Chapter 60: Body Tempering Perfection

Chapter 60: Chapter 60: Body Tempering Perfection

With a cast of the Recovery Technique, the withered weeds, not yet turned to ash, sprung back to life.

After repeating this cycle several times, Liu Chen felt his understanding of Spiritual Veins deepen. If the Withering Skill at Great Success gave him a direct method to destroy Spiritual Veins, then the Recovery Technique at Great Success was its perfect opposite.

As long as the Spiritual Veins were merely withered and not completely destroyed, Liu Chen now had a way to bring plants back from the dead.

For ordinary plants, just keeping them alive was perfectly fine. After all, they had no special properties; their survival was all that mattered.

But for Spirit Plants, this skill allowed Liu Chen to restore ninety percent of their pre-damage medicinal efficacy. A full recovery, however, would likely be very difficult.

To be precise, based on Liu Chen’s understanding of the Recovery Technique, even at the Perfection realm or beyond, it couldn’t fully restore a plant’s original potency. At best, it could only get infinitely close.

[Recovery Technique: Great Success, 100/5000]

’I finally have a second Skill at the Great Success realm. It’s a shame it’s a support-type, though.’

Liu Chen narrowed his eyes and resumed his cultivation. The Inner Sect Disciple trial was only two months away. The harder he worked now, the greater his chances of survival would be.

Time always flew by when he was busy. Before Liu Chen knew it, he was placing two food containers in front of Senior Brother Yang. The exquisitely packaged container was for Senior Brother Yang and the Grand Elder; the other, a plain-looking one, was to be sold.

After taking care of the two containers, Yang Haichen produced two empty ones—one just as exquisite, the other just as plain.

"Senior Brother Yang, does this container look a bit familiar?"

Liu Chen sized up the plain container before him. ’Why does this look so much like the container that was sold with the Spirit Stones yesterday?’

"I saw it at an Outer Sect Disciple’s stall. I suppose that senior brother didn’t need it. On second thought, I guess a True Disciple really wouldn’t need a container like this."

Yang Haichen was quite nonchalant. He admitted that when he first saw it, he thought his eyes were deceiving him. But upon closer inspection, he realized it was indeed the very container he had sold the day before.

"I see. Thank you for your trouble, Senior Brother Yang."

Liu Chen nodded, ready to leave immediately. If all went well, he could get in an extra half-hour of sword practice today.

"Junior Brother," Yang Haichen called out, "a certain senior brother was asking if you could prepare custom Spiritual Cuisine."

Yang Haichen spoke quickly. The person asking was a True Disciple, and he would rather not give a perfunctory answer to someone of that status.

"Not right now. Perhaps I can give it a try after a while."

Liu Chen shook his head. Had he not known about the upcoming Inner Sect Disciple trial, he would have definitely given it a shot. After all, his proficiency in his Spirit Chef Skill had been stagnant for a long time.

If someone were to provide the ingredients for him to cook, Liu Chen wouldn’t mind putting more effort into his Spirit Chef Skill. But not now. The Spirit Chef Skill was just a side activity. If anything went wrong during the Inner Sect Disciple trial, it would all be for naught.

"I’ll pass that along to him."

Yang Haichen nodded, a little disappointed himself. If Junior Brother Liu had agreed, he might have gotten to taste different kinds of Spiritual Cuisine, or even provide his own ingredients for a change of pace. But since Junior Brother Liu had refused, there was no point dwelling on it.

And so, the monotonous routine of cultivation began again.

「The fifth of the seventh month.」 Resting Technique and Body Protection Technique reached Minor Success. The former showed no significant changes, but for the latter, the Spiritual Power scales Liu Chen arranged himself grew tighter, consumed less Spiritual Power, and provided stronger defense.

The Cyan Lotus Demon-Slaying Sword also reached Minor Success. Strands of cyan Sword Qi wove together, repeatedly forming the ephemeral image of a lotus in the bamboo forest—a form adept at both offense and defense.

「The sixth of the seventh month.」 The Purification Technique reached Great Success. Liu Chen could now clearly see the flesh and blood within his own body, along with the impurities that lingered there.

After cleansing himself once, Liu Chen felt utterly refreshed.

What Liu Chen valued most about the Purification Technique was its ability to cleanse his body at will. Reaching Great Success further enhanced this effect; the technique could now even purge toxins along with impurities.

The only issue was its relatively slow speed. Liu Chen felt that once the Purification Technique reached Perfection, it would begin to affect the realm of Spiritual Power itself. At a unique, personalized level, it should even be able to purify the variegated parts of his Spiritual Power and remove other negative influences.

Whether this was possible, Liu Chen wasn’t sure, but it was certainly a goal worth striving for.

「The seventh of the seventh month.」 It was a special day. Liu Chen’s Artifact Manipulation Technique and Lamp Burning Technique both reached Great Success. The former allowed him to control objects with greater precision while consuming far less Spiritual Power.

The latter, meanwhile, had completely transcended the concept of a "lamp." In Liu Chen’s eyes, every stalk of Cyan Bamboo and every weed had become flammable material, needing only a tiny spark to ignite.

This included his two cultivating junior sisters, though the effect on them wouldn’t be as potent. Perhaps only after the Lamp Burning Technique reached Perfection, or even his own unique mastery of it, could he truly treat a Cultivator as a lamp to be lit.

Additionally, his Flying Flower Skill reached Minor Success. The power and trajectory of the bamboo leaves became far more unpredictable, and he could now control up to twenty leaves with a single cast.

His cultivation continued as usual for the next few days, but with no new breakthroughs in his Skills.

「Until the afternoon of the ninth of the seventh month.」 Liu Chen’s Sword Control Technique reached Great Success. The Swordsmanship he executed through his controlled Bamboo Sword now possessed seventy percent of the power of his personal strikes.

「Nightfall descended.」 A hush fell over the bamboo forest.

"Come to Liu Chen’s Bamboo Garden."

Inside their bamboo house, Ji Suyao and Ye Linglong, who were about to fall asleep, heard the telepathic message. Ye Linglong shot up instantly. ’That’s Master’s voice.’

Ji Suyao, who had been on the verge of sleep, was instantly wide awake. The two exchanged a glance and scrambled toward Liu Chen’s Bamboo Garden.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, they saw Mo Xuan and Bai Qiulan standing there silently. Following their gaze, Ye Linglong and Ji Suyao saw Liu Chen, who was enveloped by the phantoms of twelve golden bamboo leaves.

The sharp glint of the golden leaves was gradually fading, making them appear more plain and ancient, just like the ordinary leaves scattered throughout the forest. If not for the Spiritual Power emanating from them, they would be indistinguishable from the real leaves nearby.

Their eyes widened in disbelief. This was a sign that his Body Tempering was approaching the Perfection realm!

"Watch closely. This will be beneficial for your own Body Tempering in the future."

Bai Qiulan turned and explained to them. Ji Suyao and Ye Linglong exchanged a look as their suspicion solidified into a shocking reality. ’How long has it been since Senior Brother reached Body Tempering Great Success?’

Their thoughts did nothing to affect Liu Chen’s progress. As the last trace of gold faded away, the twelve phantom leaves became utterly unremarkable. A faint wisp of purple then coiled around them, adding to their ancient, simple appearance.

The surrounding Spiritual Power grew turbulent. Mo Xuan simply waved his hand, calming the disturbance and restoring the back mountain’s original tranquility.

[Purple Bamboo Scripture Body Tempering Chapter: Perfection, 0/10000]

Liu Chen slowly opened his eyes, feeling a sense of comfort spread through his entire body. Previously, when his training wasn’t yet at the Perfection realm, Body Tempering always left some lingering side effects. Now, however, there was only a pleasant sensation.

Absorbing Spiritual Qi felt as natural as breathing, an inborn instinct.