The Dao of Body Refining was broken, his Spirit Cultivation was ruined... In such a hopeless situation, Jiang Jichen actually dared to accept Ouyang Xue's wager?
Not only that, but he even made an incomparably domineering declaration that in three months, he would take Ouyang Xue into his harem as a handmaiden. This was just too insane.
"A cripple like him... I really don't know where he gets his confidence."
"Miss Ouyang Xue is like a fairy from the heavens, her grace like the divine moon gracing the sky. How could a cripple like Jiang Jichen ever hope to lay a finger on her? It's nothing but wishful thinking!"
"If he hadn't left so quickly, I would have personally taken action and broken his third leg!"
...
Hearing Jiang Jichen accept the wager with such arrogance, the crowd of young masters was first stunned, then erupted into an uproar. They all began to curse Jiang Jichen, vowing to cripple him.
In the hearts of many young masters, Ouyang Xue was a goddess—sacred and untouchable. But now, they felt she had been utterly sullied by Jiang Jichen, at least in spirit.
The crowd was in a frenzy, but Ouyang Xue wore a look of cold indifference. It was as if she were transcendent, far above the mortal world, completely unmoved by the recent events.
'So this is the aura of a true goddess!'
The Four Beauties of Qingcheng saw how Ouyang Xue remained aloof and cold despite being the center of attention. They knew that in the same situation, they would have likely become agitated or flustered.
This was the difference, and it made the Four Beauties of Qingcheng sigh, admitting their own inferiority.
...
The world outside was in an uproar, but inside the Cultivation Arena, it was perfectly silent.
Jiang Jichen tossed Han Qing into a Three-star Bronze Cultivation Ground and gave him a kick. "Stop pretending. Get up."
Han Qing, showing no signs of having fainted, nimbly jumped to his feet. "Good thing I'm a genius and faked passing out just in time. You played along perfectly, brother, but did you have to kick for real? My bones are still aching. I think something's broken!"
"If I'd kicked you for real, would you still be standing? You know I'm a Body Cultivator now. It's normal for me to have trouble controlling my strength."
"You and your big mouth! Now you've made me the public enemy of the entire city. Provoking Murong Hee and Shen Yuqing was one thing, but why did you have to drag Princess Qing Ling into it? Don't you know she's a little tigress? You've really screwed me over this time!" Jiang Jichen started to lecture Han Qing, his face a little pale.
'In his memories, Princess Qing Ling was definitely one of the women in Cyan Moon City you absolutely could not afford to provoke.'
"What's there to be scared of? You're going to take Ouyang Xue as a handmaiden, and you're afraid of some little tigress? Heh, the Third Prince of Qingcheng is as rich as a king, and his only child is Princess Qing Ling. Marry his daughter, and you inherit the Third Prince's entire fortune! Damn, a deal like that with zero risk is a must! As for the challenge fees from those other guys, they're not even worth mentioning!"
Han Qing's greedy nature was on full display. He didn't act at all like someone from a common family. Then again, he also lacked any sense of reverence, unlike other commoner cultivators who always felt inferior before the young masters of the nobility.
Jiang Jichen didn't know much about Han Qing's background, but he was certain of one thing: this greedy fellow was definitely more than he seemed.
However, everyone had their secrets, and Jiang Jichen didn't much care about that.
Of course, Han Qing's earlier provocations had been at Jiang Jichen's behest. He was in desperate need of cultivation resources right now. This was especially true for the Undying Scripture; the further he progressed, the more massive the quantities of resources required, with the amount increasing severalfold at each stage.
Jiang Jichen just didn't know how many people would take the bait and actually show up to challenge him.
Right now, he was naturally no match for cultivators at the Eighth or Ninth Level of the Mortal Realm. But after this period of seclusion, he had absolute confidence that he could defeat them in a one-on-one fight.
"I can't be bothered to waste my breath on you. I need to go into seclusion to cultivate. You'd better stay here for a few days before you go out. Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll be slaughtered before you even make it out of Cyan Moon Plaza."
Since Jiang Jichen possessed a Five-Star Bronze Cultivation Card, he naturally had a few small privileges, like bringing someone into a Three-star Bronze Cultivation Room.
The Three-star Cultivation Arena was vast and divided into countless private rooms. After all, cultivation was a personal secret, and it was best not to reveal it to others.
"Those rotten eggs and spoiled tomatoes?" Uncle Han boasted. "I can suppress them with a wave of my hand!"
Jiang Jichen paid him no mind. He tossed Han Qing fifty First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills, then gracefully departed, leaving our dear Uncle Han to entertain himself.
The Five-star Bronze Cultivation Field was several thousand meters away from the Three-star Bronze Cultivation Ground, located in a separate, independent space.
Jiang Jichen requested a quiet room and began to cultivate inside.
As expected of a Five-star Bronze Cultivation Field, the Spiritual Qi here was countless times denser than in the Jiang Mansion's Qingjiang Cultivation Field. A single day of cultivation here was likely equivalent to half a month in the Qingjiang Cultivation Field, to say nothing of cultivating in a normal environment.
He now had four hundred and fifty First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills, all of which he had won from Murong Qingshu.
When Jiang Jichen had come today, he hadn't expected such a windfall.
His original plan had been to spend half a month in quiet cultivation inside a Five-star Bronze Cultivation Room, focusing on the Source Character Scripture in hopes of repairing his Qi Sea.
But now, with four hundred and fifty First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills on hand, he could use the Five-star Bronze Cultivation Room to refine them. It was highly likely that within half a month, he could advance the Undying Scripture to the Late Stage of First Turn.
The early stages of the Undying Scripture were relatively easy to cultivate, and Jiang Jichen had the experience of his previous life, which was the source of his confidence.
However, after reaching the First Turn Great Perfection, advancing to the Second Turn Realm was a hundred times more difficult than all the previous stages combined. Each subsequent breakthrough would be even harder. It was truly a case of 'a new heaven for each turn,' especially in a world where the Dao of Body Refining was broken.
Corresponding to the difficulty of breaking through, however, was the unimaginable, explosive growth in power that came with each success.
For example, the First Turn Great Perfection Realm of the Undying Scripture was only equivalent to the Innate Second and Third Realms of a Spirit Cultivator. But upon breaking through to the Second Turn Realm, one could definitely fight any Spirit Cultivator Powerhouse below the Innate Fifth Realm.
'I already know the Undying Scripture like the back of my hand, so there's no need to rush. Besides, Spirit Cultivation and Body Refining are meant to complement each other. In a world where the Dao of Body Refining is broken, the support of Spirit Cultivation is even more crucial. Therefore, I must first cultivate the Ancient Source Character Scripture and use its methods to repair my Qi Sea and Spirit Veins.'
'I wasn't confident I could cultivate the Ancient Source Character Scripture before because I didn't have enough resources. Now, with four hundred and fifty First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills, it should be enough to master its Qi Condensation Technique!'
Jiang Jichen weighed his options in his mind.
An ordinary cultivator could open up a Qi Sea by refining just ten First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills. With four hundred and fifty pills, plus the dense nature's spiritual energy in the Five-star Cultivation Room, re-establishing his Qi Sea shouldn't be a problem.
Although Jiang Jichen had never cultivated the Ancient Source Character Scripture, he had studied it countless times and already had some insights.
It contained no discernible characters. Even with the heaven-shattering cultivation of his past life, Jiang Jichen had been unable to comprehend the ancient script. Each character exuded the boundless aura of the Great Dao, as if a single character contained an entire world of endless transformations and profound mysteries—something one could spend lifetimes trying to comprehend.
It was only through the Mysterious Ancient Jade that Jiang Jichen could gain an intuitive understanding, which ultimately allowed him to comprehend a single text: the Source Character Qi Condensation Technique.
This was, naturally, an incomplete method. It was likely the most basic text of the Ancient Source Character Scripture. Jiang Jichen had no idea how many texts the complete scripture contained, but he knew that if it were complete, this Cultivation Technique would absolutely surpass every technique known to man, past or present. Even the world's three great Ancient Scriptures—the Creation Scripture, the Undying Scripture, and the Three Lives Scripture—could not compare.
Jiang Jichen didn't know if he would ever be able to find the subsequent parts of the Ancient Source Character Scripture. He only knew that if he wanted to surpass his previous life, he had to cultivate this technique and embark on the path to find the scripture's remaining chapters.
Practicing Body Cultivation in a world where its Dao was broken, while also cultivating a Spirit Cultivation Ancient Scripture deemed impossible to master—Jiang Jichen had chosen to walk the two most difficult paths in the current age.
If he wanted to surpass his past life, defeat his enemies, and become the greatest powerhouse of all time, he had no other choice but to forge ahead bravely.
"All things can be returned to Vanishing; all spirits can be refined into the source. The Human Body Cosmos holds infinite mysteries..."
Jiang Jichen stopped overthinking and began to cultivate the Ancient Source Character Scripture.
The beauty of this technique was that it did not matter if one's body was crippled; everything depended on one's comprehension.
With the proper understanding, all spirits could be refined, and the Qi Sea could be restored!
The Qi Sea was located in the Dantian. In Jiang Jichen's current state, his Qi Sea was shattered and unable to store Spiritual Qi. Any Spiritual Qi he absorbed would immediately leak out from the cracks.
The Qi Sea that Jiang Jichen had previously opened using the Spirit Condensation Technique had been extraordinary, several times larger than that of Spirit Cultivators at the same level.
Now, he began to circulate the Source Character Qi Condensation Technique. But at that exact moment, a strange phenomenon occurred.
The Spiritual Qi from the heavens and earth surged toward Jiang Jichen like ten thousand rivers flowing into the sea, threatening to burst the entire Five-star Bronze Cultivation Room. Nearly seventy percent of the Spiritual Qi in the entire Cultivation Arena was drained away, becoming less than half as dense as usual.
Many people were utterly shocked, and all eyes turned toward Jiang Jichen's Cultivation Room.
Jiang Jichen had no idea he was causing such a commotion, and even if he did, he wouldn't have had time to care.
He was in deep trouble. The instant he activated the Source Character Qi Condensation Technique, he felt his Dantian transform into a bottomless black hole. It began devouring the surrounding Spiritual Qi at a terrifying speed, and what's more, it started consuming his own blood essence. In a single moment, he went from a handsome, radiant youth to a dying man of nothing but skin and bones.