He could once again rest his head on Luo Qingyu’s lap and sleep soundly.
Jiang Huai returned to the spectator seats, many gazes fixed upon him along the way. Upon seeing this, Luo Qingyu gently smoothed her skirt, and her fair, tender little hands lightly patted her thighs. Jiang Huai responded with a sound and collapsed, looking up at the sky.
What the heck, lying like this, he couldn’t see Luo Qingyu’s face, it was all covered by snow-white flesh enveloped in clothes.
“What did Eldest Brother Jiang Huai give her?”
“A soul cultivation method I found in a secret realm before,” Jiang Huai replied truthfully.
Luo Qingyu’s tone was casual. If her eyes weren’t so wary, it was probably because the junior sister from before wasn’t as good-looking as Wen Wanwan.
So Luo Qingyu let out an obedient “oh,” and her fair, tender little hands pinched Jiang Huai’s face again.
It wasn’t until the sun set in the west that today’s Inner Sect Competition was finally nearing its end. Jiang Huai finally awaited his second match.
This time, his opponent was the second senior brother of Desolate Sword Mountain, Chen Ke.
…
Desolate Sword Mountain was one of the major mountain gates of the Tian Xuan Sect, mainly consisting of sword cultivators. They also practiced the Heaven Profound Thirteen Swords. Zhao Shi Yi, whom Jiang Huai had encountered before, was also a disciple of Desolate Sword Mountain after entering the inner sect.
Among the younger disciples of the Tian Xuan Sect of this generation, Jiang Huai was not the one with the highest cultivation level. Before his cultivation was crippled, he was in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. However, his middle stage Foundation Establishment was different from others. Because his Foundation Establishment was a Heavenly Dao Golden Core, it required more than five times the spiritual qi of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators. Due to some other factors, his cultivation level was not the highest, but his strength was the strongest.
As for the disciples ranked in the top twenty of the Tian Xuan Sect’s inner sect, their cultivation levels were generally in the Foundation Establishment realm, mostly in the early stage, with some in the middle stage. The former number one cultivator of Desolate Sword Mountain, ranked second in the inner sect, was in the late stage of Foundation Establishment.
Jiang Huai stepped onto the Sword Discussion Platform and looked at the green-robed sword cultivator opposite him. He had a three-foot-long sword on his back and slowly drew it out.
“Desolate Sword Mountain, Chen Ke,” he said softly.
“Guanxue Mountain, Jiang Huai,” Jiang Huai nodded slightly but did not draw his sword, still standing quietly in place.
It was already dusk, and the setting sun in the sky was like blood.
A flock of white birds flew past.
“Why isn’t Senior Brother Jiang Huai drawing his sword?” Chen Ke asked, puzzled.
“I lent my sword to someone else. But it doesn’t matter, you can make your move,” Jiang Huai scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed.
The entire Tian Xuan Sect knew that in addition to obtaining Heavenly Dao spiritual qi in a secret realm and forming a Heavenly Dao Golden Core, Jiang Huai had also received the recognition of the Heavenly rank spirit sword [Yening] in the Desolate Valley Secret Realm. Yening was willing to recognize him as its master and serve him.
But Jiang Huai’s sword was not in his hand at this moment, so how was he going to conduct this sword discussion?
Chen Ke did not understand, but he did not say anything more. He just tightened his grip on the sword hilt and said in a deep voice, “Well, Senior Brother Jiang Huai, be careful.”
“Okay.”
The moment he spoke, his sword point arrived, and specks of cold light stabbed directly at Jiang Huai’s throat. However, Jiang Huai seemed to have anticipated it. The moment Chen Ke drew his sword, he slightly turned sideways, dodging the attack.
Chen Ke instantly changed his move, his sword edge tilting upwards and to the left. Jiang Huai slightly turned sideways, and the sword blade grazed his clothes as it passed.
Chen Ke was stunned for about half a breath. The next moment, he drew his sword again, but after only a dozen breaths, the hand holding the sword began to tremble slightly.
Because no matter how he swung his sword, Jiang Huai had predicted the landing point of his sword. Each time, he dodged perfectly, not missing by an inch. If he had been a moment slower, the sword edge would have cut through his body, causing a large amount of blood to flow.
Yet, his white robe remained unstained by even the slightest dust.
…
Chu Xianning sat calmly on the platform, looking at Jiang Huai, who was constantly dodging on the arena. The Sect Master soon cast a puzzled gaze at her face, but her eyes were clear and cold, seeming to show no intention of responding.
Because she also didn’t know when Jiang Huai had secretly practiced the Immaculate Golden Body.
The Immaculate Golden Body was a body cultivation method that required enduring extreme pain, continuously tempering one’s muscles, bones, and skin with the spiritual qi in the acupoints. The method of the Immaculate Golden Body had always existed and had not been lost, but very few people were truly willing to cultivate it.
Firstly, the cultivation stages of the Immaculate Golden Body required a large amount of spiritual qi, which would greatly hinder cultivation progress. Secondly, the amount of medicinal materials consumed was too much, making it not cost-effective. Thirdly, there was the pain during cultivation; very few people could endure it completely. Fourthly, and most importantly, the cultivation of the Immaculate Golden Body required sufficient talent. Every cultivator had forty-nine acupoints, but not all cultivators’ forty-nine acupoints were fully opened from birth. For example, Chu Xianning, who had extremely high talent, had only opened forty-five acupoints in total, while Jiang Huai himself had thirty-seven.
Normally, when Chu Xianning angered him, even a tap on his head with her hand would make him cry out in pain. So how did he manage to endure and cultivate the Immaculate Golden Body to this extent?
A stick of incense had already passed on the platform, but Chen Ke’s sword had still not touched Jiang Huai in the slightest. Chen Ke was a sword cultivator ranked eighth in the inner sect, and he had cultivated the Heaven Profound Thirteen Swords to the eleventh level. His sword techniques were treacherous, with countless variations. It was precisely because of this that the scene on the platform appeared so absurd.
Jiang Huai calculated the time and realized that the time for a stick of incense had also passed.
“I’m going to make a move now.”
Jiang Huai, who had only been diligently dodging sword moves, suddenly spoke.
Chen Ke on the opposite side froze, naturally focusing his attention and preparing himself. The next second, in his sight, Jiang Huai clenched his fist, and then… by the time he realized the fist had reached his chest, he had already been sent flying off the stage with a single punch.
So fast.
Even faster was that Jiang Huai seemed to have predicted this outcome. He immediately jumped down, took out two Healing Pills from his pocket, looked at Chen Ke, who was lying on the ground with his lips full of bloodstains, and stuffed the pills into his hand. “This… I didn’t use the Immaculate Golden Body much before, so I was a bit careless with my strength. How’s your injury? Why don’t you take some Healing Pills first?”
Chen Ke slowly sat up and was about to answer when he spat out a large mouthful of blood. Jiang Huai’s head felt a dull pain at this moment, so he quickly fed the Healing Pills to the other party’s mouth. Chen Ke trembled as he took the Healing Pills. Jiang Huai placed his hand on his pulse, sensing his body’s injuries. “It’s okay, it’s okay. After taking my Healing Pills and resting for a night, you should be fine. If you feel uncomfortable anywhere else, come find me at Guanxue Mountain, and I’ll prescribe you medicine.”
Chen Ke stared at Jiang Huai for a long time and finally replied with a bitter smile, “Thank you, Senior Brother Jiang Huai.”
“You’re welcome.” Jiang Huai helped him up, and the platform had already announced Jiang Huai’s victory.
The disciples below the stage erupted in an uproar, with continuous clamor. Jiang Huai confirmed that Chen Ke was fine and returned to Luo Qingyu’s side, waiting for the Inner Sect Competition to finally end. He held Luo Qingyu’s hand and returned to the courtyard. Chu Xianning had also returned. Judging from Chu Xianning’s expression, Jiang Huai knew she had something to say, so he went in front of her to make tea for her.
“When did you practice the Immaculate Golden Body?” Chu Xianning’s brow furrowed slightly.
“I practiced it a few years ago,” Jiang Huai replied obediently.
“Why did you practice this back then?”
Chu Xianning had been wondering why his cultivation progress had been so slow all these years. She had assumed he was being lazy, but she never liked to force others. If Jiang Huai wanted to be lazy, so be it. After all, he had no opponents in Moon Wave Continent in the Eastern Region. Unexpectedly, the reason for his slow cultivation progress was that he had also been secretly practicing the Immaculate Golden Body.
“Back then, I was flipping through the Scripture Pavilion and found the method for the Immaculate Golden Body. I found it very interesting, but I thought there was a problem with the prescription. It could be optimized for pain-free practice. So, I caught a few monkeys from the mountain and tested the medicine a few times, improved the medicinal ingredients for the Immaculate Golden Body, removed the drawback of extreme pain during practice, and also saved a few expensive spirit medicines, replacing them with cheaper ones.”
“What level have you cultivated your Immaculate Golden Body to?”
“Training it to the seventh level cost me thirty thousand spirit stones. I couldn’t afford it, so I put it aside for a while,” Jiang Huai scratched his head and answered truthfully.
The seventh level of the Immaculate Golden Body could withstand a direct blow from a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator even without any spiritual qi.
Chu Xianning was stunned. “No, how did your thirty-seven acupoints manage to cultivate to the seventh level?”
“I found a secret method for opening acupoints in ancient scrolls and opened all my acupoints,” Jiang Huai replied innocently.
To be precise, the method for opening acupoints was not something he found in ancient scrolls.
It was obtained from the system’s task [To give Master a foot massage as an act of filial piety] when he was a child.
Chu Xianning’s pupils contracted. She extended her fingertip and gently pressed it against his forehead, circulating spiritual qi throughout his body. She accurately perceived the perfection of all forty-nine acupoints in Jiang Huai’s body, which was an unprecedented event in the entire Eastern Region.
Jiang Huai naturally kept this information a secret. He knew the principle of “a tall tree catches the wind.” Moreover, when he joined the sect, he had thirty-seven acupoints. If people were to find out later that he had opened them to forty-nine through a secret method, who knew how many people would want to obtain this secret method from him, inevitably attracting covetous glances.
Chu Xianning’s eyes became very complex. She gazed at Jiang Huai silently for a long time.
Jiang Huai could only try his best to guess what Chu Xianning was thinking. Was she lamenting that his acupoints were all opened, but he couldn’t cultivate anymore? Or was she angry that he had kept this secret even from Chu Xianning?
Jiang Huai hesitated for a moment and said, “I also wanted to help Master open the remaining acupoints before, but I was afraid Master would beat me to death.”
Chu Xianning looked at him silently, not speaking.
Jiang Huai hesitated for a moment and mumbled softly, “Because opening acupoints for others… requires her to take off her clothes, and then I have to insert needles in her acupoints, and then use special massage techniques, apply specially prepared medicinal liquid all over her body, and then use spiritual qi to loosen the acupoints…”
Chu Xianning was silent for a moment, then turned her face away, “I don’t need it.”
She figured as much.
If such humiliation were to be inflicted by a disobedient disciple one day, she would indeed want to kill him with a sword.
ps: It’s truly the style of a father.
