Alchemy Material

"Is there really a heaven-defying talent? It wasn't a legend after all?"

"Gulp..."

She couldn't help but grope around on Yan Nu's back, licking blood from his wounds and even taking a fierce suck!

Unfortunately, it just felt like an ordinary martial artist's flesh, and she didn't know if she needed to use an Essence Absorption Secret Art to extract an essence soul, or if she had to refine him into pills.

Many Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures had special ways of consumption, otherwise it would just be a waste.

"Hehehe... It tickles, what's wrong with you?" Yan Nu chuckled.

"Cackle cackle cackle... I want to eat you... Let's see if you're some kind of heavenly material or earthly treasure." Shen Leling laughed weirdly, her gaze like that of a starved, thirsty wolf.

Yan Nu's expression changed. "Don't kill me!"

Shen Leling cackled. "Now you know to be scared? Do you have any idea that you are most likely an unprecedented, heaven-defying aptitude!"

"What heaven-defying aptitude?" Yan Nu turned his head back warily.

"Hehe..." Shen Leling stroked Yan Nu's back, explaining leisurely. "Physique and bone structure can be divided into six grades: low, mediocre, superior, outstanding, spiritual elegance, and peerless. Half the people in the world are mediocre and below."

"As for the remaining half, the outstanding ones are one in a hundred, the spiritually elegant ones are one in ten thousand, and a peerless talent is even rarer in this world, with perhaps one or two appearing in an entire era."

"These are all categorized by immortal mighty beings, but that mighty being said that beyond these, there is a heaven-defying aptitude that he could not evaluate."

Yan Nu listened with great relish. "Could not evaluate? What does that mean?"

"It just means it couldn't be evaluated..." Shen Leling sighed with emotion. "You must know that that mighty being had long since attained ascension and was a true immortal, yet even he said that some aptitudes were one of a kind, breaking the conventions, existing in defiance of the heavens, and ought not to have appeared at all."

"You can see that this is truly an Inconceivable Physique!"

"To put it simply, Innate Yin-Yang Eyes and Nine Yin Absolute Meridians are typical outstanding talents, while the Pure Spirit Physique and Heavenly Spirit Immortal Bone are typical spiritual elegance. The Innate Two Principles Dao Embryo is a peerless talent!"

"Yet no matter which kind, they all conform to the profound truths of the Heavenly Dao, representing the craft of Yin-Yang and Five Elements creation."

"As for a heaven-defying aptitude, it shatters the normal canons of creation and defies metaphysics."

As she spoke, Shen Leling pointed at her own chest, and her body suddenly turned semi-transparent, revealing a spirit pearl.

"I was originally a clear spring on Mount Lao, but one day I suddenly gained spiritual intelligence, and eventually condensed a jade bead. That was my demonic bone."

"Humans are different. Your jade bones are naturally formed, and whichever bone it is destined to be, that's what it is. But whether human or demon, everyone only ever has one jade bone."

"Yet as far as I know, there was once a cultivator of the Demonic Path who not only possessed supreme comprehension, but also had the inconceivable 'Body of Jade Bone', meaning his entire body was made of immortal bones!"

"To the point that his cultivation speed was two hundred times that of an ordinary cultivator!"

"This was simply absurd. Everyone else had just a single piece of immortal bone, so why did that demonic cultivator have them all over? To this day, this remains a mystery in the cultivation world."

"Such a freakish talent is what we call a heaven-defying talent."

Yan Nu stared with wide eyes. "I don't have a single one, why do you say I'm heaven-defying?"

"Tsk..." Shen Leling rolled her eyes. "Did you not understand? The point isn't how many immortal bones one has... Forget it, I also know of something even more absurd. Well, you know the principle of the Five Elements Mutual Generation and Restraint, right?"

Yan Nu shook his head. "Don't know."

"This..." Shen Leling could only simply explain the principles of the Five Elements, then sighed. "...In short, Five Elements Dao Arts and Five Elements Evasion Arts basically cover all spells in the world. I was born with a Water Spirit Physique, and because water generates wood, I'm also quite good at learning Wood Element Dao Arts. But earth restrains water, so Earth Element Dao Arts will particularly restrain me. When the Zhang Family members used cinnabar and realgar against me, it wasn't just because those were evil warding items, but even more because their elements belong to earth, doubling their effect on me. If I hadn't been wearing the Golden Jade Robe, I would have decisively sucked out your essence soul back then."

"In short, this kind of Five Elements generation and restraint is the constant norm of the Heavenly Dao and the profound truth of metaphysics."

"However, a freak appeared in the Demonic Path. Guess what his attribute was!"

Yan Nu tilted his head. "He has all five elements?"

Shen Leling sneered. "Although the Five Spirit Physique is rare, it's not heaven-defying! That's still counted under spiritual elegance... But that demonic master had the inconceivable 'Five Elements Restrain Metal Physique'. In his hands, regardless of metal, wood, water, fire, or earth! Everything restrained metal!"

"Oh..." Yan Nu nodded calmly.

Shen Leling was stunned. "Why aren't you surprised? Do you know how heaven-defying this is? It's an inconceivable natural restraint! Even if he picked up a weed, he could break someone else's metal element supernatural abilities that they had painstakingly cultivated for a hundred years."

Yan Nu countered, "Wouldn't it be fine if people just didn't use metal-attribute spells?"

"Eh? You actually hit the nail on the head there!" Shen Leling nodded. "That demonic cultivator was eventually suppressed and killed by the Sect Master of Mount Tai Immortal Sect, and was skinned and dismembered to be used for pill refining. Nobody knows what kind of pills were refined, but later on they suffered a catastrophe and their mountain gate was completely destroyed. A group of cultivators from the Demonic Path seized the opportunity to take revenge and destroyed Mount Tai Immortal Sect, scattering their scriptures everywhere. That's how you are able to cultivate the Great Emperor White Jade Scripture now."

Seeing Yan Nu's expression of 'that's no big deal either', Shen Leling chuckled. "You're hearing about the Dao of the Five Elements for the first time, so you don't understand it deeply. That's why you don't realize how absurd it is for something to restrain all metal!"

"How come they're all from the Demonic Path?" Yan Nu asked.

"The Righteous Path has them too... But I only know of one." Back then, Shen Leling had swindled noble families and inquired about many pieces of news that weren't considered major secrets in the cultivation world.

"That is a prodigy from the Wang Clan of Langya who was claimed to be destined to become an immortal: True Person Gongyu."

"Not only were his bone structure and comprehension top-notch, but he also possessed the inconceivable physique of 'Heaven-Bestowed Pure Essence'. He broke his boyish purity at the age of nine, yet his primordial yang pure essence didn't lack a single fraction, allowing him to engage in endless sexual intercourse. Thus, he started practicing the Yin-Yang Cultivation Technique at age ten. Over the next thirty years, he consecutively crossed the four thresholds of Body Tempering, Spirit Marvel, Divine Sense, and Calamity Tribulation, achieving the status of a Dao Attainment Realm mighty being. During this time, he didn't know how many people he had harvested through dual cultivation... Yet his pure essence state was forever full, and theoretically he was still a virgin..."

Yan Nu listened carefully and asked, "What's sexual intercourse?"

"Er..." Shen Leling stammered for a moment, her tone somewhat unnatural as she said, "Anyway, it's a bit like you. You replenish true qi, while he replenishes something else. But you still have to eat food, whereas he doesn't, as if the Heavenly Dao automatically replenishes it for him..."

Yan Nu let out an 'oh' and said, "You said I can't cultivate, so how can I still be a heaven-defying talent?"

"That's precisely where your bad luck lies!" Shen Leling said excitedly. "A heaven-defying talent merely lies in violating heavenly principles; it doesn't necessarily mean one can cultivate!"

"Legend has it that eating such a person brings great benefits. Although it's only a rumor, this is definitely not baseless."

"You have no immortal bones and no mortal world fire, yet your physique is bizarre and seemingly heaven-defying. Isn't this just asking for death? How are you any different from a heavenly material or earthly treasure?"

"Monsters want to eat you when they see you! Taoist priests want to refine you into pills when they see you!"

Yan Nu turned his head back and looked at her seriously. "Then will you eat me?"

Shen Leling let out a chuckle. "This is my first time seeing such a peculiar physique, and I don't yet know how to eat it. I'll just keep you and raise you for now, and I'll eat you once I learn how to refine pills!"

Yan Nu's mood felt somewhat deflated. "Elder Sister, I am willing to become your pill..."

Shen Leling froze.

Yet Yan Nu immediately followed up by saying, "But I don't want to die. Is there a method where you can refine me into pills, but I won't die?"

"Hehe..." Shen Leling was left utterly astonished. "If I refine you into pills, I naturally have to take your life. You really are terrified of death, even managing to say things like wanting to be a pill without wanting to die."

She felt it was utterly ridiculous; perhaps this was simply the train of thought of a foolish person.

Yet Yan Nu said very earnestly, "Elder Sister, you saved my life, and I haven't repaid you yet. I am willing to let you suck my essence soul, and I am also willing to let you refine me into pills."

"But I cannot die. I haven't seen peace yet! I must go and find it!"

"... " Shen Leling fell silent for a long while.

She had never before encountered such a bizarre and unconventional human. She had swindled her way across the world and witnessed countless treacherous human hearts, but she had never seen such a sincere fool. In front of him, everything could be stated easily and directly.

"Do you know that the essence soul is a person's life? Once it's sucked out, you lose your life," Shen Leling said softly.

Yan Nu was startled. He truly didn't know this, and hurriedly asked, "Then is there a way for you to suck my essence soul and yet not have me die?"

"Hahaha heavens no, there isn't... Your essence soul is the sum total of your entire body's vital energy and spirit, and I can only gather it by activating the Essence Absorption Secret Art. You would practically be refined to death by me. Did you really think I could just take a couple of bites out of you?" Shen Leling was left neither laughing nor crying by him.

Yan Nu pondered. "Then can Elder Sister wait for me?"

"Wait for you to do what?"

"I will work hard to find such a method. Once I find it, you can suck my essence soul and refine me into pills then!" Yan Nu spoke with unyielding resolve, truly stubborn-headed.

Shen Leling was amused into roaring with laughter by him, and agreed, "Alright then, I'll wait for you! Yan Nu'er, once you find a way not to die, I'll eat you."

She didn't want to eat Yan Nu at all, otherwise she wouldn't have wasted her breath on him.

However, what Yan Nu said was quite interesting, so she casually made the promise.

"That's great!" Yan Nu felt immensely relieved upon seeing her agree.

"Cackle cackle... From now on, you are the pill reserved by me, Shen Leling!"

Shen Leling sat on the horse, looking at Yan Nu's back with a knowing smile.

Legend had it that eating a heaven-defying person would cause one's cultivation to surge explosively, and might even incur the addition of Heavenly Merit, allowing one to kill people without incurring karmic retribution. Some even said that refining such a person into a golden pill and eating it would allow one to achieve instantaneous ascension—she didn't know if it was true or not.

Perhaps there really were great benefits, but she didn't want to kill this rare, foolish fellow just to verify this rumor.

Otherwise, with the immortal path stretching endlessly ahead, wouldn't it be far too lonely...

p.s: Sorry.