Chapter 395: Maxed Out! (4k)

The bright moon hangs low as black tides surge endlessly.

The forest lay silent; a massive black crocodile lay sprawled, blending seamlessly with the surrounding shrubbery—at first glance, it looked like an ancient tree covered in moss.

Within the Inside Ze Ding, a pale blue shadow flickered, and four strands of emerald light rose slowly, glowing brilliantly.

【Divine Tree Revival】, 【Unshaken by Wind and Rain】, 【Fierce Fangs and Sharp Teeth】, 【Death Whirlwind】.

Upon mental contact, the emerald light flared brightly.

The first: 【Divine Tree Revival】.

The hornwood grew an inch longer, its effect unchanged—still a range-based restoration of stamina and life force.

Under the aura's embrace, plants thrived with vitality, creatures lived longer, and even its unique burst ability remained identical, followed by days of "cooldown."

Undoubtedly, 【Divine Tree Revival】 was an advanced version of 【Revival】!

Yet one difference set it apart from 【Revival】: 【Divine Tree Revival】 added an intermediate product between "burst" and "passive sustained."

【Concentrate the Divine Tree imprint, restoring an individual's life force or stamina significantly within fifteen minutes.】

That is: "Cannot Move" spends time weaving the Divine Tree imprint, attaching it to the recipient—side effects identical to "burst," with a multi-day "cooldown."

Aside from requiring time to weave, lacking the immediacy and speed of "burst," the total recovery of the Divine Tree imprint was undoubtedly greater and more functional.

The former suits emergency life-saving and burst use.

The latter suits prolonged, attritional combat.

The second emerald light, 【Unshaken by Wind and Rain】, was a resistance-type ability, enhancing one's "essence."

It allowed 【Revival】 to gain another branch ability, boosting defense and offense for all within its range.

But with 【Spirit Transformation】 already in hand, Liang Qu currently lacked not burst power, but endurance!

Only with endurance could there be margin for error.

As for the final two: 【Fierce Fangs and Sharp Teeth】 and 【Death Whirlwind】—no surprise, they belonged to physical enhancement attack talents.

Liang Qu examined each one, with little hesitation.

【Divine Tree Revival】!

The first emerald light within the Inside Ze Ding blazed fiercely, while the other three dimmed gradually, peeling away fine threads of emerald glow that merged into 【Divine Tree Revival】, as if their essence had been drained.

Once fully absorbed, the emerald light of 【Divine Tree Revival】 swelled more than double, becoming a core of light that shot instantly into "Cannot Move."

A light cocoon enveloped the crocodile.

Moments later, the cocoon shattered, dissolving into countless glowing butterflies that scattered across the marsh.

A terrifying beast over five zhang long—sixteen meters—came into view!

A Great Spirit Beast!

"Cannot Move" flicked its tail; moonlight rippled in layers, its scales like polished jade armor carved by a master, radiating a smooth, oily glow.

Its overall aura grew calmer and more serene, devoid of the oppressive dread typical of powerful water beasts—simply being near it dissolved all cluttered worries.

Even Bai Awei, now a blue bracelet, couldn't resist extending its wings and stretching its body, savoring the gentle life aura.

It deserved to be called an auspicious beast.

He sensed its aura.

"Not merely newly entered Wolf Smoke—its aura strength far exceeds Cheng Chong's, similar to Third Senior Brother's… Wolf Smoke Mid-Realm?"

"Advancing via Marsh Essence… the progression differs slightly from ordinary advancement…"

Liang Qu understood, patted "Cannot Move" on the head, his confidence surging.

With 【Divine Tree Revival】, the duration of 【Spirit Transformation】 would extend by at least double!

He'd never imagined when first commanding it that a ferocious pig-dragon would become a healer, leaving all others far behind…

He communicated with the Inside Ze Ding.

Liang Qu checked the requirements for "Cannot Move"'s next evolution.

He hadn't expected this.

The fifth evolution required a full 25,000 points of Marsh Essence!

The Essence points needed for his spirit beasts' evolutions kept increasing.

This made Liang Qu worry: how much would the next stage—Water King Monkey—require?

Water Monkey: 100 points. Marsh Monkey: 100,000 points. Water King Monkey…

Hope it's not another multiple.

The Water Monkey's evolution into Water King Monkey had only two conditions.

One: gain five points of River Favor. Two: fully integrate the Marsh Spirit, Marsh Monkey.

When evolving from Water Monkey to Marsh Monkey, there had also been a Favor requirement—but it had been completed in advance.

Now the latter condition was met; the former… wasn't too difficult either.

As his own strength grew, the quality of offerings would rise; combined with the nearly completed Water God Temple, sacrificial scale would expand further—five points of Favor could be gathered in roughly two visits.

The only issue was the Dragon…

Forced Liang Qu to make small, frequent offerings.

"Next time I build a boat, don't trade goods—have the toad jump around a bit?"

Last year, no great demons appeared in the second half, so the River God Festival wasn't held in winter.

Elders in Yixing Town all praised Liang Qu's summer festival—lively, well-run, pleasing the River God.

Intentionally stirring up trouble might finish everything within this year.

In the surging black tides of the marsh, fat catfish eyed "Cannot Move"'s mighty, imposing form with envy.

Utterly defeated.

Liang Qu saw through the fat catfish's thoughts.

Too much Essence was required to break into the Great Spirit Beast realm—though the Zhang family had some surplus after the payment, it was far from enough to evolve another.

"If the Zhang family isn't enough, let the Li family make up the difference!"

The next day.

April 16th, weather warming.

Liang Qu arrived at the Li family. As with the Zhang family, he repeated the same excuse—before Li family patriarch Li Li Xiaoheng and several clan elders—he "demanded the key item to resolve the snake demon."

After only a few words, the Li clan elders' blood pressure soared; halfway through their tea, they all excused themselves.

He'd seen people demanding favors—but never like this!

Speak of resolving the snake demon, and they had a method.

Ask what method, and they had nothing to say!

Any trickster's words were this crude, this transparent.

Yet Liang Qu's River Office identity was genuine—the four-rank Dragon Blood Horse grazed in their own stable, munching spiritual grass and treasure meat!

After all, he was the Emperor's appointed man.

Might as well treat a dead horse as if alive.

Li Li Xiaoheng gritted his teeth and accepted the deal, later reassuring the elders.

"The Zhang family inquired yesterday: last year, the River Office crushed the Ghost Mother Cult—yes, a Great Wu Shi killed two Zhen Xiang Masters. If a Great Wu Shi can defeat a Master, perhaps a Wolf Smoke cultivator can handle water demons?"

The elders: "..."

Afternoon.

A maid knocked on the door, received permission, then opened it.

Patriarch Li Li Xiaoheng stepped in, leading three servants carrying trays.

They lifted the red cloth: the first two items were high-quality water-elemental treasure plants—one fruit, one herb.

The third was a black metal forearm guard.

Liang Qu frowned, pointing at the guard: "Master Li, what is this?"

Li Li Xiaoheng explained: "Our Li family's trade differs from the Zhangs—we specialize in bloodstone mines. We only recently expanded into water trade, so our foundations are shallow; we've accumulated few high-quality water-elemental treasure plants.

Thus, we bring you a local specialty of our county—Master Liang Shui, please examine it. If unsuitable, I'll send someone to fetch more treasure plants."

Several prominent families in Xiangyi County began with bloodstone trade.

The Li family's shift to water trade was a reluctant adaptation to depleted mines—far inferior to the Zhangs, who had long been half-rooted in water commerce.

Though "quantity compensates for quality," producing large quantities might seem like deliberate obstruction.

Liang Qu picked up the guard.

Guards normally aren't left/right specific, but this one wrapped the entire forearm and protected the palm and half the fingers—thus distinguishing left from right.

Quite rare.

Most striking in design was the dark red bloodline running through the guard's front and back.

Liang Qu fully opened the guard's side, placed his left arm inside, and infused it with blood qi.

Creak… creak… creak~

Click!

Black metal scales surged layer by layer, naturally closing into a seamless fit—perfectly tailored.

Liang Qu flexed his fingers—no resistance, incredibly light, weighing mere dozens of jin, as if made of feathers.

A beautifully crafted guard.

Fiery red patterns spread outward from the bloodline, as if a furnace burned within.

The more blood qi he infused, the more the bloodline spread, deepening the sense of connection—like a custom-made magic artifact, reminding Liang Qu of his own Yuanmu Bow.

"Living magic artifact?"

Living spiritual artifacts are more valuable than ordinary spiritual artifacts.

Not because they are more powerful, but because they do not demand a specific master; their compatibility ceiling is lower than custom-made ones, yet they have a minimum baseline, making them extremely convenient for trade.

"Liang Shui truly has exceptional insight!" Li Li Xiaoheng's face showed surprise, but mostly pride. "Made from Xuanwu steel, a one-piece armguard infused with two supreme-grade blood-source stones."

"Total weight: thirty-six jin and eight liang. Lightweight and sleek, combining beauty with function. When worn, it naturally absorbs the martial artist's dissipated blood qi, and boosts combat power by one and a half tenths when engaged!"

One and a half tenths?

Liang Qu's heart stirred slightly.

It was a noble damage-boosting armor!

Li Li Xiaoheng, fearing Liang Qu might not be local and unaware of the value of supreme-grade blood-source stones, added:

"Two hundred and thirty square feet of blood stone yield only one thumb-sized blood-source stone; half a liter of blood-source stone yields only one superior-grade; on average, five superior-grade stones yield only one supreme-grade! Truly a treasure!"

"The source of the armguard's self-generated spirit is precisely these two supreme-grade blood stones. In our county, it's commonly said that supreme-grade blood-source stones can flee—mining must be done in absolute silence, much like herbalists harvesting ginseng."

Natural resources are the foundation of economic development.

No wonder Blood Stone County is so wealthy and powerful.

A treasure mountain!

"What if it doesn't absorb any blood qi?"

Liang Qu cultivates the Ten Thousand Victories Embracing the Origin, conserving strength, preventing qi leakage, and with his Golden Body solidifying his form, his daily dissipated blood qi is far less than that of ordinary martial artists.

"Hmm, you can actively release some during daily life for it to absorb. What do you think of this blood-stone armguard, Liang Shui?"

"Excellent!"

Liang Qu opened and closed his fingers, deeply pleased.

He came to Xiangyi County doing nothing, yet already feasted to the point of dripping oil.

It was worth his long journey.

Comfortable.

"But… to deal with that snake demon, I still need a few more items."

Li Li Xiaoheng stared in shock.

How young, yet greedier than senior officials!

"Cough, cough, Master Li, rest assured—the rest of what I require is not valuable, and will be jointly provided by your two families!"

Li Li Xiaoheng fell silent.

April 17th, morning.

Merchants, porters, fishermen, scholars—all walks of life gathered before the notice board, bustling and noisy.

Early this morning, notices were posted in Maoming Port and nearby towns near Li Shunfeng Port, announcing that the River Office's Water Commissioner Liang Qu had been dispatched to exterminate the snake demon.

Hearing the government had finally sent someone to hunt the demon, villagers spread the word; many abandoned their farming duties and came early just to watch.

Some even walked over ten li from other villages just to see the notice.

"They've come! They've really come! Official seal! That demon has been causing trouble since the New Year, and now summer's nearly here—finally, salvation!" cried the lame old man joyfully.

A farmer woman with a vegetable basket complained: "Fishermen won't go out to sea—fish prices have risen two wen!"

They never thought fish meat was particularly tasty—dry, lacking oil—but the trouble had always just affected fishermen. They never imagined that without fish, vegetable and grain prices would skyrocket.

Especially since Zhang's family took money but didn't bring fish to market—each one-wen increase was unbearable.

"I said it all along—how could a giant snake possibly challenge the court? It's a sure thing!"

"Sir, what rank is a Water Commissioner?"

The scholar helping read the notice recalled: "The River Office's Water Commissioner… probably seventh rank?"

"Seventh rank? That's the same as our county magistrate! Can he handle a giant snake?"

Hearing the rank, some sharp-minded people realized the problem.

Though rank doesn't directly equal power, the two aren't unrelated—especially in military posts.

"Didn't the notice say this Liang Shui fixed the great flood in Huazhu County last year? He even received imperial praise!"

"Damn, one man fixed a great flood? That's incredible!"

"Hey, the guy up front—what did the notice say? We didn't hear!"

Amid the chatter, more villagers pushed forward, causing a commotion beneath the notice board.

Soldiers quickly erected barriers and threatened the crowd: "Fall back! Everyone, fall back! Anyone who causes trouble, straight to the jail!"

Liang Qu stood on the second floor of the Li residence, watching the crowd. Since morning, over a dozen waves of villagers had arrived.

He knew the Zhang and Li families were still afraid—afraid he'd take their bribes and flee.

A major clan with several Smoke-Warriors could easily ignore a county magistrate.

Though Liang Qu was also seventh rank, he used the River Office's authority as a pretext to seize control of the two families' income streams, manipulating them freely—leaving them no choice but to panic.

"Master Liang, do you truly have a way to deal with that snake demon? I'm an old man—I can't bear more fright. Could you let me in on a little secret? Don't worry—I swear, heaven knows, earth knows, you know, I know—I won't tell a soul!"

County Magistrate Liu Liu Shiqin sat across from Liang Qu, solemnly swearing his oath, then accepting tea from a Li family servant and thanking him.

Liang Qu glanced at the servant beside him.

Liu Liu Shiqin understood instantly.

"You may leave."

"Yes."

Moments later.

The room held only Liang Qu and Liu Liu Shiqin.

"I'm not unwilling to reveal it to Master Liu."

Liang Qu lifted his tea, sipped lightly.

Early this morning, Liu Liu Shiqin had rushed to the Li residence to meet him—his motive was obvious.

Liu Liu Shiqin, with prospects of promotion, was even more anxious than the Zhang and Li families.

As for his promises of secrecy—irrelevant. By now, it was time to drop a hint.

"One Smoke-Warrior cannot possibly defeat a snake demon. The truth is simple: I am not the one who will deal with it."

Liu Liu Shiqin froze: "Not you, Master Liang? Then who?"

"You'll understand when the time comes."

Liu Liu Shiqin deeply disliked Liang Qu's youthful habit of speaking in riddles, but he couldn't protest.

The River Office sent only you—unless you act, who else will?

As silence fell, a light knock came at the door.

Liu Liu Shiqin tapped the table with two fingers: "Enter!"

The servant opened the door. Zhang Wenhua, head of the Zhang family, and Li Li Xiaoheng, head of the Li family, entered together.

"Master Liang, Magistrate Liu."

"Hmm."

After greeting them, Li Li Xiaoheng stepped aside, and servants brought in a tray, lifting the red cloth to reveal rows of medicine vials.

"Master Liang, as you requested, all elixirs are prepared. Additionally, our two families have prepared an extra batch of antidote pills."

"That snake demon's two offspring both carry potent toxins. Though we've never directly faced the demon, their toxins are closely related—so we consulted an elixir master and formulated an antidote specifically for snake venom."

The tray was placed on the table.

Liang Qu uncapped the vials and lightly sniffed them with his spiritual sense.

Yuan-Enhancing Elixir, Healing Elixir, Snake-Toxin Elixir, Yellow Stone Elixir… all flawless.

Yuan-Enhancing Elixir was the most numerous.

Qi-Replenishing Elixir, Qi-Nourishing Elixir, Yuan-Enhancing Elixir—each corresponds to the Four Passes, Galloping Horse, and Smoke-Warrior realms; identical effects, used to restore qi and stamina.

Besides the elixirs, the tray held a device resembling a dental retainer, designed to hold pills and be placed in the mouth.

In life-or-death combat, there's no time to fumble for bottles.

With this device, each pill is shrunk and placed in its own compartment; a mere touch of the tongue releases the correct pill—allowing continuous healing mid-battle, undetectable to opponents.

Now, Liang Qu felt fully armed, with no oversight.

"Good. Everything's complete."

Li Li Xiaoheng beamed: "Since everything's ready, when will Master Liang strike?"

"Today!"