by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
Seeing how sincere Mo Nian was being, the four of them looked at each other and couldn’t help but shake their heads.
It was Meng Qi who said, “Although we are all cultivators, not all of us are born to the same grandeur. The four of us all come from humble origins, and now that we’ve stepped onto the path of cultivation, we have to rely on ourselves for everything.
“It can be said that on the path of cultivation, anyone could die at any moment. No one knows just when exactly they will fall.
“So if we love someone, we will love them wholeheartedly. Our goal is not to obtain something, nor is it to try to monopolize someone. All we hope for is to not have any regrets when we die.”
Long Chen’s heart shook. He saw dim sadness in their eyes. This is what they were thinking in their hearts?
“So right now, we cherish everyone by our side, and we hope to remember every bit of happiness and emotion. That way we’ll be able to be content with what we have, which will allow us to be happier.” Meng Qi smiled slightly. Chu Yao, Tang Wan-er, and Lu Fang-er all held her hands, mist appearing in their eyes.
Long Chen felt endless sorrow inside. On the path of cultivation, who could guarantee that they would never fall? With each rising sun, it was unknown whether or not you would make it to the sunset. That was simply what cultivation was. This kind of feeling was something difficult for someone like Mo Nian to grasp.
“Oh, I understand now.”
In the end, Mo Nian finally understood why the four of them would be so harmonious. That was because none of them could be certain whether any of them could live to tomorrow. So, what was the point of competing amongst themselves?
“Brother Long, I finished eating. Is there any more?”
In the midst of that grave and heavy atmosphere, Wilde’s voice broke the silence.
Chapter 413 Complete Tempering
Long Chen once more cooked a large slab of meat. After pouring out those emotions, Meng Qi and the others had all become even more intimate, seeming just like real sisters, laughing and talking.
Wilde had already gone off to the side with a small mountain-like pile of meat.
“Long Chen, why don’t you bring everyone into my Mo Gate? Let me say it again: what’s mine is yours. At the very least, you won’t have to worry about safety,” advised Mo Nian.
Although he knew Mo Nian had good intentions, Long Chen shook his head. “Safety is only something temporary. Since we’ve stepped onto the path of cultivation, there is no such thing as safety.
“Once you become strong enough, you’ll end up coming into contact with even stronger people. The struggle never ends.
“Joining Mo Gate will only give us a temporary moment of peace. But that won’t guarantee us a lifetime of peace. So, if people want to live, they need to have their own powerful strength.
“Strength is everything. I need to get stronger, to make everyone revere my strength, to make everyone afraid of me, to make it so just my name is enough to make people quake in fear.”
A touch of killing intent appeared on Long Chen’s face. He thought of what would have happened if he had arrived just one step later. Tang Wan-er could have ended up dying. Thinking of that, he wasn’t able to stop his killing intent from surging out.
“How are you planning on resolving all this?” asked Mo Nian.
“A blood debt must be paid with blood. That Yin Wushuang must die, and I’ll kill whoever dares try to stop me.”
“Han Tianyu will definitely try to stop you. Do you have any assurance against him? Should we work together?”
“It’s better for me to personally handle matters like this. As for assurance, don’t mention that again. When I kill people, it only depends on my mood, not assurance.” Long Chen shook his head. Even if he didn’t have any assurance, he still had to do this.
“Fine. Then at that time, Han Tianyu will be left to you, and I’ll handle Yin Luo. This time I’ll see whether I can sever his head.” Mo Nian clenched a fist. “However, it seems you’ve also offended Huo Wufang. That fellow truly is troublesome. He has the Pill Tower behind him, and that’s a huge power that no one can provoke.”
Long Chen nodded. “That’s why I want to use this time to increase everyone’s strength. We’ll prepare for a final death battle in front of the secret realm’s exit. At that time, those who aren’t afraid of death can come at me as much as they want.”
Long Chen knew the first monastery had quite a few henchmen. There were quite a few sects related to them, and they had quite a large authority over the entire Righteous path. It could be said that a single order from them would bring hundreds to do their bidding.
Previously, Long Chen had been holding back against the first monastery. But as a result, all that had brought him was more enemies and more battles. Since that was the case, he would let himself loose and go all-out.
“I’ve heard that the second monastery’s Hua Biluo is very powerful and that she once made a public announcement to all the monasteries.
“She said that those images of your wicked actions were just a contemptible trap set up by others secretly targeting you and that no one should get duped.
“At the same time, she implied that the one targeting you was the first monastery. As a result, there ended up being several clashes between disciples from the first and second monasteries.
“From the looks of it, Hua Biluo wants to help you. My guess is that she wants to suppress the first monastery to fight over first place. You might be able to pull her in,” said Mo Nian.
Hua Biluo? Long Chen was slightly startled. An indistinct figure appeared in his mind. She truly was very powerful, and it was possible she had the power to challenge Han Tianyu.
But as for her actions… how many were actually to help him? How many of her actions were just to borrow his matter in order to give a blow to the first monastery? Long Chen did not know.
“It’ll be up to the situation. If she sincerely wants to help me, I will owe her a favor. If she just wants to use me to deal a blow to the first monastery, then it’ll count as mutually beneficial, and we can cooperate this once,” said Long Chen.
He had only ever seen Hua Biluo once. She was very beautiful, but he sensed that she was a rather crafty woman.
“Alright then. I’ll leave now to test my luck in the depths of the secret realm. I’ve heard that Han Tianyu managed to obtain some amazing treasure, and I refuse to believe my luck is so lacking in comparison.”
Since Long Chen had already made his decision, Mo Nian didn’t stay any longer. After saying goodbye, he left alone.
After Mo Nian left, Wilde eventually ate until he was full and found a place to sleep. A fifth rank Magical Beast’s flesh contained a large amount of energy, and even Wilde found it difficult to bear after eating so much. He needed to spend some time digesting it.
This was the first time Long Chen had seen Wilde enter such a state. Normally, his stomach was a bottomless pit. However, now he had finally managed to fill it.
“Long Chen, what should we do now?” Meng Qi and the others were looking at Long Chen, wanting to know the next step in his plan.
“Now we’ll focus on increasing our strength.”
“Are we really going to fight a bloody battle with them?” Chu Yao was slightly worried.
“Correct. Blind tolerance and leniency will just bring about endless attacks from enemies. This time, we have to retaliate. We’ll kill until they’re terrified of us,” said Long Chen.
Currently, both sides were like water and fire, no rest until death. There was no point in mentioning anything else.
“Oh, by the way, how did you manage to grow your Violet Phoenix Sparrows so quickly?” Long Chen asked suddenly. It had only been a few months, but they had already reached the fourth rank. That kind of speed was too shocking.
“As Beast Tamers, we have our own special abilities to increase the speed of a Magical Beast’s growth. As long as they get enough meat and energy, they’ll ra
pidly grow.
“During this period of time, we pretty much didn’t cultivate. Instead, we just helped them find as much food as possible. They just advanced to the fourth rank a few days ago.
“However, the Violet Phoenix Sparrows truly are powerful. Although they’ve only just advanced, even peak fourth rank Magical Beasts are unable to do anything to them. They can go out hunting on their own now,” smiled Meng Qi.
During this time, the three of them had had to personally help them hunt Magical Beasts. But now they could finally hunt on their own.
Furthermore, as flying Magical Beasts, they were especially fast. Adding on their powerful flame, they could instantly kill those in the same realm.
“Thank you, Long Chen.”
At this time, Tang Wan-er hugged Long Chen very gratefully and even gave him a kiss on the face. That made Long Chen fall into a daze, feeling like he was floating in the clouds.
“Thank me? Me?”
“I really wouldn’t have thought you’d treat me so well. You even reserved a Violet Phoenix Sparrow for me all that time ago, I… like it a lot.” Tang Wan-er reddened slightly, but she was filled with gratefulness.
Long Chen was stunned. Just when had he reserved a Violet Phoenix Sparrow for her? But then seeing Meng Qi winking at him, he immediately understood this was set up by her.
He cursed himself for being stupid and thoughtless. Back then, they had gained a total of four Violet Phoenix Sparrows, and he had given his to Meng Qi. But Meng Qi had used some unknown method to transfer this housepet to Tang Wan-er, even saying that it was Long Chen who had reserved it for her.
That deeply moved him. Inside, he praised Meng Qi over and over again for being smart and meticulous.
If three of the four of them had Violet Phoenix Sparrows, with Meng Qi having two while Tang Wan-er having none, although none of them would say anything, it would definitely make them feel a little bit unwell.
But Meng Qi had given one of hers to Tang Wan-er and even said that it was Long Chen who had reserved it for her, causing Tang Wan-er to be grateful to him. Long Chen could not be more touched.
“You’ve been focused too much on increasing their power. What we need to do right now is increase our own power.” Long Chen returned to the main subject.
“How should we do that?” asked Chu Yao.
“Before entering the secret realm, did you receive any Bone Tempering Pills?” asked Long Chen.
Chu Yao shook her head. “When the secret realm opened, my master was in seclusion. I didn’t receive any Bone Tempering Pills.”
Meng Qi said, “I am supposed to get some Bone Tempering Pills, but they’re all in the hands of Feng Xiao-zi. It’s up to him to distribute them.”
Hearing that, Long Chen snorted. That Wind Spirit Pavilion really was rotten. To place all the resources in the hands of one disciple, did they want others to go beg him?
“Alright, then I suppose we’re all poor enough. Mo Nian has tempered four bones, but we’re unable to temper a single one. The difference is quite big.” Long Chen bitterly smiled.
Meng Qi said, “It’s nothing to us Beast Tamers. We don’t fight our enemies head-on, so whether we temper our bones now or later, it doesn’t make much of a difference. But I am worried for sister Wan-er.”
Of the four, Wan-er was the only one to face people directly. Not tempering her bones would greatly impact her combat abilities.
“You’re all wrong. Bone tempering is not as simple as you imagine. The actual benefits it will bring your body are so great that you can’t even imagine it. Even for soul cultivators, tempering a different number of bones will still create an obvious difference. Furthermore, the bone tempering method I’ve chosen for us all is completely different from what you’re imagining. This is something that relates to our future,” said Long Chen.
“Bone tempering method? What difference is there from the normal method?” Lu Fang-er didn’t understand.
“You all know that when it comes to ordinary Bone Forging cultivators, the absolute majority only temper one or two bones. There are far fewer who manage to temper four bones, and those who temper eight bones are extremely rare. That’s because it exhausts an endless amount of resources,” said Long Chen.
Of Qi Condensation, Blood Condensation, Tendon Transformation, and Bone Forging, only the Bone Forging realm didn’t rely on talent. Instead, it was a special realm that required people to throw in an ocean’s worth of resources.
This realm was the one that required the greatest financial ability. Whoever had the money could get more resources and thus temper more bones.
For a Bone Forging expert, each extra bone they tempered would increase their strength. And so the difference between cultivators in the Bone Forging realm was incredibly large.
A four-temper expert might reach the late Bone Forging realm but still not be able to defeat a mid Bone Forging expert who had tempered eight bones.
So, the power of those in the Bone Forging realm did not depend on cultivation base, but how many bones they had tempered. This particular realm was one that depended completely on resources.
Even 108th monastery’s peak Elders had only tempered eight bones. It was said that Tu Fang was the strongest of them and had tempered ten bones. As for the sect leader Ling Yunzi, no one knew for sure, but it was said he had tempered sixteen bones.
Each time you tempered a bone, the next bone would require twice the amount of resources as the previous bone. That was why the majority of top experts were all stuck at the eight-temper realm.
“As for the bone tempering I’m talking about, it’s not quite the same as other people do it. We will temper more bones than other people.” Long Chen smiled.
“More than other people? Could it be you want us to temper ten bones?” asked a startled Meng Qi.
“More than that.”
“Could it be the legendary sixteen bone tempering? But it seems we don’t have that many resources?” Chu Yao was also shocked.
“You don’t need to guess anymore. The bone tempering I’m talking about is… complete tempering.”
Those last two words landed heavily in the four women’s hearts. The only thing in their beautiful eyes was shock.
Chapter 414 Amazing Armor
“Complete tempering? That’s impossible!”
Meng Qi and the others were all dumbfounded. That was a term they had never even heard of. Sixteen temperings were already the limit.
That was because a person’s body could only bear so much energy from one kind of medicinal pill. In other words, the limit was sixteen bones. By the time you had tempered sixteen bones, your body would have formed a high resistance towards further Bone Tempering Pills. There was no way to temper a seventeenth bone.
Furthermore, the amount of resources required just to temper sixteen bones was already astronomical. A small sect would have to save up for millenia in order to accumulate that many resources.
Seeing their startled expressions, Long Chen smiled slightly and said, “Trust me. I’m not joking with you. There are people who undergo complete tempering. Mo Nian is already walking the path of complete tempering.”
To completely temper every bone in the body, that was far too shocking. Meng Qi and the others had never even imagined such a thing. That had already surpassed any of their understanding.
“In truth, complete tempering is not as unimaginable as you seem to think. I trust that many sects all know methods to undergo complete tempering; they just don’t use them,” said Long Chen.
“Why not? Because they can’t handle the cost?” asked Meng Qi
Long Chen nodded. “One reason is the high cost. The other reason is that after a person has made the decision to undergo complete tempering, then they absolutely must temper every bone in their body. Only once they temper every single one of them can they advance to the next realm.
“If something unexpected happens to just a single bone and they don’t succeed in tempering just that one, t
hen in that lifetime, they would never be able to break through to the Meridian Opening realm. In other words, a sect would spend countless resources to create a single amazing Bone Forging expert, all for that investment to end there.”
Hearing this, the four of them were all dumbfounded. They had never heard of this matter. As for Long Chen, he also wouldn’t have known about this without his Pill Sovereign memories that gave him information about the Bone Tempering Pills.
When he had seen Mo Nian, he had sensed that his aura was incredibly condensed without the slightest bit leaking outside.
That was completely abnormal. No matter how high a person’s cultivation base was, that was still something difficult to achieve. Furthermore, Mo Nian was not deliberately bringing about that situation.
At that time, Long Chen had realized that Mo Nian had decided to undergo complete tempering. That was the only way his aura would be so condensed.
“All things in this world have advantages and disadvantages. So, I’m asking whether or not you all want to walk the path of complete tempering,” said Long Chen solemnly.
The four of them looked at each other, and it was Tang Wan-er who said, “Long Chen, complete tempering is fine and all, but we don’t have that many resources.”
“First ignore the problem of resources. I’ll handle that myself. I just want to know whether or not you’re willing to take this risk and undergo complete tempering with me,” said Long Chen.
“Since you’ve put it that way, do we even have a choice?” Meng Qi helplessly laughed.
“Putting it that way, does that mean you agree?” smiled Long Chen.
“Perhaps this is what it means if you marry a chicken, follow the chicken; if you marry a dog, follow the dog,” laughed Chu Yao stealthily.
“Yao-er, you bad girl!”
Meng Qi rebuked her and reached out to tickle Chu Yao, but Chu Yao laughed and dodged.
After this laughter, the grave atmosphere had lessened a great deal. Meng Qi said, “Long Chen, tell us what we should do. We’ll listen to you.”
