Chapter 254: Great Advancement, Forging Bones Step Two!

Chapter 254: Great Advancement, Forging Bones Step Two!

The next day.

[Essence Energy]: 179.33

Jiang Ning rose from his bed and glanced at his status panel before closing it.

Then, he clenched his right fist, drawing upon the energy within him, causing his qi and blood to surge like a raging storm, roaring like thunder.

The power of his qi and blood struck every bone and muscle in his body.

"The transformation is complete!" A hint of joy flashed across Jiang Ning's eyebrows.

Stepping outside, he took a deep breath, and his figure became agile.

Then, with a leap, he soared like a white crane, drawing a graceful arc through the tall courtyard walls and hundreds of meters of open sky, before slowly descending onto the rocky beach.

If anyone had witnessed this scene, they would surely have praised his agility.

Excellent body technique!

This was the effect of breaking through the limits of the Five Animals Fist the day before.

The Five Animals Fist is not only a foundational martial arts technique, but it also refines qi and blood, enhancing one's physique.

At the same time, it involves various techniques for exerting strength and power.

Body agility, mental focus, brief levitation, and mid-air directional changes are all part of its teachings.

The Crane Stance in the Five Animals Fist involves levitation and mid-air directional changes.

Now, after breaking through the limits of the fist technique a second time, the false pentagonal cultivation method has become a true pentagonal cultivation method.

With the Crane Stance, he could soar through the air like a white crane.

The previous night's breakthrough in the fist technique allowed him to glide through the air, even from the edge of a thousand-foot cliff, without dispersing the energy within him, landing as gracefully as a white crane, without a scratch.

Arriving at the rocky beach, he saw that the lake's surface was covered by a thick layer of ice, creating an unusual tranquility, disturbed only by the howling cold wind blowing from afar.

Jiang Ning looked up at the sky.

Although the day was still early, it was just beginning to brighten.

But he could already see dark clouds covering the sky.

"Looks like it's going to be another terrible weather day!"

Jiang Ning shook his head and took a deep breath, slowly exhaling.

After adjusting his state, he began practicing his fist technique again.

With each movement, he roared like a tiger in the mountains.

Roar—

His qi and blood surged, and as the energy flowed, it suddenly emitted a sound like a tiger's roar.

As he practiced the fist technique with all his might, the commotion was far greater than before.

At times, the tiger's roar from within him was loud enough to drown out even the howling wind.

A moment later.

His fist technique changed once more, transforming into the Bear Stance.

When he stomped his foot.

Boom—

The rocks, having endured years of wind, rain, sun, and the rise and fall of tides, with waves crashing against them, suddenly exploded, sending countless shards flying in all directions.

Whoosh, whoosh!

Each shard that scattered emitted a sharp, piercing sound as it broke through the air.

If an ordinary person were nearby, they would have been instantly pierced by these shards, leading to immediate death.

As Jiang Ning practiced the fist technique with all his might, he felt increasingly refreshed.

His qi and blood surged, continuously washing over every part of his body.

At the same time, each change in his fist technique drew in the unmoving Five Elements Spirit, enhancing the essence of his five organs.

Through practicing the fist technique, he drew upon the Five Elements Spirit in the surrounding heaven and earth, gradually understanding why this aspect of the Five Elements Spirit could break the limits of the organs.

Perhaps the human body inherently has its limits.

Without relying on all things in heaven and earth, it is ultimately a flesh and blood body, a mortal vessel.

Just like the path of martial arts in this world.

Along the way, in addition to relying on oneself, external assistance is indispensable.

Just like the initial Nine-Rank Skin Polishing Realm, without external skin-polishing ointments, an ordinary martial artist would hardly be able to achieve Skin Polishing Mastery, reaching the level of skin as tough as copper.

Take his recent achievement of the Sixth Rank in martial arts, the Bone Forging Realm, for example.

Without external assistance and consuming metal and iron, it would be impossible to forge true iron bones.

Therefore, the human body inherently has its limits, being flesh and blood, and requires external assistance.

The same is true for the five organs.

Without drawing upon the Five Elements Spirit in heaven and earth and enhancing the essence of the five organs, one cannot break through the limits of the human body's organs.

At this moment.

His fist technique changed once more, transforming into the Ape Stance.

Each move and gesture was agile and nimble.

And at this moment.

Suddenly, a great fire ignited in the heavens and earth, burning on the hard, ice-cold rocks.

If anyone were here, they would surely be amazed.

How could there be fire within the rocks? This fire was precisely due to the characteristic that Jiang Ning had recently mastered.

[Palm Control of Water and Fire]: Control the true spirits of water and fire, freely commanding ninety-nine percent of water and fire at will.

With this characteristic, even in the dimly lit, freezing cold air by the Luo River, he could still create fire in mid-air.

As the fire took shape, the Five Elements Spirit of fire in the heavens and earth surged.

He immediately felt the Fire Element Spirit entering his heart, gradually strengthening his heart.

Not long after.

[Five Animals Fist Experience Points +3]



After completing one cycle of the fist technique, Jiang Ning retracted his fist and stood.

"Iron bones forged, and my physical body has completely transformed!"

"In just one night, my physique has increased by a full ten percent!"

He muttered to himself, nodding in satisfaction.

After practicing the fist technique, he had completely mastered the changes in his physical transformation and thoroughly understood the strength of his body after the transformation.

The greatest improvement after the transformation was the strength of his flesh, muscles, and skin.

Secondly, his qi and blood were enhanced.

After experiencing his own transformation, the gloomy weather he had just witnessed made his previously bad mood improve.

After completing his physical transformation, he could now begin the second step of Bone Forging.

With this thought, Jiang Ning turned and left.

He had just returned to the courtyard.

Jiang Ning looked up and saw snowflakes slowly falling from above.

"Oh no," he paused, shaking his head involuntarily, "It's going to snow again! Looks like we can't expect clear skies today, and I'll have to put my Inner Core Cultivation practice on hold for now in this weather."

"Fortunately, practicing the Five Animal Fist can still strengthen my organs. The stronger the organs, the more Inner Energy I can refine!"

"Once my Inner Core Cultivation breaks through, and my Inner Energy undergoes a qualitative change, I'll be able to refine it like a Trigram."

"With my vast Inner Energy, I'll be able to stand out among the Fifth Rank!"

With this thought, Jiang Ning's heart calmed down.

He then entered the room.

With the current weather, the temperature at night had already dropped below freezing, and any water left outside would freeze into ice.

The water for washing was taken from a deep well and stored indoors.

After finishing his morning routine in the room, Jiang Ning wiped his face, and his entire being instantly felt refreshed.

When he pushed open the door again, he noticed that the light snow from earlier had turned into a heavier snowfall, and the courtyard, which had been cleaned, was now covered with a thin layer of fine snow.

It was easy to imagine that with this snowfall intensity, the entire courtyard would soon be covered in snow again.

Jiang Ning walked to the big tree in the courtyard and closed his eyes slightly, focusing inward.

In an instant, the 206 bones in his body appeared in his vision.

At a glance, he could see that the 206 bones no longer had any light white color but had transformed into a lustrous silver-white.

If he were to take out a bone from his body, it would look no different from ordinary refined iron.

"It's time for the second step!" Jiang Ning muttered to himself.

With a thought, his Vital Energy instantly transformed into thirteen small hammers.

With his current mental strength, thirteen hammers were still his limit.

The next moment, a loud clanging sound reverberated through his body, and the sound of metal striking rang out from within, crisp and piercing.

With one strike, Jiang Ning's breath became chaotic.

After a moment, his breath returned to normal.

Then, a series of giant hammers struck, and the sound of pounding came from within Jiang Ning's body.

It was like a raging storm, and the sound continued without pause.

As the 108 strikes ended, completing a Great Cycle of Bone Forging, Jiang Ning abruptly opened his eyes.

He raised his hand and grabbed, and a white jade bottle appeared in his hand.

The bottle contained the Mystic Bone Pill needed for forging Mystic Bones.

To forge Mystic Bones, one must consume a certain amount of Mystic Iron after completing Bone Forging.

In the early stages of Martial Dao, the pioneers chose to swallow Mystic Iron sand.

With the powerful digestive ability of Martial Practitioners, they could absorb a certain amount of Mystic Iron particles into their bones.

This is why there are legends that powerful Martial Practitioners can swallow molten iron and copper balls.

Indeed, many Martial Practitioners did this in the early days.

After so many years of development, this step has become much simpler.

The Mystic Bone Pill, the size of a soybean, contains enough Mystic Iron Marrow.

The effect of Mystic Iron Marrow entering the body is many times more effective than swallowing Mystic Iron sand.

The next moment, the bottle suddenly appeared with a pill the size of a soybean, its body black.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

The pills flew straight into his mouth, passing through his throat and falling into his abdomen.

As the outer pill coating dissolved, the entire pill began to release fine threads.

Unlike the silver threads of the Iron Bone Pill, the threads released by the Mystic Iron Pill were black.

Pitch-black like ink.

"This must be Mystic Iron Marrow!" Jiang Ning thought to himself.

He then saw the black threads from the Mystic Iron Pill flying towards the bones he had just forged in a Great Cycle.

The black threads silently merged into the bones.

In the blink of an eye, the five Mystic Bone Pills in his abdomen were completely digested and absorbed.

"Isn't this enough?" Jiang Ning felt the changes in his body and was astonished.

He remembered that a few days ago, during his first Bone Forging, he had only absorbed five Iron Bone Pills and reached his absorption limit.

And now, after absorbing all five Mysterious Bone Pills, he still felt it was not enough!

In a flash of thought, Jiang Ning opened his eyes and extended his right hand, and a jade bottle containing the Mysterious Bone Pills appeared in his palm.

Then, a black pill the size of a silkworm bean flew out of the bottle, straight into his throat, and dropped into his stomach.

After a moment...

"Finally, it's enough!" Jiang Ning sighed in his heart and slowly opened his eyes.

At this moment, that familiar sense of satisfaction once again filled his heart.

"Last time, after a week of Bone Forging, absorbing five pills was the limit!"

"This time, after another week of Bone Forging, it took six pills to reach the limit!"

"According to my understanding, for ordinary warriors, the limit for Iron Bone Pills and Mysterious Bone Pills is the same, and the requirements before and after are consistent!"

"This shows that the change is purely due to my body!"

Jiang Ning muttered to himself, and as he spoke, he seemed to have a sudden realization.

Could it be because of the recent increase in experience points and vital energy from the Five Animal Fist? This thought rose in his mind, and he confirmed his guess.

Because aside from this possibility, he couldn't think of a second one.

"If this is truly the case, it means that my Bone Forging efficiency has improved compared to the previous days!"

A smile appeared on Jiang Ning's face.

He stepped onto the lake's surface.

With a light kick, he broke through the ice layer.

After sinking into the lake...

Jiang Ning immediately felt his body rapidly recovering from the energy and vital energy consumed during the recent Bone Forging.

He had just stood under the tree for a full hour.

After completing one hundred and eight strikes, a total of a week's worth of Bone Forging...

Under the powerful impact, even he felt his whole body aching and numb.

Each hammer strike shook his five viscera and six bowels, as well as his entire body's tendons and bones.

So, despite the short time, the consumption was immense, and the damage to his body was also significant.

Normally, at his level, Bone Forging would only involve tempering a single bone.

But he was tempering thirteen bones at once.

The impact force he had to endure and absorb was thirteen times greater.

Moreover, the stronger his vital energy, the better the effect of each hammer strike, but the impact on his body would also be greater.

Such a massive and powerful impact.

Normally, after a Bone Forging session, one would need to rest for a long time and use restorative medicines to recover before attempting a second Body Tempering.

Previously, based on Jiang Ning's understanding, he knew a lot.

At the sixth rank of Martial Dao, most warriors would need half a year or even a day after tempering and absorbing a single bone before they could attempt a second Bone Forging.

This lengthy recovery process resulted in low Bone Forging efficiency.

Many warriors at this stage required a long time to fully complete Bone Forging.

In this world, only a small number of warriors were born with exceptional bones and robust physiques.

These individuals could recover quickly, even after overdrawing their bodies, and be full of vigor the next day.

But in Jiang Ning's eyes, even these naturally gifted individuals couldn't compare to him in Bone Forging efficiency.

Because as long as he was in the water, he could absorb a certain substance from it, rapidly restoring any damage to his body.

It wouldn't take long for him to return to his peak state.

Coupled with his vast vital energy and powerful mental strength, his Bone Forging efficiency had reached a level beyond ordinary comprehension.

In the lake...

Jiang Ning quietly enjoyed the lake water's nourishment of his body.

At the same time, he quietly observed the thirteen bones he had tempered.

After absorbing the Mysterious Iron Marrow, the thirteen bones, which had been emitting a silver glow, gradually became covered in thin black lines.

These black lines were the external manifestation of the bones being washed in Mysterious Iron Marrow.

Once all two hundred and six bones in his body turned completely black...

He would truly achieve the second realm of Bone Forging, the Mystical Bones.

Upon achieving Mystical Bones, his strength would increase by several folds compared to the Iron Bone realm.

According to his understanding, a warrior who achieves Mystical Bones can fight three or even five Iron Bone warriors without being at a disadvantage.

This is the change in strength after achieving Mystical Bones.

The physical body's enhancement would make the whole body more powerful, not just limited to a single point or part.

Each step in Martial Dao merely focuses on different aspects of tempering!

Meanwhile...

Someone was already carrying out the will of a divine spirit and heading towards Luoshui County.

The divine spirit was in agony and its condition severely deteriorated due to the loss of its divine embryo.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end