Chapter 144: The Nine-Turn Profound Art (Unconditional Bonus Chapter)

The terrifying efficiency with which the Enlightenment Platform aided cultivation continued to astound Jiang Fan. As long as he sat upon it, his progress was as rapid as a rocket, without the slightest hint of a bottleneck.

"Enlightenment Platform, Enlightenment Platform—what exactly are you?" Jiang Fan could not be certain. He had even tried to refine it, but failing, he could only leave it be.

His original cultivation level had reached the fourth tier of the Profound Dao Technique, with his Qi refinement at the early stage of the Earth Immortal realm. Once he began to cultivate, his realm soared: Earth Immortal mid-stage, late-stage, and then perfection. Within his sea of consciousness, the purple mansion and the Dao palace remained unchanged in size, but the primordial spirit within had grown, appearing identical to Jiang Fan himself.

At the perfection of the Earth Immortal realm, his Golden Glow Technique also reached its peak. Jiang Fan focused solely on the Profound Dao Technique, and even though it was a pure method of physical refinement, he encountered no obstacles, reaching perfection in one breath.

An Earth Immortal at the state of perfection. A physical body so terrifying that it could not be breached even by immortal weapons! Jiang Fan had mastered both physical and spiritual cultivation to the limits of the mortal world, and with the help of the gravity in the True Illusion Realm, he had gained absolute control over his augmented strength.

"Facing the Human Emperor now, even if I cannot win, I will not be defeated!" He had the confidence to back this claim. While cultivating, Jiang Fan had also grasped many supernatural powers and secret techniques, especially spatial ones, which were his trump cards for survival and lethal strikes.

Jiang Fan had also spent time with his two little handmaidens in the True Illusion Realm. Aside from missing him, the two girls were thoroughly enjoying themselves, even crafting kitchenware to cook food and living quite comfortably.

"Am I keeping hidden beauties in a golden house?" The thought crossed Jiang Fan's mind, only to be immediately dismissed.

In the main hall of the Jade Spring Mansion, besides the Enlightenment Platform, there were two portals on the left wall: one to the True Illusion Realm and the other to the Scripture Depository. On the right wall were two more: the Path of True Inheritance and the Myriad Phenomena Palace. The Scripture Depository and the Myriad Phenomena Palace would not open until the Path of True Inheritance was unsealed.

Jiang Fan stood up and walked to the entrance of the "Path of True Inheritance." His body trembled as waves of power surged forth. Utilizing the techniques of the Inch Fist, he unleashed a strike.

Boom!

He was confident that this blow could crush the Golden-Horned Behemoth from the Devouring World. Pure physical strength capable of obliterating such a creature—this was the terror of the fourth tier of the Profound Dao Technique combined with the eighty-first level of the Inch Fist.

Yet, the portal before him remained unmoved. Jiang Fan was not surprised. He knew that to breach this gate, he required either pure physical force or the power of his primordial spirit and mana.

He raised his hand and struck the air. This palm strike was filled with surging mana and the tremors of his primordial spirit, landing squarely on the gate. The power of this strike was no less than the previous punch, even though the punch had utilized the Inch Fist’s momentum, amplifying his strength by eighty-two times without even using his full power. This was the foundation laid by his unprecedented purple mansion.

Hum, hum, hum!

The portal vibrated, emitting a ripple before transforming into a gate of light.

"It worked!" Jiang Fan was overjoyed and stepped inside.

It was a spacious room, yet it was completely empty. The walls on the left and right were veiled in immortal light, obscuring their contents. As Jiang Fan frowned, the light coalesced into the figure of a middle-aged man with the ethereal air of an immortal.

"Greetings, Senior!" Jiang Fan felt a jolt and hurriedly bowed. Regardless of who the figure was, showing respect was never the wrong choice.

"Not bad, not bad. After all these years, I have finally waited for a fated person, and a descendant of Brother Jiang at that!" The middle-aged man observed Jiang Fan and nodded slightly.

"Greetings, Master!" Jiang Fan felt a shiver and moved to kneel, only to find he was unable to do so. He had already guessed that this was the Immortal Yuding. But why did he exist? He couldn't fathom it, so he stopped trying.

"You are merely a fated person; you cannot yet be my disciple," Immortal Yuding said. "You have passed the previous tests, so I shall say no more. Next, if you wish to obtain my true inheritance, you must cultivate the Nine-Turn Profound Technique. This is the supreme protective divine technique of the Daoist sect. As a method of physical refinement, even if it is not the first in all the heavens, there are none that surpass it, and at most only two or three that can compare."

"The Nine-Turn Profound Technique possesses infinite power, but it is extremely difficult to master."

"I created the Profound Dao Technique to lay the foundation, which only then made it possible for a human to succeed. And it is merely a possibility—a one-in-a-thousand chance!"

"For certain reasons, my inheritance can only be passed to humans!"

"Now, I tell you: with your current physique and your unparalleled mana, you have only a one-in-a-thousand chance of success."

"Should you fail, your body will perish and your soul will vanish!"

"Are you still willing to accept the inheritance?"

"If not, I will erase this memory, and you may leave. As for the Jade Spring Mansion, it will continue to seek a successor."

Immortal Yuding spoke with indifference, explaining the causality. Jiang Fan’s pupils contracted, his heart trembling. "You know about what happened to Uncle Yu?"

"I am only concerned with the true inheritance; I care for nothing else," Immortal Yuding waved his hand, his expression unchanged.

"With my physique, is there really only a one-in-a-thousand chance?"

"Yes."

"But I have condensed a first-grade Dao Palace. Does that not increase the success rate?"

"The Nine-Turn Profound Technique concerns only the bloodline! As for your Qi cultivation, I must say you have laid a foundation perhaps unprecedented in history—condensing a first-grade Dao Palace while still a mortal is a miracle of miracles. Such a foundation is enough to inherit the path of immortality, but alas, to obtain my inheritance, you must pass the trial of the Nine-Turn Profound Technique!"

"This...!" Jiang Fan hesitated. Immortal Yuding stood quietly, offering no urging.

A thought struck Jiang Fan. He opened his palm to reveal a jade-green lotus seed. "Senior, can this Jade Lotus Seed increase the success rate?"

"A Jade Lotus Seed?" Immortal Yuding was slightly surprised. "I did not expect you to have such fortune. Such a spiritual object should not exist in the mortal realm!"

"It was given to me by Brother Lei Zhenzi!"

"Lei Zhenzi?" Immortal Yuding was momentarily stunned, lost in thought. "You actually have ties to him? Why would he give you such a treasure?"

Jiang Fan briefly recounted the events at the battlefield ruins.

"Fate, it is fate!" Immortal Yuding sighed softly. The look he gave Jiang Fan was now noticeably different. "You actually obtained a page of the Book of Life and Death and gave it to Lei Zhenzi, granting him a sliver of hope. He gave you the Jade Lotus Seed, giving you a chance in return. Causality turns; the Great Dao works in mysterious ways. And Lei Zhenzi—he did not escape the catastrophe back then either. And my disciple... his life or death is unknown. Sigh... Master, oh Master, where have you gone? You have left the Celestial Realm, the Immortal Realm, and the mortal world in turmoil, with so many dead and gone."

He shook his head and looked at Jiang Fan. "With the Jade Lotus Seed, you now have a fifty-percent chance of success. Are you willing to gamble?"

"I will definitely gamble!" Jiang Fan replied without hesitation. "Master, what exactly is this Jade Lotus Seed?"

"You will know in time." Immortal Yuding did not reject the title of Master. He waved his hand, and on the left wall, a technique appeared. "This is the first turn of the Nine-Turn Profound Technique: Reversing the Bloodline!"

"The Nine-Turn Profound Technique is the primary protective divine technique of the Daoist sect. Its strength lies in the fact that from the very first turn, it constantly reverses the bloodline until one reaches the level of a primordial god or demon. Every turn brings the agony of being flayed and having one’s tendons pulled, the pain of having one's heart gouged and marrow drained. It crushes every inch of bone and destroys every internal organ, even the brain and heart are no exception. If you cannot withstand it, you die. Every turn carries the peril of death; this is why the technique is so difficult to practice. Since its creation, few have ever cultivated it."

"Above were the Three Pure Ones; below was I."

"There was also Duobao, now the Buddha Tathagata. He reached only the eighth turn and could advance no further. Later, he and two sages modified it into the Eight-Nine Profound Technique!"

"Then there is my eldest senior brother, the Grandmaster of Xuandu. Though he is low-key and never displays his powers, even if he hasn't reached the ninth turn, he is likely only a step away!"

"Aside from them, my disciple Yang Jian also reached the eighth turn!"

"Sun Wukong was tempered by the avatar of our eldest senior brother and reached the seventh turn, later entering the eighth. Although it was the Eight-Nine Profound Technique, it was much the same!"

"There was another monkey, but his body was destroyed and he went to be canonized as a god, effectively wasting his potential!"

"Those are essentially all I know of."

"The Nine-Turn Profound Technique reverses the bloodline to reach the state of a god or demon! Each turn comes with corresponding supernatural powers, tempering the physique to be indestructible, preparing it for the next turn."

"In short, the Nine-Turn Profound Technique consists of two parts: reversing the bloodline and tempering an indestructible physique based on that bloodline. The two complement each other to form the whole. As for the minor abilities like the Art of Transformation or the Power to Grow to the Size of Heaven and Earth, they are not worth mentioning."

"The first turn is the most critical; it is the first step of reversing the bloodline!"

"Jiang Fan, success or failure depends entirely on your own fortune!"

"Swallow the Jade Lotus Seed now."

After saying this, Immortal Yuding sat to the side and closed his eyes.