Chapter 850: Climbing one foot by day, falling two inches by night

Crack, crack, crack!

Amidst the void and chaos, three dragons coiled around a "whale," their brilliant golden scales rubbing against the thick whale skin.

As the two touched and scraped, both were consumed; the azure dragon's scales grew duller and dimmer, while the spirit fish's whale skin grew thinner and leaner. The debris ground off transformed into a faint cyan smoke, half merging into the spirit fish, half into the azure dragon.

The azure dragon's scales gradually hardened, and the spirit fish's blue skin gradually thickened.

It seemed there was a change.

Yet it also seemed there was no change.

The relationship between the two was not one of mutual growth and decline, but rather a stalemate.

In fact, the spirit fish absorbed the "cyan smoke" even faster; the azure dragon, which had been more proactive, had instead become the one being consumed!

Essence, Qi, and Spirit intertwined within the body, circulating back and forth from within the azure dragon.

With every breath, Liang Qu felt his spirit weaken a notch, his internal Qi and blood diminish, and a sense of fatigue arise. In the time it took for a stick of incense to burn, he felt as though he had gone through a battle, neither small nor large.

"Wansheng Baoyuan," "Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Taming Vajra Art."

Liang Qu operated both arts simultaneously, unhurried and composed.

For today's advancement, he had consulted every Perfected Form expert he could ask regarding the surrounding environment. His experience was so abundant, and he had chatted with other Perfected Form experts about hidden realms and various details so vividly that others assumed he had personally experienced it all. He was guaranteed not to be exposed, and thus he was incomparably clear that this was a normal situation.

"Advancement is truly not easy..."

Liang Qu muttered.

The "cyan smoke" ground off by the azure dragon and the spirit fish was the preliminary combination of the two, and also the "building material" for constructing the Cloud Sea Heavenly Palace and advancing to the Perfected Form.

When an ordinary Hunting Tiger enters the Perfected Form, they slowly grind down the prepared Heavenly Long Qi, combining it with their own body to construct the Cloud Sea Heavenly Palace. They use the "cyan smoke" ground off to wash and cleanse again and again, completing the transformation. They cannot even pause in the middle, lest the Long Qi gain the upper hand.

Even when resting, one must constantly maintain balance to avoid losing all previous efforts.

It is precisely because of this that the characteristics of Long Qi can be attached to oneself.

"Simpler than imagined, yet also harder than imagined..."

Liang Qu accelerated the circulation of his Qi and blood, making the three dragons coil tightly, barely suppressing the spirit fish's recovery, and attempted to use the "cyan smoke" to nourish himself.

Ordinary people consuming Long Qi simply use their own Essence, Qi, and Spirit to grind it down, using the three dragons to suppress and imprison the Long Qi. They lack the ability of the visualized three azure dragons to assist in devouring; this was the first "ease" he had not expected.

There are five difficulties in consuming Qi, and the medium is one of them.

Without a medium, apart from Xuanhuang Long Qi, ordinary people have no way to touch Heavenly Long Qi at all.

The two seem to exist with a dimensional gap.

The existence of a medium acts as a bridge communicating between the two dimensions. The more suitable the medium, the wider and firmer the bridge, and the more obvious one's "interference" with Long Qi will be, achieving twice the result with half the effort.

The 150,000 Water Marsh Essences transformed into a spirit fish. Although it lacked the extra "chemical reaction" of the Sun Flower and Red Qi, it had already constructed a perfect bridge, allowing Liang Qu's power of "interference" to be transmitted to the Long Qi almost 100% without loss; this was the second "ease."

Refining Long Qi consumes Qi and blood, and it is difficult to recover with elixirs, similar to entering the Galloping Horse realm from the Siguan, borrowing Mysterious Spirit Qi to open the apertures.

The Qi and blood recovered temporarily by taking medicine is unstable; the "cyan smoke" ground off will only return to the Long Qi and cannot be ingested into oneself. If one is distracted, they will be even more flustered.

Liang Qu fused with the Water King Ape, and his Qi and blood recovery was extraordinary. In the past, when practicing stake arts for the Siguan, others could practice three sets a day, and more would harm their bodies, but he could practice six or seven sets a day without loss. He would not easily fall into exhaustion, causing his previous efforts to be wasted; this was the third "ease."

All three were his advantages.

However...

The three great benefits could not overcome one "disadvantage"!

The spirit fish was too big!

In the tug-of-war, the spirit fish was more tenacious than expected.

Not only the nine strands of Long Qi, but judging from the 150,000 essences acting as the medium, in terms of quality, it perhaps reached fifteen times that of an ordinary person...

"Hoo!"

Half an hour flashed by.

Liang Qu felt as though he had experienced a battle that exhausted his strength; his spirit was listless, his eyelids heavy, and he could only maintain a low limit.

The "cyan smoke" scraped off was once again absorbed by the spirit fish.

The whole scene reminded one of the classic problem of a snail climbing a pole.

The pole is three zhang long; the snail climbs one foot by day and slips two inches by night.

Question: On what day will it reach the top of the pole?

In the early stage, the spirit fish was powerful and harder to grind down.

But!

Communicating with the Ze Ding.

【Ding Master: Liang Qu】

【Refining Ze Ling: Water King Ape (Purple) (Fusion Level: 130‰)】

【Water Marsh Essence: 347,000】

Hidden energy on the back!

Activate!

The fusion degree increased, feeding back a small amount of Qi and blood, same root and same source!

Start with 60,000!

Raise it by three thousandths to test the waters!

【Refined Ze Ling: Water King Ape (Purple) (Fusion Degree: 130‰)↑】

【Water Marsh Essence: 287,000】

Qi and blood regenerated.

The azure dragon regrouped, coiling around the great whale for the second time!

At the same time.

Inside the quiet room, dots of sunlight and moonlight merged into the divine ability seed, making the three azure dragons increasingly robust!

Woo woo woo~

The kettle in the hot water room boiled over, spraying out rolling white steam.

Da He Li picked up the copper kettle, showed the small waist tag to return to the Jia-3 room, filled the tea, and added underwear to the small wardrobe.

The Wangyue Tower practice room was not large, about 15 square meters, but for a small room, it was fully equipped, with a small cabinet, a small bed, and individual daily necessities, enough to make the practitioner's life worry-free.

After tidying up.

Da He Li went downstairs, led Wu Long again, and ran to the front of the Imperial Palace.

The crowd was noisy; compared to half an hour ago, the queue for the calendar had not shortened, but had instead grown by a third.

At the end of the queue, there was a sudden commotion, like a lump bulging on a long snake. A clerk looked up but saw nothing, assuming someone had cut in line and caused a small disturbance.

It lasted until evening.

The clerk distributing the calendars yawned, legs numb and feet sore, and tapped his calves.

"Woof!"

A dog bark close at hand made the clerk tremble. Facing the large dog, his heart stopped beating.

Thump, thump, thump!

Da He Li stood straight, head over the table, and tapped the tabletop.

"Otter?"

The surrounding commoners discussed with clicks of their tongues.

The clerk recovered, feeling amazed. He looked at the mountain of paper pages behind him; there were a total of several hundred thousand calendars prepared, so giving one away was nothing strange.

All scholars and commoners who bow to the court are entitled to be bestowed one.

Da He Li took the calendar and turned around.

Wu Long sat motionless and barked at the clerk again.

The clerk rubbed his brow and reached out to take one out.

A moment later.

Rustle, rustle.

The paper pages fluttered in the wind.

Wu Long wagged its tail, bit the calendar, and walked along the riverbank beside Da He Li. Da He Li opened the calendar, pondered and recalled for a long time, and poked a small hole on November 21st.

Autumn departed and winter arrived.

Two months flashed by.

Mid-January.

Goose-feather snow.

All the leaves in the Imperial Capital withered, and a layer of thick ice formed in the water vats.

The little river otter fished out the round ice from the vat, held it high, and let go, watching the ice block shatter into pieces.

For those close to him, Liang Qu had long mentioned that this seclusion would be very long. Yang Dongxiong and Long Eying went to check on him every half month, but outsiders who did not know the inside story were puzzled.

They had thought that since he went into seclusion in November, he would be able to catch the New Year's Great Court Meeting...

"Could it be that Baron Xingyi hadn't melted the hundred classics when he went in?"

"Possible."

"Alas, what a pity. If he had come two months earlier and discussed it, maybe there would have been a chance."

"I wonder what the envoys of Loulan and the Ba State are regretting?"

"Nothing, nothing."

In the Honglu Temple, the two envoys from Loulan and the Ba State sighed and drank together, but did not confide in others.

Cultivating to the Wolf Smoke realm has an impact on fertility. Fortunately, the impact is not heavy at this time, but once one enters the Perfected Form, that is a cliff-like drop.

If he hadn't sought it when he was a Hunting Tiger, it would be even more impossible after entering the Perfected Form.

It is truly a pity.

(End of chapter)