Chapter 68 - 66: Night Ambush, Aimed Directly at Jiang Hao

Chapter 68: Chapter 66: Night Ambush, Aimed Directly at Jiang Hao

"AHHH!"

Upon seeing the scene amidst the ruins, many young women from Qin City instinctively covered their eyes, screaming continuously with heavily flushed faces. Even the young men were taken aback by the sight, completely dumbstruck.

Amidst the rubble, Jiang Hao sat cross-legged inside a large wooden tub. His upper body was bare, radiating an endless, terrifyingly powerful aura.

Only now did everyone realize that Jiang Hao had indeed been cultivating for the past three days. However, he had not been in seclusion to advance his cultivation level, but rather to temper his physique. He was practicing Body Refining.

The wooden tub was specially made for medicinal baths by the Qin Family, and it had been filled with a massive amount of medicinal liquid personally formulated for him by Qin Shiming. By this point, however, the medicinal efficacy within the tub had long since dissipated, completely absorbed by Jiang Hao’s body. All that remained was a tub full of the impurities expelled from his system.

"That power just now... could that be Brother Qin’s physical strength?"

"To cause such widespread destruction with just physical strength alone—what level has his Physical Realm reached?"

The numerous young men were utterly astounded. That burst of power had just swept in all directions, directly obliterating countless ancient, broken walls. The sheer ferocity of that strength was bone-chilling.

"To be able to project his physical strength outward... Could Brother Qin have already cultivated the Qin Family’s Secret Technique to the Twelfth Heaven?"

Rumor had it that once the Qin Family’s Body Refining Technique reached the Twelfth Heaven, a cultivator could project their physical strength externally—an utterly terrifying feat. And upon reaching the Twenty-Fourth Heaven, it was said one could go toe-to-toe with a Spirit Transformation Realm Cultivator.

What was even more dreadful was that the Qin Family’s Secret Technique had a total of one hundred and eight heavens, yet no one had ever cultivated it to full mastery. Therefore, nobody truly knew just how terrifying a Qin Family Body Cultivator would be at the pinnacle of this technique. Throughout generations of the Qin Family’s ancestors, the highest anyone had ever reached was the Seventy-Second Heaven. Yet, even so, legend had it that the ancestor who achieved a Physical Realm of the Seventy-Second Heaven was an existence with heaven-defying means, capable of scaling the skies and plumbing the depths of the earth, single-handedly dominating an entire era.

While many of the young men were staring in shock, Qin Ye and a few others felt their hearts racing, their eyes filled with shock that had reached the absolute limit.

"His skin is as robust as iron, and his physique has returned to a state of natural perfection. He’s not bulky, yet he gives off a texture of pure steel, appearing entirely invulnerable to blades and spears. The secret power drifting within his body is as tranquil as a calm lake, yet capable of erupting like a flash flood. This is...?"

"This isn’t the Twelfth Heaven of the body... This is... the Body Refining Twenty-Fourth Heaven!"

"What did you say? The Twenty-Fourth Heaven? How is that possible?"

"Impossible! Qin Ye, are you seeing things? How could he have reached the Twenty-Fourth Heaven?"

"That’s right, Young Master Qin Ye! As far as I know, Brother Qin was only at the Seventh Heaven of Body Refining three years ago. It’s only been three short years. How could he possibly be at the Twenty-Fourth Heaven?"

"It’s impossible. This is absolutely impossible."

"A Physical Realm at the Twenty-Fourth Heaven... doesn’t that mean Brother Qin’s physical body has already reached minor mastery?"

"Good heavens, how old is Brother Qin? He’s at least three or four years younger than me, isn’t he? How could he possibly be at the Twenty-Fourth Heaven?"

In an instant, the entire team of Qin City geniuses erupted into an uproar.

However, Qin Ye spoke with absolute certainty, "That’s right, I wouldn’t misjudge this. The Eight Clans Elders are at the Body Refining Twenty-Fourth Heaven, and this is exactly what a Twenty-Fourth Heaven physique looks like."

BOOM!

The moment those words were spoken, everyone felt as if they had been struck by lightning. The direct descendants of the Qin Family, in particular, stood frozen like statues.

The Twenty-Fourth Heaven! To cultivate one’s body to this realm in a mere three years was pure fantasy. It was utterly terrifying—so dreadful that they simply could not accept it.

Just at this moment, Qin Xiangyuan and Qin Xiangying flew over through the air.

When the two sisters saw Jiang Hao sitting bare-chested in the wooden tub, they both instinctively averted their gazes, their cheeks flushing a deep crimson. Jiang Hao naturally noticed the strange looks everyone was giving him. Coming to his senses, he immediately leaped into the air, donning his robes with lightning speed.

In a mere flash, the figure from the wooden tub was once again clad in flowing white robes, looking like an Exiled Immortal descending to the mortal realm.

Only then did Qin Xiangyuan land beside Jiang Hao, layers of pleasant surprise rippling in her beautiful eyes.

"Brother Qin Fan, have you reached the Body Refining Twenty-Fourth Heaven?"

From Qin Xiangyuan’s tone, it was not difficult to hear the boundless shock and astonishment, though it was overshadowed by adoration and joy. Facing her inquiry, Jiang Hao gave a slight nod.

However, this single nod directly caused a magnitude-twelve volcanic eruption in everyone’s inner worlds.

"Good heavens, it’s actually true!" many people exclaimed out loud.

Even Qin Xiangying couldn’t help but walk toward Jiang Hao, calling out "Brother Qin Fan" for the first time in her life.

"Brother Qin Fan, did you really cultivate the Qin Family’s Secret Technique to the Twenty-Fourth Heaven?" Qin Xiangying’s small mouth had fallen open into an "O" shape, her beautiful eyes filled with endless, towering waves of shock. "My goodness, if Father and those clan elders and Elders were to find out, wouldn’t their jaws hit the floor?

"The Body Refining Twenty-Fourth Heaven before even reaching twenty years old?"

Even Qin Xiangying knew exactly what reaching the Body Refining Twenty-Fourth Heaven at this age meant. If those ancient monsters of the Qin Family saw this, they would probably leap right out of their coffins and live for a few more decades just to witness it.

Looking at the shock on everyone’s faces, Jiang Hao, long accustomed to such gazes, felt neither joy nor sorrow.

"Everyone, the three days are up. It is time to continue our journey. If we delay any further, I am afraid we won’t make it in time."

Having spoken, Jiang Hao exchanged a glance with Qin Xiangyuan and immediately led everyone deeper into the ancient ruins once again.

It had to be said that everyone had underestimated the vastness of these ancient ruins. They had flown almost non-stop for a month, yet they had still not reached the innermost depths. Seeing this, the crowd had no choice but to hurry and keep up. However, the way each of them looked at Jiang Hao had undergone a complete 180-degree shift.

"Freak... he’s a total freak."

"Is Brother Qin really human? Why do I feel like he’s becoming more and more of a monster?"

"What do you mean ’like’? He is a monster! A Tier Two Eighth Grade Alchemy Master at his age, and at the Body Refining Twenty-Fourth Heaven—it simply defies the laws of heaven!"

"If I had even half of Brother Qin’s talent and strength, why would I worry about surviving in these ancient ruins?"

"Having Young Master Qin as our leader... I am thoroughly convinced."

It was obvious that the current Jiang Hao had invisibly won over this group of favored geniuses and prodigies. There were even some female prodigies from Qin City whose gazes toward the white-robed youth underwent a subtle change—one of deep admiration and infatuation.

However, the moment these female prodigies revealed their inner thoughts, the male cultivators beside them swiftly burst their bubbles.

"Stop your wishful thinking. A little swan like you wants a bite of that prime meat? An Exiled Immortal like Brother Qin is only worthy of a chosen daughter of heaven like Fairy Qin."

"What’s wrong with daydreaming? It’s not like I’m eating your meat."

"Hmph."

Time slowly passed. In the blink of an eye, another two months flew by.

Although Jiang Hao and the others still hadn’t reached the heart of the ancient ruins, as they ventured deeper, the surrounding environment began to undergo astonishing changes. Along the way, vast stretches of extremely ancient, broken walls and ruins began to appear, so numerous they could not be counted.

"These should be the remains of ancient cities. I just wonder how many eras they have weathered."

"Judging from the ancient aura they exude, they have a history of at least several hundred thousand years, perhaps even longer."

"Just what kind of ancient ruins are these? Does anyone know?"

"According to ancient records, this appears to be an Ancient Dynasty that was wiped out in the endless annals of time. Sects once stood in great numbers here, and ancient clans entrenched themselves throughout the land, leaving behind countless inheritance sites."

"GASP! An Ancient Dynasty? A primeval dynasty lost in a forgotten corner of the world?"

"To be precise, it should be the ruins of an Ancient Dynasty. It is unknown how these kinds of ancient ruins were formed, but they are innumerable across the entire Celestial Martial Continent. And they all share one common characteristic."

"What characteristic?"

"For some unknown reason, all the living beings within these ancient ruins seem to have simply vanished. Furthermore, their departure appeared extremely hasty—they didn’t even have time to take away many of their inheritances and treasures."

No wonder the interior was unimaginably vast. The word ’Dynasty’ alone guaranteed the boundless scope of these ruins.

As Jiang Hao and the group pressed deeper, they eventually arrived atop a set of ruins that were massive beyond imagination. Wherever they looked, there was only rubble. These ruins did not appear to have collapsed naturally; instead, it looked as though they had suffered a devastating, localized strike. This was not hard to deduce from the shocking sword marks etched into the stone.

"Everyone, sit and cultivate here for three days. Three days from now, we will continue onward."

After briefly scanning the surroundings and confirming there was no danger, Qin Xiangyuan ordered them to rest where they stood. Jiang Hao, naturally, also sat down cross-legged to meditate.

With two months having flown by, everyone’s cultivation base had advanced considerably once again. Qin Ye had even broken through to the Peak of Unity Realm, and everyone else had achieved extraordinary breakthroughs as well.

The only exception was Jiang Hao. In the three months since entering the ancient ruins, Jiang Hao’s cultivation base had long ago reached the Peak of Unity Realm, yet he had held back on breaking through. It wasn’t that Jiang Hao couldn’t break through, but as everyone could tell, he was actively suppressing his advancement to frantically unearth his own limits.

In truth, everyone would desperately suppress their cultivation before breaking through to Spirit Transformation, aiming to stimulate as much of their latent potential as possible. However, not everyone could suppress it for so long. Especially in an environment with such abundant Spiritual Qi, many were forced to break through once they hit their personal limits.

Yet Jiang Hao not only suppressed his cultivation base to a dead halt, but he had also spent the past three months frantically refining his body, going through tub after tub of medicinal baths.

Although there were already quite a few favored prodigies in the crowd who had stepped into the Peak of Unity Realm, their absolute certainty regarding Jiang Hao’s strength remained miraculously undisputed. Jiang Hao was the strongest combatant in this lineup apart from Qin Xiangyuan. Reaching the Twenty Layers of Heaven in Body Refining was no laughing matter. Based on his Physical Realm alone, the white-robed youth stood practically invincible among his peers. Not to mention, he also possessed the cultivation base of the Peak of Unity Realm.

Time slowly passed. Two days went by in the blink of an eye.

Late that night, above the boundless ancient ruins, amidst the pitch-black, broken walls where one couldn’t even see their own fingers, a dark shadow silently crept toward the resting place of Jiang Hao and the others.

It was a phantom-like silhouette, moving at a speed that left one utterly speechless. The pitch-black night seemed to have no effect on this figure. He swiftly sneaked toward the dead-silent team of geniuses. His target was exceptionally clear, heading straight for Jiang Hao, who was sitting cross-legged in meditation atop a section of rubble.

Meanwhile, not far away in the dark of the night, countless figures wielding sharp swords that gleamed with a cold light hid silently. They stared fixedly at the unfolding scene, their hearts in their throats.