So that's how it is... Qi Xiu mused, releasing Long Tengzi, whose eyes had rolled back as he frothed blood.

Scolding Sacred Heart has a mysterious origin. Even this Long Tengzi obtained it from his adoptive father, Linshui Jiaolong Wang.

And this Linshui Jiaolong Wang is a Great Demon of the Dao Body Realm. He dominates the Linshui water region, spanning over three thousand miles, with nearly thirty thousand aquatic demons under his command.

From Long Tengzi's memories, all thirty-six of Linshui Jiaolong Wang's adopted sons have already gone ashore. They've infiltrated nearby provincial capitals and county towns, spreading the Scolding Sacred Heart.

It seems another major event is about to happen.

Qi Xiu glanced at Long Tengzi, whose brain had been turned into mush by the Soul Searching Charm. He then flipped his hand and took out the Spirit Pill pouch. With a pinch of his finger, a Dharma Seal formed, and a powerful suction surged from the palm-sized dark green pouch. All the Demonic Evil Cultivators in the room were sucked into the Spirit Pill pouch.

Lifting his hand to retrieve the Spirit Pill pouch, Qi Xiu gave it a light shake, a satisfied look on his face. Hmm, that's about enough for another batch.

Qi Xiu used the Formless Sword Mantra to crack open a large hole in the White Bone Corpse Demon prison array. He then transformed into an extremely fine wisp of water and vanished in an instant, swiftly leaving the deep mountain forest.

Azure clouds, jade waves, and lush green wilderness stretched out before him.

The Minor Five Elements Water Patrol Escaping Five Elements Escape Skill, having advanced to the First Realm, was extremely fast. If Qi Xiu were willing to inject Gang Qi into it, pouring his entire True Gang, he could achieve the terrifying speed of a hundred miles in an instant!

But with no pursuing army at his heels, Qi Xiu naturally wouldn't push his Escape Light to such extremes.

In just a quarter of an hour, Qi Xiu had crossed hundreds of miles and returned to a small mountain range called Luyang Mountain, just outside Qingliu County. This mountain range was quite secluded and, facing south, was warm and bright. At the top of Luyang Mountain, Qi Xiu found a relatively spacious cave, furnished it with some common items, and then moved out of Qingliu County city.

SPLASH—

A spray of water splashed as Qi Xiu dispersed his Escape Light and his figure appeared. Standing on a solitary, oval rock at the mountain's peak, Qi Xiu looked down at Qingliu County in the distance.

That very county, which had endured several sieges and battles, was now ambitiously expanding outward. Countless laborers, carrying soil and stones, swarmed around the original Qingliu County like ants, planning to enlarge the entire city by a full circle, forming an inner and an outer city.

This Li Jiufang truly is a bold and proactive official.

Qi Xiu sat cross-legged on the rock, silently observing the bustling activity in Qingliu County.

Less than two months after the Golden Flower Maternal Sect was defeated and retreated, Qingliu County's capacity had long been overwhelmed by the continuous influx of disaster victims and refugees from all directions. Tens of thousands of people were stranded outside the city, causing the entire Qingliu County to be enveloped, preventing anyone outside from entering and anyone inside from leaving.

Deaths began to occur among the refugees, and uncollected corpses started to breed and spread disease. If left unattended, not only would those outside the city perish, but the residents within might also suffer.

So, while other provincial capitals and county towns were desperately consolidating their forces and fortifying their defenses, Li Jiufang made an extremely bold decision. He decided to expand upon the original Qingliu County by building an outer city to accommodate these refugees.

The idea was undeniably audacious. But Li Jiufang not only dared to conceive it, he dared to execute it.

Under his strong leadership, tens of thousands of refugees were persuaded to voluntarily quarry stone and carry earth. They began clearing the land and launched the grand-scale construction of the new city. Even a portion of the city's original residents voluntarily joined in.

The construction of the outer city was in full swing, with new progress made every day.

If this pattern and trend continue, Qingliu County will eventually be larger than the capital city of Huang Tan Manor.

With a light chuckle, Qi Xiu withdrew his gaze and took out the Spirit Pill pouch to begin Alchemy.

In the past few months, relying on his exceptional Escape Skill and the potent poison Sorrowful Breeze, he had been responsible for dozens of incidents in the surrounding areas, abducting over two thousand demons to refine into Spirit Pills to enhance his cultivation. And since Sorrowful Breeze's potency was vastly superior to the Fish Fragrance Muscle-Relaxing Powder, even Demonic Evil Cultivators at the Initiate Realm could not resist it. He had even deliberately ambushed Initiate Realm demons who were pursuing him. This caused the number of demons near Qingliu County to dwindle.

In a way, this also helped Li Jiufang. Otherwise, with so many people going into the mountains to carry earth and quarry stone, they would have long been devoured by demons.

He silently operated the Spirit Pill pouch, refining all the Demonic Evil Cultivators within into Spirit Pills. Perhaps because the number and quality of demons captured this time were greater, the Alchemy took longer than usual.

After more than two Hours, the tightly closed Spirit Pill pouch finally opened a crack, and a rich, mellow, and unusual fragrance wafted out. The surrounding air was tinged with a faint, precious glow.

He opened the mouth of the pouch. Forty-nine Spirit Pills lay nestled inside. The one in the very center even faintly shimmered with a crushed-gold luster, a dragon pattern subtly swimming across its surface.

Dragon Blood Elixir?

With a flicker of interest, Qi Xiu took the Dragon Blood Elixir from the Spirit Pill pouch. Unexpectedly, as soon as the Dragon Blood Elixir left the pouch, it suddenly broke free from Qi Xiu's fingers and, transforming into a golden streak of light, attempted to flee.

Hmm? A cooked duck trying to fly away?

With a light laugh, Qi Xiu transformed into a wisp of water. In an instant, he leaped and returned, his palm open. The escaping Dragon Blood Elixir was docilely recaptured.

This Spirit Pill contains Dragon Blood. If an ordinary martial artist or cultivator were to consume it, they could instantly break through the shackles of the Ancient Gathering of Celestial Strength. After surviving the Heaven Gang Qi Tribulation, they would become an Initiate Realm cultivator.

Qi Xiu examined the Dragon Blood Elixir in his hand, marveling silently. This Dragon Blood was indeed extraordinary. If this pill were to flow into the mundane martial world, it would undoubtedly trigger a bloody storm throughout the entire Jianghu. Such a calamitous item... I'd better dispose of it quickly.

He opened his mouth and swallowed the Dragon Blood Elixir. Streams of Spiritual Power emanated from the pill, accompanied by an extremely dominant and supremely noble bloodline power that surged forth. However, this bloodline power, though pure and noble, was pitifully scarce, a hundred times finer than a strand of hair.

And as soon as this trace of Dragon Blood appeared, the Mo Jiao in Qi Xiu's sea of consciousness suddenly let out an excited, long cry, constantly swimming back and forth, as if deeply craving that trace of Dragon Blood.

You little fellow, you want to taste Dragon Blood too?

Teasing the excited Mo Jiao, Qi Xiu's eyes suddenly paused, an inexplicable Spiritual Light flashing through his mind. This Dragon Blood is indeed greatly beneficial to the Mo Jiao. If there's enough of it, it might even allow my Divine Marvel to undergo a complete transformation!

Always trusting his instincts, Qi Xiu no longer hesitated and directly fed the trace of Dragon Blood to the Mo Jiao.

ROAR—

Upon swallowing the Dragon Blood, the Mo Jiao was enveloped in a dense black aura, and two long whiskers suddenly sprouted from the sides of its mouth. Sensing the change within itself, the Mo Jiao let out a joyous howl. Its originally hoarse and grating cry now carried a hint of a sonorous and pleasing dragon's roar.

Noticing the two new long whiskers beside the Mo Jiao's mouth, Qi Xiu's eyes narrowed slightly. It seems I'll have to find more opportunities to capture Dragon Blood demons in the future.

One by one, he swallowed the Spirit Pills. Qi Xiu digested their power, converting it into his own True Gang. The mystery of the Hunyuan Dragon Tiger Scripture is that it embraces all, like the sea accepting a hundred rivers. Utilizing the power of yin and yang to form a dragon-tiger grinding mill, its speed of digesting Spiritual Power was extremely rapid.

Immersed in cultivation, the sun and moon cycled, days and nights changed, yet Qi Xiu remained oblivious.

In the blink of an eye, three days had passed.

Qi Xiu slowly opened his eyes, a peculiar glint flashing in their depths.

[Calligraphy (Fourth Realm): 7.2%]

[Hunyuan Dragon Tiger Scripture Mystery (Layer 1): 97.8%]

[Minor Five Elements Water Circulation Five Elements Escape Skill (Layer 1): 54.3%]

[Formless Sword Mantra (Level 1): 34.8%]

[Alchemy (Third Realm): 22.2%]

[Painting (Second Realm): 78.2%]

[Culinary Art: 98.9%]

Just one more step, and the Hunyuan Dragon Tiger Scripture Mystery can break through to the Second Realm. The Divine Marvel of the Mixed Primordial Bead might then be fully completed.

Suppressing the turbulent aura within his body, Qi Xiu's gaze turned inward, and he arrived within his Heart Palace. The iridescent Mixed Primordial Bead had become even more condensed, exuding a majestic aura as if it were enthroned in the center. A pool of greyish-white, empty, and ethereal misty clouds lay dormant beneath this Mixed Primordial Bead, which symbolized Qi Xiu's entire cultivation.

This lake of misty clouds was formed by the Minor Five Elements Water Patrol Escaping Five Elements Escape Skill. After this Escape Skill from the Demon Sect broke through to the First Realm, Qi Xiu had gained new insights in a reverse manner. It was as if the Escape Skill he possessed was merely a part of a larger whole. After breaking through to the First Realm, Qi Xiu comprehended more of it.

The expanded content of the First Realm Minor Five Elements Water Patrol Escaping Five Elements Escape Skill allowed the Escape Light to utilize existing water bodies for teleportation. However, the water used for this teleportation had to first be integrated with the Escape Light. It was somewhat similar to fixed-point teleportation. But currently, the teleportation distance was relatively short, covering only a radius of fifty miles, making its practical application somewhat limited. Once the Escape Skill is cultivated to a profound realm, and the teleportation distance becomes sufficiently far, it will be an extremely ingenious life-saving technique.

Surrounding the lake of misty clouds were twelve intangible, formless, transparent, and elusive sword-shaped Qi forces. After the 'Formless Sword Qi' broke through to the First Realm, it didn't reveal new content like the 'Minor Five Elements Water Patrol Escape Light' did. The number of Sword Qi simply increased from six to twelve. The body-penetrating power of the Sword Qi also increased from being able to pierce one layer of True Gang to two layers!

I still need to capture more demons...ŸŸŸ

Looking at the Hunyuan Dragon Tiger Scripture Mystery, which was just a step away from breakthrough, Qi Xiu rose and once again transformed into a streak of Escape Light, instantly rushing into the distance.

「At the same time.」

Linshui. Deep, unfathomable, its bottom murky with silt and sand. Light filtering through the rippling water cast a hazy scene. All sorts of peculiar and beautiful corals, seaweed, and aquatic creatures. Colorful and magnificent coral reefs emitted a faint yet mesmerizing glow in the turbid waters.

In the heart of this coral cluster, a Dragon Palace stood proudly. Through the lake-bottom walls, which were as clear as crystal yet slightly indistinct, one could glimpse the magnificent and spectacular interior of the Dragon Palace. A colossal, resplendent golden gate stood open, exuding an aura that was both alluring and terrifying.

Suddenly, in this ancient place reminiscent of legends, a terrifying aura awakened. A formidable presence, coiled in the depths of the Dragon Palace, slowly opened its crushed-gold eyes and spoke, its voice like crashing thunder, causing the entire Linshui water region to boil and tremble.

"Who dares to attack my son?"

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