Chapter 136

Time can erase everything.

In less than a month, Heishui City had already emerged from the shadow of the Xiaoyue Yaowang's massacre.

As Qin Shuo's deeds of subduing the Xiaoyue Yaowang spread.

These days, many martial artists have poured into Heishui City, all coming to catch a glimpse of the divine youth's true appearance.

Thus, this originally remote and desolate small city, after enduring calamity, has instead become even more lively.

Not only have street performances increased, but the teahouses also now have many more storytellers, all recounting the legendary tale of the divine youth battling the Xiaoyue Yaowang.

The three women in green robes wore peculiar attire; as soon as they entered the city, they drew countless passersby to stop and stare, pointing and whispering.

The three paid no heed to this, walking openly into a teahouse.

As they sat down, they heard the storyteller on stage slap the wooden clapper with a 'pa' sound, his eyebrows dancing with excitement as he said:

"When the Xiaoyue Yaowang was complacent, believing he could devour an entire city and his cultivation had reached perfection.

Suddenly, a youth bathed in Buddhist light, with a golden wheel like the sun atop his head, one hand entwined with a golden dragon, the other with a subdued elephant lying in submission, descended from the heavens.

The youth's eyes blazed like torches, as if a Vajra Buddha had come to earth; with just a glance, he terrified the Xiaoyue Yaowang into losing control of his bowels and bladder, fleeing in panic.

But who is this youth? He is the reincarnation of a holy monk, the Buddha returned to the world; no matter how fierce the Xiaoyue Yaowang, he cannot escape his grasp.

See, as he raised his hand, heavenly thunder rolled, and wind and clouds changed color.

With one palm strike, he reduced the horrific Yaowang who dared to devour the city's inhabitants to ashes and smoke."

The storyteller spoke fluently, stirring the audience below into a frenzy, shouting praises loudly.

For a moment, copper coins rained down like droplets onto his stage.

The storyteller bowed repeatedly in thanks, had his attendant pick up the coins, then stepped down gracefully.

With the storyteller gone, the teahouse instantly buzzed with debate, everyone arguing whether the divine youth was the reincarnation of a holy monk or of the Buddha himself.

Only the Tiger-skinned Man let out a cold chuckle: "Xiaoyue is truly trash, actually dying in such a godforsaken place where even birds won't defecate."

"And that damned divine youth—he's merely relying on the Martial Saint's relics, grasping a bit of divine power, yet dares to claim he's the Buddha's reincarnation."

"When I find him, I will devour him alive and flay him, turning him into a starving ghost, so he'll know what true divine power is."

"You can't say that—although Xiaoyue was gravely wounded by the monks of Dalong Temple, the Yaowang's body still remains. That youth could kill him, so he must possess some skill." The Eagle-hook Nosed Youth swayed his feather fan lightly, unhurried.

"Hmph, at best he's just a major demon; I could crush him to death with a single finger." The Tiger-skinned Man's eyes brimmed with contempt.

"Enough, talking further is useless—first find that youth, then we'll speak."

The Qingyi Woman spoke, her voice like heavenly music, carrying an ineffable ethereal charm and allure.

In the next instant, countless transparent threads surged from within her body, like agile fox tails, instantly piercing the brows of everyone in the teahouse.

Time seemed to pause for a moment.

The transparent threads touched the brows of the teahouse patrons and instantly retracted; those affected had dazed eyes for an instant, but quickly returned to normal, then continued chatting animatedly with friends.

"Liuhe Martial Arts Hall, Qin Shuo?"

The Qingyi Woman curled the corner of her mouth slightly, "Found you."

……

Time flows like water, fleeting in an instant.

In the blink of an eye, over ten days have passed since leaving Songyang Prefecture City.

Hu~

On horseback, Qin Shuo heavily expelled a mouthful of turbid air, slowly opening his eyes.

Since Pang Tong took charge of escorting prisoners in Heishui City, he has completely relaxed, beginning to devote himself wholeheartedly to cultivation.

These days, he practices breathing exercises without fail, four hours each morning and evening.

However, the Condensing Truth Realm differs from the Tongmai Realm.

Although replenishing and refining blood and qi remains important, what matters more is drawing in the Essence of Heaven and Earth through breathing.

This is pure painstaking effort; even though Qin Shuo possesses a superior breathing technique, the speed of condensing True Essence is so slow it makes one's hair stand on end.

"No wonder the Ghost Mother Sect thrives—one Hundred-Person Pill can equal half a year of cultivation for a Condensing Truth Realm martial artist without eating or drinking. Such cultivation efficiency is rare among martial artists to remain unmoved." Qin Shuo sighed.

Only after breaking through to the Condensing Truth Realm did he truly feel the difficulty of gathering Heaven and Earth's Essence, realizing how great the allure of the Ghost Mother Primordial Pill is.

He cultivated diligently for ten days, yet only filled one of his three hundred and sixty-five major apertures.

At this rate, if he relies solely on his own cultivation to reach Great Perfection in the Condensing Truth Realm, he will need at least ten years.

Ten years...

In a martial artist's life, how many tens of years are there?

After thirty, a martial artist's qi and blood begin to decline, and by fifty, decay begins.

If he fails to achieve cultivation perfection before then, to refine his five viscera with True Essence and ease bodily decay, wanting to break through again—then wanting to break through again—would be doubly difficult.

Meanwhile, martial artists of the Ghost Mother Sect need only swallow two Thousand-Person Pills to equal another's ten years of arduous cultivation.

Such temptation—who could remain unmoved?

"Captain Qin, how did your cultivation go today?"

Seeing Qin Shuo pause his cultivation, Pang Tong, walking ahead, voluntarily slowed his pace, smiling as he greeted Qin Shuo.

"Progress is too slow!"

Qin Shuo shook his head, asking for advice: "General Pang, is there a way to quickly condense True Essence and fill the profound gate apertures?"

"Yes, the Ghost Mother Primordial Pill!" Pang Tong laughed, teasing.

"General, you're joking."

Qin Shuo paid it no mind.

After ten days of eating, lodging, and traveling together, Qin Shuo had figured out the temperament of this Flying Star General about seven or eight out of ten.

This person handles affairs with decisive efficiency; in daily interactions with subordinates, he is also unsmiling and strict.

It was rare to tease someone like this at such a time.

"Besides the Ghost Mother Primordial Pill, is there no other way to quickly condense True Essence?" Qin Shuo refused to give up.

He flipped through all the pill formulas left by Xue Chengkong, and indeed there were formulas for accelerating True Essence condensation, such as the Peiyuan Pill.

However, the True Essence enhancement speed of these pills was only slightly faster than his own breathing exercises, merely buying leisure with money, far from meeting Qin Shuo's requirements.

"Yes, entering the Divine Ability Secret Realm left behind after a Martial Saint's sitting demise, the True Essence condensation speed can be increased tenfold or even a hundredfold." Pang Tong responded seriously.

"How rare is the Divine Ability Secret Realm? Even if it exists, it is held by the great Martial Saint clans; how can ordinary people obtain it?"

Qin Shuo shook his head; this cultivation method only suited the heavenly pride of those Martial Saint clans, not him.

"Anything else?" Qin Shuo pressed on.

"Yes."

Pang Tong nodded again, his tone firm: "Hunting demons and refining their demon inner cores."

"Demon inner cores?"

Qin Shuo's heart stirred, and he involuntarily thought of the inner core of the Xiaoyue Demon King.

"Correct, the disciples of the major sects, upon reaching the Condensing Truth Realm, will go down the mountain to train and slay demons.

Do you think they do it for chivalry and righteousness?

Quite the contrary!"

Pang Tong sneered, mocking: "Among these people, the vast majority are merely seeking demon inner cores to enhance their cultivation speed.

Some even raise demons themselves; once the demon core condenses, they deliberately release the demon, then disguise themselves as righteous demon-slayers, gaining both fame and profit.

Such people are not few in the martial world."

"Is there then no way to eradicate this?" Qin Shuo frowned.

"Shouting 'catch the thief' while being the thief oneself—in this world where surveillance is not so developed, it is truly hard to discern."

"Yes, as long as each prefecture, county, and town registers and records the breeding of all spirit birds and demon beasts with the Demon Suppression Division, such situations can be greatly reduced." Pang Tong spoke sternly.

"And this is precisely one of the policies vigorously promoted by the Division Master."

"Unfortunately, registering spirit birds and demon beasts means that some dangerous demon beasts and demons will come under the surveillance of the Demon Suppression Division, which naturally touches upon some people's interests, making it difficult to implement."

"Is Pang General referring to Wind Thunder Valley?" Qin Shuo suddenly realized.

Wind Thunder Valley, as the First Alchemy Sect of Yunzhou, certainly breeds a great number of spirit birds and demon beasts.

Moreover, the variety and quantity, even the sources, pertain to a sect's secret, and how could it possibly be revealed to outsiders.

No wonder Fu Lingyuan is so obsessed with grabbing Wind Thunder Valley's handle; originally, besides seeking the Innate Ghost Mother, there is also this layer of plotting.

"Wind Thunder Valley governs the three prefectures of Yunzhou, its power vast and complex, far beyond your imagination. The Division Master wishes to implement the policy of registering spirit birds and demon beasts, and will inevitably have to bypass Wind Thunder Valley." Pang Tong spoke truthfully.

"Somewhat off-topic!"

Pang Tong shifted back to the previous topic, continuing: "Demon inner cores are formed by demons absorbing the Essence of Heaven and Earth and merging it with their own demon blood and qi, and refining them can directly replenish one's True Essence, making them the most coveted treasure for Condensing Truth Realm cultivators."

"By the way, you didn't obtain the inner core of the Xiaoyue Demon King? If you refine it, you should be able to fill more than a hundred apertures."

"Ah, now I understand!"

Qin Shuo's face showed an expression of sudden realization.

"Unfortunately, the Demon King's inner core was swallowed by the gold-thread silver-armored Taotie mural when the Taotie Cauldron was upgraded; otherwise, I could have tried it."

Afterwards, Qin Shuo again asked Pang Tong for advice on some cultivation doubts.

As a strong cultivator of the Refining Organs Realm, he naturally had many insights on the cultivation of the Condensing Truth Realm, which greatly benefited Qin Shuo.

Unbeknownst to them, night fell quietly.

The Demon Suppression Division Captains, as usual, began setting up camp and cooking.

Suddenly, Qin Shuo, who was cultivating with focused breathing, snapped his eyes open, gazing deep into the forest.

There, a black shadow flashed by at extreme speed; even Pang Tong, a Refining Organs Realm cultivator, failed to notice anything unusual.

However, such movement could not escape Qin Shuo, who possessed the Heavenly Wolf Divine Sense.

To avoid startling the snake, he and He Mingjing lied that they were going to relieve themselves, then took the Jingtie Daji and darted into the mountains.

The bright moon hung high.

Such a night was perfect for hunting!