Sitting in the Thousand Blades Chair, Lu Fan looked at West Mountain, Beiluo.
On the island, the little Responsive Dragon, lying on its stomach on Ximen Xianzhi’s head, sensed Lu Fan’s movement. It came to its knowledge that he had ended his seclusion. A pleasant surprise showed in its eyes.
Flapping its wings, it propelled itself up into the sky by stamping its paw against Ximen Xianzhi’s messy hair.
Ximen Xianzhi rolled his eyes. He had been used to how this dragon acted.
A strong man in the Internal Organs Realm was already able to take in the Spirit Qi in the world and transform it into energy. Although he could not fast for a long time, he could make it in a short period.
Therefore, Ximen Xianzhi had been in the soil for a long time, but he was not threatened by death.
A bolt of lightning flashed by.
Ximen Xianzhi suddenly felt dizzy.
Electric arcs burst forth around him. His hair smelt burned.
Ximen Xianzhi looked back. He saw Lu Fan, who had been in White Jade City Pavilion, already next to him by then. He did not even know when the latter had arrived. This speed really shocked Ximen Xianzhi.
Was that teleportation?
Swallowing his saliva, Ximen Xianzhi felt even more bitter. It turned out Young Master Lu had not even exerted 10 percent of his strength to deal with Ximen Xianzhi’s challenge.
That damn Mo Tianyu. Without Mo Tianyu’s calculation, he would not have been such a fool to come to challenge Lu Fan, who was so powerful and strong.
Throwing Ximen Xianzhi a glance, Lu Fan frowned.
“Hua Dongliu hasn’t come to pull you out?” Lu Fan asked.
Ximen Xianzhi was a little speechless.
Then Lu Fan did not bother to pay any more attention to Ximen Xianzhi. Anyways, he would not die from staying in the soil.
Unless affected by an external force, an Internal Organs Realm cultivator would not die so easily.
Lying prone on Lu Fan’s shoulders, the little Responsive Dragon pouted. It was going to spray water to play with Lu Fan.
However…
Lu Fan squinted at the little Responsive Dragon, so it had to swallow the water in its mouth down its throat, pretending to be obedient.
Lu Fan looked at the Trial Pagoda again.
He patted on the wheelchair.
Electric arcs were shifting.
The petals of the peach blossoms flew all over the island, while chrysanthemums were waving as if a hurricane had come. An invisible Qi wave was evoked on the surface of the lake.
Ximen Xianzhi’s hair was blown up. He was astonished.
It was not teleportation… Instead, he was just moving fast. He was so fast that no one could observe how he moved with naked eyes!
On the lake.
A boat was rocking.
Lv Dongxuan was sitting on the boat. There was a burning stove. In the stove, there was a fat fish on a stick being roasted. It smelled really good.
With his eyes narrowing, Lv Dongxuan rubbed his hands. The golden necklace around his neck was shining.
All of a sudden…
Several electric arcs moved by.
The boat rocked more violently. Lifting his head, Lv Dongxuan was shocked.
But he saw nothing around.
When he could see clearly again, the boat had stopped rocking. Rubbing his hands and looking at the stove, he murmured, “Ah?!”
“That bastard stole my fish!”
Lv Dongxuan flew into a rage.
He found the roasted fish whose skin had been roasted golden and crispy was gone…
Outside West Mountain, Beiluo.
The Thousand Blades Chair emerged. Lu Fan, in a white robe and with a white cloak draped over his shoulders, looked super quiet.
On his shoulders, the little Responsive Dragon’s mouth was full. And a tail of the roasted fish was waving next to its mouth.
The little Responsive Dragon grasped the fishtail with its paw and drew the tail slowly. Then the complete skeleton of the fish showed up. It threw the skeleton on the ground.
The little Responsive Dragon licked its lips with its tongue and then burped excitedly.
Lu Fan was really speechless.
He thought this dragon would be useless.
Lu Fan turned his head to look at the Trial Pagoda. His eyes slightly lit up.
Compared to Kong Nanfei’s attempt to realize a breakthrough, Nie Changqing’s attempt seemed to be more promising.
Outside of the Trial Pagoda.
Several people were surprised at the sight of Lu Fan.
“Young…Young Master Lu?”
“It’s Young Master Lu indeed. Anything wrong with the Trial Pagoda?”
Many cultivators certainly recognized Lu Fan. They hurried to get to their feet.
Lu Fan waved his hand.
He fixed his eyes on the Trial Pagoda.
An Miaoyu, holding umbrella and with a red cloak draped over her shoulders, was a little surprised to see Lu Fan.
The number one cultivator in the world, Young Master Lu from Beiluo, turned out to be such a handsome teenager.
******
Nie Changqing felt he had entered a chaotic status…
As if he had “seen” his own spine.
As an Internal Organs Realm cultivator, he could see his own five organs, but could not see his bones.
However, at this moment, he could see his own spine.
His spine looked like a dragon. The Spirit Qi in his five organs continued flowing into the spine, much like how rivers flowed into the sea.
In this way, his spine was becoming more and more solidified.
It even gave off a golden glow.
The spine was the source of strength.
The human spine was composed of thirty-three bones, divided into the nine sections called the Nine-sectioned Heavenly Lock.
The ninth section Heavenly Palace Lock only had one bone, while each of the other eight sections contained four bones.
Nie Changqing felt his physical power had been dreadfully soaring. With innumerous Spirit Qi flowing into his spine, he felt his spine was going to explode.
The change of one bone could lead to a butterfly effect by causing a series of changes.
Nie Changqing’s body was trembling. He felt his five organs were shaking so much that he was even on the verge of coughing up blood.
However, he did not give up.
His mind was very clear at this moment.
He was opening his Heavenly Lock!
Once he succeeded, it would mean he had achieved the Heavenly Lock Realm!
And it would even mean more than that. Highly focused, he felt all of his energy had been directed into a golden water current.
The current was flowing in his body, probing every part.
He did not know what it was, but he felt it was probably the result of the qualitative change of his soul.
He had no idea, but the Young Master would absolutely know about it.
He would ask Lu Fan about it when his Heavenly Lock had been opened.
Nie Changqing focused on compressing his Spirit Qi.
He felt his spine had transformed into a golden dragon with a chain wrapped around it.
And there were nine locks on the golden dragon. He had to unlock all of the nine to free the golden dragon.
The key would be the compressed Spirit Qi.
As long as enough Spirit Qi was compressed, the locks would be naturally opened.
His tailbone turned golden from white little by little, as if gold was being poured onto it.
Nie Changqing detected a qualitative change in his strength.
“This is Qi and blood?”
Nie Changqing felt it incredible.
Martial arts grandmasters refined their Qi and blood as well, but in the Heavenly Lock Realm, it seemed cultivators would go back to refine Qi and blood again. However, these two processes could not be compared at all.
If the former was the Qi and blood of a mortal, then the latter was the Qi and blood of cultivators.
Their Qi and blood were a mix of Spirit Qi and blood.
When that was activated, it would be powerful enough to perform astounding feats of valor.
In the Trial Pagoda.
Nie Changqing’s body was trembling violently while still sitting cross-legged. Several cultivators have since woken up.
Ni Yu, holding her black pot, opened her eyes and looked at Nie Changqing.
Terrifying energy was breaking out from Nie Changqing. She vaguely felt she was deeply oppressed.
“Is Old Nie going to open his Heavenly Lock?” Ni Yu exclaimed.
She was so shocked that she took a sugar-coated Gathering Qi Elixir out of the cloth satchel right away.
She was feeling proud of herself for having achieved the Internal Organs Realm, but to her surprise, Old Nie was already attempting to achieve the Heavenly Lock Realm!
Ning Zhao opened her eyes as well.
Old Nie was making so many noises that she could not focus on her cultivation anymore.
She got to her feet from her cushion. Seeing Nie Changqing bleeding, she was lost in thought, frowning.
Nie Shuang, Jing Yue, and the others could not stay calm, either.
Nie Changqing’s transformation made the air on the first floor of the Trial Pagoda even more suffocating.
It felt different from when Kong Nanfei had attempted to realize the breakthrough.
What Kong Nanfei cultivated was the Righteousness Qi, but he had not experienced many physical changes.
In fact, what Kong Nanfei practiced was a Golden-Elixir-style cultivation method.
However, Nie Changqing was literally refining his spine to challenge the Heavenly Lock!
Sima Qingshan and the Overlord both opened their eyes at the same time.
The two let out a sigh.
The Overlord was unhappy with the reality.
Nie Changqing still beat him to it!
At this moment, the others could see Nie Changqing’s back glowing, as if a golden dragon was struggling.
Nie Changqing was trembling, with blood beads seeping out of his skin.
Each blood bead contained toxins that were eliminated from his body.
Nie Changqing’s energy was also strengthening…
And the current Nie Changqing.
His eyes were very bright.
He found countless Spirit Qi had assembled into a golden elixir in his Qi Core.
“This is golden elixir!”
Nie Changqing was shocked.
“But I want to refine Heavenly Lock. I don’t need the golden elixir!”
Nie Changqing’s look was sharp and firm.
“Young Master once said the way to Heavenly Lock was the way for the real strong people.”
Nie Changqing wanted to be strong. He did not want to be average.
So…
He did not want the golden elixir!
Bang!
Nie Changqing felt the golden energy turned into a knife that struck fast.
A crack appeared on the golden elixir in his Qi Core right away…
It was split into half.
Innumerous Spirit Qi surged out. Nie Changqing drove it into his spine as if it was a group of fish.
His tailbone was finally completely golden. The locks that wrapped around the golden dragon vaguely cracked.
At the same time…
Nie Changqing’s energy seemed to be completely boiling.
His clothes billowed, under which Qi waves kept flowing…
The powerful Spirit Pressure was so overwhelming that those in the Trial Pagoda were forced to take deep breaths.
“He has transformed…”
“Heavenly Lock Realm.”
The first man to achieve Heavenly Lock had appeared.
It was Nie Changqing!
Ning Zhao’s eyes dimmed with disappointment. It was not her. She lagged behind again!
The Overlord clenched his fist too. He was a little unconvinced. He had wanted to become the first man to achieve the Heavenly Lock Realm from the Internal Organs, but he failed once again.
He was not the first man to achieve the Internal Organs from the Qi Core Realm.
Nor was he the first man to achieve the Heavenly Lock from the Internal Organs.
He used to be the number one martial arts practitioner in the world, but now, he had failed so many times. The proud Overlord was a little annoyed and a little frustrated.
Looking at the current Nie Changqing, Sima Qingshan smiled.
To the surprise of other cultivators, he took a scroll out of his bookcase and started to paint. The ink became paler and paler…
He painted Nie Changqing’s moment of achieving the Heavenly Lock Realm on the scroll.
The scroll vaguely had a powerful spirit in it.
“I’ll name this painting Heavenly Lock Scroll.”
Sima Qingshan smiled, rolling his brush pen.
When he had finished painting…
Nie Changqing opened his eyes. He stood up with a strong energy in his body.
“Nie Changqing, let me try how powerful Heavenly Lock is!”
The Overlord’s eyes suddenly narrowed. Demonic Qi wrapped around his body.
He stamped his feet and then flew out horizontally. Countless Demonic Qi turned into a shield and an axe that was sent flying toward Nie Changqing.
Nie Changqing’s white robe was blowing. And blood beads were still seeping out of his skin.
Seeing the Overlord attacking, he raised the corner of his lip.
“Great!” Nie Changqing said.
He shook his arms, and an extremely strong power burst forth from his spine.
He did not turn to Spirit Qi. He did not even use what he was best at, the butcher knife.
He threw a punch at the Overlord!
Tong!
The dreadful Qi wave made people feel like even the air was shaking!
Ning Zhao, Sima Qingshan, and the other strong people in Complete Internal Organs were shocked.
Nie Shuang closed his fists excitedly. His father was really strong!
Ni Yu hurried to put a handful of Gathering Qi Elixirs into her mouth to calm herself down.
A blare came.
Under this punch, the shield and axe formed by the Overlord’s Demonic Qi exploded.
Nie Changqing punched the Overlord’s body.
The Overlord felt like Nie Changqing intended to punch through his body.
His back bent forward.
That was a punch powerful enough to pierce through a mountain.
The Overlord spit up blood. He was sent flying and hit the gate of the Trial Pagoda, pushing it open. He flew out of the gate…
Coughing up blood, he flew farther.
Out of the door…
It was heavily snowing.
In the blare, the Overlord, who was sent flying, evoked astonishment in many cultivators.
Lu Fan just lifted his hands slowly.
And the Overlord’s flying body was steadied up.
He knelt down on one knee. Blood was flowing out of his nose and his mouth…
“He is… He is so damn strong!”
The Overlord was gasping.
He was never afraid of a beating. However, Nie Changqing almost punched through his body.
Heavenly Lock Realm!
That was Heavenly Lock Realm!
Even if he evolved elemental Spirit Qi, he still would not be a match for Nie Changqing.
The wide gap between these two realms was really despairing.
Lu Fan was a little speechless.
“As an Internal Organs Realm cultivator, you only coughed up some blood after being punched by a man in the Heavenly Lock Realm… You are the one who is really amazing, all right?”
Nie Changqing, giving off Qi and blood, walked out of the Trial Pagoda slowly. Every step he took seemed to be able to cause an earthquake.
Lu Fan realized at once that it was because Nie Changqing could not bring his soaring strength under control.
Nie Changqing would have to adapt to it. Lu Fan had no way to help him.
Why was the Heavenly Lock Realm more powerful than the Golden Elixir Realm?
Although it was a cultivation method created by Lu Fan, it did not just cultivate Spirit Qi. In fact, it would cultivate Qi and blood, Spirit Qi, and the cultivator’s blood.
It asked for a physical transformation.
By contrast, refining golden elixir did not have so many physical requirements.
The spine was the source of strength. As long as the spine was refined, one’s strength would naturally soar…
Compared to Kong Nanfei’s superficial style, Nie Changqing’s strength was very solid.
So he had a better chance of going through the Heavenly Lock Calamity successfully.
Outside of the Trial Pagoda.
All cultivators were shocked. Oppressed by Nie Changqing’s diffuse Qi and blood, they almost could not breathe.
More than that…
Many people were almost forced to kneel down while Nie Changqing was unintentionally imposing Spirit Pressure.
That was how a high-level cultivator could oppress the low-level ones!
None of these cultivators was dumb. They hurried to run away from the Trial Pagoda when they had come to themselves.
“Young…Young Master!”
Nie Changqing created a crater on the ground one after the other. His eyes lit up when he saw Lu Fan.
Leaning against the Thousand Blades Chair, Lu Fan said slowly, “Spiritual Sense will be created when Heavenly Lock is achieved. Use Spiritual Sense to direct Qi and blood to stabilize strength.”
“Yes,” Nie Changqing replied.
Spiritual Sense?
Was that golden flowing light Spiritual Sense?!
“You are different from Kong Nanfei. He couldn’t control whether to trigger a Thunder Calamity or not. But you have Spiritual Sense, so you can choose whether to trigger it.”
“Heavenly Lock Calamity isn’t a powerful Thunder Calamity, but going through a Thunder Calamity will help you refine your body and control your strength.”
“You can trigger the Thunder Calamity after stabilizing your Qi and blood.”
Cupping one hand around his chin and tapping one armrest of the wheelchair, Lu Fan was instructing Nie Changqing.
It was beyond his expectation that Nie Changqing had got Spiritual Sense.
Although all cultivators in the Golden Elixir and Heavenly Lock would have Spiritual Sense, it did not mean they would have it as soon as they achieved Golden Elixir and Heavenly Lock. It was time-consuming work.
However, at the thought of the fact that Nie Changqing had comprehended knife spirit, Lu Fan did not think it too weird that he had got Spiritual Sense so fast.
Nie Changqing’s hair was blowing.
His eyes were very bright.
He sat down on the ground cross-legged. The dancing snow around him were all sent away.
Nie Changqing’s white robe was blowing. His look was sharp and bright.
Ning Zhao showed up behind Lu Fan. With her head down, she seemed a little frustrated.
Ni Yu seemed okay. Eating Gathering Qi Elixirs incessantly, she was just looking on.
“Young Master, I lagged behind again,” Ning Zhao said frustratedly.
“It’s all right… Attainments can’t be forced. Just try your best,” Lu Fan replied.
He could feel how unconvinced Ning Zhao was. However, Old Nie was making progress a little bit faster than she was. That was an undeniable fact.
Nie Changqing, sitting on the ground cross-legged, suddenly opened his eyes.
Thick clouds were gathering over his head.
The entire Beiluo City was shrouded in the oppressive air.
Lu Changkong walked out of the Trial Pagoda. He was very emotional to see Nie Changqing in the middle of a breakthrough.
Once Nie Changqing succeeded, White Jade City’s place in the world would be even more unshakable.
A sharp noise came.
It was deafening.
Thick clouds continued gathering in the sky.
Nie Changqing was very serious. He had seen Kong Nanfei go through Thunder Calamities. That time, Kong Nanfei was terribly struck by bolts of lightning.
But this day, it was him, Nie Changqing!
He did not want what had happened to Kong Nanfei to repeat again.
But he believed he could do better than Kong Nanfei…
Because he had refined his Heavenly Lock!
“Bring it on!” Nie Changqing shouted.
Standing there, he suddenly lifted the gapped butcher knife he was carrying at his waist.
Nie Changqing had intended to ask Gongshu Yu to forge a new butcher knife for him.
But he would not have the time to wait.
He had to use this one.
Looking at the gapped butcher knife in Nie Changqing’s hand, Lu Fan smiled.
That butcher knife was after all an average tool. It could not be compared to Spirit Tools. Although Nie Changqing had been nourishing it for a long time, it was still qualitatively inferior to Spirit Tools.
“Old Nie, if you go through this calamity successfully, I will gift you a knife.”
Lu Fan smiled.
Below the thunder cloud…
Nie Changqing’s eyes lit up.
He burst out laughing.
“Thank you in advance, Young Master!”
Bang!
In the sky, the first Thunder Calamity struck vertically.
Nie Changqing’s Qi and blood were boiling. The butcher knife flew out of his hand. Remotely controlled by him, it turned into a giant black shadow.
His butcher knife clashed against the lightning strike.
It exploded on the ground, raising countless snow.
Nie Changqing was motionless.
The first Thunder Calamity had been gone.
Floating over Nie Changqing’s head, the butcher knife was smoking. The surface of the butcher knife was covered in cracks.
The thunder clouds in the sky seemed to be irritated by Nie Changqing’s challenge.
As soon as the first thunder cloud disappeared, the second followed.
The sky lit up. It was dazzling and brilliant.
The power of heaven and earth made the mortal tremble.
Nie Changqing was fearless.
“Knife Control!”
The knife spirit became solid. The black butcher knife surprisingly released a golden glow.
Tong!
The butcher knife and the second Thunder Calamity collided.
But then the butcher knife exploded into countless fragments right away…
The Thunder Calamity did not stop. It went on striking.
Nie Changqing used the palm of his hand as a knife and threw it over hard.
Qi and blood tumbled. It sounded like violent waves.
A furious Qi wave spread.
An Miaoyu was standing relatively closer. The wind almost broke the umbrella in her hand.
Sima Qingshan showed up next to her. He grasped the umbrella to resist the pressure.
The second Thunder Calamity was gone.
Nie Changqing was standing in the same place. Holding the butcher knife with only the handle left, he was a little frustrated.
“See you, old friend…”
The butcher knife had accompanied him for a long time. However, it was shattered into pieces after all this day.
And the third Thunder Calamity seemed to come with the heaven’s angry roar.
It struck violently.
This was the Thunder Calamity that contributed to Kong Nanfei’s failure and almost killed him.
It struck Nie Changqing hard in such a furious manner.
However, Nie Changqing opened his arms, as if he was greeting this Thunder Calamity.
Bang!
All of a sudden…
Nie Changqing opened his eyes widely.
Behind him, a golden dragon with a chain around its body seemed to be roaring.
The Nine-sectioned Heavenly Lock!
Nie Changqing and the Thunder Calamity collided.
The entire Beiluo City seemed to feel an earthquake.
A chain seemed broken. As if everything was reviving, it sounded full of life, extremely beautiful and relaxing.
On the scorched ground…
Nie Changqing straightened up slowly. His Qi and blood were boiling.
He felt he had struggled out of one of the nine-sectioned locks.
Nie Changqing finally opened his Heavenly Lock successfully!
Around the Trial Pagoda.
Everyone was shocked…
This sight was branded in their minds. It was unforgettable for them!
The first Heavenly Lock cultivator except for Young Master Lu from Beiluo…
Had been born in this world!
At the same time, before Lu Fan’s eyes…
The system page popped up.
The prompt that popped up made Lu Fan’s breathing halt for a second.
[“Congratulations. The first Heavenly Lock Realm cultivator has appeared in this world. Hence, the boundary of Low Level Martial World has been broken. The current world is qualified for an upgrade from Low Level Martial World to Mid Level Martial World. Do you want to upgrade?”]
