Chapter 73: Consuming the Nirvana Pill
Chapter 73: Consuming the Nirvana Pill
“Cough!”
Tang Jinbiao let out a soft sigh. He then adjusted his state of mind and, looking somewhat solemn, picked up the jade slip.
This was the jade slip promised to Tang Jinbiao by the Azure Dragon. It contained a record of a world-shaking devil’s art. Although the veracity of the Azure Dragon’s words was unknown, if the legendary figure who cultivated it to its extreme truly managed to withstand eighty-one heavenly tribulations and ascend to the Divine Realm, its power must indeed be extraordinary.
Tang Jinbiao hadn’t examined it immediately back then, primarily out of caution for his safety. Given the circumstances at the time, anyone with a shred of sense wouldn’t have chosen to study it. Now that the Azure Dragon had been taken away to that broken world by Huang Biaozi, Tang Jinbiao, preparing to commence his training, naturally intended to study it.
As for the Ape Art transmitted to him by Huang Biaozi, despite being a middle-grade Profound-tier technique that Tang Jinbiao had diligently practiced for a period, he always felt his arsenal was too limited. The Ape Art primarily emphasized close-quarters combat, utilizing hidden force during fights to injure opponents unexpectedly. Of course, Body Refiners naturally specialized in close-quarter fighting; it was indeed thrilling. However, Tang Jinbiao constantly felt his methods were too singular. What if an opponent avoided direct confrontation? Wouldn’t that leave him passively waiting for death?
Therefore, after Huang Biaozi left, although Tang Jinbiao hadn’t resumed training, he often pondered these problems.
“Hmm, no. I must learn more Body Refining techniques. I don’t trust Huang Biaozi. He calls himself the founder of the Way of Deception, surely no good person. Relying only on the Ape Art is definitely not enough. I must study this devil’s art!”
After a moment’s contemplation, Tang Jinbiao made his decision. Hesitating no longer, he slowly placed the jade slip against his forehead. Concentrating his mental energy, he began to carefully read its contents.
…
Whew!
Unknowingly, Tang Jinbio’s study lasted until deep into the night. He exhaled a turbid breath, slowly placed down the jade slip, and looked at it with an expression of shock, momentarily speechless.
Nevertheless, he had learned that the jade slip truly contained a record of an earth-shattering Body Refining technique – a Heaven-tier peak-grade method named the Peerless Devil Art!
The reason this Peerless Devil Art was called a devil’s art wasn’t due to any inherent evil within it, but because its training method was excessively cruel, and because the sheer power achieved upon mastery was terrifyingly overwhelming, powerful to an almost brutal extent; hence the designation “devil’s art” .
Of course, this cruelty did not refer to wicked deeds like plundering lives. It referred to self-inflicted cruelty!
The reason it’s termed cruel lies primarily in the tempering process. To push the body to its limits, it required undergoing training regimes of relentless self-destruction. For example, suppose a person’s limit was rapid sprinting over five hundred meters. Pushing beyond that would lead to oxygen deprivation in the brain and muscles. Prolonged exposure could cause irreversible damage, potentially even turning them into an idiot. Yet, the Peerless Devil Art demanded precisely this – breaking through limits by forcing oneself to commit such madness. Fine, your limit is five hundred meters? Then I demand you run a thousand! No, a thousand isn’t enough; run two thousand! The goal is precisely to push your body to the absolute brink, precisely to break it. To gain something, you must pay the equivalent price. If you desire immense power, then you must pay an equally immense price!
This was the very credo of the Peerless Devil Art. Nothing in this world comes without cost or effort. Forget notions of fairness or unfairness; what matters is possessing a heart that pursues the extreme. If you wish to attain the extreme, you must first break through your limits!
What is a limit?
Limits are the bonds that constrain your inner self. To shatter these bonds depends solely on whether the price you are willing to pay is sufficient!
Cultivating immortality can lead to the great Dao!
For those who refine the body, it too can lead to the great Dao! The extreme of martial prowess can shatter heaven and earth; comprehend life and death; command Samsara itself!
Of course, the Peerless Devil Art didn’t advocate blind, mindless struggle. It equally emphasized technique, strategy, and method!
Just as a person can only sprint five hundred meters rapidly, if I wish to sprint a thousand, I certainly can’t just rely on sheer impulse to run, can I? Only fools and idiots would do that!
Our target is a thousand meters, yet we aren’t supposed to run? Then what do we do?
Run. We absolutely must run. But here’s where strategy matters. Since I cannot manage it in one go, why not run five hundred today, five hundred and one meters tomorrow, and five hundred and two meters the day after?
This method might sound logical, but delving deeper reveals its fundamental fallacy. Because the concept of a limit exists. What is a limit?
A limit is the shackle that confines an individual, that restricts an entire species!
Take jumping: some can jump two meters, others three, maybe even four. Stretching it, perhaps someone manages five. But six? Seven? Eight? Or even ten? Twenty?
If someone told you a person could jump twenty meters, wouldn’t you scoff dismissively, disdainfully calling them a fool?
Exactly. Who could jump twenty meters? That’s simply beyond human capabilities!
Right. Precisely. That twenty meters represents the human limit, an insurmountable barrier!
Yet, the Peerless Devil Art’s very essence revolves around breaking such limits! Its pursuit is the shattering of limits!
If you wish to break through your limits, you must first understand limits—understand where your limits lie—and then attempt a breakthrough. As for whether you can succeed, that isn’t the main point; the crucial thing is whether you possess the heart to break through, whether you strive and dedicate yourself for it!
In fact, putting it simply, the Peerless Devil Art is just about understanding your own limits and then attempting to break through them. It’s that basic!
“Cough, I thought I’d gotten some Heaven-rank Cultivation Technique, how awesome it must be. Turns out it’s pretty much the same as that rubbish Huang Biaozi spouted! Thank goodness it records actual body refining methods, otherwise it’d be complete garbage!”
After slowly digesting the content of the Peerless Devil Art, Tang Jinbiao’s shock was tinged with disappointment. Thankfully, the Peerless Devil Art wasn’t entirely worthless; while explaining its principles, it still contained body refining methods.
The very beginning of the Peerless Devil Art elaborated on its core philosophy, which Tang Jinbiao found rather unconvincing. However, he paid very close attention to the body refining methods that followed.
“Hmm, this opening section is just a bunch of nonsense, not very interesting. What I care about is what comes later. What a pity though, the entry requirements for this Peerless Devil Art are too high—you need to be at least a Third-tier Body Refiner to cultivate it. It’s not something I can cultivate right now. Looks like I still have to keep practicing that Ape Art!”
Tang Jinbiao reluctantly put away the Jade Slip containing the Peerless Devil Art, feeling rather helpless.
“Cough, others who travel through worlds get to be protagonists! Me? It’s been almost a year and my protagonist halo hasn’t even started to glow!”
Tang Jinbiao sighed, seemingly recalling the various tragic stories he had experienced over the last year.
If Huang Biaozi heard him say that, one couldn’t tell if Huang Biaozi wouldn’t shout, “Where’s my Watermelon Cleaver?”
“Oh, right! If I don’t eat that Nirvana Elixir now, will it expire after a long time?”
Suddenly, an idea flashed in Tang Jinbiao’s mind. He immediately remembered the Nirvana Elixir and again took out the Jade Vial from his Storage Pouch.
Pop!
Tang Jinbiao gently pulled out the stopper. He poured the Nirvana Elixir onto his palm, looked at it with a strange expression on his face, and momentarily didn’t know what to do.
“Can this thing actually expire?”
The longer he stared at the thumb-sized Elixir before his eyes, the stronger Tang Jinbiao felt that this expiration thing was a distinct possibility. The vial the Elixir was in seemed just an ordinary bottle, without any Spiritual Energy Seal or anything like it. If this kept up, over time, the medicinal efficacy might genuinely deplete.
The more he thought in this direction, the more convinced Tang Jinbiao became that it was likely.
“Dammit, no good. If this keeps up and the thing really expires, wouldn’t I be wasting this precious thing for nothing?”
Tang Jinbiao hardened his heart, picked up the Nirvana Elixir immediately, and moved to swallow it. But when it reached his lips, he suddenly stopped.
“Not right. If this thing really could expire, that little sister shouldn’t have given it to me so casually!”
Tang Jinbiao pondered for a moment and it seemed to make sense. Consequently, he didn’t hastily swallow it and put it back into the Jade Vial before stowing it away.
The “little sister” he referred to was naturally his Auntie Wang Hanyu. Who knows, if Wang Hanyu heard him call her that, whether it would lead to another session of ‘disciplining the kid’?
“No, that little sister is quite devious. Who knows what kind of prank she’s playing? I can’t pin my hopes on her. Damn it, I should’ve asked that uncle about it today; he’d definitely know. But it’s not really convenient now.”
However, just after Tang Jinbiao put away the Jade Vial, he felt it was unwise again and took it out once more. The “uncle” he mentioned was none other than his father, Tang Zhantian!
Pop!
Tang Jinbiao poured out the Nirvana Elixir once more, holding it in his palm with a hesitant expression.
“Damn it, I’ll just eat it. It’s just an Elixir. What’s the big deal?”
Hesitating for a while, Tang Jinbiao steeled his heart. He slapped the Elixir into his mouth, and in his haste, swallowed it straight down without even chewing.
Gulp!
Tang Jinbiao’s throat bobbed once, and the Nirvana Elixir was recklessly swallowed, very much like Zhu Bajie eating a ginseng fruit—totally unaware of its taste!
“That’s it? I swallowed it before I could tell it was sweet, salty, bitter, or spicy at all!”
Disappointment crept onto Tang Jinbiao’s face upon realizing the Nirvana Elixir had been swallowed. He seemed a little regretful he hadn’t chewed it at least once, so he could have known its flavor. After all, he’d swallowed it without discerning its sweet, sour, bitter, or spicy qualities.
Tang Jinbiao sat listlessly on his bed, silently waiting for the reaction as the Elixir dissolved inside him. Yet, the Elixir didn’t seem to have any wondrous effect. Even after a small part of an hour had passed since he swallowed it, there was still absolutely no response.
“Could I have swallowed a fake Elixir?”
Discovering no reaction after what seemed an eternity, an odd look appeared on Tang Jinbiao’s face.
“That’s not right. Even if I took a fake Elixir, shouldn’t it at least kill me? What kind of explanation is it that I have no reaction whatsoever?”
Tang Jinbiao immediately dismissed the idea of it being a fake Elixir, looking thoroughly baffled.
Gurgle! Gurgle!
Just then, Tang Jinbiao suddenly felt a violent churning in his stomach; he felt rather uncomfortable.
“This is? Ah! Not good, it’s coming!”
Hearing the sounds emanating from his gut, Tang Jinbiao stiffened slightly. Then he abruptly felt a tightness behind him—an eruption was imminent. He leaped off the bed with a bang, flung the door open, and charged out…