Chapter 58: A Scroll of Mortal Transformation: Soaring Dragon Gate, Forging My Glorious and Supreme Bones
Chapter 58: Chapter 58: A Scroll of Mortal Transformation: Soaring Dragon Gate, Forging My Glorious and Supreme Bones
You hesitated to cultivate it?
Ji Xiu coughed dryly. He was suddenly reminded of a scene from his time at the Tiger and Leopard Hall.
So, he began, a little cautiously:
"Er, Master Duan, what’s our ’School’ called?"
"Was the Ancestral Master really that incredible? Then you..."
’I have to cultivate it, of course.’
’I’ve got the Primordial Daoist Talisman on my side. For any Wonderful Technique, as long as I’m willing to work hard and put in the effort, I can grind it all the way to the end.’
’A thousand wonderful techniques, ten thousand Divine Techniques!’
’As long as I can practice it and a progress bar appears, I can master it for Duan Chenzhou to see!’
But then he glanced at Duan Chenzhou’s empty sleeve.
Following his gut, Ji Xiu felt there were some things he really ought to ask.
’Otherwise, if I ran into one of the School’s enemies someday, my "kind and friendly" personality would have me trying to cozy up to them, exchanging pleasantries, and flashing a nonchalant, reserved smile. Wouldn’t that be a load of bullshit?’
’I should be hitting them with deadly poison, throwing lime powder in their eyes, and using hidden weapons...’
’I should be doing whatever it takes to put them down for the count and eliminate the problem for good. Better you die than me, as the saying goes.’
Noticing Ji Xiu’s gaze, a nostalgic look appeared in Duan Chenzhou’s eyes. After a moment of contemplation, he chuckled.
"Your Ancestral Master... no, that old bastard spent his life cheating, scamming, tricking, and robbing all sorts of things."
"Back when he was still around, his lingering prestige made our ’School’ quite famous in Jiangyin Prefecture."
"But now, it’s all just a castle in the sky, a fleeting illusion."
"The moment he went silent in the ’Corpse Release Tomb,’ the sky fell."
"If I hadn’t been smart enough to hide his only ’Secret Inheritance’ and run away early... Heh!"
There was a hint of melancholy in his voice.
"In short, the School is just an empty shell now, and power has been seized by someone I despise. You might meet him in the future. Technically, he’s your ’Senior Master,’ but..."
"A weak and incompetent coward like him, who compromises just to get by, is unworthy of learning the blade of my lineage."
Duan Chenzhou’s eyes glinted with disdain.
"Let’s not talk about him. Let’s talk about this *Mortal Transformation: Soaring Dragon Gate*."
"*Turtle and Snake Grand Foundation Stake* comes from the Foundation Establishment Secret Inheritance of a ’True Sect,’ which is why the book’s title is preceded by the words ’Secret Martial Prologue.’"
"And this technique..."
He paused.
"...is a Bone Tempering Technique from an ’Outer Dao’ power, located in the vast, boundless East Canghai, east of Jiangyin Prefecture."
"For the first three hundred years of the Great Xuan, it crushed all Outer Daos. But now, many Outer Dao powers have already infiltrated the State Mansions. Their attitude is acceptable for now, and a subtle balance has been formed."
"Aside from rebellious leaders among the Outer Daos, like the ’Central Yellow Sect,’ which is bent on overthrowing the Great Xuan and making the Human Immortal Martial Dao subservient to Divine Beings..."
"The others, like the Daoists and Arhats from powers such as the Immortals and the Pure Land..."
"Although they also intend to invade and infiltrate the Great Xuan, the ’Imperial Family’ has been unable to suppress them for years."
"Sometimes, even the guardians in the State Mansions or figures from the Northern Garrison Command won’t arrest or suppress them. They’ve long since been turning a blind eye."
"And this is just the situation here in Cangzhou. In other places, it’s probably even worse."
"The reasons I never cultivated this technique are, one, because the ’East Canghai’ and the ’Great Xuan Water Control Mansion,’ ’Jiangyin Prefecture,’ are actually very close. If I truly mastered it, it would be easy to attract unwanted attention. And two..."
"The price for cultivating this technique is too great, because it wasn’t designed for humans in the first place."
Duan Chenzhou’s expression was complex and hard to read.
"This technique is divided into four volumes."
"They correspond to ’Iron,’ ’Silver,’ and ’Golden’ Bone, and... the final ’Second Great Limit.’"
"But no matter what kind of Demon Fiend you are, reaching the Golden Bone stage with this technique is already the limit for a human body. An ordinary cultivator at the Mercury Blood Silver Marrow stage is no match for this technique at Great Success."
"It’s too heaven-defying."
’How heaven-defying?’
’Golden Bone can beat Mercury Blood Silver Marrow!’
’What does that even mean?’
’You have to understand, in the five hundred li of Anning County, even an Iron Bone Technique is treasured like a priceless heirloom!’
’Master Duan, you show me something this amazing and tell me I can’t cultivate it... ’
’But even if hell lies ahead, you’ve dangled the carrot this far. I have to bite!’
Ji Xiu’s eyes were filled with three words—’I must cultivate’—and nothing else.
Noticing the change in his prized disciple, the corners of Duan Chenzhou’s lips curled up.
’That’s right.’
’If you weren’t like this... ’
’...how could you live up to your master’s ever-rising expectations?’
In fact, although Duan Chenzhou appeared calm on the surface, from the moment Ji Xiu achieved ’Golden Muscle and Jade Veins’ and stood before him, he felt... there was hope for his lineage.
As long as it could be passed down, he no longer had to worry about that old bastard’s legacy dying with him.
Duan Chenzhou’s eyes narrowed, and a murderous light flickered within them, but it vanished in an instant when he met Ji Xiu’s expectant gaze. He smiled warmly.
"Good! You have spirit!"
"Worthy of being my disciple."
"Then..."
"Shall your master help you?"
"Or will you do it yourself?"
"Don’t worry, we’ll take it step by step. No rush, no rush at all."
"My Force is stable. I can guide your Cultivation Technique, assist you with a few good Pills, and add a Pain Relief Pill. You’re guaranteed to make rapid progress!"
’Huh?’
’Help me? How?’
Ji Xiu froze.
In the blink of an eye, he had taken the *Mortal Transformation: Soaring Dragon Gate* from Duan Chenzhou.
And when he opened the first volume...
His gaze froze.
[Advance the first volume of the Bone Tempering Technique "Mortal Transformation: Soaring Dragon Gate" — "Silver Carp Transformation"?]
[Advance Conditions: Obtain Mountain Spirit, Beast Blood, Treasure Pill, Large Pill... consume or apply externally, refine the medicinal power, and circulate it according to the Cultivation Technique. Use Force to cycle repeatedly, refining the blood and breaking the bones five times, until the Mortal Transformation is shed and you step through the Dragon Gate!]
[The Silver Carp is born of mortal flesh. Without being washed by the nirvana of fire, how can it forge the true form of a Dragon Bone?]
"Does the Tutor wish to advance the first volume of *Mortal Transformation: Soaring Dragon Gate*, the ’Silver Carp Transformation’?"
’B-break my bones and refine my blood five times?’
’Does... does that mean I have to break the bone I’m trying to refine?’
Ji Xiu’s expression changed in a flash, and his hands couldn’t help but tremble.
"Th-this..."
Duan Chenzhou’s smile dimmed slightly.
"You’re not going to practice it?"
"But I don’t blame you. It is, after all, too demanding."
"It’s fine. Your master has other Golden Bone Techniques, it’s just..."
He sighed.
"...they’re truly not as good as this Supreme Technique for the Water Race’s Dragon Shedding Species."
A vein bulged on Ji Xiu’s forehead as he hesitated.
"Is... is there really a Pain Relief Pill?"
’With the Primordial Daoist Talisman, I don’t have to worry about failing to learn the technique.’
’If it’s some kind of full-body anesthetic, then it might not be impossible...’
"Of course."
Duan Chenzhou smiled faintly and handed over a Pill that smelled of candied fruit, his tone serious.
"This is a treasure from my personal collection. When we begin, hold it in your mouth."
"When the time comes..."
"This technique will be mastered!"
Ji Xiu looked at this Supreme Technique of the Bone Tempering Realm, his fingers trembling.
’If I master this...’
’Won’t I be unrivaled below the Second Great Limit!?’
’I’ll risk it!’
"Advance the first volume of *Mortal Transformation: Soaring Dragon Gate*—Silver Carp Transformation?"
’Primordial Daoist Talisman.’
’Advance it for me!!’
...
「An hour later.」
[Mortal Transformation: Soaring Dragon Gate, First Volume — Silver Carp Transformation (1/5)]
Ji Xiu’s eyes were lifeless.
He was soaked in sweat from head to toe, bare-chested, and lying like a heap of mud inside a large, boiling bronze cauldron in Duan Chenzhou’s residence.
Even with his ’Golden Muscle and Jade Veins,’ the slabs of golden skin and strands of Jade Tendons now appeared quite dull.
Duan Chenzhou’s eyes were filled with horror, excitement, and shock as he continuously added all sorts of Bone Tempering Herbs and Mountain Treasures into the bronze cauldron.
At this moment, he had no intention of asking Ji Xiu for silver coins; he was footing the enormous bill himself.
At the same time, for the first time, he finally showed an expression other than indifference in front of Ji Xiu.
However... Ji Xiu was in no state to pay him any mind.
"Disciple, you... are truly the most peerless Body Refinement genius I have ever seen in my life!"
"No, you’re not a genius! This body of steel you have isn’t something a human can possess!"
Duan Chenzhou huffed and puffed, adding herbs with one hand while cranking up the fire with the other.
"Back in the day, it’s not that your master didn’t dare to practice it! I was just like you, ready to risk it all, and I gave it a try!"
"It’s just... I spent seven whole days and nights circulating my Mercury Blood and forging my bones, bit by bit, trying over and over, and it just didn’t work!"
"Thinking back on it now, it was all that old man’s fault."
"Your damn Ancestral Master was too heavy-handed! I’d never shed a tear in my life, but I was bawling like a baby in his hands..."
"After that, my expression never changed again."
"Thinking about it now, my technique is much better, ah."
Duan Chenzhou had a wistful expression on his face.
At the same time, when he looked at Ji Xiu, he couldn’t help but feel a thread of admiration.
"But even if you couldn’t have done it without my method."
"You... after just one tempering session, you actually completed the entire forging and blood-refining process of the Silver Carp Transformation. I was so carefully channeling Force to forge your Spinal Dragon, terrified I’d actually snap it, but I never expected..."
"Your very first time was such a success! And you even used these herbs to flush your spine, giving your bones some of the ’supreme hardness and sharpness’ Traits of an Iron Bone!"
"Even those Dragon Species would be no better, right?"
"No."
"In the next two days, I’ll take you into the mountains to hunt Great Demons and kill Spirit Monsters. We’ll extract all their Essence Blood and Treasure Materials, and add it all to you!"
"I want your future... to have infinite possibilities!"
"I want to show that cowardly Senior Master of yours..."
"...whose disciple is the ’future’!"
Under the moonlight, Duan Chenzhou laughed heartily.
At the same time, he raised his single arm, as if years of resentment had been swept away in a single day!
However, listening to his resounding words, Ji Xiu—despite the transformation of his muscles and bones—just shivered and trembled for a long time.
Only one sentence squeezed out from between his clenched teeth:
"Master..."
"You call a sugar ball a Pain Relief Pill??"
"HISS..."
As feeling gradually returned, along with muscles and bones that felt nearly twice as strong, only a single thought ran through Ji Xiu’s mind.
"I have to do this four more times?!"
"There really is no such thing as a free lunch when it comes to Divine Skills!"
(P.S. Two Chapters, 6,000 characters. The book is now at 160k characters and I’m planning to go premium at 210k. For Qidian’s current standards, that’s a pretty late premium release. This is to give back to my readers. I hope you’ll all keep up with the latest Chapters to help me get through the recommendation rounds, and please subscribe when it goes premium! qwq, asking for monthly tickets!)