Chapter 550

The immense power of Dan Shi is matched by an extreme cultivation threshold—there is no gradual progression in its practice.

Only two outcomes exist: either you master it upon entry, or you die in failure—it is hellish in difficulty.

Even within the Tang Sect, countless extraordinary individuals have lost their lives attempting to cultivate Dan Shi.

The cultivator must possess a mindset that utterly disregards life—not only the lives of others,

but also their own life—truly, no one in the world is beyond killing, nothing is beyond dying.

When condensing Dan Shi, one must use their own body as the crucible; even the slightest misstep leads to counter-attack, causing the cultivator to die first from poisoning.

Thus, throughout Tang Sect history, very few have ever successfully mastered Dan Shi.

The power of Dan Shi rivals that of the “Eight Marvelous Techniques,” with a battle record bordering on legendary.

Back then, Zhang Huaiyi, who bore the “Ultimate Technique”—Qi Ti Yuan Liu—after fighting multiple experts,

ultimately succumbed to Yang Lie’s Dan Shi and could not recover, begging Feng Baobao, who arrived just in time, to end his suffering.

Even Ding An, hailed as one of the “Two Heroes Below the Absolute Peak,”

felt a grave, lethal threat when facing Xu Xin’s Dan Shi.

During the Republic era, when confronting invading island nation cultivators—whom they called “samurai,” “yinyang masters,” and “ninja”—

Dan Shi shone brilliantly in the hands of the Tang Sect’s patriarch, Tang Jia Ren, slaughtering countless beasts unworthy of the name.

“Dan Shi is terrifying, but my grandfather’s Qi Ti Yuan Liu is called the ‘Ultimate Technique’—how could it not neutralize it?”

Although Zhang Chulan found Zhang Jie’s reasoning logical and had believed him somewhat, his emotions still led him to voice doubt.

He refused to believe his grandfather died of natural causes—he could not accept that he was murdered, meeting a cruel end.

“Qi Ti Yuan Liu, called the ‘Ultimate Technique,’ can nearly neutralize all Qi,

especially since your grandfather spent his entire life cultivating it—his true Qi was immensely profound, unmatched in the entire cultivator world.

But Dan Shi, as the Tang Sect’s ultimate technique, could never be merely ordinary Qi—it is Qi, and also poison!

It is not an ordinary poison, but a lethal technique that fully fuses the Tang Sect’s deadly toxins with one’s own ‘Qi,’

forming a Qi-poison capable of killing not only the body and meridians, but even the soul!

Originally, your grandfather could have suppressed it with his deep true Qi and Qi Ti Yuan Liu,

but that battle was too brutal—all attacking cultivators died,

and your grandfather was gravely wounded, leaving him powerless to suppress the Dan Shi poison.”

Feng Baobao, the eyewitness, recounted the events.

‘Hmm.’

Zhang Jie nodded inwardly—Feng Baobao’s account matched closely with what he knew.

Although the essence of Dan Shi is the same, different experts wield it in wildly different styles.

First is Tang Jia Ren, the Tang Clan patriarch of the Jia Shen era,

who followed the “quantity over quality” AOE (area-of-effect) path.

His Dan Shi was incredibly abundant—once he closed in at the cost of his life,

he could form an inescapable net, leaving nothing alive, and was widely regarded as the strongest in overall combat capability.

Another is Tang Bingwen, the former Tang Sect patriarch, who followed the “high-precision” single-target sniping path.

His Dan Shi was few in number (only a few could be condensed at once), but his attack range was extremely long, ideal for long-range assassination.

Lastly, there is Xu Xin, the Tang Sect’s current prodigy, who after decades of research,

reached the realm of “effortless control” with his Dan Shi—though his range is short, he compensates with abundant quantity and flawless manipulation.

Conventional detoxification or Qi-dissolving methods are ineffective against Dan Shi.

Current speculation suggests only the “Six Storehouse Immortal Thief’s” perfect bodily digestion and absorption ability

might fully neutralize the Qi-poison of Dan Shi.

While Qi Ti Yuan Liu and Shen Ming Ling can neutralize Qi, they struggle to eradicate the fused deadly toxin within.

Dan Shi’s major weakness lies in targeting true Qi, meridians, and vitality,

rendering it completely ineffective against inanimate objects like mechanical constructs, which lack life and meridians.

As for Zhang Huaiyi, who possessed Qi Ti Yuan Liu, the so-called “Ultimate Technique,” yet died at another’s hands,

he found it unsurprising.

On one hand, the power level of this world is low,

cultivators can be overwhelmed by sheer numbers of ordinary humans—even elite cultivators,

except rare exceptions like the Old Heavenly Master Zhang Zhiwei,

are no match for a pack of wolves—Zhang Huaiyi was simply worn down by the swarm of attackers.

On the other hand, although the Eight Marvelous Techniques are called divine arts and are incredibly miraculous and powerful,

the fundamental abilities passed down for hundreds or even thousands of years by major sects and clans are no weaker.

For example, the Tian Shi Fu’s secret Five Thunder Orthodoxy, called “Heaven’s Punishment,”

is righteous and radiant; ancient Tian Shi often used thunder arts to subdue demons and purge evil.

Others, such as the Zhuge family’s Three Pure Fires, the Tang Sect’s Dan Shi,

Shaolin’s Yi Jin Jing and Xi Sui Jing, were all created by brilliant ancestral masters,

then refined over dozens of generations by disciples and descendants,

and in their respective fields, they are extraordinary—no less than the Eight Marvelous Techniques.

Moreover, Zhang Huaiyi’s lifespan was nearing its end—he was already close to death,

and fought with the resolve to eliminate all who harbored ill will toward him, leaving no lingering threat to his descendants.

Aged and weakened, and refusing to retreat even in death, even with Qi Ti Yuan Liu,

he exhausted himself completely after a hard-won victory.

Had Zhang Huaiyi not chosen to fight to the death, his strength alone would have made escape easy.

One can only say—the ancestors’ love for their descendants drives them to plan with profound foresight.

Even if the cost is their remaining life, they spare no sacrifice.

“Grandfather…”

Hearing the full details of his grandfather’s death, Zhang Chulan’s face bore unmistakable sorrow.

Yet his sharp mind caught the flaw in Feng Baobao’s words:

“You said you were already a temporary worker in North China at the time—surely you were already quite old then,

but my grandfather died many years ago—how are you still so young?”

Zhang Chulan stared piercingly at Feng Baobao.

Although Feng Baobao’s appearance was unkempt, even slovenly,

she still looked youthful and beautiful, no more than eighteen or nineteen years old.

When his grandfather died, Feng Baobao was probably under ten years old,

so how could she have been a temporary worker in North China?

Did the company really exploit child labor, emulating Victorian Britain?

“Age? So you never believed me—you were doubting this all along.”

Feng Baobao smiled at this.

Her smile was like a lotus emerging from water—exquisitely pure; Zhang Chulan was momentarily stunned.

But thinking of his grandfather, he crushed that fleeting thought and continued to stare piercingly at Feng Baobao: “How do you explain this?

If you can resolve this question too, then I’ll believe everything you’ve said!”

“My age? I can’t even remember anymore.”

Feng Baobao counted on her fingers as if tallying:

“But I’ve known Dog Boy since he was very young,

and though I’m certainly not as old as your grandfather, I’m much older than your father, Zhang Yude.”

Although it’s probably not as great as your grandfather’s, it’s still much greater than your father Zhang Yude’s.