Chapter 80: Chapter 80: Surprise
Chen Ku had not expected that while watching a spectacle on the main street, he would somehow be affected, automatically neutralize it, and obtain a Fourth Realm Evil Energy.
But upon closer thought, he was actually somewhat frightened. This was because the Qilin Blood Gu had merely dispersed a tiny amount, which had spread through the air and landed on him.
As a member of the Medicine King Hall, he understood one principle very clearly: namely, discussing toxicity without considering dosage is incorrect.
Although the Flower Fox Mink in his body could detoxify, this Qilin Blood Gu was, after all, a Fourth Realm Levels substance. Otherwise, it couldn’t have been used against the Xu Family Head...
It was only because the amount transmitted through the air was too minuscule to pose a significant threat. Additionally, he did not possess Xu Family blood, so there was no suppressive relationship...
Only under these two major conditions could his Flower Fox Mink’s detoxifying Physique easily digest and neutralize it.
Look at someone like Master Yang Luochen; he must have inhaled some as well, but he experienced no issues. This was precisely the reason: his inherently strong Physique, combined with not being specifically targeted by the Gu, meant it was of no consequence.
Overall, Chen Ku had lucked out again.
At this moment, he saw that after the four Xu Family experts exploded, a large cloud of blood mist erupted. Surprisingly, it didn’t fall to the ground. Instead, it was enveloped by countless, microscopic Gu Insects, seemingly hundreds of times smaller than a normal swarm... It transformed into four pale golden orbs of blood, drifting towards Counselor Sui You, who was holding a pellet drum.
Facing the four drifting golden blood orbs, Counselor Sui You opened a Beast Skin Pouch and collected all of them inside.
Chen Ku watched in amazement, a strange feeling in his heart. He couldn’t help but ask, "That Beast Skin Pouch is only about the size of a water flask an ordinary Herbalist would carry into the mountains, yet it can hold four blood orbs, each the size of a human head... How is that possible?"
By speaking out, he was essentially asking Master Yang beside him for an explanation.
Hearing Chen Ku’s curious question, Yang Luochen, leaning on his staff, gazed at the pouch in Counselor Sui You’s hands and explained, "That is made from a part of a special Demon and Monster Strange Beast found in the mountains, known as the ’Fur Bear.’ Its stomach is unique; it can hold food up to twice its own body size. When human artisans craft its stomach into a pouch, it gains storage capabilities."
Upon hearing this, Chen Ku’s heart stirred.
A Fur Bear? Are they easy to hunt? If I could kill one, wouldn’t that be like having a personal Storage Bag? Then, in the future, I could carry several changes of clothes and even store my Weapons inside...
Yang Luochen saw the boy’s eager expression and poured cold water on his enthusiasm, saying, "Precisely because its stomach pouch has such an effect, the Fur Bear has been hunted extensively for millennia. This has led to it becoming a rare and scarce Strange Beast within the territory of the Daji Dynasty. So, don’t underestimate that small pouch. It’s a true treasure worth tens of thousands, and often, money can’t even buy it."
Upon hearing this, Chen Ku’s spirits immediately flagged.
Meanwhile, the Peace Path Incense Master, who had just witnessed Counselor Sui You effortlessly slay the four Xu Family experts, now had a face as white as a sheet. Originally, he alone was no match for Yang Luochen. He needed the cooperation of the Xu Family Head to even have a chance of escaping. Now, not only had the four skilled members of the Xu Family died instantly, but Baojiao County’s fifth-ranked expert, Counselor Sui You, had also arrived. Surrounded from both front and rear, he felt it was impossible to leave this main street.
Finding himself in a desperate situation, he surprisingly composed himself and sneered at Counselor Sui You, "Blood Gu? This type of Gu Art... is not common within the Ji Country. Conversely, in the Yuan Country, many sects and factions are proficient in this path... To think that Shangguan Yun, a court-appointed official of Daji, would secretly cultivate such an enemy nation’s Gu Art!"
After collecting the four blood orbs, Sui You ignored Yan Hongwen’s sarcastic remarks and merely glanced at Yang Luochen. "Old Mr. Yang, the Lord County Magistrate dispatched me to assist your Medicine King Hall in eliminating this Peace Path Demon Person. Let us strike together."
Yang Luochen grinned. "There’s no need. Counselor, just support me from the flanks and prevent his escape. This scoundrel injured me and Old Shang last time. Today, he will repay that debt."
He and Shang Yunfang had initially investigated the Peace Path for the benefit of the Medicine King Hall, only to be injured by them. This time, he had dared to venture into the city, and without any allies. What was there to wait for?
"Then, it shall be as Old Mr. Yang says. Please, execute this Demon Person. I will cover your flanks," Sui You stated, his hands clasped behind his back, exuding an air of detachment. He shifted his feet slightly, sealing off all potential escape routes for the Peace Path Incense Master, Yan Hongwen.
BOOM!
Without another word, Yang Luochen charged forward, Water-Fire Dragon Head Staff in hand.
Chen Ku finally got to witness the scene he had been eagerly anticipating.
When Master Yang attacked, it was with heaven-rending, earth-shattering momentum. Wielding that Mysterious Cudgel, he leaped up like a Fierce Ape, bringing the staff crashing down towards the Peace Path Incense Master. Beneath this single strike, wisps of terrifying, arrogant, and domineering Divine Intent rippled outwards like waves on a lake, impacting the minds of everyone present.
Chen Ku was entranced... It was as if he wasn’t seeing a two-meter-tall, giant old man, but a world-disrupting Fierce Ape emerging from mountains and seas. Every move it made carried the Power of Ten Thousand Jun, enough to shake mountains and rivers!
BOOM!!
Before the staff even reached Yan Hongwen, the force of the blow swept out for tens of zhang, clearing all debris from the main street—tables, chairs, benches, broken stones, and tiles—like a small tornado passing through.
Meanwhile, Yang Luochen’s disciple, Yang Shaoqi, stood idle. His opponent, one of the Xu Family, had just been made to explode and die by the sound of Sui You’s pellet drum. As he watched his master attack, his expression became extremely peculiar:
What’s going on with Master? His Furious Ape Mighty Staff technique has long reached the Perfection Realm. Usually, when he attacks, the Power of Ten Thousand Jun is concealed within, unreleased and unmanifested, erupting with mountainous force only upon impact with the enemy, making it impossible to defend against... This... why has he suddenly changed his style? It’s as if he’s deliberately trying to create an imposing aura...
As he pondered, his gaze subconsciously drifted to Chen Ku, who was watching Yang Luochen’s descending strike, and he instantly understood.
He slapped his forehead with his hand, a mix of exasperation and ruefulness in his heart. Master, you’re acting like an old peacock spreading its tail... When you accepted me as your disciple, you never behaved like this. Fine, now that you’ve found someone with better Root Bone, and I’m still right here, you don’t care about my feelings at all, do you?
But it had to be said, the sheer presence of this strike was immense, and the effect it produced was significant, instantly causing Yan Hongwen’s face to turn deathly pale. He instantly slapped several more yellow Talisman Papers onto his body. Simultaneously, he prepared to dodge with speed and took a stance with his peach wood talisman sword, attempting to win through skill and agility.
"Dodge? Do you think you can dodge?" Yang Luochen, seeing Yan Hongwen’s movements after his strike, grinned, revealing his large white teeth. "My staff can only be met head-on!"
He stomped his foot, and the head of the staff, like a dragon’s head, shot forward. It was like a dragon in the clouds suddenly turning back, instantly closing in on Yan Hongwen and sealing off all his escape routes.
"I’ll risk it all!!"
Yan Hongwen had no choice but to try and withstand it using the power of the Divine Talisman on his peach wood sword, holding it defensively before him.
BOOM!!
But in the instant the staff’s Force Power struck, the Talisman Papers on Yan Hongwen’s peach wood sword shattered and burned to ash, blasted apart by the immense might!
CRACK!
Losing the augmentation of the Divine Talisman, the peach wood sword was merely a sword made of special wood. It was instantly smashed into countless splinters.
Then, the staff, its power undiminished, struck Yan Hongwen squarely on the chest. He was sent flying like a meteor, and the Talisman Papers on his body disintegrated into ash one after another...
In his final moments, Yan Hongwen, staggering backward, looked at Yang Luochen who stood behind that devastating strike. His gaze was surprisingly calm as he used his last ounce of strength to utter, "Huangtian nurtures the bountiful earth; a wise teacher descends to order the cosmos. May all beings find peace; may the universe be without turmoil."
POP!
Having lost all protection from his Talisman Papers, this Incense Master of the Peace Path exploded in mid-air due to the terrifying Force Power of that strike. His body disintegrated into a shower of limbs and flesh that rained down on the ground.
Skyward Strike... The same Skyward Strike!
The last time Chen Ku saw Master Yang in action, his body had merely swelled in place, preventing Huang Muxia from budging the staff in his hands. That was a contest of weight and Skill, not a true strike.
This time, he had truly seen it.
And, whether Master Yang had done it intentionally or not, he had specifically used the Skyward Strike to kill Yan Hongwen. It truly broadened Chen Ku’s horizons.
The same Skyward Strike, when executed by Master Yang, seemed to possess the force to tear through an entire street; the wind generated by the staff could be felt a li away!
What did it mean to be fierce? This was fierce!
Killing Yan Hongwen with a single staff strike was well within Yang Luochen’s capabilities and didn’t require much effort. At this moment, he stood with his staff, his gaze stealthily flicking towards Chen Ku. Seeing the youth’s reaction, he couldn’t help but feel a touch of pride, extremely satisfied with the imposing display of his previous strike. He remained silent for a moment.
Yang Shaoqi, who knew his master very well, naturally understood what the old man was thinking. He coughed and loudly praised, "Master, that strike was incredibly domineering!"
Counselor Sui You also observed Yang Luochen’s strike with a grave expression. Although he had heard that Yang Luochen had broken through to the same Realm as Official Shangguan, making them the only two Fifth Realm cultivators in the city, seeing Yang Luochen—now in the Fifth Realm—attack with his own eyes, Sui You couldn’t help but compare their strengths:
Yang Luochen cultivates Qi Power. In terms of sheer Qi Power, even Official Shangguan would have to concede defeat.
He was inwardly awed, but his face betrayed nothing as he offered a compliment, "Old Mr. Yang, you are nearly a hundred years old, yet your might is unparalleled, as if you are still in your prime. This junior is truly filled with admiration."
"Enough with the empty pleasantries. Of all the Peace Path Demon People who appeared in the city today, not a single one will escape. Counselor, please lead the way." Yang Luochen certainly hadn’t forgotten the important business. The existence of the Peace Path was incompatible with the Medicine King Hall; for the sake of the Medicine King Hall, it was imperative to eradicate this evil completely.
"It is good to hear you say that, Master Yang. According to reports, three Incense Masters from the Peace Path appeared in the city today..." Sui You continued, "The City Defense Forces have already eliminated one. The last one is currently fleeing towards the outskirts of the city. Experts of the Medicine King Hall, let us proceed there together."
Yang Luochen turned to Ke Yansheng and said, "Chai Bao, Old Nong, and I will go. You take Shaoqi and that boy from earlier back to the Medicine King Hall first."
"Yes, sir." Ke Yansheng acknowledged the order and moved beside Chen Ku. Looking at the boy, and realizing the Butcher Court would likely lose its chance to monopolize this talented Apprentice, he sighed inwardly. "Let’s head back."
Having witnessed this battle, Chen Ku’s comprehension of the Skyward Strike had deepened further. Since all his tasks were completed, he said nothing more and followed Ke Yansheng back to the Hall.
The group returned, each awaiting good news from Master Yang.
Once Chen Ku returned to his room, he first replayed Master Yang’s technique in his mind several times, committing its nuances to memory so he wouldn’t forget them. Only then did he sit cross-legged on the kang bed-stove and begin to examine the day’s gains.
The greatest gain was undoubtedly the Fourth Realm demon-level Qilin Blood Gu Evil.
The first Evil Energy one obtains often presents an opportunity, like opening a ’blind box.’ It allows for the first ’Shape Shifting’ transformation. After that, further transformations require the infusion of Evil Energy of the same level.
Let’s see... what surprise will this Fourth Realm Qilin Blood Gu Evil bring me?
Chen Ku placed this Evil Energy onto the Transformation Diagram.
[Qilin Blood Gu Transformation: Shape Shifting]
[Transformation Part: Blood Memory Inheritance]