Innate Pure Body

PS: It was a new week again, and a new battle was about to begin. Could the brothers' support be even fiercer?

Votes, clicks, favorites—I wanted every bit of support!

Hiss!

Bone-piercing cold, sword light flashing in every direction, severed hair flying wildly!

Before the sword light even fell, the hair atop Ye Zhen's head was scattered all over the ground like cut rice stalks. His eyes suddenly widened to their limit, his teeth clenched tightly together.

Ye Zhen's expression froze there. The Ice Sword Light slashed down fiercely, and his pupils shrank to their utmost in an instant. The blood and qi throughout his body congealed at once, while his heart pumped wildly like a broken bellows. He wanted to flee, wanted to dodge, but his entire body felt as though it had been filled with slurry—he could not move in the slightest.

When the Ice Sword Light reached an inch above Ye Zhen's forehead, it abruptly stopped. The skin of his forehead was sliced open by the sword light, leaving deep bloody lines, and in an instant, blood streamed over his face.

The hot blood had barely flowed out before the chill of the Ice Sword Light froze it into bloody ice. Worse still, the instant the Ice Sword Light loomed over his head, a layer of frost formed over Ye Zhen's upper body.

Ye Zhen stared fixedly at the Ice Sword Light hanging over his forehead, terrified that it might descend even a fraction further. If it did, his little life would be finished.

At a time like this, all those grand principles about life and death were utter nonsense. Ye Zhen only prayed that the Ice Sword Light would not fall.

Time seemed to freeze. Every breath felt as though it stretched on without end.

Perhaps it was one breath; perhaps it was as long as an entire lifetime. The Ice Sword Light suspended an inch above Ye Zhen's forehead suddenly turned into a speck of cold starlight and dissipated.

"You are the seventh Outer Disciple to come seek my guidance in the past half year, but you are the only one who remained standing after taking one strike of my sword light. Fine. You are qualified to ask me, Liao Feibai, one question!" Liao Feibai emerged at an unhurried pace from behind the hall, dressed in an aqua-blue beaded diamond-patterned skirt, her black hair tied high, one hand resting on her longsword.

Ye Zhen did not even have the strength left to be surprised that Liao Feibai was such a beauty.

After receiving a sword strike that had nearly taken his life, all he got in return was the qualification to ask one question. And from what Liao Feibai had said, he was the first Outer Disciple to gain that qualification.

Ye Zhen had wanted to run, but the power contained in that Ice Sword Light had left him unable even to shift his feet. How could he run?

Kind-hearted and skilled at teaching? Right now, Ye Zhen wanted to drag Steward Zhao over and let him experience what it felt like to nearly be cleaved to death by a sword.

Once the Ice Sword Light withdrew, the blood and qi that had nearly frozen solid began surging wildly through Ye Zhen's body, immediately restoring his ability to move.

"Hmm? Are you wasting my time?" Liao Feibai raised her slender sword brows and fixed her gaze on Ye Zhen. Boundless pressure immediately enveloped him, and the sensation of his blood and qi about to freeze solid assaulted him again.

"Disciple Ye Zhen was only promoted from a Menial Disciple to an Outer Disciple yesterday. I came especially to ask Instructor Liao what cultivation manual would be suitable for me to cultivate!"

The feeling of his blood and qi about to congeal filled Ye Zhen with terror, and he shouted out the speech he had prepared beforehand. The sight of that sword light over his head moments ago had made him hesitate slightly, but Liao Feibai's cold snort reminded him.

The Liao Feibai before him was someone who never played by the rules. If he hemmed and hawed even a little, who knew how this terrifying woman would deal with him?

"A newly promoted Outer Disciple from the Menial Disciples?" Liao Feibai was visibly taken aback. Her slender Sword Willow Brows curved, and the baleful intent on her lovely face eased slightly. In astonishment, she asked, "Could you be from Hundred Pine Peak?"

"How did you know?" When Liao Feibai named his origin in one breath, Ye Zhen was startled, and a bad premonition suddenly rose within him.

Liao Feibai did not answer. Ye Zhen only smelled a faint orchid-like fragrance before Liao Feibai abruptly appeared at his side. She tapped him with one finger, and amid a surge of Spiritual Light, four phantom bloodlines suddenly rose from Ye Zhen's forehead.

However, though there were four phantom bloodlines, the fourth was still just short of becoming complete.

"Three Meridians Upper-Grade talent? That already counts as top-tier among Menial Disciples. What kind of eyes does that old Zhao have?" Liao Feibai's long Sword Willow Brows knitted sharply together.

But Ye Zhen's heart shook violently at her words.

Three Meridians Upper-Grade bloodline talent!

Ye Zhen clearly remembered that when his bloodline talent had been tested, he had possessed Three Meridians Mid-Grade talent—and even that had been rather forced. Yet now, he had Three Meridians Upper-Grade talent, only a hair's breadth from Four Meridians talent.

How could bloodline talent increase? Was it the effect of the Marrow Spirit Liquid, or the Mirage Dragon Pearl? Ye Zhen naturally connected this phenomenon to the two secrets on his person that no one else knew about.

As Liao Feibai circled Ye Zhen and examined him, her long Sword Willow Brows suddenly furrowed. "No, old Zhao is not that stupid." Her figure flickered, and she seized Ye Zhen's right arm. Great swathes of Spiritual Light once more surged down from Liao Feibai's fingertips.

"Aaargh!"

An earth-shattering scream burst from Ye Zhen's throat. He felt as though his right arm had been branded inch by inch, inside and out, by red-hot iron. The pain was so intense that he wanted to chop the arm off.

Hiss!

An exceedingly faint, thin stream of grayish-white liquid sprayed from Ye Zhen's arm, and Liao Feibai's angelic yet devilish face abruptly changed in shock.

"Innate Pure Body... just one step away, and it is actually an Innate Pure Body?"

Even Ye Zhen, whose mind was throbbing from pain, was somewhat stunned. The stream of grayish-white liquid that had just sprayed out could not have been clearer. Recently, after taking Marrow Spirit Liquid each night and cultivating the Blood Qi Art, his body would spray out varying amounts of that grayish-white liquid.

What Innate Pure Body? At the beginning, what sprayed from Ye Zhen's body had been black, foul-smelling sludge.

After pondering for a while, Liao Feibai, with her black hair tied high, seemed to reach some decision. She suddenly released Ye Zhen and asked, "What is your name?"

If he had not been intimidated by the power of that Ice Sword Light just now, Ye Zhen truly would have rolled his eyes at Liao Feibai. What kind of person was she? Hadn't he already given his name?

"Disciple Ye Zhen!" Ye Zhen still answered honestly.

"Sixteen years old. That is acceptable as well."

Liao Feibai seemed to mutter to herself, but this only left Ye Zhen even more astonished. Without asking anything, she knew his exact age. Was this woman Liao Feibai some kind of demon?

"You have not entered the Scripture Depository yet, have you?" Liao Feibai suddenly asked.

"No!" Ye Zhen's astonishment was already beyond words. She could tell that too?

"That settles it!" After muttering to herself, Liao Feibai abruptly asked Ye Zhen, "Ye Zhen, since you have not yet entered the Scripture Depository to select a cultivation manual, I will choose one according to your physique and teach it to you. Are you willing?"

"Yes, yes!" Wild joy surged through Ye Zhen's heart, and he nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

Originally, receiving cultivation guidance from a Sect Instructor had been Ye Zhen's greatest hope for this trip. He had never expected to achieve his goal so easily.

The cultivation manual taught by a Sect Instructor should be a little better than those in the Scripture Depository, right? At the very least, it would suit him. The eye of a Sect Instructor was not something newly promoted Outer Disciples like Ye Zhen could compare to.

"Then this Essence Blood Origin Body Art is quite suitable for your Innate Pure Body, and it is even more suitable for your current cultivation. So long as you practice diligently without ceasing, it will allow you to achieve Essence Condensation and Origin Gathering in the shortest possible time." A secret manual appeared out of thin air in Liao Feibai's hand, and she tossed it to Ye Zhen.

Taking the manual, Ye Zhen was overjoyed. "May I ask Instructor Liao, what grade is this Essence Blood Origin Body Art?" Ye Zhen very much wanted to know just how great a benefit he had received.

Liao Feibai's almond eyes widened, instantly sending chills through Ye Zhen's entire body. "I, Liao Feibai, would not deign to offer something like the mortal-grade rubbish found on the first floor of the Scripture Depository."

At Liao Feibai's glare, Ye Zhen did not dare ask any further. So long as this cultivation manual suited him and was stronger than anything he could get from the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion, Ye Zhen would be satisfied.

"This disciple thanks Instructor Liao for imparting the cultivation art. I shall take my leave first!" Ye Zhen, not daring to stay longer, prepared to depart.

At this, Liao Feibai's eyes widened. "What? You took the benefit, and now you want to leave so quickly?"

That single sentence made Ye Zhen feel chilled to the bone. Why did taking a secret manual from Liao Feibai feel as though he had sold himself into servitude?

Hiss!

Liao Feibai slashed diagonally with one palm, slicing off a small piece from the left half of the stone tablet standing in the room as easily as cutting tofu. Then she pointed at the right half of the tablet and asked, "One month from now, can you cut off the remaining right half of this stone tablet with one palm strike?"

Ye Zhen examined the thickness of the stone tablet and calculated for a moment before nodding. "I should be able to."

"Then get lost."

Hearing those words, Ye Zhen felt as though he had been granted a pardon. He turned and fled out the door. The instant one foot crossed the threshold, Liao Feibai's voice rang out behind him. "Ye Zhen, I forgot to tell you: this stone tablet is an Iron Stone Tablet, a specialty of Iron Tablet Peak within the Qi Yun Sect. Its hardness is twice that of an ordinary stone tablet!"

Those words exploded like thunder, startling Ye Zhen into a stumble. He froze in place and cried out, "What? This thing is an Iron Stone Tablet?"

An Iron Stone Tablet! It was the kind of Iron Stone Tablet that even disciples at the Peak Blood Refining Third Level needed to spend ten days painstakingly chiseling to produce one!

Whoosh!

As Ye Zhen staggered, an Ice Sword Light suddenly tore through the air and stopped an inch above his forehead. Its terrifying power and the intense chill contained within it instantly froze the blood and qi throughout Ye Zhen's body.

"If you cannot do it one month from now, I, Liao Feibai, will absolutely make you regret ever stepping through my courtyard gate!" Liao Feibai's icy voice sounded beside Ye Zhen's ear.

What else could Ye Zhen say? He could only nod repeatedly. Only then did the Ice Sword Light instantly disperse, and Ye Zhen's body returned to normal as he walked outside.

"Ye Zhen!"

Liao Feibai's voice suddenly rang out again, making Ye Zhen jolt violently.

When Ye Zhen turned back, Liao Feibai said to him, "If you encounter any problems in cultivation during this month, you may come find me at any time!"

After turning back to listen to Liao Feibai's instructions, Ye Zhen stared at her, and a thought suddenly arose in his heart. When Instructor Liao Feibai was not being fierce, she actually seemed rather pretty!

PS: This chapter was posted late, brothers, please forgive me. My wife went away on a business trip, so I had to take her to the train at night and settle my daughter since there was no one to look after her. I was run off my feet, and only managed to finish this chapter to my satisfaction now.