Becoming an immortal from a canal worker

Chapter 170: Hope

Chen Ping opened his eyes, his consciousness withdrawing from the other end of the spiritual thread.

The footage from over there is still there.

The portly middle-aged man withdrew his powerful qi-wielding hand, but Cao Dayong's hands and feet were still bound by several qi strands, rendering him unable to move.

The well-to-do middle-aged man bent down, lifted him up, and carried him on his shoulder like a sack of grain. He turned out of the alley, walked to a horse-drawn carriage on the street, lifted the curtain, and threw Cao Dayong inside.

The carriage started moving, its wheels rolling and gurgling as they went along the flagstones.

Chen Ping's consciousness clung to the spiritual thread, staring at the scene on the other end.

The carriage traveled for about fifteen minutes before stopping near the city gate.

The well-off middle-aged man got out of the car, carrying Cao Dayong in one hand, and walked into a restaurant by the roadside, going straight up to the second floor.

Not long after, a waiter came over with a tray on which were two glasses of wine.

The well-off middle-aged man nodded, picked up a glass, tilted his head back and drank it down, then brought the other glass to Cao Dayong's lips, pinched his chin and forced him to drink it down.

Cao Dayong struggled twice but couldn't move. The wine went down his throat, and his eyelids began to grow heavy. The portly middle-aged man put down his wine cup, wiped his mouth, got up and left the restaurant. He then tossed the unconscious Cao Dayong back onto the carriage, sat on the shaft, and drove towards the city gate.

The image on the other end of the line began to blur.

further and further.

Contact was lost.

They walked five hundred steps.

Chen Ping sat in the training ground, closed his eyes, and went through every scene he had just seen in his mind.

I wasn't particularly anxious.

The portly middle-aged man looked at Cao Dayong with excitement, as if he had seen some rare treasure.

They clearly had their eyes on Cao Dayong's so-called "born evil body".

He won't kill Cao Dayong, at least not in the short term.

What concerned Chen Ping was something else entirely.

The skill Cao Dayong displayed in the alley—the Xuanjia Evil Embryo transforming into armor covering his entire body, and the black mist longsword capable of draining a person's life force with a single slash—was something he had witnessed before when he killed Lu Zhenshu.

This time, however, Cao Dayong used it more skillfully than the person behind Lu Zhenshu, and the surge in his aura was even greater than before.

The Xuanjia Evil Embryo and Cao Dayong's flesh and blood became symbiotic.

Evil energy clung to his bones and muscles; instead of being absorbed, his flesh and blood were being used to absorb the evil energy for his own benefit.

When Chen Ping planted the spirit silk in his mind, Cao Dayong was just a living person who had lost consciousness. Now, he is not only alive, but can also use the power of the strange creature.

The "naturally evil body" mentioned by the portly middle-aged man probably refers to this kind of constitution that allows one to coexist with strange creatures.

However, he knew the truth in his heart.

Cao Dayong was not born with an evil body. He was able to achieve this entirely because of the combined effect of the spiritual silk and the Xuanjia evil embryo.

But to outsiders, if a living person can use the power of a strange creature to drain the life force of others, what is that if not a naturally evil body?

This move was originally just a casual, impromptu move to cause trouble for the Lu family.

In retrospect, it was a lucky accident, a brilliant move.

Rather than letting the Lu family be killed like this, it's actually a good thing that they're taken away by these demonic sect members. Chen Ping's thoughts, following this line of thought, suddenly took a turn.

Evil can coexist with flesh and blood.

Evil energy is also poison.

Logically speaking, his eating should also be able to dissolve the evil energy.

Could he then actually start trying to devour the flesh and blood of demons, or even the cores of evil spirits?

He frowned slightly and pondered for a moment, but ultimately shook his head.

Simply eating well isn't enough; if you undergo a transformation, then you might want to give it a try.

Chen Ping put aside Cao Dayong's matter and stood up.

He waved his hand, and his inner energy surged forth, condensing into a giant python in front of him.

A pale blue python of qi coiled in the training ground. Its body was thick, about the thickness of a thigh, and a whole size larger than the previous python that was as thick as a fist.

The python's scales were clearly visible, gleaming with a cold, eerie light in the lamplight, making it appear even more agile as it swam, just like a real giant python.

Chen Ping reached out again, releasing all the internal energy within him. One, two, three.

Ten giant pythons of qi condensed and emerged, coiling and surging in the training ground. Their heads were raised and their tails dragged on the ground, causing the lights on the four stone walls to sway.

Having just broken through to the first level of refinement, the total amount of Qi has not yet fully recovered; ten is already the limit.

After sensing the energy, Chen Ping withdrew his protective aura, and the ten giant pythons transformed into pale blue mist and returned to his body.

He clenched his fist.

Relax your muscles and consciously stop the constant exertion of force.

My body suddenly felt heavy.

The feeling was very obvious, like removing an invisible suit of armor and having your body's original weight come crashing back down.

His fist clenched, the strength of which had doubled in seven days. When his knuckles tightened, his bones and muscles made a very fine cracking sound, as solid as if he were squeezing iron.

He picked up a piece of gravel from the ground, held it in his palm, and squeezed it gently.

Crack.

The pebbles turned to dust, falling softly through his fingers. Chen Ping opened his palm and patted away the remaining stone dust.

He noticed that the skin on his arms had become whiter and firmer.

The physical changes brought about by the first refinement were very similar to the two physical transformations he had experienced before.

The first transformation was from walking to divine movement; the physical body underwent a transformation.

The second time was when he broke through to the level of defensive power, and his physical body underwent another transformation. That time, his skin changed and became jade-like, and his physical strength reached a new level.

This time, the feeling of this refining and cleansing was exactly the same as the previous two times.

My whole body has undergone a transformation; my bones are denser, my tendons are stronger, and my blood and qi flow more smoothly.

But the most noticeable changes are in the muscles.

Chen Ping examined himself and found that his muscles were more muscular and heavier than before.

If the muscles were already as hard as copper and iron after the Bone-Melting Body was cultivated to perfection, then it is even better now.

When I clench my fist, the feeling of power is completely different from before.

He glanced at the panel in front of his retina. [Melting Bones and Refining Gold Body (Great Completion)]

Current progress: 1450/1500

We're only fifty points away from perfection.

Chen Ping stood there, recalling what Qin Ya had said when he explained the Nine Refinements System.

The first three refinements purify and solidify the internal energy, while simultaneously cleansing the physical body.

Some martial arts fanatics will linger in the first three training sessions, spending a lot of time and rare materials in pursuit of a qualitative change in their physical body.

In other words, physical mutation.

After learning more about it, Chen Ping decided not to linger on this path.

Those rare and precious natural materials used to refine the physical body are extremely valuable, and require various preparations, including processing, consumption, and guidance through specific techniques. It is very complicated, and success is not guaranteed.

Some people go to great lengths to try and achieve a physical transformation, and if two or three out of ten succeed, they are considered lucky.

Although the benefits of physical mutation are enormous, the cost of trial and error is too high.

After much deliberation, he decided not to waste time on this and to focus on quickly reaching the first stage of refinement, refining his metal elemental essence, and strengthening his own power. Little did he expect that the path of physical transformation would already be laid out before him.

He already had jade-like skin when he reached the Transformation Realm.

That was the physical transformation brought about by instinctive skills, and it followed the same path as the physical cleansing brought about by the breakthrough of Yuan Gang.

He already possessed the things that others had to spend countless rare and precious materials to obtain when he reached the Transformation Realm.

This time, after undergoing a thorough cleansing and tempering, the changes in his muscles were particularly noticeable. Although they had not yet reached the level of mutation, the signs were already there.

Chen Ping clenched his fist, feeling the solid power within his taut muscles.

The body of bone melting and gold molten is only fifty points away from perfection.

If it is pushed to perfection, and combined with another transformation of instinctive skills, will the muscles undergo a change like the skin?

If jade-like skin can resist strong forces, what kind of miraculous changes will muscle mutations bring?

Chen Ping took a deep breath and suppressed his chaotic thoughts.

It's too early to think about these things now.

The most urgent task is to refine the metallic essence. With his power restored, Chen Ping stood up and walked out of the training ground.

The stone door was pushed open.

The fourth-floor armory was dimly lit, and the old man was still lying in the chair with his eyes closed.

Chen Ping had only taken two steps when the old man suddenly frowned, wrinkled his nose, looked over in the direction of the smell, and said with disgust, "Tsk, it stinks! Go wash up quickly."

Chen Ping smiled awkwardly, nodded repeatedly, and walked quickly outside.

They had only taken two steps.

The old man behind him suddenly let out a soft "hmm".

Before Chen Ping could react, the old man was already standing in front of him.

It appeared silently, as if it had always been standing there.

The old man lowered his head, his gaze falling on Chen Ping's skin. He paused for a few moments, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

"It's... Jade Skin?"

He reached out and pinched Chen Ping's arm, then patted it and nodded. "Your skin is like jade, and you are completely impervious to external force. This little kid's body... has actually undergone a physical transformation?"

He released his grip, took two steps back, pinched his nose, his expression of disgust unchanged, but his tone became more serious.

"Good luck, good foundation, one training session can lead to physical transformation."

He waved his hand.

"Alright, alright, go wash up, you stink."

Chen Ping cupped his hands in greeting and quickly left the fourth-floor armory.

The sun was high in the sky on the streets of Tianyan City. Chen Ping walked along the bluestone road towards the east of the city. When pedestrians saw the layer of gray-black grime on his body, they covered their noses and went around him. Some people muttered a few words, but Chen Ping ignored them and quickened his pace to return to the Bai family mansion.

Hot water had already been prepared in the side courtyard.

Bai Ming, having somehow heard the news, waited in the corridor. When he saw Chen Ping return, he wrinkled his nose, said nothing, silently took two steps back, and pointed in the direction of the bathhouse.

Chen Ping entered the bathroom and poured buckets of hot water over himself. The grayish-black grime was washed away by the water, and the fishy stench slowly dissipated.

After washing and changing into clean clothes, I ate a meal, five bowls.

After leaving the Bai family mansion, we returned to Cangwu. The four-story armory.

The stone door opened, and Chen Ping stepped inside.

As I passed by the old man, the old man suddenly opened his eyes.

"I advise you not to go in now."

Chen Ping stopped and turned to look at the old man.

The old man chuckled, sat up from the recliner, and reached down a little.

The dome of the entire four-story armory suddenly changed.

The gray stone roof seemed to have been lifted by an invisible hand, revealing the sky outside.

The clear sky, the white clouds, and the sun high in the sky let in a burst of light, illuminating the armory.

Chen Ping raised his head.

In an instant, his pupils contracted.

People have come from the sky. At the very end of those extremely high and distant, pristine white clouds.

A tiny figure was slowly walking towards Tianyan City, step by step.

He wore a long black robe and paced back and forth.

His movements looked extremely slow.

but.

Each seemingly casual step he took covered at least a hundred steps in an instant!

Shrinking the earth to an inch! Stepping through the air!

From a blurry black dot at first glance, it only took three breaths for that figure to stand above Tianyan City.

Chen Ping stood in the armory, looking up at the figure, his breathing slowing down.

The person in the sky stood there, hands behind his back, looking down at the entire Tianyan City as if he were looking at a chessboard.

The old man lay back in his chair, chuckling slowly.

"The Cui family's offerings." "They've arrived."