Chapter 406 - 383: Seeking Xu Li Qiqi to Fathom Dragon Power

SWISH!

After a moment of shock, Tang Zhi suddenly executed a Body Technique and caught the injured Wei Feifan. Tang Zhi was the head disciple of the Wei Kingdom True Hall, with an exceptionally profound Cultivation. The moment he touched Wei Feifan’s body, he immediately understood the extent of his injuries, and his heart sank.

From that single, brief strike, Wei Feifan had not only suffered fractures in his hand and arm, but his Meridians and bones throughout his body had also sustained hidden injuries. While not fatal, it would take half a year to fully recover.

Tang Zhi gave Zhaang Ye a deep look and said, "I never expected Junior Brother Zhaang’s combat prowess to be so tyrannical. It seems the Bone-Burning, Vein-Refining, Qi-Nourishing Purple Spirit Liquid is not fated to be mine. Farewell!"

Leaving these words behind, Tang Zhi supported Wei Feifan, and with a flash, their figures vanished without a trace.

Only after the two had left did Zhaang Yijian snap back to his senses. He sighed, "Defeating an enemy in a single strike! Junior Brother Zhaang, I can’t believe your strength has reached such a level. No wonder you were able to fight the Sect Envoy! By the way, Senior Brother Tang Zhi’s strength is even greater than Senior Brother Wei Feifan’s. Why did he leave without making a move?"

Zhaang Ye smiled. "It’s simple. He wasn’t confident he could defeat me. Also, he’s already over a hundred years old. If he can’t break through to the True Dao Realm within the next twenty or thirty years, his lifespan will be exhausted and he will die. Under these circumstances, he has to seize every single day to cultivate and strive to enter the True Dao. Breaking into the True Dao is difficult to begin with. If he were injured by me, his hopes of advancing would become even slimmer. That’s why he had no choice but to retreat."

Zhaang Yijian came to a sudden realization, then chuckled. "Junior Brother Zhaang, today you defeated Senior Brother Wei Feifan and scared away Senior Brother Tang Zhi in one fell swoop. You basically defeated two future Hall Masters at once. You’ve truly brought great glory to our Zhaang Family!"

Zhaang Ye was slightly taken aback. "Future Hall Masters?"

Zhaang Yijian chuckled and explained in a low voice, "The four Hall Masters of our Wei Kingdom True Hall are all nearing the end of their lifespans. So, on one hand, they’re searching everywhere for medicinal ingredients for Alchemy. On the other hand, over twenty years ago, they selected four individuals to nurture intensively, preparing them to take over management of the Wei Kingdom True Hall. Heh, do you get it now? Those four people are the current Four Great Disciples."

At this point, Zhaang Yijian continued, "It is precisely because they received the True Hall’s intensive support that these four were able to advance to the Half-step True Dao. Otherwise, no matter how outstanding their talent, they would never have been able to reach the Half-step True Dao."

Zhaang Ye understood now. ’No wonder they were fighting me for the Bone-Burning, Vein-Refining, Qi-Nourishing Purple Spirit Liquid. So they’re also people who received the True Hall’s intensive training.’

After offering this brief explanation, Zhaang Yijian said, "Junior Brother Zhaang, I gained some insight from watching your battle just now. I need to hurry back and meditate on it. I’ll find you another day."

With those words, Zhaang Yijian hurried away.

In the time that followed, Zhaang Ye continued his Cultivation. Every day, he soaked in the Bone-Burning, Vein-Refining, Qi-Nourishing Purple Spirit Liquid, silently tempering his body and consolidating his Cultivation.

Time passed slowly. With the help of the Bone-Burning, Vein-Refining, Qi-Nourishing Purple Spirit Liquid, Zhaang Ye’s Cultivation was quickly consolidated. Tempered by both the Spirit Liquid and the Celestial River Righteous Qi, Zhaang Ye’s entire frame of muscles and bones grew increasingly formidable. Not even a peak Martial Arts Eighth Layer expert could injure him with a full-force slash.

Zhaang Ye’s power also grew more and more formidable. A casual breath from him carried immense might, and his every movement contained the tremendous force of hundreds of thousands of catties. With this sudden surge in strength, Zhaang Ye felt the entire world had become fragile. In his eyes, hard rock was no different from soil. With a casual squeeze, a sharp weapon could be turned into a lump of scrap metal.

「Twenty days later.」

Zhaang Ye’s eyes snapped open, and two beams of golden light shot out from them.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Using his palm as a blade, Zhaang Ye executed the Mountain-Breaking Slash and the Cloud-Breaking Slash once through. ’With my current strength,’ he mused, ’I should be able to defeat that woman in the long green dress. However, her Innate True Qi is incredibly potent, and she has likely cultivated some wondrous Combat Skill. I’m not completely confident I can kill her. My strength still needs to be improved.’

Thinking of this, Zhaang Ye began to ponder ways to increase his strength.

The most direct way to increase his strength was to refine the three types of Ancient Power within his body, merging them into one to become Celestial River Righteous Qi.

However, refining the three Ancient Powers was an extremely difficult task. It required Zhaang Ye to have a profound understanding of all three.

Of the three powers, Zhaang Ye had the greatest understanding of the mysteries of Ancient Elephant Power. As for Ancient Dragon Power and Ancient Phoenix Power, he didn’t know much about them.

’The mysteries contained within the Ancient Dragon Power and Ancient Phoenix Power are in no way inferior to those of the Ancient Elephant Power. It’s impossible for me to comprehend their mysteries in a short amount of time. This is difficult...’ Zhaang Ye’s brows furrowed.

After a moment of contemplation, the image of a figure with long, flowing hair suddenly flashed through Zhaang Ye’s mind, and his heart couldn’t help but skip a beat. After a moment of hesitation, a look of determination appeared in his eyes, and he headed straight for the Fourth Hall Master’s cultivation residence.

「Beneath the thousand-zhang-tall giant tree.」

The Fourth Hall Master stared at Zhaang Ye with a strange expression. "What did you say? You want to leave Zhen Dian Mountain and go to Xuli Mountain?"

Zhaang Ye nodded slightly. "Xuli Qiqi’s Cultivation Technique is the Nine Heavens Soft Water Technique, and she has mastered the power of water. Her insights would be of great help to my own Cultivation Technique, so I plan to go to Xuli Mountain to seek her guidance."

The Fourth Hall Master’s expression grew even stranger. Xuli Qiqi had managed to cultivate to the Half-step True Dao all on her own, making her more outstanding than the vast majority of True Hall Disciples. With her unfathomable Cultivation and stunning beauty, Xuli Qiqi’s reputation was so great that even the Fourth Hall Master had heard of her.

Hearing that Zhaang Ye wanted to go to Xuli Mountain for guidance, the Fourth Hall Master looked him up and down, making the hairs on Zhaang Ye’s body stand on end. Only then did he say, "You were able to defeat Wei Feifan in a single move. Among your peers in the Thirteen Countries, you should have no rival. Since you want to seek guidance from Xuli Qiqi, then go. Remember, you must return within two months."

Zhaang Ye nodded. "I have already offended several of the True Halls. Their old timers won’t try to make a move against me, will they?"

The Fourth Hall Master laughed heartily. "You can rest assured on that front. No matter how much those old geezers hate you, they wouldn’t dare make a move. Otherwise, they would face sanctions from the Sect."

Zhaang Ye felt relieved. He took his leave of the Fourth Hall Master and flew out of the True Hall.

The Fourth Hall Master watched Zhaang Ye’s departing figure and shook his head slightly. ’That kid, Zhaang Ye... he’s not just going because he thinks Xuli Qiqi is pretty and wants to hit on her, is he? Oh well. The boy spends all day cultivating in the valley. It’s good for him to relax a little...’

RUMBLE!

Once outside the True Hall, Zhaang Ye executed his Body Technique and headed straight for Xuli Mountain. Xuli Mountain was over 1.2 million li away from the Wei Kingdom True Hall, but with Zhaang Ye’s greatly improved Cultivation, the journey wouldn’t take very long. He estimated he could arrive in four or five days.

After flying for several thousand li, Zhaang Ye suddenly felt as if he were being watched. But when he scanned his surroundings in all directions, he found nothing.

After carefully observing his surroundings and failing to find the other party, Zhaang Ye couldn’t be bothered with it anymore. He executed his Body Technique at full speed, transforming into a faint cyan streak as he flew, adjusting his course through the void.

「Five days later.」

Zhaang Ye arrived at the base of a towering mountain. The mountain was lush and verdant, covered in flowers. As far as the eye could see, there was a sea of blossoms of every kind, their vibrant purples and reds blooming in profusion, radiating vigorous life. What surprised Zhaang Ye even more was that the entire mountain was shrouded in a misty drizzle. The fine threads of rain seemed to fall endlessly.

Zhaang Ye took a quiet breath and called out, "Fairy Xu Li, Zhaang Ye has come to visit. I hope you will grant me an audience."

As he spoke, he had already infused his voice with Celestial River Righteous Qi. Though his voice wasn’t loud, propelled by the Celestial River Righteous Qi, it seemed to take on a physical form, flying word by word up Xuli Mountain.

Soon, Xuli Qiqi’s voice drifted down from the mountain. "Oh, it’s Little Brother Zhaang. Please wait a moment."

The voice had barely faded when a streak of blue light flew down from Xuli Mountain. It was precisely Xuli Qiqi. Her long hair still flowed freely, making her look like an ethereal cloud or a mass of ever-changing water. The raindrops fell from the sky, landing on her hair and dress, only to slide off without a sound.

Sensing the aura of water from Xuli Qiqi, Zhaang Ye’s eyes lit up. "Fairy Xu Li, have you already refined the Postnatal True Qi in your body, transformed it into Innate, and reached the True Dao Realm?"

Xuli Qiqi smiled, pursing her lips. "No. I comprehended many of water’s mysteries from that strand of Dragon Power from you, and my Cultivation has improved significantly. But I am still some distance away from the True Dao Realm."

Seeing Xuli Qiqi’s coy smile, the qi and blood in Zhaang Ye’s body surged. He discreetly calmed himself down and thought, ’This woman... she truly lives up to her Inner Charm Appearance. The more I look at her, the more beautiful she seems. It’s a good thing it’s me. If anyone else saw her like this, they’d probably throw their lives away just to pounce on her.’

With these thoughts in mind, Zhaang Ye slowly extended a palm. A power like clouds and mist appeared in its center. Seeing this power, Xuli Qiqi’s eyes lit up, and she whispered, "Ancient Dragon Power!"

Zhaang Ye nodded slightly. "Precisely! You cultivate the Nine Heavens Soft Water Technique, so you have a deep understanding of the power of water. Dragons are associated with water, and I would like to comprehend the mysteries within this Ancient Dragon Power with you. I believe this will be mutually beneficial."

A hint of shyness flashed in Xuli Qiqi’s eyes. She gave Zhaang Ye a deep look, then said, "Alright. Let’s go up the mountain!"

--------------(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with Recommendation Tickets and monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)