Chapter 437: Thirteenth Stage
Chapter 437: Thirteenth Stage
Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT, Rock
Ling Tian helped Li Xue bandage her wounds with his face bright red as he scolded, "Nonsense!" Just when Ling Tian was doubtful about why the three sword wounds on Li Xue's body were of the exact same depth but not harming her tendons and bones, he was distracted by Li Xue's words.
Standing up slowly, a crafty gleem could be seen in Li Xue's eyes, "Tian'ge, my body has been completely seen by you already. Will you take responsibility for me?!" As she said that, she gave a lazy stretch as though she had just completed an arduous task.
Ling Tian almost collapsed on the ground as he heard that. Li Xue's words were far too potent! Ling Tian never expected Li Xue to say such a thing suddenly and regardless of how thick his skin was, he was still caught off guard, "Nonsense! You are my sister!"
"That was in the previous life! Let me emphasize that again!" Li Xue snorted, "Besides, even in our previous life, we were separated by at least five generations despite being so-called cousins. Are we going to forget about how you have just taken advantage of me? To think that you want to deny everything and leave after having your fun! Being irresponsible isn't the action of a gentleman."
"Since when am I being irresponsible? I have not even touched you at all!" Ling Tian jumped up exasperatedly, "You, you you you you… unreasonable!"
"Since when would a woman speak reason? You still dare to say that you didn't touch me?!" Li Xue snorted, "Anyway, my sixteen years of purity has been fully witnessed and touched by you. Tell me what you want to do!" She then began to fold her arms and act like an unreasonable spoiled brat.
This little demoness! Although he had the feeling that he would eventually fall into Li Xue's tricks, he never expected to fall like this. Thus, Ling Tian decided to employ the tactic of delaying the matter, "We shall talk about this matter again in the future."
"So be it." Li Xue said delightedly, "Would I be afraid of you running away? Let me tell you, you better not try to be shameless!"
Who is the one being shameless here? Ling Tian let out a bitter sigh as a flash of enlightenment came to his mind, "You already intended to hang onto me without letting go? How did you suffer from those three wounds? Your martial arts should have been more than sufficient to take care of those six assassins without being injured!"
With her plan being seen through, Li Xue began frowning as she groaned pitifully, "How painful… my wound hurts…" as she moaned that, tears began to well up in her eyes.
Although Ling Tian knew that she was only faking it, he still felt his heart twitching with heartache as he thought to himself, This little demoness!
"I will take care of you in the future! It is now time for you to take care of my wounds." Ling Tian said with a straight face.
Li Xue immediately burst out into smiles as she approached Ling Tian, "Okay, you can take care of me in any way you see fit in the future! Now, it is time for me to see your perfect body. Hehehe…"
Ling Tian let out a sigh of defeat.
As Li Xue meticulously tended to Ling Tian's wounds, the both of them didn't stop chatting.
"Li Xue, what level is your Divine Ice Formula at?"
"The upper eighth stage and approaching the ninth stage soon. Why?"
"How did you cultivate so quickly? I remember that you have to absorb pure Yang energy in order to progress past the seventh stage. Since you have never left the mountains, how did you get to the eighth stage?" Ling Tian asked doubtfully.
"You fool! Does not exiting the mountain mean that I can't collect anything with Yang energy? Let me tell you, it would be possible for me to collect Yang energy items even on a snow-capped mountain!" Li Xue said proudly.
"How did you do it?" Ling Tian was extremely concerned about this matter. Recently, he had been worried about how Ling Chen could achieve a breakthrough in her Divine Ice Formula. However, as an outer branch disciple in his previous life, he didn't have any experience for reference. Despite racking his brains for a solution, he just couldn't think of an idea. Now that he heard that Li Xue had a plan, he couldn't help but be elated.
"You fool! I still thought that you were extremely intelligent. There is something called a convex lens." Li Xue snorted, "While there isn't glass in this world, we can use something else to replace it such as…"
Ling Tian came to a realization, "Like jade! Haha, I got it!"
"Your IQ is only sufficient for you to think of jade." Li Xue mocked, "You are asking me because of your little beauty right? Don't worry, I will definitely help you arrange it properly when the time comes, lest you end up scarring your little beauty because of your ignorance and it would become my fault!"
Ling Tian broke out into a cold sweat!
"One two three…" Li Xue counted carefully, "Fifteen wounds! Why so many? It shouldn't be possible for those few fellows to injure you so badly!" As she said that, tears almost rolled down her eyes from heartache.
Ling Tian let out a bitter laugh, "I have been tidying up my meridians according to your proper cultivation formula and have only reached the sixth stage currently. I will need another day at least to reach the ninth stage. Thus, my man and sword as one was unleashed with the sixth stage and is lacking as compared to my peak form. However, they are only superficial wounds and will heal up quickly."
Li Xue replied with an 'oh' before grumbling, "With your movement techniques, it should have been an easy matter for you to stall for time until I finished off those six fellows. You only know how to act strong! I know, it is probably your male chauvinist pride acting up right? Hmph, only heroes are allowed to save beauties but you heroes will have your pride wounded when being saved by a beauty. Thus, you risked being injured in order to finish off those assassins before my arrival! Afraid that you will owe me a favor?"
Ling Tian let out an embarrassed smile as Li Xue's words were spot on. Seeing Li Xue wanting to continue, Ling Tian quickly changed the topic, "Talking about that, despite it being slightly more than a day only, I could feel that my meridians are far more tough and flexible than before. If this situation can persist, breaking through to the tenth stage shouldn't be too far away."
"You still think that it is extremely simple?" Li Xue's attention was indeed directed away, "When you cultivate up to the twelfth stage, you will know what is considered difficult! The unbreakable thirteenth stage will probably drive you insane."
"Thirteenth stage of the Divine Shocking Dragon Formula?" Ling Tian suddenly stood up, "Weren't there only twelve stages in the Divine Shocking Dragon Formula? Where did this thirteenth stage come from?"
Li Xue let out a mysterious smile, "Actually, the so-called thirteenth stage is as good as non-existent, so we are used to saying that there are only twelve stages. While the thirteenth stage does exist, not a single person has managed to cultivate it for the past thousand years. It's best you give up on it!"
"Why?"
"The thirteenth stage of the Divine Shocking Dragon Formula is an extremely mystical one! There aren't any mnemonic chants, meridian pathways or any cultivation experience. How can one cultivate it? Back then, our Ling Family's ancestor only managed to create the Divine Shocking Dragon Formula by combining various cultivation formulas from the Shaolin monastery, Wudang Mountain, and other famous heritages. Ever since our ancestor passed on, not to mention the thirteenth stage, there weren't many who were even able to cultivate up to the tenth stage! An outer branch disciple like you breaking into the tenth stage is already extremely rare and its best that you don't think about anything more." Li Xue chuckled and said in an indifferent manner, "In any case, you would already be the number one expert of the world if you can achieve the twelfth stage and you would definitely be able to win against that Justice. Why do you have to pursue that non-existent thirteenth stage?"
Ling Tian shook his head in disagreement, "How can that be the same? Since I know that there is a thirteenth stage, how can I not cultivate it?"
After pondering for a moment, Li Xue said, "Let me tell it to you then. There is only a single word in the thirteenth stage: Emptiness! Let me ask you, how do you cultivate it? The manual doesn't even say what can be considered successfully cultivating it. If you were to enter into cultivation deviation, who in the world would be able to save you with your inner qi of the twelfth stage? Furthermore, it is still far too early to talk about that. After all, there probably isn't much hope for you to get to the twelfth stage in this life of yours. Hehe…"
Ling Tian muttered to himself as he lowered his head, "Thirteenth stage!" A resolute gaze suddenly shone out from his eyes and the corners of his lips curled up slightly. However, Li Xue didn't see it because his head was lowered.
After a short while, Ling Tian raised his head up and said, "Do you still remember the fact that the family sent me to the Shaolin monastery?"
Li Xue immediately knew what Ling Tian was referring to and exclaimed, "You have the recipe for the Great Cyclic Pellet?"
Ling Tian let out a delighted smirk, "Not just the recipe! I have successfully concocted a cauldron of it. Each pellet would raise one's cultivation by twenty years! When your injuries are better, I will protect you and you can consume a pellet!"
Li Xue let out a depressed sigh and shook her head, "What a pity. No wonder your cultivation rose so quickly! However, I already can't consume that item."
Ling Tian was startled, "Why?"
"Weren't you puzzled about the progress of my Divine Ice Formula?" Li Xue forced a smile, "When I was eight, I coincidentally found a Purple Ginseng Fruit. Haiz… I have already consumed something similar, and with the origin of the herb being similar to the Great Cyclic Pellet, my body wouldn't be able to endure the consumption of the pellet."
While Ling Tian remained silent, he secretly sighed in his heart. While the Purple Ginseng Fruit had a miraculous effect, its effect definitely couldn't be compared to the Great Cyclic Pellet. Thus, Li Xue had missed out on a great opportunity to raise her cultivation.
However, if he were to place himself in her shoes, he would have definitely consumed the ginseng fruit if he were to find it when he was eight! It can only be said that they each had their own fortune! Furthermore, Li Xue's present cultivation was definitely a result of consuming the ginseng. In any case, the Purple Ginseng Fruit was still an extremely rare herb and only a tad bit worse than the Great Cyclic Pellet!
Li Xue then broke out into a smile and said, "However, if there is that legendary item…"