Chapter 181 - Taiyang Is By My Side

Cloud Mist Peak.In a courtyard near the cliff’s edge, Spirit Grass and Spirit Medicine grew in abundance.

Every Spirit Medicine was planted in a specific spot, their medicinal properties complementing each other to better gather Spiritual Qi.

Jiang Man stood in an empty patch of the courtyard, sensing the changes happening within his body.

The Old Yellow Ox stood at the edge of the Spirit Grass patch, chewing on some grass as it watched him.

They were both waiting for something.

Jiang Man could clearly feel a change in his Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart.

The fifteenth of May.

This was the day his Fate Chart caught up to him.

The Fate Chart vibrated incessantly, and then a black-and-white stone emerged from it. It slowly descended, finally settling within his Dantian.

With that, the Fate Chart returned to its calm state.

Jiang Man frowned.

This change was slightly different from what he had expected.

’I thought it would be three elixirs, but it ended up being a stone.’

He turned to the Old Yellow Ox and said, "Old Huang, it wasn’t elixirs this time. It’s a stone, black and white, about the size of my fist. I can only sense it; I can’t take it out."

The moment the stone had settled, he had immediately begun to perceive it.

So, naturally, he could describe the situation right away.

Just like the elixirs, the object could only remain inside his body.

The Old Yellow Ox fell silent for a moment, then gave Jiang Man a strange look and said, "The Hundred Refinement Stone."

Jiang Man was surprised. "The Hundred Refinement Stone?"

’What does it do?’

But the Old Yellow Ox didn’t explain. Instead, it told him to see what the next condition was first.

Jiang Man stopped overthinking it and waited for his Fate Chart to change again.

He didn’t have to wait long. The Fate Chart began to manifest mysterious runes.

These runes then resolved into text.

Seeing this, Jiang Man’s brow furrowed slightly.

’Has the Unparalleled Celestial Pride finally given up?’

’Eighty times?’

’Who could possibly get enough cultivation out of that?’

’Eighty times for each of my three cultivation skills?’

This time, it was still about entering a special Secret Realm, but it wasn’t about laying the groundwork for future fame.

’I wonder what the difference is.’

As for what the Glazed Skill was, that was something Jiang Man couldn’t know for now.

He then relayed this information to the Old Yellow Ox.

"You think eighty times is too few?" The Old Yellow Ox looked at Jiang Man and chuckled. "Why don’t you try cultivating your Nascent Condensation Skill and circulating your External Skills right now."

Though confused, Jiang Man began to circulate them.

This was already second nature to him.

But the moment he started, a piercing pain shot through his body.

After successfully completing one circulation, he suddenly felt as if a hammer had struck the stone inside him.

Agonizing pain erupted instantly.

It was so intense that Jiang Man almost cried out.

He froze in an instant.

"Eighty times a day?" Jiang Man looked at the Old Yellow Ox in astonishment.

The Old Yellow Ox smiled. "Is eighty times still too few? But with the Hundred Refinement Stone, your cultivation will be twice as effective with half the effort.

"This is a great thing for you.

"It will save you some elixirs.

"But with the Hundred Refinement Stone, you’ll also absorb elixirs faster. If you just focus on blindly increasing your level, you’ll burn through your Spiritual Source even quicker."

Afterward, the Old Yellow Ox explained the Seeking Law Mist and the Glazed Body.

The Seeking Law Mist can be found in many places, and its purpose is to record Magic Skills.

The faster you cultivate inside it, the easier it is to record them.

The Glazed Skill is a preparation for a future breakthrough.

Jiang Man was a bit stunned. "So, you’re saying I can’t break through for eight hundred and fifty days? The Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart is holding me back."

The Old Yellow Ox looked at Jiang Man, remained silent for a long time, and finally took a bite of grass and started chewing.

Jiang Man decided not to dwell on it. For now, he had to focus on increasing his strength.

He had to pass the annual assessment.

As for the June assessment, he wasn’t too concerned about it.

But it would be a good chance to see the skill level of the others in his courtyard.

After that, Jiang Man began his cultivation, though the thought of the agonizing pain always surfaced before he started.

But he didn’t hesitate for long. ’If the path of a Celestial Pride were easy, everyone would walk it.’

In the middle of the night, Jiang Man sat cross-legged and began to casually cultivate his Visualization Skill, hoping to get some rest.

But just as he completed one circulation, he was on the ground, clutching his head.

The Visualization Skill was painful, too.

And the pain was in a completely different place.

The Nascent Condensation Skill hurt his stomach, while the Visualization Skill hurt his head.

Over the course of the day’s cultivation, he had made considerable progress and accumulated a lot of Spiritual Qi.

But his face had grown much paler.

Eighty times.

’This Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart is truly inhuman.’

He had been too young, too naive, thinking the Fate Chart was starting to treat him like a person.

After a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Man focused his perception on the Hundred Refinement Stone and then activated the Celestial Mirror Hundred Books.

In the end, he received three words.

Jiang Man shook his head. ’Not even worth mentioning.’

’So what’s there to worry about?’

’Time to keep cultivating.’

However, he wanted to see what part of him would hurt if he cultivated his Physical Body.

But after he began circulating the skill, he found that he couldn’t temper it at all.

There was no reaction.

He immediately ran to ask the Old Yellow Ox.

"Only top-grade skills can activate the Hundred Refinement Stone. You can only cultivate the Glazed Skill after you’ve tempered everything else," the Old Yellow Ox answered casually.

Jiang Man was silent for a moment. "Is that the only difficulty with the Glazed Skill?"

The Old Yellow Ox squinted at Jiang Man and said, "Of course not."

"Then what else is there?" Jiang Man asked immediately.

The Old Yellow Ox just smiled without a word and continued to eat its grass.

Jiang Man felt unbearably frustrated.

’It never finishes what it’s saying!’

Helpless, Jiang Man could only go back to his cultivation.

He focused all his efforts on strengthening his Physical Body.

After all, it didn’t cause him any pain.

「At the end of May.」

Jiang Man sensed his Cultivation Gourd. Through his training, he had now accumulated up to the Seventh Layer.

He had also consumed quite a few elixirs during this time.

His cultivation speed had increased dramatically.

This Hundred Refinement Stone was truly useful.

It was just that after all this time, he still hadn’t gotten used to the pain; he had only improved his ability to endure it.