Chapter 68: Origin of Qi and Blood

The closer he got to the Spirit Monster tiger's corpse, the more Feng Zi could feel... the increasingly uncontrollable "craving" within his body.

This was not a coincidence, nor an illusion; from the moment he saw the black tiger Spirit Monster, he had been craving the Qi and Blood Origin within its body every single moment!

Without needing to think too much, Feng Zi understood that this was the "instinct" of his being a Martial Artist.

"I will break through to the Transformation Realm, but I will absolutely not act because of 'instinct'!" he gritted his teeth and said to himself.

Feng Zi's breathing became heavier and heavier, to the point that Qing Lin noticed his unusual state and could not help but ask:

"Cun Xin, what is wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?"

It appeared that Qing Lin was completely unaffected by the Qi and Blood Origin, which surprised Feng Zi greatly.

But he only shook his head, knelt on one knee before the tiger monster's abdomen, let out a long breath, and exhaled the heat within his body: "No, I am just a bit excited; I lost my composure."

To prevent her from misunderstanding, Feng Zi did not explain too much.

As he spoke, he pulled out the arrow stuck in the black tiger monster's throat, only to find that the arrowhead had long since snapped off.

"What a pity, this arrow cannot be recovered."

Feng Zi tossed the arrow in his hand aside and extended his left hand toward Qing Lin, who was standing nearby: "Give me the knife to use."

Taking the knife she handed him, Feng Zi sliced open the tiger monster's abdomen and, following the guidance of his instinct, extracted the "Qi and Blood Origin"—

It was a heart that was still beating!

Seeing this scene, Qing Lin subconsciously covered her mouth with her hand and asked in surprise: "Is this thing still alive?"

At first, Feng Zi's thought was the same as hers.

But after sensing it carefully, Feng Zi frowned and shook his head: "It is alive, but it is also dead."

Looking at this heart that seemed as if it wanted to escape from his palm, he muttered an explanation:

"The Qi and Blood Origin originates from Spirit Monsters; I never imagined... it would actually give birth to its own intelligence and, in turn, become a 'foreign object' parasitic within the Spirit Monster's body!"

Having said that, he returned the hunting knife to Qing Lin and instructed:

"For the next period of time, I will have to trouble you to stand guard for me. Of course, during this time, you can also roast and eat the flesh of these fierce tigers."

Qing Lin sheathed the hunting knife and asked worriedly: "How much time do you need? If someone comes looking, what should I do?"

Regarding this question, Feng Zi shook his head helplessly: "How much time? To be honest, I do not know, but you must not let anyone disturb my cultivation.

"I might break through to the Transformation Realm in a few breaths, or it might take several hours, or even several days—I cannot give a specific time.

"As for any Martial Artists who might come looking... you should first try to persuade them with kind words; if they stop there, let them leave.

"But if they remain stubborn, then kill them; there is no need to worry about my previous instructions."

The "craving" in his heart grew more intense, but Feng Zi's expression became increasingly calm as he gave his instructions in an orderly manner.

Listening to Feng Zi's instructions, Qing Lin nodded heavily, pouted, and said: "You must wake up early."

After saying that, she turned around and began to imitate Feng Zi's teachings, starting to pick up dry branches in the surroundings.

"Rest assured, I cannot let you worry," Feng Zi replied with a smile.

Afterward, he cast his gaze toward the heart in his hand and fell into deep thought:

After his travels through Daishan County and Yuanping County, he already knew that breaking through a major realm was not as casual as when he broke through to Martial Master; it required many preparations.

But unfortunately, Feng Zi did not have that luxury now; he had to race against time to transform this opportunity into strength.

"So be it, I have already experienced the pain of Broken Bone Rebirth, how much harder could this be?" Feng Zi laughed at himself.

As the "craving" within his body became increasingly difficult to suppress, a flash of madness crossed his eyes, and he hardened his heart:

Heh, trying to seduce the "instinct" in my heart... I want to see whether this so-called "Qi and Blood Origin" is stronger, or if my Martial Artist will is superior!

Having made up his mind, Feng Zi no longer hesitated; he immediately tilted his head back and crushed the heart in his hand—

The foul-smelling blood flowed into his mouth, then turned into a hot current that seeped out from his esophagus and surged into the meridians within Feng Zi's body.

In an instant, Feng Zi felt as if magma were surging through his meridians!

Enduring the scorching heat and intense pain within his body, he swallowed the chunk of flesh in his hand, stood up abruptly, and began to practice the Hundred Flower Misleading Fist.

A Martial Artist's breakthrough naturally requires the use of a Martial Artist's cultivation method.

In the past, it was precisely at the critical moment of practicing the Zhao Family Long Fist that he broke through the shackles of being a Martial Artist and officially stepped into the Martial Master realm!

Now, why shouldn't Feng Zi take advantage of the opportunity of breaking through to the Transformation Realm to practice the Hundred Flower Misleading Fist?

And the facts were just as he had guessed:

As he began to practice the Hundred Flower Misleading Fist, Feng Zi was pleasantly surprised to find that his body was no longer scorching hot, and the intense pain was gradually dissipating.

But in its place, the hot current in his meridians became even more violent!

Feng Zi was surprised to find that not only was he unable to refine this Qi and Blood Power, but on the contrary, that Qi and Blood Power was even attempting to refine his own strength.

"Interesting... could it be that I am being usurped by you?" Feng Zi was almost angered to the point of laughter.

While waving his fists in the Hundred Flower Misleading Fist, he mobilized the Qi and Blood Power within his body to collide with that foreign power belonging to the Qi and Blood Origin.

Are you kidding? When facing an "enemy," he had always been unyielding—

If the opponent came on hard, he would use even tougher means to meet them head-on; if the opponent came on soft, he would devour them completely!

In every inch of Feng Zi's meridians, two distinct forces of Qi and Blood were slaughtering and devouring each other.

Under the collision of this powerful Qi and Blood Power, every inch of his meridians was destroyed and then reborn, repeating this cycle over and over.

Feng Zi felt as if he were being roasted in boiling oil, or as if billions of ants were gnawing at his flesh and blood.

Intense agony and heart-piercing pain surged into his heart together, but he only gritted his teeth and threw his whole heart and soul into the practice of his Fist Technique:

He had stored sufficient Qi and Blood Power within his body, which could be used exactly for this occasion, and his will could persist day after day!

Yet that power belonging to the "Qi and Blood Origin" could not receive the slightest replenishment and would always have a moment of exhaustion.

But what Feng Zi did not know was that because his meridians were constantly undergoing the process of "destruction-rebirth-destruction," a large amount of blood was constantly seeping out from his body:

To an outsider, he had already turned into a bloody person at this moment.

Sitting by the campfire, Qing Lin looked at Feng Zi, who was almost "suffering from Qi deviation," her face full of worry.

But Feng Zi had said it: no one could be allowed to disturb his cultivation.

Therefore, even though she was incomparably worried in her heart, Qing Lin could only silently watch the person before her.