Chapter 224

While waiting, the women's moods were each different.

Some were joyful, such as Huang Rong, Bai Feifei, and others.

The stronger their man became, the more delighted they naturally were.

Some were nervous, such as A Bi, You Cao, and others.

They did not care whether Jiang Sishui was strong or weak, or whether he could successfully break through; they only hoped he would be safe and sound.

Some were calm, such as Flower Fairy, Dong Shisanniang, and others.

They had full confidence in Jiang Sishui; whether he broke through or not was another matter, but nothing would happen to him anyway — after all, "a scourge lives for a thousand years." And even if he failed, at worst he could just try again later.

Some were wistful, such as Ren Yingying, Shangguan Haitang, and others.

Heavenly Man — since ancient times, countless geniuses had cultivated bitterly for decades yet stopped outside the threshold; now Jiang Sishui, starting from zero, in less than two months, was within reach of it — the very thought was enough to make one's state of mind explode.

Time slipped away drop by drop in the waiting…

Suddenly, a long wind rose abruptly over Taihu, growing from small to great in the blink of an eye.

The lake surface, calm as an ancient well a moment ago, began to churn violently; the surging thunder of waves roared, as if Taihu itself were bellowing, carrying far into the night.

The women's spirits lifted at once.

Looking out, the place where Jiang Sishui sat seemed to have become the eye of a hurricane, ceaselessly drawing in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and pouring it madly within.

Absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, taking it for one's own use, no longer confined to generating true qi from within the body.

This was precisely one of the marks of the Heavenly Man.

"He succeeded!"

A surge of joy welled up in the women's hearts.

……

Over Taihu, a small boat drifted.

Jiang Sishui opened his eyes, withdrawing from the state of "Unity of Heaven and Man," a flash of enlightenment crossing his gaze.

"So this is the Martial Dao Golden Core… so this is the Heavenly Man…"

This realm, put plainly, was using the spirit to sense heaven and earth, to capture their rules and rhythms, letting the spirit "ascend to embody the heart of heaven," thereby achieving a temporary fusion with them.

The state of fusion was "Unity of Heaven and Man."

In "Unity of Heaven and Man," a martial artist could borrow the power of the surrounding small heaven and earth.

But normally, "Unity of Heaven and Man" required sitting still in contemplation, so it was suited only to cultivation, not to combat.

In plain words, the "wind-up" was too long!

To solve this problem, predecessors devised a way — letting the "essence" and "qi" within the body nurture the "spirit," letting the "spirit" condense in the mind into an illusory "golden core."

The function of this "golden core" was to shorten the "wind-up" for entering the state of "Unity of Heaven and Man."

In short, to sum it up in one sentence —

With the "golden core," the Heavenly Man could swiftly enter the strongest combat state!

This was the origin of the realm's name.

And when the golden core shattered, and a nascent spirit was born from within, that would be a Demi-God!

"The new Holy Scripture… since it takes the 'Northern Nether Divine Art' as its foundation, let's just call it the 'Northern Nether Holy Art.'"

Jiang Sishui could not be bothered to think of a new name.

The newly created Holy Scripture fused the "Northern Nether Divine Art" and the "Art of Absorbing Power," retaining their original merits, and also drew upon part of the essence of the Classic of the Plain Girl and the "Jin Gang Indestructible Holy Art."

To sum it up, it had the following two transformations —

First, Jiang Sishui could use the cultivation method of the Classic of the Plain Girl to cultivate the "Northern Nether Holy Art" simultaneously, increasing his cultivation.

And this cultivation included not only internal energy, but also the "Jin Gang Indestructible Holy Art," this hard external art!

Second, when cultivating the "Northern Nether Holy Art," every exhale and inhale brought benefit — not only to oneself, but also nourishing the other party in return.

In other words, Jiang Sishui could henceforth even help the women cultivate.

This cultivation was not limited to the growth of power; it even extended to the sharing of insights.

"This way, I can save a great deal of cultivation time, and before long, I can help Rong'er and the others all achieve the Heavenly Man realm!"

Jiang Sishui was in excellent spirits.

At this moment, one ought to do something to celebrate…

Soon, he had an idea.

Just as Jiang Sishui was about to return, a voice rang out —

【Congratulations on cultivating to the Realm of the Heavenly Man; the daily reward cap is multiplied by five】

"Hmm?"

Hearing the system's prompt, Jiang Sishui was first delighted, then puzzled.

Last time he advanced to Jinshengda Sect, the system upgraded and opened the "Second Chapter," and the daily reward cap began to multiply.

This time the system had not upgraded — he had merely advanced to Heavenly Man — yet the reward had also increased.

And it was a fivefold cap!

This was truly an unexpected joy.

"An extra 'Transformation Art' — I was just worrying about not having enough martial arts experience, and now this comes right on time."

"It can keep pace with the times — this system isn't bad."

For now, Jiang Sishui was in no rush to return; right there on Taihu, he hurried to finish today's diary.

And the contents were all the many insights he had gained while charging at the Heavenly Man realm.

【Congratulations on completing today's diary; reward: Martial Arts Experience +3000, 3 "Ji's Art Pills," 1 portion of "Heavenly Man Insight"】

"'Heavenly Man Insight'?"

Jiang Sishui received the information and immediately understood.

From the first to the ninth layer of the Heaven-Man stage, besides the growth of internal power, there was also the deepening attainment of "Unity of Heaven and Man."

Merging one portion of "Heaven-Man Insight" was equivalent to Jiang Sishui sitting in meditation and comprehending "Unity of Heaven and Man" for seven days!

"If I didn't still have a mission, I'd just lie flat and be done with it."

Jiang Sishui sighed with emotion, then added his martial arts experience—

【Heavenly Sword Drawing Technique (Heavenly Art): Minor Mastery (**

"Still twenty thousand short of Major Mastery… almost there."

(Good promise, good) Jiang Sishui was thoroughly satisfied; with a single step, he took to the air.

Although his speed hadn't increased much, the key point was the ability to fly!

Whether attacking, retreating, or dodging, this was extremely important.

……

Returning to the Shanzhuang, Huang Rong and the other women all gathered around, expressing their joy.

Jiang Sishui was in a very good mood, so that very night, he let them personally experience the many wonderful benefits of the "Northern Darkness Divine Art."

Wang Yuyan had only just fallen asleep when her sweet dream was disturbed.

In her drowsy state, she heard a particularly familiar voice.

She couldn't help but wonder: "Who is it this time? Sister Rong? Sister Qiying? Or Ah Zhu? Ah Bi?"

She had intended to ignore it, but after being disturbed for so long, she could no longer contain her curiosity.

Struggling to open her eyelids, she cast a casual glance…

Stunned for two breaths, Wang Yuyan's beautiful eyes suddenly flew wide open, all drowsiness gone, and she cried out involuntarily: "Mother?!"

249 Liu Xing: Why are you so good to me?

Yuzhou, Liu Fu.

Outside the courtyard walls, light flickered, and Jiang Sishui revealed his form.

Listening carefully to the sounds within the courtyard, his heart could not help but fill with anticipation.

Liu Xing had returned!

Four days ago, after he and Hou Jian had escorted Jin Kaijia back, although he had returned to the Shanzhuang, he had Hou Jian perform the "Round Light Technique," and then had the maids within the estate monitor Liu Fu at all times.

He sat waiting for Liu Xing to hear the news of Jin Kaijia's reappearance in the jianghu and rush back.

At the same time, this move was also to protect Liu Xing's parents.

Jin Kaijia had been renowned in his youth, but wandering the jianghu inevitably led to making enemies.