Chapter 455 - 334: Suffering, Divine Buddha
A pure human race.
No power of the Heart Lamp.
Jiang Ming concealed his presence and transformed into a wandering Martial Artist, arriving at this village.
In front of the village gate, warriors of the human race held large bows, aiming at Jiang Ming.
Jiang Ming’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Indeed, none of these villagers possessed even a trace of Heart Lamp’s power.
Instead, their blood and vitality surged to the extreme.
Their bodies also lacked any black factors.
"Interesting..."
The next second, Jiang Ming’s body melted into the ground.
Leaving the villagers utterly bewildered.
The Earth Escape Skill of the Five Elements Escape Technique.
A faint divine sense swept over everyone’s Celestial Spirit, confounding their senses.
Xiang Wuji stood before the leader of the group.
As their eyes met, a majestic divine sense instantly seized the leader’s memory bank.
Yet...
Jiang Ming’s brows furrowed.
"How could this be..."
Though his Soul Stealing Technique was incredibly advanced, inflicting minimal harm on the target.
Ultimately, the Soul Stealing Technique is still an Evil Technique, causing pain and side effects.
But now...
The person before him showed no sign of pain.
This was not because the person was naturally unable to perceive pain.
It seemed as if...
The pain and side effects had vanished?
The leader was not the village chief but the patrol team captain, and Jiang Ming absorbed thirty years of memories in an instant.
This village was called Qingfeng Village.
Five hundred years ago, a Celestial Stone fell, granting the village its protection, making it impervious to malevolent forces.
This was all he knew.
"The Celestial Stone even the Calamity Level Grand Specters fear..."
"Protected by the Celestial Stone, malevolent forces can’t invade? Yet I can enter."
Jiang Ming raised an eyebrow.
"And... another Celestial Stone descends?"
Jiang Ming’s form started to transform.
This was the original form of the Selfless Concealment Technique, the Infinite Sea No Self Technique.
Jiang Ming’s aura and appearance changed, turning into the patrol team captain.
Soon, people around began to warmly interact with Jiang Ming, leading him deeper into the village.
Only by the village wall, a bound large man showed fear and despair in his eyes.
"Huff!"
"Ha!"
The village, while scattered, was orderly.
Passing by a Martial Arts Arena, sounds of exertion could be heard.
Young ones practicing martial arts.
Jiang Ming smiled faintly, finding an excuse to enter.
Yet his expression changed subtly.
These people were truly cultivating the Martial Dao.
But they tempered themselves using extremely harsh methods, like roasting their arms with fierce flames to absorb the Heat Flame Qi.
Or breaking their leg bones inch by inch with iron rods and then applying herbs, crafting certain martial techniques.
These, without exception, are forbidden martial arts in Great Lii, causing significant physical harm and even exhausting future potential for rapid current progress.
Only Martial Artists with the most tenacious will could endure these cultivation techniques.
However, these young ones were chatting and laughing during practice, with no sign of pain.
No wonder...
Using such extreme cultivation techniques, no wonder these villagers could almost forge their bodies like Body Cultivators.
They completely eschewed the path of using Qi-Blood to ignite the Heart Lamp.
"What exactly is the secret..."
Jiang Ming wandered through the village.
His appearance constantly changed.
Patrol team captain.
Patrol teammate.
Medicine Gatherer.
Martial Arts Instructor.
Clan Elder...
Sub-village Chief.
Jiang Ming perused countless pieces of information.
He felt no threats in the village, yet he remained cautious.
The villagers, though accustomed to their unique abilities, knew they differed from humans elsewhere.
Qingfeng Village’s people felt no pain.
Neither physically nor mentally.
Thus, the entire Qingfeng Village resembled a true utopia.
Though concerns existed, there was no pain.
Youth practiced martial arts and went hunting, the elderly lived close to ninety due to good resources and peace of mind.
Some villagers attributed this to their great bloodline, others to the Celestial Stone’s fall five hundred years ago.
Gradually, Jiang Ming rose to higher ranks.
Among the upper ranks, it was confirmed the Celestial Stone was responsible.
Jiang Ming’s identity continued to shift.
He soon reached the Central Tower Stronghold of Qingfeng Village.
Becoming the elder clan leader of the Luoyun Race, one of Qingfeng Village’s thirteen tribes.
In the depths of the Central Tower Stronghold, Jiang Ming found a genuine book recording Qingfeng Village’s changes five hundred years ago.
"Five hundred years ago, according to Qingfeng Village’s unique calendar, it should be five hundred and thirteen years ago..."
In a dim black room.
An old man, with a feathered ornate headdress, flipped through ancient texts hidden for centuries.
"Before that, Qingfeng Village was like any village on the Southern Border, protected by a Mountain Spirit and their own Immortal Master."
"The Mountain Spirit was named Qingfeng, born of the mountain breezes, gentle by nature, except during surges of uncontrollable nature when it devoured villagers at large, generally quite amiable..."
"There were many Immortal Masters in the village, some even in the Red Body Realm."
"Back then, Qingfeng Village was not on the border, and these forces were sufficient for their self-defense."
"Until one day, an external Grand Specter destroyed the village, Qingfeng Mountain Spirit perishing with it."
"As Qingfeng Mountain Spirit was about to fall, unwilling to abandon the village, it bestowed its last strength upon a young girl."