Chapter 14: Evil Art
"System, level me up!"
Chu Huaixu sat cross-legged on the bed and spent 79 experience points to raise his character level from 0 to 1.
As for why it was 79 points, the system had its own algorithm.
It was closely related to the player’s attributes and the compatibility with their cultivation method.
That Xue Hu who died on a rainy night probably never imagined that opening the orifices was as easy as breathing for Chu Huaixu.
Of course, he couldn’t dream anymore now.
Xue Hu had actually opened two orifices.
In his youth, he had bought Qi-Opening Pills through some special channels and used Body Training techniques to stimulate his body, suffering a lot before barely achieving this result.
He was also well aware that this probably wasn’t his limit.
But the pain was so unforgettable that he didn’t even have the courage to take another step forward.
Moreover, with two orifices opened, his physical fitness was slightly better than an ordinary person’s, which was enough for him to pull some strings and sneak into the Patrol Bureau.
Unfortunately, on this rainy night, he ran into the overpowered Chu Huaixu.
His death contributed 100 experience points to this transmigrator, becoming the "nourishment" for his current orifice opening.
Inside the great hall of Ask-Dao Peak, all the experts at the Seventh Realm and above were shocked.
Three breaths to open the orifice?
And it was a completely blocked orifice?
What did this mean? That as soon as spiritual energy entered his body, it immediately broke through the orifice?
It was simply unbelievable and horrifying!
You should know, even the one next door with the Body of Profound Yin had taken nearly the time of one incense stick to circulate the Ice Purity Art through one full cycle in her body before successfully opening her orifice.
And among these people, the most emotional one was Li Chunsong.
This Sixth Elder, who was mocked by players on the forum as the "Charitable Gambling King", "Pure Gift Giver", and "Perpetual Loser", was now breathing rapidly!
He was even trembling slightly.
His ordinary-looking face began to flush red, and his whole person seemed extremely excited, as if electric currents were surging through his body.
"Did I win?"
"I-I actually won!"
He could hardly even remember the last time he had won a bet.
The thrill almost made his skullcap fly off.
However, before they could recover from their stunned discussions, a sudden change occurred.
Chu Huaixu, who had opened the orifice in just three breaths, suddenly let out a heart-wrenching scream.
His whole body was instantly overwhelmed with pain, as if he were lying on a road and a motorcycle was repeatedly running over him, trying to leave tire marks on every corner of his body.
Because it all happened so suddenly, he was completely dazed from the pain.
Chu Huaixu had been sitting cross-legged on the bed, but now, after a dizzying spin, he fell off the bed.
The jade slip in front of him and the booklet placed beside him also fell to the ground.
This young man with a fox face directly fainted from the pain.
Just before he lost consciousness, he suddenly understood the phrase written on the jade slip.
"Heaven and Earth are the furnace, the body is the sword, spiritual energy tempers it, refining the body and breaking through the orifices."
The night wind blew in from the window, coincidentally flipping the pages of the booklet, giving a feeling of "the clear wind knows no words, why must it disturb the book?"
The bold characters written on the first and second pages were revealed.
"Don’t practice!"
"Listen to advice!"
...
...
In the bamboo house next door, Han Shuangjiang opened her beautiful eyes, clearly having heard that heart-wrenching scream.
She jolted up from the bed and immediately stood up.
"What happened to him?" She looked toward the direction of the neighboring bamboo house.
However, a few experiences from childhood and the recent hardships in her life had made her lean toward indifference.
But after much internal struggle, she still decided to "meddle in others’ affairs."
After all, her true nature had always been that of a kind person.
Han Shuangjiang strode forward with long strides, and her impressively proportioned jade-like legs always carried a unique beauty when she walked briskly.
Whereas short legs would often appear somewhat comical in such moments.
She pushed open the bamboo door and arrived in front of Chu Huaixu’s room, raising her hand to knock on the door.
"Knock knock knock—!"
No response.
"You..." Han Shuangjiang paused before continuing, "Are you alright?"
Still no response.
Earlier, she had always worn a veil in front of Chu Huaixu.
Now, without the veil, her flawless, exquisite face was breathtakingly beautiful.
She bit her silver teeth and made up her mind, pushing the door open.
"Creak—!" It wouldn’t open—it was locked.
Are you kidding me? You, a demoness cultivating the dual cultivation technique Entwined Joy, called me a Furnace the moment we met. How could I not lock the door?
What’s the most important thing for a guy traveling alone?
It’s protecting himself!
He had worked as a play companion for so many years—how could he not understand one truth: all women are the same—give it to them too easily, and they won’t cherish it.
A man who doesn’t respect himself is like rotten cabbage.
Han Shuangjiang lowered her eyes slightly, guessing the situation must be quite serious, suspecting he had already fallen unconscious.
She looked around and eventually decided to find Steward Niu.
That thick-browed, honest-looking guy seemed righteous and kind—no way he’d be annoyed even this late at night, right?
Just as she was about to set off, a figure flew rapidly from the distance. As he approached the door, he flicked his sleeve and blasted the door open with spiritual power before gracefully landing.
The whole sequence of actions flowed smoothly and looked quite dashing!
The unremarkable-looking Sixth Elder Li Chunsong glanced at Han Shuangjiang and then hurriedly walked inside with a worried face.
"His physique is strong—he’s fine."
"In fact, it’s a bit too strong," Li Chunsong said with some confusion.
How could opening just one of nine orifices lead to such an improvement?
He raised his right hand, and the jade slip scattered on the ground flew into his hand.
Li Chunsong fixed his eyes on it and couldn’t help exclaiming:
"What kind of evil art is this!"
As a dignified cultivator at the Seventh Realm, a mere Qi-opening Stage technique was something he could see through at a glance.
"This technique... it actually merges Body Training into it, becoming an internal-external dual cultivation method."
"And it even tempers the body using Heaven and Earth spiritual energy?"
"How is this any different from the final step in Artifact Refining—spirit tempering?" Li Chunsong’s frown deepened.
Sword Refining Art, Sword Refining Art.
This damn thing was literally refining the human body as if it were a sword!
Yet when he calmed down and analyzed it, he realized the technique was actually feasible—it was like using Artifact Refining as a foundation and turning it into an unconventional Qi-opening evil art!
"This person’s artifact refining skill is absolutely at a grandmaster realm!" Li Chunsong was shocked again.
You had to understand, the entire Dao Gate had only one artifact refining grandmaster.
That was the broad-minded Ninth Elder of the Dao Gate, Nangong Yue.
In terms of rarity, artifact refining grandmasters were even fewer than high-realm cultivators above the Seventh Realm.
"This definitely wasn’t made by Ninth Junior Sister. Such heretical methods sound more like something Chu Yinyin would do!" Li Chunsong thought.
He decided he would wake Niu Yuanshan later to inquire about this matter.
The Sixth Elder turned to look at Han Shuangjiang and comforted her, "Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious. He only passed out from the pain due to the special nature of the technique."
"Passed out... from pain?" Han Shuangjiang was puzzled.
A grown man... actually passed out from sheer pain?
Was this technique really that terrifying?
Just now when she practiced the Ice Purity Art, she had clearly felt relaxed all over, as if a gentle force was flowing through her, washing away a whole night’s fatigue.
She couldn’t imagine that cultivation could be such an enjoyable thing.
But why was he in such agony?
Han Shuangjiang glanced at the pale-faced Chu Huaixu lying on the ground, and somehow, his fox-like face now had a unique charm.
"A perfect Furnace should be like this," she commented, her old habits from the Joyous Sect surfacing again.
...