Path of Incarnate Sainthood

"I think this is related to your use of your own blood essence to assist in cultivating the Blood Fiend Art."

"Of course, it is also related to your powerful physique, far beyond that of ordinary people, as well as your Innate Body with all hundred meridians unblocked."

"In short, these factors have made the erosion of Bloodfiend True Qi upon you far less severe—one could even call it extremely slight!"

"But you must not let down your guard. As you use Bloodfiend True Qi more and more in the future, its erosion will grow increasingly severe, until the Baleful Intent enters your body and you suffer qi deviation."

"Of course, reaching that point may take many years, but it could also take only a few. You absolutely must not take this lightly."

After Zuo Qianqiu finished speaking, Chen Fan remained calm. He knew his own body best, but Wang Teng, standing to one side, was utterly astonished.

To be honest, it was his first time seeing someone who had cultivated the Blood Fiend Art to Great Perfection yet whose Bloodfiend True Qi had not even completely eroded the cultivator's dantian.

Toward Chen Fan, he could only offer a huge word of admiration!

"May I ask what insight Left Chiliarch has? Is there a way to completely eliminate the hidden danger posed by the Bloodfiend True Qi within me?"

Chen Fan asked.

"I would not call it insight, but your Innate Body has given me a humble idea."

"I would recommend that you take the body-tempering path and carve out a Path of Incarnate Sainthood of your own. By then, your physique will become incomparably powerful, and mere Bloodfiend True Qi will be unable to do anything to you."

"Indeed, if you cultivate body tempering to a sufficient level, turning this Bloodfiend True Qi into nourishment for your body would not be a problem either."

"However, the Path of Incarnate Sainthood is exceedingly arduous. You must endure the pain of body tempering, and you must also withstand the loneliness of seeing your physical strength unable to break through for long periods."

"Actually, the body-tempering path often depends on only two things. First is the innate talent of one's physical body; second is patience!"

"In the early stages, the body-tempering path demands very little in terms of talent. Even in the middle and later stages, its requirements for talent and comprehension are far lower than those of orthodox martial cultivation."

"But this is like grinding water through stone—it consumes time and tests endurance. For a genius martial artist like you, whose cultivation advances at breakneck speed, it is no small trial."

Zuo Qianqiu looked at Chen Fan and spoke with utmost sincerity.

Before coming to meet Chen Fan, he had not held much hope for him. Yet after this examination, his attitude had made a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn.

This kid was a talent. He could still be saved.

If he also possessed exceptional talent in body tempering, then it would not be too late to reconnect his severed martial path and create brilliance anew!

"You mean the body-tempering path has very low requirements for talent and comprehension compared with ordinary cultivation methods?"

Chen Fan immediately seized upon the key point in Zuo Qianqiu's words, but Zuo Qianqiu was left dumbfounded by the question.

"Yes."

"Yes!"

"It simply takes rather a lot of time, so you need patience."

Zuo Qianqiu reminded him again.

"Then that truly is wonderful. I have far too much patience!"

Hearing this, Chen Fan could not help speaking up. A smile blossomed across his face, and his former calm demeanor vanished without a trace.

Zuo Qianqiu and Wang Teng, master and disciple, looked at each other, unable to tell what medicine Chen Fan was selling in his gourd.

"When my talent reached the limit of the Divine Treasury Realm, it transformed into an Innate Body with all hundred meridians unblocked. That counts as some modest improvement, but my comprehension really is terribly, terribly ordinary—the aptitude of a mediocrity."

"This body-tempering path actually has such low requirements for talent and comprehension. All it requires is the time to grind away like water wearing down stone, but right now, I truly have far too much time!"

"It is practically tailor-made for me!"

"Originally, I had planned to spend a vast amount of Demonkin Lifespan to deduce a harmless advanced version of the Blood Fiend Art, freeing myself from the current erosion of Bloodfiend True Qi."

"But if I abruptly came up with such a thing, people would probably think I was about to become a second Blood Demon. The repercussions would be far too great."

"But now, I can cultivate the body-tempering path while deducing the Blood Fiend Art and raising my martial cultivation. I also need to find a breath-concealing technique, hide my aura, and play the pig to eat the tiger."

"Normally, I only need to use body-tempering techniques against enemies. Once enough time has passed, I can say that my fleshly body has suppressed the Bloodfiend True Qi within me and that I have found the future path of the Blood Fiend Art. Then I can slowly reveal my strength, and no one will grow suspicious."

Chen Fan secretly mused to himself.

His Golden Finger absolutely could not be exposed. But if he behaved too abnormally, someone would likely suspect that he had been possessed or something similar, which could very well bring him a whole series of troubles.

So when it mattered, he still had to keep a low profile. Once his overall strength surpassed Zuo Qianqiu's, and he could even be counted among the strongest in Cloud Prefecture, then even if others found his rapid rise strange and abnormal, who would dare question him?

Who would dare force him to reveal how he had increased his strength so quickly?

"Since you possess such perseverance, that could not be better."

Seeing Chen Fan's expression of having everything under control, Zuo Qianqiu truly did not know what to say.

"May I ask, Left Chiliarch, does our Chiliarch Garrison have any body-tempering techniques?"

Chen Fan asked.

"I believe there are some, but they are all Divine Treasury Realm body-tempering techniques. They would not do much to raise your current strength."

"Techniques are difficult to come by, and niche techniques are even rarer. Creating body-tempering techniques is more difficult than creating ordinary techniques, yet few people are suited to cultivate them. Thus, across the entire Great Zhou Dynasty, there are not many body-tempering techniques."

"However, I recall that the Cloud Prefecture Myriad Household Garrison has several Divine Aperture Realm body-tempering techniques, both incomplete and complete."

"Now that you have been promoted to Vice Chiliarch, you may go to the martial repository of the Cloud Prefecture Brocade Guard Myriad Household Garrison and receive one primary cultivation technique for free."

"Furthermore, because you saved tens of thousands of Ping An County's people and slew several hundred demonkin, I applied for one million great merits on your behalf."

"Generally speaking, two hundred thousand great merits can be exchanged for one Divine Aperture Realm technique. With your one million great merits, you may exchange them for five Divine Aperture Realm techniques."

"Of course, the body-tempering path does not require so many techniques. You may also exchange them in Cloud Prefecture for various cultivation resources, battle armor, weapons, and the like, to improve your strength."

"I once saw a Divine Transformation Realm body-tempering martial artist clad in top-grade battle armor and wielding an extraordinary weapon, galloping through an army of a million. With the power of one person, he slaughtered his way through the million-strong army and took the head of the commanding general!"

"Body tempering combined with top-grade battle armor amounts to double-layered defense. Its combat power is beyond estimation. Our Dragon Abyss Prefecture Brocade Guard Chiliarch Garrison does not possess such precious battle armor, but the Cloud Prefecture Myriad Household Garrison does."

"If you are fortunate enough to visit the Northern Border Brocade Guard Commandery, you will see the finest weapons in the entire Great Zhou Dynasty, the most perfect armor, the most powerful techniques, as well as the most terrifying demonkin and the most monstrous prodigies!"

Zuo Qianqiu spoke with deep emotion.

He had actually visited the Northern Border Brocade Guard Commandery once. There, he had seen peerless monstrous prodigies. They were truly terrifying beyond compare; a single glance from them could make one tremble without end. Even now, remembering it still left him with lingering fear.

Unfortunately, at that time he had merely been a Divine Aperture Realm Centurion running errands and delivering messages. He had not been qualified to remain there for long.

Later, he was promoted to Chiliarch of the Dragon Abyss Prefecture Brocade Guard Chiliarch Garrison and stationed at Purple Mountain, leaving him even less time to visit the Northern Border Brocade Guard Commandery.

Forget the Northern Border Brocade Guard Commandery—aside from traveling to the Cloud Prefecture Brocade Guard Myriad Household Garrison once each year to report on his duties, he hardly left home at all.

Sometimes, when the demonkin calamity at Purple Mountain was severe, he did not even go to report in person. Sending one of his Centurion disciples was enough to muddle through.