Body Forging Late Stage (Part 1)

Yan Chihuo said, "This disciple is aware of this, and I have already prepared a few Heavenly Heart Pills."

The yellow-faced man nodded and said, "While breaking through the Spirit Jade Vajra Art is difficult, the bottleneck of the Body Tempering Late Stage is not particularly hard to overcome. Since you have prepared the Heavenly Heart Pill, it should not be a problem. Go on in. Oh, right, there is only one cave vacant at the moment, which is Human-Class Number One. This is the token for that cave."

As he spoke, he produced a gray token that seemed neither wood nor stone. Just as he was about to hand it to Yan Chihuo, his brow furrowed, and he remarked, "Someone else is coming." The cave door opened, and a young man of about twenty-five or twenty-six walked in. The young man held a folding fan and possessed the cultivation of the Body Tempering Middle Stage, with an aura of elegance and sharpness faintly radiating from him.

Yan Chihuo had gained a slight understanding of swordsmanship and immediately recognized that this person was a sword cultivator. Furthermore, judging by that sharp aura, his swordsmanship was clearly superior to his own.

The yellow-faced man said to the newcomer, "Kid Zhang, are you here to break through to the Body Tempering Late Stage?"

The young man replied, "Senior Yuan is as wise as a god; I am indeed preparing to break through to the Body Tempering Late Stage."

The yellow-faced man said, "You will have to wait a few more days; there are no vacant caves right now."

The young man was startled. Upon catching sight of Yan Chihuo, he said, "This Junior Brother is also here to break through to the Body Tempering Late Stage, I presume? I wonder if we could strike a bargain—let me go in first, and I, Zhang Jiucheng, will surely reward you handsomely in the future."

Zhang Jiucheng? Yan Chihuo had heard of this person. He was a disciple of Iron Sword Daoist, possessed exquisite swordsmanship, and was known as the number one person in the Body Tempering Middle Stage.

Yan Chihuo smiled slightly and said, "It is truly unfortunate, but this humble one is also in a hurry to break through. Senior Brother should wait a few days."

Zhang Jiucheng countered, "Junior Brother, don't be so quick to refuse. I see you carry a long sword on your back, so you must be proficient in swordsmanship. If you are willing to let me go in and cultivate first, I can teach you some methods for practicing sword intent."

In the path of swordsmanship, the Body Tempering Stage is divided into Sword Qi and sword intent. Yan Chihuo had already grasped Sword Qi, but he was still completely ignorant of sword intent. Hearing this, his heart could not help but stir.

However, he still said indifferently, "Unless one's cultivation reaches the Body Tempering Late Stage, it is impossible to master sword intent. Senior Brother is surely exaggerating to deceive me."

Zhang Jiucheng said, "True, without reaching the Body Tempering Late Stage, one cannot master sword intent. But having been under my master's tutelage for so long, I have been influenced by what I have seen and heard, and I know some corresponding techniques. If it were not for my master's lineage, these would never be passed on. Is this not enough? Furthermore, I can promise that as long as you yield, once I reach the Body Tempering Late Stage and master sword intent, I will come back to guide you. How about that?"

Yan Chihuo shook his head and said, "Senior Brother Zhang, although I am not as skilled as you in swordsmanship, I know that for matters concerning the path of sword intent, Uncle-Master Iron Sword would never allow you to pass them on. What you would teach me would likely not even count as the fur on the surface. Moreover, as a sword cultivator, one must be sincere to the sword. For you to lie about the sword path, well, let us not even speak of your swordsmanship."

Zhang Jiucheng's expression changed as he said, "I couldn't tell, but you actually have such insights into swordsmanship; it seems your skills are truly not weak. However, it is better to have no books than to believe everything in them. The saying that one must be sincere to the sword is merely the view of ancient sword cultivators. In today's cultivation world, who still brings that up? It is clear you have no proper master in the way of the sword."

Yan Chihuo ignored him and said to the yellow-faced man, "Uncle-Master Yuan, please give me the token; I wish to go and cultivate."

Just as the yellow-faced man was about to produce the token, Zhang Jiucheng added, "Wait!"

The yellow-faced man asked in astonishment, "What do you want now?"

Zhang Jiucheng said, "I want to challenge this Junior Brother to a life-and-death duel!"

Yan Chihuo was aware of the life-and-death duel. It was a method used by disciples within the Cloud Soaring Sect when conflicts were difficult to resolve. Both parties would sign a life-and-death contract and compete on the arena, where injuries and deaths were ignored. However, this did not mean they had to fight to the death; as long as one party conceded, it would suffice.

It was clear that Zhang Jiucheng wanted to force Yan Chihuo to give up the spot through this duel. Yan Chihuo smiled slightly and said, "I refuse." A life-and-death duel required the consent of both parties; a unilateral decision was absolutely not allowed.

Zhang Jiucheng sneered, "Too afraid? You truly bring shame to Elder Ping. Back when Elder Ping was in his prime, who in the entire sect, besides the Sect Master, dared to disobey him? Even the Sect Master had to give him some face. And now that he is still recovering from severe injuries, his only disciple is nothing but a coward."

Yan Chihuo smiled faintly and said, "This humble one is indeed a coward, but I am still one step ahead of you in advancing to the Body Tempering Late Stage." With that, he took the token and walked inside. How could he take such a crude provocation from Zhang Jiucheng to heart?

Zhang Jiucheng was nearly angered to death upon hearing this, yet he was helpless. The yellow-faced man laughed heartily from the side. Although he was an ape, his cultivation had reached the Qi Gathering Stage, and his status in the Cloud Soaring Sect was far beyond what Zhang Jiucheng could compare to, so he naturally had no scruples.

Yan Chihuo walked along the passage. Before long, it branched into three paths, with the characters "Heaven," "Earth," and "Human" carved into the rock above each entrance.

He followed the Human-class passage downward, and after a moment, he saw several stone chambers. The first one was marked with the character "One." He knew this must be Human-Class Number One. There was a depression on the stone door, so he took out the token given by the yellow-faced man and placed it into the slot.

The entire stone door glowed brightly and then automatically opened, while the token fell out of the slot. Yan Chihuo caught the token and walked into the stone chamber.

As soon as Yan Chihuo entered, his spirit was lifted; one could tell from this that the spiritual energy in this stone chamber was quite dense. He estimated it to be about thirty percent denser than his own cave dwelling. Inside the chamber were a stone bed and a stone table, with a jade bottle placed upon the table.

He walked over, picked up the jade bottle, removed the stopper, and poured the contents into his palm, revealing twelve white pills. Yan Chihuo recognized these as Bigu Pills; taking one would allow him to go without food for a month.

These twelve pills were exactly enough for one year. According to the rules of the Cloud Soaring Sect, if he did not advance to the Body Tempering Late Stage within a year, he would have to leave this place, and any future use would require payment in jade crystals.

He sat cross-legged on the stone bed and slowly circulated the Spirit Jade Vajra Art to calm his emotions. What Zhang Jiucheng had said earlier had actually tempted him. In the Cloud Soaring Sect, Iron Sword Daoist was the number one person in the sword path; even a slight bit of guidance from him would be immensely beneficial. Even if Zhang Jiucheng would not reveal true sword techniques, anything he might accidentally let slip would be extremely rare.

In truth, it was not that he was unwilling to give up the opportunity; his earlier words were merely to provoke Zhang Jiucheng into revealing more of Iron Sword Daoist's swordsmanship, but the other party's subsequent response had left him deeply disappointed.