The next morning.
"The Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer... I've made it."
After a night of cultivation, Ning Jiang opened his eyes. A sharp light, like a flash of lightning, burst from them.
His aura was even more refined than the night before. As the qi and blood circulated within him, it made a RUSHING sound. At the same time, his muscles rippled like a sponge, full of elasticity.
This was the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer: Blood and Flesh Cultivation.
The "blood" refers to the blood in the body, and the "flesh" refers to the skin and muscles.
Impurities exist within the blood and flesh. Blood and Flesh Cultivation is the process of expelling these impurities to unlock the body's latent potential.
Upon reaching this realm, one could control the flow of their blood. By combining qi and blood, one could enhance their explosive power. For instance, by gathering blood in the legs, one could use its power to erupt with speed several times greater than before.
Or, by gathering qi and blood in the arms, one's fist power could increase from a thousand jin to several thousand.
Furthermore, one could willfully control every muscle in their body. If wounded, they could control the injury, forcing it to close tightly and stop the bleeding.
One could even circulate their qi and blood, twisting it into a single force. For example, gathering it in the chest would make the area as hard as refined iron, difficult for blades or spears to pierce.
Even if an entire arm were severed by a sharp blade, as long as one was quick enough, they could pick up the limb, press it to the wound, and control the flesh to knit back together. After taking some elixirs, the arm could be restored to its original state.
In short, upon reaching the Seventh Layer, a single person could take on several Sixth Layer Daoist Practitioners.
The gap between the Sixth and Seventh Layers was a massive dividing line.
'Without this Blood Circulation and Body Refining Pill, it would have taken me several days of cultivation to reach the Seventh Layer.'
Ning Jiang stood up. He had bought the Blood Circulation and Body Refining Pill from Zhao Peng's stall when he was hawking his wares on Yang Liu Road. A single pill cost two hundred Primordial Stones, which was equivalent to the entire net worth of an ordinary Qi Cultivation Realm Martial Artist.
Of course, even if an ordinary person had a Blood Circulation and Body Refining Pill, they couldn't possibly break through overnight as Ning Jiang had.
The reason was simple: after an elixir's medicinal power enters the body, it's impossible to absorb it completely.
The transfer of energy always involves loss. It's like eating a whole cow—you don't gain all of the cow's strength. A large portion is ultimately consumed and lost.
But Ning Jiang was different, all thanks to his Heaven-Devouring Demon Skill.
The tyrannical nature of the Heaven-Devouring Demon Skill lay in its ability to devour and refine energy thirty-six times faster than an ordinary person. How terrifying was that? It could even devour an alien energy like the Black Jade Fire Poison Curse.
The Heaven-Devouring Demon Skill had devoured every last bit of the Blood Circulation and Body Refining Pill's medicinal power, which was why Ning Jiang was able to break through to the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer overnight.
After the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer came the Eighth Layer: Training the Seven Apertures.
Shifting his gaze, Ning Jiang looked at Ning Yu'an, who was sitting cross-legged on the other side. She had spent the entire night cultivating the Purple Qi Creation Technique.
A faint purple qi suffused the air around her. Her purple dress outlined her graceful curves, adding a touch of mysterious beauty to her appearance.
In terms of looks, Ning Yu'an was in no way inferior to the Four Great Beauties of Luoyang. If not for her beauty, Zhou Wenhao wouldn't have been so smitten with her at first sight.
'Sister An is currently at the Postnatal Early Stage. With my help, she should be able to reach the Postnatal Peak in about two months. With the Purple Qi Creation Technique, she'll even have the strength to fight an Innate Realm expert.'
It was important to note that the Purple Qi Creation Technique was one Ning Jiang had personally selected. Among those in the same realm, it was nearly invincible.
"Sister An, let's go get something to eat."
"Alright."
Ning Yu'an opened her eyes. Despite cultivating all night, she looked even more energetic. The haggardness of the past few days had completely vanished.
It was now early morning. After washing up, the brother and sister had a meal at the Drunken Moon Pavilion.
With Old Sir Liu's Jade Order in hand, the two were able to enjoy a gourmet meal.
However, Ning Jiang was not a glutton. He chewed slowly, eating only until he was seventy percent full. Ning Yu'an also ate with small, delicate bites, stopping when she was satisfied, possessing the refined air of a highborn lady.
After their meal, Ning Jiang set off for the Liu Family estate, while Ning Yu'an remained at the Drunken Moon Pavilion to continue cultivating the Purple Qi Creation Technique.
Ning Jiang left all the Primordial Stones he had earned the day before for Ning Yu'an's cultivation. As for their origin, he attributed it all to the master he claimed was backing him.
Liu Mansion.
Guards could be seen patrolling everywhere around the entire Liu Mansion, giving it a grand and imposing air.
The guards at the main gate seemed to have already received orders, as they did not stop Ning Jiang when they saw him approach.
"Young Master Ning, please follow me. Miss Xianyu has been waiting for you for quite some time."
A maid was waiting at the entrance. Upon seeing Ning Jiang, she immediately came forward to greet him.
After leading Ning Jiang into a quiet courtyard, the maid withdrew.
"Mr. Ning, you've arrived."
Liu Xianyu was there. Her eyes lit up when she saw Ning Jiang; she had been waiting impatiently.
"If you want to practice your sword, this place won't do. We need to go somewhere else. Follow me." Ning Jiang strolled leisurely, as if this Liu Mansion was his own home.
A great mountain rose from the ground. The Liu Mansion had been built around mountains, and there was no shortage of high peaks.
This was the tallest mountain within the Liu Mansion estate. Critically, its terrain was treacherous, with steep cliffs.
Ning Jiang made his way up, light as a paper kite, seeming to float upward without any weight.
Liu Xianyu watched, inwardly shocked. Her cultivation was far higher than Ning Jiang's, yet her mastery of Lightweight Skills was inferior to his.
Moreover, she discovered that Ning Jiang's cultivation had reached the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer.
She remembered that when she first saw him by the pool on Funiu Mountain, he was still breaking through to the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer. In just a few short days, he had reached the Seventh Layer. His progress was simply advancing by leaps and bounds.
'It seems he was telling the truth. His cultivation is low right now due to some special reason, but he'll advance quickly. I wonder what kind of strange cultivation technique this is?' Even with Liu Xianyu's knowledge, she couldn't explain Ning Jiang's situation.
Before long, the two of them reached the summit.
The mountain was several hundred zhang high and wreathed in clouds and mist. As it was the dead of winter, the wind was bone-chilling, and snow was piled high.
For an ordinary person, standing on such a summit would be incredibly perilous.
The slippery peak, the frigid gales—one careless misstep, and they would fall to their death, smashed to pieces.
"Practice the sword here?"
Liu Xianyu was puzzled. The cold here couldn't bother her. Even Qi Cultivation Realm experts were largely unaffected by heat or cold, let alone an Innate Realm cultivator like her.
"That's right. This is the perfect place to practice the sword. However, you are forbidden from using any cultivation. You must act like an ordinary person. Give it a try," Ning Jiang said.
Liu Xianyu's expression turned serious. She knew that Ning Jiang had begun to teach her, and she nodded.
She drew her sword and performed the Shocking Cloud Sword Technique, just as an ordinary person would brandish a sword.
"Wrong, wrong. I don't want you to practice here. I want you at the edge of the cliff."
At that moment, Ning Jiang was standing right at the cliff's edge, his gaze fixed on the distance. The wind whipped at him, making his robes flutter loudly, as if he might ride the wind and depart at any moment.
Liu Xianyu took a deep breath and walked to the cliff's edge.
"Remember, you are forbidden from using any cultivation," Ning Jiang reminded her.
Without another word, Liu Xianyu once again performed the Shocking Cloud Sword Technique. Sword light flashed as she executed more than a dozen moves in succession.
"WHOOSH!"
Suddenly, a violent gust of wind blew past. Liu Xianyu's body swayed, and she pitched over the cliff's edge.
Normally, such a wind couldn't possibly affect her, but Ning Jiang had forbidden her from using her cultivation, making her little different from an ordinary person.
The gales on this summit could become ferocious enough to uproot trees. That was why the entire peak was barren, with no grass or trees in sight.
At the critical moment, Liu Xianyu let out a sharp cry and threw Ning Jiang's words to the back of her mind. She used her cultivation to resist the fierce wind and quickly retreated from the cliff's edge.
Her pretty face had turned a little pale.
"How did that feel?" Ning Jiang asked, looking at Liu Xianyu with a faint, unreadable smile.
"It was terrifying. My nerves were stretched to the breaking point. If I don't use my cultivation, I'm no different from an ordinary person. I'd die if I fell."
Liu Xianyu took several deep breaths to calm her racing heart. Now, when she looked at the cliff, she felt differently about it; she regarded it with considerable apprehension.
"I told you to prepare a Qi Locking Pill yesterday. You have it, I assume? Take it, and continue practicing at the cliff's edge," Ning Jiang said in a cold tone.
A Qi Locking Pill was something that could restrict the True Qi in one's body. Once consumed, one's True Qi would be sealed for several hours. During this period, a Martial Artist was virtually indistinguishable from an ordinary person.
"Isn't that too dangerous?"
Liu Xianyu hesitated. After taking the Qi Locking Pill, she would be completely unable to use her cultivation. What would she do if a situation like the one just now happened again?
A fall would mean being smashed to pieces.
"Dangerous?" Ning Jiang chuckled softly. "I want you to practice on this cliff's edge precisely so you can feel this danger. You must place yourself on the brink of life and death, keep your mind taut, and focus your will. Only then can you banish fear and stimulate your potential."
"If a Martial Artist isn't tempered on the edge of life and death, how can they ever become truly skilled?"
"You must remember that the path of a Martial Artist is the path of life and death. Let me ask you, can you avoid the frequent life-or-death battles that Martial Artists face? When you fight someone, you are also on the brink of life and death. Victory means life; defeat means death."
"Even when your realm advances in the future—say, to the Primordial Spirit Fourth Tribulation Realm—you will still have to face the Celestial Tribulation. This is also a path of life and death. The heavens will send down a Celestial Tribulation to kill you. Do you find that terrifying?"
"When the heavens want to kill you, it's a celestial tribulation. When men want to kill you, it's a human tribulation. Beyond that, there are a thousand more tribulations and ten thousand more trials. If you don't even have the courage to overcome this bit of fear, what's the point of being a Martial Artist?"
"Only those who are fearless in heart, who advance with courage and diligence, and who can let go of life and death—only such people can walk farther on this path."
"'To learn the Dao in the morning and die by evening without regret'—that is the spirit of a Martial Artist!"
Ning Jiang said all this in one breath, each word profound and thought-provoking.
Who was he? A Legendary Venerable from a hundred thousand years ago. In his lifetime, he had experienced an unknown number of life-and-death calamities. With his experience, every word he spoke was an irrefutable truth.
"Hahaha! A fine 'To learn the Dao in the morning and die by evening without regret'!" Suddenly, a booming laugh echoed from below. "Xianyu told me she had met a prodigy who could achieve Heart-Sword Control at the age of sixteen. I didn't believe it at first, but after hearing your words, it seems Xianyu wasn't lying. You truly are a prodigy."
Amidst the biting mountain wind, a figure rushed up to the summit.
It was an old man. His face was weathered by the vicissitudes of life, but his frame was tall, his back was straight, and his eyes were bright and full of spirit.
His aura was the most powerful Ning Jiang had encountered in this world.
"Grandfather," Liu Xianyu called out hurriedly.
This was Old Sir Liu, the true number one person in the Liu Family—Liu Yuanlong!
"'To learn the Dao in the morning and die by evening without regret.' What you said is indeed very reasonable, but can you do it yourself?"
Liu Yuanlong looked at Ning Jiang and posed his challenge. Anyone can preach a philosophy, but how many can truly live by it?
He didn't believe a mere youth could possess such a state of mind.