Shen Xiuhan's mouth parted slightly, his mind reeling at what he was hearing.
To single-handedly wipe out the demonic path of an entire region, slay a Daoist Master, and expand the territory of a prefecture!
The achievements of the old Marquis of Zhenhai could no longer be described by mere words of praise!
But as another thought struck him, his pupils dilated slightly, and a bold possibility surfaced in his mind.
“Senior Sister...”
“You just said the Yinsha Sect was the demonic sect that was ‘expelled.’ Then the demonic sect that ‘submitted’... could it be...”
“Exactly!”
Duan Hongling smiled, her lips curving upward as she said, “It is none other than the other sect in Guangwu Prefecture—the Biwu Sect!”
The Biwu Sect...
It really had its origins in the demonic path!
Having guessed the answer, Shen Xiuhan couldn't help but purse his lips.
I always thought the Heavenly Mystic Eagle Force Master taught me was sinister and ruthless, unlike any righteous technique... It turns out it was a demonic martial art all along!
What is this even supposed to mean?
Feeling utterly speechless, Shen Xiuhan's lips twitched as he thought, Am I the demonic cultivator here?!
Unaware of his internal crisis, Duan Hongling simply warned him, “Junior Brother, it's fine for us to speak of this in private, but you must never let a word of it leak out!”
“Since the Biwu Sect submitted to our Great Qi, they have truly exerted themselves for the imperial court. Over all these years of fighting and killing the Yinsha Sect, their hands have been stained with countless demonic lives.”
She paused, her tone growing slightly heavier.
“They have completely severed ties with the demonic sects of the Yue State. Even if they wanted to turn back now, they have no retreat left.”
“It's only because the courts of Qi and Yue have a tacit agreement. Ever since that battle with Daoist Master Guangwu, Daoist Master Rank experts no longer take the field. Otherwise...”
“The Biwu Sect would likely have been wiped out long ago!”
Shen Xiuhan's expression turned solemn, and he clasped his hands respectfully.
“I understand. Thank you for the reminder, Senior Sister. I will keep it in mind.”
...
After bidding farewell to Duan Hongling, Shen Xiuhan returned to his bamboo house. Closing the door, he sat cross-legged on his bed and pondered, After I slew the Six Cangwu Demons, Master Wen clearly stated that those six were subordinates of Chou Ji, the Southern Sea Branch Leader of the Yinsha Sect!
And Senior Sister Duan just said that the leader of the Yinsha Sect is named Qiu Hen...
There must be a connection between the two. Even if they aren't blood relatives, they must be adoptive father and son!
“Phew...”
Shen Xiuhan let out a breath. “It seems the people I offended this time have quite a background...”
He paused, then slowly closed his eyes. Circulating his heart method, his inner qi flowed through his meridians like a gentle stream, stabilizing his blood qi.
Flipping his palm, he retrieved a white jade porcelain bottle from his storage bag.
The bottle was warm to the touch, and even through the stopper, a faint, ethereal fragrance quietly drifted out.
It was none other than the Century-Old Earth Stalactite Milk!
In fact, Shen Xiuhan had already consumed a drop of the spiritual milk seven days ago.
Back then, the surging wave of spiritual energy had entered his body, pushing his recently opened sixth acupoint to the verge of Great Accomplishment in a short time!
Had the spiritual milk's medicinal force not been so intense, leaving a lingering prickling sensation in his meridians that took several days to fully digest, he would have seized the momentum to break through the seventh acupoint that very day.
Now, seven days had passed!
The prickling sensation in his meridians had vanished, his internal force circulated smoothly without obstruction, and his entire body was brimming with blood qi.
It was the perfect time to consume the Century-Old Earth Stalactite Milk once more!
“It is time!”
Taking a deep breath, Shen Xiuhan tilted his head back and swallowed a drop of the fragrant Century-Old Earth Stalactite Milk!
Boom!
The spiritual liquid entered his stomach like ice water dripping into boiling oil, instantly transforming into a violent, thick torrent of spiritual energy!
The spiritual energy contained within the Century-Old Earth Stalactite Milk was incredibly vast.
Even a Huajin Rank expert would save months of bitter cultivation by consuming it. It was an extremely rare nourishing treasure, let alone for someone at the Anjin Rank.
“Ugh...”
Shen Xiuhan let out a low groan as bean-sized beads of cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead.
The six acupoints within his body trembled in unison, like a parched riverbed suddenly hit by a flash flood.
But the spiritual energy was like a runaway horse, rampaging recklessly through his meridians and causing sharp, stinging pain along their inner walls.
Refine!
Clenching his teeth and enduring the excruciating pain, Shen Xiuhan frantically circulated the Golden Eagle Soaring Technique!
He guided the massive flow of spiritual energy, channeling it like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, filling and solidifying his sixth acupoint at a visible speed.
The medicinal force transformed into pure internal force, washing over the inner walls of the acupoint over and over, expanding and strengthening it.
About an hour later, a soft hum resonated within his Yingxiang acupoint with a soft “Buzz!” The acupoint brimmed with spiritual energy, bringing a sensation of perfect fullness!
The sixth acupoint had been forcefully pushed to Great Perfection!
Without the slightest hesitation, Shen Xiuhan immediately guided the still-surging torrent of spiritual energy to charge fiercely toward his seventh acupoint!
The seventh acupoint was known as the Dazhui acupoint!
Located on the spine, the Dazhui acupoint served as the pivotal hub connecting the upper and lower body as well as the four limbs.
Once opened, the Anjin throughout his entire body would flow together seamlessly, granting him a qualitative leap in combat power.
Boom!
Almost the instant the spiritual energy crashed against the barrier, the sturdy wall shattered inch by inch.
The acupoint burst open, and internal force surged out, racing along his spine and stretching his meridians to the point of a dull ache.
Swish!
Shen Xiuhan snapped his eyes open and stood up abruptly. A series of crisp, dense popping sounds erupted from his muscles and bones like cracking bamboo.
It was the sound of internal force permeating his entire body, his muscles and bones repeatedly tempered by the majestic internal energy.
He raised his right hand and casually clenched it into a fist!
Crack, crack...
His blood qi surged, and power flooded his limbs. His seemingly slender and well-proportioned body, hidden beneath his thin blue robes, instantly exerted its strength!
In an instant, his muscles swelled and hardened into dense, tightly knit bundles, giving him the imposing aura of a soaring dragon!
The seventh acupoint, the Dazhui acupoint... Opened!
Late-stage Anjin Rank... Achieved!
“Phew...”
Shen Xiuhan exhaled a long breath. The seven acupoints within his body pulsed in harmony, and his Anjin rushed through his meridians like an endless river.
“As expected of the Century-Old Earth Stalactite Milk, its medicinal effects are truly overbearing! Still, it is well within my tolerance!”
“Right...”
A sudden flash of inspiration struck Shen Xiuhan. He sat back down cross-legged, circulating his heart method at full speed to carefully gauge the speed at which he refined his blood qi.
A moment later, a look of pleasant surprise flashed in his eyes.
The speed of circulating my heart method through the Great Cosmic Circulation is indeed smoother and slightly faster than before!
The Century-Old Earth Stalactite Milk truly has an inestimable effect on improving one's constitution!
A burning heat welled up uncontrollably in Shen Xiuhan's eyes.
With Deduction in my possession, I don't face the bottleneck barriers that ordinary martial artists do. My only current shortcoming is this Five-Form Constitution, which makes my daily absorption of blood qi and refinement of medicinal force far too slow to keep up with the progress of my Deductions.
But now, just two drops of the earth stalactite milk have widened my meridians and increased my absorption speed by nearly twenty percent!
I have a feeling that if I can consume another drop or two, my constitution will definitely be raised to a Six-Form Constitution!
When that happens, my cultivation speed will experience a massive leap!
Shen Xiuhan's heart raced, and he quietly made up his mind.
It seems... I will have to pay closer attention to natural treasures that can improve one's constitution in the future.
However, one thing did catch me by surprise...
Shen Xiuhan summoned the system and looked closely. The number in the "Intelligence" column had not changed.
Just like last time, the Century-Old Earth Stalactite Milk did not increase my intelligence points...
The medicinal efficacy of this earth stalactite milk far exceeds that of ordinary Precious Fish, and its spiritual energy is purer than Tier One or Tier Two Precious Fish. Yet, the number in the intelligence column didn't budge at all.
On the other hand, the Precious Fish and Precious Beasts I caught previously all provided a significant increase to his intelligence.
Comparing the two, a vague idea gradually surfaced in Shen Xiuhan's mind, slowly solidifying into a clear hypothesis.
Could it be that the key to increasing my intelligence points doesn't lie in the grade of the natural treasures themselves, but rather in...
Consuming those naturally born Precious Beasts and Precious Fish, plundering the source blood qi of life contained within their bodies, is the only way to convert them into nourishment for the system?
Rate on N.U.
