Chapter 1012

Chapter 1012: Benefits of the Dragon Washing Pool

‘What a good place.’ Ning Cheng couldn’t help but look at the Dragon Washing Pool in amazement. Truth be told, he couldn’t wait to enter it and start cultivating. Reaching the late-stage Dao Sculpting Realm in a few months wouldn’t be an issue if given a chance to cultivate in this place. Moreover, it wouldn’t pose any risks to one’s foundation either. In fact, it would bring even greater benefits to one’s foundation and improve one’s potential.

“Brother Ba Meng, you brought me here, is it for.......” Ning Cheng pointed at the Grand Essence Dragon Washing Pool, still unable to believe it in his heart. If Ba Meng didn’t bring him here to cultivate, why did he bring him here? After all, why would he lend it to others to cultivate if this place belonged to him?

Ba Meng’s expressions turned solemn. He looked at Ning Cheng seriously and said, “Dao Friend Ning, there are very few thunder-attributed cultivators in the Grand Essence Realm and even fewer who can reach the Dao Confirming Realm. In fact, all the known thunder-attributed holy emperors currently come from the major sects or at least have some connection to them. As such, they aren’t someone a rogue cultivator like me can invite for help. Because of this, I feel very lucky to have met you. I only ever had one child: my son Ba Luo. Since I want you to help me sincerely, it’s only natural that I must first help you with full sincerity. I believe that my eyes have not gone blind to have misread you.”

After saying this, he sighed, pointed to the Grand Essence Dragon Washing Pool, and said, “I have been guarding this place for thousands of years, and during these thousands of years, my cultivation level has risen sharply. Now, I’m already at the half-step to the Dao Essence Realm. Unfortunately, the Dragon Washing Pool no longer has any effect on me. After I rescued my son, Ba Luo, I planned to stay here for a decade to help him heal before leaving this place with him. If you’re interested in this Dragon Washing Pool, I will leave it to you.”

Ning Cheng understood why Ba Meng brought him here without fear of schemes. After all, in Ba Meng’s eyes, his cultivation level was at the Dao Sculpting Realm, far below his own. Of course, it was just Ba Meng’s personal opinion. Besides, ordinary people wouldn’t tell anyone about this place even if they planned to leave permanently, unlike Ba Meng. But there was still another point, that is, as Ba Meng said, it was to gain sincere help from him.

“Many thanks, Dao Friend Ba Meng. But even without the Grand Essence Dragon Washing Pool, I would have helped with this favour. I’ll cultivate here while Dao Friend Ba Meng can make preparations for the journey. Once it’s time to leave, let me know.” After understanding a few other points, Ning Cheng immediately agreed to Ba Meng’s request for help.

Although Ba Meng knew Ning Cheng would agree, he still felt overjoyed after hearing Ning Cheng’s affirmative answer. “In that case, Dao Friend Ning, you can cultivate in peace. I still have to go find two more friends. Once I find them, we can immediately head to the Grand Essence Netherworld. Your Junior Apprentice Sister’s cultivation is slightly lower, so if your miniature world’s laws are ordinary, she can stay here while we’re away.”

“Fellow Daoist Ba Meng should go find your people; I will stay here and cultivate. As for my Junior Apprentice Sister, she will follow me.” Ning Cheng rejected it outright. No matter how good this place was, how could he dare leave Yan Ji here alone with her cultivation level?

Ba Meng only reminded Ning Cheng once, so when Ning Cheng refused, he naturally wouldn’t continue to talk about it and immediately left.

After Ba Meng left, Ning Cheng unceremoniously jumped into the Dragon Washing Pool and began cultivating. If he missed this kind of opportunity, he deserved not to be able to improve his cultivation.

Ning Cheng’s Mysterious Yellow Formless was extremely demanding regarding external resources. Fortunately, the Dragon Washing Pool’s spirit aura wasn’t only free of impurities but was also infused with intact worldly laws. Therefore, with the assistance of Mysterious Yellow Origin, Ning Cheng felt a kind of unrest inside him that he had almost forgotten.

When he cultivated at the Extraterritorial Spirit Spring, he thought it was the best place to cultivate. But now, he understood that even the source of the Extraterritorial Spirit Spring wasn’t worth one drop of water in the Dragon Washing Pool.

Ning Cheng’s body hungrily sucked away at the seemingly endless and pure spirit aura while more emerged from the pool to replenish it.

If Ba Meng had been here, his jaw would have dropped in shock at such a sight. The phenomenon that manifested when he cultivated here was also quite big. But the phenomenon manifested as Ning Cheng cultivated was dozens of times stronger and grander than his phenomenon.

In the Dragon Washing Pool, Ning Cheng felt his physical body fade away. All that existed was his essence spirit. In such a situation where the corporeal body no longer posed any obstruction, the suction force produced while cultivating in this place grew even more frantic.

The pure aura within the Dragon Washing Pool continuously scoured Ning Cheng’s body internally and externally. This caused Ning Cheng’s already impurity-free body to become even purer.

It also inadvertently caused his cultivation to gradually creep upwards, slowly and steadily......

At some point, Ning Cheng’s spirit essence transformed into a rampaging river as it moved through his meridians. Ning Cheng quickly took out an Empyrean Consciousness Transmutation Pill and immediately swallowed it, causing his Sea of Consciousness and spirit essence to grow even more.

It was an involuntary reaction as Ning Cheng couldn’t even feel his physical body anymore. In fact, he even couldn’t feel the passage of time.

For ordinary cultivators, it would take hundreds, if not thousands of years, to go from the middle-stage Dao Sculpting Realm to the late-stage Dao Sculpting Realm, even if they had infinite cultivation resources at their disposal. In fact, even those with top-notch talent and qualifications would need at least a few decades to cross that gap with inexhaustible resources. Yet, in just a few months, Ning Cheng had reached the late-stage Dao Sculpting Realm. This perfectly showcased the heaven-defying power of the combination of Mysterious Yellow Origin Aura and the Dragon Washing Pool under the effects of Mysterious Yellow Formless.

After entering the late-stage Dao Sculpting Realm, Ning Cheng’s cultivation speed finally slowed down because of the impediment to his perception of his Returning-to-one Dao. But Ning Cheng also understood that apart from the understanding of his grand dao, there was also the special effect of the combination of Mysterious Yellow Origin and the Dragon Washing Pool that slowed his progress. Fortunately, even with the slower speed, his cultivation progress was still faster than cultivating with spirit crystals.

But then, clicking-like sounds suddenly emerged from his body. The sensation almost caused Ning Cheng to moan. Could cultivation really produce such a euphoric effect?

Not knowing how long this went on, Ning Cheng gradually realised that the bones in his body had started restructuring themselves, radiating a new law aura.

Sometime during this cultivation session, the Mysterious Yellow Body Refining Cultivation Method had automatically activated and started to correct itself......

Ning Cheng felt shocked when he realised this and almost stood up from the Dragon Washing Pool. His Body Refining Cultivation Method had come to a complete stop after reaching grand completion Starry Sky Body. All because he had no successor cultivation method. So how could his body refining cultivation method correct itself?

At this moment, why would Ning Cheng still care about the continuous improvement of his cultivation level? He immediately focused on the self-correcting body refining cultivation method.

A few moments later, Ning Cheng noticed a new body refining law forming within his body. Sensing this new law, he finally understood the real purpose of this Dragon Washing Pool. The Dragon Washing Pool wasn’t meant for cultivation but for tempering one’s body.

No wonder the legendary five-clawed spirit dragons were so strong, to the point that their fleshy bodies could even break boundaries and split the air. It was all because of the Dragon Washing Pool.

As Ning Cheng’s body refining cultivation method improved, his body refining’s cultivation level dropped from grand completion Starry Sky Body to late-stage Starry Sky Body, and then to middle-stage Starry Sky Body......

Ning Cheng didn’t sense it wrong. His body forging’s level truly was declining, but his body’s strength continued to soar.

In other words, his previous body forging cultivation method was now nothing more than rubbish. It had become junk because it reached the limit of his corporeal body’s foundation back then, not because the Mysterious Yellow Formless was trash.

Now that his physical body and bones had undergone another round of quenching in the Dragon Washing Pool, which even scoured his meridians, it meant that his body’s potential had also grown deeper. Only a new body forging cultivation method could suit the improved needs of his current physical body. And because of this, as the Dragon Washing Pool continued to temper his body, his body forging level also dropped linearly.

“Ka-cha.....” As if a mould had set, Ning Cheng’s bones finally finished restructuring with a final click. At this moment, Ning Cheng’s body forging level had dropped to the early-stage Starry Sky Body.

Confirming that the restructuring process had been completed, Ning Cheng immediately ran the new body forging cultivation method. In just a few days, the level of his fleshy body once again improved to middle-stage Starry Sky Body before stopping at the late-stage Starry Sky Body.

Although his physical body didn’t return to the grand completion Starry Sky Body, Ning Cheng felt quite satisfied with the progress. As long as he could find places to refine his body, his fleshy body would eventually surpass the limits of a Starry Sky Body. Ning Cheng had no idea about the body forging level after the Starry Sky Body back then, but now, he knew very clearly that beyond the Starry Sky Body would be the Spirit Body[1].

It truly is a good place for cultivation. Unfortunately, Yan Ji’s current cultivation level was too low to cultivate here. In the future, he would bring Yan Ji to cultivate, along with Ruolan and Luofei, once they reached the Dao Sculpting Realm.

As Ning Cheng thought about the next steps, he received a message from Ba Meng, who asked him to come to a small island about a million miles away. This place, the Dragon Washing Pond, was Ba Meng’s secret, and since he intended to give it to Ning Cheng, he naturally couldn’t bring anyone else in.

Ning Cheng decided to come out of the Dragon Washing Pool despite feeling very reluctant. After cleaning up a bit, he quickly left for the rendezvous location.

......

Although a million miles away, Ning Cheng didn’t take much time to cover it.

Moreover, before Ning Cheng reached the island Ba Meng marked, his spiritual consciousness had already detected a man and a woman exchanging words with Ba Meng on the island.

When Ba Meng saw Ning Cheng land on the island, he was shocked. It had only been half a year since he went out, yet Ning Cheng’s strength had advanced from the middle-stage Dao Sculpting Realm to the late-stage Dao Sculpting Realm. From this, he understood that Ning Cheng was far stronger than him in cultivation qualifications.

“Dao Friend Ning, these two are Grand Essence Sea’s Lady Green, Ji Maitao, and Dao Friend Qiu Yuanyi.” Ba Meng smilingly introduced the man and woman to Ning Cheng.

After introducing them, he said to the two, “He is Ning Cheng, the one I mentioned to you, with a thunder-attributed cultivation focus.”

Ning Cheng had told Ba Meng that he wasn’t a thunder-focussed cultivator. But since Ba Meng introduced him this way, Ning Cheng didn’t explain.

Qiu Yuanyi had black hair and late-stage Dao Transformation cultivation. He looked elegant and refined, but his eyes were a little erratic. As for Lady Green, Ji Maitao, she had a petite body with accentuated curves and a seductive charm that unconsciously made people ogle at her. Seeing Ning Cheng’s gaze sweep over, she shot Ning Cheng a highly seductive look.

Ning Cheng sighed; he finally understood the difference between a chicken and a phoenix. Liu Fanglin’s charm was completely natural and could attract people without having to act contrived. But Lady Green’s body seemed exaggerated from top to bottom; nothing felt natural about her[2]. Looks like Ba Meng’s friends each had their own unique characteristics.

“Lady Green, you usually have your eyes on your forehead. So why are you so fidgety about a Dao Sculpting cultivator today?” Qiu Yuanyi smiled and looked at Lady Green.

Lady Green only shot a blank gaze at him before returning to look at Ning Cheng. “I think this Dao Friend Ning is eye-catching, and I want to get close to him. What? You think it wouldn’t work?”

After saying that, she took the initiative to speak to Ning Cheng. “There aren’t many thunder-attributed experts nowadays. But since we need to head to the netherworld, thunder-based attacks are the most helpful. We all have to rely on you.”

When Lady Green looked at him, a glint of eagerness appeared in her eyes. Ning Cheng guessed that she might have recognised him as the Dao Essence Pill Sage Ning Cheng. However, Ning Cheng didn’t care. Lady Green was just a Dao Transformation cultivator. If she wanted his help in alchemy, he would only help if the conditions were acceptable. But if she wanted to force him, she could only blame herself for the consequences.

Ba Meng laughed, “Now that everyone is here, let’s get on with the discussion and prepare to leave.”

[1] Body Forging progression till now: Spiritual Body -> Imperial Body -> Spirit Body -> Celestial Body -> Celestial River Body -> Starry Sky Body -> Spirit Body. The author uses the same two characters ‘神体’ for the two ‘Spirit Body’; not sure if it’s a typo or if he forgot about it, but I will use it as-is unless the author changed it in the later chapters.

[2] The sentence could also be translated as “Lady Green was literally the walking definition of exaggeration”, or: “no part of Lady Green was not dramatic”.