Qin Jue swept his gaze around and fixed it on a spot high on a nearby cliff. A concealed crevice there was just wide enough for one person to pass through. It was high up, easy to defend and hard to attack, sheltered from the wind and dry—perfect for seclusion.
"That's the place."
Enduring the sharp pain in his right arm, Qin Jue hooked his left hand into a crack in the rock, moved swiftly, and darted into the crevice in just a few leaps.
He used loose stones to block most of the entrance, leaving only a few concealed air holes. Then he scattered some powder to drive away snakes and insects. Only after that did he lean against the rock wall and sit down, letting out a long breath.
Qin Jue was in poor shape.
His right arm hung limply, swollen and purple from shoulder to wrist. The flesh at the base of his thumb had split open, revealing the stark white bone beneath. This was the price of forcibly using the second form of Cicada Wing, Thousand Threads.
"Thank goodness, the bone isn't broken."
Qin Jue looked at his mangled right arm and gave a bitter smile. Then he reached into his robes and pulled out the Snake Saliva Grass, still smelling of earth.
Snake Saliva Grass was purplish-red all over, with forked leaves shaped like a snake's tongue. A faint, fishy sweetness drifted from it. It was an excellent herb for healing injuries and setting bones, with remarkable effects on strained muscles and fractures.
He plucked a few leaves and put them straight into his mouth, chewing them up.
"Ugh..."
The bitter, spicy juice burst across his tongue. Qin Jue forced himself to endure the discomfort, carefully spread the chewed herb over the wound on his right arm, then tore off a strip of his clothes and bound the arm tightly in place.
As the medicine seeped in, a cool sensation sank into his bones, easing the burning pain considerably. A tingling numbness spread through his injured meridians and bones, and his tightly furrowed brow finally relaxed.
"My injuries are stable for now. Next, I'll rebuild my foundation and break through to the fourth layer!"
Qin Jue's gaze settled on the jade bottle containing the Earth Vein Stone Marrow before him, his eyes resolute.
Although he had reached the Hundred Refinements Third Layer, the Azure Pine Qi Drawing Art he had practiced before was merely an ordinary cultivation method. His internal organs had never undergone any special tempering, leaving his foundation weak.
The Nine Revolutions Viscera Refining Secret Record, on the other hand, focused on cultivating the five viscera first, working from the inside out.
"This is the perfect chance. I'll use the vast vital energy in the Earth Vein Stone Marrow to start cultivating the Nine Revolutions Viscera Refining Secret Record from scratch and completely remake this body!"
Qin Jue pulled out the stopper and carefully poured a small mouthful of milky-white stone marrow into his mouth.
Boom!
The stone marrow entered his stomach. Unlike other spiritual liquids, it was not gentle. A scorching current streamed down his throat.
In an instant, a wildly violent heat exploded in Qin Jue's stomach, turning into countless blazing currents that burrowed madly into his limbs and bones, his five viscera and six bowels!
"Mm!"
Qin Jue grunted. His face flushed crimson in an instant, veins bulging on his forehead. Beads of sweat dripped from his chin and struck the rock.
The vital energy contained in the Earth Vein Stone Marrow was far too violent. Wherever it went, his meridians felt as if they were being burned, his bones as if they were about to crack. This wasn't pain from an external wound; it erupted from the deepest part of his body, as if it meant to tear him apart and put him back together.
"What domineering power! No wonder it's the essence of the earth!"
Qin Jue's face burned red. He immediately assumed the Five Hearts Facing Heaven posture, sank his mind into his body, and began adjusting his breathing according to the method in the Nine Revolutions Viscera Refining Secret Record.
"Breathe in... breathe out..."
A deep, heavy rhythm of breathing filled the crevice.
As his breaths grew deeper, his chest and abdomen rose and fell more and more sharply. Then, thunderous rumbling began to echo from within his body!
Five Viscera Thunder Sound!
"First revolution, begin!"
Qin Jue muttered inwardly, guiding the stone marrow's vital energy toward his five viscera and six bowels.
An ordinary person at the Forged Skin stage of the Hundred Refinements Third Layer would likely injure their internal organs by practicing a viscera-refining technique. But the Earth Vein Stone Marrow was the essence of the earth. Though violent, it brimmed with vitality, striking a balance between destruction and restoration.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A deep, muffled rumbling sounded again and again.
Under the cleansing force of this energy, Qin Jue's five viscera and six bowels quickly grew stronger.
At the same time, the refined qi and blood began to nourish his body in turn, working from within to strengthen his skin.
He had already completed the Forged Skin stage, but before this, he had only tempered his skin superficially with the Azure Pine Qi Drawing Art. Though hard, it lacked resilience.
Now, nourished by the qi and blood of his internal organs, his skin began to redden and grow hot. A layer of greasy black impurities even seeped from his pores.
This was a deep cleansing.
A day later.
Layer after layer of dead skin peeled from Qin Jue's body. His new skin looked pale, yet was remarkably resilient, and a cold, faint glow flowed across its surface.
"So this is what it means to complete the first revolution of the Nine Revolutions Viscera Refining Secret Record... How domineering!"
Qin Jue clenched his fist. Feeling the severalfold stronger force rebounding beneath his skin, his eyes lit up.
He didn't stop. He drank another mouthful of stone marrow and continued advancing through the second and third revolutions.
With his foundation at the Hundred Refinements Third Layer and the stone marrow's help, rebuilding his cultivation went as smoothly as smashing through deadwood!
Late on the third night.
With a rumble from within, Qin Jue's whole body shuddered, and he exhaled a mouthful of foul air.
The Nine Revolutions Viscera Refining Secret Record had reached perfection in its third revolution!
His cultivation was still at the peak of the Hundred Refinements Third Layer, but his qi and blood were already several times more abundant, and his skin far more resilient. If he faced that Stone-skinned Lizard again, his physical defenses alone would let him withstand its claws.
"My foundation is complete. Next..."
Qin Jue stared at the stone marrow remaining in the jade bottle, his eyes blazing.
"I'll strike while the iron is hot—break through to the fourth layer and form Jade Bone!"
He tipped his head back and drank every last drop of the stone marrow!
An even more magnificent force exploded inside him, far more potent than before!
Qin Jue stopped guiding his qi and blood to temper his skin. With a thought, he seized control of this terrifying energy and abruptly drove it downward, straight toward his kidneys.
The Nine Revolutions Viscera Refining Secret Record, fourth revolution—Marrow Birth!
To cultivate Jade Bone, he first had to strengthen his kidneys.
As the energy flooded into them, two balls of fire blazed at his waist. Then they turned into rolling waves of heat that surged along his spine and flooded his entire skeleton!
"Ugh!"
Qin Jue clenched his teeth. His body trembled violently, and cold sweat soaked his clothes in an instant.
A sour, itchy agony spread through his bone marrow, as if the old marrow were being scraped out and replaced with fresh blood!
Amid this agony, the bones throughout his body began to transform.
His bones, once grayish-white, gradually became translucent beneath the nourishment of his abundant kidney qi, taking on the sheen of jade.
Crack! Crack!
A series of bone pops rang out in the silent crevice, rapid and dense.
His bones were growing and reshaping themselves, undergoing a qualitative transformation!
After who knew how long—
Hum!
Qin Jue's eyes snapped open, and a sharp glint flashed from them.
His entire skeleton shuddered, producing a clear chime like gold and jade striking one another.
Golden Jade Sound! His Jade Bone had taken shape!
Ordinary martial artists had to spend years tempering themselves at the Hundred Refinements Third Layer, nourishing their bones with their own qi and blood every day before they could achieve even a little progress. But with a century-old Earth Vein Stone Marrow, Qin Jue had skipped that process entirely and begun forging the foundation of his Jade Bone.
Unlike the Forged Skin stage, which only strengthened the surface, the Jade Bone Realm tempered the entire skeleton until it was like gold and jade, greatly increasing its density. Once fully activated, the bones and joints would vibrate, producing a deep, ringing hum like clashing metal. A casual swing of one arm could easily unleash over a thousand catties of force!
If he could one day reach the Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer, his force would penetrate bone, becoming Bone Penetrating Force. At the sixth layer, Muscle and Bone Unity, he would be able to unleash terrifying power that surpassed his limits in an instant.
"Whew..."
He opened his mouth and spat out a stream of white qi. It gathered without dispersing, forming an arrow that shot more than three feet and struck the opposite rock wall with a soft puff, leaving a faint white mark.
Spit Qi into Arrow!
It was a sign that his internal organs had grown strong enough!
Qin Jue lowered his head and clenched his fist.
Crack!
The air burst in his palm with a sharp pop. His injuries had not yet fully healed, but the tight, solid feeling between his bones made him feel as if one punch could shatter rock.
"The Hundred Refinements Fourth Layer. My Jade Bone has taken shape. My physical strength and the depth of my qi and blood are both far beyond what they used to be."
When he fought Wang Tie, Qin Jue had won by a narrow margin, but his right arm had nearly been crippled in the process. It had been a lucky victory. But now, if Wang Tie came back to life, Qin Jue was confident he could cut him down with ease in ten moves.
"This is only the fourth revolution of the Nine Revolutions Viscera Refining Secret Record, and it's already this powerful. How strong would I be after cultivating all the way to the ninth revolution?"
Feeling the surging power in his body, Qin Jue couldn't help smiling.
He had rebuilt his foundation—shattered the old and risen anew!
In just three days, his injuries had mostly healed, and he had not only made up for his previous weaknesses but also stepped into an entirely new realm!
"Now, if I use Thousand Threads again, this Jade Bone body will be strong enough to withstand the recoil!"
His fighting spirit rose at the thought. Qin Jue gripped the Cold Iron Sword beside him and yanked it free.
Clang!
Amid a sword cry like a dragon's roar, the Cold Iron Sword left its sheath, and a sharp flash of light streaked through the cave.
Qin Jue's wrist quivered. The Cold Iron Sword instantly began to buzz like a cicada, the tip flickering in and out like a venomous snake's tongue.
Cicada Wing—Flap Wings!
The sword's edge vibrated at high speed, churning the surrounding air until it warped. Its force was more than twice as powerful as before.
Then Qin Jue's gaze lowered, and his wrist gave a sudden flick. His sword stance abruptly changed.
Hum!
The Cold Iron Sword, which had only been vibrating at the edge, now blurred from hilt to tip, becoming a hazy white shadow.
He stepped forward, the muscles in his arm bulging, his entire limb taut as a bow drawn to the limit. With a low shout, he thrust his sword into the air!
Cicada Wing—Thousand Threads!
Hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss!
Dozens of white strands of Sword Qi, each as fine as silkworm thread, burst out of nowhere, instantly shredding the air ahead and unleashing a piercing barrage of explosions!
This time, Qin Jue's arm didn't move an inch. His jade-like bones absorbed and dispersed the enormous recoil force that had once been strong enough to shatter them. It could no longer harm him in the slightest.
"Much easier."
Qin Jue grinned, but his sword stance didn't stop. Instead, it flowed on without a break.
His sword turned. The cicada's buzz vanished, replaced by the clear, flowing song of water.
Tide Rising Sword Technique!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
First stance, Tide Rising Stance: three swords in a chain, the movements fluid and unbroken. The sword's force had only just begun to rise, like a gently babbling stream that never ran dry.
Then, without warning, his sword stance quickened.
Second stance, Tide Surging Stance: retreat to gather momentum, advance to shatter the clouds!
Qin Jue moved through the narrow crevice, his swordlight flaring brighter with each wave. The pressure of his poised, ready-to-strike force made the surrounding air feel viscous.
Before, reaching this point would have been his limit.
But now, Qin Jue felt his qi and blood surging like a river. He wasn't running out of strength—instead, the guidance of his sword stance only made his power surge more violently!
"Still not enough..."
Qin Jue narrowed his eyes and fully activated his Void Clarity Sword Heart.
In his perception, each wave of his sword stance was more powerful than the last, yet something still felt incomplete. If there was a rising tide, there should also be a falling tide. If there was a fierce, crashing attack, there should also be a retreat as soft as flowing silk.
Yin and yang turning into each other—that was the true nature of the tides!
"Rising and falling, repeating in an endless cycle... Is that the true meaning of the third stance?"
A glimmer of understanding dawned in Qin Jue's heart.
An ordinary person, constrained by their realm and lacking the surging qi and blood of the Blood Melting Realm, would never be able to bear the tremendous strain of shifting between offense and defense.
But he was different.
The foundation rebuilt by the Nine Revolutions Viscera Refining Secret Record had made his qi and blood far more abundant than those of others at the same level. And he now had a body with newly forged Jade Bone...
"Open!"
Qin Jue let out a long roar. The qi and blood surging through him like a great river seemed to have found an outlet!
A faint crimson mist instantly cloaked the Cold Iron Sword. The heat of his qi and blood made the air around him waver.
The long sword in his hand swept out in a sudden arc.
With his pure qi and blood bolstering it, his sword stance, which had been fierce and violent, turned soft and flowing in an instant, like the sea withdrawing with the tide. All its sharpness drew inward.
But this wasn't the end. It was a new beginning!
The instant his sword stance contracted to its limit, an even more terrifying force erupted from deep within the blade!
A wave of air spread outward from Qin Jue, slamming into the rock walls on either side and knocking loose countless stones.
Tide Rising Sword Technique, third stance—Tidal Stance!
Turning an opponent's strength against them, offense and defense as one!
Qin Jue moved through the flying rubble, his sword alternately fast and slow, hard and soft. At times it was like raging waves crashing against the shore, unstoppable; at others, like an undercurrent, sinister and vicious.
His transitions were so fluid and effortless that the weapon in his hand no longer seemed like a sword, but a tamed water dragon!
After a long while—
"Whew..."
The countless sword shadows vanished in an instant.
Qin Jue flicked his wrist, and the Cold Iron Sword traced a perfect arc.
Clang!
The sword returned to its sheath.
Inside the crevice, the violent force of his sword stance dissipated into thin air.
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