Chapter 61: Robust Bones and a Rebirth, an Umbrella for Two, the Tiger’s Mountain Hunt
Chapter 61: Chapter 61: Robust Bones and a Rebirth, an Umbrella for Two, the Tiger’s Mountain Hunt
Under the night sky, moonlight shone down in a brilliant column.
SPLASH!
Ji Xiu leaped from the scalding, boiling water—a concoction of deer antler, Immortal Rhizome Grass, Mountain Wild Leopard Python Essence Blood, and other ingredients designed for Bone Marrow Tempering.
His skin, brushed by the cold wind, was flushed a deep red.
’Silver Carp Transformation...’
He was comprehending his Bone Tempering Technique, Mortal Transformation: Soaring Dragon Gate.
He suddenly felt as if his body...
...was shedding heavy shackles, breaking its fetters.
He truly felt like one of the trillions of Spirit Silver Carp in the vast rivers and seas, striving with all its might, desperate to leap over the Dragon Gate, shed its Mortal Transformation, and be reborn.
With each successive reforging.
Even his Mercury Blood Tendons, which he had tempered to their absolute limit back in the Bone Marrow Refining Realm.
...had begun to evolve now that they were supported by this brand-new skeleton.
They were constantly undergoing their own transformation.
As the saying goes, tendons and blood are born from the bone!
A Martial Artist who only nourishes their blood and tempers their tendons can merely reach the limits of a mortal.
But once one begins to refine the blood and temper the bones,
one’s own strength and physique will continuously improve, reaching an Extraordinary level.
Once your force penetrates the marrow, and you constantly refine and replace your blood until your entire skeleton is tempered to the color of Iron Bone, with blood seeping into the very marrow...
...you can rampage like a ferocious beast.
Even if you run until you’ve completely exhausted your Qi, Blood, and force—HUFF... PUFF...—as long as you’re still breathing and circulating your Bone Tempering Technique...
...you can generate new Qi Force from your Blood Marrow, which then courses through your meridians, creating a sort of cycle!
’Master Duan said the four volumes of *Mortal Transformation: Soaring Dragon Gate* correspond to Iron, Silver, and Golden Bone, as well as the Mercury Blood Silver Marrow realm.’
’But I asked Senior Brother Lu and the Bone Tempering Tributor at the Fire Kiln.’
’I’ve discovered that ordinary Bone Tempering Techniques—whether for Iron Bone, Silver Bone, or even the Golden Bone Refining Method you rarely hear about in Anning County...’
’...all require you to master three steps—Spinal Dragon, Force Penetrating the Marrow, and Blade-and-Spear Imperviousness—before you can even start tempering your bones bit by bit. Otherwise, your skeleton can’t handle the strain and would just snap.’
’But with *Silver Carp Transformation*’s method of breaking a section of bone to refine it, then forcibly flushing it with potent medicine...’
’...I bet you can achieve Iron Bone just by finishing the first volume.’
’If the first volume is this intense, I can only imagine what the later *Fish Dragon Transformation*, *True Flood Dragon Transformation*, and *Dragon Gate Jump* are like...’
The more Ji Xiu thought about it, the more his heart surged with excitement and motivation. Even the agony of each "Bone Refining, Medicine-Continued Rebirth" session didn’t seem so bad anymore.
Before, he had practiced his saber and stances to avoid being bullied, to turn his life around. He was like a drowning man clinging to a rope, forced to try anything and everything to survive.
’But I’m so strong now... Isn’t it time I made a name for myself? Time for the world to know of ’the awe-inspiring Master Ji’?’
’First secure a living, then establish a name!’
’On the streets of the Fire Kiln district, who won’t know the name of Master Ji!’
Ji Xiu thought to himself gleefully, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction.
He loved this feeling of gradual, constant improvement.
’When I, Ji the Blade Deity of Ten Li Hill, achieve Great Success and emerge from my seclusion...’
’Dragon Heads, Hall Masters... they’ll all have to bow before me!’
’I feel like not even an expert at the Bone Marrow Level could beat me now.’
’This Bone Spirit Soup makes my whole body burn, like knives are scraping against my skin, but I have to admit, the effects are incredible.’
’I just have to flex, and an endless stream of force surges from my Spinal Dragon. It’s nothing like the Bone Marrow Refining Realm, where you have to stuff yourself with blood-rich food and Supplement Pills, huffing and puffing just to refine a bit of force, only to have to start all over again once it’s gone!’
’But for some reason... this boiling soup, this itchy, flesh-slicing sensation... why does it feel so much like Old Huang’s medicinal baths?’
Gazing at the bronze cauldron that was stewing and refining him like a piece of meat, Ji Xiu felt a flicker of doubt, but he quickly pushed it to the back of his mind.
’Ah, whatever. Maybe all medicinal baths are like this.’
He shrugged it off with a carefree smile.
Under the moonlight, the youth’s tendons were strong and his bones were sturdy. His Spinal Dragon, the pillar of his excellent frame, stood tall and straight along his spine, like a true flood dragon.
When ordinary people perform Bone Tempering and circulate their Qi and Blood, it often leads to gnarled muscles, a burly, beast-like build, a fierce expression, and rough, calloused skin.
But as Duan Chenzhou observed him closely, he saw that the youth’s skin was as lustrous as pearled jade—delicate and smooth, looking as if it would break at the slightest touch.
And yet...
...if a real fight broke out, even those bone-refining experts who could swell their bodies to ten feet tall, becoming like minor giants, would be nothing but useless, fancy-looking spears before his disciple, knocked out with a single punch.
This was true Perfect Attainment.
Why was it that the young masters and ladies of the Jiangyin Thirty-Six Professions grew more elegant and graceful after practicing the martial arts, showing no signs of physical distortion?
And yet, once they stepped into the arena, even a woman with a delicate frame could leap into action and transform into a ferocious beast, capable of uprooting a weeping willow with ease?
It was because the gap in their Cultivation Techniques and refinement methods was simply immense.
An ordinary Bone Tempering Technique allowed one to absorb, at most, thirty percent of the essence from a Great Pill or Treasure Medicine. The rest would leak into the Flesh, Bone, Skin, and Membrane, distributing unevenly and altering the body’s contours.
While not necessarily harmful, this process lacked the true flavor of the Human Immortal Martial Dao—unlocking the body’s Secret Treasure without losing one’s original form.
Legend said that a true Human Immortal, one who had broken through the body’s Nine Great Limits, could bind a great dragon and hold up the heavens with a single hand, despite their ordinary seven-foot frame. They could shatter the divine might of the Immortals’ Law of Heaven and Earth. It was utterly terrifying!
Of course, those tales were more myth than history. It was fine to read them, but one shouldn’t take them too seriously.
Still, cultivating true bones of gold and jade—achieving Blood-Melting Gold—was incredibly difficult.
But it was also a fact that such bones were vastly superior to those of mere silver and iron!
’But then again,’ Duan Chenzhou thought, ’I’m broke. I really can’t afford to raise another genius.’
’If I could, I wouldn’t have had to use that *Silver Bone Technique* I... *borrowed*... to get five hundred taels from that Lu Yu kid.’
’Fortunately, with this five-hundred-li stretch of the Mountain Dao right here, we can live off the land.’
’Back at the Thirteenth Pier in Jiangyin Prefecture, I spent plenty of time treading the waves to catch rare fish. I’d often "accidentally" wander into fishing grounds claimed by other people.’
’But after a bit of... "reasoning"... and combining what they "kindly" gave me with what I took by force, I could comfortably fund my own Cultivation. What can I say? My own master was unreliable, so I had to fend for myself.’
’In comparison, I, Duan Chenzhou, am far too competent a master.’
Duan Chenzhou stroked his chin, lost in thought, and sighed to himself.
Because he himself had been caught in the rain!
That was why he had to hold an umbrella for his good disciple. He’d show that old coot—who was probably six feet under by now—to open his damn eyes and see how he, Duan Chenzhou, taught a disciple!
"Good disciple, get dressed. You’re coming with me!"
"Go?"
Ji Xiu was completely baffled.
"Master, where are we going in the middle of the night?"
Duan Chenzhou’s expression was calm as he uttered two words:
"Mountain Hunting."
"The ingredients that Sword Instructor from Anning County gave you were a bit subpar."
"If you can be nourished by the Essence Blood of beasts that have gained intelligence and become spirits, your progress in tempering bone with blood will be even faster!"
Er...
Ji Xiu was already prepared for a mountain hunt; Duan Chenzhou had mentioned it before.
But...
He understood the reasoning, yet the question remained: why go into the mountains in the dead of night?
The deeper one went into the five-hundred-li Mountain Dao, the colder and more treacherous it became, filled with disorienting mists and dangers. Wasn’t this move a little reckless...
"I’ve never been to the Mountain Dao, but I’ve read in books that all sorts of beasts come out to forage under the moonlight. Even ordinary Hunters and Martial Artists wouldn’t dare to run amok at night."
"But with your master here..."
"...doesn’t that just make the mountain at night the perfect hunting ground!?"
Duan Chenzhou patted his Crescent Saber, his face looking solemn and proud under the moonlight.
Ji Xiu’s eyes lit up.
’He’s right...’
’That makes perfect sense!’
But why did he still feel like something was a little off?