Immortal Sword Master

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Great Sun Glazed Golden Body, Ye Chenyu

The Postnatal Realm was the true entry point for a Martial Artist.

Ning Jiang looked inward at his Dantian. The three black Qi Vortexes of devouring had transformed into whirlpools, like massive maelstroms in the sea—profound and deep, emanating Devouring Power.

Furthermore, the True Qi within his Dantian had also transformed into Postnatal Gang Qi.

The quality of Postnatal Gang Qi was more than ten times greater than that of True Qi.

True Qi was gaseous, whereas Postnatal Gang Qi existed in a liquid state.

Moreover, Ning Jiang’s Postnatal Gang Qi was different from others’.

He was, after all, cultivating a Supreme Technique like the Heaven-Devouring Demon Skill. The quality of his Postnatal Gang Qi far surpassed that of an ordinary person.

If others’ Postnatal Gang Qi was wood, then his was a block of iron—denser and more substantial.

BOOM!

Sitting where he was, Ning Jiang threw a punch. Postnatal Gang Qi erupted from his body, blasting outward and carving a long trench across the surface of the lava.

This trench was fifty zhang long!

What did fifty zhang even mean?

A normal Postnatal Realm Martial Artist could only project their Postnatal Gang Qi about ten zhang. A dozen or so zhang was already considered incredible.

Yet Ning Jiang had effortlessly reached fifty zhang. If anyone were to witness this, they would be utterly shocked.

Ning Jiang stood up.

The gory wounds that had burst open on his body had already closed under his control.

A Martial Artist at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer who had reached Blood and Flesh Cultivation could do this, let alone him, who was now in the Postnatal Realm.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Ning Jiang unleashed a continuous barrage of punches, firing off a hundred streams of Postnatal Gang Qi in a single breath. They came down like a torrential storm, and any single one of them could tear a Qi Cultivation Realm Martial Artist to shreds.

’As expected of the Heaven-Devouring Demon Skill. My Postnatal Gang Qi is incredibly dense. I can probably unleash a thousand strikes!’

Ning Jiang stopped and observed the Postnatal Gang Qi in his Dantian. Only about one-tenth of it was gone.

An average Postnatal Realm Martial Artist would have their reserves completely depleted after continuously firing a hundred streams of Postnatal Gang Qi, yet he could manage over a thousand.

At this moment, relying solely on his Postnatal Gang Qi, Ning Jiang could defeat ten opponents of the same realm without even needing his sword.

Just think about it: the quality of his Postnatal Gang Qi was greater than others’, and the quantity was more abundant. How could anyone defeat him?

’If my Cultivation reaches the Postnatal Late Stage, my Postnatal Gang Qi might even rival Innate Gang Qi. At that point, I’ll be able to slay Innate Realm Martial Artists while still in the Postnatal Realm.’

’Next, I need to cultivate the Great Sun Glazed Golden Body!’

Ning Jiang hadn’t forgotten the most important task after breaking through to the Postnatal Realm. His internal injuries hadn’t healed yet, but they would recover on their own once he cultivated the Great Sun Glazed Golden Body.

Using his Wind Chasing Sword, Ning Jiang sliced a large chunk of Molten Rock Jade from the wall.

He placed the Molten Rock Jade on the ground and sat cross-legged on top of it.

Closing his eyes, the cultivation mantra for the Great Sun Glazed Golden Body appeared in his mind.

Great Sun Glazed Golden Body, Profound Level Top Grade.

This Body Refining Technique had four realms: Entry Level, Minor Achievement, Great Success, and Perfection.

The Entry-Level Realm was enough to dominate the Postnatal Realm.

After reaching Minor Achievement, one could slay Innate Realm experts.

After reaching Great Success, one would be invincible in the Innate Realm.

At Perfection, one’s body would become Vajra Indestructible, able to clash with Spiritual Artifacts bare-handed and even slay those in the Spirit Realm!

A Profound Level Body Refining Technique that could ultimately allow one to slay a Spirit Realm Powerhouse... this just went to show how powerful the technique was.

’The first step: shatter every bone and sinew in the body, undergo a thousand hammerings and a hundred refinements, and break through to be reborn!’

The very first step of the Great Sun Glazed Golden Body was enough to make one shrink back in fear, not daring to cultivate it.

Shattering every bone and sinew and undergoing a thousand hammerings and a hundred refinements required enduring unimaginable agony. No one could cultivate it without great perseverance, great resolve, and great willpower.

Break first, then rebuild.

These four words were the essence of this technique.

Ning Jiang’s expression was indifferent. His bones and sinews were already severely damaged anyway. He immediately channeled his Postnatal Gang Qi to every inch of them throughout his body.

CRACK! POP!

As if popping beans, the sound of shattering bones and tearing sinews echoed from every part of his body.

In that moment, the immense pain was enough to make an Innate Realm expert faint on the spot. Even an Innate Limit Strong Person, with all their willpower, would probably scream in agony.

Yet Ning Jiang’s expression didn’t even twitch. Deep within his eyes, there was only the tranquility of a placid, ancient well.

’If I can’t even endure this much pain, then I’m destined to achieve nothing in this life.’

’In my past life, I was an unparalleled talent. In this one, how could I be content with mediocrity?’

’I can endure pain ten, even a hundred times more intense than this.’

WHOOSH.

As his bones and sinews shattered, Ning Jiang activated the Heaven-Devouring Demon Skill and began absorbing the energy from the Molten Rock Jade beneath him.

Within the Molten Rock Jade was a thousand years’ accumulation of Fire Poison.

As he absorbed it, a layer of bright red enveloped the surface of his skin. Even his hair turned as red as blood, and the temperature inside his body skyrocketed.

Absorbing the Fire Poison Power was tantamount to setting oneself on fire.

If an ordinary person dared to absorb Fire Poison, everything inside their body would be incinerated, leading to certain death.

But the Great Sun Glazed Golden Body did the opposite, using the Fire Poison to temper the body.

This method was just like Artifact Refining. During Artifact Refining, a weapon is placed in fire and repeatedly tempered to remove impurities.

At this moment, Ning Jiang’s body was like that weapon, undergoing a thousand hammerings and a hundred refinements with the power of the Fire Poison.

After the blood-red Fire Poison energy entered his body, it enveloped his bones and sinews, simultaneously tempering and slowly healing them.

Two hours later, his bones and sinews had recovered.

But this was far from over. It was only the first step.

The key to ”a thousand hammerings and a hundred refinements” lay in the two words, ”hundred refinements”!

Shattering his bones and sinews and then healing—this entire cycle was merely one refinement!

There were still ninety-nine more to go.

’Most people begin Body Refining from a young age, practicing both externally and internally. External training tempers the physical body to draw out its potential. Internal training involves consuming Treasure Medicines to increase the body’s strength, accumulating it step by step over the years.’

’I, on the other hand, lack that foundation. Compared to those Body Cultivators who started training as children, I’m more than ten years behind.’

’However, even though I started late, the pain I’m enduring from these thousand hammerings and hundred refinements is a hundred, even a thousand times greater than what others go through. The more extreme the Body Refining, the stronger the physique one forges.’

CRACKLE.

For the second time, Ning Jiang channeled his Postnatal Gang Qi and shattered every bone and sinew in his body.

He was reminded of the five matches against the Liu Family and Liu Jian, who had been so supremely confident in his own willpower.

Back then, Liu Jian had proudly declared that he had broken bones in his body a total of 187 times.

If Liu Jian were to see Ning Jiang’s current state, he would be scared stiff on the spot.

Liu Jian’s so-called ”broken bones” were actually just breaking a single bone somewhere in his body—an arm or a leg. How could that compare to Ning Jiang, who was shattering every bone and sinew at once?

Although Liu Jian’s Body Refining Technique was difficult, you could still find one person in ten who could endure it.

But as for an extreme method like Ning Jiang’s, you couldn’t find even one in ten thousand.

At the same time, the flesh and blood throughout Ning Jiang’s body were also being tempered.

The Fire Poison entering his body was like millions of sharp needles, tumbling and piercing through every inch of his flesh and blood with the force of a tidal wave. The pain was enough to drive a person mad on the spot.

This was the ”thousand hammerings” part of the ”thousand hammerings and a hundred refinements.”

It was like forging a Treasure Artifact, where a hammer repeatedly strikes the body of the artifact to beat out impurities, leaving only the essence.

One full circulation of the Fire Poison through his flesh and blood was one ”hammering.”

His flesh endured a thousand hammerings while his bones and sinews underwent a hundred refinements. The pain was enough to break a person, yet Ning Jiang seemed to feel nothing at all.

He may have been a being of flesh and blood, but his will was like iron. Even if the Fire Poison could incinerate his body, it could not shake his will.

One must endure the bitterest of hardships to rise above the rest.

A sword’s edge is sharpened through grinding; a plum blossom’s fragrance comes from the bitter cold.

Ning Jiang sat there, unmoving.

His body continuously underwent the thousand hammerings and a hundred refinements, and he completely lost track of time.

「One day passed.」

「Two days passed.」

「Three days passed.」

「Ten days passed.」

「Fifteen days passed.」

With each passing day, Ning Jiang’s aura grew stronger.

By the fifteenth day, a roaring sound began to emanate from within him—it was the sound of his blood surging, so powerful it was audible outside his body.

For his blood to surge so powerfully as to create an audible sound.

Such a phenomenon was rare even among Body Cultivators.

It was caused by exceptionally vigorous Blood Qi, brimming with vitality.

The next step would be for the Blood Qi to project out from the body and envelop it, boiling like a flame.

If one’s Blood Qi formed a rainbow one zhang high, they would be a Body Refining Grandmaster.

Among Sword Cultivators, this was equivalent to the realm of Heart-Sword Control. You couldn’t find even ten such Body Refining Grandmasters in the entire Cyan Cloud Country.

Besides his aura growing stronger, Ning Jiang’s appearance had also undergone a significant transformation.

Previously, Ning Jiang’s face was the pleasant, handsome type, but now, he was countless times more beautiful—impossibly handsome, with features as fine as exquisite jade.

This face was enough to make countless women’s hearts flutter.

His figure had also become taller and leaner, his proportions perfect and flawless, like the golden ratio.

’The Great Sun Glazed Golden Body... I’ve finally done it!’

Ning Jiang opened his eyes, and a sharp light flashed from them. It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck in the void, and the entire space brightened for an instant.

A thousand hammerings and a hundred refinements, breaking through to be reborn—fifteen days of hellish Body Refining had finally come to an end.

His eyes were pitch-black, like black jade—pure, flawless, deep, and tranquil.

He looked down at his skin.

His clothes had long since been reduced to ash by the high temperature of the Fire Poison. He was now completely naked. His skin was like a layer of ice—delicate, smooth, and so translucent that not a single flaw could be found.

Through his crystalline skin, one could even see the bones within, which looked like white jade, free of any dust or impurity.

Skin of ice, bones of jade.

The Entry-Level Realm of the Great Sun Glazed Golden Body should probably be called the Glazed Jade Body.

A body like glazed white jade.

Only after reaching Minor Achievement, when the jade bones transformed into golden bones, could it be called a Glazed Golden Body.

After reaching Great Success, when even the blood turned to gold, would one be worthy of the name Great Sun Glazed Golden Body.

He was currently only at the Entry-Level Realm.

However, even the Entry-Level Realm was enough for him to dominate the Postnatal Realm.

He circulated his Blood Qi slightly, and the blood in his body surged with a rumbling sound. Every blood vessel felt like a rushing river.

BOOM!

He threw a punch, and the air cracked. Every movement he made was filled with immense power.

Stretching his muscles and bones, he familiarized himself with his new body and nodded in satisfaction. With his physical body alone, he could now fight and kill Postnatal Realm Demon Beasts.

He took a new set of clothes out of his Storage Ring and was about to put them on.

Just then, his gaze swept across his chest, and a flicker of memory surfaced in his eyes.

On his chest was a faint scar that ran across his torso, a wound that had nearly torn his upper body in two.

Because he had successfully cultivated the Great Sun Glazed Golden Body, the scar had already faded significantly. He estimated that it would disappear completely once his physical body reached Minor Achievement.

”Ye Chenyu.”

Ning Jiang whispered her name as a graceful silhouette appeared in his mind.

The silhouette was dressed in robes whiter than snow, with a cold, icy temperament and a full head of silver hair like the brilliant galaxy in the Nine Heavens.

This young woman held an incredibly important place in his heart.

However, the Ning Jiang of this world had not seen Ye Chenyu in the six years since he turned ten.

’I wonder, will you come back this year?’