Chapter 94: Promotion to Level 9: Imperishable Adamant

“You have gained the professional skill Mana Healing I.”

“Mana Healing I: You can expend mana to stabilize injuries; when failing a Constitution check to stabilize injuries, you do not lose 1 hit point. You may also expend 1 mana point to restore 1d6 hit points.”

This ability ensures that when the body suffers severe trauma, as long as mana remains, the injuries will not worsen.

Furthermore, you can restore your own hit points by expending mana.

These abilities had already been evident in previous mana usage.

When formalized as a skill, the abilities are further enhanced.

If Fang Shi had possessed this skill during his previous Limit Breaks, he would never have needed to drink healing potions.

He would not have needed to use Bai He Sword Art to stabilize injuries—just Mana Healing would have allowed his body to recover rapidly.

However, after four Limit Breaks,

Fang Shi, besides gaining three Transcendent Attributes, had also gained other benefits.

“Resilience I: You are exceptionally hard to kill. Not only do your injuries automatically stabilize when suffering extreme damage, but you remain conscious and capable of action even when on the brink of death.”

When your hit points drop below 0 but you have not yet died, you automatically stabilize your injuries without needing to make constant Constitution checks to prevent further hit point loss.”

You may choose to act as if in a paralyzed state rather than dying.”

However, any strenuous action will cause you to take 1 point of damage upon completing the action.”

When your negative hit points reach or exceed your Constitution score, you die immediately.”

This is the ability Fang Shi gained after experiencing four instances of 95% cellular destruction.

This means that even if Fang Shi’s hit points drop to 0, as long as he avoids further damage, he can still perform 21 actions.

Only on the 22nd action will he perish instantly.

“You have gained a personal skill.”

Now, Fang Shi’s mana equals his attack power and his hit points.

Therefore, when choosing a personal skill, no further deliberation is needed.

“Extra Mana II: Your mana increases by 6 points.”

“Your mana has increased: 16 → 20.”

“Name: Fang Shi”

“Race: Human”

“Attributes: Strength 23+1, Dexterity 28+6, Constitution 22, Intelligence 14, Perception 21, Charisma 15”

“Class: 5th-Level Martial Master / 4th-Level Qi Refiner”

“Rank: Qi Refining”

“Hit Points: 116/116”

“Mana: 15/20”

“Experience: 43264/45000”

“Attribute Points: 4”

“Specialization Points: 1”

“Survival Points: 13216.4”

“Race Specialization: Versatility I”

“Life Skills: N/A”

“Class Skills: N/A”

“Personal Traits: Transcendent Strength, Transcendent Dexterity, Transcendent Constitution, Transcendent Perception”

“Personal Specialization: N/A”

“Class Specialization: N/A”

“Combat Specialization: N/A”

Fang Shi stared at the experience bar, still 1800 short of full, and let out a helpless smile.

He had not forgotten the heart demon’s final words: “We will meet again.”

Thus, even if his experience were sufficient, Fang Shi dared not level up.

At least, he dared not level up further within this realm.

Though the heart demon’s words were uncertain, Fang Shi dared not gamble.

He feared not the ten thousand, but the one in ten thousand.

Fang Shi feared the heart demon still had other tricks.

This time, the heart demon had merely been caught off guard and lost its life due to a single opening.

Next time they met, it might be another deadly struggle.

“No wonder I rarely saw cultivators take action along the way.”

“I thought they were all emotionally detached, indifferent to mortal affairs.”

“In this realm, there exists a rule called the heart demon.”

“Yet cultivators cannot avoid killing—considering their own advancement.”

“They must have developed ways to counter the heart demon.”

»

“When I return to Long Yu Mountain, I will ask those cultivators about it.”

Long Yu Mountain actually housed many cultivators seeking refuge.

But Fang Shi had been too busy with his own affairs to interact with them.

Now, with the threat of the heart demon, Fang Shi planned to engage in conversation.

He also intended to find a cultivator skilled in runes and ask about the runes inside his body.

And whether they could be improved.

Fang Shi was not satisfied with the rune’s weak and single function of spiritual energy detection.

If possible, he wished to inscribe a powerful spell rune upon himself.

To enhance his combat power.

…

Zuo Yuanzhong, a lone cultivator, without sect, clan, or noble lineage.

He had always roamed freely among mountains and rivers, traveling the vast and beautiful lands of Shenzhou.

Yet after the Demon God’s calamity, he suffered great misfortune.

He happened to be touring Yizhou and was suddenly sealed off by the White Cloud Banner.

To preserve his life, he came to Long Yu Mountain to assist in construction.

He prepared the preliminary work for three top-level Spiritual Sense cultivators crafting the Ninefold Golden Core Pill.

Though Zuo Yuanzhong was a lone cultivator, he possessed a lineage.

But his family had long declined; by his generation, he had become a commoner.

Had he not awakened Immortal Bone, he could never have unlocked his ancestors’ legacy and entered the path of cultivation.

The Zuo family’s legacy specialized in artifact crafting, following the path of Natural Creation.

What is Natural Creation?

Heaven and earth as the furnace, creation as the craftsman, yin and yang as charcoal, all things as copper.

That is Natural Creation.

Simply put, it means calculating the timing of heaven and the advantage of earth, harnessing the natural rise and fall of spiritual energy.

Place an ordinary material in a specific location, allowing it to absorb the essence of sun and moon.

Then, after decades or centuries, it becomes a magical artifact.

Of course, this was the most primitive method, long abandoned by cultivators.

The reason was simple: first, it was difficult to calculate—only experts in numerology could fully comprehend natural transformations.

Second, human activity disrupted it.

Excavating mountains, dredging canals, and other actions altered natural changes.

Third, it consumed lifespans—ordinary people could not wait.

But legend says that at the dawn of heaven and earth,

many powerful spiritual artifacts grew in this manner.

Each possessed immense power.

Ancient humans studied these artifacts’ growth patterns

and thus created the earliest form of the Natural Creation path.

The Zuo family’s legacy was not this ancient method.

They replaced it with human-made arrangements to simulate heaven’s timing and earth’s advantage.

Later, they advanced further, directly simulating heaven’s timing, earth’s advantage, and spiritual energy shifts within a confined space.

To forge the artifacts they desired.

One day, Zuo Yuanzhong, as usual, was busy when suddenly he felt movement in the talisman in his pocket.

He immediately knew a visitor had arrived and hurried to greet them.

In a few strides, he reached the small courtyard.

There, a cultivator with snow-white hair and youthful face waited quietly, accompanied by a Daoist acolyte.

“Left has kept you waiting, honored guest.”

The Daoist acolyte announced loudly: “This is True Person Fang Shi, who deeply admires Left Master’s art of forging and has come to exchange insights.”

True Person!

Zuo Yuanzhong was startled—Daoist acolytes were rare on Longyu Mountain, and lately, cultivators had flooded in.

It was simply impossible for every cultivator to be equipped with one.

He had known from the start that Fang Shi, accompanied by an acolyte, must be an honored guest—but he never expected him to be a True Person.

This was a grand cultivator of the Spiritual Sense realm, just one step away from becoming an Earth Immortal.

He could not possibly compare with a Foundation Establishment cultivator like himself.

He bowed even more respectfully: “Greetings, True Person Fang.”

Fang Shi smiled: “Left Master, likewise. I’ve come because I heard you excel in forging.”

“I have a request, and of course, I won’t let you labor in vain.”

“This is refined gold, an extremely hard metal.”

Saying this, Fang Shi pulled out a golden metal the size of a thumb.

“This is Undying Refined Gold!”

Zuo Yuanzhong was stunned and snatched the metal without hesitation, examining it closely.

Fang Shi made no move to stop him—he feared ignorance, but recognition made things easy.

After a while, Zuo Yuanzhong returned the metal to Fang Shi and apologized: “I lost my composure; please forgive me, True Person.”

Fang Shi said: “No matter. But Left Master, you call it Undying Refined Gold—what does that imply?”

“I’ve only heard it called Refined Gold. What is this ‘Undying’ designation?”

Zuo Yuanzhong sighed: “Refined Gold, as the name suggests, is refined gold.”

“Undying means further refining it until it transcends.”

“This piece of Refined Gold you hold is nearly undergoing a qualitative transformation—it has reached the Undying state.”

Fang Shi’s heart stirred. If it touched upon Undying, its value must be far greater: “How does one make it evolve into Undying?”

Zuo Yuanzhong sighed: “Only the True Fire of an Earth Immortal can elevate this Refined Gold.”

Fang Shi felt a pang of disappointment—he had thought Zuo Yuanzhong might be able to forge it himself.

“What use is Undying Refined Gold?”

Zuo Yuanzhong hesitated: “May I ask, True Person, do you have a lineage?”

“Why ask that?”

“Well, cultivators with a lineage all know the value of Refined Gold.”

“Alright, I’m a lone cloud, a wild crane—accidentally awakened my Immortal Bone and took the Dao path. I’ve lived in the mountains all my life, with little exposure.”

Fang Shi admitted this openly; he didn’t care about face like some cultivators did.

Yet, upon hearing Fang Shi’s story, Zuo Yuanzhong instantly felt goodwill.

He himself was a lone cultivator—he knew how hard it was, especially for one like Fang Shi with no lineage, who must have suffered immensely to reach the Spiritual Sense realm.

Yet it also proved Fang Shi’s extraordinary talent—he had reached Spiritual Sense through sheer hard work alone.

“The uses of Undying Refined Gold are simple. First, it can serve as the primary material to reinforce the Golden Core during its formation.”

“Second, it can be used as an ingredient in crafting the Ninefold Golden Pill.”

“Third, it can be forged into an Undying Artifact.”

Fang Shi asked: “What is a Golden Core?”

Zuo Yuanzhong said: “‘Gold’ means something hard, enduring, unbreakable; ‘Pill’ means something perfect, radiant, flawless. The Golden Core is the Dao Fruit of an Earth Immortal.”

Of course! Golden Core means Earth Immortal—Zhang Cheng, that half-baked fool, probably couldn’t even get through the door.

He didn’t even know such basic knowledge.

Fang Shi asked again: “I understand the latter two uses—they’re for pill forging and artifact crafting.”

“But what I most want to know is how to embed Undying Refined Gold into the Golden Core.”

“What difference does adding or not adding Undying Refined Gold make to an Earth Immortal?”

Zuo Yuanzhong understood: “True Person has reached Spiritual Sense, so naturally you care about your own Dao path.”

“A Golden Core infused with Undying Refined Gold possesses far heavier, longer-lasting magic power than those of peers.”

Fang Shi understood—it meant a deeper mana bar. This method was indeed absent in the Heavenly Sword Sect.

He became deeply interested.

He wanted a stronger Golden Core too.

“Left Master, I’ll be blunt—this method concerns my Dao path, and I very much want it.”

“What conditions do you have? Say them.”

Normally, asking for another’s method was taboo in the cultivation world.

Only close friends or kin might exchange such knowledge.

But Fang Shi had no time for socializing—he preferred direct trade.

Zuo Yuanzhong was astonished—this True Person Fang was remarkably straightforward.

Yet, remembering Fang Shi’s status as a lone cultivator, perhaps only such directness could have carried him to Spiritual Sense.

Still, Zuo Yuanzhong could never agree—this wasn’t something goodwill could compensate for.

Lineage was precious in the cultivation world—it was the foundation of a family’s existence.

Especially methods concerning Earth Immortals—they were priceless treasures.

But refusing outright would be too impolite.

Fang Shi was a Spiritual Sense cultivator; it was better not to offend him.

Zuo Yuanzhong wore an expression of regret: “It’s not that I won’t give it to you, True Person—I don’t possess it myself.”

“Everyone knows of these things, but very few actually hold the methods.”

“Only the top-tier great clans possess them.”

Fang Shi sensed his words and said nothing.

“Then forget it. I came today to ask you some questions about forging.”

“All within your area of expertise.”

“Of course, of course—True Person, please come inside.”