ning Jiang’s eyes, which had been closed for nine days, suddenly snapped open. The moment they did, it was as if a bolt of lightning had struck inside the room, illuminating it completely.

The light lasted for a moment before the room returned to darkness.

Ning Jiang stepped out of the Pill Cauldron. His skin was even more translucent, and his eyes shone like jewels in the darkness, glowing brightly.

’The Minor Achievement Realm is complete.’

Ning Jiang observed the bones within his body. They had all turned completely golden.

BOOM.

He threw a punch. The force of the blow exploded outwards with a thunderous roar, blasting a large crater directly into the ground.

Furthermore, when he circulated his vital energy and blood, the sound was like massive waves crashing against shoreline rocks, a continuous, roaring torrent.

Before, the sound of his vital energy and blood was like a rushing river; now, it was like great waves crashing upon the shore.

Even more astonishingly, when his vital energy and blood circulated at their peak, they permeated through his body and manifested externally, forming something like a golden Flame that blazed around him.

When one’s vital energy and blood permeate the body and shroud it like a burning fire, this Realm is known as a Body Refining Master.

If one were to advance further, causing their vital energy and blood to form a rainbow-like aura ten feet high, they would be a Body Refining Grandmaster.

Right now, Ning Jiang’s physique alone was no weaker than that of an Innate Realm Demon Beast. Even some Innate Early Stage Demon Beasts were definitely inferior to him in terms of physical strength.

’Time to test the Martial Technique from the Minor Achievement Realm, Vajra’s Fury,’ Ning Jiang murmured to himself.

Vajra’s Fury was a Roar Skill.

This Roar Skill worked by vibrating the bones within the body, using them to produce sound.

Imagine the tremendous sound produced when two pieces of steel are struck together. Every single one of Ning Jiang’s golden bones was harder and stronger than steel.

How terrifying would it be when all two hundred and six of his bones vibrated in unison?

Ning Jiang put on his clothes, walked out of the room, and went into the woods.

He stood there, took a deep breath, and with a violent shudder of his entire skeleton, he exhaled.

”ROAR.”

A roar erupted from his throat, as if a thousand Golden Bells had been struck at once. The sound wave was heaven-shaking, forming a faint, golden, visible ripple of sound.

Instantly, with his body as the epicenter, the surrounding trees all shuddered and silently disintegrated into dust. The sound wave spread out rapidly, obliterating everything in its path.

When the sound wave subsided, the area within a one-hundred-foot radius around him was completely empty. All the large trees had been pulverized.

’Not bad.’

Ning Jiang’s eyes showed his satisfaction. As an area-of-effect attack, if this Vajra’s Fury were unleashed in a crowd, it would instantly cause horrific casualties.

Returning from the woods, Ning Jiang glanced at Wei Yanran.

The Iceberg Beauty had been kneeling there for nine consecutive days, apparently determined to follow through on her words to the very end.