Chapter 108: 【????】

“How is it? Looks like you’ve gathered quite a haul.”

Arranging over a dozen talismanic “Medicine Seals” before him, Elder Qingya, wearing a magical device resembling glasses with two golden wires entwined around round lenses, carefully studied the symbols.

Cloud script transformation of talismans.

Depending on the divine mystique contained within, the characters inscribed would vary slightly.

After all, cloud script isn’t a fixed character.

It’s a type of divine wonder integrated within Qi Xiu’s body.

Take the “Medicine Seals” for example: each time the medicinal power evolves differently, the patterns formed in Qi Xiu’s sea of consciousness change, resulting in slightly different inscriptions each time.

Though the differences are subtle,

the profound mysteries lie within these nuances.

To silence Elder Qingya’s daily nagging, Qi Xiu simply wrote over thirty different “Medicine Seals” for him to analyze,

giving his ears some peace.

“Not bad. After a whole night of work, it wasn’t for nothing.”

Qi Xiu shook the bag of spirit pills in his hand, a bright smile lighting up his face.

Not only was it not in vain,

he now possessed a full fifteen spirit pills!

If he had to inscribe the “Spirit Pill Seals” on his own, it would take over a month to gather that many.

With these spirit pills infused with the primordial energy of myriad nurturance,

the next time he inscribed the “Spirit Pill Seals,” this divine wonder would naturally be added.

The “Spirit Pill Seals” would continuously upgrade,

their potency growing stronger and the effects more remarkable.

“The spirit pill pouch is the hallmark artifact of the Demon-Eating Sect.

Back in the day, thanks to this artifact, those little devils from the sect cultivated at speeds ten or even dozens of times faster than their peers.

Unfortunately, you only have the spirit pill pouch but not the miraculous medicine pot.

If you had both,

before reaching the Dao Body realm, you wouldn’t need to worry about nourishing your body or strengthening your divine soul.

You could simply push forward with great strides.”

Elder Qingya’s words piqued Qi Xiu’s curiosity.

What exactly was the divine wonder of the miraculous medicine pot, which was as famed as the spirit pill pouch?

“Spirit pills nourish the body; miraculous medicines protect the soul!

Spirit pills refined within the pouch contain pure essence and spiritual power,

greatly benefiting cultivation and the physical body.

Whether you’re practicing martial cultivation or arcane arts, they play a significant role.

With the spirit pill pouch in hand,

as long as you have the ingredients, others’ ten days of hard training can’t compare to a single spirit pill.

The miraculous medicine pot, on the other hand, refines medicines targeting the divine soul.

Its use is limited before the Dao realm.

But once you reach the Bloodstained realm, you’ll understand the importance of the divine soul.

Though miraculous medicines don’t raise divine soul cultivation like spirit pills do,

they’re miraculous remedies for healing the soul!

As long as the soul’s foundation isn’t severely damaged, miraculous medicines can quickly restore it.

Unlike the physical body, once the soul is harmed, it’s extremely difficult to recover, often requiring years of rest.

Moreover, soul damage seriously affects a cultivator’s wisdom, temperament, even thought processes.

After the Bloodstained realm, cultivation turns inward; mishaps, demonic possession, and soul injuries increase, and demonic attacks skyrocket.

With miraculous medicines, you can cultivate fearlessly, experiment with spells wildly, without worrying about soul damage.

In the ancient era, disciples of the Demon-Eating Sect relied on these two artifacts.

Their cultivation speed from Dao to Bloodstained realm was like a thousand miles a day.

Unfortunately, the miraculous medicine pot is even rarer than the spirit pill pouch.

The last time I saw one was in the hands of a young sword cultivator named Cheng Junie.

He was very skilled in sword control.

I still remember it was a spring day…”

Seeing Elder Qingya launch into another long reminiscence, Qi Xiu silently skirted around him and entered his room.

This senior from the Lingguang Treasure Sect was kind and broad-minded,

and Qi Xiu had learned many rare secrets from him.

But his mind was highly erratic.

His thoughts leapt so wildly one could hardly keep up on horseback.

So whenever he started rambling, Qi Xiu would quickly distance himself to avoid wasting time.

Back in his room, Qi Xiu rolled up his sleeves and sat cross-legged on the bed, taking out all fifteen spirit pills from the pouch.

***

“The Golden Flower Matron Sect is eyeing us from outside the city.

If they want to seize the great opportunity Elder Qingya mentioned, a clash is inevitable.

In that case, I need to quickly hone my offensive and life-risking skills.”

Swallowing a spirit pill, Qi Xiu felt a surge of essence and spiritual power flow through his abdomen.

He activated his cultivation method,

splitting this wave of essence into two halves.

One half was reserved for the secret teachings of the Primordial Dragon-Tiger Scripture, accumulating energy to cleanse and condense protective true energy seals.

The other half was funneled into the Formless Body-Splitting Sword Technique.

With the endless influx of pure, vast spiritual power from the spirit pills,

the proficiency of both methods rapidly increased.

Qi Xiu’s aura grew steadily deeper and sharper in that instant.

…

Over a dozen days passed.

By day, Qi Xiu swallowed pills to strengthen his cultivation and polished the Formless Body-Splitting Sword Technique.

By night, he rode the light of escape, wildly hunting insect demons throughout the city to refine spirit pills.

In just these days,

the proficiency of several of his cultivation methods surged dramatically.

Especially his Five Elements Water Patrol Escape Technique.

With Mo Jiao substituting for practice and nightly high-speed training,

his mastery was about to surpass fifty percent.

At full throttle, his speed reached supersonic levels.

Moreover, the faint, ethereal mist emitted during its use grew increasingly subtle,

barely discernible to the naked eye.

Even cultivators with exceptional eyesight could only glimpse a faint, wavering haze.

Thanks to this escape technique,

several ascending Dao cultivators in the city who tried to approach him by summoning their escape lights were flung away at his mere thought—no one could catch him.

“Choosing this escape technique was truly the right call.

The Five Elements Water Patrol Escape Technique is difficult to cultivate, heavily restricted in use, and contains a hidden demonic curse that can cause heart demons if careless.

But its speed…

is genuinely extraordinary!

Silent and invisible, it can even traverse forbidden physical barriers.

If I can master this technique,

no one below a realm above me will catch me in the Dao realm.”

Savoring the exhilaration of extreme speed, Qi Xiu continued capturing insect demons to refine spirit pills.

This abundant harvest left a constant smile on his lips.

However, such blissful days ended abruptly.

After the Golden Flower Matron Sect noticed that a massive number of insect demons had vanished like a stone sinking in water,

and the civilians of Qingliu County were not only spared widespread deaths but were gradually recovering,

the relentless insect demon attacks lasting over half a month suddenly ceased.

“Have they realized?”

Patrolling the skies over Qingliu County on his light of escape and finding no trace of insect demons, Qi Xiu chuckled wryly.

It seemed the Golden Flower Matron Sect had discovered that most of their insect demons had ended up in someone else’s hands.

So they simply stopped the assault.

With no insects attacking, Qi Xiu returned empty-handed, feeling a faint sense of disappointment.

Was this buffet over just like that?

“What, no catch today?”

Seeing Qi Xiu’s mood dampened, Elder Qingya glanced up, about to look away,

when a pure golden light, invisible to ordinary people, slowly flowed from Qi Xiu’s body.

This golden light was extremely faint,

yet subtly gathered into a barely perceptible circular ring,

hovering behind Qi Xiu’s head.

“What’s this?”

Noticing Elder Qingya’s unusual gaze, Qi Xiu couldn’t help but ask.

“Nothing much, just that you seem unusually carefree today.”

Elder Qingya smiled and dismissed it lightly, lowering his head with a strange look in his eyes.

It didn’t make sense.

How could a mere insect calamity condense such a thing?

Could it be…

he already had a foundation?

This boy was truly different.

Yes, if he truly accomplishes that matter,

he would be reborn, achieving unparalleled feats like the direct disciples of the great sects!

“Oh.”

Seeing Elder Qingya say no more, Qi Xiu responded lightly and entered the room with a normal expression.

But as he casually closed the door,

his eyes suddenly flickered oddly.

The proficiency panel appeared.

【?????】

A row of boxes filled entirely with question marks emerged mysteriously,

full of riddles and unresolved mysteries.

This suddenly appearing question-mark panel coincided almost exactly with the moment Elder Qingya looked at him!

“What could this be?

Judging by Elder Qingya’s reaction, he seems to have noticed this change in me.

But he didn’t tell me directly.

Could it be…”

Suddenly struck by a possibility, Qi Xiu narrowed his eyes.

“So this is what they call… destiny?”

…

The roaring waterfall cascaded from the heights, forming countless white mists that sparkled under the sunlight.

The mist covered the entire area, soaking nearby rocks and grass.

At the edge of the waterfall lay a huge, flat, sturdy rock resembling a marble rectangular table.

At this moment, before this stone table,

several women draped in light gauze, graceful and ethereal as celestial maidens in the mist, were seated.

In the surrounding dense forest and mountains,

numerous figures wandered, all stunning women.

Yet their expressions were cold, eyes filled with hostility.

Clearly, they were no ordinary gentlewomen.

“The insect calamity has been thwarted.”

Seated at the head of the stone table, the Scarlet Ridge Holy Maiden, her skin fair as jade and a golden mark on her brow, spoke calmly.

“The entire insect calamity caused only thousands of casualties in Qingliu County,

far fewer than the two-thirds civilian death toll we anticipated.

And we lost nearly ten thousand vats of Myriad Nurturing Holy Water!

Jiu Gu, you bear full responsibility.”

Named by the Scarlet Ridge Holy Maiden, the woman called Jiu Gu twisted the corner of her garment and nodded silently.

Yet she could not understand who had broken her insect calamity technique.

Could there really be such a formidable expert in Qingliu County?

“Our plan to use the insect calamity to divert and exhaust the county’s garrison has failed.

I’ve decided, as rehearsed before, to deploy our forces and attack the city directly.

The longer we delay, the more Li Jiufang’s injuries heal.

If he recovers fully, we may not have a guaranteed victory.

Any other thoughts?”

The Scarlet Ridge Holy Maiden’s gaze slowly swept over the young women before her.

“We will follow the Holy Maiden’s orders.”

Knowing well how terrifying it would be to incur the wrath of this exquisitely beautiful, serene Holy Maiden,

several core members of the Golden Flower Matron Sect nodded in unison.

“Very well. Arrange the troops immediately and form the battle formation.

Tomorrow, follow my command!

Attack the city!”

…

(End of chapter)