"Hey, hey!"
Ye Yuanyuan looked at the dazed Qin Ning and couldn't help but call out.
"Let's begin!"
Qin Ning finally spoke.
"Begin? Begin what?"
Ye Yuanyuan asked in confusion.
"Testing your spiritual body, of course!" Qin Ning said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Otherwise, why do you think I brought you here? Did you really think I wanted to test your loyalty?"
Ye Yuanyuan was taken aback, then stepped forward, one pace at a time, toward the center of the ancient platform.
Qin Ning looked at the Yunling Platform, his eyes filled with nostalgia.
Time flew by so quickly; everything was different now.
"Open!"
Qin Ning shouted, tapping his finger as a stream of spiritual qi shot straight out.
Boom...
Instantly, a beam of light burst forth from the center of the Yunling Platform.
The light enveloped Ye Yuanyuan's body, and in an instant, nine beams of light radiated around her.
Within the nine beams of light, nine figures began to dance gracefully, each one incredibly beautiful.
Ye Liang and the other two watched in a daze.
Against the backdrop of the nine beams of light, Ye Yuanyuan's figure appeared even more noble and beautiful, like a blooming green lotus, utterly captivating.
"As expected, it is the Nine-Turn Exquisite Physique."
Qin Ning waved his hand again, sending out streams of spiritual qi that carried an astonishing pressure.
However, as Qin Ning's spiritual qi continued to surge, another extremely powerful surge of spiritual qi erupted from the Yunling Platform once more.
"Ah..."
With a sharp cry, the violent streams of spiritual qi surrounding Ye Yuanyuan's body pierced directly into her, and the nine figures merged into her body.
"What? What happened?"
Ye Liang asked anxiously in a hurry.
"See for yourself!"
Qin Ning didn't bother to explain further, simply standing there and watching the changes in Ye Yuanyuan.
"It really is the Nine-Turn Exquisite Physique. To think that the Nine-Turn Exquisite Physique would appear here... she couldn't be a descendant of that kid, could she?"
Qin Ning muttered to himself, then found a flat spot on the stone platform and sat down.
"What are you doing?"
"Cultivating," Qin Ning said slowly. "This will probably take about four hours. What else am I supposed to do while waiting?"
Having said that, Qin Ning closed his eyes.
Ye Liang, Ye Feng, and Ye Shuang stared at each other, at a loss for what to do.
Qin Ning was currently inspecting his own body.
His four limbs, five viscera, six bowels, and the Yuzhen acupoint at the back of his head had all been cleared by spiritual qi. With his Mingmen gate condensed within the Fengshen Bead, his body had become much lighter.
Now, he could gather qi to levitate for short periods, and the spiritual qi within him flowed smoother and smoother.
The Death Gate realm was already considered that of an expert in the Beiming Empire.
However, compared to the Shock Gate realm, the Death Gate realm was still far inferior.
The Shock Gate realm cleared a martial artist's heart, mouth, nose, and ears, connecting them straight to the crown of the head.
Only when a martial artist's entire body was completely cleared would there be a true connection.
Not only could this enhance their strength, but most importantly, it allowed them to both release spiritual qi and condense it into protective qi.
No matter how much a martial artist's physical body was tempered by spiritual qi, their raw strength was still weaker than that of wild beasts.
If they could condense protective spiritual qi, it would be equivalent to wearing a suit of precious armor—impervious to blades and spears, immune to fire and water.
In fact, after reaching the Heaven Gate realm, opening the heaven gate between the brows, and drawing in spiritual qi to cleanse the body, having all nine gates of the realm fully cleared would increase a martial artist's lifespan and reaction speed, while their judgment would also be significantly improved.
However, opening the Heaven Gate was as difficult as ascending to heaven. In the Beiming Empire, which had a population of over a hundred million, those who could open the Heaven Gate were fewer than one in ten thousand.
At this moment, Qin Ning swept his spiritual qi through his entire body, striking his acupoints.
The spiritual qi continuously battered the acupoints of his mouth, nose, and ears, but there was always an obstacle blocking the flow of spiritual qi within his body.
"Still not working?"
Qin Ning frowned slightly, opened his eyes, and took out a medicinal pill.
The pill was pale yellow, emitting a subtle, delicate fragrance that carried an intoxicating scent.
“This is... a first-grade Jin Yuan Pill!” Ye Liang cried out when he saw the pill in Qin Ning's hand.
“The Jin Yuan Pill helps martial artists reach the Linghai realm and open their Linghai. What is this kid... planning to do?”
“He wouldn't just swallow it directly, would he?”
“The Jin Yuan Pill can indeed help martial artists in the Nine Gates realm clear the apertures in their bodies, but using a spiritual pill like this is a terrible waste of heaven's treasures!”
Ignoring their exclamations, Qin Ning opened his mouth and swallowed the spiritual medicine directly.
With a gulp, Ye Liang and the other two were left dumbfounded, their eyes wide with shock.
This guy actually dared to swallow it straight down!
A single first-grade spiritual pill was enough to make powerful experts of the Linghai realm fight over it like crazy, yet Qin Ning was using it merely... to raise his cultivation within the Nine Gates realm.
This was a spiritual pill! Such a waste of heaven's treasures deserved to be struck by lightning!
Qin Ning did not care about any of that right now.
To him, raising his cultivation realm was the most important thing at the moment.
Upon reaching the Shock Gate realm, the heart, mouth, nose, and ears would all be cleared, causing one's strength to soar, and allowing one to condense protective spiritual qi. He had just thought of a mortal technique that was highly suited for this Shock Gate realm.
The Jin Yuan Pill could indeed help experts of the Linghai realm open their spiritual seas and break through, but for him, the only consideration right now was to do everything possible to raise his own realm.
The Jin Yuan Pill dissolved into streams of spiritual qi of heaven and earth, carrying the medicinal properties to strengthen his limbs and bones.
At the same time, Qin Ning circulated the spiritual qi in his body, once again beginning to strike the acupoints of his ears, nose, mouth, and heart.
Click...
In the void, a clicking sound seemed to echo as his ears were cleared by the spiritual qi.
Click, click...
Then came his mouth, followed by his nose...
Click...
With the final click, Qin Ning slowly released streams of spiritual qi from the surface of his body.
The spiritual qi transformed into a protective shield, clinging to the surface of his body.
“This kid has broken through to the Shock Gate realm!”
Seeing this, Ye Liang and the other two felt a chill run down their spines, filled with immense shock.
Ten days ago, when they went to find Qin Ning, they had received news that this guy was only at the View Gate realm.
But now, he had advanced straight to the Shock Gate realm.
Wasn't this speed simply too heaven-defying?
Hum...
Right at this moment, a sudden humming sound rang out.
Ye Yuanyuan, who had been floating in the air, slowly descended to the ground. Her eyes opened, a flash of light flickering in her pupils before vanishing.
At this moment, as they looked at Ye Yuanyuan once again, the three of them, including Ye Liang, were completely dazed.
Beautiful!
Indescribably beautiful.
At this moment, Ye Yuanyuan slowly descended from mid-air, like the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady descending to the mortal realm, wearing a smile that could captivate anyone.
Ye Yuanyuan's temperament had clearly elevated.
"Not bad!"
Qin Ning said calmly, "The Nine-Turn Exquisite Physique—I did not misjudge. Follow me, and I guarantee your physique can be unleashed to its fullest potential in the future!"
Hearing this, Ye Yuanyuan did not understand at all.
Only then did Ye Yuanyuan snap back to her senses.