Silver, scale-like patterns grew on the branches, leaves, and even the roots of the Jade Snake Orchid. The older it was, the more it resembled a spirit snake with leaves growing from its body and an orchid balanced atop its head.
Moreover, the entire Jade Snake Orchid was as translucent as jade. One could bite into it with a "crunch, crunch," as though eating a water radish, while its refreshing fragrance rushed through every limb and bone.
Jiang Ming ate one Jade Snake Orchid, yet he did not feel close to breaking through at all. He secretly marveled at the Heavenly Tyrant Body. Cultivators of the same realm were like this: some had ordinary human bodies, while others had bodies like whales, vast as the sea. They required more cultivation resources, but the benefits they gained were also greater.
For instance, in terms of the most basic true essence, he had been a genius in his previous life, naturally gifted and extraordinarily built. At the same realm, he possessed three times as much true essence as ordinary cultivators.
Yet now, he had more than ten times as much true essence as his former self at the same realm.
He was practically no longer human.
His body was like that of a young ferocious beast.
His dantian sea of qi was purple, filled with hazy violet energy and boundless potential waiting to be unearthed.
Unfortunately, the Great Freedom Sword Scripture focused on the realm of the Dao and the Life-Bound Sword. In terms of uncovering the mysteries of the physical body, it was not as profound as the Shrouding Method.
That was why Jiang Ming had always longed to cultivate an Emperor Scripture.
"Crunch!"
Jiang Ming picked up another goose-egg-sized fruit, as green as jade, and bit into it. The flesh was crisp, its juice abundant, sweet, and refreshing. A wave of icy coldness accompanied it into his stomach before spreading through his limbs and bones.
With that chill alone, an ordinary Sixth Qi Refining Layer cultivator who dared eat it directly would be frozen into a human stick.
The fruit, as though carved from jade, naturally radiated a cool, comfortable glow. It was perfectly whole, making one marvel as if it had been meticulously polished from jade essence.
The Azure Jade Snow Lotus Fruit was one of the two precious medicines Elder Han still lacked. The old bastard had spent eight years searching and waiting for it to mature. Now, he had finally found it on the Northern Ice Plains, three thousand li away, atop a ninety-thousand-meter snow mountain.
An Ice Crystal Snow Eagle guarded the snow lotus there. It was estimated to mature in half a year. By then, Elder Han surely would not be able to sit still and would risk his life for it.
After swallowing the fruit, Jiang Ming felt the purple qi within him form an ocean, surging with a "whoosh." It transformed into a spinning purple vortex. The violent purple qi resembled the cyclone formed at the heart of a hurricane, releasing bursts of dragon roars.
He even saw what seemed to be a dragon shadow within the vortex, swallowing clouds and exhaling mist in the sea of purple qi, twisting and coiling, its head visible but its tail nowhere to be seen.
He remembered that this physique possessed the mysteries of the Nine Divine Forms.
Unfortunately, the Great Freedom Sword Scripture was not particularly compatible with the physiques of the Shrouding the Heavens world.
After all, they were things from two different worlds.
The methods of Chinese Paladin placed greater emphasis on one's Dao heart. As long as one's Dao heart was strong enough and one achieved enlightenment, one would grow ever more powerful.
If not for his Dao heart being as firm as Immortal Metal, someone in his circumstances would have long become a great demon.
Still not enough?
Then he could only eat the Nine-Leaf Phoenix Spirit Grass.
The Nine-Leaf Phoenix Spirit Grass looked as though it had been carved from Nine Heavens Scarlet Radiant Jade, a precious material used to forge Heritage Saint Weapons. Scarlet radiance shone across its entire body, dazzling and brilliant. It resembled a work of art made from lingzhi, with a natural exotic fragrance curling around it. Even a single breath made one feel cleansed and purified.
The nine leaves of the Nine-Leaf Phoenix Spirit Grass resembled the tail feathers of a phoenix. It had only those nine leaves, and once dug out, its crystalline roots made it look like a phoenix crouching upon the ground. No wonder low-level cultivators called it the Nine-Leaf Phoenix Divine Herb.
Jiang Ming picked up the palm-sized Nine-Leaf Phoenix Spirit Grass, opened his mouth wide, stuffed it in, and began chewing quickly as if he were eating spinach.
If eating the Azure Jade Snow Lotus Fruit was like eating an ice pop,
then eating the Nine-Leaf Phoenix Spirit Grass was like eating hot pot.
In an instant, a torrential heat surged into his stomach. Its juices and essence seemed to transform into a dazzling scarlet Fire Phoenix that rushed into every limb and bone.
Moments ago, after eating the fruit, Jiang Ming's body had been icy cold and covered in a layer of Nine Heavens Jade. Now, a layer of scarlet radiance enveloped him instead. He was like a lit lantern, wreathed in flickering flames. His ordinary clothes could no longer withstand the torment and burned directly into ash, falling to the ground when his true essence shook.
If an ordinary Seventh Qi Refining Layer cultivator swallowed the Nine-Leaf Phoenix Spirit Grass as he had, they would likely be burned straight into ashes.
What a tyrannical Nine-Leaf Phoenix Spirit Grass. Its medicinal power was several times more overbearing than that of the Azure Jade Snow Lotus Fruit.
At that moment, within Jiang Ming's dantian, which resembled a purple abyss, the hurricane vortex became like a bottomless pit, like a True Dragon drawing in water.
No, it should have been an Immortal Phoenix swallowing flames. The phoenix phantom formed from scarlet radiance was devoured outright. What it mainly swallowed was the trace of phoenix spirituality within it, while all the brilliant scarlet radiance flowed like countless streams returning to the sea and was ultimately absorbed.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
At that moment, Jiang Ming's Life-Bound Sword, floating within the sea of purple-gold true essence, let out joyful sword cries.
Jiang Ming saw Phoenix Feather Dao Patterns appear upon the blade. A mysterious force surged into his heart, and inspiration struck. His cultivation began to break through.
Three hours later, he naturally entered the Seventh Qi Refining Layer. The Eighth Layer was not far away either.
He had reached a realm he had cultivated before, yet this time, it brought entirely different sensations.
Could that lifelike Immortal Phoenix just now have been the Immortal Phoenix among the Nine Divine Forms of his Tyrant Body?
Whether it was the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body or the Heavenly Tyrant Body, each theoretically possessed four great phenomena and Nine Divine Forms, each bearing its own imprint of heaven and earth. Yet the details of their development depended on the cultivation methods and Dao of their owners.
For example, Jiang Ming possessed the Heavenly Tyrant Body. Logically, the true essence he cultivated should have been purple, but the true essence cultivated by his Great Freedom Sword Scripture was golden.
When the two combined, they became purple-gold true essence.
After Jiang Ming broke through, his Life-Bound Sword let out a crisp, pleasant phoenix cry. Scarlet radiance flowed across its body, making it seem like a gorgeous work of art—brilliant, radiant, and crystal clear.
Jiang Ming's heart stirred. He understood what he needed to do.
He took out the thumb-sized Spirit Phoenix Crystal. His Life-Bound Sword shrank into the size of an embroidery needle and pierced into it in a flash.
The Life-Bound Sword seemed to come alive, as if it were absorbing the power of blood essence. Originally, it had been a glazed sword of cyan jade, flowing with purple halos and specks of deep-blue starlight.
It became increasingly crystalline, gaining traces of scarlet radiance and becoming more ancient and sacred. The Phoenix Feather Dao Patterns on its blade seemed to come alive, wrapping the embroidery-needle-sized Life-Bound Sword in scarlet flames.
This devouring process took nearly an hour.
Accompanied by a sword cry like a phoenix's call, Jiang Ming's Life-Bound Sword finally transformed into a Spirit Artifact.
This was the special quality of a Life-Bound Sword. Even while Jiang Ming's own cultivation was still weak, he could nurture a Life-Bound Sword stronger than his own realm.
Moreover, this was his Life-Bound Sword. It moved according to his will, as easily as an arm or finger. It could change size at will, and within the range of his divine sense, taking another's head was as easy as reaching into a bag.
When he was at the Sixth Qi Refining Layer, the range of his divine sense had been a five-hundred-meter radius.
Now, it had directly reached a one-thousand-meter radius.
For an ordinary Seventh Qi Refining Layer cultivator, the maximum range of divine sense was only around a three-hundred-meter radius.
This was the maximum exploration range; it could not be stacked.
Divine sense was like the power of perception—intangible yet real. To truly make it materialize required stronger Dao attainment. Only upon reaching at least the Nascent Soul stage would it undergo a qualitative transformation.
With a thought from Jiang Ming, the Life-Bound Sword grew into a normal three-foot-one-inch sword and flew freely around his body.
He extended his hand, and the Life-Bound Sword flew into his grasp. Its body was crimson, marked by Phoenix Feather Dao Patterns and faint purple halos. This was due to the Purple Copper and Jiang Ming's true essence.
The material of the Life-Bound Sword had now undergone the baptism of Spirit Phoenix Blood and improved. After becoming a Spirit Artifact, it gained more spirituality and became easier to control. Not only would it consume less divine sense during use, but activating the Sword Flight Technique would also require less true essence. Furthermore, the Life-Bound Sword's power had greatly increased and could easily cut through its former self.
This was Jiang Ming's current foundation for survival. In the future, it could in turn benefit his cultivation of the Shrouding Method.
Everything was ready. All that remained was for Brother Ye to arrive.
No, that was not right. Judging by age, Ye Fan was at least twenty-five or twenty-six, older than Jiang Ming himself.
Never mind. That brat would eat Saint Fruits in the future and turn into a little kid anyway.
He even had Jiang Tingting call him Big Brother. When Ye Fan met Jiang Ming, would he not have to call him Uncle?
Still, that brat was incredibly sly. Later, his disciple Ye Tong and Jiang Tingting got together, making him the elder.
Speaking of which, was the Solar Saint Emperor's lineage surnamed Ye?
After breaking through, he felt refreshed and invigorated.
Upon entering the Seventh Qi Refining Layer, he theoretically matched the Divine Bridge Realm of the Shrouding Method.
But in reality, an ordinary Seventh Qi Refining Layer cultivator would absolutely be unable to defeat an ordinary Divine Bridge cultivator.
For one thing, the physical bodies of Seventh Qi Refining Layer cultivators were far too frail, not even comparable to some Life Spring cultivators.
These were Jiang Ming's thoughts after seeing Elder Han battle a Rogue Cultivator.
Fortunately, Jiang Ming was no ordinary Seventh Qi Refining Layer cultivator. His methods, secret arts, and supreme techniques were all among the very best. His insight and realm stood above all living beings.
After Jiang Ming's commotion, the sky had already darkened.
Another day had come to an end.
At night, he could not possibly go out. This was the Primordial Ruins.
As for its origins, Jiang Ming remembered that this place seemed to have once been the inheritance ground of the Azure Emperor Lineage.
After the Azure Emperor vanished, several Human Race forces, forces of the Azure Emperor Lineage, and forces of the Monster Emperor Lineage came to this land in search of the Desolate Pagoda and to seize the Azure Emperor's inheritance. They fought until heaven and earth shattered, turning this place into ruins.
By now, that had happened more than eight thousand years ago.
At that time, the outstanding figure of his generation, Gai Jiuyou, had still been a young man.
As the man closest to the Azure Emperor's era, it was a pity that he had also been born too close to the Azure Emperor's time. Even with talent and aptitude comparable to the ancient Great Emperors, he still could not become an emperor and missed the best period for cultivation.