Chapter 67: Turn Jin Hai

“Hmph! Even if I really turned into... a slut... it’s all that old bastard’s fault...”

Xu Qinghuan writhed on the bed, her face flushed, a faint whimper squeezing from her throat.

The greatest strength of a woman like her was never wasting energy on self-torment.

She blamed every mistake on Jiang Ye.

“That old bastard even complained my moans were too loud...”

“It’s clearly his fault for being too...”

The more she thought, the hotter her body burned, as if she had a fever.

Suddenly, the last thing Jiang Ye had said to her before leaving flashed through her mind like lightning—

“Three months from now, I’ll turn Jin Hai’s wedding into a funeral. You don’t need to worry about your lost true yin being exposed!”

Those words doused her like ice water, instantly cooling some of her burning heat.

“That old bastard is utterly insane—how dare he say something like that...”

That was Jin Hai, the true disciple of Jin Chen Peak!

The old bastard wants to turn his wedding into a funeral?

Can he really pull that off...?

Yet she had no choice but to believe him—there was no second path.

Her thoughts grew increasingly tangled: shame, fear, longing, doubt—all emotions intertwined like a knotted mess, wrapping tightly around her.

She felt her head grow heavier, her eyelids thicker, until she finally slipped into a drowsy sleep.

Moonlight streamed through the window lattice, falling upon her face, illuminating her still-flushed sleeping countenance.

She curled up beneath the quilts, brows slightly furrowed, as if even in sleep she could not find peace.

The next day, Fucheng.

The long street teemed with people, voices of vendors, haggling, and children’s laughter blending into a clamor.

An elderly man, dressed in plain gray robes, hair streaked white, posture straight as a spear, walked slowly out of a herbal shop, radiating vitality.

This man was Jiang Ye.

In his hand he held a medicine box; he shook his head slightly, a trace of helplessness crossing his aged face:

“I never expected Xueyang Flower and Lüshui Luo to be this rare...”

To cultivate the Golden Body Art, he had descended the mountain today specifically to procure the main herbs for the secret elixir.

Though he knew these herbs were scarce, he hadn’t imagined they’d be this hard to find.

He visited five herbal shops in Fucheng, traversed half the street, and managed to buy only twenty sprigs of Xueyang Flower and thirty stalks of Lüshui Luo.

For this tiny amount, he spent fifty thousand taels of silver.

He estimated it would barely last him a month of cultivation.

This external cultivation art was truly expensive and exhausting.

“Whatever. I’ll start with this for now.”

After a moment’s thought, he let it go.

With his “extraordinary comprehension” talent, a month should be enough to bring this hardening art to minor mastery.

By then, his physical strength would rise another notch—worth the expense.

He abandoned the idea of visiting more shops, tucked the medicine box into his robe, and turned toward another direction.

He should go check on Liu Qingshi and the others.

Inside the Liu family courtyard.

Thud! Thud! Thud...

A steady, powerful sound of fists and kicks echoed through the yard.

A man in dark blue training attire, broad-shouldered and sturdy, practiced boxing—his strikes heavy and grounded, each one carrying the distinctive force of a Qi-Transformation cultivator.

Yet his movements were slightly sluggish, clearly still recovering from injury.

The man was none other than Liu Qingshi.

“Qingshi! Your injury just started healing—why are you training again? Can’t you ever rest!”

A voice, tinged with exasperation, rang out.

Huang Xiyu hurried into the courtyard, holding a steaming bowl of medicinal decoction, her face filled with concern and reproach.

“Drink your medicine first.”

Liu Qingshi, ever fond of his wife, halted his stance and took the bowl from her, smiling warmly:

“Xiyu, I’ve been lying still for days—I need to move my body.”

He paused, sighed softly:

“Besides, martial cultivation is either advance or retreat.”

“I’m already this old—if I don’t push harder now, I’ll never catch up.”

Huang Xiyu rolled her eyes, scolding: “You’re this old—what’s the point of pushing harder? The Su family’s trade routes are already under Zhao Gang and Shi Lei’s watch. Just rest and heal.”

Liu Qingshi shook his head slightly, his expression growing grave:

“Zhao Gang is only just entering Qi-Transformation—he still lacks finesse in controlling force. Shi Lei has potential, but he’s still only Ming-Jing level.”

He paused, gazing into the distance, a flicker of worry in his eyes:

“The Su family’s trade routes remain stable now...”

“Only because of the lingering fear from the ‘Head-Cutter’ wiping out the Ding family. Those watching families don’t know the Su family’s true strength, so they dare not act.”

“But pretending to be powerful won’t last forever.”

He turned his gaze back to Huang Xiyu, voice low:

“Wealth stirs men’s hearts. Once those families realize the Su family’s true weakness, conflict will inevitably rise again.”

Hearing this, Huang Xiyu’s heart tightened, her worry deepening.

She gripped Liu Qingshi’s hand, her voice trembling:

“Qingshi... what... what should we do? I don’t want you hurt again.”

She bit her lip, then suddenly said:

“What if... we return to Anxi County...?”

“I heard the unrest has calmed down!”

Liu Qingshi squeezed her hand, patting it gently, his expression calm as he reassured her:

“It’s fine—we’ve endured this long.”

“Hold on a little longer. Once Yiyi grows strong, I can retire.”

“Then, wherever you want to go, I’ll go with you.”

Huang Xiyu’s eyes flickered; she sighed softly, her voice thick with longing:

“I wonder how Yiyi is doing in Tianqing Sect... I miss her so much.”

“That girl’s nature is too cold, not as smooth-tongued as that Su girl—I’m afraid she’ll be taken advantage of in Tianqing Sect.”

Liu Qingshi patted her hand gently:

“Don’t worry—Xie Tang will look after her. Yiyi won’t be harmed.”

He thought a moment, then added:

“How about this...”

“Once my injury fully heals, I’ll take you to Tianqing Sect to see Yiyi.”

Hearing this, Huang Xiyu finally smiled, nodding eagerly like a little girl:

“Yes! You must rest well and heal quickly!”

No one noticed a tall, slender figure standing silently in the shadow of a withered tree nearby.

“Much better than last time.”

Jiang Ye nodded inwardly.

Seeing Liu Qingshi’s recovery, he felt at ease.

Moments later, he slipped soundlessly from the courtyard, like smoke dissolving into shadow, without disturbing anyone.

Then, he made a detour to the Su residence, quietly observing Su Yan.

The girl stood in the hall, instructing several managers.

The naivety on her had faded; her brow now carried calmness and competence, her every gesture exuding the bearing of a young mistress.

Jiang Ye watched for a moment, then chuckled softly.

While Liu Yiyi threw herself fully into martial cultivation, Su Yan had chosen a steadier path.

He gazed at her a while longer, then turned away without lingering, his figure vanishing into the end of the long street.

Back at Tianyangfeng, in the Tiankui herb garden, Jiang Ye immediately took out a sand pot and began brewing the secret elixir.

The brewing process wasn’t complicated.

Mix Xueyang Flower, Tiankui Grass, and Lüshui Luo in proper proportions, crush them into paste, then simmer slowly in the pot.

Until it thickened into a viscous broth.

After about an incense stick’s time, the sand pot bubbled softly; a rich herbal scent, faintly bitter and fishy, spread through the air.

Jiang Ye leaned close—the decoction had turned dark brown, thick as paste, nearly stringy.

“Should be ready.”

He murmured softly, then raised his hand to unfasten his robe, revealing his aged yet revitalized body, renewed by the purification of true yin.

He wasn’t afraid of the heat; he reached straight into the clay pot, grabbed a handful of scalding secret herbs, and rubbed them over his body.

Boom!

The moment the secret herbs touched his skin, a searing heat exploded from the point of contact, spreading instantly through his entire body like fire consuming him.

Jiang Ye frowned slightly, but his hands never paused.

He swiftly rubbed the herbs over every inch of his body—arms, chest, back, legs—leaving no patch of skin untouched.

The searing heat intensified as the area covered expanded, as if he had been thrown into a furnace.

After finishing, he immediately sat cross-legged and, following the cultivation method recorded in the Golden Body Refinement Art, activated his internal strength, guiding it slowly along specific meridians.

The secret herbs on his skin were gradually absorbed by the scalding flesh, their color fading from deep to light, finally seeping into his muscle and tissue.

A faint warmth began to rise from his body’s surface, carrying the bitter, medicinal scent, drifting lazily through the air.

“Sss...”

Jiang Ye clenched his teeth, pain etched unmistakably onto his aged face.

The searing heat did not fade with time; instead, it grew fiercer, as if countless red-hot needles were crawling and piercing beneath his skin.

He could clearly feel the secret herbs reshaping his skin, flesh, even his bones—compressing and hardening his once lax tissue inch by inch.

He did not know how long it had been.

Crack... crack...

From within his body came a series of extremely faint, yet dense, rapid sounds like raindrops tapping.

The sound resembled bamboo shoots splitting open, or dead wood coming to life—the sign of bones being re-forged and reinforced under the dual influence of the secret herbs and internal strength.

The sounds gradually ceased.

Jiang Ye suddenly opened his eyes, a faint golden gleam shining in his aged gaze.

He slowly stood up, looking down at his body.

His skin glowed with a faint red hue—the lingering trace of the absorbed secret herbs.

He picked up the gleaming curved blade beside him, not exerting any force, merely brushing it lightly across the back of his hand.

Hum.

A soft chime.

Where the blade passed, only a faint white mark appeared on his skin, then slowly faded away.

The blade had failed to break his skin.

Seeing this, Jiang Ye’s aged lips finally curled into a smile, the joy spreading from his eyes across his face.

The Golden Body Refinement Art consists of four realms.

The first is Stone Skin, the second is Bronze Garb, the third is Iron Body, and the final is Golden Steel.

At this moment, he had already entered the first realm.

Stone Skin—his skin as hard as solid stone.