Chapter 21

Li Che heard the words, his pupils suddenly constricted, a chill instantly spread throughout his body, starting from the scalp and traveling down the spine to his limbs and bones!

This county constable Zhao Chuanxiong……has a problem?!

Li Che took a deep breath.

Chen Lao held Xixi, his face solemn, yet he shook his head: "Of course, I don't rule out that he got the news from elsewhere, but I, old man, feel that Constable Zhao Chuanxiong is somewhat problematic."

Given his position as constable, this flaw could not possibly be revealed so obviously; it's more like……" Chen Lao said this, his eyes involuntarily narrowing.

Just like those Spirit Infant Sect followers who place spirit infant statues at your doorstep, it belongs to a kind of ritual……

Chen Lao's words made Li Che's heart instantly grow heavy, and in an instant a fierce killing intent surged and rolled forth.

According to Chen Lao's meaning, Constable Zhao Chuanxiong……might have some involvement with the Spirit Infant Sect?

Could a county constable……also be involved with the Spirit Infant Sect?

Li Che asked in a low voice.

Chen Lao laughed upon hearing this: "You say that……rumor has it that even the prime minister of Dàjǐng now worships the divinity Buddha, so why couldn't a mere constable be involved with the Spirit Infant Sect?"

After saying that, Chen Lao's expression turned solemn: "The Spirit Infant Sect originates from the Guiyi Miao……possessing divine arts, which is a great temptation for many martial cultivators."

The waters of the Spirit Infant Sect are far deeper than one imagines.

Divine arts?

Li Che heard this, his heart suddenly jolted.

However, staying inside Xu Ji Mu diao Pu will keep you safer; these people wouldn't dare act rashly, and I, Chen Lao, live next door and will keep an eye on you at all times.

Spirit infant……" Chen Lao shook his head, looking with a hint of pity at Xixi cradled in his arms.

Too much spirituality is not a good thing……it is the source of sin and calamity.

The wind and snow howled, sweeping wildly across heaven and earth.

Li Che stood upright, his gaze fixed on Constable Zhao Chuanxiong, who had vanished into the wind and snow.

The Dao fruit 【Dragon Elephant Vajra】 in his chest throbbed violently, as if a dragon's roar and an elephant's cry!

Chen Lao, what cultivation level does Constable Zhao Chuanxiong have?

Li Che narrowed his eyes and asked.

Chen Lao held Xixi, slightly stunned; this scene felt……like déjà vu.

Earlier, Li Che seemed to have asked about Sun Changbiao's cultivation.

However, he didn't doubt it, after all he had seen Li Che's cultivation with his own eyes.

Constable Zhao Chuanxiong, as the county constable of Wai Cheng, is not weak in cultivation; he should have Tempered Bone realm cultivation, and as for internal strength, from that earlier startling clash he likely reached the third heaven level, making him a top-notch expert in Wai Cheng.

As for whether he cultivates divinity, this old man does not know.

Chen Lao's face was solemn and grave; Constable Zhao Chuanxiong's cultivation is indeed not weak, and if he had divinity backing him, even I……would likely be unable to defeat him.

Li Che nodded slightly and exhaled a breath.

It seems wanting to kill Constable Zhao Chuanxiong right away……is a bit difficult.

Of course, earlier these were just Chen Lao's and his speculations; therefore, next we must first ascertain whether Constable Zhao Chuanxiong is related to the Spirit Infant Sect.

If they are related……

Then we must kill him.

Otherwise, having such a powerful expert constantly eyeing his precious daughter Xixi would always make one feel as if sitting on pins and needles.

Chen Lao, you didn't say you have an internal strength technique for sale? Sell me one……

……

……

Woodcarving shop, inside the workshop.

Xu Beihu had people move the timber prepared by Young Master Si into his workshop.

That was a piece of fine fragrant wood, not young in age.

Since Li Che's cultivation is low and he hasn't cultivated internal strength, Xu Beihu earlier had the timber dried using internal strength, so Li Che can directly carve it by hand.

Li Che sat in the chair, took out the diagram Xu Beihu gave him—namely the 'Nine-Headed Guanyin Wrathful Tears Subdue Demons diagram'—its intricate pattern was even more complex than imagined.

A one-month deadline, somewhat rushed.

Carefully examining the diagram, the Guanyin has nine heads, all nine skulls displaying wailing, wrathful expressions; though each differs, they all share a sorrowful tone.

After looking at it for a while, Li Che even faintly felt his emotions infected, his nose tingling, with an urge to burst into tears.

His heart suddenly startled, his pupils constricted.

Divinity……divinity……truly strange and terrifying.

As Chen Lao said, the most profound and terrifying divinity cultivation in practice, Li Che now finally sensed a hint of it.

He patted the large piece of fragrant wood on the workbench, rubbed it all over, formed a spatial diagram in his mind, and planned out the proportions, measurements, angles, and so on.

Then he took an ink brush and began to sketch lines on the fragrant wood.

After completing the outline, he then took out the carving knife, focused his gaze, calmed his mind, and began the first cut.

……

……

Three days later.

In a courtyard in Wai Cheng.

Snowflakes fluttered down from tens of thousands of feet in the air; before they could reach Li Che's body, a domineering surge of qi and blood tore them into powder.

Li Che maintained a strange motion, twisting his waist nearly ninety degrees, arms crossed, his qi and blood maintaining a unique circulation.

All around him, invisible currents seemed to howl and rush, booming like a great river tide!

Li Che did not provoke the 【Dragon Elephant Vajra】 to enter the Vajra transformation; he simply did not suppress his own cultivation, releasing the qi and blood and strength accumulated in his Dao fruit.

Xu Clan Nine Sinews Method.

Li Che obtained that tendon-opening method from the market.

It belongs to the middle-grade tendon-opening method, somewhat better than the low-grade common goods worth twenty or thirty taels.

Like Xu's Shop, the tendon-opening method they could give him would be roughly this grade.

Xu's Shop naturally possesses higher-quality superior tendon-opening methods, but those are for Xu's Shop's own family disciples to cultivate, not to be leaked outward.

In the external market, it can be said there is price but no market, unless a noble clan falls and body-training methods leak, otherwise it cannot be bought at all.

A superior tendon-opening method is worth over a thousand taels.

This is just the tendon-opening method; if it's the subsequent bone-tempering and blood-exchange methods, their value would be even higher!

Hum—!

The major tendon tensed, like a drawn bowstring, emitting a buzzing, explosive sound.

His whole body's skin membrane turned crimson; beneath it, a major tendon coiled like a writhing dragon, spreading and writhing, containing tremendous power.

Gradually, his figure relaxed.

He exhaled a long breath, scorching like fire, melting the falling snowflakes.

"Opening one major tendon counts as an entry into tendon training; strength is far greater than during the skin-tempering stage."

Li Che's lips curled into a smile.

His eyes brightened.

【Dao Fruit: Dragon-Elephant Vajra (lv1, 10%)】

A prompt appeared.

Upon successful tendon opening, the maturity of the Dragon-Elephant Vajra Dao Fruit increased directly by 5%, reaching 10%!

That is to say, opening one major tendon can increase the Dao Fruit's maturity by 5%; the Xu Clan's Tendon-Opening Method requires opening nine tendons in total.

When the Dao Fruit's maturity reaches 50%, his tendon opening will be complete!

Li Che's eyes shone brightly, his mood much improved.

And as long as he diligently cultivates and tempers his body each day, the Dao Fruit's maturity can increase by 1%...

"That is to say, if I train assiduously without interruption, forty days..."

"Then I can achieve complete tendon opening!"

To conceal his cultivation, Li Che deliberately rented a spacious courtyard outside the shop for his own practice.

After all, Xu's Shop's training ground is crowded and chaotic, making it really hard for Li Che to exert himself.

Stimulating the Dao Fruit, in an instant qi and blood flowed outward, the skin membrane turned crimson, the body writhed and rose, the spine roared like a dragon.

Li Che felt the Diamond Transformation after breaking through tendon opening...

"Strength has become much greater, roughly doubled; previously if a punch had a force of a thousand catties, now my punch... is about two thousand catties of force."

"Reaction and speed have also increased; overall roughly doubled."

Li Che's lips curled upward; after testing, he could finally confirm that the Diamond Transformation is related to his own cultivation.

The stronger his cultivation, the greater the enhancement from the Dao Fruit!

"Two thousand catties of force is at the minor accomplishment level in the Bone-Tempering realm; it is said that great accomplishment in Bone-Tempering yields five thousand catties of mighty force, and perfect Bone-Tempering can reach ten thousand catties! The explosion is extremely terrifying..."

"Moreover, the 'Snake Internal Strength Method' purchased from Old Chen also successfully cultivated a strand of internal strength... I possess the Dao Fruit 【Dragon-Elephant Vajra】; external training is unparalleled, martial arts cultivation proceeds extremely fast!"

Li Che broke into a brilliant smile, raised his hand; in his palm a wisp of invisible qi intertwined and circulated, like a small snake in a pool, containing tremendous explosive power.

Clenching his five fingers, the strength qi hid and dissipated.

Li Che's eyes flickered; his sturdy, burly body was clad in a coarse robe, and he donned a bamboo hat.

A carved wooden ox mask was affixed to his face; instantly, his entire demeanor changed completely, turning him into the outlaw Ox Demon wanted by the authorities!

His killing intent surged, his viciousness extraordinary.

On the windy snowy night, the Ox Demon prowls.

(End of chapter)