Chapter 221: Xie Family Innate

All Novels || Martial God
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was midday, and the sun shone vertically into the river valley, the river sparkling with silvery scales; the ice mountains to the north, layered behind folds of mountains, revealed only a narrow, enchanting, dazzling white line.

In this mountain valley not far from the capital of Kairong Country, He Yiming, Shui Xuanjin, Ting Shi Guang, and many experts from the Xie Family were gathered.

Upon learning that Xie Zhien was about to arrive, even Ting Shi Guang had remained.

As an Innate master of the Fire Crow Country, he deeply understood Xie Zhien's potential and how significant it would be for the entire country to have another Innate master.

Therefore, he unhesitatingly stayed and invited Shui Xuanjin to help him protect He Yiming and Xie Zhien.

At this moment, He Yiming looked at the heavily guarded Xie Family members and the slightly nervous expressions of the two Innate experts, and he couldn't help but recall the time when he protected Lu Zhengyi during his breakthrough to the Innate Realm in Hengshan Mountain.

At that time, the entire Hengshan Mountain lineage, from the Supreme Elder Yu Jinglei down to all the top masters of the Tenth Level of Inner Strength, stood by the stream, protecting them both.

Now, the formation displayed by Ting Shi Guang and the others was not much different from back then, except that their martial prowess was far inferior to that of the Hengshan Mountain lineage.

With a wave of his sleeve, He Yiming said, "Everyone, it's midday now, the most suitable time for Grand Master Zhien to break through to Innate. Please wait at a distance and do not disturb us."

The Xie Family members immediately assented respectfully. Although their hearts were filled with excitement, they dared not show any of it at this moment. They dispersed, but their attention remained focused on this spot.

As for Ting Shi Guang and Shui Xuanjin, the two Innate experts, they had similar experiences. With a slight smile, they said, "Brother Xie, I wish you a smooth journey." Then, the two of them retreated several tens of meters away and focused their attention, ensuring that no disturbance could affect them.

Xie Zhien nodded heavily. He took deep breaths, as if he wanted to inhale all the air of his latter half of life in this one breath.

Slowly, from his eyes, from his body, a powerful aura emerged.

When He Yiming sensed this aura, he couldn't help but be slightly startled. His eyes seemed to hold a hint of emotion, and a touch of admiration for the old man.

Because from the aura emanating from the old man, He Yiming already understood his intentions. This old man had embarked on a path of no return.

Today, either he would succeed in his breakthrough, or he would die here. There was no third path.

Finally, Xie Zhien's breath ceased. He bowed deeply to He Yiming and said, "Master He, this old man has decided to use this old and failing body to break through to Innate. I will not stop until I achieve my goal. If you feel your True Qi waning during the reinforcement, please withdraw it." A profound solemnity was on his face: "Even if this old man explodes and dies, the Huowu Xie Family will still be grateful for your great kindness."

He Yiming raised his eyebrows and said, "Grand Master, there's no need to be polite. As long as your body can bear it, I will absolutely not abandon you."

His words were resolute and decisive, and Xie Zhien's lingering doubts immediately vanished like smoke.

He bowed deeply again, then slowly sat down.

He Yiming's heart stirred, and with a flip of his wrist, he produced a jade bottle and said, "Grand Master, this is an Energy Golden Pill. Please take it."

Xie Zhien hesitated for a moment and said, "Master He, as far as I know, cultivators attempting to break through to Innate have never taken Energy Golden Pills."

He Yiming's face held a comforting smile. "You are right, old man, but don't forget, very few cultivators attempting to break through to Innate in history have been as old as you."

Xie Zhien gave a wry smile, took the Golden Pill, and tossed it into his mouth.

He Yiming had already reinforced his Meridians and protected him during his breakthrough to Innate. Such a great kindness to a family was absolutely like a new lease on life. Since that was the case, taking one more Energy Golden Pill was even less significant.

After taking the Energy Golden Pill, Xie Zhien sat cross-legged on the ground. His concentration was highly focused, casting aside all distracting thoughts. All his mind was invested in the circulation of Inner Energy within his body.

He Yiming placed a hand on Xie Zhien's back.

His True Qi skillfully entered the old man's Meridians and formed a thin protective film there.

Although the True Qi attribute that the old man was currently circulating was Wood Element Art, which was different from Lu Zhengyi's, to He Yiming, there was no difference between the two. Moreover, he himself had advanced to Innate through the Fire-Wood cultivation method, so when he once again sensed the Wood Element Art in Xie Zhien, he couldn't help but feel a strong sense of familiarity.

The scene of his successful breakthrough to Innate that day was vivid in his mind, as if history was repeating itself, gradually immersing his mind in it.

Suddenly, He Yiming's heart stirred, and a surprised expression appeared on his face.

At least half of the two Innate experts' attention, not far away, was on them. Now, seeing He Yiming's expression, their hearts also skipped a beat, and a terrifying thought simultaneously came to mind.

Could it be that He Yiming's physique was too incompatible with Xie Zhien's, making it impossible to reinforce Xie Zhien's Meridians?

However, no sooner had this thought arisen than they saw He Yiming's face return to calmness, while Xie Zhien, seemingly oblivious, had his Inner Energy fluctuations growing increasingly intense.

At this point, the two of them exchanged glances and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But at this moment, He Yiming was secretly delighted.

As his True Qi reinforced Xie Zhien's Meridians, it also sensed the pathways of his Inner Energy.

Although it was merely an Acquired Stage cultivation method, Xie Zhien's Wood Element Art gave He Yiming a refreshing sensation.

On this old man, He Yiming felt a faint "life" force. And this kind of power could only be wielded by Innate experts when they used Wood Element True Qi.

Yet, now, in a hundred-year-old Acquired Stage old man on the verge of death, he actually had this feeling.

Quietly sensing this ethereal and peculiar feeling, He Yiming discovered that as the Wood Element power in the old man's body continuously strengthened, this feeling grew increasingly intense.

In the end, He Yiming was even able to confirm that this was indeed the power exclusive to Innate experts.

His mind was also highly concentrated. Through the connection of True Qi, he seemed to have "seen" some peculiar scenes. These scenes were not from his own life but belonged to this weathered old man before him.

In a cool, airy room, a young Xie Zhien, holding a medicinal book, carefully distinguished herbs. In his eyes, in his heart, only these herbs seemed to exist.

He ate in this room, slept in this room, and even practiced his cultivation in this room.

His entire being was immersed in herbs. It seemed that in this world, besides herbs, there was nothing else worth his attention.

In the eyes of others, Xie Zhien had gone mad; his obsession with herbs had exceeded the comprehension of most people.

However, it was because of this obsession and devotion that as he cultivated here day after day, year after year, the "life" force from the herbs seeped into his body, thread by thread.

At this point, He Yiming suddenly understood.

Why this old man, at over a hundred years old, was still so energetic. While most Acquired Stage masters at his age had already returned to dust.

At this moment, a peculiar thought vaguely emerged in He Yiming's mind. Although this thought merely flashed by, he had firmly grasped it.

Although Xie Zhien possessed cultivation talents in both wood and fire, his Fire Element cultivation talent was significantly higher than his wood element. The reason he was able to cultivate both systems to the peak of the tenth layer was inextricably linked to his madness.

Through this crazy, almost perverse method, it seemed possible to enhance one's talent in a certain aspect. This method was absolutely inconceivable; even past masters had no record of it. But through the miraculous sensing at this moment, and by "reading" certain fragmented memories from Xie Zhien's life, He Yiming vaguely discovered this method.

Although it was uncertain whether this method was feasible, He Yiming had a feeling that perhaps Yuan Lixun and the brothers in He Family Village could also benefit from it.

His mind suddenly jolted, and He Yiming remembered that he was still reinforcing Xie Zhien's Meridians. He immediately collected his thoughts and once again concentrated.

Although the discovery just now filled him with elation, it was a matter for later, and understanding its mysteries would certainly not happen overnight. For now, what he needed to do was to try his best to help Xie Zhien break through to the Innate Realm.

At this moment, Xie Zhien's Meridians were already filled with Wood Element Inner Energy. The Inner Energy of the tenth layer peak surged like a sea, boiling with unprecedented intensity as Xie Zhien disregarded whether his Meridians could withstand it.

He Yiming carefully sensed the subtle changes in the Meridians, and he thought to himself, "Here it comes."

As this thought emerged, a spark suddenly appeared in Xie Zhien's Meridians.

This was the first time Fire Element Inner Energy appeared, burning with difficulty in the Meridians filled with Wood Element Inner Energy.

If a small, dry branch were thrown into a furnace, it would quickly ignite and turn to ash. However, if a tiny flame were placed on the bark of a centuries-old tree, the possibility of it extinguishing would be far greater than that of igniting the entire tree.

At this moment, this tiny flame felt just like that to He Yiming.

Sensing this flickering flame, which seemed ready to extinguish at any moment, He Yiming knew full well that this was due to the old man's advanced age.

Although there was a "life" force supporting him, the old man's energy was, after all, not comparable to that of a young person.

However, slowly, a wisp of medicinal power dissolved within the old man's body and transformed into boundless energy, flowing into this wisp of flame.

After being supplemented by this fresh influx of energy, the flame within the old man's body gradually stabilized, no longer flickering as if it would extinguish at any moment. But that was as far as it went; to advance further, it was a bit beyond his power.

He Yiming sighed deeply. No wonder the older generation said that one should not attempt to break through to the Innate Realm after eighty years of age, otherwise the probability of failure would be far greater than success.

Now it seemed to be true. Even with his full reinforcement and the consumption of the Energy Golden Pill, Xie Zhien was still unable to ascend to a higher level.

If it were an ordinary person in this situation, they would certainly have given up. But the old man was different. He desperately circulated his Fire Element Technique, and with the support of the Energy Golden Pill's medicinal power, he exerted himself to the utmost, never giving up.

He had fulfilled his promise, preferring to die on the spot, exploding his body, rather than giving up.

He Yiming let out a long sigh, his expression changing slightly. He finally made a decision that even if he were to tell it, no one would believe him.

He separated a tiny wisp of his True Qi. This wisp of True Qi rapidly transformed its attribute, from wood to fire, and then slowly flowed into the wisp of flame within Xie Zhien's body.

Every individual is an independent entity, and the Inner Energy or True Qi cultivated by a practitioner is completely independent.

Even if they cultivate the same attribute and type of cultivation method, the Inner Energy and True Qi cultivated will still be different.

Although they can be mutually borrowed for healing or attacking enemies, during such a critical breakthrough, no trace of external Inner Energy or True Qi can be mixed in.

This was already a consensus among all, an experience summarized by countless predecessors over countless years.

If the True Qi were impure at this moment, then what awaited them would not be a successful breakthrough, but an undeniable explosion of the body and death.

Not only would Xie Zhien be unable to escape, but even He Yiming would suffer a great impact.

However, after careful consideration, He Yiming still chose to do so.

What he relied on was his unique physical characteristic.

At this moment, within his body, his Dantian, like a black hole, spun at high speed. The wisp of fiery True Qi emerging from it continuously underwent fine-tuning.

He Yiming's entire mind was concentrated in one place. He didn't understand why he would have such a daring idea. But when this thought emerged, he simply couldn't restrain himself.

Under his control, the nature of his True Qi underwent an extremely subtle change, vaguely resembling the Fire Element Inner Energy within Xie Zhien's body.

In fact, He Yiming himself was aware that this was not his inherent ability, but rather the automatic adjustment of the True Qi within his Dantian once this thought occurred to him. It was as if external True Qi, no matter if it was cold as ice or hot as fire, upon entering the Dantian, would immediately turn into a dark chaos.

Similarly, as long as he willed it, the True Qi emerging from the chaos could transform into various other elemental True Qi at will.

This was the true reason why he could cultivate all Five Elements and use ice elemental power as a guide to advance to the Single-Line Sky Realm.

When the True Qi within the Dantian, according to his will, entered that wisp of flame within Xie Zhien's body, their frequencies had already reached a perfect fusion.

Like a sudden roar, the wood element energy within the old man's body was completely ignited. The frantic flames scattered countless sparks, causing the old man's body to turn crimson.

When the energy within the body accumulated to its peak, it finally leaked from the body's surface, interacting with the Power of Heaven and Earth.

Shui Xuanjin and Ting Shi Guang exchanged glances. They knew that from this point forward, the Small Kingdoms Alliance would gain another Innate expert.

***

Far away, in that temple, Zhan Tianfeng looked in the direction of the mountain valley, his face so gloomy it seemed a layer of frost could be scraped off.

Suddenly, a black figure appeared behind him, followed by a chilling voice: "Brother Zhan, you sent a secret letter to find me, what is the matter?"

Zhan Tianfeng didn't turn his head and said, "Brother Sima, fifty years ago, you owed me a favor."

"Indeed." The voice contained a hint of unspoken resentment: "Had it not been for this favor, I wouldn't have rushed here so quickly."

Zhan Tianfeng smiled and said, "Brother Sima, from now on, you won't have to be in such a hurry."

The voice immediately brightened: "What do you want me to do?"

Zhan Tianfeng's voice lowered, "I want you to kill someone."

"Kill someone?" The person asked curiously, "You have so many subordinates, why do you need me to act?"

"Because that's a newly advanced Single-Line Sky Realm."

The voice fell silent immediately. After a long time, a faint sigh came, "I knew it, your favors are not easy to owe. A Single-Line Sky Realm expert, how can they be so easily killed?"

Zhan Tianfeng smiled and said, "I don't care about that. I just want to know if you're returning this favor or not."

"Return it." The voice said angrily, "If I don't return it this time, who knows what you'll want to do next. If you ask me to cause trouble for Three Flowers Five Qi or the Ninth Heaven old monsters, I'd rather just kill myself."

Zhan Tianfeng comforted him, "Don't worry, I won't send you to your death. Although that person's cultivation method is strange, he is merely a newly advanced Single-Line Sky Realm. As long as you are careful and don't let him unleash his full power, you will definitely succeed immediately."

"I do my own work, no need for your instructions. Just tell me who that person is," the voice said impatiently.

Zhan Tianfeng's expression straightened, and he said solemnly, "Brother Sima, you must not be careless. This person not only cultivates all Five Elements, but also possesses a unique and unprecedented talent in Wood Element Art. I once saw him act. Immediately after advancing to the Single-Line Sky Realm, he was able to Condense Tree into Blade, and it was a centuries-old tree over four meters long. Such a weapon is formidable and terrifying. Even if I were to act personally, I would be far inferior. If you fight him, you must not be in a dense forest, otherwise you might not succeed smoothly."

The voice fell silent for a while, then said, "To be able to Condense Wood into Blade from a hundred-year-old tree, you're not joking, are you? Is he a Ninth Heaven expert?"

Zhan Tianfeng smiled bitterly, "This person is gifted and absolutely cannot be viewed as ordinary."

After a long while, the voice finally spoke: "I understand. Who is this person?"

"Taicang, He...Yi...Ming..."

All Novels || Martial God

Chapter 222: Last Disciple