Wayfarer

Chapter 518: Giant Strider Soup

In the Sieve of Heaven, within Xiao Nanfeng's manor, Xiao Nanfeng entered secluded cultivation the moment he stepped inside a hall. He set up layer after layer of seals around the hall before sending a mental transmission into his mindscape.

"Senior, what did you think of the Heavenly Emperor's strength?"

The black lotus was silent for a moment before replying, "Perhaps I'm too weak at the moment, but I can't seem to analyze him at all."

"Is he very strong?"

"He deserves the title of the supreme cultivator of this era."

Although Yu Fuli hadn't shown any trace of his aura, Xiao Nanfeng believed the black lotus' judgment.

"And what about this Jade Emperor's Frame? You seemed to be interested as well," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Put it this way: in terms of techniques that deal with forging an Immortal frame, none that I know can surpass the Jade Emperor's Frame in strength."

"Is this technique that strong?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed. "Does the manual he provided us have a flaw?"

"Are you worried that Yu Fuli might have done something to the manual? I had a look, and I don't think he did. At his level of cultivation, I'm sure he wouldn't deign to such an underhanded trick."

Xiao Nanfeng nodded. Although he didn't drop his guard completely, he had decided to cultivate the technique.

"Senior, is this technique useful to you as well?" Xiao Nanfeng asked curiously.

"Immensely. That's why I said that Yu Fuli's an impenetrable man. He was able to discern where I was weakest—and provide an impressive technique to rectify that weakness."

"Thank you for explaining, Senior. I'll start to cultivate this technique, then."

"Very well." The black lotus returned to its usual taciturn state.

Xiao Nanfeng retrieved the jade box in which the giant nethernorth strider soup was stored.

"I wonder how much spiritual power is within this giant strider? I hope it's enough to help me break through," Xiao Nanfeng murmured expectantly.

He opened up the jade box and broke the seals within. A pillar of light burst out of the box, illuminating the entire hall. Spiritual aether gushed out, so concentrated it made the entire hall foggy.

He took a tentative sip of the soup. Endless spiritual aether rushed through his body, and the sheer deliciousness of the soup left him awestruck.

He drank mouthful after mouthful of soup, cognizant of but temporarily ignoring the intense flavor that left his tastebuds in a daze. More specifically, it was no longer soup, but rather concentrated essence of the entire giant strider.

By the time he finished the whole box of soup, he was surrounded by a gentle glow of white light.

He immediately shut his eyes and began to cultivate the Jade Emperor's Frame. The technique was particularly marvelous—it was as though there were the barest sketches of the Dao around his body, places in which intuition and insight could be crystallized and filled in. He infused the countless examples of natural law from the Dazheng Code of Laws into the technique in the form of star maps. His bones began to crack and shatter.

"Shattering bones and reforging one's body anew..." Xiao Nanfeng murmured expectantly.

His bones shattered into infinitesimal particles of light that revolved in accordance to the star maps that he had introduced. Then, the framework reforged those particles into Immortal bones. Gradually, new bones manifested within his body.

The moment they formed, they began to resonate with the Dao. Plenty of Dao runes engraved themselves on the surface of the bones in an exquisite scene. Light flared and dazzled.

Xiao Nanfeng's Immortal bones met his tendons in a harmony that sounded like tolling bells. The entire hall shook and resounded.

After incorporating countless examples of natural law, the technique had become incredibly difficult to cultivate, but the potent energy provided by the giant strider soup was so immense that he was rapidly breaking through.

Six hours later, a sound like tolling bells emanated from all his tendons, causing the hall to quake. A burst of energy erupted from his body.

His eyes opened wide, glimmering with divine light. "The first stage of the Heaven Immortal realm? This nethernorth giant strider was truly incredible..."

He closed his eyes and sensed the interior of his body. His bones were crystalline and carved with Dao runes, glimmering and resplendent with golden light.

He could sense the strength of his physical body growing by leaps and bounds.

"I've only digested the energy of a small portion of the soup. Perhaps I might make another breakthrough..."

Xiao Nanfeng closed his eyes and continued to cultivate, allowing billowing waves of energy to spread toward his Immortal bones.

Four hours later, his body began to toll once more. A burst of energy erupted and shook the hall.

"The second stage of the Heaven Immortal realm!" Xiao Nanfeng opened his eyes once more.

He had consumed all the energy within the giant strider soup and unlocked another advancement with his Immortal bones. They glimmered ever more resplendently, golden threads turning into golden mist and reinforcing his bones.

After checking his body over, he slowly got up, dispelled the formations around the hall, and opened its doors with a creak.

"Division Leader, you've finally emerged from secluded cultivation!" Chang Bing shouted. "We were considering barging into the hall otherwise."

Xiao Nanfeng glanced at the cultivators, perplexed. A group of Earth division disciples had gathered by the doors to the hall, with one of the Heavenly Emperor's attendants beside them.

"What's the matter?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"This attendant wanted to speak with you," Chang Bing said, pointing at him.

"Martial Aspect Xiao, I greet you. Thank goodness you're alright." The attendant's face was one of clear relief."

"Oh?" Xiao Nanfeng replied curiously.

"Because of His Majesty's summons, I handed the giant strider soup to a fellow attendant to be passed to you, but I later found out that he failed to explain the effect of the giant strider soup to you. Worried that something might have gone wrong, I rushed over. I'm very glad to see you well, Martial Aspect Xiao." The attendant relaxed.

"Was something wrong with the soup?"

"The soup contains the giant strider's concentrated, near-endless energy. A sip—a small sip—should have been enough for your Heaven Immortal breakthrough, Martial Aspect Xiao. If you drink too much at once, your body might even burst."

"Burst?" Xiao Nanfeng gave the attendant an odd look.

"My fellow attendant was unfamiliar with your cultivation and treated you like any other Martial Aspect. The energy contained within the giant strider soup is too immense and primal; even a True Immortal wouldn't dare drink too much at once."

Xiao Nanfeng: ...

"Martial Aspect Xiao, you haven't started drinking it yet, have you? Thank goodness. Please be careful. The energy contained within should suffice to advance you to late-stage True Immortal."

Xiao Nanfeng had to take some time to process the attendant's words. He wanted to reply that he had consumed all the soup, but his cultivation had hardly advanced all the way to that of a late-stage True Immortal. Could it be because of his cultivation technique and all the star maps he had appended to it?

"Of course, that's only the most ideal scenario. Without sufficient preparation, your cultivation wouldn't be able to break through successively, and the energy contained within the giant strider soup will dissipate with time. The longer you wait, the worse its effect. Although you might not be able to advance to True Immortal that way, you should at least be able to make a few breakthroughs. Simply be careful with regards to the quantity you ingest."

Xiao Nanfeng nodded. "Thank you for the reminder."

Although he had already finished the entire box of soup, it was only polite to thank the attendant for his warning. "Chang Bing, show our guest out."

"Understood!" Chang Bing guided the attendant out of Xiao Nanfeng's manor.