novelraw Chapter 276 - 180: Half-Step Sixth Grade, Who Wants to Die First?!
Chapter 276 - 180: Half-Step Sixth Grade, Who Wants to Die First?!
Within the shattered crimson giant egg, a tall and handsome young man lay completely naked. Every inch of his skin shimmered with a radiant luster, as if he were a flawless jade carved by supernatural hands. All the scars left from the fierce battle with Yuan Qing, the Fifth-Grade Daoist Cultivator, had now vanished without a trace.
As a pair of deep and profound eyes slowly opened, two crimson rays flickered within the pitch-black cavern, brimming with an otherworldly divine light.
"I have returned. Everything has returned... This time, I have achieved complete recovery even before reaching the Little Vajra Secret Realm!"
Su Mu stretched his muscles and bones, and crisp crackling sounds instantly echoed through the cave. The inhuman agony that had tormented Su Mu ceaselessly was now utterly gone. He could feel beneath his flesh a terrifying power even greater than at his peak, and the vigorous Pill Force surged unimpeded through every meridian within him.
In a trance, the trials of the past months seemed like a fleeting dream, and now Su Mu had utterly undergone rebirth, obtaining new life!
When Heaven assigns a great task to a person, it must first harden his resolve and weary his body.
In his introspective state, he beheld all twelve major tendons, the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, and the Ren and Du Meridians within him, each like mighty flood dragons swimming powerfully through a sea of blood. After undergoing the breaking and rending of his meridians and the torment of the Yin Sha Qi, they had been reforged by the Fire Sparrow Blood—not only fully healed, but far stronger than before his injuries.
"The fourth-time Yijin is not far off."
Su Mu, after careful self-examination, felt a surge of delight in his heart. In just a few months, without relying on precious secret medicines for Yijin such as the Jade Bone Pill, but only upon the Fire Sparrow Blood, Su Mu had not only completely reforged his meridians, but even made extraordinary progress, now just a step away from the fourth-time Yijin.
"Yet this time, I was unable to break through to the fifth Refining Force... Where does the road ahead lie?"
Su Mu had once attempted to charge for the fifth Refining Force, but became lost and directionless, unable to find the needed strength. That attempt had ended in hasty failure.
At this, Su Mu could not help but let out a faint sigh.
"What a pity—I do not have a complete Sixth-Grade Technique in hand."
Previously, after slaying Yuan Wuming with a reverse slash, Su Mu had obtained the "Gold Element Divine Skill," an introductory Chapter of the "Five Elements Technique." Though it contained a breathing technique for channeling Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, it lacked the follow-up organ tempering method.
No matter how skilled the cook, nothing can be done without rice. Though Su Mu possessed the terrifying talent of the dragon-and-phoenix level, it was difficult to conjure a complete cultivation technique out of thin air in so short a time.
The Fire Sparrow Breathing in Profound Demon Five Transformations: Fire Sparrow Transformation was modeled after the breathing technique of the Gold Element Divine Skill, further inferred and created by Su Mu after studying the Fire Sparrow’s injuries for over a month.
As for why Su Mu was able to master attribute power that only a Sixth-Grade Martial Artist could grasp, it was simply because he had, from the very beginning, reinforced his body with the Five Animals Qigong.
After that, he successively cultivated numerous Cross-Training Martial Arts, resulting in a physique far stronger than others at the same realm. Only in this way could he withstand the terrifying torment of drawing Fire Sparrow Blood into his body. With his formidable comprehension, he deduced the Profound Demon Five Transformations and ultimately used the Fire Sparrow Blood to successfully remodel and reforge all his meridians.
Even if others were lucky enough to acquire the Fire Sparrow Blood, if they lacked Su Mu’s robust physique, immense willpower, and terrifying comprehension, it would be impossible to replicate the miracle that had occurred within Su Mu.
Were it any other person, they could at best achieve what Xiaolan and her brother did—breaking through to Third Grade only to halt before Sixth Grade, possessing mere semblance of a realm and form. They would then have to spend time rebuilding their Martial Dao foundation, so their combat power would fall far short of Martial Artists of the same realm in the short term.
"If only I had an organ tempering method, perhaps I could have broken through to Sixth Grade in one leap... For now, I am but half-step into Sixth Grade."
Su Mu gazed at the dwindling pool of Fire Sparrow Blood, sighing quietly in his heart.
Still, Su Mu felt only a tinge of regret—for now, all his meridians had been fully healed, and his own strength had greatly increased.
With the organ tempering method to advance to Sixth Grade, the fifth Refining Force breakthrough, the fourth-time Yijin, mastery of the Little Vajra Secret Realm—whichever of these four achievements Su Mu completed in the near future, his strength would soar to unprecedented heights.
Therefore, the remolding of his meridians was already the greatest benefit Su Mu could have received for now; as for the rest, they were unimportant.
Thinking further was pointless. Once Su Mu had swiftly confirmed his complete recovery, those profound eyes turned toward the outside of the cave.
"It is time to fulfill my promise to the Yan Family girl!"
Just now, Su Mu had heard the Yan Family girl’s voice. Now, with his mind at peace and his heightened senses restored, he quickly became aware that something seemed to have happened to her outside the cave.
Outside the cave.
Yan Xiaolan’s heart was full of remorse. She realized it must be that her prolonged time spent at the foot of the mountain had given away her whereabouts. Had she endured solitude and kept herself secluded from the very start, perhaps today’s calamity would have been avoided.
Yet Yan Xiaolan could not be blamed for everything. Not long ago, she had been an innocent young maiden of the Yan Family, sheltered from all harm. But in one night, several years ago, disaster struck and the whole Yan Family was massacred.
The carefree young maiden was suddenly burdened with a blood feud she should never have faced at her age. Su Mu had entered seclusion in the Fire Sparrow Cave, and had vanished for months without appearing. Yan Xiaolan had no way of knowing how many more years Su Mu would need to remain in seclusion.
Over a month ago, as the year drew to a close, the Yan Family Ridge was aglow with lanterns and festive cheer. The girl’s heart naturally yearned for the lively scenes at the foot of the mountain, far more than for the bleak, lonely shrine above, where she whiled away her endless days.