Chapter 158: Breaking Through the Body Refinement Bottleneck (Part 1)

Chapter 158: Breaking Through the Body Refinement Bottleneck (Part 1)



"You've probably heard the rumors outside that the formation techniques of the Cen family were actually passed down from a major sect."

Cen Ziqin spoke, and Chu Ning nodded.

Indeed, as soon as he arrived in the Thousand Lakes and Islands, Chen Wangdao had mentioned it.

However, there was no precise information about which sect it originated from.

Cen Ziqin continued, "There have indeed been such rumors within the family, but I'm not sure what kind of inheritance it is.

My grandfather, the former head of the Cen family, told me about it a long time ago when he discovered my talent in formations.

He hoped that I could help the family unravel the secrets of this inheritance. Those were his dying words."

As she spoke, a hint of sadness flashed in Cen Ziqin's eyes.

It was apparent that she had a deep emotional bond with her grandfather.

Indeed, the next moment, Cen Ziqin said, "My parents passed away not long after I was born, and my grandfather raised me.

When he passed away, I was only fourteen, and those were his last words.

According to my grandfather, if we could truly unlock the secrets of our family's inheritance, we might not be any worse off than that major sect.

So I've only been a registered disciple of my master and haven't formally joined a sect."

Chu Ning didn't interrupt her narrative, and Cen Ziqin continued, "But until now, I still don't know what the secret of the Cen family's inheritance is. According to our family's rules, only the head of the family is entitled to know this secret, and it is passed down orally.

Although I displayed exceptional talent in cultivation from a young age, I was still too young when my grandfather passed away.

Moreover, I hadn't reached the Foundation Establishment stage yet, so the position of the family head went to my eldest uncle."

Hearing this, Chu Ning vaguely guessed something.

Indeed, Cen Ziqin's subsequent narrative confirmed his speculation.

Cen Ziqin, relying on her exceptional talent and guidance from a renowned master, achieved Foundation Establishment before the age of seventeen.

However, Cen Ziqin's eldest uncle, the current head of the family, Cen Wenquan, did not pass on the position to her.

Instead, he secretly suppressed and oppressed her within the clan.

Fortunately, some members of the family supported her, so Cen Wenquan didn't dare to go too far.

Cen Ziqin's prowess in formations was renowned throughout the Thousand Lakes and Islands, and Cen Wenquan eventually handed over the management of the Cen Workshop to her.

He claimed that it was to give Cen Ziqin an opportunity to gain experience.

Moreover, he privately stated that if Cen Ziqin could expand the business of the Cen Workshop and bring more resources to the family, he would pass on the position of the family head to her.

This was the reason why Cen Ziqin was eager to collaborate with Chu Ning.

"The other five families of the Thousand Islands Alliance are not keen on seeing our neutral family grow stronger, and there are also people within our Cen family who don't want me to succeed in running the Cen Workshop," Cen Ziqin said, her eyes dimming slightly.

"The titles of the First Fairy of Thousand Lakes and Islands and the First Formation Master are merely empty honors. What have they ever brought me?

Even on Calm Lake Island..."

Cen Ziqin paused slightly as she spoke.

Chu Ning continued where she left off.

"You suspect that those two cultivators were invited by your family?"

Cen Ziqin's gaze shifted to the distant lake, a hint of sorrow in her eyes.

"That's not necessarily true. In the past two years, my uncle has been trying to get closer to the Chen and Shi families.

It's possible that the other three families took action to prevent this from happening."

Chu Ning furrowed his brows, confused. "You must have opposed this union. The other three families wouldn't want to see it happen, so logically, they should support you. Why would they want to assassinate you?"

"The son of the Chen family's head has decent talent. He's already reached the perfect state of Qi Refinement at the age of twenty-five, and it probably won't take him long to achieve Foundation Establishment. My uncle intends to arrange a marriage between our families," Cen Ziqin explained.

Hearing this, Chu Ning finally understood.

The head of the Cen family was quite scheming. If this plan succeeded, not only would he achieve his goal of allying with the other two families, but Cen Ziqin would also give up on vying for the position of the family head.

Seeing the pensive expression on Cen Ziqin's face, Chu Ning asked, confused, "Since your master is a Golden Core cultivator, why hasn't she stepped in to resolve this matter? It shouldn't be difficult for her."

Cen Ziqin smiled bitterly. "My master has always been displeased with my decision to stay in the Thousand Lakes and Islands. If our relationship with the family becomes strained, she might even be glad."

Chu Ning shook his head slightly upon hearing this.

Who would have thought that the First Fairy of the Thousand Lakes and Islands would be facing such a predicament?

No wonder she hadn't wanted to return to her family after getting injured.

Perhaps this was also the reason why Cen Ziqin didn't carry the air of a typical Foundation Establishment cultivator.

After a moment of hesitation, Chu Ning suddenly spoke up. "You want to fulfill your grandfather's dying wish and devote yourself to unraveling the secrets of your family's inheritance. If this path doesn't bring you contentment, why not change your perspective?"

"Change my perspective?" Cen Ziqin turned to look at Chu Ning, a hint of confusion in her beautiful eyes.

Chu Ning's gaze also drifted towards the distant horizon as he softly said, "If you can't fight them, can't you at least try to avoid them? Why not live for yourself, pursue the path of immortality, and take back what you desire after you've gained sufficient strength?"

Chu Ning chuckled and added, "If you achieve the Golden Core stage and then ask about the family's inheritance, do you think your uncle will dare to withhold it from you?"

Cen Ziqin was taken aback by his words.

She seemed to have never considered this perspective before.

Gradually, her eyes sparkled with clarity.

It only took a moment for her to regain her previous lively expression.

"I've never thought about what you just said, Fellow Daoist Chu," she admitted.

Seeing the look on Cen Ziqin's face, Chu Ning knew that she was moved but hadn't made up her mind yet.

He didn't push her further but continued to gaze at the shimmering lake in the distance.

"On the path of cultivation, some bonds must be severed," he said.

Cen Ziqin looked deeply into Chu Ning's eyes before turning her gaze back to the horizon, remaining silent.

...

In the following month, the two of them returned to their previous routine.

Cultivation and healing continued as usual.

However, the time they spent together in conversation seemed to have lengthened slightly.

Before they knew it, another month had passed.

After finishing their lunch that day, Cen Ziqin hesitated for a moment before finally speaking up. "Chu Ning, my injuries have fully recovered, and I've been away from the Cen family for too long.

Although I sent a message back with Xun earlier, if I don't show up soon, it might cause some trouble."

Chu Ning took out several thick stacks of talismans from his storage bag and smiled. "Fellow Daoist Cen has been in seclusion, cultivating the art of talisman-making, and has now mastered the technique of crafting intermediate-low-grade talismans.

I'm sure that if you return to the Cen Workshop on Calm Lake Island, you'll surprise many cultivators."

Hearing this, Cen Ziqin smiled radiantly.

At this moment, he smiled with nonchalance, hoping that the cultivators here wouldn't recognize him.

Speaking of the Thousand Islands competition, almost a year had passed, and everyone should have mostly forgotten about it by now.

Cen Ziqin retracted her smile, her bright eyes clear as if she were explaining to Chu Ning or perhaps convincing herself.

"I give myself three years. If, in these three years, my family remains as it is, then I'll do as Fellow Daoist Chu said and live for myself, pursuing the path of immortality."

Hearing this, Chu Ning smiled and said, "Good. In these three years, I'll likely still be here at Yan Peak. Fellow Daoist Cen knows where to find me, so feel free to visit whenever you have time."

"Okay!" As Cen Ziqin spoke, her figure flickered, and she flew out of the formation.

She paused in the air and turned back.

"Next time, I'll bring you some spirit tea."

With her words, Cen Ziqin transformed into a fleeing light and disappeared into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

Chu Ning stood in his original spot, looking at the sky outside the cave abode, his expression calm.

"Whine!"

At that moment, Ling Xiaoba let out a whine.

"There's no more food."

Chu Ning turned and glared at Ling Xiaoba, smiling as he scolded, "Little guy, can you stop being so materialistic and only thinking about food?"

Hearing this, Ling Xiaoba whined again, looking a little aggrieved.

It vaguely remembered that it was this fellow who had initially encouraged it to ask for food.

With Cen Ziqin's departure, Chu Ning returned to his previous routine.

Cultivation, talisman crafting, nurturing spirit plants...

Every ten days, Chu Ning would still go to Caiwu Island to submit his talismans.

And each time, he would include some intermediate-low-grade talismans.

During her three months here, Cen Ziqin had asked Chu Ning about Liu Ping, the person who had been helping him deliver the talismans, and why he wasn't on the island.

Chu Ning had merely laughed it off, saying that he was just a proxy he had found.

However, Chu Ning felt that the other party must have realized that it was just an excuse and had chosen not to expose him.

Chu Ning didn't offer any further explanation, and over the three months, the two of them learned some of each other's secrets.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, another month had passed.

On this day, after entering the spirit field, Chu Ning headed straight for the area where the Yuan Yang Fruits and Iron Stem Orchids had been crossbred.

Looking at the fruits that had now completely turned iron-brown, his eyes flickered with uncertainty.

Initially, when the fruits first appeared, there were some reddish-brown spots on the peel.

But now, there wasn't a hint of red on the fruits.

These crossbred fruits looked exactly the same as the previous Iron Stem Orchids.

And these fruits were even smaller.

Over the past few days, when Chu Ning had cast the Mysterious Spring Technique, he found that these fruits couldn't absorb any spiritual energy.

Apparently, the fruits had fully matured and could no longer grow.

However, the problem was that Chu Ning couldn't sense any spiritual energy fluctuations from the surface of these fruits.

"Looks like it's most likely a failed cultivation."

Chu Ning shook his head at this moment, without any hesitation, he plucked all the fruits from the trees.

Since he had spent nearly a year cultivating them, he had to at least give them a try.

Back in the cave room, Chu Ning released Ling Xiaoba and then took out one of the freshly picked fruits and handed it to him.

"Whine!"

Ling Xiaoba glanced at it and then showed a lack of interest. He didn't eat it.

Chu Ning glanced at him, this little guy was quite crafty.

However, Chu Ning still chose to squeeze the small fruit forcefully.

Instantly, a lump of red fruit pulp slid out, and at the same time, a rich spiritual energy rushed towards them.

"Very rich spiritual energy!"

Chu Ning looked at the fruit pulp that had fallen into the jade bowl, his eyes flashing slightly.

"Whine!"

And next to him, Ling Xiaoba, who had just shown no interest in the fruit, jumped up.

Looking at the fruit pulp in the jade bowl, he looked quite greedy.

"Little White, can you eat this?"

Seeing Ling Xiaoba's appearance, Chu Ning asked with a smile.

"Whine!!!"

Ling Xiaoba nodded vigorously.

Chu Ning burst out laughing. From the richness of this fruit, he felt that it must have some use.

Without directly giving it to Ling Xiaoba to eat, Chu Ning once again used the few ordinary spirit rabbits he had caught yesterday on the nearby mountain to perform a test.

Three days later, Chu Ning came to the neighboring cave room with a spring.

Holding a fruit that he had newly named the Iron Yang Fruit, he squeezed the pulp into a large bucket.

Although the Iron Yang Fruit was not big, and the pulp was not much.

But when squeezed into the large bucket, it quickly turned the entire bucket red.

Seeing this, Chu Ning jumped directly into the bucket and soaked himself in it.

At the same time, his mind was recalling the results of the tests he had done over the past few days.

"This Iron Yang Fruit can also temper the body, and the effect is much better than the previous Jinlan Fruit and Iron Orchid Fruit.

The spirit rabbits that were directly smeared with the fruit pulp couldn't take it, so I had to dilute it before applying it.

Also, direct ingestion is ineffective."

After several attempts, Chu Ning finally determined that this was an enhanced version of the Iron Orchid Fruit.

Unlike the Jinlan Fruit, which was ingested, the Iron Yang Fruit was more effective when used for soaking or smearing.

Chu Ning tested it again with the spirit rabbit and finally confirmed the soaking method.

The main reason was that the absorption of the Iron Yang Fruit was very slow, and long-term soaking was more effective.

As for what kind of help it could bring to his body tempering, Chu Ning was not sure.

After all, he had already entered the body tempering bottleneck, and the Jinlan Fruit, which could increase his proficiency by 2 points before, now only increased by 1 point every ten days.

Even this month, this time had been extended to twelve days.

Obviously, the bottleneck was getting stronger as he progressed.

The Jinlan Fruit might become ineffective at any time.

At this moment, Chu Ning's body was soaked in the reddish-warm water, and he began to carefully feel the changes in his body.

What made Chu Ning frown slightly was that his body didn't feel much.

The usual scorching sensation of body tempering did not appear.

This made Chu Ning's heart sink a little.

He had originally hoped that this Iron Yang Fruit would have a better effect than the Jinlan Fruit.

Now it seemed that it might not be that simple.

However, Chu Ning also noticed that as he operated the Nine-Profundity Body Tempering Technique, the redness of the wooden bucket gradually faded.

This indicated that the medicinal effects were indeed being absorbed.

But, until the water returned to its normal color, Chu Ning still didn't feel anything.

Shaking his head, Chu Ning stood up, intending to give up, but then he hesitated and began to cultivate the Nine-Profundity Body Tempering Technique again, combining it with physical movements.

After cultivating for a round, Chu Ning was just about to stop.

Sensing the changes in his body, Chu Ning immediately began cultivating the Nine Profound Body Tempering Technique without hesitation.

As Chu Ning combined his movements with his cultivation, the scorching sensation in his limbs and bones became increasingly intense.

When Chu Ning cultivated the technique for the third time, the scorching sensation reached its peak.

Then, as he continued to cultivate, the heat gradually began to subside.

It wasn't until Chu Ning had completed six rounds of cultivation that the sensation completely disappeared.

Chu Ning immediately checked his proficiency in his mind, and his face lit up with joy.

【Yuan Fire Divine Wood Art (High-Rank Mysterious Tier), First Layer (1754/5000)】

【Nine Profound Body Tempering Technique, First Volume, Unceasing Sinews 964/1500】

【Refine God Technique, Second Layer 945/2000】

One point! The progress of the Unceasing Sinews of the Nine Profound Body Tempering Technique had increased by one point during this cultivation session.

It was worth noting that over the past few months, it would take him around ten days to increase by one point, with the help of the Jinlan Fruit.

"This Iron Yang Fruit actually helps with breaking through the bottleneck of Unceasing Sinews!"

This discovery delighted Chu Ning immensely.

While this breakthrough at the bottleneck wasn't as dramatic as the Immortal Skin or Undying Bones, which could achieve major breakthroughs in a short period with the help of the Seven Star Spirit Fruit, it was still significant.

The opportunity to break through at a bottleneck was enough to fill Chu Ning with joy.

At this moment, Chu Ning picked up the peel of the Iron Yang Fruit.

Inside the peel were several small, dark seeds.

Chu Ning carefully collected them and placed them in a small jade box.

There were also a few other spirit fruit seeds in the box, left over from his experiments over the past two days.

Although the previous Jinlan Fruit couldn't be cultivated, Chu Ning still wanted to try with this newly cultivated Iron Yang Fruit.

Subsequently, Chu Ning sat cross-legged in the cave room and began cultivating the Yuan Fire Divine Wood Art.

Half an hour later, he opened his eyes.

"This Yuan Fire Divine Wood Art hasn't improved. It seems that the Iron Yang Fruit doesn't help much with cultivation.

However, it's indeed a pleasant surprise for body tempering."

Only now did Chu Ning have the time to think about the medicinal properties of the Iron Yang Fruit.

It was clear that the Iron Yang Fruit was completely different from the previous Iron Orchid Fruit and Jinlan Fruit.

The effects of those two spirit fruits were immediate upon consumption.

On the other hand, the Iron Yang Fruit required him to cultivate the Nine Profound Body Tempering Technique to activate its medicinal properties.

Its effects were more profound, but they were also more potent.

"Is it possible that there's still a portion of the Iron Yang Fruit's medicinal effects that haven't been fully unleashed, and my current cultivation is not enough to bring out its full potential?"

After this thought flashed through Chu Ning's mind, he decided not to rush into using the rest of the Iron Yang Fruits for body tempering.

After all, he had only cultivated ten of these fruits, resulting in less than sixty spirit fruits.

Since this fruit was beneficial for breaking through the body tempering bottleneck, he couldn't afford to waste them.

In the following days, Chu Ning continued to consume the Jinlan Fruits to cultivate the Nine Profound Body Tempering Technique.

To his delight, he could distinctly feel the scorching sensation in his limbs and bones surging from time to time after consuming the Jinlan Fruit and cultivating the technique.

It seemed that his guess was correct, and the medicinal effects of the Iron Yang Fruit hadn't been completely digested.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end