Black scales grew on his chest, connecting to bright red flesh, like blooming flowers growing from his heart.
The fleshy flower, resembling snake scales, grew on a person's chest; it certainly didn't look like a good thing.
Murong Yunji's face turned cold. "Do you feel anything unusual? How did the envoy from over there explain that?"
"The messenger said it's a normal phenomenon. This Infinite Spirit Method was created by a giant python, and the initial spiritual body shaping was also based on the giant python. It certainly wouldn't work for a human to cultivate directly, so this technique forms a snake-shaped Nascent Soul in the chest area to transform the spiritual power that is incompatible with the human body."
" Nascent Soul?" Murong Yunji sneered, "I've never heard of such a thing before, and then what? You believed it? And dared to continue cultivating?"
"We asked," Murong Yunliu a low voice, "It won't have any effect on the body. If we stop practicing, the snake-body Nascent Soul won't harm our bodies either. Regarding this issue, we've stopped practicing for a month, and indeed, as they said, our bodies haven't experienced any abnormalities."
"Oh?" Yuchi Feihong and Murong Yunji were somewhat surprised upon hearing this. This wasn't one of those things that caused poisoning upon first practice? And it could be stopped at any time?
wrong
"Then you're saying that the Laoda became like that because he practiced some kind of martial arts technique?" Murong Yunji asked, frowning.
"We have our suspicions," Murong Yunliu, "Because our Laoda is indeed behaving very strangely, so we've all stopped our cultivation progress, but..."
"But what?"
"But I think more and more people will be unable to resist continuing to practice in the future."
"Why?"
"Because the advancement is too rapid, especially for First Rank sorcerer." Murong Yunliu said with a wry smile, "Little sister, you are exceptionally talented. Twenty years ago, you were already Above First Rank sorcerer. At thirty, you were already Above First Rank sorcerer. Even in the Great Jin, that would be considered outstanding. But you've been in the Shen Family for many years. Have you made any breakthroughs?"
Murong Yunji: "."
"The more talented a person is, the more desperate they become, because they reach the peak earlier. Climbing early isn't a bad thing; the bad thing is that there's no way forward!" Murong Yunliu looked up at the far north. "Over the years, how many geniuses have reached their peak at fifty, but when they reach the limit of three hundred, they haven't taken another step forward!"
Murong Yunji remained silent. In the world of sorcerers, there were many such examples. Unlike martial artists, many sorcerers could reach the Above First Rank. Although their abilities and techniques differed, resulting in vastly different combat strengths, their realms were the same.
What does a top genius fear? You may have been far ahead, but no matter how fast you were ahead, others could still catch up slowly. It gives the impression that you were ahead for decades, carrying the name of a genius for centuries, but in the end, everyone is about the same.
In such an environment, how tempting would it be to suddenly discover a method that allows one to push their limits?
Why are the major families in Jiangnan so obedient now? One reason is that Chen Qing's military strength is now powerful enough that those aristocratic families dare not openly resist. The second reason is that the benefits offered by Chen Qing are large enough to give those old monsters a chance to break through their current limitations.
And now, the forces behind those giant snakes are doing the same thing: first using force to intimidate them, and then using incentives to lure them.
Few experienced warlocks can resist the temptation to advance, even knowing the risks involved.
Murong Yunji looked at him. Her second brother was ostensibly talking about their Laoda, but he was actually testing her. Clearly, he wanted to know if there were any better options in Jiangnan.
"How long has Second Brother been practicing this technique?"
"We started cautiously trying it out a month after our Laoda began training. Including the formal preparations and the month-long break from training, the uninterrupted training in between took at least three months."
"Three months, huh? Let me see." Murong Yunji suddenly placed her hand on the other person's chest, on the snake-scale flower-patterned chest.
" Yunji, what are you doing?" Murong Yunliu was startled, but before he could make a move, an extremely exaggerated surge of spiritual power rushed over!
It was a crushing defeat on a whole new level, like a lone boat adrift on boundless waves, feeling insignificant in the face of the vastness of the world.
Yunji was a genius from a young age. She was fifty years younger than me, but she became Above First Rank sorcerer before me and was also skilled in both magic and martial arts.
However, the gap would never be this large. There might be a big difference in combat power between Above First Rank sorcerers, but even if the universally acknowledged number one sorcerer Celestial Master Zhang, came, the gap wouldn't be this exaggerated.
The only possibility is that Murong Yunji has broken through!
For a moment, Murong Yunliu trembled all over. Indeed, there was a way forward in Jiangnan!
If there were any legitimate methods, who would want to risk practicing those bizarre methods left behind by demons?
" Yunji, when did you arrive?"
Murong Yunliu's voice trembled as he spoke, even more excited than when he saw Yuchi Feihong display his power. Although Yuchi Feihong was powerful, his identity was questionable. Although he claimed to be from the Yuchi Household, whether he was really him or not was another matter. Yuchi Feihong had never met him before, and he might just be a demon in disguise.
Nowadays, many outsiders, especially the powerful families, have doubts about Jiangnan. Some suspect that Chen Qing has not obtained anything from the Dragon Palace, while others even suspect that Jiangnan has actually been taken over by the Dragon Palace.
That guy impersonating Yuchi Feihong, with such immense power, might just be some being from the Dragon Palace in disguise.
But Murong Yunji is different. She was someone he had watched grow up since childhood, and her aura, including the familiar spiritual energy characteristics, were exactly the same as before. There was no mistake.
The remarkable progress of an acquaintance is far more convincing than the demonstration of ability by a stranger.
"The power within Second Brother's body is very strange," Murong Yunji said after sensing his body with her spiritual power. "It feels like... an embryo formed from special spiritual energy."
"Yes, yes." Murong Yunliu hurriedly, "That's right, and our own perception is the same. The envoy said that the Nascent Soul Method is like this: the infant body that forms a spiritual energy structure in our body is equivalent to the self-regeneration of the spirit. This regenerated spirit fully meets the standards of the cultivation method, so there will be no side effects. Moreover, the Nascent Soul is connected to the human body. As long as there is any intention, the Nascent Soul will cooperate immediately, just like an extra organ in the body."
"Do you believe it?" Murong Yunji asked with a smile.
The Murong Family members all smiled wryly upon hearing this, "That's why we suspended our cultivation."
It's called an organ, but can it really be used as one? That Nascent Soul seems to lack consciousness now, but once it takes shape, will it truly behave obediently as an organ?
If that's the case, why did the Laoda's personality change so drastically?
"Are there any risks involved in our method, Yunji? Can you confirm that?"
"I don't know." Murong Yunji didn't completely deny the other party's technique, but told the truth, "I have never seen Nascent Soul Method like yours before. I will send a message back and have the academic scholars in Jiangnan study it carefully to see if they can come to a conclusion. Second brother, you'd better hold back and not continue so easily."
"We know that," another Murong Family, a tall and thin man standing nearby, chuckled and replied, then quickly asked, " Yunji Ji, since you haven't used the Nascent Soul Method, how did you overcome that limit?"
" The Dragon Transformation Method." Murong Yunji stretched out her arm, and blue dragon scales appeared on her arm, causing everyone's pupils to shrink instantly.
The Dragon Transformation Method was the same one that was discussed when the Shen Family patriarch came here back then; unexpectedly, it was actually realized.
" The Dragon Transformation Method is now nearing completion in Jiangnan. If you brothers are interested, you can come with me to Jiangnan to take a look before making a decision."
"Good, good, good!" The group of the Murong Family members immediately smiled broadly and nodded repeatedly.
"Let's go see my elder brother first." Murong Yunji looked at the Northern Wolf Pass not far ahead. "No matter what my elder brother has become, I need to see him in person to make a judgment, right?"
"Then Yunji, be careful." Murong Yunliu reminded her, and was about to say something about what to be careful of when suddenly a streak of azure light flashed by. It was so fast that an ordinary person might not even see its shadow, but in the eyes of Murong Yunji and the others, it was clearly visible.
It was a snow-white cloud sable, moving through the wind and snow like a gust of wind; it was a spirit animal used by the Murong Family to deliver messages.
Murong Yunliu grabbed it and found a note in the soft fur of the sable.
Upon opening it, he was immediately stunned, and his expression turned serious.
"What's wrong?" Murong Yunji asked, frowning.
"The letter said that an envoy from the north visited the Murong Family today."
"Oh?" Murong Yunji immediately smiled. She hadn't expected to be facing off so soon.
The update is late. The bug with Shen Xue before the update was fixed was a mistake on the author's part; they even got their own character design wrong, which is truly heinous.
Shen Xue's part has been completely revised, hehe. Those who are interested can go back and take a look. Thank you again to the viewers for their kind suggestions, thank you, thank you!