Chapter 328: Once-in-Nine-Millennia

Chapter 328: Once-in-Nine-Millennia

"Hmm?" Ning Xiaochuan frowned.

Nie Lanzhi's voice was sweet, her face pure and earnest as she said, "If it weren’t fate, why would the Minor Marquis keep encountering me when I’m being hunted down? If it weren’t fate, why would your supreme techniques be so perfectly suited for me to cultivate?"

She stared at Ning Xiaochuan without blinking.

Ning Xiaochuan found it both amusing and exasperating. "You’re overthinking it."

"Don’t you believe in fate?" Nie Lanzhi pressed.

"Let’s not talk about fate today."

Ning Xiaochuan had no energy to indulge a young girl in romantic notions. Martial Arts Profound Qi condensed around his arm, cloaking it in a white glow as he lifted the lid of the Heart Nurturing True Cauldron.

"Boom!"

The pills had finished refining.

A white pillar of light, over 30 meters tall, shot out from the cauldron. Within it floated ten radiant pills, each as large as a thumb, dazzling like ten stars.

A rich fragrance spread through the night air.

With a wave of his hand, Ning Xiaochuan retrieved the ten Life Pills and examined them. He sighed. "All Advanced Pills… What a pity. Spiritual Medicine is a treasure for refining ‘Human Elixirs,’ rare and hard to come by. If I were a Great Heart Nurturer, I might have been able to refine this Three-Leaved Life Grass into a ‘Human Elixir.’"

Only a Great Heart Nurturer could refine a Human Elixir. Ning Xiaochuan, despite possessing Spiritual Medicine, could only produce Advanced Pills—a waste of precious materials. If any Great Heart Nurturers found out, they’d surely beat him to death.

Spiritual Medicine was something even Great Heart Nurturers might never encounter in their lifetimes—a true supreme treasure capable of refining Human Elixirs.

In the Yulan Empire, a single Advanced Pill could fetch an astronomical price at auction, a rarity even Martial Venerables would fight over.

But the value of a Human Elixir was dozens, even hundreds of times that of an Advanced Pill.

In the Yulan Empire, Human Elixirs were also known as "Pill Kings," the monarchs among pills, appearing perhaps once in decades.

A Human Elixir possessed a soul of its own.

Legends spoke of powerful Human Elixirs capable of resurrection, restoring flesh to bones—veritable miracles akin to divine pills.

Though Ning Xiaochuan had now become an Advanced Heart Nurturer, he was still far from being a Great Heart Nurturer, making it impossible for him to refine a Human Elixir.

From the Heart Nurturing True Cauldron, Ning Xiaochuan extracted five drops of shimmering Life Elixir, radiant and fragrant—the remnants of uncondensed pill essence, each drop as valuable as an Intermediate Elixir.

"Take these five drops. They should significantly enhance your physique," Ning Xiaochuan said.

Nie Lanzhi cradled the five drops nervously. "Minor Marquis, why are you so kind to me?"

No answer came.

When she looked up, Ning Xiaochuan had already swallowed a Life Pill and was seated in meditation, cultivating.

After refining the first Life Pill, Ning Xiaochuan directly ascended to the Ninth Level of the Transcendent Realm.

Pills refined from Spiritual Medicine, even if not Human Elixirs, possessed potency far surpassing ordinary Advanced Pills.

Ning Xiaochuan was overjoyed. Merely refining a single Life Pill had already yielded such remarkable effects. Perhaps he could use this opportunity to break through to the Earthly Venerable Realm in one fell swoop.

Once he stepped into the Earthly Venerable Realm, he would enter an entirely new realm of the Martial Path and could be conferred the title of "Martial Venerable"—a level any Martial Artist aspired to reach.

"No. Before reaching the 'Once-in-Ten-Millennia' talent level, I must suppress my cultivation realm. Before entering the Earthly Venerable Realm, the Martial Body is most malleable. Once I step into the Earthly Venerable Realm, the Martial Body will solidify, and improving my talent level afterward would become many times more difficult."

Ning Xiaochuan still had nine Life Pills left. Perhaps with their power, he could break through to the "Once-in-Ten-Millennia" talent level.

It took Ning Xiaochuan a full three months to completely refine all nine Life Pills. His entire body was enveloped in a radiant White Light, and above his head, a white mist condensed, resembling a celestial Fairy Light descending upon him.

The Small Red Dragon crouched in front of him, opening its mouth wide to greedily absorb the White Light, utterly intoxicated, like a Divine Dragon drinking from the ocean.

Its dragon body became crystalline and radiant, wreathed in auspicious clouds. Clearly, it had also gained tremendous benefits and was growing rapidly.

Ning Xiaochuan's heart emitted seven-colored lights—red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple—condensing into seven illusory rings that formed seven orifices, floating around his body. This was a sign that the "Seven Orifices Divine Demon Heart Palace" was on the verge of awakening.

The "Seven Orifices Divine Demon Heart Palace" was said to rival the "Chaos Heart Palace," possessing its own supreme might. However, unlike the Chaos Heart Palace, which could manipulate Time and Space, the Seven Orifices Divine Demon Heart Palace required a Martial Artist to reach the Earthly Venerable Realm before awakening and revealing its unique powers.

Once Ning Xiaochuan attained the Earthly Venerable Realm, this power would manifest.

"Whoosh!"

Ning Xiaochuan slowly withdrew all the White Light back into his body, and the seven rings also flew back into his heart, suppressing his cultivation back to the Ninth Level of the Transcendent Realm.

He dripped a single drop of crimson essence blood from his body onto the ground, which instantly condensed into nine blood-red Divine Tigers.

The nine tigers were ferocious and mighty, their eyes blazing with fury as they raised their heads and roared at the sky, unleashing earth-shaking tiger cries.

The power contained within a single drop of blood was enough to shatter massive stones weighing 5,000 kg, kill Martial Artists, and unleash the strength of nine tigers to tear enemies apart.

"A Drop of Essence Blood Transforms into Nine Tigers."

Reaching the level where a single drop of blood could manifest nine Divine Tigers was already extraordinary. His Blood Qi was even more formidable than that of many Martial Venerables, representing an extremely high realm of the Martial Path's Divine Body. Since the ancient Divine Sealing Era, few had cultivated to this level before reaching the Earthly Venerable Realm.

Ning Xiaochuan roughly estimated that his current talent level was around "Once-in-Nine-Millennia."

"Even after refining a Spiritual Medicine, I only reached the Once-in-Nine-Millennia talent level. Now, the effects of the Three-Leaved Life Grass on my physique are negligible. It seems only by finding Divine Blood can I hope to reach the Once-in-Ten-Millennia level."

The stronger one's physique, the harder it becomes to improve. Reaching the Once-in-Nine-Millennia talent level was already a human limit. Even in the ancient Divine Sealing Era, few had cultivated their physiques to such a level.

Relying solely on medicine was no longer sufficient for improvement; only by utilizing rare divine treasures could one possibly attain the Once-in-Ten-Millennia talent level.

The Heavenly Emperor's Divine Palace had yet to appear, and Ning Xiaochuan's cultivation realm had become increasingly difficult to advance. Thus, he could only focus on enhancing the power of the Double-headed Stone Beast.

Another half a year passed, and Ning Xiaochuan's cultivation had completely stabilized, reaching the peak of the Ninth Level of the Transcendent Realm. If he wished to break through, he could ascend to the Earthly Venerable Realm at any moment.

By now, Ning Xiaochuan had spent an entire year in this world.

Nie Lanzhi had always remained by his side, transforming from a young girl into a true Beautiful Girl. Her aura was like mist, her skin exuded fragrance, and she resembled a white-clad fairy, her beauty no less than her elder sister's.

"Lan Zhi, your talent level has now reached the 'Once-in-Six-Millennia' tier. In the Yulan Empire, your innate physique undoubtedly ranks among the very best. Further improvement from here will be exceedingly difficult."

Over the past six months, Ning Xiaochuan had naturally gathered many Semi-Miraculous Medicines like the Three-Leaved Life Grass, refining them into Life Pills. Some of these Life Pills were given to Nie Lanzhi, allowing her to successfully ascend to the Once-in-Six-Millennia talent level.

The remaining Life Pills were kept by Ning Xiaochuan for Ning Xin'er and Qi Ming, to enhance their talents and potential.

Only Ning Xiaochuan could effortlessly create a Once-in-Six-Millennia genius, for he was an Advanced Heart Nurturer, capable of fully utilizing the medicinal properties of the Three-Leaved Life Grass.

Other Martial Artists, even if they obtained the Three-Leaved Life Grass, could only harness one-tenth of its efficacy.

In other words, when Ning Xiaochuan found one Three-Leaved Life Grass, it was equivalent to others finding ten.

Of course, they could also preserve the Three-Leaved Life Grass and seek a Heart Nurturer to refine it into pills later.

However, Ning Xiaochuan believed that most Martial Artists would consume the Three-Leaved Life Grass immediately upon obtaining it, using it to enhance their talent and potential, thereby increasing their strength. Only by becoming stronger could one ensure survival—carrying the Three-Leaved Life Grass would only invite disaster.

"Even my elder sister probably hasn't reached such a high talent level. If I return to the Tianyin Sect, even my master would be shocked. Minor Marquis, why are you so kind to Lan Zhi?" Nie Lanzhi asked this question again.

Ning Xiaochuan knew what was on her mind but had no intention of discussing it with her. Instead, he continued, "Although your Martial Arts Heart Palace lacks the Heart Eye, preventing your cultivation from breaking through to the Earthly Venerable Realm, this is not an absolute limitation. If you can master the Nine Palaces Calculation to a minor achievement, it will compensate for the deficiency, and your future martial achievements will be boundless."

"I know all that," Nie Lanzhi replied softly. What truly weighed on her heart was not this matter, but something else entirely—something she longed to express. Yet, since Ning Xiaochuan avoided discussing her real concerns, she had no choice but to remain silent.

"Boom—"

The Double-headed Stone Beast descended from the sky, its wings spanning over 100 meters and its body towering at 72 meters, like a colossal stone mountain descending from beyond the heavens. As it landed, the earth trembled violently beneath its weight.

It was simply a colossal behemoth, making humans standing before it appear as insignificant as ants.

The Small Red Dragon stood atop the Double-headed Stone Beast's back, a bone hanging around its neck, letting out urgent "ao ao ao" cries, clearly agitated.

It had made a major discovery.

Ning Xiaochuan's heart surged with joy. "The Heavenly Emperor's Divine Palace has emerged. Let's go!"

Both Ning Xiaochuan and Nie Lanzhi flew onto the back of the Double-headed Stone Beast.

"Boom!"

With a sweep of its Dual Wings, the Double-headed Stone Beast soared hundreds of meters into the sky, stirring up a vast expanse of Fierce Winds as it swiftly sped away.