Chapter 73 – Fifth Layer of Body Tempering
Translator: Seventh Peril Editor: Anuvrat
Ye Zhong sat cross-legged in the pavilion surrounded by Spiritual Qi. He took a deep breath, and the dense Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth entered his lungs through his breath and started circulating throughout his body.
Obviously, this pavilion was the best cultivation spot in this courtyard. As the rich Spiritual Qi that was constantly flowing out from the spring water in front of it gathered here, providing the cultivators to cultivate as they pleased.
Even though Ye Zhong cultivated the Secret Art of Six Grave Swords, he did not need the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth. However, these things were always better than nothing, right?
With a flip of his hand, two Purple Wood Spirit Roots that emitted a strong herbal fragrance appeared on his palm. However, Ye Zhong did not refine them directly. Instead, he took out a jade box and placed them within it. He then placed them in the front, not far from him. He placed the back of his right hand on the palm of his left hand, forming a circle between the two, and the Secret Art of Six Grave Swords began to circulate within his body.
Along with the activation of the Secret Art of Six Grave Swords, Ye Zhong’s body had become the centre of a whirlwind, and the strands of Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth slowly coiled around his body. His hand gesture gently changed, and all of them were absorbed into his body.
As someone who was born a cripple, it was only a mere three months that Ye Zhong had been cultivating the Secret Art of Six Grave Swords to a certain level. Within these three months, Ye Zhong had reached heights that an ordinary person might not be able to reach even after several years of painstaking cultivation. How could he be displeased with such a speed of cultivation?
However, even if Ye Zhong was cultivating the Divine Secret Art of Ancient Body Tempering, such a speed of cultivation still caused some hidden injuries within Ye Zhong’s body.
Hence, before actually breaking through to the Fifth Layer of Body Tempering, what Ye Zhong needed to do now was to get rid of all these invisible injuries.
As Ye Zhong kept changing his hand gesture, streams of Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth were like the densest column of water, seeping into his body and cleansing every inch of his flesh and skin.
Time slowly passed by.
Wang Mo, who was cultivating in another pavilion, was stunned for a moment, because he noticed that the surrounding Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth in the courtyard was gushing like a gale, and gathering towards Ye Zhong’s cultivation spot. Wang Mo was dumbfounded by this scene and shook his head after a while. He did not know what his close friend was cultivating, but from the looks of it, he should be at a critical stage in his cultivation, right?
As he thought of this, Wang Mo stopped his cultivation. With one move, he landed right in front of Ye Zhong’s building. He stood with his hands behind his back. He would not let anyone disturb Ye Zhong during this critical time.
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In the attic, as the surrounding Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth washed over his body, a comfortable feeling spread throughout his body. Generally speaking, the cultivators of Nine Layers of Body Tempering Realm couldn’t keep the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth in their body, But Ye Zhong had already established the Heavenly Circuit of Spiritual Qi inside his body. And with it, although he was only manipulating these Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth to cleanse his flesh and skin, there were some purest parts of Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth remaining in his body. This might not be beneficial for his current cultivation level. However, in the future when he fought against the enemy or tried to break through to the Martial Innate Realm, it will be a great help to him.
“*Puff—*”
After a long while, Ye Zhong opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of black blood, but his whole body was brimming with energy and vitality. This mouthful of black blood was the hidden injuries due to his forceful cultivation method. Removing this blood would be of great benefit to his future cultivation.
At the same time, Ye Zhong felt as though he was about to break through into the Fifth Layer of Body Tempering – Pulse Opening Stage. It was an extremely subtle change, but he knew that he could start breaking through to the Fifth Layer of Body Tempering at this very moment!
“*Bang—*”
Ye Zhong clapped his hands, and the first piece of the Purple Wood Spirit Root jumped into his hand and was swallowed by him.
As the Purple Wood Spirit Root entered his mouth, it instantly turned into pure spiritual liquid and entered his body.
His hand seals began to change slowly, and as he did, the medicinal liquid began to merge into his body, causing his meridians to appear faintly on the surface of his body. An extremely mysterious fluctuation was also rippling quietly in his body.
“Just what is this Secret Art of Six Grave Swords? What is the Six-Destined person [1]?”
Even Ye Zhong could not tell what was going on with these mysterious fluctuations. However, he knew that these fluctuations would be of immense benefit to his Body Tempering.
Ye Zhong threw the other Purple Wood Spirit Root into his mouth, and with a few changes of his hand seal, the spirit liquid formed by the Purple Wood Spirit Root flowed into his body once again.
“*Thump— Thump— Thump—*”
His meridians, which were already stabilized during the Fourth Layer of Body Tempering stage, seemed to have been washed away by an invisible force. They swelled several times larger in an instant, and a sharp pain filled Ye Zhong’s entire body, causing his Qi and Blood to flow crazily.
“*Grit Teeth—*”
Ye Zhong gritted his teeth and endured the pain, but his hand seals kept changing. He knew that once he got through this, he would officially reach the Fifth Layer of Body Tempering.
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Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had passed. And within this half month, Wang Mo had gone from being calm at the beginning to become a bit worried at the end. Looking at the pavilion where the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth had condensed into form and could be seen with the naked eye at an unknown time, endless worry appeared in his eyes.
Although he guessed that Ye Zhong was at a critical point in his cultivation, was it really a good thing that he had cultivated for so long?
“*Snap—*”
Just as Wang Mo was about to go check it out, he suddenly heard a burst of sound coming from inside the pavilion. Wang Mo could not hold it in any longer and jumped into the attic.
In the attic, Ye Zhong opened his eyes and saw Wang Mo’s figure. He smiled and said, “Wang Mo, thank you so much for the past few days.”
“You succeeded?” Wang Mo couldn’t help but said as he looked at the dark bloodstains on the ground and Ye Zhong, whose aura seemed to get stronger and stronger.
“I’ve succeeded. I’m currently at the Fifth Layer of Body Tempering – Pulse Opening Stage, but this might not be enough. I can only temporarily stop here.” Ye Zhong shook his head and sighed.
When he was cultivating these past few days, he felt quite good. If he had sufficient cultivation resources, he should be able to break through to the Sixth Layer of Body Tempering.
However, the most troublesome aspect of the Secret Art of Six Grave Swords was revealed at this moment.
To break through to the Sixth Layer of Body Tempering, the item he needed was the Yin Yang Flower! The Yin Yang Flower was born at the place where the Yin and Yang Qi of Heaven and Earth intersected. It absorbed the essence of the sun, took the moonlight by night, grew a leaf every hundred years, and grew a flower every thousand years.
Ye Zhong was familiar with this item since he had once stolen a Yin Yang Flower in his previous life, but at that time, he paid a heavy price to get the Flower in his hands. And right now, he needed Yin Yang Flowers to break through to the Sixth Layer of Body Tempering. This made Ye Zhong a little depressed, as he wondered if the Spiritual Value that he had just plundered from Lu Fan would be enough.
“Fifth Layer… of Body Tempering!?” Ye Zhong sighed gloomily, while Wang Mo looked shocked. Even though he knew that his close friend had grown stronger recently. However, he did not expect himself to be this powerful. After half a month of closed-door cultivation, he had actually advanced to the Fifth Layer of Body Tempering! If the other Inner Disciples knew about this, who knew how many people would want to commit suicide? One had to know, whoever had reached this level, who hadn’t at least cultivated for several years of hard work?
Seeing Wang Mo’s expression, Ye Zhong smiled and said, “Alright, Wang Mo, you should have received the Secret Art of Innate Marrow Washing, right? That thing is the fundamental inheritance of the Innate Temple. As long as you cultivate it, I think with your current cultivation level, you can enter the Fourth Layer of Body Tempering in a month at most.”
Ye Zhong could see Wang Mo’s strength now. He had worked hard this past month, but the level of the Secret Art of Body Tempering he had previously cultivated in was too low, so the effect was not that great.
“The things have been delivered,” Wang Mo said as he took out the Inherited Golden Book and handed it to Ye Zhong, “I was waiting for your, so I didn’t start cultivating what was in the book. Besides, it seems that a few girls have come to see you recently, but I’ve rejected them all.”
“Girl?” Ye Zhong frowned, not sure what trouble he had gotten himself into. After he shook his head, he carefully looked at the Secret Art of Innate Marrow Washing for a moment. After confirming its cultivation method, he then threw the Inherited Golden Book to Wang Mo. Of course, Ye Zhong could not switch over to cultivate this Secret Art, but since he knew of its cultivation methods, he could use it to cover for the Secret Art of Six Grave Sword to a certain extent.
“What should we do next?” After receiving the Secret Art of Innate Marrow Washing, Wang Mo said.
“Of course, you have to go into closed-door cultivation. This place is not bad, cultivate properly here. After I finish cultivating the Spiritual Arts I obtained in the Spiritual Art Hall, I should be going out for a trip. You should take care of yourself.” Ye Zhong smiled. He had to cultivate the Empyrean Xingxiang Finger, and then he would have to look for the Yin Yang Flower. Thinking of this, Ye Zhong felt a slight headache.
Wang Mo nodded and retreated. Ye Zhong did not say anything more and took out the Secret Art of Empyrean Xingxiang Finger and began to study it carefully.
At the same time, in a cold and gloomy courtyard, a low voice suddenly rang out, “A mere Ye Zhong dares to act like this! He’s courting death! “
TL note(s):
[1] Updating translation: this “Six-Destined person” is the same as “six paths person” or “Daoist of six paths” — that was previously used in the old chapters. Likewise, “Six Grave Swords” is derived from “Six-Destined Grave Sword”.