Chapter 103: Jade Nectar
Ning Qi hurried over upon hearing the news.
Just as he arrived outside Jiang Baishan’s courtyard, he heard Senior Disciple Brother’s hearty laughter:
“Fifth Brother, you’re saying you got taken down by a little girl?”
Ning Qi walked into the courtyard and saw Jiang Baishan with his left arm wrapped in layers of white cloth, looking somewhat disheveled.
“What happened?”
Ning Qi was a bit curious.
He had originally thought the matter was serious, but seeing Senior Disciple Brother and Fifth Senior Brother like this, it didn’t seem particularly grave. Instead, he wanted to know what Jiang Baishan had gone through. A White Mist Realm master shouldn’t end up this disheveled.
Jiang Baishan felt even more embarrassed upon seeing Ning Qi, but he still slowly explained what happened.
Ning Qi’s expression gradually turned strange.
It turned out that.
On this trip down the mountain, Jiang Baishan had been fine at first, everything going smoothly. He had also been inquiring about anecdotes regarding the Martial Saint for Ning Qi. But one night, while traveling among the mountains, he came upon a secluded pool and decided to bathe.
Who would have thought that while bathing, she suddenly emerged from the other end, and they faced each other stark naked.
The consequences were predictable.
That woman was no pushover; her cultivation wasn’t low either. She chased Jiang Baishan with her sword for a whole month.
Jiang Baishan felt guilty in his heart, thinking he had seen the woman’s body, so he never fought back. But he hadn’t expected her to nearly sever his left arm with a sword. Later, he took the Blood-Burning Pill Ning Qi had given him and finally shook her off.
Ning Qi’s expression was strange, while Luo Wentian couldn’t help laughing and teasing again:
“Fifth Brother, oh Fifth Brother, you’re usually so decisive in battle, yet you showed mercy to a woman. Tsk tsk, I guess that woman must be a stunning beauty for you to pity the fragrance and cherish the jade.”
Jiang Baishan’s face flushed slightly, then he said fiercely:
“Bullshit! I felt I was in the wrong first, so I kept yielding to her. Just watch, once my wound heals and I go down the mountain again, I’ll give that little wench a harsh lesson.”
He felt a bit embarrassed.
Ning Qi chuckled speechlessly, but that woman was quite ruthless—this was real slashing. If Fifth Senior Brother hadn’t dodged quickly, he might have lost an entire arm.
“Fifth Senior Brother, you should heal your wound first before anything else.”
Jiang Baishan patted his chest and declared resolutely:
“Little Junior Brother, don’t worry. This time, I won’t hold back. I’ll strip that little wench naked and throw her in the river!”
The three laughed and chatted for a bit, then got to the main topic.
“However, on this trip down the mountain, I discovered that the Great Yan Dynasty is indeed different from the past few years.”
Luo Wentian asked with concern:
“How so?”
He was now managing all aspects of the True Martial Sect and was particularly concerned about such matters.
“This time I went to Chuzhou. If a few years ago the Demonic Sect was just lurking in the shadows, now they’re appearing much more frequently, even in prefectures, commanderies, and counties. The Demonic Sect’s tentacles have reached into every aspect. It seems their century of recuperation can’t be underestimated.”
“The Imperial Court and the Demonic Sect are fighting in the shadows, and some places are vaguely already under Demonic Sect control. I originally thought the Demonic Sect was far inferior to the Imperial Court, but now it doesn’t seem so. The Imperial Court’s ceasefire some time ago might also stem from this fear.”
After all, no matter how strong Heavenly Human experts are, if the dynasty’s foundation is controlled, it’s hard to sustain.
They can’t just have Heavenly Humans strike and destroy cities and lands.
Great Yan clearly didn’t want its territories to be left in ruins and was trying to find a way to resolve it.
“Besides that, the Martial World is much more chaotic than before. Many Martial Arts Sects are taking advantage of the infighting between the Demonic Sect and the Imperial Court to eliminate rivals, settle hatreds. Conflicts have increased far more than before, and there are frequent reports of sect exterminations. This world has the momentum of great chaos.”
“I wonder if it will be like a century ago, when the Great Yan Martial Saint took action and stabilized the universe.”
At this point, Jiang Baishan lowered his voice:
“There’s a vague rumor in the Martial World now that the Great Yan Martial Saint has already fallen, but I don’t know if it’s true.”
Luo Wentian looked somewhat worried.
He was considering what the True Martial Sect should do in such a situation.
Although they had Master and Heavenly Sword True Person, two Heavenly Human Realm experts, they still needed to be cautious.
Ning Qi listened quietly.
He felt that the current chaos would last quite a while; it was far from clear yet. From the previous ceasefire between the Imperial Court and the Demonic Sect, it was evident both sides were still holding back, brewing something.
As for the Great Yan Martial Saint having fallen?
Ning Qi thought it probably wasn’t true. Putting himself in those shoes, if it were his end, he would at least clear obstacles for his descendants. How could he die so quietly?
Ning Qi wasn’t overly worried.
In another two or three years, as long as he stepped into the Heavenly Human Realm, protecting the True Martial Sect shouldn’t be difficult.
Jiang Baishan’s injuries weren’t particularly severe. After recuperating for a month, he went down the mountain again, sharpening his blade with intent to redeem his previous humiliation. He also patted his chest, guaranteeing Ning Qi more news about the Martial Saint Realm this time.
Ning Qi just smiled and nodded, then gave him two more Blood-Burning Pills, telling him to be careful.
He wasn’t particularly worried. Jiang Baishan’s strength was solid, and he’d seen the wound—it looked fierce, but mercy had been shown. In that light, the two had a bit of a fated rivals vibe.
……
Time passed quietly.
Autumn gradually arrived.
Under the dual effects of the Thousand Year Fiery Sun Jade and Blood Sun Ganoderma, Dragon Mountain Daoist’s injuries finally healed, much faster than expected.
He didn’t forget his previous promise to Ning Qi. After explaining the situation to Ning Qi, he quietly went down the mountain to track the Blood Rain Tower’s whereabouts.
Such assassin organizations were extremely secretive.
Destroying the Blood Rain Tower wouldn’t be hard with their strength, but first they needed to find it and the culprits who exterminated Snow Plum Villa years ago.
Fortunately, Dragon Mountain Daoist had many friends over the years who could help.
Ning Qi was very grateful for this.
If it were up to him alone, it would take considerable effort, and he might not even find them.
In his spare time, he tried simplifying the few secret techniques he knew, preparing to pass them to Dragon Mountain Daoist later. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to teach the full versions, but with others’ comprehension, they couldn’t learn them.
As for the many Martial Arts Secret Techniques Ning Qi had placed in the Scripture Depository, he had already informed Dragon Mountain Daoist earlier, who then told Luo Wentian to handle them properly.
He hoped the True Martial Disciples’ strength would grow powerful, but there needed to be corresponding systems. Otherwise, if everyone slacked off with ready-made secret techniques available, the sect wouldn’t be far from destruction.
During this period.
Just as Ning Qi took his sixth Golden Jade Pill, Ye Qinghe returned to the mountain as well.
Her situation was much better than Jiang Baishan’s. On this trip down, she had gained an opportunity and already touched the trigger for promotion to Gang Yuan Realm. Now back, she just needed to take a Condensing Gang Pill to accelerate the process and smoothly become the True Martial Sect’s fourth Gang Yuan Realm expert.
However.
Before going into closed-door cultivation, Ye Qinghe came to find Ning Qi.
“Little Nine, on this trip down the mountain, I passed by a small town and heard a Blind Old Man mention a rumor about the Martial Saint. They say it’s that Martial Saint’s hometown. Someone once caught a glimpse of the Martial Saint in his later years—astonishingly old. That Martial Saint seemingly didn’t ascend and eventually vanished without a trace.”
“This rumor has been passed down orally for many years; I don’t know how much truth it holds.”
Ye Qinghe felt a bit embarrassed.
Full of ambition before leaving the mountain, she realized after going down how scarce information about the Martial Saint was. This was just one rumor that was somewhat relevant.
She felt she had let down her little junior brother.
Ning Qi asked for the small town’s location and said he loved hearing such rumors. Only then did Ye Qinghe’s mood turn joyful.
After Ye Qinghe left, Ning Qi fell into contemplation.
This rumor had at least two points worth pondering.
“First, with the Martial Saint’s Three Flowers of Essence, Qi, and Spirit at perfection, even at the end of his lifespan, his body shouldn’t wither, right? Could he have suffered a severe injury?”
“Second, that Martial Saint didn’t ascend? Was his realm insufficient, or some other reason?”
Ning Qi silently noted this information.
He just put a question mark in his mind, since it was just a rumor Ye Qinghe heard, and he didn’t know its veracity. If the chance arose, he could go to that small town personally to check.
He shook his head.
Ning Qi set these matters aside for now.
This was destined to be a long exploration process. If he still hadn’t found more records on the Martial Saint Realm by then, he’d go search personally—but at least after stepping into the Heavenly Human Realm.
Only then would he have enough confidence.
He looked inward at his body.
The gang qi within had surged vastly compared to when he first entered the White Mist Realm. White mist filled the dantian, already gleaming with luster. After months of cultivation, aided by the Heaven and Earth Millstone Gang Tempering Method and Golden Jade Pills, Ning Qi’s progress was astonishingly fast.
If ordinary people saw the vast gang qi in Ning Qi’s body, they would be shocked speechless.
“Now with the last Golden Jade Pill, in half a month to a month, I can attempt condensing white mist into jade liquid.”
Ning Qi was somewhat expectant.
This was a qualitative change.
Jade Liquid Realm gang qi would be much stronger and gradually gain wondrous spirituality. For ordinary Jade Liquid Realm experts, this bit of spirituality might just make their gang qi more flexible, but with Ning Qi’s far-superior gang qi volume, it might bring even greater marvels, perhaps allowing him to do things he couldn’t before.
……
Time flowed slowly.
The peach tree outside the Seeker’s Courtyard gradually withered, its vitality fading. Cold winds howled, with scattered snowflakes falling.
Ning Qi stood in the Seeker’s Courtyard, testing improvements to the Azure Profound Body Protection Technique.
Azure light flickered on his body surface, occasionally solidifying with a heavy aura. Ning Qi had infused it with mountain intent and Mysterious Turtle intent, greatly boosting defense. Now it could reach seventy percent of the Azure Profound Armored Vest’s defensive power.
“But… it’s already at the limit.”
Ning Qi sighed.
Further improvements wouldn’t be cost-effective; massive time investment might yield only marginal gains, not worth it.
The reason.
Was that Ning Qi’s gang qi quality had an upper limit here.
Even a sheet of paper, no matter how folded, had its limit. Swap it for iron, and it was entirely different.
To make the Azure Profound Body Protection Technique stronger, he had to elevate gang qi quality.
Fortunately, that wasn’t hard.
A smile tugged at Ning Qi’s lips.
He stood with hands behind his back, looking up at the sky. The scattered snow intensified. With a thought, he instantly entered the Unity of Heaven and Man state.
The Heaven and Earth Millstone gathered around him.
His already unimaginably vast gang qi began rotating in wondrous ways. The Myriad Manifestations True Gang circulated, white mist constantly compressing and condensing—everything natural progression, going with the flow.
Drip!
In the dantian, a drop of liquid gleaming with jade stone luster splashed down. Ripples of gang qi spread outward, heralding the metamorphosis.
White mist turning to jade liquid was just like this.
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