Chương 66: Chapter 65 – Small Discoveries

Mei Ling's transformation in just a matter of months was shocking! A gust of wind from behind her brought a strong herbal scent to Ren. It was a heady mix of medicinal herbs that he couldn't even begin to identify. She must have toiled over medicines for a very long time for such a powerful scent to persist all around her. Next, Ren took in her appearance.

Her jade-like skin almost glowed from within, and the lavish robes she wore, which also bore the mark of her master, set her apart from ordinary inner sect disciples. She gave off a vibrant air of power. All these changes were significant already, and he was forced to suppress blurting out his initial thoughts about a lady's appearance or scent out of courtesy. But even Ren's deeply ingrained courtesy was stretched to the limit to hold back a scream about the enormous spider that hovered protectively behind her.

The delicate and small, Silent Jade Spider Ziyin, which had once ridden on her shoulder and was the size of a small dog the last time he had seen it, was now almost as tall as Mei Ling herself! Its fangs were longer than his forearms! Those black beady eyes that had always looked calculative to Ren were all looking at him as though he were a juicy fly. It had grown by leaps and bounds and would continue to do so. Instead, Ren took a deep breath and calmly teased Mei Ling, "You're looking well too, Icy Healer."

Mei Ling let out a small laugh.

"As much as I disliked that moniker, it is really starting to fit. Come, it has been a long time since our gathering. Tell me of your adventures." They sat by the same table where she poured him a cup of tea. By the aroma of the tea alone, Ren knew they were precious tea leaves. While he hadn't pursued his lesser hobbies much recently, he knew they weren't ordinary by any means. The first sip sent a rush of qi almost equivalent to a qi boosting pill but far more gentle.

He started to describe the cave below his mountain and how he spent a month forcing his way through the killing intent to reach the eggs. How he managed to overturn disaster into opportunity. He promised to introduce Yu Ran on his next visit because he could see her eyes light up when he mentioned the possible venom the tiny snake might possess. He briefly mentioned the lectures he attended and his foray into alchemy with its many stumbling points.

He then mentioned his body cultivation and how he had pushed himself far too much to the point of exhaustion. The only thing he didn't reveal was the challenges he built in the outer sect. He didn't know if her master was one of those seeking him, but he was unwilling to place his friend in a position of having to choose to reveal his secrets. Mei Ling reciprocated and talked about life as her master's disciple. She had learned about medicine and poisons and how one could be transformed into the other.

How her master encouraged her to study herbs, spirit beasts, and gu for inspiration. She mentioned in passing a scrap of information she had heard about how the sect was planning to commence selection trials in half a year for the upcoming trial at the Golden Light Monastery. Mei Ling also shared her own experience with alchemy and how she was taught by one of her senior disciples. Ren was only envious for a brief moment until he realized her ordeal was no less than his own.

When she failed, the consequences were even more disastrous because of the poisons she was working with. He shuddered when she talked about how she had spent a week paralyzed after a particularly nasty failure. Finally, she pulled out an elaborately engraved case and opened it to reveal silver needles. She claimed to have learned another interesting skill that all healers should know. Acupuncture.

Her masters and 3 senior martial brothers and sisters had all taught her and helped her practice, but she hadn't been able to find many subjects to practice on. Ren was on the verge of congratulating her when he caught her tilted smile. She took his wrist and placed two fingers on it to take his pulse. Then with a nod she said,"All that body cultivation has been very stressful. You've got a lot of hidden sequelae. Here, let your sister help you relax!"

Those words coming from anyone else might have a different meaning, but the silver needle in her hand that sharply reflected the sun's light made it all too clear what Mei Ling intended. Before he could refuse, Ziyin herded him towards a cave with a bed. The whole cave was filled with a pungent aroma of medical herbs and incense. But that wasn't all he saw. He also saw dissected insects and small jars with strange things floating in them. He felt a shiver run down his back.

'You're such a dear friend, but why do you have to be so damn scary?!' He screamed inside his head. But despite the fear-inducing atmosphere, he still trusted her, so he lay face down as directed. Her jovial demeanor changed into one of utter focus, and the Icy Healer extended her qi towards his meridians. He could have repelled the qi but allowed it to pass through him instead. When she finished her examination, she began placing the silver needles into various nodes along his meridians.

This wasn't his first time receiving acupuncture treatment, so Ren could tell just how steady and precise her hands were. His doubts were settled when he realized Mei Ling knew what she was doing. His body started to relax, and her qi that was sent down the needles started to highlight hidden damage and blockages he hadn't even known about. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Body cultivation truly was a torturous method to gain strength.

It followed a separate system from cultivation, which used qi. By eliminating impurities and absorbing vitality and essence from external sources, one could refine their bodies to gain power and longevity. It was often practiced concurrently with cultivation to balance each system's respective weaknesses. Body cultivation allowed for quicker recovery and sudden bursts of power but burned through energy reserves rapidly during combat.

It also didn't have much versatility in the early stages, which focused more on eliminating impurities. Qi cultivation had great reserves and numerous ways to use that energy, but it didn't do much to increase the physical power and defenses of the cultivator. Practiced together, cultivators would even be able to fight beyond their realm. However, wouldn't such a wonderful method be widely popular? The problems came from the difficulty of practicing both methods simultaneously.

The sheer amount of resources would beggar cultivators, and in the higher realms, finding compatible methods became even harder. If Ren broke through from his current body refinement realm to the marrow cleansing realm, he would gain an additional 100 years of lifespan and more strength. But because the yin qi he absorbed was from an external source, it didn't penetrate so deeply into his bones.

The Balanced Yin Body Refining Art, which used a spirit flame to burn the yin qi and leave behind all this hidden damage, would soon lack the fuel to function. It was at this point that Ren intended to switch to the Heavenly Fire Body Refining manual, which would use astral qi as fuel instead of yin qi. But the waves of healing qi under Mei Ling's command rooted out the hidden flaws of his body cultivation art and enhanced the speed of his healing. It had even accelerated his timeline to a breakthrough!

The medicinal incense had lulled him into an utterly relaxed state as Mei Ling worked and Ren nearly fell asleep. When the treatment was finished, Mei Ling left him to regain his wits in peace. Between the treatment and the breakthrough after his pilgrimage, Ren realized for the first time just how poor his physical and mental state had been. Forcing his way through the killing intent of the mother snake's skin had left hidden mental scars just like his body cultivation art had.

It was only after he had healed that he realized just how much they had been wearing on him. He even wondered if that was what his intuition had tried to warn him about back then, but that didn't feel right. His heart filled with gratitude for his friend who forced the treatment on him. When he finally emerged from the cave, he thanked her profusely. Not one to shy from repaying a debt, Ren decisively took out one of the two snake eggs that had failed to hatch and handed it to her.

He could only use one and had wondered whether to sell the other, but giving them to his friend was a far easier choice to make. After some initial protests, Mei Ling accepted. Then she brought out a jar of medicinal snake wine she said would help his body even more, and they shared a few cups. As they both relaxed, they started to talk about other matters. They wondered how Bao Hua and Xi Yuan must be doing on their respective expeditions and how they should both be returning soon.

Mei Ling shared her concerns about caring for Ziyin and how to ensure she reached her utmost potential. Something Ren had to worry about too if he wanted his pets to grow well. Then they got to talking about worries and plans they had for core formation. He mentioned how difficult it was to find information for his chosen cultivation manual even in the vast reserves of the inner sect library but how he was still learning so much in the search.

"You have enough of a challenge making your own cultivation method, so why did you have to pick something that has so few resources available?" Mei Ling didn't know his chosen path of karma, but she knew of his struggles with the manual even during the qi gathering realm.

"Hah, you're one to talk! Didn't you just say your master gave you a superior cultivation method but instructed you to gather all the rare materials it needs on your own?!" Ren laughed. Such worries about advancing to the core formation realm were extremely common among foundation realm disciples.

"I'll find a way. The heavens favor me! Just a few days ago before I returned, I stumbled across a rare Hundred Poison herb hidden behind a waterfall! At this rate, I might have all the ingredients I need even before reaching the late stage." Something about that tugged at Ren's memories, but the snake wine scattered his thoughts. Instead, they started to gossip about the sects' happenings. Bao Hua was too serious and never engaged, but Mei Ling was the perfect companion to gossip with.

She found endless mirth in the stories Ren shared from his various encounters of meeting people. She nearly fell to the ground laughing when he told her about the surprise drinking party at the elegant tea house. When night fell, they concluded their festivities, and Ren took off on his flying sword. Some of the wine was starting to wear off, but he still bobbed and weaved as he flew home.

When he neared home, he nearly smacked into a particularly tall tree in the dark, which made Ren promise to himself never to fly when tipsy. Glad of the knowledge that nobody had seen his blunder, he continued on his way, failing to notice the frowning young master on the peak of the mountain from which the tall tree grew. POV change: Zi Shui's heart was pounding in his chest with the exhilaration of his discovery. He had been returning from a failed hunt when he noticed the clouds swiftly turning dark.

He took shelter in a nearby forest to avoid the sudden storm when he noticed the engraved rock in one of the flashes of lightning. It had taken a few moments, but it finally sank in that he had stumbled onto one of the esteemed Challenger's trials! All those months of searching, and he actually stumbled upon one by accident?! The heavens were still kind to those who persevered! He made sure his surroundings were safe and slowly approached to read the marker.

"The 7th challenge for those who seek. Not every strike can be avoided. Not all foes can be defeated. There is wisdom in knowing when to retreat." As he read the words, Zi Shui knew it was legitimate. It further warned of significant danger and that only those of the 9th layer of qi gathering should attempt this challenge. He was just at the peak of the 8th layer, but as the first to discover this trial, how could he simply return without attempting it at least once?!

Without even waiting for the storm to end, Zi Shui stepped forward with a grimly determined smile.