As the Hundred Ghosts Emperor uttered his final roar, his palm arrived before Qin Xuan.
But just as he was gathering his vital energy, preparing to crush Qin Xuan like a melon with his bare hands, two beams of light suddenly flashed into his eyes.
They were two silver needles!
Unlike the slender needles used in acupuncture, the silver needles Qin Xuan held were much thicker overall.
At their widest diameter, they were almost as thick as sewing needles!
With no time to react, the Hundred Ghosts Emperor saw Qin Xuan raise both hands, the two silver needles piercing directly into his eyes.
He had no choice but to halt his advance, forcibly twisting his trajectory at an angle that would make Newton weep and revive.
"This is bad, it's Hu Sanqiang's Acupoint Piercing Art!"
"Damn it, how does this brat have everything?!"
"Kewudi's Thunder Control Dao Arts, Zheng Wanqing's Five Elements Spirit Talismans, and now Hu Sanqiang's Acupoint Piercing Art!"
"The ultimate techniques of the three Divine-level Supremes, is there anything this kid doesn't know?!"
"You must know that these are all their trump cards!"
"Especially the Acupoint Piercing Art, Hu Sanqiang shouldn't have passed it on!"
The Hundred Ghosts Emperor naturally recognized all three Divine-level Supremes of the Dragon Country.
Among them, the Divine-level Supreme Kewudi was renowned throughout the land for his tricky and bizarre Dao arts.
While Zheng Wanqing, with her unpredictable techniques and endless supply of spirit talismans, was recognized as the strongest in the Dragon Country.
However, if it came down to a life-or-death struggle, neither Kewudi nor Zheng Wanqing could compare to Hu Sanqiang, who possessed the Acupoint Piercing Art.
The Acupoint Piercing Art, also known as the Ghost God Needle or Source Piercing Needle, was fundamentally a needling technique that stimulated human acupoints to unleash the body's potential.
However, the Hundred Ghosts Emperor was unaware of Qin Xuan's true strength, nor did he know how much stronger Qin Xuan could become when stimulated by the Acupoint Piercing Art.
Therefore, after stabilizing himself, the Hundred Ghosts Emperor immediately charged at Qin Xuan again.
He didn't care if Qin Xuan was young; anyone who could be associated with those three individuals, even a three-year-old child, he wouldn't dare to underestimate again.
But with just this sidestep and turn.
The two needles in Qin Xuan's hands had already pierced his Guanyuan and Tanzhong acupoints.
Instantly, Qin Xuan felt a surge of power flood into his meridians.
Humans possess innate vital energy, all gathered in the胞中 (bāo zhōng).
Although ordinary people cannot mobilize it, it truly exists and influences a person's entire life.
The 胞中 is the root of life.
It encompasses multiple areas, including the Dantian and the lower jiao.
The Guanyuan acupoint, also known as the Dantian, is where this innate vital energy is stored.
Qin Xuan's first needle, piercing Guanyuan, aimed to forcibly stimulate the innate vital energy accumulated within his body.
Although its quantity was not vast, its quality was far superior to acquired vital energy cultivated through practice.
Therefore, once activated by Hu Sanqiang, one would be almost invincible within the Divine Realm.
As for the second needle, piercing the Tanzhong acupoint, it was to stimulate the Middle Dantian among the three Dantians.
The Middle Dantian is where the Zong Qi gathers.
And Zong Qi is the part of vital energy converted from food consumed by humans.
However, the primary purpose of this piercing was not to stimulate Qi, but to unblock it.
To transport the innate vital energy stimulated from the Lower Dantian, through the Middle Dantian, upwards to the Upper Dantian.
Which was the third needle Qin Xuan was about to use, the Yintang acupoint!
The Yintang acupoint, also known as the Mud Pill Palace, is a place for "returning essence to nourish the brain and refining the spirit to retain gold."
It is recognized as one of the Qi sources in many cultivation methods.
The third needle, piercing the Mud Pill Palace, similar to the Middle Dantian, not only stimulated the vital energy of the Upper Dantian but also served to unblock Qi.
The Lower and Middle Dantians belong to the Ren Meridian, which is Yin. The Upper Dantian belongs to the Du Meridian, which is Yang.
The subsequent needling techniques also involved stimulating acupoints to ultimately achieve the mutual circulation of Ren and Du meridians.
This is what is known as opening the Ren and Du meridians.
However, with Qin Xuan's current cultivation level, he could only withstand three needles.
With the third needle inserted, Qin Xuan instantly felt everything around him slow down drastically.
The dullness brought by the Netherworld Ghost Domain vanished, replaced by an extremely clear mind and incredibly fast reactions.
His earlobes twitched as the whistling palm wind approached from behind.
Qin Xuan lunged to the right, and the Hundred Ghosts Emperor's attack missed again.
Then, without waiting for the opponent to make any further moves, he quickly created distance, escaping the Netherworld Ghost Domain.
"Why hasn't this Chen Xuan finished yet?"
Glancing quickly at the Yin Gathering Great Array, which was still half-complete, Qin Xuan's mind raced.
At this point, he had exhausted all his trump cards.
The three Spirit Talismans from Zheng Wanqing were used up, and he had also performed the three needles he could execute from Hu Sanqiang's Acupoint Piercing Art.
If he couldn't hold on until Chen Xuan emerged from his seclusion, he would likely be in grave danger.
"Damn it, although I still have the communication jade token left by my Grandmaster, the capital is over two thousand kilometers away from Jiangcheng. Distant water cannot quench nearby thirst!"
As his thoughts raced, the Hundred Ghosts Emperor had already caught up. Qin Xuan didn't hesitate, immediately turning and leaping away, continuing to widen the distance between them.
With the surge of vital energy, Qin Xuan's senses had become much sharper than before.
He realized he had fallen into a misconception.
That was, no matter what he did, he had to confront the Hundred Ghosts Emperor head-on.
The thought that he had been clashing with a demigod-level expert for so long made Qin Xuan want to slap himself.
If he had used the Five Elements Spirit Talismans to create a water shield to protect himself and the Yin Gathering Great Array.
If he had used the Acupoint Piercing Art earlier.
If only...
Unfortunately, there was no regret medicine in this world.
Qin Xuan now had to think of a way to stall the opponent.
"You scoundrel, why is this brat like a monkey, so hard to catch?!"
As Qin Xuan dodged and weaved, contemplating how to deal with the Hundred Ghosts Emperor, the Hundred Ghosts Emperor was also frustrated by Qin Xuan's agility.
The Netherworld Ghost Domain was indeed powerful, but its drawbacks were equally obvious.
It required the enemy to be within this limited domain.
Only then could it truly influence others and amplify oneself.
But Qin Xuan had already exited the ghost domain, and with the boost from the Acupoint Piercing Art, his speed was not much slower than his own.
Coupled with his already not weak physique, on the ground, he could only match Qin Xuan's speed!
As for ascending into the air, that was even less of an option.
His flight was achieved by forcibly propelling himself with pure vital energy, not on the same level as the flight techniques of Divine-level Supremes.
Apart from showing off and taking shortcuts, his speed was not fast at all.
This was the reason for the Hundred Ghosts Emperor's frustration.
However, the scene of chasing and being chased did not last long.
After just a few minutes, the Hundred Ghosts Emperor noticed that Qin Xuan, who had always been agile and unpredictable, was gradually slowing down.
Although he still couldn't catch up to Qin Xuan's pace, with each change of direction, the distance between them decreased.
"Is the side effect of the Acupoint Piercing Art kicking in?!"
Seeing this, the Hundred Ghosts Emperor's face lit up with joy.
It seemed that this brat's innate vital energy was not as abundant as he thought.
After only a few minutes, he was about to enter a period of weakness.
Next, he just needed to seize the opportunity to draw the opponent into his Netherworld Ghost Domain again.
This brat would then be unable to escape...
Very well, now is the time!
Netherworld Ghost Domain, activate!