Chapter 96: Tempering the Skin Membrane

Chapter 96: Tempering the Skin Membrane

In the depths of the forest, sparks crackled as a rabbit sizzled over the fire, its skin glistening with oil and its aroma filling the air. Jiang Ning turned the wooden skewer, ensuring the rabbit cooked evenly. After a while, he used a clean stick to pierce the meat, easily skewering it. Satisfied, he nodded.

"It should be done! Time to eat!"

He waited a moment for the rabbit to cool down before tearing off a leg and taking a bite. But despite its enticing appearance, the taste was rather ordinary.

Shaking his head, he muttered, "Oh well! Without any seasoning, I can't expect too much. Filling my stomach is the priority!"

In a few quick bites, the entire rabbit disappeared into his belly. For his current appetite, an adult rabbit barely satisfied him, leaving him only eighty percent full.

After satisfying his hunger, Jiang Ning made his way to the nearby water source to wash the grease from his hands. Then, he opened a box of skin-refining sand prepared by Shen Congyun.

"It's time to start tempering the skin membrane!" Jiang Ning muttered to himself.

Quickly, he removed his clothes, ready to begin the first stage of skin tempering. This involved rubbing the skin-refining sand all over his body until it turned red and blood seeped out, indicating the process was complete.

Next, he had to circulate his Qi and blood to every part of his body, allowing the medicinal properties of the sand to be absorbed with the help of his Qi and blood.

He repeated this process, circulating his Qi and blood to form a skin membrane beneath the surface, covering his entire body.

Only after achieving this step could one truly enter the Ninth Stage of the Martial Dao.

To accomplish this, removing his clothes was essential. Without doing so, he couldn't apply the skin-refining sand to every inch of his skin. This was why Jiang Ning chose not to return to the city today.

In the forest, he could freely remove his clothes and begin the skin-refining process. If he had returned to the martial arts academy, how could he have done this in a courtyard that wasn't his own?

After undressing, Jiang Ning picked up the skin-refining sand and began rubbing it vigorously on his arms. Moments later, he grimaced, his jaw twitching slightly.

The process was genuinely painful. The sand-like particles rubbed against his skin, repeatedly grinding it until it broke. It was an excruciating experience.

Over half a shichen later, Jiang Ning endured the pain and finished rubbing the sand all over his body. His skin turned red, and blood began to ooze out.

Without hesitation, Jiang Ning immediately assumed the first pose of the Unyielding Body Technique. According to the records, there were eighteen poses in total, each corresponding to a different path for circulating Qi and blood to temper the body.

After assuming the first pose, he began circulating his Qi and blood, tempering his entire body.

Time passed slowly. After a quarter of an hour, he felt his body heat up, his muscles growing warm. He quickly switched to the second pose.

Another quarter of an hour passed, and he moved into the third pose, changing the path of Qi and blood circulation.

[Unyielding Body Technique Experience +3]



As he completed the third pose, a prompt appeared before Jiang Ning's eyes. He quickly opened his panel to check.

[Skills]: Unyielding Body Technique (Entry Level 3/100)



"Phew!"

Seeing the panel, Jiang Ning breathed a sigh of relief.

"The experience points required for this technique are ten times that of ordinary techniques, just like the Inner Alchemy Vitality Technique. It's not too outrageous!" he muttered to himself.

The next moment, he began examining his body. As he peeled away the blood crust, he saw that his skin beneath was still red and tender. Although it no longer bled, it was evident that his skin was still fragile.

Touching it with his finger, he felt a sharp pain, like being pricked by needles.

"Looks like I can't continue tempering the skin membrane today. I need some time to recover," he said.

Jiang Ning then jumped into the nearby pond. This place, which he had specifically sought out, was ideal for his needs.

Located at the side of a cliff, a stream of water flowed from a crevice, providing him with drinking water. Nearby, a semi-flowing pond allowed him to bathe.

At the Skin Tempering stage, it was essential to wash away the blood crust from the body after each training session and apply healing ointment to facilitate faster recovery. This process had to be repeated until a skin membrane formed and covered the entire body, marking the official entry into the Skin Tempering Realm and the Ninth Stage of the Martial Dao.

In the pond, Jiang Ning endured the pain and quickly scrubbed off the blood scabs on his body.

After a few minutes, he climbed out of the pond.

He dried off the water stains on his body and noticed numerous red marks all over his skin.

These red marks were wounds from where his skin had broken earlier.

The skin refinement sand also contained some medicinal ingredients to aid in healing, but it wasn't enough to heal in such a short time.

The faster his external wounds healed, the quicker his skin refinement progress would be!

Afterward, Jiang Ning went to a nearby tree and retrieved a package hanging from a branch. He picked up a round jar.

After removing the seal and opening the lid, he saw the jar was filled with a white jade-colored creamy substance.

"This is it!" Jiang Ning exclaimed.

He applied the white cream all over his external wounds, and instantly felt a refreshing coolness throughout his body.

At this moment, the sun had completely set, and the light reflecting from the clouds grew dimmer.

Jiang Ning put on his clothes, added a few more pieces of firewood to the fire, and then began practicing his fist techniques on the spot.

The next day, Jiang Ning rolled off the stone slab.

With a cracking sound, he stretched his muscles, feeling refreshed all over.

【Essence Energy】: 29.6

"Yesterday, I gained 1.8 points. As expected, the less I eat, the fewer experience points I gain."

Jiang Ning muttered to himself.

He then glanced at his arms and skin, and couldn't help but smile.

"The treatment for external injuries that Shen Congyun gave me is indeed effective. After just one night, I've recovered so much that I can continue skin tempering."

After more than half a day, his entire body was covered in skin refinement sand, and his skin was rubbed raw and bleeding.

"That's enough!" Jiang Ning said to himself after examining his body.

Then, he stood in place and assumed the first pose of the Invincible Body Technique.

He circulated his Essence Force, driving the Qi and Blood to temper his entire body.

In an instant, the Qi and Blood surged, and his body heated up.

"It's really different!" Jiang Ning's eyes lit up, and he continued to mutter to himself, "No wonder they say that mastering Essence Force greatly improves skin refinement efficiency. It seems to be true."

Next, Jiang Ning assumed the second pose of the Invincible Body Technique, followed by the third pose.

After completing the three poses, he felt that his internal Qi and Blood power had been consumed by more than half.

【Invincible Body Technique Experience +5】

Seeing this prompt, a smile appeared on Jiang Ning's face.

"With the assistance of Essence Force, the efficiency is almost doubled. It's a significant improvement."

Next, Jiang Ning cleaned his wounds and applied a medicinal ointment for external injuries.

He began practicing his fist techniques again.

Until the sun rose at the third hour, he inhaled the essence of the morning sun, tempering his five viscera and six entrails, and gaining experience points in the Inner Alchemy Vitality Technique.

【Inner Alchemy Vitality Technique Experience +1】

【Inner Alchemy Vitality Technique Experience +1】

【.】

Until the fourth hour and four beats, the fourth hour.

【Skills】: Inner Alchemy Vitality Technique (Proficiency 28/2000)



Jiang Ning glanced at his panel and muttered, "28 experience points in one day, probably enough to break through the next realm in a little over two months. Not bad!"

He nodded in satisfaction.

The Inner Alchemy Vitality Technique was a supreme technique.

Moreover, it was a supreme technique with an extremely high cultivation difficulty.

As long as he broke through the next realm, he could master Inner Breath.

In other words, in just a little over two months, he would master Inner Breath. What else couldn't he achieve?

After inhaling the essence of the morning sun, Jiang Ning continued practicing his fist techniques.

In the blink of an eye, the evening arrived.

At this time, Jiang Ning noticed that his external wounds had completely healed.

He began using the skin refinement sand again, rubbing it all over his body.

Until his entire skin turned red and bled from the rubbing.

Then he resumed the poses of the Invincible Body Technique, using Essence Force to drive the Qi and Blood to temper his skin membrane.

After completing the three poses.

【Invincible Body Technique Experience +5】

【Skills】: Invincible Body Technique (Entry 13/100)



"In nine days, I'll enter the Ninth Stage Martial Dao!"

"Since it's like this, I won't return to the city after entering the Ninth Stage Martial Dao."

"I believe that in nine days, the news of Hong Chengtao and Xu Yunfeng's deaths in Luoshui County will have mostly passed."

"Moreover, by then, I'll have entered the Ninth Stage Martial Dao. With my accumulation, even facing the Divine Strength Realm of the Eighth Stage Martial Dao, I won't be the least bit afraid!"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end