Chapter 98: Chapter 96: Resuming the Body Refining Dao
On a certain peak in the heart of the Moonlight Forest, the landscape was once one of lush mountains and clear streams, home to roaming Spirit Beasts and birds that flitted through the trees. The Spiritual Qi was as thick and ethereal as morning mist—an exceptionally beautiful and treasured land for Spirit Cultivators.
But now, it had been reduced to a stretch of scorched earth. The mountain was bare, littered with the mangled corpses of Spirit beasts and the broken feathers of birds. The Spiritual Qi was depleted, and black smoke billowed through the air like Demonic Qi.
For miles around, no Spirit Beast on the ground dared to approach, and no bird in the sky dared to fly over. It was as if this place had become a terrifying Forbidden Land.
In fact, any spirit beast or bird living nearby knew that, every so often, a torrent of lightning would crash down upon that very spot.
Just then, though the sky had been clear moments before, dark clouds suddenly gathered above the peak. Thunder roared. Then, endless bolts of lightning, like a riot of writhing snakes, crashed down upon a certain spot on the mountain. In an instant, the entire peak was transformed into a terrifying sea of lightning.
An aura of Destruction filled the space between heaven and earth!
At this moment, in the center of the sea of lightning, a young man was grimacing and hopping about nonstop. Lightning bolts constantly struck him, tearing his skin and mangling his flesh, but the ravaged tissue immediately began to repair itself at an astonishing speed.
This young man was, of course, Jiang Jichen, cultivating in seclusion in the mountains.
Not far from him, a Little Skeleton wearing an enormous Treasure Pearl Necklace had its head tilted, watching him with a blank, adorable gaze.
Every inch of ground within thirty meters of Jiang Jichen had been blasted to scorched earth by the lightning. Yet the Little Skeleton, standing blankly just ten meters away, was completely unharmed. The half-meter radius around it was lush with greenery, a stark contrast to the devastation outside. The lightning that headed for it would swerve away at the last moment, as if it had a mind of its own, and strike Jiang Jichen instead.
"Damn it, are you doing this on purpose, Heavens? I still haven’t mastered the First Turn Perfect Realm of the Undying Scripture, but I’ve been struck by lightning tens of thousands of times!"
"Little Gray, how do you do it? Come on, tell your big bro!"
...
Jiang Jichen yelled as he hopped about. Who knew how many times this same scene had played out this month?
The Little Skeleton watched Jiang Jichen’s frantic hopping with its adorably blank expression, its gray Soul Fire flickering incessantly. This was clearly the Little Skeleton’s way of showing excitement; it thought this was all great fun.
Its favorite part of the day was standing here and watching that person get struck by lightning!
This had been happening ever since Jiang Jichen swallowed half an Immortal Leaf. In the beginning, however, the lightning had directly shattered his physical body, nearly annihilating his Divine Soul.
But thankfully, what he had consumed was the White Turtle Longevity Grass!
Since its name was "Longevity," it naturally had an undying effect. Aided by the undying medicinal properties of the Longevity Immortal Grass, Jiang Jichen’s physical body recovered at a terrifying speed.
This was also related to the Undying Scripture he practiced. Only one of the three great Ancient Scriptures of the age could refine and absorb the Undying Medicine Power at such a rate. With any other Cultivation Technique, he would have been blasted to ashes by the lightning long before he could refine its undying properties.
This lightning was far more terrifying than an ordinary Thunder Tribulation. It was the kind of tribulation a Spirit Cultivator would face when breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm. For it to fall upon a Body Refiner—and endlessly, at that—spelled certain death for anyone attempting a breakthrough!
No wonder they say the Dao of Body Refining is broken and that no one in the world dares to practice it anymore. It was truly impossible to see any hope of success.
At this moment, Jiang Jichen deeply understood the difficulty and danger a Body Refiner faced in breaking through to the Innate Realm and reopening the Dao of Body Refining.
The first time, he was nearly smashed to dust. After dozens of strikes, only his tendons and bones were shattered. After hundreds, only his flesh was obliterated. And now, the lightning only tore his skin and mangled his flesh.
Each bolt of lightning was an incredibly dangerous and painful ordeal. But with every strike, Jiang Jichen’s body absorbed and refined the Primordial Power within the lightning. The undying medicinal properties of the White Turtle Longevity Grass also integrated into his flesh, making his physical body ever stronger until it nearly reached the absolute limit for a Body Refiner.
In ancient times, the ultimate state for a Body Refiner was known as the Body Refiner’s Perfect Realm!
Even in his past life, when he practiced Body Refining and cultivated the Undying Scripture, Jiang Jichen had only reached seventy percent of the Perfect Realm. Now, however, he was infinitely close, having reached ninety-nine percent of the Perfect Realm.
’But it’s not enough. I must step into the Innate Body Refining Realm from the true Body Refiner’s Perfect Realm!’
Another ten days passed. When the lightning from the sky could no longer leave even the slightest scar on his body, Jiang Jichen had achieved perfection in the Body Refiner Realm!
He swallowed the other half of the Immortal Leaf and began to aggressively assault the barrier to the Innate Body Refining Realm. At the same time, the Undying Scripture began to operate at its absolute limit, pushed to its full power, as he charged toward the First Turn Great Perfection Realm.
BOOM!
The power of the half Immortal Leaf detonated inside him, but Jiang Jichen’s formidable physical body, at the Body Refiner’s Perfect Realm, withstood the explosive medicinal force.
The power of the Longevity Immortal Grass circulated through his entire body. Jiang Jichen began his assault on the body’s Great Innate Acupoint!
Body Refiners are graded based on the acupoints they open: Mortal Body Acupoints, Innate Acupoints, Golden Body Acupoints, Holy Body Acupoints, and Venerable Acupoints!
The Great Mortal Body Acupoint could be opened by most people, and within its space lay nine Little Mortal Acupoints. Jiang Jichen had already opened all of these perfectly.
The Great Innate Acupoint. This was the acupoint Jiang Jichen was now assaulting, seeking to unlock his body’s hidden treasures and reopen the broken Dao of Body Refining.
"Blood Qi embraces life, inhaling and exhaling clouds for ten thousand miles. The Innate Acupoint conceals spirit, holding a universe within. The will of the undying and unperishing, where reincarnation is but smoke and mist..."
Jiang Jichen silently recited the *Undying Scripture’s* incantation, refining the power from the half Immortal Leaf and condensing it into an undying torrent. With unstoppable momentum and no regard for life or death, he sent it crashing into the Great Innate Acupoint.
BOOM!
Jiang Jichen’s physical body trembled. Even at the Body Refiner’s Perfect Realm, he almost couldn’t withstand the impact, and his body nearly disintegrated.
But the barrier of the Great Innate Acupoint within him had loosened, and cracks had appeared.
’Again!’
At that moment, Jiang Jichen completely disregarded life and death, fearlessly assaulting the barrier of the Great Innate Acupoint once more!
BOOM!
This time, every tendon and bone in Jiang Jichen’s body was shattered. He relied solely on his astonishingly powerful will to hold his physical form together.
The barrier of the Great Innate Acupoint finally had a small opening and countless large cracks, but it was still just short of shattering completely.
But Jiang Jichen had no intention of stopping. He gathered the torrent of Immortal Power again and, for a third time, launched a life-risking assault on the Great Innate Acupoint.
This time, it was truly a matter of life or death. He would either be reborn, or he would be reduced to ash!
"As cultivators, our lives and deaths are our own to command! Why should we need the will of Heaven?"
"I will guard my heart, follow my will, defy the heavens, and seek my Dao!"
Jiang Jichen roared and unleashed one final, thunderous strike. His mind suddenly went blank. His body seemed to explode, turning into a galaxy of countless stars!
But in the next moment, a strange phenomenon occurred between heaven and earth. A beam of Secret Power tore through the void of the Outer Realm and completely enveloped the space where Jiang Jichen had been.
It was the Undying Secret Power, originating from a secret place in the starry sky of the Outer Realm. It could reshape the physical body and restore the Ten Thousand Spirits, and was said to descend only when one broke through to the Body Vajra Realm!
But Jiang Jichen had drawn it forth merely by breaking through to the Innate Realm. This was an unprecedented, world-creating feat.
And under the envelopment of the Undying Secret Power, Jiang Jichen’s shattered body was re-forged and condensed anew.
With this, he had achieved the Innate Body Refining Realm. The Dao of Body Refining was reopened!
