by A P Gore
Maybe he should cultivate qi and keep the storage ring with him.
When her breath stabilized a little, he got up and stared at Tian Yun. With a pulped nose, he looked like a bloody ghost. He quivered when Wei stared at him.
“Li Wei, let me go, and we will close this matter. You don’t know who you are messing with.” He spat blood when he talked. “Just let me go, and I’ll ask my father to send you some compensation. Let’s be sworn brothers and finish this, okay?” He panicked as Wei stepped forward.
Wei halted. Pain pulsed through his heart. Burning blood pearls gave him immense power for a short time, but afterward the power tormented his body from the inside. If he didn’t sit down and recuperate, it might damage his body beyond repair. Right now, he was standing up with willpower, and he could feel the power vanishing from his body.
However, if he dropped right now, he would hand over his and Fei’er’s lives to this bastard Tian Yun, and that he wouldn’t let happen.
“Explode.” Ten more blood pearls exploded in his body, and he shot forward like a cheetah. Ten was his limit. Any more, and he risked permanent damage to his body. His sword passed through Tian Yun’s throat, showering Wei in blood.
Wei chuckled. A mad chuckle. In his previous life, he’d always remained on the soft side. But no more. So, he swung his sword and sliced Tian Yun’s and Du Xin’s heads from their bodies.
Enemies could come back from death, but enemies with missing heads wouldn’t.
Bending down, he checked both of their pockets and found a Lesser Healing Pill and a low-quality Qi Stone along with an old parchment.
His eyes were blurring, and he could feel his blood vessels rupturing throughout his body. The power surge he’d borrowed from his blood pearls was wreaking havoc inside his body, and he had to sit down and cultivate Blood Essence Body to heal himself.
If not, he might lose his consciousness and suffer worse than just a few injuries.
But before that, he had to make sure Fei’er would survive. Opening her soft lips again, he stuffed the Lesser Healing Pill in her mouth and helped her gulp it down. It was a common low-tier Bronze Grade pill found in the Mortal Realm, and it was so-so in quality.
But it was all he had.
After making sure her breathing had stabilized, he sat next to her in the lotus position and started cultivating Blood Essence Body. His blood was in turmoil, and he wasn’t sure if he could make it out of this with his cultivation intact.
Chapter 35 Back to Old Martial City
Li Wei walked down the forest road, carrying Fei’er over his shoulder. Her fragile figure shook when he jumped over a tiny crevice.
“I’m sorry. I’ll be careful next time.” He patted the tiny head resting over his shoulder.
Stopping a bit, he wiped sweat from his forehead with a gray handkerchief. This time he didn’t feel disdain when he looked at the cloth. Instead, guilt surged through his mind. Because of him, Fei’er had been poisoned. That metal palm attack contained a profound poison, and it had already affected Fei’er. If he had kept an eye on Du Xin, he couldn’t have attacked her.
“Just hang on for one more day, and we will find something to treat you.” He said with determination. No matter what, he would find a solution for Fei’er’s problem. For the last two days, he’d carried her over his shoulder, and even with his cultivation it was growing difficult. At his current pace, he would at least need two more days to reach Old Martial City. If he didn’t take a break every half an hour, he might get there a couple hours earlier, but time was of the essence. He had to find a cure for the Nerve Blocking Metal Poison Du Xin had used. It was a peculiar poison, and that bastard had coated his palm before attacking Fei’er. It had penetrated through her blood and sealed her dantian so she couldn’t gain an ounce of qi to heal herself. It was also corroding her body from the inside, and if not given an antidote soon, she would die.
If it wasn’t for the Blood Nourishing Powder and Lesser Healing Pill, he’d given her, she might have already died. If he could access the storage ring, he had a Blood Revitalizing Pill in there that he could use, but he couldn’t access it. He could have stayed back and cultivated to the first layer of qi Body Refinement Realm to access the storage ring, but staying might have caused more trouble for both of them. For starters, he didn’t know if any strong cultivators had followed the Du and Tian clan youngsters. If there were any, that would have meant death for both of them.
He had to be fast, or the poison might leave her crippled or dead.
That thought almost made his soul jump out of his body. If she died, he would regret it the rest of his life. The same regret he’d suffered in his previous life.
No, he couldn’t let her die. He had to find an antidote to save her from this poison, and that meant reaching out to Old Martial City’s Du clan. If they had this poison, they should have the antidote. He hadn’t wanted to return to Old Martial City right away, but now he had to go back and find a solution, so he’d rushed out of the Inheritance Chamber and took a path leading to the city. Too bad, the path he’d chosen had let him out on the other side of the Ancient Ruins, so he’d had to take a long detour to get back on the correct path.
Out of the whole ordeal, only one good thing had happened. He’d broken into the fourth layer of body Refinement Realm because of his consumption of blood pearls. Currently, he had three hundred and ten blood pearls. Considering the brutal method of burning his blood pearls had worked twice, it was tempting to use it again and again, but he knew that would have a detrimental effect on his cultivation. This insane method of powering up had left a few wounds inside his body that were taking days to heal, and he couldn’t try this power up again before healing them all.
Maybe he shouldn’t try it again at all.
His ears caught the sound of horses rushing toward him, so he left the path and headed deeper into the forest. After running for ten minutes, he lay Fei’er down in a comfortable position and climbed the tallest tree he found to check on the people going toward Old Martial City. Only a few people used horses, as they were expensive to maintain, so he was curious about the rich people traveling toward the city.
First, he spotted a cloud of dust, and then strong auras invaded his divine sense’s range. There were a lot of peak Refinement Realm people, and five people who had even reached Foundation Realm. Although they were nothing compared to old him, who had far surpassed these ants, this group was quite strong for Old Martial City. Seeing their dark blue clothes, his forehead broke in black lines. They were Li clan people, and the person leading them was his maternal grandfather, Li Shua.
Why was he coming to Old Martial City? Did something happen while Wei was gone? Beside Li Shua, Li Ti rode on a brown horse, and they all seemed to be in a hurry.
Suddenly, all of them stopped and turned their attention toward the tree Wei sat on.
Did they notice him? That couldn’t be possible. He was almost a hundred yards away. It was impossible for them to notice him without divine sense, and the strongest warrior was only in Foundation Realm. Then how could they notice him without divine sense?
Li Ti pointed at the tree Wei sat on, and they changed direction, spurring their horses to a gallop.
Wei knew he couldn’t run away from them. Horses were always faster than mortal men.
A strange, itchy feeling crawled under Wei’s skin. How the heck had these people found him?
But whatever, he had to greet them. Running away with Fei’er on his back was impossible. Even if he could run away, if they were coming for him, they would find his tracks after all.
As he dropped from branch to branch, his forehead itched in pain. He had a bad feeling about this. He couldn’t guess the outcome of this event, as it hadn’t happened in his previous life. In fact, so far only five percent of the events he’d experienced in his previous life had come to pass. So, he couldn’t even take advantage of his future knowledge.
By the time he dropped on the ground, the Li clan m
en had reached the tree. They stopped, seeing him standing next to a girl.
Li Shua frowned, seeing him there, and there was hostility in his deep black eyes.
This would not go smoothly.
Chapter 36 Lesser Isolation Array
Li Tang gloated when he peeked at the transparent jade bottle lying in the cloth pouch attached to his dark blue robe’s waist. It held two Foundation Refirming Pills, and those were his path to greatness. Once he digested them, no one could stop him. The injuries he’d suffered from necrosis should get cleared out as well.
That was it. His path to living. If he didn’t have these two pills, he might only survive for a year or two, but now he would live on until his grandchildren died of old age.
Thanks to his brother and that brat’s sacrifice, he had gotten his fortuitous encounter.
He sighed in his heart. If he could get the third pill from the pit and the one from their treasury vault, that would be perfect. He could start taking them right away.
But no worries. They would come to him soon. The old haggler wouldn’t be eating the pill he gave to Li Ti. That stupid father of his would save it in the treasury for some future extraordinary descendant. That old man was frustratingly difficult. Li Tang had begged him for that pill for months, but he never took it out. That old man was hateful.
Li Tang chuckled with lots of evil intentions.
Soon. Soon enough he would break into layer seven of Foundation Realm, and then he would take both the pills by force, and then nothing could stop him from reaching layer nine of Foundation Realm. After that, who would dare to stop him?
Du clan?
Those nasty bastards only had one person in layer seven of Foundation Realm. What could a layer seven do faced with layer nine him?
Nothing. Once he got his hand on those two pills, he would make Du clan roll out of all the cities Li clan controlled. Especially Old Martial City, as they had found a rare plant in the forest. With more money, he would get more pills and soon enter Blood Baptizing Realm.
Then he could take over the entire city.
That sounded like a plan.
He was pulled out of his thought process when the clan door opened, so he zipped his pouch carefully. Despite putting the two pills he had in a jade glass bottle, he couldn’t take the risk showing the bottle to his father or brother. That would bring him unending trouble.
“Elder brother Tang, look who I found. Our clan’s benefactor, Li Wei. That kid didn’t die, brother.” Li Ti smiled as he entered the main hall, and a youth in gray clothes walked behind him. The youth had his eyes fixed on Li Tang, and he could feel the cold intent emitting from the eyes.
Li Tang felt his blood boiling and heart squeezing. How could this pest be alive after the talisman he’d used to kill him? Something was off about him. And how did he meet their father? Did he tell Li Shua about Li Jia’s death?
Cold sweat broke out under his skin. If his father found out about him killing his younger brother, he would kill Li Tang. His father loved Li Jia a lot and had his hopes fixed on him.
“Grandfather, I survived thanks to uncle Tang who fought with the fierce beast and let me escape. If it wasn’t for him, I’d have died long ago,” Li Wei answered in a calm tone, but Li Tang saw the cold light flashing through Li Wei’s eyes.
Fuck this motherfucker. This kid had to die as soon as possible. Otherwise, how would he, Li Tang, reach the supreme existence?
***
By the time Li Wei settled in his old room, two maidservants had carried the unconscious Fei’er to his room and placed her on the new soft bed lying in the corner. His shabby room looked odd with a luxury like that in it. But it was for Fei’er. He didn’t care for such things. Two hundred years of cultivation had taught him endurance, and he would endure until he reached immortality.
Immortality. What a beautiful word. Once he reached that unfathomable cultivation level, he would roam around the world, tasting the best wine out there and making heavenly teas for his friends and family. What could be better than that?
Sitting on the rough ground next to Fei’er, he lifted her soft wrist and checked her pulse. It was as stable as clear water, so there was no danger for now. At least his grandfather had fulfilled his promise, and she’d had a comfortable ride back home. At his request, he’d let Fei’er ride in his daughter-in-law’s carriage and come back comfortably.
That was nearly a wild ride. Wei wiped sweat from his forehead. When he’d met with his grandfather and a bunch of Li clan’s elders, he was shocked to his core. They’d never treated him well before, but surprisingly his grandfather had behaved courteously this time. He’d even asked Wei if he was doing okay.
Apparently, Li Ti, his other uncle, had said a few good words about him, and he’d become a benefactor to the clan for showing them the location of the pill. His grandfather had even offered him a horse and gave him ten gold to buy medicine for Fei’er.
What changed Li Shua’s attitude so much? Could it be the Body Refirming Pill? It couldn’t only be that. There had to be another reason. However, he couldn’t figure it out on their return journey, as his grandfather was busy talking secretly with other elders. He couldn’t even find out the reason behind the Li clan sending a huge force to Old Martial City. But he learned a small piece of the story. That lunatic Li Tang had made up a story and handed only one Body Refirming Pill to Li Ti. He’d even told everyone that Li Jia and Li Wei had sacrificed their lives to let him run away. He’d described both of them as heroes ready to die for the greatness of the clan, and he became a hero in everyone’s eyes.
Well, he didn’t talk against their claims. He already knew Li Tang would have made up a story, and if he went against it, no one would support him.
And why would they support a young man with no future in cultivation and doubt a strong cultivator in Foundation Realm?
So, he went with the same story. At least it would make his life comfortable for a few days.
Anyway, this was a better outcome. If he’d returned to the city alone, he wouldn’t have gone back to the Li clan compound. That would have been dangerous for him and Fei’er. He would have had to take refuge somewhere and then sneakily attack someone from Du clan to get the antidote. But now he didn’t have to worry about Li Tang finding him out.
The enemy’s den was safest place in times of turmoil.
Now he needed to get back to work. There were some things he’d gotten from Du Xin and Tian Yun but hadn’t had time to inspect, so he wanted to check them out. But doing that in a room with the door open was like inviting more troubles. With his grandfather and his uncles roaming around, he didn’t dare be careless.
So, he had to use an array to hide himself in broad daylight. With the low-quality Qi Stone, he could draw and run a Lesser Isolation Array around his room. It was a good low-tier Bronze Grade array that could keep things isolated from others. And unless someone with Marrow Cleansing Realm came checking, no one could peek in his room.
“Yes, this sounds good,” he muttered and thought about the array diagram. It was an easy diagram and took little time to draw. And with the low-quality Qi Stone, he could run it for years.
Of course, he didn’t need that much time, and once he reached qi Foundation Realm, he wouldn’t need Qi Stones to charge such low-grade arrays.
Leaving his shabby room, he plucked a small stick from the Azure Dragon Tree. He should start collecting the leaves from this tree once he could activate a storage ring. Once he reached the Martial Realm, these leaves would fetch him a great deal of money.
But when he walked back in, he realized an issue with his plan. Being an Array Master, he hadn’t needed to carve these low-level arrays for many years, so he forgot he needed Ferocious Beast blood to draw the array diagram. Ferocious Beast blood contained life essence, and it would keep the array stable. If he used normal ink, the array would crumble like a thousand-year-old bone.
How could he forget a small thing like this! In the Ancient Ruins,
he had killed so many Ferocious Beasts and drew their blood. He could have collected pots after pot of pure blood.
Was he going to fail with such a low-level mistake? Wasn’t it a blow to his status as an Array Master in his previous life?
Chapter 37 Green Fang Dagger
Wu Xiodia trudged through the line of Bronze Grade artifacts lying around the table. Flicking his green martial robe’s sleeves, he pushed a few aristocrats requested artifacts away. He disdained them. There were brought by an aristocrat in the nearby cities for enhancements, but he had no willpower to work on any of them. Not that his old bones lacked power to carve arrays, but he lacked the mood to work on simple arrays anymore. All these weapons and armor were made from mid-tier Bronze Grade materials. Something he looked down upon. Low-level cultivators treated them as godly weapons, but to him they were equal to dog’s shit.
The best weapon was Ice Panther Sabre. That was a godly weapon suitable for a peak-tier Bone Baptization Realm cultivator.
Sighing in his heart, he selected a sword. It was made of Shocking Iron, and the hilt was made of Toughened Steel. A good weapon for Foundation Realm cultivators. Once he carved Power Enhancement Array on this weapon, it could even upgrade the wearer’s power by one or two layers while fighting. But it was just a mid-tier Bronze Grade artifact. It wouldn’t help him touch the boundary that he remembered from when he crafted Ice Panther Sabre.
“Fucking useless.” He threw the weapon back on the pile of weapons lying in the corner. These things were useless. They couldn’t hold the array he was trying to craft. They crumbled under the tyrannical strength of the Fierce Beast blood he used. They were useless. With only a few years of his life remaining, he had no hope to reach the next stage in the path of arrays.
