Chapter 101: Embracing Elixir Strength |
In an instant, three figures descended like ghosts from the hilltop, charging straight toward the carriage!
Leading them was Sun Kui, who had already broken through to the early stage of embracing elixir strength. His right eye flickered with cruel red light, black qi surging around his body with menacing momentum.
Li Xiao and Hu Sifang followed closely behind, their ghost-head sabers bringing fierce evil winds as they sealed off the left and right escape routes.
Almost simultaneously with Sun Kui's violent roar, a more concealed killing intent burst forth from the grass beneath the carriage!
Qian Tong's figure appeared mysteriously, his five fingers forming claws as he grabbed toward the carriage's floorboards with vicious brutality, targeting exactly where Chen Qing was positioned!
"Hmph!"
Inside the carriage, Wu Tieshan, who had been resting with closed eyes, suddenly opened them with blazing light!
The vast and mighty aura of mid-stage embracing elixir strength instantly erupted. The temperature inside the carriage seemed to rise sharply as a scorching, powerful energy burst through his body. His Lihuo true qi gathered momentum!
He never expected anyone would dare ambush them on the official road!
Chen Qing's reaction was lightning-fast!
The moment Qian Tong's aura leaked out, his arm immediately bulged with veins like a spear as he shot out, piercing through the not-too-thick carriage floorboards with perfect precision!
The fist force contained the power of transforming strength at great achievement level, bursting forth with penetrating power far beyond the ordinary and a bone-chilling coldness!
"Poof!"
A muffled, short sound came from beneath the carriage.
Qian Tong, who had just burst up with a sinister smile not yet fully bloomed on his face, suddenly froze in mid-air!
He looked down at his chest in disbelief, already struck by the punch with his ribs caved in.
He didn't even have time to let out a scream before the coldness in his eyes was replaced by endless terror. His body went limp like something drained and collapsed softly, blood gushing forth.
The fifth of the Seven Sinister Tigers, Qian Tong, was dead!
"Fifth Brother!"
Sun Kui, charging down the slope, saw this with eyes splitting with rage as he roared wildly, his attack becoming three times more frenzied!
"Little beast! Give me your life!" Li Xiao and Hu Sifang were also filled with grief and fury.
No one expected Qian Tong to die on the spot the moment he appeared!
"Boom!"
A violent, powerful momentum like a volcanic eruption suddenly exploded from within the carriage!
The sturdy carriage roof was instantly blown away like paper!
Amid the flying wood chips, a towering figure rose up, it was Wu Tieshan!
He drew his long saber, the blade glowing red-hot like molten iron, carrying the high temperature that could melt gold and iron. He then swung it forward, the scorching air waves instantly enveloping Sun Kui!
"Boom!"
Claw force and saber energy collided violently, energy scattered everywhere, even blowing away patches of grass and trees beside the official road!
Although Sun Kui had broken through to embracing elixir strength, his foundation was unstable. How could he match Wu Tieshan, a veteran mid-stage embracing elixir strength expert?
His qi and blood churned, his arm ached intensely, and his body flew backward uncontrollably! His first reaction was, "Not good, we've been tricked!"
The intelligence was personally investigated by his brothers, absolutely without error. There was only one possibility, this was a trap Chen Qing had deliberately set to lure the snake from its hole!
"What ruthless methods!" Sun Kui said through gritted teeth.
Wu Tieshan felt alarmed and had already shot out simultaneously!
Almost the moment he moved, Chen Qing's eyes flashed with cold light as he darted out like an arrow released from its string!
Facing Li Xiao and Hu Sifang attacking from left and right, his eyes were ice-cold. His waist twisted, power flowing through his arms!
The Cold Flood Dragon Spear in his hands carried the force of collapsing mountains and overturning seas as it swept out horizontally!
Mountain Suppressing Prison Spear! Immovable Prison Suppression!
The spear shadow was like collapsing mountain ranges, crashing down with overwhelming force, instantly enveloping both men completely!
"Clang! Puff!"
Hu Sifang's ghost-head saber blocked, and instantly an irresistible tremendous force transmitted through the blade. His face immediately turned pale with disbelief.
His entire body along with the saber was swept away. While still in the air, he spat blood, his ribs broken in unknown numbers.
Li Xiao's eyes flashed with fierce light. His water-parting spikes transformed into two cunning cold gleams, not meeting the attack head-on but following the gaps in the spear's momentum, attempting to point at Chen Qing's wrist joints holding the spear to break his power!
This thrust concentrated all his sinister and cunning force!
However, Chen Qing's eyes were cold as iron. His wrist muscles twisted, the spear shaft hummed!
The trajectory of the incoming cold gleam seemed to have been anticipated by him long ago.
The spear tip didn't sweep horizontally to block, but at the critical moment, like a venomous snake's tongue, it pecked with precision!
"Crack!"
The concentrated penetrating power at the spear tip struck solidly at the most vulnerable part of Li Xiao's right wrist bone!
The tremendous impact instantly shattered the wrist bone structure. Intense pain shot through Li Xiao's entire body like electric current, half his arm immediately going numb and losing control!
He could no longer grip the water-parting spikes, which flew from his hands with Li Xiao's desperate gasping sound!
Chen Qing unified waist and stance, his spine shaking like a great dragon. Power rose from his heel, passed through waist and hip, over shoulders and back, instantly transmitting to his arms!
The spear tip that had broken Li Xiao's wrist showed no hesitation. Borrowing this shaking spiral force, like a poisonous fang shot from a powerful crossbow, it tore through the air with a "whoosh," transforming into a cold line barely visible to the naked eye, directly piercing Li Xiao's vital throat!
The speed, force, and timing were perfect to the extreme!
"Puff!"
The sound of sharp weapon penetrating flesh and soft bone rang out.
The specially crafted ridged spear tip of the Cold Flood Dragon Spear penetrated Li Xiao's Adam's apple without obstruction!
The cold spear point even pierced through his cervical vertebrae!
The deadly force exploded violently the moment it penetrated!
"Gurgle..."
Li Xiao's eyes widened as blood foam gushed from his mouth, then he fell to the ground with a thud.
The fourth of the Seven Sinister Tigers, Li Xiao, was dead!
"Fourth Brother!"
Not far away, Hu Sifang, who had just struggled up from the ground in embarrassment, witnessed this terrifying scene that occurred in the blink of an eye.
Li Xiao's miserable state of being pierced through the throat with one spear strike hit his heart like a heavy hammer!
Terror, despair, and disbelief instantly occupied his mind, followed by a heart-rending wail. His hair stood on end, his courage completely shattered!
Chen Qing didn't even glance at Li Xiao who was falling.
His left foot suddenly stomped the ground. The hard surface made a muffled explosive sound, grass and dirt flying!
His entire body, borrowing this powerful reaction force, shot forward like an arrow from its string, tearing through the air with suffocating wind force, instantly catching up to the terrified Hu Sifang!
Hu Sifang was still in shock when the shadow of death already loomed over him!
He instinctively wanted to retreat, to block, to counterattack, but extreme fear made his muscles rigid, his movements more than a beat too slow!
Chen Qing showed no expression, his arm muscles swelling like iron. His waist and hips sank, power penetrating the spear shaft!
The Cold Flood Dragon Spear in his hands transformed into soul-stealing white lightning, without any fancy moves, thrusting toward Hu Sifang.
Fast!
Too fast!
The sharp whistle of the spear tip tearing through air!
Hu Sifang wanted to raise his hand to stop it, but it was too late.
"Puff!"
The Cold Flood Dragon Spear precisely penetrated Hu Sifang's heart, emerging an inch from his back!
Hu Sifang's entire body shuddered violently, that half-raised arm completely freezing.
He looked down in disbelief at the spear point that had pierced through his chest.
Chen Qing flicked his wrist, the spear shaft trembled slightly as he coldly withdrew it.
Hu Sifang's body, losing support, went limp and collapsed, a shocking bloody hole in his heart.
On the ground, only two corpses gradually losing warmth remained.
In the time it takes a rabbit to leap and a falcon to strike, three fierce bandits at transforming strength great achievement level had been killed by Chen Qing like cutting melons and vegetables, one spear per person, all dead!
The entire process flowed like clouds and water, ruthless and decisive to the extreme!
"Die for me!"
Sun Kui, being firmly suppressed by Wu Tieshan, seeing his brothers die one after another, went completely mad and charged toward Chen Qing.
"Seeking death!"
Wu Tieshan roared like thunder, his long saber striking from behind, slashing toward Sun Kui's back.
"Bang!"
The saber light was sharp and dominating, directly splitting Sun Kui in two, turning him into blood mist.
On the official road, deadly silence.
Only the neighing of the frightened carriage horses remained.
Wu Tieshan slowly withdrew his palm, the red-hot true qi gradually calming.
He looked at Chen Qing, a trace of surprise appearing in his eyes.
The lightning-fast battle just now, he had seen clearly!
Chen Qing's reaction speed and grasp of timing were simply terrifying!
That clean, ruthless, and precise spearwork, instantly killing three transforming strength great achievement bandits, was frightfully calm!
Where was this an ordinary Qingmu Courtyard transforming strength disciple?
"Excellent skills! Ruthless spearwork!"
Wu Tieshan couldn't help asking, "These people came for you? Looking at their methods, they seem like remnants of the Limitless Demon Sect?"
Chen Qing wiped the blood from the Cold Flood Dragon Spear clean on Sun Kui's corpse, sheathed the spear and stood, cupping his fists to Wu Tieshan, "These people are remnants of the Seven Sinister Tigers. The leader was the second, Sun Kui. The other three were the fourth Li Xiao, fifth Qian Tong, and sixth Hu Sifang. Several months ago at the North Marsh Fishing Ground, they allied with their leader Tu Gang to ambush me and Executive Ye from Kunti Courtyard and others. I found an opportunity to kill the third and seventh. This time they should have come for revenge."
Wu Tieshan looked deeply at Chen Qing and sighed, "I see! Young friend, to survive under the demon's hands and counter-kill his wings is truly not easy. Today you've killed three more. This courage and methods are truly formidable, truly formidable among the younger generation."
He had seen clearly just now that Chen Qing's terrifying explosive force seemed like a terrifying beast dormant within his body.
What shocked him even more was that Chen Qing's breathing remained stable throughout, clearly not using his full power!
Wu Tieshan had no doubt that even if he hadn't been present today, with the strength Chen Qing displayed and that terrible calmness, he would absolutely have had fighting power, and even the victory might have been uncertain!
Thinking of this, Wu Tieshan's heart stirred.
This young man before him had astonishing potential.
The sense of distance he originally felt instantly dissipated, replaced by a strong desire to befriend him.
Chen Qing slightly bowed, his tone modest, "Senior flatters me. It was just luck. If senior hadn't appeared in time to deter Sun Kui, this junior would hardly have had the opportunity."
Wu Tieshan waved his hand, saying no more, but in his heart he thought even more highly of Chen Qing's composed and unassuming character.
The two men, with tacit understanding, quickly searched the still-warm corpses for a moment.
The Seven Sinister Tigers didn't carry much silver, only a few crumpled banknotes in total.
"Limitless Demon Manual"!
Three twisted and fierce ancient characters on the cover emanated an evil aura.
This was the core technique of the Limitless Demon Sect!
However, it was only a fragment, containing only the first level.
Chen Qing calmly put away the manual. Exchanging glances with Wu Tieshan, they both understood that the other had gained something, but neither intended to inquire deeply into what the other had obtained.
The two men tacitly stopped lingering, quickly cleaned up the obvious traces, then climbed onto the carriage with its damaged roof.
The carriage no longer delayed, accelerating along the official road.
There were no more incidents along the way, and they smoothly reached the Five Terraces Sect mountain gate.
"Young friend, farewell here!"
Wu Tieshan stopped the carriage at the fork leading to Lihuo Courtyard, cupping his fists solemnly to Chen Qing. His tone carried more respect than when they came, "If you have leisure in the future, you may seek me out in the prefectural city anytime."
"Senior Wu's invitation is my great honor. I will certainly visit."
Chen Qing also cupped his fists in return.
The two parted ways. Chen Qing, carrying the cloth-wrapped Cold Flood Dragon Spear, quickly returned to his small courtyard in Qingmu Courtyard.
Closing the heavy courtyard gate, shutting out the outside world.
Chen Qing went straight to his quiet room and sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion.
He first set aside the several hundred taels in banknotes he had found, then carefully took out the fragment of the "Limitless Demon Manual."
Under the dim oil lamp, he carefully read through this evil first-level heart method.
The twisted characters and strange circulation route diagrams on the pages revealed the core evil essence of the Limitless Demon Sect's technique for devouring others' power.
The more Chen Qing read, the deeper his frown became.
This technique was far more evil and dangerous than he had imagined!
Originally, the "devouring" of this technique was not merely forcibly plundering the true qi others had painstakingly cultivated. It also required combining secret methods to absorb the target's vital blood essence!
Vital blood essence was the concentrated essence of a person's life source and primordial energy.
According to this evil manual, vital blood essence functioned like an extremely domineering "adhesive" and "catalyst."
It could forcibly combine the plundered, differently attributed and mutually repelling foreign true qi with one's own source true qi in a short time.
However, this forced fusion was not perfect.
The more true qi absorbed, the more one's mind would be affected.
Over time, one's nature would also change. Not only that, because of absorbing different true qi, without secret arts and precious medicines to solidify the foundation, the true qi would become mixed and impure.
In other words, cultivation would seem to advance rapidly, but the foundation would actually be unstable.
Far inferior to those of the same realm who progressed steadily through hard cultivation.
"Indeed, this demonic technique has considerable drawbacks, but the ingenious idea of true qi fusion can certainly be borrowed from. It requires careful study."
Chen Qing put away the first level of the "Limitless Demon Manual," planning to study it more carefully in the future.
He was only one step away from embracing elixir strength. What was most urgent now was naturally to break through to embracing elixir strength and cultivate Qingmu true qi.
He took out a Qi Nourishing Pill and swallowed it. The medicine transformed into warm currents flowing into his limbs and bones.
Then he held his breath and concentrated, abandoning all distracting thoughts, fully circulating the first level heart method of the "Qingmu Longevity Formula."
Time quietly passed, dawn and dusk alternating several times outside the window.
[Qingmu Longevity Formula: First Layer (999/1000)]
His condition had reached perfection!
Chen Qing's mind sank into his dantian, once again activating the heart method, pushing against the final barrier.
His breathing became unusually stable and long, each inhalation and exhalation seeming to synchronize with heaven and earth.
The powerful qi and blood force permeating his body no longer merely surged turbulently, but as if drawn by invisible guidance, began to regularly gather and flow toward the dantian core.
The force densely distributed throughout his body now also flowed like hundreds of rivers returning to the sea, all converging into that point of vigorous martial Dao flame.
"Condense!"
Chen Qing's will struck down like a hammer!
In his dantian, that originally brilliant flame suddenly burst forth with unprecedented intense light!
It no longer merely burned, but began violent spiral collapse!
The surging qi and blood torrents and pure force, like being swallowed by a black hole, frantically poured into the flame's core!
Each impact, each compression, made the flame's light more restrained, its form more solid, transforming from an ethereal fire shadow toward substance!
The space around the flame seemed unable to withstand this power, violently twisting and undulating, producing an irresistible suction that not only locked Chen Qing's essence, energy, and spirit, but even faintly affected the air currents in the quiet room!
Hum!
A resonance from the depths of his soul shook in Chen Qing's consciousness!
The flame in his dantian, compressed to the extreme with light condensed like substance, suddenly collapsed inward upon reaching a critical point!
Like a stellar collapse, a singularity was born!
A point of ultimate purity containing infinite vitality suddenly erupted in green light!
This radiance didn't spread outward but converged and settled inward!
The next moment, like a spring that had been silent for ten thousand years finally gushing forth sweet nectar, a strand of gentle yet resilient green airflow filled with vigorous life force flowed out from that collapsed core!
This strand of airflow was Qingmu true qi!
It instantly penetrated his limbs and bones, flowing through every meridian, nourishing every inch of muscle, bone, and flesh!
Wherever it passed, the subtle fatigue accumulated from days of cultivation was swept away!
His muscles, bones, and flesh emitted subtle yet joyful humming, becoming more resilient and transparent, filled with unprecedented surging power and vigorous life force.
Embracing elixir strength! True qi self-generated!
Chen Qing slowly opened his eyes. He clearly felt the presence of that strand of Qingmu true qi within his body. It was like a newborn stream, though weak, it contained infinite potential for growth.
His body felt as if it had shed invisible burdens, light and transparent, refreshed and clear, his thinking also unprecedentedly sharp and keen.
After nearly fourteen months, expending countless effort and resources, he had finally broken through this crucial step.