Chapter 53: Ancient Jade Body Refining and Bones Transformation

Jiang Sanjia's pained groans brought Mu Xiaoyun back to her senses.

"Madam Liu, what do you plan to do next?" An Jing turned to look at Mu Xiaoyun.

Xue Chen was dead, which meant the Cao Gang had already taken precautions against her plans, and now with another helper dead, it was undoubtedly adding insult to injury.

If she still wanted to rescue Liu Qingshan from Shuangmu Forest, it would only be a difficult situation.

"Didn't you always want the ancient jade? I can give it to you now."

Mu Xiaoyun looked up, her beautiful eyes fixed on An Jing.

The ancient jade was the treasure Mu Xiaoyun had promised An Jing, and also the item the Earth Scroll hinted could change An Jing's root bone.

An Jing was slightly startled, then said, "It seems the ancient jade is on you."

"That's right."

Mu Xiaoyun nodded slightly, then took out a red string from her waist, with an ancient jade hanging from it, shimmering with a warm luster.

The moment he saw the ancient jade, a gleam appeared in An Jing's eyes.

Mu Xiaoyun looked at the ancient jade in her hand and calmly said, "This ancient jade is an item left from the Great Zhou Dynasty, it was a betrothal gift from my husband Liu Qingshan, and I have always carried it with me."

An Jing couldn't help but laugh, "Doesn't Madam fear I might kill for it?"

Not to mention both of them were injured, even without injuries, they were no match for him. Previously, Mu Xiaoyun was wary of him, which is why she only gave him an ancient jade painting to appease him.

Mu Xiaoyun said, "I am afraid, but I trust Mr. Zhou's character."

"Character? Are we that familiar?"

An Jing touched the sword at his waist, his voice devoid of any emotion.

Mu Xiaoyun wouldn't easily hand over the ancient jade; her taking it out now must be to have An Jing do something, but what she wanted done must be more difficult than killing her.

Jiang Sanjia was stunned for a moment and also looked over.

"I trust Brother Zhou's character," Mu Xiaoyun repeated again.

"Tell me, what do you want?" An Jing said indifferently.

"I want Xue Chen's complete body," Mu Xiaoyun whispered.

Xue Chen's body had already been taken away by the Cao Gang's experts and was hidden somewhere unknown. If they were to search for it, it would take time, so they could only snatch it when it was displayed at the Yulanpen Festival (Ghost Festival).

At the Yulanpen Festival (Ghost Festival), there would be countless experts from the Cao Gang and the Four Great Families of Jiangnan Province. Who would dare to snatch a body in such a public setting?

"I'm already dead, now you want me to come back to life?"

An Jing couldn't help but laugh.

Everyone in the world now believed the mysterious swordsman was dead, which was a great thing for him. Someone else would take the blame for what he had done before, and the Cao Gang would no longer have any connection to him.

Mu Xiaoyun gently tucked a strand of hair, her beautiful eyes serious, and said, "If Brother Zhou is willing to help, Mu Xiaoyun will owe you a favor, and if the Opportunity arises in the future, I will definitely repay it with my life."

An Jing was silent for a moment, then said, "This ancient jade of yours can only make me act once."

Originally, he could have killed Mu Xiaoyun and easily obtained the ancient jade in her hand.

"Just this once."

Mu Xiaoyun smiled.

She knew An Jing had agreed.

"Brother Zhou, here."

The ancient jade arced, then was caught by An Jing. Immediately, a warm sensation slowly spread from his palm, flowing into his limbs and meridians.

"You two should find another place. Leave a mark behind the Buddha statue in the ruined temple. After the matter is done, I will find you again."

An Jing put away the ancient jade and said.

Mu Xiaoyun nodded heavily. She also knew that many forces were currently searching for them, not just the Cao Gang, and this place was still too dangerous.

"Brother Zhou, next time you come, bring some roasted chicken and wine. The wine should preferably be from Wuyang Wine House, and the roasted chicken from Yutian Pavilion," Jiang Sanjia reminded.

An Jing smiled faintly, "Sanjia, if you're still alive, I can treat you."

Jiang Sanjia's face darkened, "I've calculated, without accidents, I still have thirty years of life left."

"Unfortunately, life is full of accidents."

An Jing waved his hand and walked out of the ruined temple.

Outside Yu Prefecture City, in the dense forest.

Deep within the dense forest, it was lush and thick, already far from the official road and the bustling city.

An Jing sat on a large rock, then took out the ancient jade.

He saw that within the crystal-clear jade, something seemed to be flowing.

"Is this the treasure that can change one's root bone?"

An Jing played with the jade in his hand and muttered to himself.

Bones are the foundation of one's physical form and manifest in four phenomena: clear, strange, ancient, and bizarre. Most martial arts Geniuses manifest as 'clear,' with 'strange' being extremely rare.

An Jing's root bone was this second 'strange,' a Heaven-Blessed Genius.

With high root bone, Cultivating Qi would be smoother and more complete.

The reason he was able to reach First Rank cultivation within ten years, besides the help of the Earth Scroll, was due to his Heaven-Blessed Genius root bone.

"Hiss!"

Just then, a faint line appeared in the jade. An Jing's Qi seemed to be stirred, and he involuntarily began to circulate the Great Luo Heart Method.

"Hiss hiss! Hiss hiss!"

Then the red line started to move, like a nimble snake trying to break free from its cage.

"This is…"

An Jing blinked. The red line rushed out of the ancient jade and surged into his body.

The moment the red line poured in, it felt as if countless steel needles were pricking his body. In an instant, that stinging sensation spread throughout every meridian in his body.

"Creak! Creak!"

An Jing gritted his teeth, and cold sweat instantly covered his forehead.

After an unknown amount of time, the stinging sensation gradually disappeared, and a warm sensation began to course through his meridians.

"It feels a bit strange…"

An Jing opened his eyes, looked at his palm, then focused his thoughts on the Earth Scroll.

Cultivation: First Rank

Fate: Auspicious Star Shining Brightly

Root Bone: Once in a Century

Martial Arts: Sword Drawing Technique, Sword Hiding Technique, Sword Control Technique, Nine Character Sword Secret, Soaring Nine Heavens Movement Technique, Great Luo Heart Method, Aura Concealment Technique, Hundred Steps Flying Sword (Fifth Layer).

Hint One: Host's fate has not yet taken root (ten months remaining). Do not let anyone know the host's identity when performing martial arts, otherwise, a black Opportunity will be obtained.

Hint Two: There is a cyan Opportunity in the Vairocana Hall of Faxi Temple. An unknown ancient object is sealed beneath the Buddha statue.

Hint Three: There is a black Opportunity in Faxi Temple. Obtaining it will bring misfortune and pursuit.

Once in a Century, An Jing's eyes lit up at this.

His root bone had improved from Heaven-Blessed Genius to Once in a Century. This massive improvement in root bone even led to an improvement in his Hundred Steps Flying Sword.

And these were just the visible improvements; there were many invisible ones as well.

For example, his Epiphany in swordsmanship seemed to have reached a new level, and this feeling was incredibly significant.

According to the sword momentum in Jianghu, An Jing was currently at the peak of the Fourth Layer of sword momentum, just one step away from reaching the Fifth Layer Realm.

In today's world, those who reached this Realm were few and far between.

Moreover, he clearly felt that the sword techniques, Mind-Cultivation Technique, and movement techniques he Cultivated were much easier than before, and even each time he Cultivated them, he gained new insights.

This kind of root bone improvement was not obvious in the short term, but it was a long-term plan.

"Throughout the entire Jianghu, there are definitely no more than five people with a root bone like mine."

An Jing slowly exhaled.

How powerful a Once in a Century root bone truly was, even within the Seven Sects, it would likely be a chief Disciple, with talent absolutely no weaker than anyone in the world.

He wondered if the root bone could still improve after Once in a Century. Would it be Once in a Millennium?

Also, the Earth Scroll had new hints, all at Faxi Temple, and there was even a black Opportunity among them. He had to be careful not to inexplicably attract this black Opportunity.

"It's getting dark, time to go home."

An Jing felt that the pain had mostly disappeared, then he leaped and rushed towards Yu Prefecture City.