Chapter 43: Wait, Is This

Afterward, Zhou Qing immediately sat cross-legged, took out the spiritual egg laid by the old hen, and began diligently absorbing and refining it.

Under the cover of night, Zhou Qing, fully restored, headed straight for Yanlong City.

With a flick of his mind, the interface appeared silently.

【Name: Zhou Qing】

【Age: Nineteen】

【Cultivation Base: Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage】

【Sect Scripture: Taiqing Xuan Qi Jue】

【Talent Skill: One Appraisal Per Day,

Mind-Appraisal Vision—LV2 (121/200),

Reduced Presence—LV3 (3/100)】

【Skill Fragments: 0/3 (Unobtainable)】

It seemed that within no time, his talent skill 【Mind-Appraisal Vision】 would also rise to Level 3, allowing him to bind more people.

Then, no matter how much Second Uncle changed his appearance, he could see through it at a glance.

“Where did you go these past three days? I was just about to ask Old Mo for help.”

Seeing Zhou Qing return safely, Yan Xiaohu finally let out a long breath.

These past three days, he had sent message after message but received not a single reply—truly worrying him.

Zhou Qing said apologetically: “Uh, something came up, but as soon as I saw your message, I rushed over.”

“Where’s that elder?” Yan Xiaohu looked around but saw no trace of the stall owner.

Zhou Qing said: “Don’t look anymore—he’s gone.”

“Gone? What a pity. What did he want with you? Why did he take so long?” Yan Xiaohu asked curiously.

Zhou Qing thought for a moment, then said seriously: “He wanted to take me as his disciple.”

“Take you as his disciple?” Yan Xiaohu froze.

Zhou Qing nodded: “That’s right. He said I was naturally gifted, handsome, and lucky, so he wanted to pass on his legacy. He begged me for three whole days—but how could I possibly agree? After all, I’m Taiqingmen’s man in life, and its ghost in death.”

Looking at Zhou Qing standing there with such righteous pride, Yan Xiaohu had no chance of believing him.

“There’s no one from Taiqingmen here—no need to show loyalty. If you don’t want to say, fine. I’m not that curious. Let’s go home. Your old hen, the one you spent three thousand spirit stones to buy, is probably starving to death!” Yan Xiaohu said.

Zhou Qing’s expression changed instantly—he’d completely forgotten about that.

The two hurried toward the mountain gate…

When Zhou Qing hastily opened the courtyard gate, he was stunned.

The pavilion inside had collapsed, and the old hen was pecking at it with a steady “tap-tap-tap.”

No way—what kind of beak do you have? How’s it so hard?

But overall, the hen had lost a significant amount of weight, and feathers were scattered everywhere around the courtyard.

“My little chicken!”

Zhou Qing felt a pang of sorrow and rushed over, smashing two spirit stones with his hand, then picking up the hen and letting it peck at the fragments.

Afterward, as he gently stroked the hen, he realized this wasn’t so bad—after all, the hen was no longer as fat as it looked, which might have drawn unwanted attention.

Once everything returned to normal, Zhou Qing turned his gaze once more to the black-and-white spiritual core within his dantian, feeling as if he were dreaming.

Had he really achieved Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment?

And was he already half a step into the future, toward the top-ranked, first-tier Nascent Soul of Three Flowers Converging at the Crown?

If I went out today and announced this, would I get assassinated by nightfall?

Thinking of this, Zhou Qing couldn’t help but laugh.

But this secret must never reach anyone’s ears. Though the sect would undoubtedly pour all its resources into cultivating and protecting him, even the most careful plans have blind spots.

He didn’t want to be watched every time he went to the toilet—he was used to freedom.

Then he went to the Scripture Hall and thoroughly reinforced his knowledge of cultivation.

Sure enough, he found records on Yin-Yang Qi, the top-ranked Heavenly Dao Qi.

Yin-Yang Qi was a primordial spiritual force, astonishingly rare.

Not only could it forge the strongest Foundation Establishment, but upon advancing to Jin Dan, it would mysteriously produce two Golden Cores.

One resided in the dantian, the other in the heart dantian.

Ordinary cultivators had only one Golden Core in their lifetime—all other Golden Cores formed from Heavenly Dao Qi were identical.

Once the Golden Core shattered or was stolen, the cultivator was permanently ruined, unable to cultivate again.

But Yin-Yang Cores were the exception.

All things carry Yin and embrace Yang; their vital energy harmonizes into unity. Yin and Yang wax and wane, merging into one.

Lose one, and as long as the other remains, given time, it would regenerate the missing one.

Seeing this, Zhou Qing was astonished.

No wonder it ranked first among Heavenly Dao Qi.

And just as Second Uncle said, possessing two Golden Cores meant combat power far exceeding peers at the same level.

In the future, he had a forty percent chance of forming the strongest Nascent Soul of Three Flowers Converging at the Crown—his path ahead was already a self-sustaining cycle.

“Second Uncle said this Heavenly Dao Qi came from deep within the cave realm. What were those things I saw? Why would someone as powerful as Second Uncle be trapped so long?”

“And now, how far has the sect studied it? After all, according to Master, the ancient Taiqingmen was founded here precisely because they discovered this place’s strangeness—and built it with layers of restrictions.”

Zhou Qing grew increasingly curious.

Of course, he was deeply grateful to Second Uncle—such an invaluable treasure, worth countless supreme spirit stones, he had simply given it to him.

This debt, he must remember.

When he returned to the courtyard, he suddenly paused, sensing something, and looked toward the big tree outside.

Or rather, toward a patch of wild grass beneath it.

He stared at the golden dewdrops on the blades, then at the sun in the sky, feeling something was off.

With a flick of his mind, he performed an appraisal.

【Ordinary Wild Grass: Originally had years left to live, but half an hour ago, Yan Xiaohu urinated on it—its life ended prematurely.】

Zhou Qing: “...”

He pulled out his token and indeed found a message from Third Senior Brother.

“Little Brother, I waited for you all day but you never showed, so I went down to the gathering. If you want to come, message me later!”

Zhou Qing sighed softly—he didn’t feel like going down today, since 【One Appraisal Per Day】 had just been used.

Also, since the Treasure Exchange Fair was nearing its end, battles between sects had dwindled, making it nearly impossible to earn ignore points.

He might as well focus on cultivation today.

After replying to Third Senior Brother, Zhou Qing checked the chicken coop, then began practicing Second Uncle’s 【Silver Dragon Step】.

In just a short while, he opened his eyes in utter disbelief.

“What’s going on?”

He tried again immediately—again confirming it wasn’t an illusion.

When he first learned it, the technique had felt so obscure and difficult—why was it so easy now?

His mind felt crystal clear, almost to the point of understanding one thing and inferring ten.

“Could it be—”

Zhou Qing immediately looked toward the Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment core in his dantian, deep in thought.

He immediately shifted focus and began practicing 【Silver Dragon Hand】—and sure enough, everything flowed effortlessly.

He still didn’t believe it, so he activated 【Green Wood Spirit Shield】—the smoothness thrilled him.

In mere moments, a thick surge of wood-element spiritual energy rushed in from all directions, as if summoned, instantly coalescing around him.

In the blink of an eye, a solid shield formed, its surface patterns clear and radiating unyielding strength.

Inside the shield, Zhou Qing stared at it—its durability was no weaker than the one Shi Zhen had demonstrated in the 【Lecture Hall】.

“Already perfected?”

Zhou Qing swallowed hard—he’d practiced 【Green Wood Spirit Shield】 for years. Though he’d long reached minor mastery, he’d estimated years more before major mastery. Yet now, he’d achieved it effortlessly.

“Is this the enhancement from the top-tier Heavenly Dao Qi? Have I truly been reborn? No—I’ve even had my brain replaced!”

After triple-checking, Zhou Qing erupted in ecstatic joy. Calming his mind, he immediately dismissed the shield—it drained too much spiritual power.

He then sat cross-legged and began absorbing the supreme spirit stone in his hand, shocked to find his absorption and refining rate had also surged dramatically.

“I’m really going to get rich!” Zhou Qing burst into loud laughter.

…………

Thank you, Brother BookFriend20180114185916787, for the 100 reward—thank you for your support.

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(End of Chapter)