One thin abridged book after another was placed on the table, and Ning instantly began to scan the names of each of these books.
[Calamity Fiend] [Indestructible Blood Fiend] [Song of the Inferno] [Vajra Buddhist Sutras] [Freeform Soul] [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] [Eternal Mysteries of the Yellow Earth] [Spirit Fox Sutra] [Sutra of the Future Buddha] …
Every single book was covered with ancient, strange-looking characters. Fortunately, Ning had learned these words after Ning had been born into this world.
Ning took a deep breath. This was a critical choice! One which would determine his destiny!
He picked up a book and began to read.
[Calamity Fiend]. To train it, one needed to cover one's body with magic tattoos and use hellfire to temper one's body. It was extremely painful. After covering the body with nine different types of magic tattoos and after having been tempered by hellfire 81 times, the body would totally transform and become that of a Xiantian lifeform, instantly acquiring boundless strength, the ability to belch hellfire, and immediately regrow a severed arm. This was an extremely hard yet extremely fast way of training. Theoretically, one only needed 81 days in order to reach the Xiantian level.
[Indestructible Blood Fiend]. The pain this caused was even greater than that of the [Calamity Fiend] training method. It required three years of magic tattoos, three years of a hellish, tormented existence.
[Song of the Inferno]. This required one to train next to a blazing inferno, then to be engulfed by a blazing inferno, and then finally to enter the lava of a volcano without being harmed at all. It required a person to become one with fire. Once a person could control the limitless power of fire, then one would be considered to have reached the Xiantian level…
Reading these three, Ning began to frown.
Why was it that these Fiendgod training methods were all so painful? It was worse than torture!
"You foolish child." Snow couldn't help but speak out. "Only a few Fiendgod Body Refining methods are truly painful. Only five of these nineteen books are excruciating painful. The others aren't nearly as bad. I didn't expect that the first three you picked up…"
"Oh!" Ning let out a sigh of relief.
Yichuan, seated nearby, said coldly, "Fiendgod Body Refining is far more difficult than Ki Refining. For a mortal to become a Xiantian lifeform is against the natural law of the world. To reach that level through the most difficult method, the Fiendgod Body Refining method… of course it is hard! In addition, these methods which require miserable agony and difficulties, although they are quick, can be considered heterodox methods which cannot be considered to have a good foundation."
Ning nodded as he continued to read.
[Vajra Buddhist Sutras]. This was a type of Buddhist Vajra training method.
[Freeform Soul]. It required an extremely long period of time to train, but after reaching the Xiantian level, it allowed one to freely transform one's body and filled one with life. Even if one was chopped into many tiny pieces, one would quickly reform. This was one of the topmost life-preserving types of Fiendgod Body Training.
[Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. Without question, the number one type of Fiendgod Body Training method!
"What?!"
Ning's eyes turned hungry, and he immediately stared at the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] and began to read carefully.
The [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] had nine parts.
The first three levels were for the Houtian stage.
The middle three levels were for Xiantian lifeforms.
The later three levels were for the Zifu stage.
"It really is different. Those other training methods, at their peak, only allowed the trainees to become peak Xiantian lifeforms. But this [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] allows a person to reach the peak Zifu level." Ning continued to read carefully despite his excitement.
Upon reaching the Xiantian level, one would be able to control water and fire, and also possess astonishing physical strength. One's body would be light and agile, and all six of the senses would be sharpened. Severed limbs would regrow.
Upon reaching the Zifu level, one would be able to regenerate from a single drop of blood. Upon reaching the Wanxiang stage, one would have amazing powers, such as growing three heads and six arms, the Kuafu Sunchaser ability, or Shining Dragon Eyes ability. But of course, the prerequisite was that one would need to be trained in these magical powers.
Fiendgod Body Refining adepts were able to easily suppress Ki Refining adepts of the same level.
But the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] was able to suppress all other types of Fiendgod Body Refining techniques!
This was publicly knowledged!
There was no dispute!
But training in it was extremely hard, the hardest of all. This, too, was undisputed!
"That will be my choice!" After flipping through the remaining Fiendgod Body Refining books, without hesitating at all, Ning made his choice. "[Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]!"
"You've chosen?" Yichuan looked at his son.
"Yes." Ning nodded.
Yichuan said slowly, "Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens'. This is publicly acknowledged by everyone in the world as the most powerful Fiendgod Body Refining method. It is far more profound than the likes of the 'Song of the Inferno', the 'Vajra Buddhist Sutra', or the 'Calamity Fiend' techniques. And that's just at the Zifu level. The later stages of it are even more profound. If you are able to become a Zifu Disciple, it would be very easy for you to advance to higher levels as well."
"This is the most widely spread and most easily obtainable type of Fiendgod Body Refining technique." Yichuan looked at his son. "But it is also the hardest!"
Ning laughed.
He had spent two years here in this world reading many books. He knew that refining techniques were extremely important! The more profound the training technique, the harder it was to train in. For the higher level books regarding the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] to be easily obtainable meant that it was all the more important for him to choose this one.
"It has the greatest power! The undisputed best!"
"It is the most widespread one!"
"It is the most easily obtainable method!"
Yichuan looked at his son. "It has countless merits, and just one flaw; it is extremely difficult! There hasn't been a single member of the Ji clan of any of our five Prefectures who managed to reach the fourth part and become a Xiantian lifeform."
"What? Not a single member of the Ji clan in all five Prefectures has been able to use it to become a Xiantian lifeform?" Ning was shocked.
It was fine if they didn't reach the Zifu stage.
But not even one had reached the Xiantian lifeform stage?
"Right." Yichuan said. "Not a single one. Because it is simply too hard, far harder than you can imagine. But I must admit that it is the most mysterious and most powerful Fiendgod Body Refining method. Even in the legends of the Fiendgods, this technique is the most powerful one!"
"Then this will be my choice!" Ning didn't hesitate at all.
He was born into the world with the likes of the [Nuwa Painting], one of the highest class visualization techniques which would allow him to stand out even amongst the armies of Heaven. With such a firm foundation, how could he not at least give it a shot? Even if he failed, that wouldn't be a big deal. He could then choose to train in another technique.
"Fine!" Yichuan revealed a rare smile on his face. He was very happy with his son's resoluteness. "Then I will go get the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] for you."
"Thank you, father." Ning was filled with anticipation.
…...
Dark night.
The door to the room was closed, and inside the room, the arm-thick candles were flickering. There were only three people in the room. Yichuan, Snow, and their son, Ning.
Ning was holding an extremely thick book with scarlet red letters and reading through it. This was the legendary, most powerful of techniques: [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens].
"It really is hard." Ning was frowning as he read it.
The [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] had several major obstacles.
The first was the introduction. In order to begin training in it, one had to be able to sense the 'Great Yang' (the Sun) and the 'Great Yin' (the Moon) in the skies. Many other Fiendgod training methods required the absorption of elemental energy, such as fire, water, or electricity in order to build up power. But the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] required its practitioners to immediately begin sensing those two greatest of celestial bodies, and to absorb the energy of the Sun and the Moon.
Many trainees simply couldn't sense the Sun and the Moon at all. And this was just the first step!
Afterwards, by absorbing the energy of the Sun and the Moon, one's entire body would become covered with divine tattoos. This was the second part! After the Divine Sun Tattoo and the Divine Moon Tattoo were completely formed, one could be considered as having completed the first level of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]! Actually, from this very first level, one could tell how unimaginably profound this technique was, because many of the other techniques, such as the [Calamity Fiend] technique, all relied on physically carving the magic tattoos onto one's body.
But for the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], those tattoos would be formed naturally, and the divine tattoos were of the Moon and the Sun!
Once the first level was mastered, one was usually able to easily reach the third level without any problems.
But breaking through to the fourth level and becoming a Xiantian lifeform was even more difficult.
It required 'Yin and Yang to Fuse, Water and Fire Become One'. Only then could one break past and become a Xiantian lifeform.
The later obstacles… those were too far off. There was no need to worry about them.
"Whew." Finishing reading, Ning let out a long breath.
Yichuan and Snow looked at their son.
"Father, please instruct me with regards to the mysteries hidden within the first level of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]." Ning looked at his father.
"Understanding the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] is very easy," Yichuan said. "All you need to do is follow the instructions on the pictures. There are nine pictures to the first level. It is very simple."
Ning nodded. He had read many books in this world, and when he flipped through it, he had quickly learned what the training method was. But he was worried that he might have missed some sort of profound meaning. After all, training was something he couldn't be too rash about. Since his father had said that the instructions in this book were very clear, then it was time to start.
Ning closed his eyes and raised his fists, then bowed down… this was the first diagram: Bowing to the Sun and the Moon!
He carried out all of the movements in accordance with the pictures, seeming almost to move in accordance with a strange ritual dance, and his body carried within it a strange, ancient aura.
"Hrm?" Yichuan was surprised.
"His very first attempts at the movement are so accurate and so precise." Snow was surprised as well. Although most people wanted to make the movements properly, they wouldn't actually be able to do so as precisely as they wished. However, Ning had been training in accordance to the [Nuwa Painting] since his birth. His soul was very powerful, and he had extremely strong control over his body as a result. Given that he had also constantly been cleansed by the energy of nature and his soul was as pure as an infants, it was quite natural that he could easily make accurate movements.
Hua!
Ning's final movement was to sit down in a kneeling position, his two arms hanging down in front of him, as though one was resting on the sun while the other was resting on the moon.
Utter silence.
Yichuan and Snow were holding their breaths as well. They knew that it was the critical movement. The earlier dancing movements were only for the purpose of allowing one to sense the 'Great Yang' (the Sun) and the 'Great Yin' (the Moon). Whether or not Ning would be able to sense those two most exalted of stellar bodies…
Despite this just being the introductory part to the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], it had prevented countless people from training in it.
The two of them knew that the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] was the hardest Fiendgod Body Refining method to train, and they knew that the chance of their four year old son being able to master the introductory part was very low. However, parents always hoped that their children would succeed. They waited, hoping for a joyous surprise to happen…
Ning could feel his consciousness passing through multiple layers of the world's obstructions, constantly going forward… after passing through countless layers, he entered an infinite, endless void. Deep within that infinite void was two incomparably enormous stellar bodies.
One was an enormous stellar body which had huge plumes of raging flames dancing on its surface. It seemed like an enormous ball of flame, and it illuminated the endless void.
The other was covered with a layer of unending ice, with an enormous osmanthus tree in the middle of the ice. The stellar body's cold light also illuminated part of the world.
These two ancient stellar bodies, one was the Solar Star (the Sun), the other was the Lunar Star (the Moon).
"Too beautiful. Too incredible." Ning was absolutely stunned. He felt that he could even 'see' those enormous plumes of flame and 'see' the enormous leaves of the osmanthus tree.
Others, when training in accordance with the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], found it very hard to even hazily sense the Solar Star and the Lunar Star, but Ning could even 'see' the plumes of flame and the leaves on the osmanthus tree.
….
Within the hall.
Yichuan and Snow were watching in astonishment. They saw countless spots of starlight appear in the area around Ning. The countless spots of starlight were primarily gold and silver in color; scorching hot gold starlight and ice cold silver starlight. They swirled around Ning, not stopping in any location. Slowly, beneath Ning's left hand, a miniature star formed beneath his left hand, and on it an Osmanthus Tree could vaguely be seen. This was the Lunar Star.
And on his right hand, there formed a fiery hot miniature star that was surrounded by a flying Golden Crow. This was the Solar Star.
The Solar Star in one hand, and the Lunar Star in the other.
Surrounded by starlight, Ning's face seemed so peaceful, so pious.
"This… this…"
Yichuan and Snow looked at each other, stunned.
"The Moon in one hand and the Sun in the other?" Yichuan couldn't help but show his shock on his face, no matter how calm and collected he normally was. "The Osmanthus Tree was born on one, and the Golden Crow flies around the other?"
"The legendary, 'Moon in one hand, Sun in the other'?" Snow stared fixedly at the two miniature stellar bodies which had formed in her son's hands. "And even the Osmanthus Tree and the Golden Crow have appeared…"
The two were in a state of absolute shock. They were not ordinary people. Naturally, they knew much more than the common person, and they had personally read the contents of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] before. They naturally knew what this scene portended. The [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] was extremely difficult to train in, and the training speed would normally be very slow.
There were several types of 'initiations' one might see.
The first type was called, 'threads of starlight'. Only two threads of starlight would slowly enter the body. This was the poorest type of initiation and guaranteed that one would be extremely slow in training.
The second type was called 'clouds of starlight'. A large amount of starlight would surround the body and form a cloud. This was quite good, actually.
The third type, was known as 'a vortex of starlight, the Moon in one hand, the Sun in the other'. Countless flecks of starlight would swirl around the body like a vortex, while the left hand would form a 'Lunar Star', while the right hand would form a 'Solar Star'. This was the peak result. But if the two miniature stars formed to be so realistic as to even show the 'Osmanthus Tree on the Lunar Star, Golden Crow on the Solar Star', then this would be the legendary perfect result.
Actually, it wasn't strange for this result to occur.
Ning had trained using the [Nuwa Painting] visualization technique since he was born, a technique which even in the Deva realm would be a top class technique. He was even capable of dividing his mind. One could imagine how powerful his soul had become. And in addition, after being born, every day he had been nurtured and cleansed by natural elemental energy, rendering his body as pure as a newborn infant's body, without any impurities. The purity of his body was on par with a Xiantian lifeform!
His body was as pure as a Xiantian lifeform's.
His soul was so powerful that he could divide his mind.
With these two strengths combined, it was natural that he would have the utmost aptitude for Fiendgod Body Refining.
"For my son to have this sort of natural gift…" Snow's face had turned red, and she was so excited that her body was shaking. "Yichuan, the Moon in one hand, and the Sun in the other. Osmanthus Tree was born, and the Golden Crow flies! This is something out of the legends! Our son will definitely have great accomplishments when training in accordance to the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens].
"Right." Yichuan was very excited as well.
When his son was born, he had sensed that his son's arteries were very weak, and his bones were very ordinary as well. Although he knew that his son had been injured in the womb, he was still somewhat disappointed, because he knew… in this brutal, man-eat-man world, anyone who had no power would find it hard to live a good life. While he was alive, he could protect his son, but what if he died?
"This is my son! The son of Ji Yichuan!" Yichuan held his wife's hand tightly, and the two stared with excitement and hope towards their son.
Which parents didn't hope that their 'children would fly like dragons'?
…...
Ning's eyes were closed, and he continued to sit on his knees, holding his two hands in front of him limply, with the Lunar Star in one, and the Solar Star in the other.
Those two miniature floating Solar Star and Lunar Stars were separately transmitting energy nonstop into Ning's body. The power of the Sun and the power of the Moon were quickly absorbed by the ravenous cells in his body, and Ning's entire musculature and bone structure were undergoing constant transformations.
"Swish…" A layer of ice suddenly appeared on the beast fur clothes which Ning was wearing.
But then, "Crackle crackle crackle." The back of Ning's clothes suddenly began to burn with fire.
Both frozen and blazing.
This constant interchange was resulting in his furs starting to split apart.
"Hrm?" Yichuan frowned. He pointed with a finger, and a ray of blue flowing light leaped out of his finger towards Ning's back, and the already half-ragged fur clothes totally split apart and collapsed, leaving Ning's back totally bare. On Ning's tender, young back, there was silver light flashing on the left, while golden light flashing on the right.
On the left, frozen side, the silver light was constantly flowing and slowly forming into a pattern.
On the right, blazing side, the golden light was also constantly flowing and also formed a separate pattern.
"Divine Tattoos!" Snow said softly. "The very first time he trains, he is already beginning to form the Divine Tattoos. Given this tattoo forming speed, in ten days or so the tattoo will have been fully formed. By then, the first level of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] will be done.
"Right." Yichuan watched quietly.
Time passed…
The Divine Tattoos on Ning's youthful back continued to grow. One could faintly tell that the left tattoo was that of a rabbit, while the right side was that of a crow.
The two great Divine Tattoos. The Divine Moon Tattoo was that of the Moon Rabbit, while the Divine Sun Tattoo was that of the Golden Crow.
"Hu." Ning suddenly let out a long breath and opened his eyes. The Divine Tattoos on his back disappeared as well, and the two stellar bodies in his hands quickly dissipated. This caused Ning to be greatly startled. He had carefully read the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], and he knew exactly what it meant for him to have the Moon in one hand, the Sun in the other, especially with the Osmanthus Tree being born and the Golden Crow flying.
"What a powerful force." Ning clenched his fists, feeling his body surge with power. "I'm just a four-year-old child and I've just been initiated into the Fiendgod Body Refining method, but I already am this strong."
Suddenly, a cold voice rang out.
"Put on a change of clothes." With a wave of his hands, his father Yichuan made a set of children's fur clothes appear out of midair, then tossed it to his son.
"Yes." Ning immediately grabbed it.
Snow was still looking at her son, her face filled with joy. The more she looked at him, the happier she felt. Her son was her pride and her joy. On the day he was born, she had been worried about her son's future…but now, her son had demonstrated such inconceivable potential. As a mother, in her heart, naturally she felt filled with joy.
"Ning," Yichuan said calmly.
"Father." Ning listened carefully.
"Your potential is extraordinary. However, if you wish to break through the bottleneck of ordinary lifeforms and become a Xiantian lifeform, and then embark on the road to becoming an Immortal, potential alone isn't enough." Yichuan looked at his son. "You need to receive the best instruction possible."
Ning said respectfully, "Father, please instruct me."
"Snow." Yichuan looked at his wife, Yuchi Snow. She nodded, and with a flip of her hand, two items appeared. One was a deep green gemstone, roughly the size of a fingernail. It was cut and very beautiful. The other was a flashing, rainbow-colored, fist-sized rock.
"This deep green stone is known as a kalestone." Snow smiled. "This is a naturally forming gemstone which contains a miniature dimension inside of it. You can use it as part of a ring and store small items in it, or you can hide and store it within your belt. All you need to do to make it yours is to bind it with blood."
"Kalestone!" Ning was overjoyed.
Training to become an Immortal was divided into two paths; the Body Refining path and the Ki Refining path.
Body Refiners belonged to the Fiendgod path and didn't teach someone how to use magical treasures.
Ki Refiners, after becoming Xiantian lifeforms, would be able to control a few low level treasures… but even the lowest of manufactured treasures had a minimum requirement of the user being a Ki Refiner of the Xiantian level. Thus, most Fiendgod Body Refiners would also concurrently train in Ki.
However, Heaven always gave people a chance.
There were some naturally occurring objects which only needed to be bound by blood and didn't have any strength requirements. kalestone was one of them!
"Bind it first." Snow handed the kalestone and a shortsword over.
"Yes, Mother." Ning accepted them. He didn't hesitate at all, as he gently pricked his finger with the edge of the shortsword. A single drop of blood fell onto the kalestone and was quickly absorbed, giving the kalestone a hint of a blood color.
"Get in." Ning willed the shortsword in his hand to disappear, and it did, reforming and floating within the miniature dimension inside the kalestone.
"Come out." The shortsword appeared in his hands.
"How magical." Ning was absolutely delighted.
He knew long ago that these naturally occurring dimensional gemstones existed. They weren't like those manufactured treasures, which all had relatively large internal dimensions. The kalestone, as a naturally occurring object, had a much smaller internal dimension. Some were only the size of a fist or a head! These half-meter long ones were definitely an extremely precious treasure.
"Mother," Ning hurriedly said. "Please help me make a belt and put the kalestone inside of it."
"Alright." Snow nodded. "The kalestone can be considered a treasure, but to our Ji clan, it isn't something particularly valuable. Given your father's status… a kalestone isn't even worth discussing! However, the other treasure is something which your father only obtained after a life-and-death crisis!"
Snow solemnly handed over the fist-sized rock which shone with the colors of the rainbow.
"Bind it." Snow looked at her son.
Ning stuck out his finger and once more pricked it gently with the shortsword. A single drop of blood fell onto that flashing rainbow stone. The blood was quickly absorbed, and inside the rock, countless red 'arteries' could suddenly be seen. And then, the fist-sized rock turned into a liquid and flowed towards Ning.
"What's this?" Ning felt his entire body turn cold.
"It is like the kalestone. It is a naturally occurring treasure. The name of this treasure is the Goldstar Shirt." Snow explained. "You can use it immediately after binding it. It will quickly enter and become part of your skin. With the protection of the Goldstar Shirt… nothing below the Xiantian lifeform level will be able to harm you with its attacks."
Ning was shocked. "So powerful?"
He had never read of this in any of the books.
"The Grand Xia Dynasty, from the Fiendgod Era until now, has existed for countless of years, and the territory it rules over is vast. In the area around Swallow Mountain, our Ji clan reigns supreme. But in some of the more distant areas… there are clans that are even more powerful than our Ji clan," Yichuan said. "In some of those ancient, mighty clans, some of the promising young youths, while they are still young, they will be given this Goldstar Shirt to help protect them."
Ning was startled. Turning to look at his father, he felt a warm feeling in his heart.
His parents truly were very good to him.
Paragraph comment
Paragraph comment feature is now on the Web! Move mouse over any paragraph and click the icon to add your comment.
Also, you can always turn it off/on in Settings.
GOT IT