Chapter 242: Forging the Dao, the Sparrow Reveals Its Form

The wooden rack rotated with a creak.

Zhuang Renhe walked out of the dark passage with an expressionless face; the Blood-Picking General had already stopped moving, or rather, the Blood-Picking General in the secret room had been dissolved until not even a scrap was left.

This time he was truly dead; there would be no one named Blood-Picking General in the world again.

'Immortal Venerable... you really know how to hide things!'

Zhuang Renhe had never expected that the Ghost Gui Ming Jiao had actually done so many things behind his back.

And he never expected that the Immortal Venerable had descended to the world, and he had actually participated in it.

He had already understood.

That order to search for a person wasn't issued by the Blood Shadow Old Ancestor at all, but by that Immortal Venerable.

'The Xuan Kingdom claims to be descendants of immortals; damn it, it's actually true.'

Zhuang Renhe's eyes flickered.

All along, he had only treated the doctrines of the Ghost Gui Ming Jiao as a joke; all that talk about being descendants of immortals was just a trick to deceive oneself and others.

He joined the Ghost Gui Ming Jiao just to use each other.

Yet the water in the Ghost Gui Ming Jiao seemed deeper than he had anticipated; they had actually resurrected the Immortal Venerable.

Soon, his eyes were occupied by greed.

'Immortal Qi... that is an immortal after all.'

Zhuang Renhe still doubted whether the Immortal Venerable truly existed, but the existence of immortal Qi was almost a nail-in-the-coffin fact.

'The Ghost Gui Ming Jiao can take it, and I can take it too!'

In the Li residence.

"The taste of the Qi-Nourishing Pill is better than the Yellow Court Pill."

Having eaten many spirit pills, Li Rui had gradually developed a taste for them.

If he had to say which was best,

it had to be the fifth-rank elixirs; they were truly a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate.

This state of mind was roughly similar to that of a gourmet who had tasted all kinds of delicacies.

Li Rui looked at a floor tile.

That was the entrance to the dark passage, where the elixirs were hidden in the secret room, especially those two fourth-rank Nine-Turn Spirit-Returning Pills.

He swallowed his saliva.

Now was not the time; when his true Qi was solid enough to open up the Qi Sea, he would then use the two Nine-Turn Spirit-Returning Pills to assist and open up the Qi Sea in one fell swoop.

The true Qi required for the Qi Sea was frighteningly large; it couldn't be done in a single day.

It was only because the elixirs Elder Tiekuang gave were sufficient and fierce.

This gave Li Rui the possibility of a quick success.

Such treatment, he feared, even core disciples of the Divine Weapon Shanzhuang might not necessarily have.

True super-prodigy treatment!

Elder Tiekuang had truly spent his capital for the sake of the Immortal Weapon this time.

Only if Li Rui opened up the Qi Sea and could nurture more immortal Xuan Qi would the Immortal Weapon be possible; he had to assist with all his might.

But thinking about it from another angle, it was just exchanging beast blood for elixirs; from a certain perspective, wasn't it even more cost-effective?

With the help of a large amount of elixirs, his Qi-nourishing progress was naturally rapid.

Looking inward at his dantian.

At this moment, the dragon form was even more agile, lifelike, and was no different from the legendary Ying Dragon; apart from that, the immortal form was the same, with faint immortal charm between the haziness.

The effect was quite gratifying.

After taking the elixir, he immediately operated the Dragon Roaming the Nine Heavens to walk the Qi; because the medicinal efficacy was extremely active, the Ying Dragon traveled around his body in an instant, completing a major cycle in a short quarter of an hour.

Li Rui looked at the moonlight outside the window.

It was still early.

He simply took the Divine Fire Burning Heaven Hammer and walked out of the room.

Under the moonlight,

an old man swung the hammer.

"What a grand atmosphere."

Outside the Anning Guard.

On the roof of a desolate house, Fu Huai stood quietly, looking into the distance at the scene of the Anning Guard, his eyes flickering with eerie purple light, holding a small jade bottle in his hand, the liquid inside having been drunk dry.

In the eyes of ordinary people, it was just a guard post.

But in his eyes, the scene was spectacular.

On the right hand, a giant sword reaching the sky faintly had the momentum to leave its sheath; on the left hand, a divine dragon with dual wings slowly raised its dragon head, wanting to soar into the sky.

Fu Huai's mood was hard to calm.

A tiny Qinghe actually harbored two such terrifying figures.

Once these two people gained momentum, he feared the Yu Kingdom would have two more extraordinary big figures.

And they were people from the military.

The Ghost Gui Ming Jiao naturally didn't want to see such things.

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

Although he wasn't sure if these two were the people the Immortal Venerable was looking for, one thing was certain: they were both people the Ghost Gui Ming Jiao wanted to kill.

For the past thousand years,

there had always been some geniuses in the Yu Kingdom who died inexplicably.

Some of them were the work of the Ghost Gui Ming Jiao, just a means to eliminate threats in advance.

'Jiang Linxian... Li Rui...'

Fu Huai pondered.

Both were outstanding people, but it seemed there was still a not-insignificant gap from the Fallen Immortal potential mentioned by the Immortal Venerable.

What is a Fallen Immortal?

An immortal who has descended to the world!

Only the environment has changed, but the essence of the immortal has not changed in the slightest.

The atmosphere should be boundless.

Fu Huai hadn't seen a real immortal; apart from a few high-level members of the Ghost Gui Ming Jiao, no one else knew about that Immortal Venerable.

So Fu Huai could only guess and compare.

'So, who exactly will it be?'

He muttered to himself, then leaped off the roof easily and disappeared into the darkness.

The Lantern Festival arrived.

"The fifteenth is the Upper Origin, the fifteenth of the seventh month is the Middle Origin, and the fifteenth of the tenth month is the Lower Origin; these are the birthdays of the Three Officials. It is said that the Heavenly Official bestows blessings, the Earth Official pardons sins, and the Water Official resolves disasters. Altars are set up for sacrifice."

The fifteenth is the Upper Origin, the Heavenly Official bestows blessings.

Whenever this time came, the streets were decorated with lanterns, people came and went watching lion dances, and sat around eating sweet rice balls.

The streets of Qinghe had never been so lively.

Young men and women took to the streets.

The atmosphere in the Yu Kingdom was open, and there were quite a few female martial artists, so there was no saying that women couldn't show their faces, but one could only see so many young men and women on the day of the Upper Origin.

Li Rui walked on the street.

An old man appeared somewhat out of place.

After a while,

he ducked into a small alley.

It instantly became much quieter, and then passing through a small path in the middle of a residence, he couldn't see a single person.

A moment later,

he arrived in front of a smithy.

"Senior Tie."

Elder Tiekuang was discussing something with Liu Tiezhu about a blade embryo.

Those on the street were all carefree young men and women.

Craftsmen had never had such a thing as the Lantern Festival.

Elder Tiekuang turned his head to see Li Rui and snorted coldly: "Why haven't you opened up the Qi Sea yet? Too slow."

Li Rui was speechless.

Did he really think the Qi Sea was something you could open whenever you wanted?

As long as the Qi Sea was opened and slightly consolidated, it would be a smooth path, a nail-in-the-coffin Sea-Observing Realm martial artist.

Observe the sea, observe the sea—of course, the prerequisite was to have a sea.

Once there was a sea, other things would naturally follow.

This sea was the Qi Sea; for Qi to become a sea, the first priority was naturally for the quantity of true Qi to be sufficient.

But experts in the Sea-Observing Realm were qualified to be the sect masters of a prefecture-level major sect; how could it be so easy to break through?

Li Rui laughed, lifting the food box in his hand.

"Eat sweet rice balls."

"Boil glutinous rice into balls, sugar for the broth, called 'round seeds'."

The Lantern Festival was precisely the time to eat sweet rice balls.

Elder Tiekuang rolled his eyes: "Who eats that stuff that only women eat."

A quarter of an hour later,

three figures were squatting at the entrance of the smithy on their tiptoes, each holding a bowl in their hands.

Elder Tiekuang's cheeks bulged:

"It's actually quite fragrant."

Li Rui: "Right? This is specially made by the Drunken Immortal Tower; ordinary people might not necessarily be able to buy it. I thought about bringing it for you to taste."

Elder Tiekuang ate with more and more gusto.

Fried sweet rice balls, the skin was crispy, the inside was soft and glutinous, and the filling was osmanthus, brown sugar, and red bean paste—sweet and flowing.

It was much more exquisite than what was sold at the stalls outside. Tie Kuang ate the sweet rice balls and said: "You lad, don't think you can fool me with a few round balls; if you can't open the energy sea within a year, you'll have to spit it all back out double. By the way, that hammer is borrowed; you have to return it when the time comes."

"Yes, yes."

Li Rui nodded repeatedly.

He naturally knew that Old Man Tie was talking about the Divine Fire Burning Heaven Hammer.

This hammer was the treasure of the Divine Weapon Shanzhuang; of course, it couldn't be left outside for a long time.

Li Rui took advantage of Old Man Tie's good mood and asked: "Senior, why does my true Qi automatically dissipate every time I try to open the Qi Sea?"

Elder Tiekuang was a genuine fourth-rank Primordial expert.

There weren't many in the entire Yunzhou.

Now that he had finally met one and was willing to give pointers, he naturally couldn't miss it.

Tie Kuang chewed a fried sweet rice ball and swallowed it into his stomach:

"That's because you lad are practicing too fast."

After speaking,

=9+Shu_Ba

he cursed: "I have lived for several hundred years, and your situation is really the first time I've seen it."

"That is to say, I have been forging iron for many years and am proficient in bone-touching, which is why I can see that you lad have been practicing martial arts for at most ten years."

"You are breaking through too fast, so your true Qi hasn't settled enough."

"Using the hammer I found for you to swing ten thousand times a day can help temper your true Qi and solve your problem."

Li Rui's pupils contracted slightly.

His background had long been seen through by Elder Tiekuang.

The means of a Primordial martial artist were indeed not something ordinary people could predict.

Elder Tiekuang looked at Li Rui deeply: "Fortunately, I, an old man, know some bone-touching skills, otherwise I would have really been fooled by you and that lad Jiang Linxian."

"Fart of an imperial secret guard."

"Little Li, you are quite good at hiding."

Li Rui just kept laughing.

Well, playing dumb.

Elder Tiekuang looked, rolled his eyes, and then sighed lightly: "I guess only people like you can live long; keep pretending."

He had seen too many geniuses with monstrous talent.

But they all died young because their talent was revealed too early.

Without experiencing wind and rain, one cannot become a talent.

But if one really goes to experience wind and rain, if one is not careful, one becomes mud for fertilizer.

This matter, even a major sect couldn't solve perfectly.

Even a guardian wouldn't work.

Thinking of someone like Li Rui, whose state of mind had already been perfected, and then stepped onto the martial path, and keyly, could break through like a bamboo shoot—Elder Tiekuang had seen this for the first time in his life.

This only proved that Li Rui's original talent was monstrous to the point of being terrifying.

It was just because his background had always been buried.

Misfortune and fortune depend on each other.

Elder Tiekuang didn't think it was all bad.

Li Rui put away his smile and bowed solemnly to Elder Tiekuang: "Many thanks, Senior."

Elder Tiekuang had long seen through his background, but he hadn't publicized it to the outside world, and had even gone to great lengths to find him the Divine Fire Burning Heaven Hammer; it could be said he had racked his brains.

"Open up the Qi Sea earlier, preferably directly jumping to the Sea-Observing Realm, to help me forge an Immortal Weapon sooner; stop talking nonsense."

Li Rui wasn't annoyed either.

Elder Tiekuang was just this temperament.

His speech was the same as his name, hard and crazy, but his heart wasn't bad; this was the benefit of technical talent.

Li Rui also liked to get along with people like Old Man Tie.

Steady.

Li Rui finished the fried sweet rice balls in his bowl: "Senior Tie, how much confidence do you have in the Immortal Weapon?"

Elder Tiekuang's expression dimmed: "About ten percent."

"I hope that before I die, I can forge an Immortal Weapon, so that when I go down and meet that old man, I can have an explanation."

Li Rui nodded.

Ten percent.

It seemed very low, but it was actually quite good.

There weren't many people in the entire Yu Kingdom who dared to say they could forge an Immortal Weapon.

Immortal Weapons don't die; their numbers are passed down from generation to generation, piled up by time; in fact, they are even rarer than martial artists of the top three ranks.

Elder Tiekuang was treating forging an Immortal Weapon as his dying wish.

After eating the sweet rice balls,

the smithy once again rang with the sound of iron forging.

Elder Tiekuang and Liu Tiezhu were extremely similar in a certain sense; both were fanatics, and they never felt tired of forging iron.

Logically speaking,

Elder Tiekuang had Li Rui, so he didn't need to forge iron to make money.

But as Elder Tiekuang said, idle is idle.

If he didn't forge for a day, he would feel uncomfortable all over.

Li Rui couldn't help with this matter either, so he stood up and walked back to the street decorated with lanterns.

On the bustling street,

young men and women gathered in groups.

Li Rui walked alone.

After the Lantern Festival,

the New Year was completely over.

Farmers had begun to prepare for busy farming, and there were quite a few more merchants in the Trade Office than before.

Days passed one by one.

In the Trade Office, Liang He held a piece of paper and handed it to Li Rui respectfully:

"Master, this is the list provided by Assistant Magistrate Zhong."

Li Rui nodded: "Good."

He took the list from Liang He and read it earnestly.

On this list, what was marked were all the people around Zhuang Renhe.

'So who exactly is spying?'

Li Rui whispered in a low voice.

He looked at the smoke deep in his consciousness; the color had turned deep red.

Danger is coming!

And the beginning of all this was that gathering at the County Office before the New Year; since that day, the color of the smoke had become redder and redder.

It could almost be determined that it should be related to Zhuang Renhe.

Li Rui was just puzzled.

He had already "handed over" the immortal Qi, so why were the people of the Ghost Gui Ming Jiao still so persistent?

'Or is Zhuang Renhe plotting something else?'

Zhuang Renhe, a County Magistrate, didn't know how many people were watching his every move; it was impossible to spy on him all the time.

So it must be his subordinates.

Li Rui then used his connections to find Assistant Magistrate Zhong.

The County Office couldn't possibly be an iron plate; the second-in-command wanting to dismantle the first-in-command's stage and take the opportunity to move up was a routine operation.

That Assistant Magistrate Zhong gave the list to Li Rui quite readily.

Today, Liang He had made a trip to the County Office and brought the list back.

Li Rui narrowed his eyes slightly.

He said to Liang He: "Make a copy of this list for the Second Alliance Master and the Third Alliance Master, and tell them to send people to watch these people well and report their whereabouts to me every day."

"Yes."

Liang He took the list and then turned to leave.

Li Rui's gaze was profound.

He was no longer the person he was years ago; he had many ways to investigate a person.

That person could investigate him.

He could naturally investigate too.

The energy of the County Office was great, but the Heaven and Earth Alliance also had its own advantages.

The beggars on the street, the peddlers on the roadside, the Eight Hidden Sects in the city.

Those seen as hooligans by others were all eyes and ears of the Heaven and Earth Alliance.

These people were looked down upon by major sects, so they were all bought by the Heaven and Earth Alliance and called "Sparrows."

Of course, it was all Li Rui's handiwork.

He was powerless in other places, but in Qinghe... he had fifty years of experience.

Perhaps he was inferior to that person in martial power.

But as a human, one must eat, one must buy things, right? As long as one goes out, one will leave traces.

Through these whereabouts, one could also analyze it.

Small things can sometimes actually have a big effect.

"Let me see, who exactly it is!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 243 =====