Chapter 164: Advancement

In the presidential suite 666 of Datang Hotel,

Jiang Xincheng sat cross-legged. Dozens of jin of mint leaves were placed around him. Devouring the Cosmos was operating as he swallowed large amounts of the pure Primordial Force within the mint leaves, turning it into Devouring Origin Force, drawing it into his body, and sending it into his Dantian, becoming a part of Jiang Xincheng’s strength.

At this moment, after days of diligent training, Jiang Xincheng’s Primordial Force had finally reached the peak of the middle stage of the Bone Tempering Late Stage. The next step was to break through the bottleneck of the Bone Tempering Late Stage and step into the late stage.

The Primordial Force gathered, surging and turbulent, accumulating power, waiting for the moment to break through the bottleneck.

His Spiritual Sense at the General Realm operated at full capacity, controlling the vast Primordial Force as if it were his own arm, preparing to accumulate enough Primordial Force before starting to break through.

Jiang Xincheng was not worried about this breakthrough. The pure and abundant Primordial Force, the extremely solid foundation, and the Spiritual Sense at the General Realm all ensured that this breakthrough would not be too difficult.

During this period of cultivation, Jiang Xincheng did not use many Spiritual Elixirs. He mainly used mint leaves for cultivation, so the Primordial Force in his body was extremely stable and solid, his foundation was very firm, and his Primordial Force had been refined to be smooth and pure, making it easy to use.

At a certain moment, feeling that he had accumulated enough Primordial Force in his body, Jiang Xincheng smiled slightly and controlled the vast Primordial Force, heavily striking a specific point on the bottleneck.

“Boom…”

…

Again and again, over and over, calmly and patiently, he struck at the bottleneck of the Bone Tempering Late Stage.

The bottleneck gradually loosened, then cracks appeared, and it began to collapse. In just over an hour, the bottleneck of the Bone Tempering Late Stage shattered completely. The surging Primordial Force entered a broader space, bringing about greater pressure and refining force.

Under the influence of this pressure and refining force, the Primordial Force in Jiang Xincheng’s body became even more abundant and pure. The Primordial Force mist expanded by a few more fractions, and then this Primordial Force spread throughout Jiang Xincheng’s entire body and bones, further refining his whole being.

As time passed, a faint golden light gradually appeared on Jiang Xincheng’s bones. Under the refinement of the pure Primordial Force, the golden light grew brighter and more intense. Jiang Xincheng’s bones and body were refined even more powerfully, growing stronger and stronger.

Golden light shimmered, ten thousand jin of strength!

This was the hallmark of the Bone Tempering Late Stage. It meant that after stepping into the Bone Tempering Late Stage, a Practitioner would have at least ten thousand jin of strength, and with both hands together, twenty thousand jin. In the eyes of ordinary people, this was strength akin to that of a Divine Demon.

As for Jiang Xincheng, even in the middle stage of the Bone Tempering Late Stage, he already had ten thousand jin of strength in each hand. Now that he had stepped into the late stage, his strength doubled. Each hand had twenty thousand jin of strength, and both hands together had forty thousand jin. Such terrifying strength showed how powerful Jiang Xincheng’s body was and how solid his foundation was.

In the following days, Jiang Xincheng not only fully stabilized his strength at the Bone Tempering Late Stage but also improved further, increasing his Primordial Force by a few more fractions, bringing him closer to the Great Yuan Warrior realm.

Once he could step into the Cloud Condensation Realm, with Primordial Force released externally, becoming a Great Yuan Warrior, Jiang Xincheng’s strength would enter a brand-new chapter, at least several times greater than it was now, and he would initially possess the strength to dominate an area.

After stabilizing his realm, Jiang Xincheng took a flight to Xiangcheng to find the exceptionally talented business king, the Reincarnation of Zhuge Liang, Ma Qingshan.

Xiangcheng was located in the south, and it was currently the rainy season. The weather was not hot; instead, because of the rain, entering Xiangcheng felt somewhat chilly, which made Jiang Xincheng, who had long lived in the north and found it somewhat stifling, feel particularly comfortable.

The air carried a cool dampness, and a light rain fell continuously. Jiang Xincheng did not immediately go to find Ma Qingshan. Since he had come to Xiangcheng, he would go sooner or later, but before that, he wanted to taste the local delicacies of Xiangcheng.

The first delicacy Jiang Xincheng tasted was naturally the top-ranked pan-fried buns of Xiangcheng.

Pan-fried buns had been passed down in the Wu region for over a hundred years. They were a folk food with golden-brown bottoms, crispy and fragrant, white and soft bun bodies, and a burst of flavorful broth with every bite. One bite made you want more. For the people of Xiangcheng, pan-fried buns were a culinary delight.

Among Xiangcheng’s pan-fried buns, the most famous and flavorful were the “Mute” pan-fried buns. They were called this because the owner was an honest and kind deaf-mute elderly man. Because his pan-fried buns were so delicious, customers gradually forgot his name and simply called them Mute pan-fried buns.

Eating them, they were crispy and fragrant, leaving an endless aftertaste. Jiang Xincheng alone devoured several dozen Mute pan-fried buns, showing how delicious this delicacy was.

The second delicacy was squirrel-shaped mandarin fish.

Squirrel-shaped mandarin fish was made from mandarin fish. The fish was killed fresh, its backbone removed, and diamond-shaped patterns were carved into the flesh, deep enough to reach the skin. It was then coated with dry starch and fried twice in hot lard until golden brown. The meat grains opened up like fur, with the head raised, mouth open, and tail slightly upturned, resembling a squirrel. When the hot sauce was poured over the fish, it made a sizzling sound, like a squirrel chirping. With its complete color, aroma, taste, and shape, it was considered the star dish of Xiangcheng.

The mandarin fish had few bones and sparse spines, and the flesh was extremely tender. Jiang Xincheng took several large bites without encountering any fish bones. It melted in the mouth, with an extremely fresh and delicious taste. The seasonings were rich, enhancing the flavor of the fish.

The third dish was the very famous watermelon chicken, a renowned dish one must try when visiting Xiangcheng in the summer.

Watermelon chicken had a clear broth with the fragrance of watermelon, and the chicken was fresh and tender. Its appearance was also beautiful, making it appealing to the eye.

After that, there were other popular delicacies such as stir-fried shrimp with Biluo tea, stir-fried three shrimps, hairy crab, honey-glazed dried tofu, pine nut candy, jujube paste sesame cakes, and lard rice cakes, all of which were worth trying.

Perhaps because there were too many delicacies in Xiangcheng, Jiang Xincheng, being a food lover, ate so much on the first day that he felt uncomfortably full. He had to focus on cultivation to ease the discomfort, which actually helped him improve his strength a little further. It was hard to say whether it was a blessing or a curse.

For three consecutive days, Jiang Xincheng indulged in the delicious food of Xiangcheng while considering how to persuade Ma Qingshan, the Reincarnation of Zhuge Liang, to come out of seclusion and help him. He was taking care of business while satisfying his own cravings.

On the fourth day, having made up his mind, Jiang Xincheng stopped wandering around Xiangcheng. He changed into formal clothes and went to find Ma Qingshan.

In Ma Qingshan’s autobiography from his previous life, there were detailed accounts of his deeds. Having read widely, Jiang Xincheng naturally knew where Ma Qingshan lived at this time. Although he had forgotten the exact address, he remembered the general street. Once he reached that street, he would naturally find Ma Qingshan and persuade this future business magnate who would later shake the world.