Chapter 202: Dragon and Tiger Body Sculpting Art
Xiao Chen had a guess when he saw the pile of ashes. However, he could not be sure yet. He stretched out his finger and dipped it in.
He then brought his finger to his nose. Xiao Chen was now sure of his earlier thoughts. This pile of ashes was the remnants of a cultivator entering Berserking Qi Deviation before spontaneously combusting and burning to death.
Such a situation was quite common to cultivators of higher realms. The higher their cultivation realm, the higher their chance of entering a state of Berserking Qi Deviation; the consequences were even more serious, as well.
Although everyone knew of the dangers involved, they were unable to stop. The further they walked on the path of cultivation, the more insignificant they felt, the more they did not want to give up.
“Hu!”
Xiao Chen casually sent out wind from his palm and blew the ashes away. A ring glittering with a Spiritual Light was revealed on the prayer mat. There was one word engraved on the inside of the ring—Hentian.
“Hentian… Qi Hentian… So it is him.” The doubts in Xiao Chen’s heart immediately cleared.
[TL note: Not sure if this is relevant but the name Qi Hentian means Qi (surname) hates the heavens. Hen = Hate, Tian = sky/heaven.]
Qi Hentian was one of the Pavilion Masters of Heavenly Saber Pavilion. He had outstanding talent and had become a Martial Monarch at a young age. In terms of talent, he rankeds amongst the top few in the history of the Heavenly Saber Pavilion.
According to rumors, after he passed on the Pavilion Master position, he lived in seclusion. No one knew where he went. At that point in time, his cultivation had reached the peak of Martial Sage.
So he came here to cultivate in seclusion, Xiao Chen thought to himself. No wonder no one could find him; this place is not just hidden on a regular level.
He had hung a portrait of the Saber Emperor on the wall. He must have been using the Saber Emperor as a role model and motivation, hoping that he could step into the realm of Martial Emperor.
However, this matter did not have much relation to Xiao Chen. The thing he was more concerned with now was what was inside the Spatial Ring of a Martial Sage; there should be a lot of treasure in there.
When Xiao Chen extended his Spiritual Sense into the Spatial Ring, he discovered three secret manuals and a Spirit Weapon. The Spirit Weapon was an Inferior Grade Heaven Ranked Saber.
There was also a large pile of uncountable Spirit Stones. Xiao Chen looked carefully and discovered them to all be Medial Grade Spirit Stones.
Even though Xiao Chen saw large piles of Spirit Stones in the headquarters of the Spirit Mines, this sight was still dazzling to behold.
In the Spirit Mines headquarters, most of the Spirit Stones were Inferior Grade Spirit Stones. Furthermore, all he could do was look at time. However, the Spirit Stones in the Spatial Ring were all Medial Grade Spirit Stones.
The most important thing was that these were all masterless objects. Xiao Chen was now a rich man.
Suppressing his joy, Xiao Chen took out the three secret manuals and the saber. He placed the saber aside first, then read the first secret manual
“Dragon and Tiger Body Sculpting Art!”
Xiao Chen slowly read the words. This was a Medial Grade Earth Ranked Body Strengthening Technique. It was especially used for tempering the physical body, sculpting the bones, building up the body, strengthening the Qi and blood, and increasing one’s strength.
Medial Grade Earth Ranked Martial Techniques were already very rare. It was very hard to find one, even in the Heavenly Saber Pavilion.
Aside from a Heaven Ranked Cultivation Technique, an Earth Ranked Cultivation Technique was the strongest. Furthermore, Cultivation Techniques were rarer than Martial Techniques. After all, the Tianwu Continent lacked least was various Martial Techniques.
Regardless of which angle it was looked at, this Dragon and Tiger Body Sculpting Art was a treasured secret manual.
The Dragon and Tiger Body Sculpting Art could be separated into seven layers.
The first Layer was Strong and Healthy Body, Great Increase in Qi and blood.
The second layer was Birth of Divine Strength, Cutting Mountains and Splitting Stone.
The third layer was Tiger Roar Shaking Forest, Dominating Hundred Beasts.
The fourth layer was Dragon Roar Covering the World, Piercing through the Sky.
The fifth layer was Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone, Pulling Mountain and Rivers.
Xiao Chen looked at the introduction and felt joy. He smiled as he said, “That’s great. This Dragon and Tiger Body Sculpting Art is like it was tailor made for me. Furthermore, this came from the hands of a Martial Sage. This proves that my path of tempering the body is not wrong”
From the very start, Xiao Chen’s physical body was very strong. However, he had not put it to good use. He could only use brute force in fights to attack. Against people who used Essence, there were no advantages.
Xiao Chen could use his strength to split stones, but others could do the same with Essence. There was not much difference.
However, with this Dragon and Tiger Body Sculpting Art, the situation changed. His physical strength would experience a qualitative change. He would be able to utilize the advantages of his physical body with more skill.
In a fight, this could achieve unexpected results; he could give his opponent a shocking blow.
The most important thing was this Dragon and Tiger Body Sculpting Art was obtained from the hands of a peak Martial Sage. Furthermore, it was one of the three secret manuals he brought with him to secluded cultivation.
This proved that, at the end of his life, this senior realized the importance of the physical body. In order to breakthrough to Martial Emperor, the quality of the physical body had to be increased along with one’s cultivation realm.
This proved that Xiao Chen’s path of tempering the physical body was correct. Both physical body and cultivation realm were important; neither could be neglected. Otherwise, one would be stuck in the Martial Sage cultivation realm.
Xiao Chen carefully put away the Dragon and Tiger Body Sculpting Art manual before picking up the second secret manual and reading it. This was a fist technique called Great Dragon Tiger Fist.
Its name was very similar to the Dragon and Tiger Body Sculpting Art; they should be part of a set. There was a total of four moves.
The first move was Fierce Tiger Leaving the Mountains.
The second move was Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.
The third move was Dragon Hisses Tiger Roars.
The fourth move was Tiger Leaps Dragon Soars.
Note: remember at all cost, this Fist Technique can only be practiced after the Dragon and Tiger Body Sculpting Art is cultivated to the third layer.
It was indeed a set with the Dragon and Tiger Body Sculpting Art. It was its accompanying Martial Technique. Xiao Chen smiled as he put it away. Then, he flipped open the third secret manual.
The third secret manual was rather strange; it was actually a Sword Technique. It was called the Heart Nourishing Universe Sword; it was also an Earth Ranked Martial Technique.
Xiao Chen only took a quick glance through the Sword Technique; he did not care much for it. He currently had no intention of practicing Sword Techniques.
Xiao Chen glanced at the three secret manuals and felt suspicious. He said, “Strange… He was the Heavenly Saber Pavilion’s Pavilion master. Yet, the final three Martial Techniques he left behind are not related to sabers.”
The strangest thing was that he actually started practising a Sword Technique. Xiao Chen thought about it and felt there was only one possibility.
Ji Hentian was a genius with the saber; he spent his whole life researching the saber and had already reached the peak with it. However, he was still unable to break through to Martial Emperor.
It was possible he felt that, although he had outstanding talent with the saber, he could no longer make further breakthroughs with Saber Techniques. So he could only rely on other methods to help him advance.
Practicing a Sword Technique was one of his attempts.
Xiao Chen felt it was quite funny. The people in Heavenly Saber Pavilion detested swords.
If someone with weaker cultivation and carrying a sword wanted to enter the Heavenly Saber Pavilion, he would be beaten to death outside the city before he could enter Saber City.
Since the ancient times, swords and sabers were antagonistic against each other. Xiao Chen wondered what expression everyone would make when they found out there was once a talented Pavilion Master who researched Sword Techniques.
Suddenly Xiao Chen remembered something. Since he was learning the sword, he must have a sword to practice with. The sword Ji Hentian had was likely extraordinary. Since it was not in the Spatial Ring, it should be somewhere else in this wooden house.
Xiao Chen started looking everywhere but found nothing after a long search. Just as Xiao Chen was about to give up, he coincidentally saw a sharpened tree branch.
As Xiao Chen held the tree branch in his hand, he could not help but laugh hoarsely. Ji Hentian’s comprehension with the sword had not reached the point of treating anything as a sword. This showed that there was still some prejudice to the sword at the bottom of his heart.
His prideful heart looked down upon the sword. Even the item he used to practice the sword was simply a sharpened tree branch.
The tree branch had nothing special about it, so Xiao Chen tossed it casually aside. After that, Xiao Chen held the precious saber in his hand and checked it out. There were two flying dragons engraved on the simple saber scabbard.
The hilt of the saber was quite long and had the words ‘Roaming Dragon’ carved on it. The handguard was like dragon pearls in the mouth of two flying dragons.
Xiao Chen grasped the hilt tightly and drew the Roaming Dragon Saber with a ‘shua’ sound. The saber was about 2.4 meters long and had a streamlined blade; it glittered with a cold light.
The instant the Roaming Dragon Saber was drawn, it connected with the Qi whirlpool in Xiao Chen’s Dantian. It was as if there was a ethereal meridian continuously sending Xiao Chen’s Essence into the saber.
“Shua!”
Saber Qi was launched from the blade, directly hacking the portrait of the Saber Emperor into two halves.
Being able to fire out saber Qi automatically was an important ability of a Heaven Ranked Spirit Weapon. It would allow those who had not reached Martial Saint yet to fire Saber Qi. If one had already became a Martial Saint, the saber Qi would be even more dense.
However, it also exhausted Essence very quickly. Xiao Chen only held the saber for a short while, but he felt he had already exhausted a significant portion of his Essence. Thus, he quickly sheathed the Roaming Dragon Saber.
Xiao Chen though back to his Lunar Shadow Saber. It was originally a peak Heaven Ranked Spirit Weapon. Ao Jiao sealed the saber for a good reason. With his cultivation in the past, he would not have had the ability to even draw the saber.
Xiao Chen received significant gains in the tree hole. After Xiao Chen searched around carefully again, he discovered nothing else; so, he prepared to leave. As he was turning around, the round prayer mat suddenly caught his gaze.
“The prayer mat that a peak Martial Sage used should not be comparable to something purchased at a roadside. I should give it a try. It would be unfortunate if I missed out on a great treasure,” Xiao Chen said as he headed over to the prayer mat.
Xiao Chen had only just sat on the prayer mat cross-legged and a horrifying energy came from underneath the prayer mat. A surging force pushed Xiao Chen off, causing him to smash heavily onto the wooden wall.
“Bang!”
Xiao Chen vomited a mouthful of blood as he crashed violently to the ground. However, the force had not dissipated yet. His body bounced on the ground several times. Every time he bounced, he vomited a mouthful of blood.
“Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi!”
Xiao Chen vomited a total of nine mouthful of blood before he stopped. He revealed an expression of extreme horror as he looked at the plain and simple prayer mat.
Xiao Chen swallowed a Blood Replenishing Pill before executing the Gravity Spell to fly away. He leaped down from the huge tree and landed firmly on the ground before resting. Xiao Chen’s heart was still beating very fast after a long time.
The earlier experience was too horrifying. Although it only took an instant, Xiao Chen still had lingering fears about it.
The instant Xiao Chen sat on the prayer mat, he felt as if he could sense the pulse of the entire Lingyun Mountain Range’s Spirit Vein. He saw a red ball of light beating like a human heart below the ground.
Four words appeared in Xiao Chen’s mind—Spirit Vein’s Origin (灵脉之源). The prayer mat was indeed not an ordinary object. There were talisman scripts carved on the inside, allowing it to absorb the horrifying energy of the Spirit Vein’s Origin.
However, it was not something Xiao Chen could use. With his current cultivation realm, he did not even have the qualification to stand before that natural energy.
Perhaps only Sages could barely use this prayer mat to cultivate and not be thrown off by the huge energy.
Xiao Chen spent the night speechless. He slowly recovered his internal injuries throughout the night. He had a strong physical body, allowing him to recover much faster than ordinary people. By the time the sky was bright, he had mostly recovered.
Xiao Chen took out the Dragon and Tiger Body Sculpting Art and read it carefully. He was going to temporarily put aside his original plan of looking for two-hundred-year-old herbs.