dkrc Chapter 184 - 153: The Way of the Body Cultivator
Chapter 184 - 153: The Way of the Body Cultivator
Situ Jingyu had a Fire Spirit Root. It seemed that in this Beast Taming Sub-Sect of the Earth Cave Fire Domain, Cultivators without one were a rarity. The two Qi Cultivation Cultivators who had greeted him before both had Fire Spirit Roots, as did that high-ranking senior uncle. It was nothing like the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect, which accepted all kinds of Spirit Roots with no apparent standard.
As Situ Jingyu circulated her cultivation technique, the Fire Spiritual Power inside the small hut began to gather. It continued to converge until the concentration of Fire Spiritual Power reached the level of a second-tier top-grade spiritual land.
Enveloped by this dense Fire Spiritual Power, Situ Jingyu began to practice her primary Cultivation Technique: the Fire Phoenix Prison-Suppression Technique.
At first, Situ Jingyu appeared no different from any other Qi Cultivation Cultivator. But as time went on, a ten-foot-tall, phantom-like Fire Phoenix began to manifest behind her. It gazed about with contempt, radiating an incredibly domineering aura.
The upper half of the Fire Phoenix manifested above Situ Jingyu’s head, while its lower half fused into her body, making the two seem as one.
A moment later, after the Fire Phoenix reached its maximum size, it violently spread its wings, nearly striking Fang Qingyuan in the face. It then began to madly absorb the surrounding Fire Spiritual Power. The energy instantly surged into Situ Jingyu’s body like water bursting from a dam. Nourished by this influx of Spiritual Power, her bruised, purplish skin gradually returned to its original wheat-colored tone.
Her broken collarbone and ribs also began to mend as if time were reversing, gradually returning to their original state until no trace of the injuries remained.
Witnessing this, Fang Qingyuan couldn’t help but marvel. ’I never knew Body Refining had such incredible benefits,’ he thought. ’Forget being able to dish out and take a beating; their recovery speed is more than ten times faster than an ordinary Cultivator’s.’
But despite such obvious advantages, there were very few Body Cultivators in the Cultivation Realm. At most, others would only dabble in it as a secondary discipline. There was one simple reason for this: Body Refining was simply too resource-intensive.
Without a sufficient supply of Spirit Stones, one could never achieve any real success. Take Situ Jingyu, for example. Despite her status as the top senior sister of the Earth Cave Fire Domain’s Beast Taming Sub-Sect, the mere sight of thirty Top-grade Spirit Stones was enough to stop her in her tracks. She was even willing to battle a Golden Core Demon Beast for that sum.
’Body Refining will keep you poor for life,’ Fang Qingyuan mused. In all the time he had known Situ Jingyu, he had never once seen her use a storage pouch. ’She probably sold it for medicinal supplies.’
Situ Jingyu was a living, breathing cautionary tale, which made Fang Qingyuan hesitate. ’Body Refining is great, but you have to act within your means.’ Then again, as he sensed the more than two hundred Top-grade Spirit Stones sitting in his Immortal Mansion, a new thought surfaced:
’Maybe I should get a Body Refining Technique and give it a try? If someone as poor as Situ Jingyu dares to practice it, what am I, with all these Spirit Stones, so worried about?’
Of course, any plans for Body Refining would have to wait until after he achieved Foundation Establishment. Right now, everything had to be set aside for that goal. Thinking about Body Refining now would be a needless complication, a failure to distinguish his priorities.
The next day, Situ Jingyu awoke from her meditative cultivation. She gave a lazy stretch, revealing a surprising sense of power. Her gaze fell on Fang Qingyuan, who had been drinking tea all night, and she spoke.
"Thank you for standing guard for me, Junior Brother. There’s no time to waste, so I’ll be off. I’ll have to trouble you to wait another half a month. I will definitely succeed this time, so just wait for my good news."
Looking at her confident expression, Fang Qingyuan said without conviction:
"Then I wish you a successful journey, Senior Sister. But if it doesn’t work out, please don’t force it. If you get hurt again because of my selfish request, I would feel terrible."
His words seemed to move Situ Jingyu. She gave his shoulder a light pat and declared with domineering confidence:
"Don’t you worry, Junior Brother. I’m doing this entirely for those thirty Top-grade Spirit Stones. Your thirty stones are as good as mine!"
With that, Situ Jingyu turned and strode away. Fang Qingyuan watched her powerful silhouette depart, rubbing his faintly aching shoulder. He stepped outside to reactivate the Array, then went back inside. Seeing Jinbao curled up asleep on the floor, he picked the little creature up and placed it on the bed. Then, he went into the adjacent room, faced the pool of lava within, and once again stretched out his hands.
...
Half a month later, Fang Qingyuan prepared a dry pot of Fire Spirit Giant Salamander in advance. He was determined to avoid the painful lesson from last time, when he’d barely gotten to eat any of the massive stew. So this time, he deliberately omitted the broth to make it a dry pot. The entire cauldron was now packed with all sorts of Spirit Plant leaves and chunks of Fire Spirit Giant Salamander meat.
With everything ready, Fang Qingyuan and Jinbao settled in to wait for Situ Jingyu’s return. But they waited for an entire day, to the point that Jinbao was faint with hunger, and still, she did not appear. Just as Fang Qingyuan was wondering if he should go report the matter to the local Beast Taming Sub-Sect Leader, Situ Jingyu finally limped back.
But this time, her condition was even more ghastly than before. A massive hole was torn open in her abdomen, through which her pink intestines and other red and yellow organs were faintly visible.
One hand was clamped over her stomach; the other clutched a tiny fledgling. Upon seeing Fang Qingyuan, a blood-stained smile spread across her face as she said:
"The Golden Core cub you wanted... I caught it for you!"
With that, Situ Jingyu collapsed to the ground with a heavy THUD, unconscious.