Chapter 327: Heartless

Chapter 327: Heartless

"Boom!"

The tail of the Stone Dragon Elephant lashed out like a colossal whip, striking the Heart Nurturing True Cauldron with a deafening roar. The cauldron was sent flying, spinning endlessly in the void. Inside, the stone beasts howled incessantly, desperate to break free.

Ning Xiaochuan's body transformed into a radiant, multicolored light as he flew beneath the Stone Dragon Elephant. With sheer physical strength, he lifted the massive creature by its leg and hurled it into the Heart Nurturing True Cauldron.

It was a staggering feat—the Stone Dragon Elephant stood over 40 meters tall and weighed half a million kilograms, yet Ning Xiaochuan lifted it with his bare hands, embodying the legendary might of "strength enough to uproot mountains."

Nie Lanzhi gasped in awe and delight. "The Minor Marquis has returned!"

Ning Xiaochuan then collected the Double-headed Stone Beast into the Heart Nurturing True Cauldron, placing it alongside over a dozen other stone beasts for a grand fusion.

The cauldron, now glowing red-hot from the Yin-Yang Bright Flame, was enveloped in raging fire, its brilliance illuminating the void like a colossal divine furnace. Despite its searing heat, the cauldron trembled violently as the stone beasts inside clashed, producing thunderous roars.

"Minor Marquis, will Little Shuang become even stronger after being refined?" Nie Lanzhi's bright eyes, framed by long lashes, were fixed on the floating cauldron. Her heart raced with excitement, as if the Double-headed Stone Beast's growth would bring her immense joy.

"Yes," Ning Xiaochuan nodded.

The stone beasts here seemed endless. After refining the Spiritual Medicine, Ning Xiaochuan planned to focus on nurturing the Double-headed Stone Beast. If it could advance to a seventh-grade mystic beast, it would be equivalent to gaining the aid of a Martial Venerable.

Three full days passed before the fusion within the Heart Nurturing True Cauldron was complete. The Double-headed Stone Beast emerged, now towering at 48 meters tall, its strength more than doubled.

"Whoosh!"

One of its heads spewed a crimson flame, instantly igniting the ground for hundreds of meters, reducing rocks to molten lava.

According to Ning Xiaochuan's calculations, the Double-headed Stone Beast would need to grow to at least 60 meters tall to possess the combat power of a seventh-grade mystic beast.

Carefully, Ning Xiaochuan retrieved the Three-Leaved Life Grass. A blinding white light erupted, forcing everyone to shield their eyes.

Swiftly, he flung out eight Low-Grade Profound Stones, anchoring them in the Void's Spiritual Node to form a barrier, sealing the space and preventing the Three-Leaved Life Grass from escaping.

This Three-Leaved Life Grass had grown for 1,200 years—a genuine Spiritual Medicine with its own sentience, capable of flight and evasion, unseen by ordinary people.

From the surface of the Life Pearl, wisps of medicinal energy condensed into the ethereal figure of a young girl.

This was the Medicine Spirit of the Spiritual Medicine, a convergence of heaven and earth's spiritual energy and the Essence of the Sun and Moon—essentially the soul of the Spiritual Medicine.

Legends spoke of Spiritual Medicines that had grown for millennia, capable of speech and even assuming human form. Their lifespans far surpassed humans, spanning thousands, even tens of thousands of years.

The medicinal aura of the Spiritual Medicine was incredibly pure and vibrant. Just a single whiff caused the Profound Qi within the body to surge rapidly, while the meridians and bones emitted crackling sounds, as if being stir-fried and Refined.

Ning Xiaochuan plucked the Life Pearl, about the size of a fist, and placed it into the Heart Nurturing True Cauldron, refining it with the Yin-Yang Bright Flame.

Refining Spiritual Medicine was an extremely lengthy process, taking over ten times longer than refining ordinary pills.

While refining the pill, Ning Xiaochuan also studied the Mystic Gate Arts.

The Heavenly Emperor's Divine Palace undoubtedly existed in this world, yet no one had ever found it. Ning Xiaochuan speculated that it might be hidden within some mysterious Formation. Only by thoroughly mastering the Mystic Gate Arts could it possibly be uncovered.

"The Nine Palaces Technique—two and four as the shoulders, six and eight as the feet, three on the left and seven on the right, nine above and one below, with five at the center..."

Ning Xiaochuan found a chapter on the "Nine Palaces Technique" in the Mystic Gate Arts and was deeply fascinated by it. The knowledge it encompassed was vast, and its application was profoundly mysterious.

The "Nine Palaces" included many esoteric techniques—"Nine Palaces Divination," "Nine Palaces Calculation," "Nine Palaces Divine Fire," "Nine Palaces Eight Winds," "Taiyi Nine Palaces," "Taiyi Altar," and more—spanning divination, techniques, calculation, medicine, astrology, and construction. It was truly profound and wondrous.

If one could master this arcane art, they could harness the power of the Nine Palaces to unleash attacks, such as the "Nine Palaces Divine Fire" and "Nine Palaces Eight Winds," techniques so unfathomable they bordered on the supernatural.

Moreover, incorporating the mystical Medicinal Principles of the Nine Palaces during pill refinement could elevate the pill's grade, induce new transformations in its properties, and even give birth to unique, unparalleled pills.

Of course, the Nine Palaces Technique also delved into the realms of "divination" and "celestial calculation," enabling one to foresee the past and future, predict fortunes and misfortunes, and discern auspicious and inauspicious signs.

This was far beyond the capabilities of ordinary fortune-tellers. If one could cultivate the "Nine Palaces Divination" to its peak, they would become a sage who "knew five hundred years before and five hundred years after," capable of perceiving the essence of fate and deciphering the codes of heaven and earth—surpassing even the Daoist technique Revolving Heaven and Earth.

However, Ning Xiaochuan was already wholly devoted to the path of medicine and naturally had no intention of diverting his focus to cultivate "Nine Palaces Divination."

Whether it was medicine or divination, both were profound and boundless paths. Mastering even one to its pinnacle would bring lifelong benefits. Greedily pursuing multiple paths would likely lead to achieving nothing at all.

"Nie Lanzhi, come here," Ning Xiaochuan beckoned to her.

Nie Lanzhi had been hiding behind a large rock, secretly watching Ning Xiaochuan refine pills. Thinking she had been discovered, she grew anxious and timidly stepped out, stammering, "M-Minor Marquis, I... I didn’t mean to... I just wanted to watch..."

"Come here first," Ning Xiaochuan said.

Nie Lanzhi was nervous—spying on an Advanced Heart Nurturer refining pills was a grave taboo, punishable by having one's eyes gouged out. Though terrified, she still approached.

"Sit," Ning Xiaochuan instructed.

Nie Lanzhi had a slender figure, her jet-black hair cascading softly down to her waist. Her heart fluttered with unease as she slowly sat down.

Ning Xiaochuan reached out toward her forehead, startling her into retreating. Her delicate, crystalline hands clasped together as she repeatedly bowed to him, pleading pitifully, "I won’t do it again, I won’t! Minor Marquis, please don’t gouge out my eyes. I won’t peek next time."

She looked like a pitiful little thing, her eyes brimming with tears, clearly terrified.

Ning Xiaochuan chuckled. "Sit properly first."

"You won’t gouge my eyes?" Nie Lanzhi asked nervously, still worried.

"No," he replied.

Only then did she relax, pressing her lips together before sitting across from him.

Ning Xiaochuan placed his hand on her forehead, and a wisp of Profound Qi drifted from his body, taking the form of a dragon and tiger before entering hers.

Her entire body radiated a white glow, every inch of her skin resembling crystal jade—smooth, lustrous, and translucent, as if carved from ice and snow.

After a long moment, Ning Xiaochuan withdrew his hand and stared closely into her large eyes. "Your Martial Arts Heart Palace is incomplete. You’re not suited to become a Heart Nurturer. Even if you force yourself down this path, you’ll never reach the level of an Intermediate Heart Nurturer in your lifetime."

"Ah, Minor Marquis, you also noticed my Martial Arts Heart Palace is incomplete? Elder Gu said the same. He told me my natural talent isn’t inferior to my sister’s, but my Martial Arts Heart Palace is flawed. If I pursued martial arts, I’d never reach the Earthly Venerable Realm in my lifetime. That’s why I started studying heart-nurturing and alchemy—to try and compensate for the deficiency." Nie Lanzhi lowered her head, her eyes dimming as her fingers fidgeted with the hem of her clothes.

Ning Xiaochuan said, "Your Heart Palace is missing its most crucial part. Even if you manage to condense a Heart Nurturing Cauldron, you’ll only ever be a Primary Heart Nurturer."

"Missing the most crucial part?" Nie Lanzhi asked.

Ning Xiaochuan nodded solemnly. "The ‘Heart Eye.’ Every other Martial Artist’s Martial Arts Heart Palace possesses one, but yours does not. The Heart Eye is the foundation of the Martial Arts Heart Palace—it circulates Profound Qi, refines Profound Essence, and condenses the Martial Soul. The absence of a Heart Eye is a congenital defect. Without it, your Martial Arts Heart Palace is essentially a ‘Dead Heart Palace.’ I can’t heal it for you. However, I can teach you another profound art, one that might suit someone like you—lacking a Heart Eye. If you can master even a fraction of it, you’ll stand equal to a Martial Venerable."

Nie Lanzhi’s eyes brightened. "What profound art?"

"Nine Palaces Divination and Nine Palaces Calculation," Ning Xiaochuan replied.

In truth, while treating her earlier, he had already noticed her missing Heart Eye. That was why he decided to pass on this enigmatic Mystic Gate Arts technique to her.

Those lacking a Heart Eye often develop unique wisdom instead. Perhaps she might possess an innate talent for "divination" and "fate calculation."

If she could comprehend even one ten-thousandth of its principles, she’d be able to predict fortune and misfortune, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Martial Venerables. And if she grasped one-thousandth, she might even become a great prophet or sage—an extraordinary achievement in its own right.

Little did Ning Xiaochuan know that this fleeting thought of his would indeed have a monumental impact on Nie Lanzhi, the girl without a Heart Eye.

Nie Lanzhi showed great interest and asked, "What are 'Nine Palaces Divination' and 'Nine Palaces Calculation'?"

Ning Xiaochuan picked up a flat stone and began drawing on the ground while explaining, "The Nine Palaces in Mystic Gate Arts represent the earth. They are the foundation of Mystic Gate Arts and remain unmoving. Mystic Gate Arts is divided into four plates: heaven, earth, man, and spirit. Among these, only the earth plate is stationary, serving as the mountain seat..."

Though Nie Lanzhi could be willful and timid by turns, and though she lacked the Heart Eye, she was remarkably intelligent. What would be complex and difficult for ordinary people to grasp—such as the intricacies of "Nine Palaces Divination"—she quickly mastered, demonstrating exceptional comprehension.