Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Seeding a Lotus with Blood, the Heaven-Devouring Demon Lotus

The cave was spacious, bathed in the soft glow of Moonstones on all sides.

Ning Jiang sat cross-legged upon a meditation cushion, his white hair hanging low, looking like an ancient Buddha or a venerable old monk.

He had driven out twelve people with an array, leaving only Zhang Yao, Yan Shuangying, and two other men and one woman.

"Go ahead and pick one of these Martial Techniques for yourselves."

In front of Ning Jiang were several Martial Technique manuals, all left behind by the cave’s master.

He picked one up for himself. It wasn’t a Martial Technique, but a journal.

It chronicled the life of the cave’s master.

He had been a Peak Innate Strong Person.

The gist of it was that life was finite. His time was up, and he couldn’t break through the barrier of life and death, so he left some of his belongings in the cave before he died.

Even at the Peak of Innate, one’s lifespan was a mere two hundred years.

Only by breaking through to the Spirit Realm could one’s life extend to five hundred years.

A Spirit Realm Powerhouse’s body would transform into a Spirit Body. In a sense, they were no longer mortals.

’A person’s life is but a single season, like the autumn grass. Everyone eventually dies. The path of Martial Arts is about shattering the boundary between life and death, defying the heavens to change one’s fate. From time immemorial, how many have chased after immortality?’

Immortality. A heavy word.

Even a Venerable was not truly immortal.

"The back of this journal contains some insights on arrays and alchemy. You should take a look."

Ning Jiang handed the journal to Yan Shuangying.

Yan Shuangying’s face lit up. This kind of recorded experience and insight was beyond precious.

Normally, such insights were only passed down from a master to their Direct Disciple.

And even when teaching a Direct Disciple, a master would never teach everything. They always taught a little and held a little back.

By obtaining these insights, Yan Shuangying was essentially inheriting the legacy of this Peak Innate Strong Person.

"Thank you, Young Master Ning."

Yan Shuangying smiled gracefully, her face blossoming like a flower. These insights were far more valuable than any Martial Technique. Anyone else would have treated them like a priceless treasure. Only someone like Ning Jiang could be so completely unfazed.

"We’ve chosen as well," the others said. They had each selected a Martial Technique.

"Young Master Ning, you didn’t use the array to drive us out. Instead, you let us choose Martial Techniques. For that, we must thank you. However, we don’t wish to get involved in the feud between you and Gao Jin’s group," one of them said.

"I understand what you mean. You’re afraid that if you stay here too long, Gao Jin and his group will come to hate you as well. That’s understandable. You can go," Ning Jiang said, waving his hand dismissively.

"Young Master Ning is a reasonable man. We admire that. We’ll take our leave now." The two men and the woman then walked out.

Their actions were clever; they didn’t offend either party.

Otherwise, if they had stayed any longer, Gao Jin’s group outside would likely have assumed they were colluding with Ning Jiang, which would inevitably lead to trouble.

"Zhang Yao, you’re not leaving?" Ning Jiang asked, looking at the spirited woman.

"I’m not afraid. A martial artist will always end up offending someone. If you’re always looking over your shoulder, worrying about every little thing, how can you ever achieve anything? What Gao Jin and his group did this time was wrong. They went back on their word and can’t be trusted. Those are the actions of petty villains, and I’d be ashamed to be associated with them," Zhang Yao said disdainfully.

A look of surprise crossed Ning Jiang’s eyes. "You certainly have a mind of your own. No wonder a woman like you would choose to practice such a fierce and powerful Fist Technique. You’re very impressive. You can distinguish right from wrong and understand true righteousness."

He was starting to see Zhang Yao in a new light. Her words just now showed her independent character, her valuable integrity, and her ability to see through to the heart of the matter.

"I practice martial arts to despise evil like a mortal enemy. My Fist Technique is upright and honorable. I would rather die than associate with petty villains," Zhang Yao declared resolutely.

"Hahahaha! Well said! ’Rather die than associate with petty villains.’ Although your Fist Technique is far from reaching Great Success, your character is outstanding and your heart is firm. As long as you persevere, you will surely have a place in the Cyan Cloud Country in the future."

Ning Jiang looked at Zhang Yao with even greater appreciation. Though her current strength was weak, she already possessed a powerful and unshakeable heart.

A strong spirit is what makes a true expert.

"You’re very impressive. I like your style. So, I’ll give you a small opportunity. This is a Bodhi Pill I refined. For seven days, it can increase a person’s comprehension fivefold. I can see you’re just one step away from the Innate Realm. Try this Bodhi Pill."

Ning Jiang took out a Bodhi Pill. He had refined ten of them in total.

He had given seven to Ning Yu’an and one to Zheng Zhiyuan. Now, he was giving one to Zhang Yao.

"Fivefold comprehension? Not even Wei Yanran could refine an elixir like this, right?" Zhang Yao exclaimed in surprise.

"Wei Yanran’s skills are at the level of a child playing house," Ning Jiang said, shaking his head.

"Alright, I believe you." Zhang Yao was decisive. Without fearing it might be poison, she swallowed it on the spot.

Immediately after, her expression changed, her eyes filled with delighted surprise. She felt her comprehension multiplying.

"Thank you."

She said this hastily, then immediately sat down cross-legged to the side and began to cultivate.

"I never would have thought that Young Master Ning is proficient not only in arrays, but also in alchemy."

Yan Shuangying exclaimed in amazement. Array Master and Alchemist—both titles belonged to Ning Jiang, and his skills in each were clearly profound. No wonder he had no use for the insights recorded in that journal.

"You seem downcast and your expression is lost. What’s wrong?" Ning Jiang’s observation was sharp.

Yan Shuangying sighed. "After reading about this senior’s life, I feel a bit sad. Perhaps a hundred years from now, I’ll end up just like him—a pile of dust."

"I thought it was something serious. How trivial."

Ning Jiang rolled his eyes. "The author of this journal wasn’t devoted to the path of Martial Arts. In his youth, he indulged in wine and women, chased fame and fortune, and wasted a great deal of time. Only in his later years did he finally see the error of his ways and focus on the paths of alchemy and arrays. But youth does not wait for anyone, and time ages all. In the end, he could only stop at the Peak of Innate, unable to enter the Spirit Realm."

"A true Martial Artist pursuing the path of Martial Arts must have a heart of utmost sincerity. Riches are like floating clouds, and romance is like dust and smoke. Glory, wealth, money, and fame—they are all just worldly possessions, ephemeral and fleeting."

"You’re still young. As long as you can understand this point and not waste your time on worldly things, stepping into the Spirit Realm won’t be difficult."

"If your spirit is firm, and you forge ahead with an indomitable will, you can soar even higher and glimpse the Primordial Spirit Fourth Tribulation Realm."

"But what does the Primordial Spirit Fourth Tribulation Realm even amount to? The Dao is endless. The road ahead is long and the journey is far; there is still a long way to go."

"The path of a Martial Artist, in truth, has one great fear: suddenly becoming lost and confused, just like you are now. You’re already afraid of something that’s still in the distant future. How can you know if, a hundred years from now, you will be a pile of dust, or a transcendent Goddess above the mortal world?"

Ning Jiang’s words were like the morning bell and evening drum, profound and thought-provoking.

"It was I, Shuangying, who was overthinking. Thank you for your guidance, Young Master Ning." Yan Shuangying gave Ning Jiang a graceful curtsy, the confusion in her eyes vanishing.

Just as Ning Jiang had said, why worry now about what the future held? It was nothing but groundless fear.

What she needed to do now was strengthen her resolve and strive to improve.

"Alright, enough with the pointless chatter."

Ning Jiang suddenly stood up from the meditation cushion. He took a few steps on the stone platform, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"What is it?" Yan Shuangying asked, puzzled.

"I was just wondering why the array’s power has persisted after so many years. After all, an array needs Primordial Qi to function. It seems the secret lies below."

A typical array would have lost its power after just a few decades.

"Break!"

Ning Jiang’s voice boomed like thunder. He lifted his foot and stomped down viciously, the force like a great axe cleaving a mountain—immeasurably fierce.

BOOM!

The stone platform shattered, revealing a large hole.

After cultivating the Great Sun Glazed Golden Body, Ning Jiang’s current physique was strong enough to shatter a block of iron.

As the stone platform shattered, dense Primordial Qi billowed out from the hole.

"It’s actually a Primordial Stone Ore Vein," Yan Shuangying said, slightly stunned.

"To be precise, it’s a small-scale Primordial Stone Ore Vein. Not bad at all," Ning Jiang said with a smile.

The Ning Family of Baiquan Town, a mere third-class family, only possessed three small-scale Primordial Stone Ore Veins in total.

"This Primordial Stone Ore Vein is useful to me, but since we discovered it together, what would you like?" Ning Jiang asked.

"There’s no need. You already did me a favor when you guided me on arrays, Young Master Ning. Just now, your words dispelled my confusion and helped me strengthen my resolve. That’s another debt of gratitude I owe you."

Yan Shuangying was not a greedy person. Besides, while a small-scale Primordial Stone Ore Vein was precious, it wasn’t as valuable as forging a good relationship with Ning Jiang and leaving a good impression on each other.

Furthermore, her Yan Family was a second-tier family that even possessed a medium-scale Primordial Stone Ore Vein at home, so she wasn’t overly concerned about this one.

"That’s for the best," Ning Jiang nodded. "I’m going to cultivate for a while. Don’t disturb me unless it’s important."

With that, Ning Jiang plunged into the hole.

The cavern housing the Primordial Stone Ore Vein was several hundred zhang in size.

He sat cross-legged atop the Primordial Stone Ore Vein.

’If I make good use of this Primordial Stone Ore Vein, my cultivation will rise steadily. However, just sitting here cultivating by absorbing Primordial Qi is too slow. The normal method of absorbing Primordial Stones bit by bit wastes too much time, and I’m not going to do it that way.’

’The Heaven-Devouring Demon Skill contains a technique called the Heaven-Devouring Demon Lotus. Using this technique will save me a lot of time!’

The Heaven-Devouring Demon Skill was a powerful Cultivation Technique that also came with a variety of associated Martial Techniques.

The Heaven-Devouring Demon Lotus was one of them.

This technique involved planting a Demon Lotus on a Primordial Stone Ore Vein. The Demon Lotus could then autonomously absorb Primordial Qi and condense it into Lotus Seeds.

These Lotus Seeds, much like Pure Essence Fruits, could be directly consumed to improve one’s cultivation.

His hands moved quickly, forming seals as he chanted an incantation.

「Ten breaths later.」

He sliced open his palm, and a large amount of blood dripped onto the Primordial Stone Ore Vein.

Planting the lotus with blood!

He could only plant one at a time.

After he had let out about a bowlful of blood, a black plant finally broke through the surface of the Primordial Stone Ore Vein.

It was a black lotus flower. It grew at an astonishing speed visible to the naked eye, becoming palm-sized and as exquisite as jade within just a few breaths.

WHOOSH!

An immense suction force erupted from the Demon Lotus’s roots and began to devour the Primordial Qi from the ore vein.

Devouring the Primordial Qi and then condensing it into Lotus Seeds—this process would take time.

The fruit would not ripen overnight.

’It should take about a month to devour the entire ore vein.’

Ning Jiang put the matter out of his mind and paid no more attention to the Heaven-Devouring Demon Lotus.

’Next up is to completely resolve the Black Jade Fire Poison Curse!’