Chapter 171: You beast, what did you do to Fourth? (6k)

At this moment, Zhou Qing dared not be the slightest bit careless, meticulously completing all preparatory work.

Once everything was secure, he took a deep breath, struggling to steady his somewhat agitated mind, before slowly reaching out to pull the stopper from the jade bottle.

In an instant, a majestic aura, as if from the primordial era, surged out from the jade bottle, filling the entire room in the blink of an eye.

It contained an endless sense of dominance and vigor, and even more, a heavy, aged quality born of the passage of time.

Looking into the jade bottle, three drops of essence blood floated quietly, like three burning golden orbs, radiating a blinding light.

Zhou Qing felt his throat go dry and couldn't help but swallow hard.

Fortunately, he already had experience refining the essence blood of the Jin Wu and the Suanni, so he carefully extracted one drop, immediately circulating the "Yin Yang Jue" to protect his meridians, and began to swallow and refine it.

As the essence blood entered his body, Zhou Qing felt as if molten lava were flowing wantonly through his meridians.

The scorching, burning sensation caused waves of intense pain in his meridians, forcing a muffled groan from his throat, and his forehead was instantly covered in beads of sweat the size of beans.

Daring not to be the slightest bit lax, he hurriedly concentrated his energy to guide this violent power.

Just then, within his sea of consciousness, a phantom of a Golden-Winged Great Peng suddenly appeared. It let out an angry, heaven-facing shriek, spread its wings, and charged aggressively toward Zhou Qing's Nascent Soul, as if intending to devour it.

Without Zhou Qing even needing to act, the Four Flowers Gathering at the Crown, sensing the crisis, immediately began to suppress it.

Time passed bit by bit. Soon, Zhou Qing's complexion, which had turned pale from pain, began to return to normal. Later on, there was even a faint hint of enjoyment in his eyes.

In this manner, half a month passed quietly, and Zhou Qing finally succeeded in completely refining the first drop of Golden-Winged Great Peng essence blood.

In an instant, a force of incomparable vigor radiated from his body, lingering around him.

"Perhaps the energy contained in these three drops of essence blood alone is enough to allow me to successfully break through to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm!"

After all, for the Four Flowers Gathering at the Crown to achieve a breakthrough, the energy required is extremely vast.

And these three drops of essence blood originated from a great power at the Great Perfection of the Soul Severance realm; just from refining this first drop, he could clearly feel the majestic energy contained within.

Thinking of this, Zhou Qing didn't hesitate, gathered his spirits again, and began to refine the second drop of essence blood...

Three days later, Yan Xiaohu hurried over.

Seeing the sound-insulation barrier activated outside the residence and the "Do Not Disturb" sign hanging there, he finally set his mind at ease.

It was only when he went to Divine Peak today that he learned Lu Shimei had returned and had already gone into seclusion. Thinking of Fourth, he had rushed over to take a look.

"Hmph, coming back without even saying hello, everyone is going into seclusion, right? Well, I'll go into seclusion too!" Yan Xiaohu muttered to himself.

Everyone with the Four Flowers Gathering at the Crown was so diligent; he, a mere Earth Vein Foundation Establishment, was truly too lazy.

Two months passed in a flash. Late that night, a tyrannical aura erupted with a boom, only to become extremely restrained again very quickly.

Inside the room, Zhou Qing's eyes were tightly shut, and he remained motionless. In his left and right hands, as he sat cross-legged, he held several supreme-grade spirit stones that had completely turned into empty shells.

Above his head, a Nascent Soul, almost identical to his physical body, bobbed up and down, radiating a faint halo and a sense of agility.

Not long after, the Nascent Soul returned to his body, and Zhou Qing slowly opened his eyes. In his calm, black pupils, a flash of brilliant golden light flickered.

Especially his aura; compared to before, it seemed to have become longer and more mellow, while also carrying a sense of heat and sharpness.

After slightly sensing the doubled, vigorous spiritual power within his body, Zhou Qing's lips curled into a satisfied smile.

"Late Nascent Soul stage, finally broken through!"

Zhou Qing whispered, then stood up, spread his arms, and smiled lightly.

To reach the final stage, for the sake of safety, he had taken out some of his supreme-grade spirit stones, never expecting that he would absorb them all completely.

Fortunately, he had finally crossed this critical step and successfully broken through to the late Nascent Soul stage.

"The feeling of leveling up is truly wonderful..." Zhou Qing sighed again, his face full of comfort and satisfaction.

Striking while the iron was hot, Zhou Qing simply stretched his body and couldn't wait to start practicing the "Di Huang Jing."

This time, everything was so natural; countless obscure and difficult ancient characters became clearer, pouring into his mind like a continuous tide.

In a trance, he seemed to cross the long passage of time, catching a glimpse of the invincible demeanor of the Golden-Winged Great Peng as it soared through the heavens and tore through the firmament in the primordial era.

That innate dominance and the freedom of soaring through the nine heavens continuously merged into his body.

In just half a month, his body underwent astonishing changes.

Beneath his skin, a faint golden light appeared, as if fine scales were forming. His bones creaked, as if undergoing reshaping and strengthening, becoming increasingly tough and powerful.

Meanwhile, at Divine Peak!

Cao Zhengyang stood in the air, looking with a complex expression at the residence below, which was almost covered in ice sculptures. His brows were slightly furrowed, his heart full of doubt and worry.

Ever since Lu Yaoyao returned after being out with Zhou Qing for more than two months, she had chosen to go straight into seclusion.

Thinking she must have gained something, he, as her master, was sensible enough not to ask too many questions.

After all, the last time this child went out with Zhou Qing, she had broken through two stages in a row upon returning, so Cao Zhengyang felt a bit more at ease regarding Zhou Qing.

But now, more than three months had passed; why had the residence before him turned into this state?

"Has she practiced a more powerful technique?" Cao Zhengyang was both happy and worried.

The main thing was that he didn't understand what this technique was like. Was it suitable for her?

What if something went wrong during her practice?

Just as he was filled with worry, suddenly, a sky-piercing aura erupted from below.

Sensing this aura, Cao Zhengyang was stunned for a moment, followed by a face full of surprise.

"Nascent Soul realm, she broke through! This child actually really broke through!" Cao Zhengyang muttered excitedly to himself, the smile on his face uncontrollable.

After another few hours, the ice crystals covering the surroundings began to melt slowly. Under Cao Zhengyang's expectant gaze, Lu Yaoyao happily opened the door.

Then, without even looking at Cao Zhengyang in the air, she ran straight toward the direction of Little Spirit Peak.

Cao Zhengyang, who had been reaching out his hand, preparing to greet her, froze in mid-air. The smile on his face instantly solidified, and his lips trembled violently.

Suddenly, he felt so sad!

Looking at Zhou Qing, who was still in seclusion, a trace of disappointment flashed in Lu Yaoyao's eyes.

But soon, she cheered up again.

"It seems the Golden-Winged Great Peng essence blood is not easy to refine!" she muttered to herself.

Then, she gave herself a pep talk.

With the help of the "Ice Clear Technique" gifted by Third Mama, she had finally successfully broken through to the Nascent Soul realm. She might as well strike while the iron was hot and practice the matching "Ice Lotus."

After all, this divine ability was several times more powerful than any technique she was currently practicing.

Just as she returned to Divine Peak and saw her master sitting outside with a long face, Lu Yaoyao happily ran over.

"Master, I've broken through to the Nascent Soul realm!"

Cao Zhengyang let out a dry laugh.

Ten months later, Yan Xiaohu came out of seclusion.

"Damn, how long has it been?" Seeing Zhou Qing still in seclusion, Yan Xiaohu, holding a hen, felt it was somewhat unbelievable.

He raised his hand to scratch his head. Calculating the time, it had been a year since you and Lu Shimei returned from Canglan Mountain, right?

Don't tell me you intend to break through to the late Nascent Soul stage in one go?

If so, then I, as your senior brother, might as well not live; the gap would be boundless.

But just as he was about to leave, a dull roar suddenly erupted from Zhou Qing's residence, like the low groan of an ancient beast before waking.

Yan Xiaohu stopped in his tracks. Seeing the hen in his arms trembling uncontrollably, it actually laid a spirit egg out of fear and then kept burrowing into his arms. He was somewhat confused for a moment.

The next moment, the residence exploded with a boom, and gravel and wood chips flew everywhere.

Immediately after, a blinding golden light, accompanied by a violent gale, whistled out.

Yan Xiaohu's expression changed instantly. He hurriedly dodged to the side, instantly mobilizing the spiritual power in his body to protect himself, while exerting force under his feet to retreat rapidly, daring not to be the slightest bit lax.

After steadying his figure, he looked vigilantly at the center of the light in the air.

He saw that within the golden light, a Golden-Winged Great Peng with a body length of ten zhang was flapping its golden wings.

Its feathers looked as if they were cast from gold, each one flashing with a cold light. Its eyes were like two golden suns, burning with scorching flames, revealing endless majesty and dominance.

The wind howled, and sand and stones flew.

Like a primordial beast stepping out of ancient mythology, Yan Xiaohu felt a chill in his heart just by meeting its gaze, and he retreated again and again.

"I understand, you didn't die. You beast, what did you do to Fourth?"

Yan Xiaohu immediately reacted, letting out an angry roar. He summoned his broadsword with a boom, and with intense killing intent, pointed it directly at the Golden-Winged Peng in the air.

Last time, Zhou Qing was almost possessed by a Golden-Winged Great Peng, but Fourth said afterward that it had been suppressed and killed by the Four Flowers Gathering at the Crown.

Now it seemed it hadn't been killed off at all. That Old Peng King didn't know what strange method he had used to actually deceive Fourth.

No wonder he had been in seclusion for so long this time; it turned out he was being possessed.

Zhou Qing, seeing Yan Xiaohu's angry and nervous appearance, let out a long roar toward the sky.

That feeling of breaking through shackles was incredibly exciting.

Eight months of seclusion had finally allowed him to practice the "Di Huang Jing" to minor completion. The effects shown by the Jin Peng True Body and the Emperor's Might looked extremely extraordinary.

He could clearly feel that his combat power was currently exploding, and his strength had undergone a qualitative leap compared to before.

Added to his Four Flowers Gathering at the Crown amplification and his late Nascent Soul cultivation, crushing an ordinary Great Perfection was simply easy.

Even for people like Yu Ziqi, who had initially mastered a realm of understanding, it was not impossible to kill them.

With a flash of light, the majestic Golden-Winged Great Peng in the air instantly disappeared, replaced by Zhou Qing, who had returned to human form.

Seeing this scene, Yan Xiaohu, who had been furious, blinked and reacted instantly.

"Is it that thing called the Di Huang Jing?" Yan Xiaohu blinked, finally remembering something.

Zhou Qing smiled all over his face and said, "Third Senior Brother, what are you doing? Holding a broadsword against me, I thought you were going to kill your own kin for the sake of righteousness."

At this moment, Zhou Qing's aura was vigorous and restrained, his eyes as deep as the sea, and every gesture carried a unique confidence and composure.

Yan Xiaohu immediately put away his broadsword, hurriedly ran over, and circled Zhou Qing, his eyes full of unconcealable shock and envy.

"You..." He opened his mouth, but for a moment didn't know what to say, his heart filled with anxiety.

"Di Huang Jing?" Yan Xiaohu spat out the three words, as if wanting to confirm it again.

Zhou Qing nodded.

"I want to practice it!" Yan Xiaohu said without hesitation.

Zhou Qing explained helplessly, "I wanted to share it with you all after I woke up last time, but I couldn't say it. Didn't Master say this is a bloodline inheritance technique?"

Yan Xiaohu felt like he was going to cry, muttering with a face full of grievance, "That damn feathered beast, why didn't it possess me?"

"Wait..."

Soon, he seemed to sense something, widened his eyes, and asked tentatively, "You, broke through to the late Nascent Soul stage?"

Zhou Qing looked at his Third Senior Brother's complex expression—fearing his brother would suffer, yet fearing his brother would drive a Range Rover—and nodded lightly.

Yan Xiaohu, seeing this, didn't hesitate. He shoved the hen in his arms into Zhou Qing's arms and turned around, walking away angrily.

"Third Senior Brother, where are you going?"

"To die!"

Zhou Qing didn't expect that after only a short while, Third Senior Brother would return.

He saw him run to the big tree outside the courtyard, take a leak as if no one were around, and then come to Zhou Qing with a face full of resentment.

That appearance made one feel both amused and somewhat helpless.

"You said before that the Jin Wu essence blood was given to you by Second Uncle, then the Suanni essence blood was accidentally obtained at Spirit Skull Mountain, and now it's Golden-Winged Great Peng essence blood. Why do all the good things happen to you?"

Yan Xiaohu's words were full of unconcealable envy.

Zhou Qing, however, said with a serious face, "Third Senior Brother, if I told you that these three opportunities were all fought for with my life, would you believe me?"

The Jin Wu essence blood was snatched narrowly while facing so many Flame Fire Crocodiles and the threat of a Soul Severance realm beast, and he was even covered in water blisters from being burned.

The Suanni essence blood also carried an unclear cause and effect, and he was entrusted by Senior Xuan Qingzi to prove that he was not a deserter if he ever had the chance to go to the Starry Sky Battlefield.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng essence blood was obtained while exploring with a Soul Severance realm expert. Fortunately, Number Six was a maverick and believed in "fate." If it were anyone else, do you think they would let you take away three rare drops of essence blood?

At this moment, looking at Zhou Qing's appearance, which didn't look like he was lying, Yan Xiaohu suddenly felt touched by something in his heart, instantly feeling the hardships Fourth had gone through along the way.

The next moment, he suddenly laughed, stepped forward, put his arm around Zhou Qing's shoulder, and said sincerely, "Fourth, I'm not jealous of you; actually, I'm more happy for you. How does that saying go? With great power comes great responsibility."

"Look at you, now with the Four Flowers Gathering at the Crown, you've already experienced so many life-and-death crises, having your core shattered, being targeted by the Five Great Prodigies, and even almost being possessed by a Corpse Spirit. Heaven knows what other hardships you'll experience in the future. I, your senior brother, just feel sorry for you from the bottom of my heart."

Yan Xiaohu said with concern.

Zhou Qing, hearing this, couldn't help but tease, "Why have you suddenly become so sentimental? Saying it so sincerely, is it real or fake?"

"Of course it's real!" Yan Xiaohu glared at Zhou Qing and then said seriously, "Think about it, once the secret of your four flowers is exposed, you don't know how many enemies you'll have!"

Zhou Qing nodded slightly after hearing this and smiled, "Then you must keep your mouth shut tight; after all, not many people know about this."

Yan Xiaohu immediately patted his chest to guarantee it, then a look of excitement appeared on his face. He leaned close to Zhou Qing and lowered his voice, "Fourth, now that you've been in seclusion for so long, both of our rankings on the Must-Kill List have dropped. Should we take this opportunity to pull off something big?"

"What do you mean?" Zhou Qing's heart stirred upon hearing this.

Yan Xiaohu, seeing this, explained in detail, "You still remember Li Hanshan and Yu Ziqi, right? They hurt Second Yuan Shijie so badly before. If we hadn't arrived in time, heaven knows what would have happened."

"And, Second Yuan Shijie will probably reach the Soul Formation realm in a year or two. According to the current default rules, we won't be able to act against those two guys then."

"Besides, heaven knows when those two guys will break through, but recently, relying on their own cultivation, they've killed quite a few people from our Three Sect Alliance."

"The most excessive thing is that every time they act, they deliberately leave one survivor to bring a message to others, saying it's because you killed Sima Yaoji that they are retaliating. If anyone is to blame, blame you!"

Yan Xiaohu became more and more indignant as he spoke.

Zhou Qing's eyes narrowed instantly, and cold light flickered in them.

These two were truly shameless to the extreme. He didn't really care how others viewed him.

But they almost killed Second Yuan Shijie; this was real hatred, and no matter what, it couldn't just be let go.

And now, he truly had the confidence and strength to deal with them.

"It's rumored that the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown already has extraordinary combat power. I've long witnessed this from you, not to mention you are the Four Flowers Gathering at the Crown."

"Now that you've broken through to the late Nascent Soul stage, plus this terrifyingly powerful 'Di Huang Jing,' I think if we join forces, we can go and try!"

Yan Xiaohu's eyes shone with excitement as he discussed it.

Zhou Qing nodded without hesitation, as he had the same intention.

Seeing Zhou Qing agree, Yan Xiaohu was excited, "Alright, just wait for my news. I need to use some resources to properly check the recent movements of those two guys and try to find an opportunity to break them apart so our chances of winning will be greater."

After saying this, Yan Xiaohu couldn't wait to turn and leave.

Zhou Qing, holding the hen, stood in place, lost in thought.

To be safe, he still had to make thorough preparations. Afterward, he walked the hen toward Divine Peak.

And when Lu Yaoyao learned that Zhou Qing had come out of seclusion, she rushed out immediately.

After searching through the crowd for a long time, she finally saw that familiar back at the Exchange Hall.

At this time, Zhou Qing was in the Exchange Hall, using the points he had accumulated to exchange for another set of formation materials.

You must know, he already had two types of formation flags on hand: the "Floating Pagoda Formation" and the "Thunder Flame Spirit-Devouring Formation."

And this time, what he wanted to refine was a formation with a rather peculiar name, called the "Eighteen-Level Earthquake."

In the formation inheritance left to him by Senior Xuan Qingzi, there were over a thousand types of first-level formations alone.

And when Zhou Qing first saw the name of this formation, he was instantly attracted to it. After carefully reading the formation's introduction, he was even more pleasantly surprised, and his heart was full of anticipation for this formation.

Once inside the formation, it would truly be earth-shaking, and even the air could reach a high-frequency vibration with every breath. Its power was truly not to be underestimated.

So Zhou Qing really wanted to test the actual effect of this formation, and he was also full of admiration for Senior Xuan Qingzi's whimsical ideas.

"Where is he?" Lu Yaoyao finally squeezed through the crowd, only to find Zhou Qing gone. Looking carefully again, she discovered he was standing right there.

This made her stunned for a moment.

What's wrong with me lately? I always ignore Zhou Shixiong from time to time.

"Zhou Shixiong—" Lu Yaoyao rubbed her eyes, a happy smile reappearing on her face, and she shouted loudly.

Zhou Qing, seeing her, also smiled slightly, signaling that it was too noisy in the Exchange Hall and they should go outside to talk.

"Congratulations on your promotion to Nascent Soul!" After arriving outside, she congratulated him sincerely.

Lu Yaoyao giggled, her face full of pride, "It looks like you've gained a lot from this seclusion."

"So-so, just barely," Zhou Qing said modestly, then lowered his voice and asked, "Do you have time recently?"

Lu Yaoyao's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and she guessed a bit of it. She quietly leaned close to Zhou Qing and whispered, "Are we finally going to do something big?"

"Shh, I'll call you when the time comes!" Zhou Qing hurriedly lowered his voice to instruct her.

Lu Yaoyao nodded repeatedly, her heart filled with excitement.

You must know, for the past eight months or so, she had also gained a certain degree of mastery over the "Ice Lotus" technique and was practicing it more and more skillfully.

At this moment, she strongly suspected that the silver-haired woman might truly be her biological mother; both the mental cultivation method and the technique were simply tailor-made for her.

"Zhou Qing!" Just then, someone called out from behind.

Zhou Qing turned his head and saw Senior Uncle Gao Xuan walking out of the Mission Hall, waving toward him.

Lu Yaoyao, seeing this, knew that Senior Uncle Gao had something to discuss with Zhou Qing, so she sensibly said, "Then I'll go back and prepare first. Zhou Shixiong, remember to call me when the time comes."

Zhou Qing nodded, walked toward Senior Uncle Gao Xuan, and bowed respectfully, "Greetings, Senior Uncle!"

Gao Xuan still had a gentle appearance and said with a smile, "It's been a while since I've seen you. Walk with me."

"Yes, Senior Uncle," Zhou Qing replied, and then the two walked down the mountain together.

PS: Please give me a monthly ticket and let San Xing get on the monthly ticket list.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 172 =====