novelraw Chapter 37 : Bìngfēng
Chapter 37 : Bìngfēng
Chapter 37: Bìngfēng
The Nine Heavens Secret Realm was the legacy dojo left behind by an ancient powerhouse.
A so-called dojo was the place where that powerhouse had long resided and cultivated.
An empty chamber giving rise to radiance, the nascent formation of a Dao domain.
This was the ability of a Fifth Realm powerhouse in Heart Fasting—when the mind remained in constant emptiness and stillness, it would begin to alter and occupy the surrounding environment.
Once the dojo took shape, everything became naturally formed, gathering and dispersing at will, like an enormous formation.
As one’s realm increased, control became ever more effortless.
Simply put, a dojo could be said to be a powerhouse’s “My World”—a bounded yet extremely free open world where they could construct anything however they wished.
Fang Chang had experienced countless such ancient dojos.
A place like the Nine Heavens Secret Realm that came with a self-destruction mechanism—
to be honest, it was not rare at all.
According to information dug up by veteran forum users, those powerhouses of the past would deliberately “accidentally” leak the location of their dojo before heading far away. Once they lured their mortal enemies in to steal treasures, they would detonate the entire dojo along with their foes.
Commonly known as—watch me bait and annihilate him in one move.
After all, a dojo could be rebuilt, but once a mortal enemy died, they were truly dead.
Additionally,
if one asked whether there was a correct way to open the Nine Heavens Secret Realm’s bronze gate—
there actually was.
Along the Martial Lecture Plaza route, there existed a hidden room with random teleportation. Inside, one could obtain the [Nine Heavens Secret Key · True].
By merging that key with the [Nine Heavens Secret Key] in Fang Chang’s possession,
one could open the bronze gate without triggering the Secret Realm’s self-destruction.
However, this would also activate the final boss of the Secret Realm, drastically increasing the difficulty.
Although the rewards between the two methods differed greatly,
for Fang Chang, taking the unorthodox path—speedrunning and skipping mechanics—was the correct and stylish way to clear a dungeon. Grab the key item and leave.
A full-clear strategy was simply too time-consuming and exhausting.
Inside the bronze gate,
the vast space was filled entirely with golden light.
At the center lay a pool of spring water, clear as a mirror, reflecting the phantom image of towering mountains.
At the peak of the mountains—at the rock ceiling of the space—an ice boat floated, slowly rotating on its own.
Across the mountains, three spheres of light were being held aloft.
Within them were respectively a slender blade of blue-silver grass, a treasure pill radiating emerald light, and a lifelike small two-headed pig.
Fang Chang steadied his mind and looked at the last one.
The two-headed pig appeared as though the front halves of two small black pigs had been fused together.
“Bìngfēng resides east of Wuxian; its form resembles a pig, with heads both front and back, black…”
This item was called Bìngfēng.
Its prototype was an ancient creature, possibly symbolizing the fusion of a boar and a sow—a representation of the union of yin and yang.
Its primary function was to allow yin and yang—two completely opposing, mutually reinforcing and conflicting energies—to coexist within a single body!
With this item,
Fang Chang would be able to cultivate both the Pure Yang Path and the Corpse Refinement Path simultaneously!
To be honest,
this secret treasure had not originally been within Fang Chang’s plans. His expertise already lay in corpse refinement.
But since he had already obtained the Nine Heavens Secret Key, not taking it would feel like a loss.
As the ground shook violently,
You Yuan and Dai Bojun’s panicked screams mixed together as they hurriedly rushed in.
“Brother Fang! What do we do?!”
“I’m so stupid… I shouldn’t have trusted someone who steals offerings…”
As the two entered,
the three spheres of light atop the mountain suddenly reacted, trembling violently.
In less than two breaths, the spheres broke free and rapidly turned toward the two of them.
The blue-silver grass shot toward You Yuan.
The two-headed pig and the treasure pill shot toward Dai Bojun.
“I hate luck.”
Fang Chang let out a sigh.
The owner of this dojo was already dead; all treasures here were unclaimed.
Such spheres followed the will of heaven and earth—like fine birds choosing good trees to perch on. Those with great fortune would naturally attract them.
Fortunately, Fang Chang had long prepared.
With a flash of the Blood Golden Core in his hand, a vast wave of blood surged forth, enveloping all three spheres. The spheres, proud of their nature, refused to touch the filthy blood and hovered within, anxious and restless.
The blue-silver grass was what Fang Chang had promised to give You Yuan.
But it had to belong to him first before he could give it away.
Fang Chang’s well-defined fingers pierced into the blood wave, grabbing the restless Bìngfēng two-headed pig and forcibly refining it.
After all, it was an ownerless object, not something that required complex refinement.
Immediately, the Corpse Refinement Path Class System displayed some changes.
[Bound Target: Cheng Hua (Second Realm · Spirit Preservation)]
[Soul-Linked Corpse Puppet: Zhao Yuntong]
[Current Reversible Cultivation Gain: 35↑]
[Current Corpse Refinement Path Cultivation: 7/500 (First Realm · Qi Absorption)]
[Current ??? Cultivation: 0 (None)]
Without hesitation, Fang Chang immediately circulated the Great Sun Burning Heart Technique.
Within the ‘???’, the words ‘Pure Yang Path’ appeared.
[Do you wish to allocate reversible cultivation gain to ‘Pure Yang Path’?]
[30 experience points required to begin.]
There was no doubt—
Fang Chang had no intention of spending months to get started. He instantly invested all his experience into it.
[Current Reversible Cultivation Gain: 35↑]
[Current Corpse Refinement Path Cultivation: 7/500 (First Realm · Qi Absorption)]
[Current Pure Yang Path Cultivation: 5/500 (First Realm · Qi Absorption)]
As it first formed, it was like a blazing sun crashing into existence.
Ice and fire clashed within his body, tearing and colliding violently, stimulating Fang Chang’s flesh.
Then came the silent roar of the Bìngfēng two-headed pig within his soul, radiating divine light.
The two violent streams of spiritual essence were gently gathered,
meeting within his body, circling, merging—no longer opposing one another.
Fang Chang lowered his head and looked at his hands.
His skin remained pale, even more lustrous than before.
But when he clenched his fist, he could feel that beneath the flesh, every bone was like fire-tempered steel—heavy, scorching, indestructible.
Joy rose in Fang Chang’s heart.
—This feeling was unprecedentedly good!
Fang Chang took out the blue-silver grass sphere and handed it to You Yuan.
“This is the opportunity I promised you.”
You Yuan froze for a moment, then said in astonishment, “You’re really giving it to me?”
“Of course. You can trust me, this fellow who steals offerings.”
Fang Chang was petty.
He deliberately brought up her earlier panicked words.
You Yuan’s heroic and spirited face turned awkward. Her tight outfit outlined her full and well-shaped hips and legs, her figure graceful—yet now she showed a hint of girlish embarrassment.
“Isn’t that… not appropriate? Come to think of it, shouldn’t we be escaping first?”
“The cultivation of the Hundred Herbs Path integrates with vegetation, relying on the natural flora of heaven and earth. As such, the quality of the plants a cultivator can obtain is directly tied to their cultivation.”
Fang Chang revealed a key bottleneck of the Hundred Herbs Path, causing You Yuan’s expression to change slightly.
In the cultivation world, sectarian secrecy was extremely strict. Each path treated its cultivation bottlenecks as top secrets, never to be shared.
“This blue grass is called [One-Leaf Azure]. It is the manifestation of a great expert’s Dao fruit and is highly compatible with your path. If you absorb and utilize it well, you can save most of the effort of searching for herbs.”
You Yuan parted her lips slightly, staring in shock at the sphere in Fang Chang’s hand.
She knew deeply that everything Fang Chang said was true.
And precisely because of this, the Hundred Herbs Path had never formed its own sect to this day.
If what he said was true, wouldn’t that mean she also had a chance to step onto the Great Dao?
You Yuan paused.
She broke free from the greed rising in her heart.
“B-but… why don’t you use it yourself?”
Fang Chang smiled. “As I said before, what I love most in life is nurturing promising juniors. A lovely girl like you suits my taste perfectly.”
“L-lovely… suits your taste?”
You Yuan looked flustered as she glanced at his face.
Suddenly, she realized—was this person actually somewhat good-looking?
She took the sphere, hesitated as if wanting to speak, and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks. “If you didn’t provoke so many women…”
“What?”
“N-nothing!”