Chapter 659: Mermaid

What kind of profound art is this, to be so strange!

Chen Nan was shocked.

The Martial Dao of the Shenmu World cultivates True Qi, and what can be projected externally is also True Qi, yet what Yin Qi projected was Blood Qi; he naturally assumed this was some kind of profound art.

After all, the world is vast, and there is nothing that does not exist.

As for other Martial Dao systems, he would never think of them even if he racked his brains.

Beyond the shock, Chen Nan felt a sense of despondency in his heart.

If not for the disappearance of his Spiritual Sense, causing his cultivation to regress instead of progress, he would likely already be a Third-Tier Martial Artist.

Tempering the spine and marrow, Yin Qi was familiar with the path.

He once again entered the state of No-Mind No-Thought, immersed in cultivation, until he felt the medicinal efficacy of the Marrow Cleansing Pill gradually dissipating; only then did he exit the state of cultivation, slowly withdrawing his fists and standing still.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

He exhaled a long breath of turbid air; the turbid air was like a ribbon of silk, shooting out more than three meters away before dissipating.

Chen Nan walked up and said with a smile, "Congratulations, Brother Yin. Your strength has greatly increased; I fear it won't be long before you can advance to the Second-Tier Peak."

"Second-Tier Peak, huh."

Yin Qi muttered in his heart.

He had originally thought that being able to slay a Second-Tier Peak Magic Beast meant he was naturally at the Second-Tier Peak, but now it seemed he had thought wrong.

His combat power had reached the Second-Tier Peak, but that did not mean his cultivation had.

After all, whether it be cultivation methods, martial techniques, or combat experience, those in the Shenmu World who could compare to him were likely only the likes of Dugu Baitian and the Demon Lord.

In that case, the previous Organ Refining should be equivalent to the early stage of the Second Order.

He turned slightly and smiled, "I refined some pills today that aid in cultivation, which is why there has been such great progress. By the way, Brother Chen, I still have some pills here; would you like to try them?"

Chen Nan was tempted; he also wanted to try whether taking pills could improve his cultivation.

But afterwards, he thought of the words of his father, Chen Zhan.

Although he felt that what Yin Qi said also made sense, he was still more inclined to believe his own father.

So he gritted his teeth, shook his head, and said, "Better not. My family's profound art is quite unique and not suitable for taking external substances."

The latter sentence was one he added himself.

After all, the other party had good intentions, so if he were to refuse, he had to make up a reason.

Yin Qi just smiled and did not try to persuade him further.

………

Time drifted by, and in the blink of an eye, a year had passed.

In this year, Yin Qi's cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds; he had already condensed three hundred and sixty-five Bright Apertures, and what followed were the Dark Apertures; at the same time, his Immortal Dao had also reached the Foundation Establishment Late Stage.

According to Chen Nan's assessment, he was already a Fourth-Tier Expert.

When mentioning 'Fourth-Tier Expert', there was such envy in Chen Nan's eyes.

A twenty-year-old quasi-peerless expert—even if placed ten thousand years ago, the most outstanding successors of both the righteous and evil paths would only be at this realm.

And as for him,

Over this past year, he had made absolutely no progress.

The key was that Yin Qi's speed of progress was too fast, because according to Yin Mu, Yin Qi had only been cultivating for a year and a half; if this were spread, who knows how many people it would scare to death.

Could it really be as Yin Qi said, that cultivation is the process of plundering Heaven and Earth to perfect oneself?

He was somewhat shaken.

Yin Qi naturally knew the reason for Chen Nan's lack of progress—it was because Dantai Xuan had tampered with him back then—but he had no intention of intervening, as it would be hard to explain how he knew.

The strand of True Qi that Dantai Xuan had planted in Chen Nan's dantian back then had long since merged with Chen Nan's own True Qi; even the Chen Zhan of that time could not detect it, let alone himself now. He would intervene when there was an opportunity in the future.

A sharp sword is honed from grinding; the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold.

Whether in terms of natural talent or comprehension, Chen Nan was of the highest caliber; what he lacked was experience and tempering.

The more he was tempered, the higher his future achievements would be.

The stumbling blocks on the road are not just for tripping; they can also be used to step higher and look further.

Additionally, there was Yin Mu; under Yin Qi's supervision and earnest persuasion, Yin Mu finally reached the Qi Refining Late Stage, which was roughly equivalent to the early Second Order, enough for Xuefeng Town.

Coupled with the Soul-Slaughtering Needle that Yin Qi specifically refined for her, even a Third-Tier expert would fall victim if caught off guard.

Thus, when Chen Nan proposed wanting to go out, Yin Qi also indicated he would leave.

In the span of a year, Chen Nan had completely adapted to the current world, whether in language or living habits; he could no longer suppress his desire to go out and seek answers.

………

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Bidding farewell to Yin Mu, Yin Qi and Chen Nan embarked on their journey.

Xuefeng Town was surrounded by mountains, with no roads leading to the outside world at all; the two of them could only follow a vague direction, climbing over heavy mountains one after another to walk out of the mountains.

They walked in the mountains for several days, seeing all kinds of Magic Beasts, and even Western Dragons over a hundred meters long.

For these Magic Beasts, Yin Qi killed them in passing and took their Magic Crystal Cores.

As for the corpses, he could only bear the pain and discard them.

In fact, with his cultivation, he was capable of refining a Storage Bag, but alas, he lacked the corresponding materials; a clever housewife cannot cook without rice.

There were countless wonders in the mountains: peaks wreathed in clouds and mist, stone forests with grotesque rocks, and wetlands with flowing springs and waterfalls; the two then walked along the stream formed by the waterfall.

In the mountains, walking along a river, there is a high probability of encountering a village.

As long as they encountered a village, they could ask for directions.

The stream meandered, forming a clear pool after passing through a low-lying area, surrounded by a gravel beach, which must have been formed by the accumulation of mountain floods over time.

Suddenly, Yin Qi's gaze sharpened; from afar, he saw that in the clear pool, there was actually a naked woman swimming, with a curvaceous figure and fair skin, looking just like a nimble Beauty.

"No way, I could run into this too!"

Yin Qi suddenly realized that in the original story, after Chen Nan left Xuefeng Town, it was in a pool that he encountered Chu Yu bathing, which then triggered a series of events; it was just too coincidental.

After all, the route the two of them were taking was certainly different from the route Chen Nan took alone.

Chen Nan's cultivation was low, only First Order, so he would certainly wander around to avoid powerful Magic Beasts, whereas Yin Qi, while bringing Chen Nan along, was heading straight south and would casually hunt any Magic Beasts they encountered.

"Brother Yin, there is a pool over there. Let's go, the weather is too hot, let's go take a bath."

Seeing the pool from afar, Chen Nan said happily.

Yin Qi hurriedly pulled him, blocked his path, and whispered: "There is a woman swimming in the pool ahead, we had better leave quickly to avoid causing unnecessary misunderstandings."

"What, there is a woman bathing!"

Chen Nan's eyes widened.

In this desolate mountain wilderness, they hadn't encountered a single living person for days, so how could there be a woman swimming here?

However, he believed Yin Qi would not lie to him.

Thinking of this, he also hurriedly turned around, but the guards of Chu Yu, who were stationed in the nearby woods, had already been alerted.

"Who goes there? Protect the Princess!"

Accompanied by a sharp cry, a dozen figures dashed out from the woods.

At the same time, the Magic Elements in the air vibrated violently, then transformed into a pale blue barrier that covered the pool, shielding Chu Yu who was about to leap out of the water. (End of chapter)