Chapter 79: Chapter 79 Qilin (First Subscription Check-in)
The air on the street froze slightly.
Yang Luochen stared at Chen Ku, who was holding his Water-Fire Dragon Head Staff, his expression one of utter disbelief.
His Water-Fire Dragon Head Staff, weighing a full twelve thousand jin, was crafted by Qiu Dragon Mansion’s top craftsman, Li Yuan, using the Essence of a Hundred Irons, Iron Essence, and Exotic Metal.
A weapon weighing twelve thousand jin could rank within the top ten in the entire Qiu Dragon Mansion.
Only someone with Innate Divine Strength, coupled with training in the Furious Ape Mighty Staff, could wield such a heavy weapon.
Typical Inner Qi Realm practitioners, even if they had cultivated Force Power and nurtured Inner Qi, possessing a body with Thousand Jin Force, could at most amplify their Qi Power to two or three thousand jin with the boost from Force Power and Inner Qi, and that was only when actively cultivating and channeling Qi.
Yet, this apprentice from the hall had casually lifted his Water-Fire Dragon Head Staff single-handedly...
If Ke Yansheng or any other master craftsman from the hall had lifted this staff, it would have all made sense.
But, it was such a young man, only seventeen or eighteen years old.
"How did you manage to lift this staff?"
At this moment, Yang Luochen wasn’t even concerned about chasing the Demon People anymore.
Clearly, in his heart, the fact that this youth could lift his staff had suddenly escalated to the most crucial matter at hand.
What importance did the Demon People have compared to this youth before him?
Upon hearing this, Chen Ku’s mind flickered. He had initially intended to deliver the weapon to Master Yang and then secretly observe Master Yang’s Ultimate Stick Technique, but unexpectedly...
Master Yang focused on his Divine Power instead.
He answered honestly, "Master Yang, I just have a bit of strength, so I could lift it."
Not far away, Ke Yansheng watched this scene, his heart sinking. It’s over. Our hall’s gem can’t be kept safe anymore. Seeing Master Yang looking at Chen Ku with such a burning gaze... Ke Yansheng knew it was all over.
But at the same time, he was immensely shocked by the strength Chen Ku had displayed.
What exactly is going on? The last time this boy pressed down Leopard Head, I thought his strength of four to five thousand jin already qualified as Innate Divine Strength.
Ke Yansheng was momentarily dazed. To think he could lift Master Yang’s staff, weighing more than ten thousand jin, with one hand... Isn’t this the very definition of a young, born Ba Wang?
So, never mind Master Yang. Even he felt that if Chen Ku didn’t follow Master Yang to cultivate the Furious Ape Mighty Staff, there was simply no martial art within Medicine King Hall more suitable for him.
As others were engaged in their own actions, they too glimpsed this scene from the corners of their eyes, each reacting differently.
That apprentice... actually... Especially Yang Shaoqi, Master Yang’s sole heir, felt his eyelids twitching wildly. He had cultivated Inner Qi and was one of the top Disciples in Medicine King Hall, yet when facing his master’s staff, forget one hand, he couldn’t even lift it with both...
The apprentice had just held it with one hand and handed it over to his master.
In a daze, only one thought remained in Yang Shaoqi’s mind: It’s over. I’m going to have a junior brother.
Not far away, Yan Hongwen and Xu Family Head Xu Ao also had their respective reactions to this scene.
What kind of luck does Medicine King Hall have? Producing a monster like Yang Luochen with Innate Divine Strength wasn’t enough... the hall actually hid another little monster!
Xu Family Head Xu Ao seethed with envy for Medicine King Hall. Why aren’t such promising talents part of the Xu Family Bloodline?!
His Xu Family had originally held a status a hundred times superior to Medicine King Hall; they were descendants of the Tuo Mountain Heavenly King Xiong Ying. To avoid pursuit by the Imperial Court and various sects, they had been forced to change their surname to Xu.
At the peak of their family’s history, their great-grandfather Xiong Ying was a famous hero, and the Xiong Family’s Hero Manor was a colossal power. Not just in Qiu Dragon Mansion, but even in higher-level prefectures or provinces, it was a juggernaut.
Unfortunately, due to continuous pursuit over a hundred years, their talent waned, and their bloodline thinned. Now, they had declined to a minor county-level family.
All this happened because the Qilin Blood within their Xiong Family grew weaker with each generation, leading to their decline.
With great difficulty, over twenty years ago, a descendant with slightly purer Qilin Blood was finally born. Alas, she was female. Being female would have been one thing...
But after she grew up, she tragically encountered the scoundrel Shangguan Yun, who deceived her heart and body, and then aimed to lay hands on the greater secret behind the Xiong Family.
Thus, knowing that Shangguan Yun was deliberately using Minjun to lure them, they had no choice but to attempt to rescue this last descendant with purer blood, even if it meant allying with a cult like Peace Path and paying a hefty price.
Xu Ao shifted his gaze from Chen Ku. He had already put several hundred zhang between himself and the battlefield on the main street, suppressing his envy and jealousy towards Medicine King Hall.
Fortunately, I’ve successfully broken away. Minjun is with Xu Feijing, the Divine Walker from Peace Path. By now, she should have escaped the city and rendezvoused with the family members sent to meet her.
However, just as Xu Ao felt a wave of relief, preparing to use his full strength to break out of the encirclement and shake off Yang Luochen who was pursuing him, RAT-A-TAT! RAT-A-TAT-TAT! From the end of the long street, the sudden sound of a child’s rattle drum echoed.
With the civilians scattered and gone, leaving only a few experts from Medicine King Hall, members of Peace Path, and a handful of Xu family members on the street, the sound was exceptionally clear. It was almost demonic, captivating the ears of Chen Ku and all the Medicine King Hall members present.
[Diagram Master affected by Counselor Sui You’s ’Mystic Insect Drum Sound.’ Mind shaken by its pervasive influence. Evil Qi has arisen!]
Almost at the same moment Chen Ku felt a sense of unease and agitation stirring in his mind, DUO! Master Yang’s voice suddenly sounded by his ear. It was a strange syllable, seemingly imbued with a peculiar Force Power. As it entered Chen Ku’s ears, it instantly jolted his mind, and clarity returned to him all at once.
"Master Yang... what is that rattle drum sound?" Chen Ku asked, looking up at Master Yang’s towering figure, well over two meters tall.
Master Yang hadn’t released his technique; his body remained enlarged.
At what should have been a very serious moment, Chen Ku’s thoughts unexpectedly drifted to Master Yang’s attire. Master Yang’s body has expanded so much, yet his clothes haven’t burst? What material are they made of? Could it be something like Heavenly Silkworm Silk from those martial arts TV shows, capable of stretching and contracting? If it really is that kind of material, I should find a way to get a set for myself...
Yang Luochen was unaware that the young man beside him was pondering the material of his clothes. Instead, his gaze was solemnly fixated on Counselor Sui You, who held the rattle drum and had ethereally appeared in the path of Xu Ao’s escape.
Regarding Chen Ku’s question, he had already discerned the truth: "The drum’s sound isn’t aimed at us. It’s specifically targeting the accomplices of that man in the purple robe. Your cultivation Skill is just shallow, so you were incidentally affected."
Hearing Master Yang’s words, Chen Ku also looked on cautiously.
"AAAAHHHHH..."
Indeed, as the rattle drum’s sound intensified, Xu Family Head Xu Ao’s face immediately turned crimson, his eyeballs reddened, and something seemed to be squirming beneath the skin of his face.
Yan Hongwen exclaimed, "Xu Ao! What’s wrong with you?! What’s happening? Why is that rattle drum affecting you so intensely?!"
Yan Hongwen saw Xu Ao, apparently controlled by the rattle drum, standing rooted to the spot. He was clawing wildly, howling in extreme pain, and tearing at his own face as if trying to rip it off entirely.
Even though Peace Path used Talisman Techniques in its teachings and possessed many incredible abilities with Talisman Paper, witnessing such a horrifying scene still made Yan Hongwen’s scalp tingle.
The most crucial point was... it wasn’t just Xu Ao. The few Xu Family members he had brought with him also, at this very moment... screamed in agony.
"Ah, Family Head... there’s something burrowing inside me..."
"Family Head, save me!!"
"We seem to be poisoned!!"
All three Xu Family members affected by the rattle drum began tearing at their own skin, as if trying to flay themselves alive.
"Poisoned?" Yan Hongwen staggered back in shock. Since the jailbreak at the execution ground, they had all been together. If it was poisoning... that would mean he too might have been contaminated.
But despite several internal inspections, he couldn’t find any similar symptoms in himself.
Then, in an instant... Yan Hongwen seemed to understand something.
He exclaimed in horror, "This poison, is it specifically targeted at your Xu Family?"
"It’s not poison! It’s a Gu! A Gu specifically targeted at the Xu Family’s Qilin Blood!"
Xu Ao let out a miserable wail: "I understand now! That villain Shangguan Yun planted a Blood Gu in Minjun! This Gu specifically targets our Xu Family’s Qilin Bloodline! Any Xu Family member who gets close to Minjun will be infected... No..."
So that was it! All the Xu Family members who appeared at the execution ground today had been infected with this Blood Gu.
Suddenly, he thought of something else and let out a despairing roar, "No, Minjun... you mustn’t go..."
The moment his words fell—BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! On the long street, the four Xu Family members, led by Xu Family Head Xu Ao, all exploded like balloons, erupting into a gruesome mist of blood.
[The air is thick with the spreading Qi of the Qilin Blood Gu. This is unfavorable for the Diagram Master. ’Qilin Blood Gu Evil’ has emerged...]
[Qilin Blood Gu has infiltrated the body...]
Chen Ku was alarmed.
What the hell is this? It’s like some pathogen just exploded and is spreading through the air!
Just as Chen Ku was reeling from shock, confirming to himself that he seemed to have been infected by something incredibly dangerous and terrifying,
[The Diagram Master’s Flower Fox Mink Physique possesses the ability to devour, digest, and neutralize all poisons. The Blood Gu has been successfully eliminated within the body... One strand of ’Qilin Blood Gu Evil’ has been harvested.]
[Qilin Blood Gu Evil (Fourth Realm Demon-level)]
[Qilin Blood Gu: A fusion of Qilin Blood and Blood Gu. Specifically counters the Xu Family Qilin Blood.]
(Note: This bloodline contains the memory inheritance of the Qilin Blood, which can be directly accessed after Transformation.)
[Would you like to equip the Qilin Blood Gu Transformation?]
Chen Ku was bewildered by the series of changes occurring within him.
But one thing was clear... Without doing anything, he had unexpectedly obtained a Fourth Realm Demon-level Evil Qi? And it was some imperceptible, microscopic, virus-like Gu Insect? Does that mean if he underwent Transformation into this Gu Insect, he could, like Monkey Brother, turn into a fly or a flea and burrow into someone’s stomach?