Chapter 119 -117 Primordial Yang Warm Jade
Time flies by, and another two years have swiftly passed.
This year, Ning Daoran is sixty-five years old.
Although he still looks like a youth, his mental state has been tempered considerably, so much so that he longs to call himself “old man” when meeting people.
Early morning, at Qiongbi Peak.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.
Among the mists, the mountain peaks are rich in spiritual energy.
...
Ning Daoran, dressed in a deep blue elder’s robe of the Outer Sect, likes this outfit very much as it looks mightier than those worn by the mud-legged Outer Disciples.
In the backyard, at the fish pond.
“Little Blackie!”
“Squeak~~~”
Amidst the loud call, the big black fish jumps out of the water.
Now measuring nearly ten meters in length, it remains a first-tier late stage demon beast—a true salted fish.
Ning Daoran glances at his storage bag and takes out the last piece of Black Jiao meat.
This piece of Black Jiao meat, weighing only ten pounds, is the last one.
“Catch!”
He raises his hand and throws the meat, and the big black fish swallows it in mid-air.
The next second, Ning Daoran’s eyes flash with displeasure, “You’ve finished the last piece of Black Jiao meat. Why have you not advanced to the second tier? Do you really want to end up on the table?”
“Squeak squeak squeak!!!”
The big black fish, scared, kicks up scales in the water, frantically flapping its tail to indicate it doesn’t want to end up on the table.
“Fine then.”
Ning Daoran frowns and takes out a deep black demon core from his storage bag—it’s a second-order water attribute demon core from the Black Jiao.
He flicks his finger and catapults the core, saying, “Swallow it!”
The big black fish opens its maw wide and gulps down the core, instantly feeling a vast energy rapidly expanding within!
Given it’s a second-order high-grade water attribute demon core, one can only imagine how immense the contained demonic power is.
Ning Daoran calculates that it will take Little Blackie at least half a year to fully refine this demon core.
That’s fine; if he feeds it demon cores, there’s no need to feed it demon beast meat anymore.
Moreover, the power within the cores is purer and more convenient to absorb.
Little Blackie has extraordinary luck. Ning Daoran has been successful in slaying demons numerous times, and he has over ten second-order demon cores in his storage bag.
Little Blackie leads a life of luxury unheard of even for Sect spiritual beasts.
“Give you ten years.”
Ning Daoran speaks indifferently, “If you don’t break through by then, you’ll truly end up on the table—I won’t go back on my word this time.”
“Squeak—”
Little Blackie stands at attention and salutes in the water.
…
“Chen Weimo, check your cultivation progress!”
“Yes, Uncle!”
Chen Weimo operates the Evergreen Technique. Although she seems to be trying hard, her cultivation hasn’t progressed an inch.
“Not bad…”
Ning Daoran’s face twitches slightly, then he says, “Keep up the good work.”
Chen Weimo, happy with the praise, trots away cheerfully.
Inside the Spirit Garden Cave Heaven.
The White Deer is tending to several acres of Purple Jade Spirit Rice; it dashes around the Spirit field, sticking out its long tongue, crying loudly.
Immediately, pests living amongst the Purple Jade Spirit Rice are swept up by its mana and devoured in one gulp.
It also runs to the edge of the pond, unleashes its Foundation Establishment Stage stomach, sucks up hundreds of cubic meters of clear water, and then dashes between heaven and earth.
Countless droplets of water spray from the tips of its antlers, constantly nourishing the Spirit field.
It calls itself a mobile sprinkler, quite proud of this function.
Ning Daoran can no longer bear to watch. He walks to the front of the cabin, sits down on the floor, kicks off his Flying Cloud Shoes, and steps barefoot onto the cool ground.
“Little Qing, come out!”
He starts to chat with the Green-clothed Lady.
Suddenly, the ghost that measures from Heaven to Earth appears.
Under Ning Daoran’s stern gaze, her body shrinks continually, eventually transforming into the size of a normal person, kneeling before him clothed in a green long dress, her slender legs laid out attractively.
If not for the heavy green pallor on her face, she would actually be quite charming, to be honest.
Ning Daoran begins to chatter away.
“As a fierce ghost, you must not indulge yourself… (omit ten thousand words)”
“Humans have human nature, ghosts have ghost nature… (omit ten thousand words)”
“I once heard the sage’s way: if one can hear the Tao in the morning, one could die in the evening without regrets. Although you are a fierce ghost… (omit ten thousand words)”
“Little Qing, actually, I hold great expectations for you, I hope you understand (omit ten thousand words)”
“There’s the matter of you needing to devour more life souls for your cultivation – I have considered it. It’s not possible this time, but definitely next time (omit ten thousand words)”
“Little Qing, you have great comprehension. Could you dance a tune for me? (omit ten thousand words)”
…
Several days later.
The Green-clothed Lady, exhausted by the ordeal, learns she can return to the Green Ghost Flag and feels as though she’s been granted amnesty.
She thinks her master has some peculiar habits.
However, a few days later, Ning Daoran no longer summons the Green-clothed Lady.
Her heart begins to feel odd, oddly looking forward to Ning Daoran’s endless nagging.
She thinks this master is different from all those filthy men in the world.
“Wuu wuu~~~”
She mournfully wails inside the Green Ghost Flag, repeatedly hinting.
“Quiet.”
Busy with his cultivation, Ning Daoran responds with a cold sentence.
…
This day.
Ning Daoran descended the mountain with Big Stupid Deer to stroll through Yellow Dragon Square, hoping to stumble upon a bargain.
After browsing through the market, both man and deer felt disheartened.
There were no bargains in the market, only all manner of deceptions and trickeries that were rife in the Jianghu.
“Old Lu.”
After walking a distance, Ning Daoran frowned and asked, “Do we have someone following us?”
“Ow~~”
Big Stupid Deer nodded, having noticed it earlier.
Their follower was an old man dressed in a grey robe, at the Qi Refining Ninth Level, and appeared to be in his sixties or seventies. He did not dare to get too close, and his eyes betrayed a sense of nervousness and awkwardness.
Noticing Ning Daoran looking back, the old man immediately approached with respect, clasping his fists and saying, “I am Chen Shuang; might you be Senior Ning, the Peak Master of Qiongbi Peak?”
“Indeed, I am.”
Ning Daoran nodded, “Do you have a matter to discuss, Fellow Daoist?”
“Yes. May I speak with you in private?”
“Very well, at the First-class Pavilion then.”
“Understood!”
Back then, Ning Daoran had encountered a soul possession attempt by Yellow Dragon True Man at the late stage of Gold Core Formation in the First-class Pavilion. Though the attempt failed, the memory remained vivid.
After that incident, the ownership of the First-class Pavilion had changed.
Those associated with Yellow Dragon True Man had mostly been “handled” by Gongyang Yan.
Inside a private room.
Ning Daoran put up several prohibitions to avoid disturbances from maids and said, “You may speak now.”
“Yes!”
Chen Shuang looked respectful and said, “I have learned that in recent years, Senior has been searching for the rare material, Heavenly Fire Spirit Stone.
Coincidentally, I possess a material that is comparable to it, also of Second Order High Grade. However, I am not sure if Senior would require such an item.”
“Oh? Let’s see it then.”
“Right away!”
With a light tap on his Storage Bag, Chen Shuang revealed a thumb-sized piece of warm jade which emerged smoothly.
When the Warm Jade appeared in the private room, a wave of warmth spread around, catching Ning Daoran by surprise.
“Could this be the legendary Primordial Yang Warm Jade?”
Primordial Yang Warm Jade, like the Heavenly Fire Spirit Stone, also belonged to the Second Order High Grade materials for Artifact Refining and Array Formation. It could act as a substitute for the Heavenly Fire Spirit Stone, with potentially even better effects.
Because the essence of the Fire Attribute contained in the Primordial Yang Warm Jade was more refined, replacing the Heavenly Fire Spirit Stone with Primordial Yang Warm Jade in the Fiery Fire Fish Dragon Formation would only increase the formation’s overall power!
“Yes, it is indeed Primordial Yang Warm Jade,” Chen Shuang nodded in confirmation.
“…”
Ning Daoran’s gaze was indifferent, his expression unchanged.
However, he was already weighing up this Chen Shuang’s true agenda.
His own search for Heavenly Fire Spirit Stone in the vicinity of Yellow Dragon Square was no secret; now, Chen Shuang suddenly appeared, offering Primordial Yang Warm Jade, which was superior to Heavenly Fire Spirit Stone.
This man must have an ulterior motive.
An intuition warned Ning Daoran that there might be a great peril lurking behind this matter.
“Fellow Daoist.”
He looked directly at Chen Shuang and asked, “I wonder, do you intend to trade this Primordial Yang Warm Jade for Spirit Stones, or perhaps exchange it for something else? Please speak plainly, even if it’s for a Foundation Establishment Pill, I will try my best to find a way.”
“At my age…”
Chen Shuang gave a wry smile, “Even with the aid of a Foundation Establishment Pill, the chance of successfully building a foundation is less than forty percent. In fact, I have long given up on that idea.”
“Then what would you like to exchange the Primordial Yang Warm Jade for?”
“This is somewhat difficult to declare openly, but I…”
Chen Shuang gritted his teeth and said, “Senior, my request actually concerns my daughter.”
“Your daughter?”
“Yes. My daughter has been settled in a residence not far from here. When Senior sees it, you will understand everything.”
“Is it within Yellow Dragon Square?”
“Yes.”
“Very well, lead the way.”
After navigating several alleyways, they arrived at a squalid lane.
Those who lived in these alleyways were generally Qi Refining Stage Loose Cultivators with low cultivation.
These people were like the bottom cells of the sprawling market, providing basic nourishment to the giant organism with their lives.
Entering a secluded house, Chen Shuang pushed open the door.
Ning Daoran scanned with his Divine Sense and saw that there indeed was a girl lying on the bed. He then proceeded to follow using a substitute body made from Class A Paperfolk, while hiding himself in the Spirit Garden Cave Heaven within the Paperfolk’s waist.
“Lingyu, your father is back.”
Chen Shuang opened the window, and as sunlight shone in, the girl on the bed immediately squinted her eyes, shielding them from the light with her hand.
She appeared to be sixteen or seventeen years old, her beauty was difficult to obscure even in rough clothes.
Her eyebrows were like ink, and her eyes sparkled like stars.
Moreover, there was a fragile delicacy to the girl, giving her a sickly appearance.
When Ning Daoran swept the area with his powerful Divine Sense, he was slightly surprised.
The girl actually possessed a Third-grade Spirit Root!
But, her condition was not good—her entire body seemed to be set aflame, enduring a constant burn that was eroding her physical body.
And her cultivation was merely at the Early Stage of Energy Refining—definitely not what one would expect for a sixteen-to-seventeen-year-old with a Third-grade Spirit Root.
“Fellow Daoist Cheng,”
Ning Daoran frowned, “What is afflicting your dear daughter’s health? Given her current state, I fear she does not have long to live.”
“Precisely.”
Chen Shuang’s expression darkened, “That is precisely why I invited Senior to come and see. My daughter Cheng Lingyu was born with a Third Grade Fire Spirit Root and was cultivating under a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. However, who could have expected…
At thirteen, when she had her first menses, she awakened a Fire Body… Her Primordial Yin Body clashing with the Fire Body requires daily doses of Cold Dew Pill merely to extend her life. Yet…”
Chen Shuang bit his lip, “A mere Qi Refining Stage Practitioner like me, where do I have the means to sustain her life daily with Cold Dew Pills? That’s why I’ve come to earnestly implore Senior…”
“Father, please stop…”
Not far away, Cheng Lingyu, who was lying sickly on the bed, already had tears filling her eyes.
Ning Daoran’s brows furrowed, but he stayed silent.