Seeing Li Yan frozen in place, Gong Chenying's expression remained grave. "You already know about this body refining technique. It is the ultimate treasure of my Tianli Clan. Only core members of my clan are allowed to cultivate it. Otherwise, they will face the relentless pursuit of my clan for generations. Even if they are reincarnated, they will be killed until their soul is scattered and annihilated. It is basically a certain death sentence. I was just asking for your intention. I have also considered this matter for a long time. There will be great risks in learning this art. You should listen to me finish, then decide for yourself.
"The Qiongqi Purgatory art is the supreme secret art of my clan, but it is not as if no outsider has ever cultivated it. As far as I know, a total of four non-clan members have learned this art. You would be the fifth. One was Lu Zhenyuan from the Wind God Continent, a million years ago. He was not of my Tianli Clan, but he became the 'Qing A Wang' of that generation and thus gained the qualification to cultivate this secret art.
"Another person... hmm, to be precise, not a single person, but a Spirit Transformation grand cultivator from your Desolate Moon Continent several hundred thousand years ago. He was traveling and arrived at the Wind God Continent. By a stroke of luck, he met my clan's Grand Sacrificer. The two of them had very pleasant conversations, and after several rounds of sparring and exchange, they became the closest of friends. After that, this Spirit Transformation grand cultivator actually stayed with my clan for a long time. While communicating with the Grand Sacrificer, he also took the opportunity to look for a chance to ascend.
"But a few hundred years later, my clan went to war with the Fengluo Clan of the north. In the chaotic battle, my clan's Grand Sacrificer fell into the enemy's trap and was trapped in the Luo Tian Great Formation for several days, unable to break out. His magical power was also being drained to the point of exhaustion by the formation. Outside the great formation, my Tianli Clan, without the Grand Sacrificer presiding, was defeated again and again, and we were on the verge of life and death.
"At that critical moment, the Spirit Transformation grand cultivator from the Desolate Moon Continent stepped forward and held off the enemy's only mid-stage Spirit Transformation grand cultivator—the Fengluo Ancestor. Otherwise, my clan would have been annihilated long ago. But his cultivation was only at the early stage of Spirit Transformation. After a long time, he was no match. Seeing this, this Spirit Transformation cultivator from the Desolate Moon Continent, I don't know what kind of self-damaging divine ability he used, but after paying a great price, he actually broke the Luo Tian Great Formation, allowing my clan's Grand Sacrificer to escape. But after performing this art, he was already seriously injured.
"After that, he dragged his severely injured body and joined forces with my clan's Grand Sacrificer. In the end, they severely injured the Fengluo Ancestor, causing his realm to drop by a small level, from mid-stage Spirit Transformation to early-stage Spirit Transformation. In the end, even his physical body was destroyed, and only his Nascent Soul escaped with serious injuries.
"But this Spirit Transformation cultivator from the Desolate Moon Continent himself eventually died from his grievous injuries, his Dao disappearing. The Grand Sacrificer was grief-stricken for a long time. He then held a heaven-worshipping grand ceremony for him, which the Tianli Clan had not held for tens of thousands of years, to ferry his departed soul. From then on, the Grand Sacrificer issued a decree: his descendants could directly inherit the first three layers of the 'Qiongqi Purgatory' body refining method. And Min'er is a direct descendant of this Spirit Transformation grand cultivator."
Gong Chenying narrated slowly, but Li Yan's heart was in turmoil, as if hit by towering waves. He had never expected that Zhao Min's ancestor was a legendary Spirit Transformation cultivator. That was a truly great cultivator that only existed in the legends of this realm, who could roam the entire Mortal Realm unopposed. At the Nascent Soul stage, one had already condensed a Nascent Soul. As long as the Nascent Soul existed, even if the physical body was destroyed, as long as a suitable body could be found, one could still be reborn through possession. And with a few dozen or a hundred years of bitter cultivation, their cultivation could basically be restored. At that time, their Nascent Soul and physical body would be completely integrated, and their magical power and divine abilities would be fully restored. Moreover, if this new physical body was even stronger than the previous one, their cultivation could even advance another level. It was just that the conditions for possession were extremely harsh, and no one would be willing to do it unless absolutely necessary.
Therefore, if Zhao Min's ancestor had not faced the opponent head-on, but had chosen to fight a guerrilla war or leave, the Fengluo Ancestor, even if he were at the late stage of Spirit Transformation, would have had a very difficult time killing him, let alone when he was only at the mid-stage of Spirit Transformation. This made Li Yan very puzzled as to why a Spirit Transformation cultivator would be so impulsive as to save the Tianli Clan at any cost.
He had discussed this with Li Wuyi before. In this boundless Mortal Realm, there were at most only three to five Spirit Transformation cultivators on each continent. This showed how rare they were. The cultivation of a Spirit Transformation cultivator had already reached the heavens. They could no longer be tolerated by the laws of heaven and earth of the Mortal Realm. They only remained in the Mortal Realm for various reasons, either because they could not ascend or for other reasons. Therefore, they were basically in a state of seclusion, using secret methods to avoid the punishment of this realm's Heaven's Retribution. It was like how True Lord Qianchong used the method of a secret realm to form a small world for himself in the Mortal Realm, or how Dong Fuyi used a secret method to suppress his cultivation to the Nascent Soul stage, in order to deceive the laws of heaven and earth and stay in the Mortal Realm for a long time.
This news shocked Li Yan to the core. He had never thought that Zhao Min's origins were also so mysterious. If he had not started cultivating, he would have had no concept of these things. But since stepping onto the path of immortality, after cultivating for several years, he was still just a small Qi Condensation stage cultivator. Even so, Li Yan himself believed that if he were to destroy Green Mountain Pass today, it would only take him half an incense stick's time. Even martial arts peerless masters like Marshal Hong and Strategist Ji, or half-cultivators, would not be much trouble for him. It wouldn't even be too difficult to massacre the city. But after seeing the attacks of Foundation Establishment stage cultivators like Gong Chenying, that earth-shattering power made him feel insignificant. A Spirit Transformation cultivator was already beyond his cognition and imagination.
As Li Yan was in shock, he did not notice that when Gong Chenying had said the words "Qing A Wang," her pretty face, which had just regained its calm, had once again flushed red. Seeing that Li Yan was still immersed in his shock, she calmed herself down and cursed herself for being more shy in this recent period than the sum of all her shyness since childhood. After a short pause, she continued.
"'Qiongqi Purgatory' is divided into nine layers. The first three layers are the elementary chapter, layers three to six are the intermediate chapter, and layers seven to nine are the advanced chapter. Qiongqi, one of the four ancient vicious beasts. The four ancient fiends are Hundun, Qiongqi, Taowu, and Taotie. Each of these four vicious beasts had boundless divine abilities and monstrous ferocity. Each was a peerless vicious beast. It is said that even True Immortals were not necessarily their match.
"Qiongqi, its shape is like an ox, with hedgehog-like fur as red as blood, evil wings, and a solid body that can master all things. This means that Qiongqi was shaped like an ox, its body covered in blood-red spines like a hedgehog's. It had a pair of terrifying wings that inspired fear at a glance. Its body was so hard it could destroy all things in the world. It could be said to be quite terrifying.
"It is said that among the four peerless vicious beasts, Qiongqi had the strongest defense and the greatest strength. Therefore, the ancient shamanic immortals of the Tianli Clan created this art after observing this beast. To dare to compare oneself to Qiongqi, and to have no equal in the Mortal Realm, is truly a great divine ability.
"With Min'er's status, she can only cultivate the first three layers. And not everyone in her family can cultivate it. They need to pass my clan's test and be approved. And they are absolutely not allowed to pass it on to outsiders. Otherwise, their cultivation will be crippled, and the one who secretly learned it will have their entire clan annihilated. From then on, the Qiongqi Purgatory art will no longer be taught to that family. This is only out of respect for her ancestor that they are not killed.
"However, so far, as far as I know, in Min'er's family for hundreds of thousands of years, only three people have been qualified to learn the Qiongqi Purgatory art. So in the eyes of some outsiders, on the surface, it looks like I taught Min'er this art, but in fact, Min'er obtained it herself. Even Eldest Senior Brother and the others are unaware of this. Min'er and her family must be able to cultivate the first layer of the Qiongqi Purgatory. If they fail to succeed in seven days, they lose the qualification to cultivate it.
"The first three sentences of the first layer's incantation are a natural chasm. If one cannot cultivate these three sentences, they are not suitable for this art. And those who fail will, in the fainting spell that comes with failure, forget these three sentences, as if they had never seen them."
Li Yan was moved. This Tianli Clan called themselves the Shaman Clan, and even their body refining method was domineering and exuded a strangeness. They compared themselves to Qiongqi, one of the four ancient peerless vicious beasts, and after failing in cultivation, that part of their memory would be wiped clean.
"Which layer has Zhao Min cultivated to? If she wants to continue cultivating the subsequent parts of the Qiongqi Purgatory in the future, what price does she have to pay?" Li Yan suppressed the shock in his heart and thought of a sentence Gong Chenying had just said: "his descendants could directly inherit the first three layers of the 'Qiongqi Purgatory' body refining method." The words "directly inherit" in this sentence highlighted the conditions of its inheritance. In that case, the subsequent cultivation methods were not inherited unconditionally.
Hearing this, Gong Chenying nodded slightly. She had already recognized Li Yan's observation skills and cunning in the secret realm, so she was not surprised. "Min'er's 'Qiongqi Purgatory' has already reached the late stage of the second layer. I have been cultivating for several years longer than her, and I am only at the mid-stage of the third layer now. Min'er's aptitude and perseverance are truly rare. Although her ancestor did my clan a great service of life and death, due to the ancestral teachings, the Grand Sacrificer has already done his best by allowing her family to inherit the first three layers unconditionally for generations. But he was still questioned by some clan members. But these voices disappeared after the Grand Sacrificer said, 'If the Tianli Clan is gone, what inheritance... what crap are you inheriting'."
When Gong Chenying said this last sentence, her pretty face flushed red.
Li Yan was also stunned. He had never expected that a person comparable to a Spirit Transformation grand cultivator, a mysterious and powerful existence in his mind, who should be stern and unsmiling, would say such heartfelt words. He must be a heroic person. Such a person would most easily make close friends. At the same time, he also felt a trace of sadness. When a race was on the verge of life and death, everything could be given up. But when it came to times of peace and prosperity, all sorts of voices would come one after another, especially some stubborn conservatives. When their race was at its most critical moment, they were often a group of loyal death-sworn soldiers who would not turn back even if they died a thousand deaths. In times of prosperity, these people were the most rigid in their bones, unable to tolerate the slightest desecration of their ancestral teachings.
"In order not to let the Tianli Clan split, the Grand Sacrificer used other conditions in exchange for Min'er's family's subsequent cultivation. Of course, if the Grand Sacrificer had issued a decree with a firm hand to pass on the entire 'Qiongqi Purgatory' to Min'er's family, with the Grand Sacrificer's means and status, no one in the clan would dare to object. But that would have created a huge hidden danger. If one day the Grand Sacrificer was no longer around, what might be brought to Min'er's family would not be an inheritance, but a disaster. I also heard these from my father.
"After Min'er and her family have cultivated to the third layer, if they want to continue to obtain the qualification for subsequent cultivation, they need to complete one thing for my clan. I don't know what it is. For every one thing they complete, they can obtain the incantation for the next layer of the cultivation method. I heard that the first two people in Min'er's family who cultivated the 'Qiongqi Purgatory' both went to try, but neither of them completed it, and one of them died."
At this point, Gong Chenying's expression was somewhat bleak. One reason was that she thought of her father, and the other was that she was worried about Zhao Min. She was sure that when Zhao Min had cultivated the "Qiongqi Purgatory" to the late stage of the third layer, with her personality, she would definitely go to complete that whatever-it-was mission, but...
Hearing this, Li Yan nodded silently. He also guessed the general reason for Gong Chenying's desolate expression and said, "You don't have to worry too much about Zhao Min. With the Grand Sacrificer's means, the probability of completing those whatever-it-is missions is probably fifty-fifty. Otherwise, how could he have agreed?"
After hearing this, Gong Chenying thought for a moment and felt that what Li Yan said was really reasonable. She also thought so, but whenever she thought of Zhao Min's personality, she would lose her composure.
"Then why can you pass this art on to me?" Li Yan's subsequent words made Gong Chenying extremely embarrassed. She couldn't help but withdraw the jade-like hand she had placed on the stone table and frantically tucked her short hair behind her ear again.
"That... that... that, didn't... didn't I just mention the first non-clan member who could also cultivate it?" Gong Chenying said with her head bowed, her voice almost inaudible. Fortunately, Li Yan was also a cultivator and could barely hear her clearly.
"Ah, right. That Lu what's-his-name. He was some kind of prince, right? What about it? Did becoming this prince mean he could cultivate it? Are you saying that I can also become this whatever Qing whatever Wang? But from your description, there has only been this one person in millions of years. This condition must be very difficult, right?" Li Yan thought for a moment. Seeing Gong Chenying's strange appearance, although he had analyzed some of the problems, he still didn't know the answer.
Just then, he heard Gong Chenying's mosquito-like voice in his ear. "You are 'Qing A Wang'."
Hearing this, Li Yan was stunned, but his mind raced. "Are you saying that because of you, by marrying you, I become 'Qing A Wang'?"
"Mm." Gong Chenying was so shy that she had buried her head in her full chest, but was blocked by the high peaks and could not lower it any further.