Tumor Sword Immortal

Chapter 88 Zhenhe Gang

As the last glimmer of light faded, Xu Shangxin slowly opened her eyes.

It was already past midnight, and the desolate wilderness should have been very quiet.

But all three bonfires were still burning. On the side of the Iron Spring Pass scouts, Xie Huan was naturally on night watch, while Wang Su, the leader of the Lingxiao Sword Sect, was on watch.

Perhaps out of boredom, they were both watching Xu Shangxin temper his body.

Although Xie remained silent, his expression was full of emotion.

In just over two months, Xu Shangxin had unexpectedly become a practitioner, and had even reached the Transcendent Realm.

Wang Su, however, looked much more astonished.

He was an elder in charge of the Lingxiao Sword Sect. His cultivation level was not high, only at the Tongxuan realm. However, he had been in contact with young talents from all walks of life for many years, and he also mentored disciples. Therefore, he quickly realized the extraordinary nature of Xu Shangxin's Huayou realm.

But since it involved someone else's cultivation, according to the rules of the martial arts world, he couldn't ask too many questions.

The eldest brother stretched and relaxed, then looked back at Pei Xia behind him and whispered with a happy expression, "I have successfully transformed into a ghost."

Pei Xia saw it.

It took a little over two months, from when I left Beishi City, for me to successfully transform into a spirit.

In fact, according to the original schedule, it would have taken Xu Shangxin at least half a year to complete the body tempering, which is certainly not slow, and would be considered outstanding even among top sects.

However, the fastest path for cultivators is through fortuitous encounters. After a brief stay at Nest Nest Mountain, he obtained this body of ice-skinned jade bones from the Little Heavenly Mountain Ice Lotus.

"It's alright. It's slightly inferior to my One Breath Vigorous Stance, but it's still passable."

Xu Shangxin rolled her eyes.

It was one thing that he didn't understand cultivation matters much at first, but after spending time with him, his elder brother realized that Pei Xia's cultivation foundation was definitely not what he was currently showing.

Especially when you hear him talk about it, he sounds more like a "senior master".

How dare you compare yourself to me?
She felt a pang of disdain in her heart, but her actions betrayed her. She reached out and tugged at Pei Xia's sleeve, asking with some anticipation, "What about Zhengang? Does Zhengang have any tricks?"

Completing the Body Tempering Technique after Transformation does not mean one has reached the Zhen Gang Realm. The key difference for breaking through lies in whether or not one possesses Gang Qi.

Pei Xia looked at her in surprise: "You just broke through, didn't you want to rest?"

"No need, I feel great!"

Pei Xia clicked her tongue.

The body tempering process is usually a strenuous task, but Xu Shangxin, due to her physical condition, did not show any signs of fatigue.

Pei Xia sat up: "Alright, I'll tell you about the ins and outs of the Zhen Gang Realm."

The division and naming of the twelve realms of martial arts are very particular.

Just like "Zhen Gang", both "Zhen" and "Gang" have their origins.

The so-called Gang Qi and spiritual energy share the same origin, but they are quite different. The simplest and most intuitive difference is that Gang Qi does not travel through the meridians and cannot be directly replenished.

It requires cultivators to infuse the spiritual energy in their meridians into their physical bodies, and through tempering and refining their muscles and bones, grind, forge, and hammer them into an extremely pure and solid thin sheet, which is the so-called "罡气" (gang qi).

The reason why Transformation into the Netherworld is the previous realm of Vigorous Aura is precisely this: without Transformation into the Netherworld, you cannot master the technique of spiritual power penetrating the meridians, nor can you possess the inner strength and bones that can refine spiritual power.

This process is inherently extremely painful; each piece of Qi is forged by using the physical body as a furnace, undergoing countless hammerings and refinements.

Therefore, when Han Youzhi saw Pei Xia unleash her inner energy, even with her cultivation level, she was shocked. Correspondingly, the inner energy forged in this way is naturally exceptionally strong. Even at the Refining Cauldron realm or the Profound Realm, inner energy remains one of the most reliable methods for cultivators.

"However, the Qi cannot remain in the meridians. Generally speaking, wherever you forge it, it will be hidden under the muscles and bones of that place."

"Those with hands and feet are more offensively oriented, while those with heads and chests tend to be defensively oriented..."

As Pei Xia was speaking, Xu Shangxin suddenly interrupted, "But I remember your Qi can move freely and even leave your body, right?"

When Pei Xia was in the warehouse of Beishi City, she tried to use Han Youzhi's shoes to control her internal energy.

"It varies from person to person."

Pei Xia pondered for a moment and explained, "Qi is part of your body, but just like some people are agile while others are not, shifting Qi requires a lot of practice and a little bit of talent. For example, attaching Qi to a weapon requires some talent. To put it in human terms, it's like being able to touch your toes with the back of your head."

"And what about your kind, the one that doesn't rely on anything and controls the air?"

"It's like squeezing yourself into a ball."

"..."

Unlike the transformation of negative energy, the condensation of internal energy has begun to exhibit a stronger personal character.

Ordinary cultivators only refine twelve pieces of Qi, covering the head, chest, abdomen, back, hands, feet, arms, and legs. Their main function is to protect the body, and they are usually quite large, so their purity is somewhat lower.

Some are more detailed, such as the arms, which need to be divided into front, back, left, and right, resulting in higher purity.

There are also some mavericks, such as those who only refine one piece in their entire lives, refining it into a divine weapon, or those who, like the longevity stones of the Snow Swallow Sect, refine two pieces in a single location and stack them together.

"There are also those that are made according to the number of meridians, and those that are made according to the number of bones. There are many of those, and they take a long time to make. They also require a lot of energy to use. So this is a very personal thing. The best one is the one that suits you best."

Pei Xia has 720 pieces of internal energy. It's not that he can't control more. He has the Calamity Pig, so 72,000 pieces are the same to him. There is a limit to human strength. The maximum is 720.

“Give it a try,” Pei Xia said to her. “You refine one piece first, and I’ll take a look.”

Xu Shangxin nodded. Having just finished a complete transformation cultivation, she immediately sat cross-legged, closed her eyes, and began to try to forge her inner energy.

Her foundation in the Transformation Realm was excellent; her spiritual energy flowed through her meridians with almost no obstruction. The tempering effect provided by her icy skin and jade bones was also superb. After about two hours, before dawn, a palm-sized, snow-white aura slowly condensed in the flesh and blood of Xu Shangxin's forearm.

The girl opened her eyes, her forehead slightly damp with sweat.

Because of the Ice Vein, she didn't suffer too much when she transformed into a Netherworld being, but forging her inner energy still caused her great pain.

"It seems to be successful," she said.

Pei Xia raised her chin: "Try it and see."

With a thought, the flesh and blood propelled the snow-white qi in his forearm to suddenly appear.

Xu Shangxin looked at the qi on her arm and felt the sensation of her flesh pushing it out just a moment ago. It was a completely different experience from the spiritual energy in her meridians.

"No wonder it's called Zhengang."

Pei Xia stretched out his arm, and beneath it, thin, pure golden qi leaped out like iron plates on armor, the sound of metal clanging faintly audible as it floated.

"Having it is not enough. You can only be considered to have entered the field when you can control the Qi as easily as you move your arm."

Pei Xia smiled, then clenched her fist, and the fine plates of qi armor clanged as they neatly disappeared into her muscles and bones: "You still have a long way to go."

(End of this chapter)