Chapter 12

Jiang Xiaofan was sure that he had heard correctly when Ye Yuanxue said that she wanted him to eat the Immortal Spirit Root. Suspicious, he curiously looked at Ye Yuanxue. He wasn’t feeling hungry though.

Ye Yuanxue rolled her eyes again, at a loss for words. The Immortal Spirit Root was a primordial king herb which could ameliorate one’s body and fortify the Dao foundation. To her dismay, this guy treated this rare treasure as mere food.

“Eh…. Fine, then. What am I supposed to do?” Jiang Xiaofan finally understood her words.

Ye Yuanxue cocked her head in contemplation and replied, “You don’t need to do anything. Just eat it. Afterward, clear your mind and balance your sea of awareness. Allow your spiritual awareness to course through your body. As for the rest, leave it to me.”

“Are there any risks?” Jiang Xiaofan warily asked.

Ye Yuanxue pondered and hesitatingly responded, “Don’t think so.”

“You think?!” Jiang Xiaofan widened his eyes.

“Relax! The worst that can happen is your body exploding.”

“Body exploding?!  Relax?!” Jiang Xiaofan felt queasy.  Chills ran down his spine and his hair stood on end as he looked at Ye Yuanxue smiling back at him. He didn’t want to directly reject her, so he instead queried, “Um…. Can I not eat it? Or maybe eat it another day?”

He was honestly scared. No matter how he looked at it, this girl wasn’t familiar with the procedure. He didn’t want to be her lab rat. Heaven knows what kind of accident will happen! He didn’t want to die.

“You! You don’t believe me!” Feeling hurt that she had been deeply misunderstood, she angrily threatened him, “If you don’t eat it, then I…. I won’t be your girlfriend anymore!”

“Oh jeez!”

Jiang Xiaofan wanted to cry. She wanted to break up with him just because he didn’t want to eat it? How can it be?! Dear gods, don’t prank me like this!

At a loss for words, he could only comply. Once inside their little house, he sat in a lotus position, gritted his teeth, and ate the Immortal Spirit Root in one bite. All of a sudden, his mouth was permeated with a light fragrance. This time, he had grown more accustomed to that feeling. He felt all his pores open up. The sensation was very soothing as if he was about to ascend into Heaven as an immortal.

“Control your sea of awareness and let your spiritual awareness penetrate your entire body.”

Her familiar voice echoed into his mind. Not willing to risk anything, Jiang Xiaofan heeded Ye Yuanxue’s instructions. He closed his eyes, channeled his spiritual awareness, and allowed it to course through his body.

Attentive, Ye Yuanxue pressed her delicate hands on Jiang Xiaofan’s upper back, and they emitted a faint purple glow. She then prepared for Jiang Xiaofan’s internal cleansing by directing the Immortal Spirit Root’s qi in his body.

All living forms, from birth to the present time, contained internal impurities. By cleansing their bodies, those impurities hidden deep inside would be forced to discharge, and their bodies thus are purified. This would prove to provide unimaginable, great benefits to one’s future cultivation.

On the path of cultivation, every cultivator hoped to find a master who would help him or her cleanse the body or, perhaps, find some sort of sacred cleansing pill, but this was even more improbable. Nevertheless, whether it was the former or latter, neither options were easily obtainable.

Therefore, those who could receive internal cleansing were considered one in ten thousand. This was because Jiang Xiaofan had good luck. He fell off the cliff and didn’t die, somehow came upon a dozen stalks of the legendary primordial king herb, and under Ye Yuanxue’s guidance, chanced upon this opportunity.

As his spiritual awareness circulated, he could clearly see his innards. Thin streams of qi flowed through his eight extraordinary meridians, gentle just like the soft glow of the moon. Wherever the qi passed, whether it was a meridian or an organ, they all gleamed brightly. Even his bones cracked and began to reform.

He saw the small, multicolored lake again. It was a bit vague, but he could see the palm-sized brass piece floating above the middle of the body of water, just like a long-established saintly monument that was firmly rooted.

Jiang Xiaofan’s eyes reddened. This was his most prized treasure. It had saved his life when the Soul Training Pagoda attacked him. He wanted to hold the brass piece in his hands, but he knew that this was impossible. He had no way of nearing the mysterious lake. It seemed so close but was actually far away as if they were separated like Heaven and Earth.

Ye Yuanxue was very satisfied. This was the first time she had helped someone cleanse their body, and it was a success. Under her guidance, the streams of Immortal Spirit Qi acted like an obedient child. One time after another, she directed the qi to wash over his body.

“Hehe, as expected of me!”

This girl was somewhat proud of her achievement. Just then, there was a sudden change. Innumerable streams of Immortal Spirit Qi appeared inside his body. Like a volcanic explosion, they flooded out of his extraordinary eight meridians and internal organs. This abruptly broke up her spiritual awareness guidance.

“Oh my goodness! What’s going on? Why does this guy have so much Immortal Spirit Qi?!”

Shocked, she didn’t understand why this had happened. Everything was going on smoothly, but like a floodgate that had been opened and could not be controlled, numerous streams of Immortal Spirit Qi gushed out.

How was she supposed to know that a couple of months ago, Jiang Xiaofan had eaten seven stalks of Immortal Spirit Root just because he was hungry? Not to mention, he had not refined them. At least eighty percent of the qi hid in his body. On normal days, he was fine. However, under her guidance, the hidden qi flooded out after sensing the same source of qi that was circulating throughout his body.

Jiang Xiaofan blanked out as he stared at the brass piece. Suddenly, his body radiated with sharp pain. He wanted to scream out loud. Using his spiritual awareness, he saw countless streams of Immortal Spirit Qi chaotically running around. Scared out of his wits, he sensed that his internal organs had shifted, and leaks had appeared.

At the same time, his entire body flushed red and he quivered in pain. His blood vessels bulged, cracks appeared everywhere on his skin, and blood flowed out, dyeing his body sanguine.

Panicking, Ye Yuanxue nearly burst into tears. Her purple halo flickered as she continued to channel her spiritual awareness into Jiang Xiaofan’s body in the hopes of calming down the streams of qi. To no avail, she was incapable of controlling them since there were too many.

“Gods! What just happened?! I don’t want to die yet! Please save me!”

Jiang Xiaofan inwardly screamed. Under excruciating pain, he felt like his body was about to explode.

No matter how he yelled and no matter how he tried to control his sea of awareness, the pain did not go away. Instead, it intensified even more. His spiritual awareness was muddled. He was slipping consciousness.

Struggling to stay awake, he could vaguely see the multicolored lake begin to shimmer more brightly. He then looked at the brass piece. There seemed to be a trace of blood across its surface. He placed all his bets on the brass piece and used his spiritual awareness to holler.

“Brass Brother. Brass Grandpa. Please help me. If you don’t me, I’m going to die!”

Still, the brass piece made no movements. It was like a giant, immovable rock. Jiang Xiaofan wanted to curse “Your mother” but following that was more intensified pain. His spiritual awareness was turning blurry. All seemed hopeless.

In the next moment, his loud cries appeared to have been transmitted across the lake. The silver-colored brass piece lightly trembled, and a gentle, mystical energy rippled across. In an instant, the streams of Immortal Spirit Qi subsided.

“Awesome job, Brass Brother!”

Jiang Xiaofan was momentarily stunned. He inwardly screamed for joy. The pain was finally gone and following that was a revitalizing feeling. The chaotic streams of qi were now like a demure female. They accordingly and slowly reformed his body.

Meanwhile, Ye Yuanxue grew from anxious to surprised. She could sense that the chaotic Immortal Spirit Qi inside his body had calmed down, and they no longer needed her guidance.

Her eyes bulged, and her mouth was agape. Jiang Xiaofan’s body was no longer swollen, and his wounds were rapidly healing as could be seen with the naked eye. After everything was finished, he returned back to his old self. There was neither a single wound nor scar left on him.

“Woah, weird!” muttered Ye Yuanxue. Nevertheless, she was very happy to see Jiang Xiaofan out of danger. She retreated to one side and carefully scanned the room as she guarded him.

Jiang Xiaofan continued to channel his spiritual awareness. Looking at the dense yet gentle Immortal Spirit Qi within him, his heart yearned for the cultivation of the Diamond Sutra.

“By using spirit to cultivate the body, divinity to nurture the body, and willpower to temper the body, one can break the limits to all things of nature.”

This was a mystical technique for training the body as recorded in the sutra. Those who cultivated this technique at the early stage would possess a strong build like that of diamonds. With incredible strength, the body could not be easily damaged by ordinary weapons. Once the cultivator reached the final stage and broke “the limits to all things of nature”, he or she would possess an indestructible diamond body. “I am immortal, forever living.”

Immersed within his spiritual realm, he directed the Immortal Spirit Qi and used his spiritual awareness to course through and diffuse into his bones, marrow, blood, and flesh as he began to train for his diamond body.

*Boom*

After activating his Diamond Sutra, his body radiated with bright golden rays of light. Powerful energy was released like a gale, and his body was covered in a halo of dazzling light as if he had been doused with gold paint.

Startled, Ye Yuanxue leaped backward but soon remembered something. She hurried, “Xiaofan, what are you doing?! Stop this at once! You’ll alert the entire Emperor’s Heaven Sect!”

At this moment, Jiang Xiaofan’s aura was too powerful, especially those rays of golden light. In the darkness of night, it was extremely detectable. If not for this small house, someone would have probably discovered them at the first second. Even so, it was difficult to cover up because the light was now shining more brilliantly.

Ye Yuanxue nervously revolved around him. She knew that Jiang Xiaofan carried some sort of mysterious, ancient scripture on him, but this guy was just too idiotic. How could he cultivate it at this time?! Wasn’t he afraid of the trouble that it would bring about?!

In truth, Jiang Xiaofan knew of the consequences. However, he couldn’t afford to terminate it. He locked his gaze on the brass piece in the center of the multicolored lake and inwardly begged, “Brass Brother, please help me again. Conceal my body’s qi. Don’t let anyone discover it.”

He just wanted to make a tentative call for the brass piece without carrying much hope that it would work. What caught him off guard was the brass piece’s swift compliance this time. The spiritual light around him flashed, and his body’s qi was instantly concealed. Like a dead tree, not a single ounce of life force could be detected inside.