Free Web NovelChapter 36: Chapter 36: Do You Believe Me? Refining the Demon Core
In the ensuing silence, all the previous doubts and mockery directed at Ning Jiang had transformed into profound shock.
Some even felt ashamed and didn’t dare to meet Ning Jiang’s gaze.
"This is the world of Martial Artists."
Ning Jiang said softly, taking in everyone’s reactions.
The world of Martial Artists was also one where the strong preyed on the weak. The weak were despised and trampled upon, while the strong were respected and admired by all.
"Ning Jiang, who on earth are you?" Zhou Lingwei asked, her expression complicated as she looked at the Ape King’s corpse.
Her question was a reminder to everyone else. ’Yes, who exactly is Ning Jiang?’
They knew far too little about him.
Ning Jiang had been brought into the Zhou Family Guard Team by Zheng Zhiyuan. Other than that, after a day of interaction, they only thought of him as an arrogant braggart.
But could a young man who had killed an Ape King at the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer truly be just a braggart?
Even a fool could understand by now that there was definitely more to Ning Jiang than met the eye.
"Who am I?"
"I told you I’m a peerless genius. Liu Xianyu learned her Sword Technique from me, and Liu Yuanlong called me a god."
"What Wenhua City? Sword King Chu Bai? They’re all nothing special in my eyes."
"As for the Luoyang Ten Heroes, they’re even more like child’s play. It won’t be long before I reign supreme in Luoyang and crush all of the younger generation. Do you believe me?"
Ning Jiang wore a half-smile.
"You!" Zhou Lingwei’s expression turned cold. She felt Ning Jiang was just toying with her. "It’s one thing not to tell the truth, but must you continue to spout such nonsense? Perhaps you have some skill, having killed the Ape King, but to think you can look down on all the world’s heroes because of it is simply laughable."
"The grandmaster of Wenhua City, with his Heart Sword Control, is Luoyang’s number one Sword Cultivator. And Sword King Chu Bai is hailed as a once-in-a-century prodigy of the Sword Dao. They are like the sun and moon in the sky, admired by all. How dare you be so arrogant?"
"Forget them—even the Ten Great are more than ten times stronger than you. Every one of them is an Innate Realm powerhouse and a leader of the younger generation with a boundless future. What right do you, at the mere Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer, have to talk about reigning supreme in Luoyang and crushing your peers?"
"Ning Jiang, you killed the Ape King and scared off the demon horde, and for that, I am grateful. But your arrogance and wild claims, looking down on everyone, will bring you disaster sooner or later." Zhou Lingwei said, her chin held high and her expression cold.
The surrounding guards, who had been secretly admiring Ning Jiang for killing the Ape King, couldn’t help but shake their heads in disappointment upon hearing his boundless arrogance.
’Comparing himself to the Ten Great just because he killed an Ape King?’
’With the abilities of the Ten Great, they could slaughter not just one Ape King, but ten or even twenty of them without breaking a sweat.’
"Are you finished?" Ning Jiang’s expression was calm, as if he never got angry. "Zhou Lingwei, I’ve told you before, your perspective is too shallow. You’re a lot like Wei Yanran—you both have the limited worldview of a mortal."
"You will never understand the kind of existence I am." ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
"The Luoyang Ten Heroes? What are they worth? Even the Nine Great Young Masters of the Cyan Cloud Country are not worth mentioning!"
Ning Jiang raised his head, the starry night reflected in his eyes. "One day, my name will echo throughout the Great Thousand Realms!"
"I originally thought you were just arrogant and liked to say unrealistic things. Now, it seems you’re completely insane." fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
Zhou Lingwei shook her head repeatedly and said mockingly, "If you can really crush the younger generation of Luoyang, I’ll willingly be your Maid for the rest of my life. But I know that’s something that will never, ever happen."
"You think too highly of yourself. You are not yet qualified to be my Maid!"
Ning Jiang was speaking the truth, but to Zhou Lingwei’s ears, it was a grave insult.
"Heh." Zhou Lingwei scoffed.
"There’s nothing more to say. Our paths are different, so we shouldn’t travel together. You all wanted me to leave just now anyway, so this works out. I only joined the Zhou Family Medicine Collection Team because I promised someone else; it wasn’t what I wanted. I’m used to being on my own."
Ning Jiang’s tone was as cool as a mountain spring. He gave Zhou Chuchu one last look and said, "It was fate that we met. If you truly wish to become a Sword Cultivator, you can go to the Liu Family next time and mention my name. Liu Xianyu will receive you. When that time comes, I can teach you for three days."
"Ridiculous."
Zhou Lingwei frowned. ’Someone of Liu Xianyu’s stature? Even I would have immense difficulty getting a meeting with her. Liu Xianyu would receive Zhou Chuchu just based on Ning Jiang’s name?’
"I’ve said all I have to say. Farewell." Ning Jiang turned and left.
"Hahaha! So that’s how it is! That despicable little villain almost had us fooled."
Not long after Ning Jiang left, Li Jie’s mocking laughter rang out.
"What’s going on?" Everyone looked over.
"Look! This wound on the Ape King’s abdomen—it was clearly already severely injured."
The Ape King had fallen face down. After Li Jie rolled it over, he saw the gruesome wound on its belly.
"The Ape King must have been gravely wounded and had little combat strength left. Then this kid took advantage of its weakness and assassinated it with a sneak attack. Look closely! There are no other combat wounds on its body. It was killed by a single blow to the throat, which is enough to confirm it was ambushed and killed."
Li Jie looked incredibly smug, certain his deduction was more or less correct.
"I agree with Captain Li. With his Cultivation at the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer, there’s no way he could have killed the Ape King in a direct fight. He must have used a sneak attack."
"That’s right. A true powerhouse wouldn’t be as arrogant as him, treating all the world’s heroes as if they were nothing."
The crowd chattered away, completely forgetting that it was Ning Jiang who had killed the Ape King and scared off the demon horde, saving them from any casualties.
"Chuchu, forget about him. And you must never be as conceited as he is in the future, understand?" Zhou Lingwei admonished, using Ning Jiang as a perfect negative example.
Zhou Chuchu remained silent, her gaze fixed on the direction where Ning Jiang had disappeared.
For some reason, she had a faint feeling that Ning Jiang’s incredible words might... actually be true!
...
「Deep in the dead of night.」
Almost no one was active in the Demon Mist Mountain Range at night. It was several times more dangerous than during the day.
Even a Postnatal Realm Martial Artist would be extremely cautious at this time.
But Ning Jiang moved through the mountain forest as if walking on flat ground, completely unconcerned.
’The Demon Mist Mountain Range is several times larger than Luoyang City. It won’t be easy to find the Molten Rock Jade.’
The information Ning Jiang had gotten from Yan Shuangying was only that the Molten Rock Jade was in the Demon Mist Mountain Range, not its exact location. After all, the jade had been brought to her by another Martial Artist; she hadn’t found it herself.
’However, as long as I find a place with intense heat, it shouldn’t be hard to find the Molten Rock Jade.’
’Molten Rock Jade is formed by the corrosive fire poison from underground magma, so it must be located in a place of great heat.’
’Before I find the Molten Rock Jade, I need to break through to the Postnatal Realm. That is the primary requirement for cultivating the Great Sun Glazed Golden Body.’
With this in mind, Ning Jiang took a black object from his Storage Ring.
The object was oval, shaped like a shuttle, about a palm’s length. Holding it in his hand, he could feel a dense Demon Qi.
This was the Demon Core of the Long-armed Ape King.
’If I refine this Demon Core, it’s enough to let me step into the Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer. If I could get my hands on a Demon Crystal, I could even break through directly to the Innate Realm.’
Of course, this was just a thought. A Demon Crystal was the life essence of a Spirit Realm Demon Beast, and only a Spirit Realm Powerhouse could contend with such a beast. A single Demon Crystal was priceless.
For a Demon Beast at the Primordial Spirit Fourth Tribulation Realm, its Demon Crystal would evolve into a Demon Pill.
’Simply refining the Demon Core to break through to the Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer isn’t the wisest choice. The Demon Mist Mountain Range is fraught with danger; it’s smarter to have another trump card.’
’There is a Technique in the Heaven-Devouring Demon Skill that allows me to extract the Demon Core’s Energy for my own use. With it, I’ll be able to unleash the power of a Postnatal Late Stage cultivator.’
This was one of the applications of the Heaven-Devouring Demon Skill: to extract the Energy within a Demon Core and store it in one’s Dantian.
In a moment of crisis, a Martial Artist could activate this Energy and erupt with power equivalent to that of the Demon Beast.
However, this method had its drawbacks.
For a Qi Cultivation Realm Martial Artist’s body to unleash Postnatal Realm Power, it would have to endure a massive burden.
It was like an Elixir. If you gave a Spirit Pill to a mortal, not only would the mortal fail to benefit, but the immense Medicinal Power of the Spirit Pill would cause their body to explode.
This was the principle of a weak body being unable to handle potent supplements.
Only the Spirit Body of a Spirit Realm Powerhouse could withstand a Spirit Pill.
With his Cultivation at the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer, if Ning Jiang were to activate the Demon Core’s energy, he could display the strength of a Postnatal Late Stage cultivator, which was nearly equal to the Ape King’s own power.
But afterward, his body would inevitably suffer some damage.
’Even if there is some damage, I can recover with Elixirs.’
After some thought, Ning Jiang still decided to use the Ape King’s Demon Core energy as a trump card.
With this trump card in hand, he had another means of survival.
After spending a little time, Ning Jiang found a quiet cave and sat down cross-legged.
He held the Demon Core and activated the Heaven-Devouring Demon Skill, devouring the Energy within.
To humans, the Demon Qi within a Demon Core was a potent poison. Demon Qi was different from the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi; the latter could be absorbed by the human body, but Demon Qi could not.
Therefore, for most Martial Artists, Demon Cores could only be used for Alchemy.
But the Heaven-Devouring Demon Skill that Ning Jiang cultivated was incomparably domineering. It could devour any Alien Energy in the world, and Demon Qi was no exception.
A continuous stream of Demon Qi surged out from the Demon Core and was absorbed into Ning Jiang’s body.
The moment this violent Demon Qi entered his body, it tried to run rampant, but it was immediately suppressed by the Heaven-Devouring Demon Skill. Unable to resist, it was swallowed directly into his Dantian and drawn into the three black, devouring Qi Vortexes.
After being refined by the devouring Qi Vortexes, the Demon Qi transformed into pure Energy.
This Energy, like a black liquid, floated within his Dantian.
A night passed.
The Energy within the Demon Core was completely devoured, leaving nothing behind. The core lost its luster and crumbled into dust.
’This energy supply will last for about half an hour of use before it’s completely depleted.’ Ning Jiang’s tightly shut eyes opened.
BOOM!
Suddenly, a deafening explosion erupted nearby, making the very ground tremble slightly.
Ning Jiang walked out of the cave and gazed into the distance. About three *li* away, a faint red light was shining.
