Chapter 137 - 134: Golden Qi Jade Body Skill

Chapter 137: Chapter 134: Golden Qi Jade Body Skill

Jiang Zuo was soon surprised to discover that not only could he control the blood-colored figure’s movements, but the figure could also hear and see, transmitting everything back to his mind in real-time, even from a great distance.

This was practically his avatar.

Jiang Zuo decided to call it the Blood-colored Avatar.

The Blood-colored Avatar was able to do all this thanks to the stele’s projection.

For the rest of the evening, Jiang Zuo conducted more in-depth tests on the Blood-colored Avatar.

The test results left him utterly shocked.

He could control the Blood-colored Avatar up to a maximum distance of ten li from himself. The avatar, being nearly weightless, could walk and fly at a decent speed without leaving any tracks.

Most importantly, the Blood-colored Avatar possessed considerable combat prowess!

Its combat power was roughly equivalent to him smashing something with the stone stele at full force. Depending on how long he spent on the stele’s Visualization Projection, it could unleash one to three punches.

The attacks consumed the power of the illusory stele from the Visualization Projection. If it could only throw one punch, the Blood-colored Avatar would dissipate after that single blow.

But this was already incredibly powerful. It meant that the Blood-colored Avatar’s combat strength in its normal state was far greater than Jiang Zuo’s own.

Even a Dao Foundation Cultivator could be killed if caught off guard by a sneak attack from the Blood-colored Avatar.

Jiang Zuo usually stayed cooped up at home, but having obtained such an interesting new toy, he immediately sent the Blood-colored Avatar out for a spin under the cover of darkness.

The core of the Blood-colored Avatar was undoubtedly the stele’s Visualization Projection. Its ability to be controlled from so far away, complete with sight and hearing, was all thanks to the projection. Jiang Zuo’s own Divine Sense was nowhere near capable of such a feat.

Theoretically, as long as it stayed within a ten-li radius, the Blood-colored Avatar could be maintained until the illusory stele within it dissipated.

In the middle of the night, the Blood-colored Avatar returned from its ghostly tour, bringing Jiang Zuo a storage pouch.

This wasn’t Jiang Zuo using his Blood-colored Avatar to play thief.

A few days ago, the Gray Rock Rats had spotted a fellow furtively burying this storage pouch under a rock outside the Marketplace, not far from the foot of Black Mountain.

Blacksmiths like Jiang Zuo needed to get approval before leaving the Marketplace.

The storage pouch was buried quite far away. Although Jiang Zuo knew where it was, he thought about it and decided not to dig it up himself.

After all, the person looked like a thief. It seemed he had stolen something and, fearing discovery, buried it in the wild to hide it.

If Jiang Zuo went to dig it up himself, a single misstep could turn him into a scapegoat.

Jiang Zuo had a vague recollection of the person who buried the pouch; it was a guard hired by the Xu Family.

A common Loose Cultivator would have already taken the goods and fled.

However, people hired by the Xu Family usually had ties that could be traced. They could run, but their connections couldn’t. Their only choice was to hide the item first and retrieve it after some time had passed, which would be safer.

’Just as I thought, an unrefined storage pouch.’

Jiang Zuo took the storage pouch and, after a brief inspection, was instantly delighted.

He had suspected as much before going to retrieve it.

The reason was simple: refining a storage pouch would leave behind one’s aura, and if it were found, the owner would be exposed.

’This is... a Defense Map for the Xu Family Marketplace and Black Mountain, and a schedule for the patrol shifts?’

’Someone’s targeting the Xu Family?’

Jiang Zuo opened the storage pouch and stared, stunned, at its contents.

The pouch didn’t contain any treasures at all, but rather several sheets of drawings.

’I should probably give this to the Xu Family secretly. I’ve gotten to know a few people in the Marketplace over the years. If the Xu Family gets wiped out, it’ll be a hassle to find another place for my Cultivation.’

After a moment of thought, Jiang Zuo scrawled the name of the guard who had hidden the pouch on the back of one of the sheets and sent his Blood-colored Avatar out under the cover of night.

Jiang Zuo didn’t know many people in the Marketplace, just Old Man Chang, who ran a general store.

Some time ago, a family had been murdered not too far from the Marketplace, leaving behind only a three or four-year-old girl. Old Man Chang took her in and raised her as his granddaughter.

Jiang Zuo had met Old Man Chang while searching the Marketplace for a Metal Attribute Cultivation Technique and had asked for his help in keeping an eye out for one.

Over time, they got to know each other well.

The little girl was named Anan. She was now seven or eight years old and was very well-behaved and adorable.

Jiang Zuo not wanting anything to happen to them—and not wanting to move—was one reason. On the other hand, if a real fight broke out, he himself might be in danger.

After all, it was a battle between Cultivators. Heaven only knew what terrifying methods they might use.

Xu Xiuyun was the most outstanding member of the Xu Family’s younger generation. Despite her youth, she was already a Dao Foundation Cultivator, one of the five in the Xu Family.

That night, Xu Xiuyun was cultivating as usual.

"Who’s there?"

Suddenly sensing a strange noise in the courtyard, Xu Xiuyun barked coldly and rushed out.

But in the darkness, she only saw a fleeting shadow disappear, leaving behind a crumpled ball of paper in the courtyard.

Xu Xiuyun glanced quizzically in the direction the shadow had vanished. She had a faint feeling that the person had intentionally let her spot them.

She picked up the ball of paper from the ground and unfolded it. Her expression changed instantly, and she hurried off with the paper to find her father, the current Patriarch of the Xu Family, Xu Yuelin.

"We don’t know who sent it? Never mind, let’s put that aside for now. Yang Shouli is just an ordinary guard. Someone who could escape from right under your nose wouldn’t go to such lengths just to frame him."

Xu Yuelin said pensively after listening to Xu Xiuyun.

"Father, what should we do now? Should we arrest Yang Shouli first?"

Xu Xiuyun asked with a cold frown.

"No, we’ll monitor him secretly for now. If he meets with anyone, we’ll arrest them. Otherwise, a mere guard at the fifth layer of Qi Cultivation wouldn’t know much."

"Besides, you can’t guard against a thief for a thousand days. We need to find a way to lure these schemers out into the open and catch them all in one fell swoop. Otherwise, if we’re constantly being watched, we’ll never be able to rest easy."

"In a few days, we’ll set a trap and see if we can draw these villains out."

Xu Yuelin quickly made his decision.

...

「A few days later.」

Jiang Zuo made a trip to the Xu Family Marketplace to buy daily necessities like salt, oil, and sauces, just like any other blacksmith.

"Mr. Li!"

Arriving at Old Man Chang’s general store, Anan saw Jiang Zuo and ran over happily.

Jiang Zuo grinned and pinched her chubby little cheeks, then gave her some snacks he had bought.

"Blacksmith Li, perfect timing. A Metal Attribute Martial Arts Cultivation Technique has turned up recently. I don’t know if you’d be interested."

"It’s called the Golden Qi Jade Body Skill. But the seller doesn’t want silver taels; they’re asking for three low-grade Spirit Stones."

Old Man Chang said as soon as he saw Jiang Zuo.

"As long as it meets the requirements, that’s fine. Three Spirit Stones is expensive, but I happen to have some on hand. They’re no use to me just sitting around anyway. Call the person over, and I’ll make the trade."

Jiang Zuo said after a moment of thought.

Old Man Chang nodded, not finding anything amiss.

It wasn’t that unusual for mortals who had lived in the Marketplace for a long time to earn a few low-grade Spirit Stones.

Most of them would eventually use the stones to trade for something more valuable, since there was no point in just holding on to them.

Jiang Zuo was simply using them to get the Metal Attribute Cultivation Technique he wanted.

Although it was a Martial Arts Cultivation Technique for mortals, a Metal Attribute technique that could be cultivated to the Innate realm was hard to find. Jiang Zuo had asked Old Man Chang to help him search, and it had taken over three years before someone was willing to make a trade.

Soon, a burly man who was at least a Grandmaster came over and completed the transaction with Jiang Zuo.

After taking the three low-grade Spirit Stones from Jiang Zuo, the burly man left in a hurry.

Jiang Zuo stayed in the general store, flipping through the Golden Qi Jade Body Skill while playing with Anan.

Over an hour later, Jiang Zuo finally left, bidding farewell to Anan and carrying the various daily goods he had purchased.

’This Golden Qi Jade Body Skill seems quite extraordinary.’

Back in his wooden cabin, Jiang Zuo examined the Golden Qi Jade Body Skill more closely.

It was extraordinary because to practice this technique, one first had to master a skill for absorbing Gold Qi from metal and Jade Qi from Jade Stones.

Then, by absorbing Gold Qi and Jade Qi, one would cultivate from the Skin Refining stage all the way to the Innate realm.

’Gold Qi is sharp, while Jade Qi is gentle. One must use both types of qi simultaneously, cultivating them in balance, to achieve success.’

’However, the Gold Qi can’t be of too high a quality, or a mortal body won’t be able to withstand it. The Jade Qi can’t be too high-quality either, or its protective properties will prevent the Gold Qi from taking effect.’

’The cultivation process consumes vast amounts of Gold Qi and Jade Qi.’

’All in all, it is extremely difficult for a mortal to cultivate this technique.’

Jiang Zuo had practiced several cultivation techniques and had a deep understanding of mortal cultivation methods.

It didn’t take him long to gain a fairly deep understanding of the Golden Qi Jade Body Skill.

Cultivating the Golden Qi Jade Body Skill had many restrictions, but none of them were an issue for Jiang Zuo.

He had plenty of Jade Stones on him. As long as he could find a suitable metal to absorb Gold Qi from, he could begin cultivating the Golden Qi Jade Body Skill.

And the Xu Family Marketplace would not be short on suitable metals.

In fact, the Hundred-refined Fine Iron he worked with daily to forge Woodcutter’s Blades was very suitable. However, it required a large quantity, and Jiang Zuo couldn’t just skim it all from his daily work.

It would be less trouble and give him more peace of mind to just buy it himself.

...

Ever since learning of the plot against the Xu Family Marketplace, Jiang Zuo had his Gray Rock Rats on high alert every day.

More information began to trickle into Jiang Zuo’s ears one by one.

For example, the blacksmith with the best skills before Jiang Zuo’s arrival had recently taken a dislike to him and was planning to cause trouble.

The reason for his displeasure was that the woodcutters were most satisfied with the Woodcutter’s Blades forged by Jiang Zuo.

Although Jiang Zuo slacked off on quantity, he never cut corners on quality, always forging them to a proper standard.

The Woodcutter’s Blades made by other blacksmiths always had some minor issues for various reasons and weren’t as easy to use.

Unless Jiang Zuo deliberately made a poor one, the quality of the Woodcutter’s Blades he forged was almost always consistent.

At first, no one noticed, but after using them for a long time, the woodcutters gradually recognized the difference.

The result was that Jiang Zuo’s Woodcutter’s Blades became the most popular among the woodcutters.

This blacksmith, by virtue of his skill and seniority, was considered the foreman of the other blacksmiths and was usually responsible for distributing work assignments.

If he decided to make trouble for Jiang Zuo, it would indeed be a bit of a hassle.

Seeing this, Jiang Zuo just shook his head.

Not two days later, this blacksmith was caught in the act while having an affair with the wife of the handyman foreman in a small inn in the Marketplace.

The blacksmith was immediately beaten half to death. For the time being, he was probably in no mood to cause trouble for Jiang Zuo.

Two days after dealing with that blacksmith, Jiang Zuo condensed his Blood Qi Avatar and quietly headed into Black Mountain.