Chapter 361: Essence Condensation, Beginning Bone Refinement!

Chapter 361: Essence Condensation, Beginning Bone Refinement!

December 27, 2024

In the courtyard.

At noon, the sun shone brightly overhead.

After repeated tests, Jiang Ning fully understood the power of his transformed inner breath.

Not only could it condense without dispersing, but it could also extend over 130 zhang.

Moreover, a single strand of his inner breath now had dozens of times the effect it had before.

This was an extremely exaggerated transformation.

"It's truly the difference between heaven and earth!"

He sighed with emotion.

Then, he closed his eyes slightly and visualized his energy core.

At this moment, the state of his inner breath within his energy core was completely different from before.

Previously, it was like smoke or mist, but now it had transformed into a liquid state.

His vast inner breath had now condensed into a liquid the size of a spring-fed pond.

The liquefaction of inner breath is known as True Energy.

"Two hundred and forty years of cultivation, after the transformation, is only the size of a pond. No wonder the Martial Practitioners' True Energy bursts are so short-lived!"

Looking at the pond-sized energy in his energy core, Jiang Ning shook his head inwardly.

At the same time, he noticed that the water level in the pond had already dropped by two-tenths.

This meant that just from his testing, he had consumed two-tenths of his True Energy.

"This is way too short-lived!"

Jiang Ning slowly opened his eyes and shook his head slightly.

After witnessing the speed at which True Energy was consumed, he understood even more.

Why Martial Practitioners could possess extraordinary strength, and how he could strike down a thousand armies with a single breath, yet still be unable to ignore the number of soldiers.

The main reason was the lack of longevity.

The transformation of inner breath into True Energy, while indomitable like Prana, is short-lived when unleashed. Ordinary Ranked Warriors would be instantly slain, their bodies severed.

However, such intense bursts, even with strengthened meridians, could not withstand the total amount of True Energy.

That Fifth Rank expert from the book, after striking a thousand armies, met his end pierced by ten thousand arrows, fighting to the death.

That final strike was the last gasp of a powerful crossbow.

Within the military's elite forces, there are Ranked Martial Practitioners, armored and equipped with sharp weapons.

Any Martial Practitioner who has entered the Ninth Rank possesses at least seven to eight hundred jin of strength in a single arm.

This is just their base strength; when unleashed, they can easily burst with two to three times the force.

Just as an untrained person can punch with sixty to seventy jin of force, they can unleash two to three times the impact.

So, even for Martial Experts, these ordinary soldiers are not to be underestimated.

Especially when organized, they become even more formidable.

Armored Martial Practitioners, clad in fine iron with skin tough as copper, each one surpasses solid rock.

Killing any one of them is no less than toppling mountains and splitting stones.

Not to mention that among the troops, there is no shortage of Martial Experts.

Thinking of all this,

Jiang Ning shook his head silently.

"No wonder Bai Luoyu once said that without becoming a Grandmaster, one will never be truly valued by the court."

"The Grandmaster, or the Heaven and Man Grandmaster, should be the real watershed!"

Then,

His gaze fell on the sundial in the courtyard.

"The sixth hour of noon!"

"Half a shichen left!"

"Perfect, let's try absorbing the essence at noon!"

[Skills]: Inner Core Nourishing Art (Great Mastery 0/10,000)



After a glance at his skill panel, Jiang Ning closed it.

From Great Mastery to Perfection, the experience required for the Inner Core Nourishing Art is 10,000 points.

This number seems large, but he felt it was manageable.

With his previous efficiency, absorbing the Great Sun Essence Energy for two hours a day could earn him over a hundred experience points.

Ten thousand experience points would take just about three months.

In about three months, this skill, ranked above superior Martial Arts, could reach Perfection.

He could then achieve the state of having a Golden Core within, controlling his destiny.

Furthermore, he could also attain the key to becoming a Heaven and Man Grandmaster.

In three months, with the key to unlocking the Heaven and Man Grandmaster stage, if Zhao Yulong knew, he would go crazy.

He entered the Third Rank as a Human Grandmaster.

Later, he entered the ancient secret realm, becoming an Earth-Bearing Grandmaster by absorbing spiritual energy and cultivating the Inner Core Nourishing Art.

However, the Heaven and Man Grandmaster stage kept him at this threshold for over a decade.

Over a decade, how many tens of years is that in a person's life? Even for a Grandmaster, it's just over two hundred and forty years.

No one below the Heaven and Man Grandmaster stage has lived beyond two hundred and forty years.

The fourth hour of the sixth hour of noon.

The Great Sun shone brightly overhead, its rays intense.

After consecutive sunny days, the winter chill had vanished, making it feel like summer.

In the courtyard,

Jiang Ning adjusted his state and assumed the Five Hearts Facing Heaven stance.

The next moment,

He faced the Great Sun, his eyes narrowing slightly.

With each breath, a crimson glow descended from above, piercing through the layers of void and entering Jiang Ning's body through his nostrils.

The Great Sun Essence Energy was like a raging inferno, instantly igniting his internal organs. His body temperature soared, and his face turned crimson, resembling a well-cooked shrimp.

After a moment, he exhaled, releasing the turbid energy from his abdomen, and his complexion returned to normal.

"The midday sun's essence energy is indeed domineering to the extreme!" Jiang Ning exclaimed, feeling the power of the midday sun.

Even though he possessed the Water and Fire Fairy Clothes, which made him immune to the elements, he could still sense the overwhelming force of the midday sun's essence energy.

Without this ability, he wondered if he could withstand the damage caused by the midday sun's essence energy.

He recalled the Organ Protection Pill that Shen Qingyi had prepared for him before her departure.

The Organ Protection Pill was a type of medicinal pill used to protect the internal organs.

In the early stages, this pill had been immensely helpful, reducing the damage to his organs during the refinement process.

"In the face of the midday sun's essence energy, even the Organ Protection Pill would be like a drop of water in a raging fire, evaporating instantly!" Jiang Ning thought to himself.

At that moment, he truly understood the terror of the midday sun's essence energy.

He realized how challenging it would be for ordinary martial practitioners to achieve perfection in the Inner Core Nourishing Art.

Without top-tier external assistance, it was impossible for ordinary people to withstand the destructive power of the midday sun's essence energy.

Even if they could endure it, how many times could they do so? And how long would it take for their organs to recover from the damage?

Considering these factors, he realized the immense difficulty in achieving perfection in the Inner Core Nourishing Art.

For ordinary martial practitioners, the path from Great Mastery to Perfection was ten times more challenging than the initial stages of cultivation.

"Fortunately, I'm different from them!" Jiang Ning adjusted his state, then continued to absorb and expel the Great Sun Essence Energy.

[Inner Core Nourishing Art Experience +1]



[Inner Core Nourishing Art Experience +1]



[Inner Core Nourishing Art Experience +1]



[.]



With each absorption and expulsion, his experience in the Inner Core Nourishing Art steadily increased, maintaining the same efficiency as before.

During this time, Lu Yi and Liu Wanwan visited the Eastern Courtyard once. After seeing Jiang Ning practicing, they quietly left without disturbing him.

In the blink of an eye, the fifth hour approached.

"Huff—" Jiang Ning exhaled deeply.

He glanced at the sundial in the courtyard, murmuring, "Almost there!"

The sundial was about to point to the fifth hour.

According to the records of the Inner Core Nourishing Art, the most intense Great Sun Essence Energy occurred during midday.

Only the midday sun's essence energy could enhance the Inner Core Nourishing Art at the Great Mastery stage.

After midday, the yang energy gradually weakened, and the yin energy became more prominent.

Absorbing and expelling the Great Sun Essence Energy at this time not only had no beneficial effects but also caused harm.

[Skills]: Inner Core Nourishing Art (Great Mastery 26/10000)



He checked his status panel and then closed it.

[69BookBar]



His experience had increased by twenty-six points, not a significant amount, but it was a solid first step.

Most importantly, it validated his chosen path.

For Jiang Ning, achieving perfection in the Inner Core Nourishing Art from Great Mastery merely required adjusting the timing of his absorption and expulsion.

There were no other differences.

This realization brought him peace of mind.

As long as he persisted for three months, maintaining unwavering dedication for dozens of days, he would successfully achieve perfection in the Inner Core Nourishing Art.

He would then attain the so-called state of swallowing a golden core, where his life would be in his own hands, not at the mercy of heaven.

Additionally, he would gain the key to becoming a Heaven and Earth Master.

"That day is not far away!" Jiang Ning clenched his fist, rose to his feet, and headed to the front hall.

In his opinion, only the Heaven and Earth Master possessed the true foundation for survival in the current Great Xia.

After finishing his lunch, he returned to his courtyard, his eyes filled with contemplation.

Earlier that morning, he had asked Lu Yi to inquire about the enrollment examination dates for the Martial Academy and the imperial examinations.

During lunch, Lu Yi had shared the information she gathered.

The Martial Academy's enrollment examination was scheduled for the fourth day, at the fourth quarter of the first hour.

"In four days, the Martial Academy will open its doors to new students!" Jiang Ning muttered to himself, deciding to take Jiang Yiming to the academy on the same day to gain some insights.

Four days was ample time for him.

With his current strength and talent, Jiang Yiming didn't need much preparation.

As for the imperial examinations, there was no specific schedule yet.

Even the registration time hadn't been announced.

He wasn't in a hurry for this either.

For the military examinations, his strength would make it a mere formality.

He could easily secure the top spot.

As for the civil examinations, the first step, known as the Tongshi or county-level examinations, was a simple assessment of familiarity with books and historical anecdotes, essentially testing one's memorization and recall abilities.

For him, this step was equally simple.

With his photographic memory, he wouldn't forget any book he had read.

So, he wasn't worried about the civil examinations either.

With Lu Yi's attention, he wasn't concerned about missing the deadline.

Splash!

On the lake surface.

Water splashed everywhere.

Jiang Ning emerged from the lake, then climbed up the stone steps to the shore.

The water on his body evaporated instantly.

His thin black training clothes were instantly dried by his true energy.

At this moment, nourished by the water source, his condition reached its peak, his spirit and energy fully replenished.

"Martial Dao Fourth Rank, mastering the second-level energy flow, drawing upon the power of heaven and earth, combining it with true energy to wash over his entire bone marrow, thus achieving a life-changing transformation and sublimation!"

The thought flashed through his mind.

Jiang Ning no longer hesitated.

At this moment, he had almost reached the limit of the fifth rank.

With the strength of two hundred and forty years, his inner breath was like prana, and his five viscera resonated with thunder.

Except for the accumulation of energy and the growth of his strength, there was no further progress to be made.

The inner breath prana, also known as essence condensation, had undergone a transformation, turning into true energy.

Regardless of the conditions, he had met them all, able to draw upon the power of heaven and earth, wash his bone marrow, and achieve transformation.

The next moment, he raised his hand and summoned a long blade with a chilling gleam.

The blade was like a mirror, reflecting the surroundings.

This long blade, named Dragon Abyss, was a spiritual armament with its own consciousness.

For the past few months, Jiang Ning had fed it with his blood daily.

This had increased the affinity between him and the blade, reaching a harmonious state like milk and water, with control as natural as an extension of his arm.

The blade's spiritual nature had also grown significantly due to the daily blood nourishment.

Now, just by unsheathing the blade, a chilling aura filled the courtyard, instantly silencing the chirping of insects and birds, creating a quiet zone within several dozen meters.

[Technique]: Wood Splitting Blade Technique (Six Boundary Breaks 7000/7000) (Characteristics: Lateral Thinking, Blade Like Thunder, Divine Blade Control, Man-Blade Unity, Innate Blade Bone)



Holding the long blade, he felt as if he and the blade had become one, causing him to nod slightly. Then, he opened his panel and took a look.

After completing six boundary breaks in the Wood Splitting Blade Technique, his blade technique had reached the third level.

Manifesting in reality.

Compared to the second-level energy flow, the third-level energy flow could draw upon even more power from heaven and earth.

"Let's try the blade technique's efficiency in bone marrow refinement first, and then the fist technique!"

Jiang Ning made an instant decision.

He now possessed two third-level energy flows.

The first was the blade technique from the Wood Splitting Blade Technique.

A single blade split the path ahead.

This was the energy flow of the Wood Splitting Blade Technique.

The second energy flow was from the Five Animal Fist Technique, which had five types of energy flows.

In Jiang Ning's opinion, there was no superiority between these two energy flows, but he felt there might be differences in efficiency.

Without trying, he didn't know which energy flow would be most beneficial for his bone marrow refinement progress.

The next moment, he clenched his right hand around the long blade and slashed forward.

In an instant, the air was visibly split in two by the blade's aura.

Whoosh!

The gale wind spread.

The blade's aura landed on the ground, leaving a long scar several yards long.

Seeing this, he retracted his blade and frowned.

"Such destructive power without unleashing true energy!"

"I can't practice my blade techniques at home!"

He muttered to himself.

Then, he made a decision and activated his mental power field, using the Secret Sound Transmission technique.

After giving instructions and reminders to Lu Yi, Jiang Ning turned his gaze towards the eastern mountains behind his home.

Dongling City.

It was divided into the Eastern District and the Western District.

The two districts were separated by the Nu River.

The Western District was closer to the plains, so the terrain was slightly lower.

The Eastern District was closer to the mountains, resulting in higher terrain.

Additionally, the terrain sloped downward from east to west, so the further east one went towards Dongling City, the higher the elevation.

His residence was in the easternmost part of Dongling City.

His courtyard was in the eastern part of the residence, making it the easternmost point of Dongling City, with steep mountains right behind it.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end