Chapter 115 - 59: Birth, Old Age, Sickness, Death! Four Bitter Nether Soul Soup

Chapter 115: Chapter 59: Birth, Old Age, Sickness, Death! Four Bitter Nether Soul Soup

BUZZ—!

As his Winter Solstice Realm advanced, the Dao Rhyme swirling around Jiang Xuan immediately underwent a subtle change.

Previously, he had relied on pure chilling intent to freeze an enemy’s body, blood, and Magical Power. But such a chill could ultimately be resisted and dispersed.

Against an opponent with a comparable Dao Rhyme, the cold could be completely blocked—just as it had been when he fought Su Xingying. Back then, his Winter Solstice Sword Intent was rendered almost useless.

Having one’s Dao Rhyme suppressed and rendered ineffective was a common occurrence in the Cultivation Realm. This was precisely why everyone coveted High Tier Cultivation Techniques.

The Dao Rhyme comprehended from a High Tier Cultivation Technique far surpassed that of a Low Tier one. At the same level, the former could crush the latter.

Fortunately, the Dao Rhyme passed down in the Four Seasons Valley was already quite strong. After surviving a Death Tribulation, it would undergo a complete transformation.

Even without experiencing Life and Death Reincarnation, once Jiang Xuan’s Winter Solstice sword advanced to the Third Realm, it would possess the power of a Middle-Class Dharma Vein—and a superior one at that. Of course, solely cultivating the techniques of the Valley of Winter had its flaws. The issue wasn’t a lack of power; it was that practicing only the Guicang Annihilation Scripture would, over time, damage one’s Vitality and shorten one’s lifespan, which was why it needed to be balanced with the techniques from the Valleys of Spring, Summer, and Autumn.

Jiang Xuan was already aware of this. So, he quickly focused his entire Heart Spirit on the newly born Winter Solstice Dao Rhyme.

After its advancement, the Dao Rhyme of the Valley of Winter was still called the Breath of the Frosty Winter.

The difference was that Jiang Xuan now understood the power of wind, comprehending its true nature—that it could permeate everything and steal away Vitality.

This comprehension made the frosty winter winds emanating from him even harder to resist, capable of piercing through and scattering anything.

Magic cast by an enemy would have its "Vitality" blown away by this frigid wind, extinguishing in mid-air. Shields they erected would continuously disintegrate and shatter under the wind’s constant assault. Even if the wind swept over an enemy’s body, their qi, blood, and Magical Power would steadily drain away, impossible to stop.

At this point, simple resistance was useless. The wind permeated everything. Even if an opponent defended with all their might, they could only slow the loss of their qi, blood, and Magical Power; they could never prevent it completely.

’This way, in future battles, I’ll only need to stand still and activate my Winter Solstice Sword Intent. The enemy’s Magical Power, qi, and blood will continuously deplete. The longer it drags on, the weaker they’ll become.’

This Dao Rhyme was actually quite good, an excellent tool for fighting opponents of the same level.

But after his initial joy, Jiang Xuan’s brow furrowed again.

He thought of his main opponent, Su Xingying, whose strength far surpassed his own. Having already revealed his Innate Qi Sword, his only hope for victory now was to use the Thunder Creation Sword to release his limiters and burn away everything he had.

A battle like that would be over in an instant, giving this advantage of his Winter Solstice Sword Intent no chance to shine.

What worried Jiang Xuan even more was that Su Xingying had scheduled their duel for three days from now. He was almost certain she was expecting a major breakthrough within that time.

If he was still treading water by then, defeating Su Xingying again would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

And he didn’t want to lose. It wasn’t just about pride or his competitive spirit; it was about the Spirit Stones.

’The main reason Su Xingying is willing to spend Spirit Stones to fight me is that I can actually beat her. But once I can’t keep up with her progress, she’ll almost certainly cast me aside.’

Being abandoned by Su Xingying as someone useless wouldn’t affect Jiang Xuan much, but he couldn’t bear to part with the Spirit Stones.

’If I want to keep earning Spirit Stones, I have to increase my strength as much as possible in these next three days. And it has to be a significant increase.’

With this sense of crisis rising in his heart, Jiang Xuan immediately opened his attribute panel and started searching for a shortcut to rapidly increase his strength.

After some searching, he actually found a promising path.

’Three Nine Frost Sky Divine Sword.’

It was common knowledge that the coldest time of the year was not during the "Eighth Nine" or "Ninth Nine"—the last nine-day periods of winter. By then, the chill of early spring was already setting in, and warmth was beginning to return.

The true, extreme cold belonged to the "Third Nine" and "Fourth Nine." That was the peak of the harsh winter.

For this reason, the "Third Nine" and "Fourth Nine" Sword Techniques were the two most powerful moves in the Guicang Annihilation Sword Scripture, and they were also its final two swords.

The Guicang Annihilation Sword Scripture contained five forms in total:

Zero, the beginning; followed by One; Two, the explosion; Three, the Guicang; and Four, the Annihilation!

The core of the "Third Nine" sword lay in the two words "Guicang"—to gather all the cold energy between Heaven and Earth and condense it into a single Frost Heaven Divine Sword.

This technique could also synergize with his Winter Solstice Sword Intent.

The Winter Solstice Realm involved releasing the cold energy from within Jiang Xuan’s body, causing the climate of Heaven and Earth to turn cold.

And the colder Heaven and Earth became, the more cold energy Jiang Xuan could gather, and the stronger the Frost Heaven Divine Sword would be.

With this in mind, Jiang Xuan’s fingers flashed into a hand seal. In an instant, the boundless cold energy swarmed toward the space above his head like birds returning to their nest.

WHOOSH—

In just a moment, a five-meter-long, translucent, and chillingly sharp Ice and Snow Long Sword took shape above him. A bone-piercing cold flowed along its body, causing the very air around it to tremble as it froze.

"Go!"

With a wave of Jiang Xuan’s sword-fingers, the colossal Frost Heaven Divine Sword shot out like an arrow loosed from a bow, slashing violently toward the Ice Lake before him.

BOOM!

After the massive explosion, a crack over ten meters long was instantly carved into the surface of the Ice Lake.

Judging by the sheer force and presence, the technique was by no means weak.

But Jiang Xuan shook his head slightly, not quite satisfied.

’The display is impressive, but the power is too scattered... I’ve only just begun to learn this technique. It might barely work against a Cultivator of the same tier or one slightly higher, but against Su Xingying, it’s not even close to enough.’

’Unless I can break through to the Third Realm and truly borrow the extreme cold of Heaven and Earth. Only then would this technique live up to the "Frost Heaven" in its name.’

However, raising this Swordsmanship to the Third Realm in just three days... even with the Three Purification Mantra: True Communication, Jiang Xuan had no confidence at all.

’There’s not enough time...’

For the next while, Jiang Xuan cultivated while frowning in thought, wondering if there was any other way to make his strength surge within three days.

But improving one’s strength was never easy, nor could it be accomplished overnight.

Even with his Profession System, he still had to follow the proper steps.

’No, wait, there is one way to break this stalemate. If I quickly complete the class change to Scripture Profound Daoist, I might achieve a qualitative leap in strength.’

But that was a choice that would consume his potential, and Jiang Xuan would never make it.

A few Spirit Stones were far less important than a Purple Treasure Level profession.

Just as Jiang Xuan was about to give up after half a day of fruitless contemplation, a wonderful surprise arrived at noon.

"Junior Brother, I knew you’d be here."

Lying in the Ice Lake, quietly meditating on the Frost Heaven Divine Sword, Jiang Xuan suddenly heard someone call out.

Lifting his head, he saw that it was his senior brother from the Valley of Summer, Wu Shan, who had called him.

Jiang Xuan’s attitude immediately warmed upon seeing him.

"Senior Brother, what brings you here?"

As he spoke, Jiang Xuan even stepped forward to greet him.

It was no wonder he acted this way; Wu Shan was simply too important to him.

The reason he, a Profound Middle Grade, was able to open 83 acupoints in just half a month... no, 87 now, was because he had made the right strategic choice to change his class to Gourmet.

But the Feast Ceremony required large amounts of nutrient-rich food to achieve its full effect.

During this period, he had initially only eaten some Yin Attribute Spirit Fruits and Spirit Rice.

But in the middle phase, his senior brother Wu Shan had specifically learned to cook Yin Attribute Spiritual Cuisine for him.

Faced with a great chef—and one who was incredibly important to him at that—Jiang Xuan was naturally on his best behavior.

Jiang Xuan was enthusiastic, and Wu Shan even more so. His smile widened, especially when he thought about how Jiang Xuan had never slacked off in his cultivation.

’He’s talented and works hard at his cultivation. It would be a crime against heaven if a junior brother like him didn’t become a powerhouse.’

"I came looking for you because I have good news, of course." With that, he grabbed Jiang Xuan and started dragging him toward the Valley of Summer.

This left Jiang Xuan completely bewildered. "What good news?"

But this time, Wu Shan didn’t answer directly, choosing to be mysterious instead. "Hehe, I can’t tell you now. It would ruin the surprise. You’ll find out when we get to the Valley of Summer."

As they spoke, the tall Wu Shan easily carried Jiang Xuan to the Valley of Summer as if he were lifting a baby sparrow.

The first thing Jiang Xuan saw upon entering the valley was a great cauldron set over a fire, with fierce flames burning beneath it. Beside the cauldron sat a cross-legged old man whose aura was unfathomably deep.

What surprised Jiang Xuan was that the flames under the great cauldron were not the usual blazing white or orange-red, but a kind of eerie purple.

Even from a distance, Jiang Xuan could feel a bone-chilling coldness emanating from the fire.

But this coldness didn’t make Jiang Xuan retreat. Instead, his eyes lit up as he began to vaguely understand something.

This prompted Jiang Xuan to bow respectfully to the old man before turning to ask Wu Shan:

"Senior Brother, who is this elder?"

"He is my master, and also the Valley Master of the Valley of Summer—Yan Shouzhuo."

As he spoke, Yan Shouzhuo was already completing the final step of his cooking.

BUZZ—!

As his Magical Power surged, the eerie purple flames suddenly blazed with intense light.

When the light faded, the food he was cooking was finally complete.

CLANG...

As the cauldron lid was lifted, what greeted Jiang Xuan’s eyes was not the aroma of ordinary food.

A pot of soup shimmering with an eerie blue and purple fluorescence assaulted his vision.

What made Jiang Xuan’s gaze harden was that the surface of the soup was not calm. Horrifying, demonic faces would occasionally emerge, roaring and shrieking. The sight was so strange and sinister that a single glance was enough to make one feel uneasy.

Yan Shouzhuo made no attempt to hide the soup’s strangeness. Instead, he looked at Jiang Xuan and gave him a grim smile. "This pot of Four Bitter Nether Soul Soup, I, this old man, brewed it with Ghost-faced Mushroom, Black Water Snake Gallbladder, Human-faced Spider Venom Sac, and Soul-Devouring Black Scorpion Tail Needle, along with thirteen other Extremely Yin Materials like Cold Yin Water and Profound Yin Fruit. It was simmered with the Four Bitter Qi and forged with the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Fire, Purple Soul Blue Flame, for seven days and seven nights. You could call it a supreme poison."

"Little fellow, do you dare to drink this soup that I have brewed?"

"I dare!" When he answered, Jiang Xuan felt little fear.

He didn’t believe the Valley Master of the Valley of Summer would go to such lengths just to secretly harm him.

Besides, after advancing from Kitchen Apprentice to Gourmet, in addition to the Purple Treasure Skill Feast Ceremony, Jiang Xuan had also acquired two special skills: the Thousand-Attracting Tongue and Bai Ling’s Breath.

The latter allowed him to clearly perceive that this soup, a fusion of thirteen extremely yin poisons, while possessing a special power and inherent danger, lacked the foul stench of ordinary toxins. Instead, it was wreathed in a strange, ethereal fragrance that made his Divine Soul tremble slightly.

’This soup will be of great benefit to my Divine Soul.’

Yan Shouzhuo, unaware of Jiang Xuan’s special abilities, saw his crisp and unhesitating reply, and a flicker of approval crossed his eyes.

"You’re a bold little one."

Having said that, he didn’t make Jiang Xuan drink the soup while still in doubt. Instead, he began to explain its effects:

"This Four Bitter Nether Soul Soup is an old recipe passed down in the Four Seasons Valley. By combining thirteen extremely yin items with some cold-attribute Spiritual Water, and most importantly, seasoning it with the Four Bitter Qi, you will experience an Illusory Dream after drinking it."

"Because of the effects of the Ghost-faced Mushroom and the Human-faced Spider Venom Sac, you will forget who you are within the Illusory Dream. You will even forget the fact that you are dreaming."

"This way, you will be able to experience life, old age, sickness, and death within the Illusory Dream as if they were real."

"And the cultivation techniques of our Four Seasons Valley, in the end, boil down to the four concepts of Life, Death, Withering, and Flourishing. I’m sure I don’t need to explain what benefits such an Illusory Dream experience will have for you."

Indeed, there was no need for Yan Shouzhuo to say more.

To personally experience a life, old age, sickness, and death so real it felt illusory was no less than undergoing a Death Tribulation. Even if it was false, for Jiang Xuan, who was preparing to cultivate the Four Seasons Reincarnation Technique, the benefits were still endless.

And the insights contained within this soup would not only benefit his long-term cultivation but also provide immediate effects.

’If this medicinal soup is truly as effective as he says, then through the Feast Ceremony, there might be a chance for my Frost Heaven Sword to reach Minor Success within three days!’