Becoming a Sage Starts From Condensing the Essence of Time - Chapter 24

An Le looked at the piece of white jade in front of him. There were nine gray patterns on the white jade. They were of varying thickness and shallowness. They were neatly arranged on the white jade. Perhaps it should not be called white jade, but flower jade.

“Demon Tempering Treasure Jade…”

An Le muttered to himself. To be honest, he was a little surprised. He did not expect the Age Dao Fruit to be able to produce a physical object.

This [Demon Tempering Treasure Jade] was somewhat similar to a cultivation Dharma treasure. Furthermore, it was a rather precious support Dharma treasure that could help cultivation.

After An Le learned about cultivation from Madam Hua, he learned much about cultivation. It was like a competition. The higher one went, the stronger the competition.

Competition naturally required killing. Killing required weapons. Dharma treasures were the weapons of cultivators, but Dharma treasures could also be divided into attack and support.

Rubbing the Demon Tempering Treasure Jade, the nine gray patterns on the demon jade seemed to contain majestic demon qi. Tempering one’s body with demon qi could strengthen one’s body like a demon!

If demons wanted to transform, they had to experience a hundred years of cultivation. After years of tempering, their demon bodies were naturally tough. Although powerful Body Tempering martial artists were not inferior to greater demons in terms of physical strength, tempering their bodies with demon qi was indeed an efficient cultivation method.

An Le’s interest was piqued. Coupled with the fact that the courtyard was empty, he packed up the flowers and potted plants and stood still in the courtyard, planning to practice the Tiger Form.

His mind surged into the demon jade, and a gray pattern on the jade was almost boiling and squirming. Boundless demon qi overflowed from it!

Qi Blood surged under his skin, and An Le began to use Tiger Form.

As his Qi Blood circulated, the demon qi that grew seemed to be absorbed by every pore and surged into his skin and meridians. A sharp pain came.

An Le frowned, but he endured the pain and began to practice the Tiger Form.

After one round, An Le’s body was covered in hot sweat, which was mixed with some blood color!

An Le could clearly feel that his skin and physique had become much stronger.

Was this demon qi tempering the body?!

An Le was a little surprised. The Five Animals Body Tempering Technique should have been used with medicinal soup for Body Tempering, which would speed up the refinement of the body.

But now, under the tempering of demon qi, the effect seemed to be better than the medicinal soup!

Surprised, An Le tirelessly continued to cultivate the Body Tempering Technique and practice the Bird Form.

Bird Form and Tiger Form, An Le was currently the best at these two. Seeing Fourth Master Lin’s Body Tempering under the waterfall, An Le had gained a lot.

…

…

Although the spring rain from yesterday had stopped, there were still puddles of rainwater that had not dried up in the pits on the limestone road in the alley. The fallen leaves that had been knocked down by yesterday’s rain floated on the surface of the puddles and spun slightly.

“Splat!” The world reflected by the fallen leaves and water was shattered by the falling cloth shoes.

Water droplets flew up and fell down. The pit rolled into a turbid state. The fallen leaves were carried by the cloth shoes and stuck to the bottom. As they walked, they rustled.

The old man in plain clothes walked out of the Imperial Ancestral Temple slowly. His long eyebrows fluttered in the wind.

Sensing the demon qi floating in the air, the old man’s expression was indifferent. He quickly followed Imperial Ancestral Temple Alley and arrived at the source of the demon qi.

Before the door of the small courtyard was closed, the sound of Qi Blood boiling could be heard from afar. There was the powerful force of a cultivator’s fist.

The old man looked into the courtyard and was stunned. “Eh? It’s not a demon, but a human.”

“Using the Five Animals as the foundation to guide demon qi to temper the body… It’s very interesting, but demon qi is difficult to guide. This demon qi comes from the jade pendant worn by the youth. It’s quite interesting.”

“Compared to nourishing the body with medicinal soup, the efficiency of tempering the body with demon qi is higher.”

The old man wisped his beard and began to admire An Le’s Five Animals Body Tempering. The more he looked, the brighter his eyes became. Towards the end, he even reminisced about his past.

“The Five Animals Body Tempering Technique is a Body Tempering technique stored in the Heavenly Wave Lin Residence. With the power of the Five Animals, it refines the body. Although it’s not a top-notch Body Tempering Technique, it’s not bad. This youth’s Tiger Form and Bird Form actually have some resemblance to the Lin family’s fourth son.”

The old man smiled, a hint of interest appearing in his eyes.

He had originally come to punish the demons, but he did not expect that the person who had triggered the demon qi was actually a young man. There was no need to beat him up.

Although using demon qi to temper one’s body was rare, it was not unheard of. In the Yuan Meng Empire, some martial arts fanatics even hunted thousand-year-old demons and killed them until they bled. They bathed in the blood of the demons that contained resentment and ruthlessness to temper their bodies. Compared to tempering one’s body with demon qi, it was nothing.

“He cultivates the Five Animals and his mind has the intent of a sword waterfall… Is this young man the one who made the young madam from the Lin Residence take action at the entrance of Jing Street yesterday?”

The old man pondered and guessed An Le’s identity.

Although yesterday’s clash was only a fleeting one, the Jade Guanyin flicked her fingers and sent out 3,000 droplets of spring rain to transform into swords. The might was naturally impressive, attracting the attention of many experts.

In the courtyard, An Le, who was practicing his Bird Form, felt his heart palpitate. His mind was tense as if a pair of deep eyes were spying on him.

After ending the Bird Form practice, An Le was covered in blood and sweat. That was the evolution of his physique.

However, he did not have the time to pay attention to it. He looked at the entrance of the courtyard and saw a long-brow old man in plain clothes looking at him with interest.

The prying feeling in his deep eyes disappeared, and the old man became ordinary. His Qi Blood, mind, and other powers did not leak out at all, making him look like an ordinary old man.

However, in An Le’s eyes, the old man’s Age Qi was dense like seaweed, swaying in the wind.

Even Madam Hua’s Age Qi was incomparable to this old man!

An Le could not even estimate how many wisps of Age Qi the old man had!

A true cultivator expert!

He was the strongest existence An Le had seen so far. Madam Hua was much inferior.

An Le’s heart skipped a beat. This old man might be the powerful cultivator guarding the Imperial Ancestral Temple that he passed by earlier?

In the face of such an expert, An Le looked at the wisps of Age Qi that swayed like seaweed on the other party’s body and began to absorb it without hesitation.

However, after a tiring tug-of-war, An Le failed to absorb it.

He could not even extract a trace of Age Qi from the old man.

Previously, he had gone through a lot to absorb the Age Qi from Madam Hua. Now, he tried absorbing the Age Qi from an existence stronger than Madam Hua. It was not surprising that he had failed.

This further confirmed An Le’s guess. If he wanted to absorb the Age Qi from the strong, he had to keep up in terms of cultivation level. Otherwise, there would be an awkward situation where he could not extract the Age Qi.

“Young friend, you just moved here today, right? You don’t look familiar. I also live in the Imperial Ancestral Temple Alley. I’m considered a close neighbor to you,” the old man said with a smile.

He narrowed his eyes and looked at An Le meaningfully. When An Le stared at him just now, his gaze was a little strange. What did this young man see?

“I’m An Le, from Chongzhou. When I entered Lin’an to participate in the Spring Quarter Examination, I bought this small courtyard to cultivate and study. I’ll have to trouble you.”

An Le cupped his fists and bowed respectfully.

The long-brow old man stopped stroking his beard and understood that An Le must have sensed his strength.

“A cultivator who has just developed his mind and Qi Blood can actually see through my cultivation level? Even the unlucky Luo Qingchen might not be able to detect my concealment.”

The old man thought about it and felt that An Le was more and more interesting.

It was no wonder that the Lin Residence’s Jade Guanyin would help this youth.

“There’s no need to be so polite. I’m indeed right. You moved to the Imperial Ancestral Temple Alley and we’re close neighbors. It’s fate that we met. Little fellow, from now on, you can draw the demon qi in the jade to temper your body. Just stay in this small courtyard. I’ll help you wipe away the demon qi so that you don’t provoke some unreasonable Demon Subduing Masters in Lin’an Prefecture and mess up the order.”

The old man laughed.

When An Le heard this, he was shocked…

He really did not expect to hear about the Demon Subduing Masters.

“Thank you, Senior.” An Le bowed respectfully.

The old man waved his hand. “There’s no need to be so polite. I just don’t want those Demon Subduing Masters to disturb the peace of Imperial Ancestral Temple Alley.”

“You practice the Five Animals and have Fourth Master Lin’s elegance. You also have Hua Jiebing’s Sword Waterfall Diagram. You should be the artist who entered the Lin Manor… I have some experience in painting. I can ask you for guidance.”

The old man laughed.

An Le was not surprised that the other party had recognized his identity. Such a person was probably on the same level as the Lin Residence’s Matriarch.

“I don’t dare to give guidance. Let’s learn from each other…”

An Le bowed humbly.

“Hahaha, good. Wait here. I just finished a painting in the morning. I’ll go get it now.”

The old man was swift and decisive. He really planned to go back and get the painting.

However, An Le thought for a moment and said, “Senior, I have to go to the Lin Residence to paint for the young masters who are about to go on an expedition. This is a promise I made to the Lin Residence. I cannot skip it without applying for leave first.”

The old man raised his eyebrows. “Aren’t you afraid that I’ll be angry if you reject me now?”

As soon as he finished speaking, a majestic mental power suddenly spread out from the old man’s body. In an instant, it was as if he was born with twilight clouds. Lightning roared and the pressure was like a mountain collapsing!

In the face of the terrifying pressure, An Le, who had the blessing of the Fearless Heart Dao Fruit, stood upright like a pine tree. He was neither servile nor overbearing as he cupped his fists and said seriously, “Words are fickle and untrustworthy, but actions show your intention. Wherever there are benefits, there are people. If one acts upon that, one can be called untrustworthy.”

“Perhaps it’s beneficial for me to exchange painting skills with you and please you. However, since I’ve already promised the Lin Residence, I have to do what I have to do.”

When the old man heard this, a strange look flashed across his eyes. The pressure on his body and his powerful mind instantly dissipated.

The old man smiled in satisfaction and admiration. “You have the courage to remain calm even if a mountain collapses in front of you. Little fellow, you have guts. A gentleman keeps his promises. It’s up to you.”

“Go, I’ll look for you tonight.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man had already turned around and left the courtyard.

When An Le heard this, he immediately smiled and cupped his fists.

“Then after I end work, I’ll buy a pot of old yellow wine and discuss art with you.”

The old man’s plain clothes fluttered, and his cloth shoes stepped on the water and fallen leaves between the limestone slabs. Only a faint voice came from the alley.

“Sigh, there’s wine… Enjoying paintings with some wine. Little guy, that’s very good.”