Chapter 272: Demigod

Being at the eighth level of Foundation Establishment would make him a top elite disciple in any sect. What's more, he was only eighteen? The last person to be this astonishing was Xia Chaoge of the Taishang Sect! What was the deal with this young man in front of her? She had just fallen off a cliff; how did she end up encountering such a heaven-defying prodigy? Her perception of Jiang Fan instantly underwent a drastic change!

Not only was his medical skill excellent, he was also, surprisingly, a world-renowned prodigy! Where did he come from? It made no sense that there was such an astonishing prodigy she didn't know about!

As her thoughts raced, Jiang Fan had already unleashed a technique.

"Purple Qi from the East!"

A dazzling purple beam instantly shot forth. Carrying powerful explosive force, it abruptly struck the stone door. With a loud boom! A fist-sized hole was blasted through the stone door. Furthermore, unable to withstand the residual force, it was completely blasted down, stirring up dust throughout the room.

Yue Mingzhu was stunned again: "An Earth-tier finger technique?" Her arms, which had been crossed over her chest, had unknowingly dropped, and she covered her crimson lips, her eyes wide with astonishment.

Earth-tier cultivation methods were not unheard of in the Nine Sects Continent. Some sects possessed incomplete fragments of Earth-tier techniques. Some might even possess complete Earth-tier techniques. However, comprehending Earth-tier techniques absolutely required years of study. Without years, even a decade, of dedication, it would be almost impossible to cultivate them successfully. To master an Earth-tier technique at eighteen... Jiang Fan was surely the first person ever to do so! Not only did he possess superb medical skills and exceptional martial arts talent, but even his comprehension was extraordinary!

Yue Mingzhu was utterly stunned. When did such a heaven-defying prodigy appear in the Nine Sects Continent? She couldn't help but ask, "Is your name really Jiang Fan?" She suspected it was a false name. As a sect leader, how could she not have heard a single rumor about such an outstanding prodigy? Yet, she had never heard the name Jiang Fan. No, wait. It seemed there was a disciple named Jiang Fan in the Qingyun Sect. However, his reputation wasn't very good. He was the complete opposite of the Jiang Fan standing before her.

Jiang Fan didn't bother to respond. He waved away the dust in front of him, fixed his gaze on the secret chamber ahead, and said, "There are no traps. Moreover, this seems to be a cultivation chamber."

Jiang Fan walked in and found the chamber empty. There was only a straw meditation cushion on the floor that had weathered into dust. Yue Mingzhu suppressed her astonishment regarding Jiang Fan. She quickly walked over to inspect it, and finding nothing, she couldn't help but pout. She kicked the cushion into pieces, muttering, "What kind of Nascent Soul cultivator is this? Didn't even leave a damn thing!"

Jiang Fan also sighed. Just as he was about to turn and leave, he suddenly noticed the faint outline of a footprint on the wall, made visible by the adhering dust.

"Huh? There's a footprint here? No, wait, there's something in the footprint!"

Yue Mingzhu also spotted the anomaly and quickly moved closer for a look. Upon closer inspection, they indeed discovered that the texture of the footprint was actually formed by tiny, rice-grain-sized characters carved into it.

Yue Mingzhu's eyes grew sore, and her head began to spin slightly. "What are these characters? Not only are they incredibly small, but they're also very straining to look at." After staring for a long time, she couldn't recognize a single character.

Jiang Fan, however, his eyes gleaming, said, "These are characters carved with soul power! This Nascent Soul cultivator was practicing soul power and casually carved a cultivation technique."

Jiang Fan was intimately familiar with this. The wooden box his father left behind contained a copy of the "Taiyi Soul Arts." The characters in it were all carved using soul power and could only be viewed with soul power. Otherwise, they were impossible to discern.

"Really?" Yue Mingzhu rubbed her temples, then suddenly reacted: "How do you know that? If she couldn't even view them, how could Jiang Fan? Could he also be a soul master? That's impossible. Absolutely impossible! Not to mention the Nine Sects Continent, even the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion might not be able to find a prodigy like Jiang Fan, who possessed so many talents."

Jiang Fan ignored her. He stared intently at the cultivation technique. After reading it, he looked excited and said, "This is a leg technique! Its level is… Earth-tier, mid-grade!"

Yue Mingzhu's eyes snapped open, and her breathing hitched: "Are you sure?" An Earth-tier, mid-grade technique of this caliber would be a core secret, even for the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion. Only the Palace Master would be permitted to cultivate it!

Jiang Fan said gleefully, "Absolutely true! That Nascent Soul senior was merely practicing soul power, and what he left behind is such an astonishing technique! I can't even imagine how profound his strength must have been."

Yue Mingzhu immediately grew excited and asked, "Can you share this technique with me?" She felt a little ashamed. The technique was right before her, yet as a sect leader, she couldn't comprehend it and had to ask a junior for it. Truly, her identity as the Hehuan Sect Leader absolutely must not be exposed. She couldn't afford to lose face.

Jiang Fan, without hesitation, took out paper and a brush and wrote it down on the spot. If it weren't for her deciphering the runes on the stone door, he wouldn't have had a share of the treasures inside. Sharing a technique was nothing.

Yue Mingzhu excitedly took the paper. Just by reading the first few lines, she felt the immense profoundness of the leg technique and joyfully exclaimed, "No mistake, it is indeed an Earth-tier, mid-grade cultivation method!"

But, when she looked at the accompanying description, her smile froze.

"To cultivate this technique, one must first master movement techniques."

This leg technique focused on speed. Without a foundation in movement techniques, even the first layer would be incredibly difficult to master. Let alone the later stages? Yue Mingzhu gnashed her teeth, somewhat exasperated: "If I already mastered movement techniques, why would I bother with this useless leg technique?" She felt she had been tricked. The difficulty of mastering movement techniques was even higher than Earth-tier cultivation methods! This leg technique surprisingly required a foundation in movement techniques! It was simply putting the cart before the horse!

"Here, take it back!" Yue Mingzhu angrily tossed the technique back to Jiang Fan. "I advise you not to practice it either. The effort it takes to master movement techniques is enough for you to practice two Earth-tier techniques! It's a complete waste of time!"

Jiang Fan rubbed his nose. Movement techniques, he knew them! And he was arguably proficient, right?

Yue Mingzhu, looking utterly displeased, stomped out of the secret chamber. She arrived before another secret chamber. She angrily kicked the stone door. *Bang!* The stone door was instantly sent flying.

Jiang Fan's pupils constricted in surprise. Wait! What was going on with her? He had to use an Earth-tier finger technique and unleash all his spiritual energy just to blast open that stone door! Yue Mingzhu, on the other hand, barely used any spiritual energy and simply kicked the stone door open with one foot!

It was then that Yue Mingzhu realized. She seemed to have revealed her strength. Her eyes darted, and she turned her head, saying, "My apologies, I cultivate body tempering techniques."

"Body tempering techniques?" Jiang Fan looked thoughtful. Even for body tempering, that was astonishing. Even if he activated his Phoenix Blood Treasure Body, he might not be able to kick open that stone door. Yue Mingzhu appeared to be roughly his age, yet her body tempering technique was superior to his. It truly showed that there was always someone better out there. He nodded and said, "If there's a chance, we should exchange insights."

Yue Mingzhu nodded guiltily. But then she immediately looked puzzled: "Exchange insights? What insights?"