True Qi Release

You hear the voices of several men and women in the distance, calling out the name of the little girl.

You frown slightly, your eyes scanning the young girl.

You cover the girl's mouth and slip into the thicket.

Shortly after, four men and one woman, five adults in total, arrive near the riverbank.

The five have dark skin and lean builds, all dressed in short shirts and trousers convenient for movement.

They are all ordinary people, not martial artists.

The five search the area anxiously for a while.

From their conversation, you learn that two of them are Xiao Xuan's parents.

These five live not far away and came to the river today to fetch water.

Xiao Xuan wandered off out of curiosity and ended up where you were.

When she peeked at you, you discovered her.

The five have been calling out and searching for Xiao Xuan all around you.

Confirming they pose no threat to you, you bring Xiao Xuan out.

"Are you looking for her?" you ask, holding the child in your hands.

"Xiao Xuan!!" A woman rushes over immediately and snatches Xiao Xuan into her arms.

Teary-eyed, Xiao Xuan buries her head in her mother's chest, clearly terrified.

Her mother hurriedly checks Xiao Xuan, and upon finding her uninjured, lets out a sigh of relief.

The others look at you with curiosity.

One of the leaders asks, "Are you all by yourself?"

You nod.

"You won't survive in the Black Dragon Forest alone; come back to the village with us," the leader says.

You are very puzzled.

The leader's tone is sincere and open, as if accepting a stranger like you is a perfectly ordinary matter.

After questioning them carefully, you learn the truth.

They all come from a nearby village called Peach Blossom Village.

Peach Blossom Village is the only human settlement deep within the Black Dragon Forest.

The dozen or so people who originally established Peach Blossom Village also came from the Great Qian Empire.

They were all ordinary farmers who, unable to bear the heavy and harsh taxes, fled together deep into the Black Dragon Forest to take root and survive.

Peach Blossom Village has been established for over two hundred years and now has more than five hundred people.

They are isolated from the world and have completely integrated into the Black Dragon Forest.

Peach Blossom Village has always maintained the tradition of accepting outsiders.

That is why they invited you to join the village so naturally.

In a primeval forest like the Black Dragon Forest, surrounded by fierce beasts, it is impossible for ordinary people to survive alone.

You go with the flow, pretending to be an ordinary person who wandered into the Black Dragon Forest by mistake, and follow them back to the village, intending to get a clear picture of their situation.

Upon arriving at Peach Blossom Village, you find that what the leader said is true.

You nod and praise them, "Good, good. Great Qian people don't deceive Great Qian people."

The current Village Elder of Peach Blossom Village, Yan Hongde, also happily invites you to stay.

The white-haired Yan Hongde is seventy-two years old, coincidentally the same age as your delicate-looking self.

Yan Hongde tells you that the surrounding area is the territory of those giant apes and that you must never act alone.

Otherwise, you would easily be torn apart by the apes.

Only by staying in Peach Blossom Village and gathering together can everyone survive in the perilous Black Dragon Forest.

You decline Yan Hongde's invitation and return to your own small courtyard.

You confirm that they are all ordinary people without cultivation and pose no threat to you.

Seeing your insistence on leaving, Yan Hongde does not press you further.

He only tells you that if you can no longer survive, you can come to Peach Blossom Village.

Two days later, several people from Peach Blossom Village arrive outside your courtyard.

The little girl, Xiao Xuan, also comes along.

They bring you some food and daily necessities.

But when they see your courtyard, they are deeply shocked.

They rarely use the word "magnificent" to describe a farmhouse courtyard.

But this courtyard, covering over a dozen mu with stone walls two zhang high, leaves them all with their mouths agape, unable to speak.

Compared to your courtyard, the village where their five hundred people live looks like toys built by children playing house.

After looking at the rich variety of melons, fruits, vegetables, and various poultry in your yard, they silently hide the few pieces of wild boar meat they brought for you behind their backs.

It was simply too embarrassing to take out.

Xiao Xuan runs around your yard curiously.

She looks at the piglets one moment and teases the chicks and ducklings the next; she is very happy.

Xiao Xuan grew up in the Black Dragon Forest and had never seen so many kinds of cute little food.

You keep them for a sumptuous lunch.

After they return, Yan Hongde comes over in a hurry that very afternoon.

Seeing your courtyard, which looks like a small city, he is also deeply shocked.

On his way back, he mutters to himself that if Peach Blossom Village had such high walls, they would never have to worry about beast attacks again.

You ignore them and continue your cultivation.

Half a year later, in the fifty-eighth year.

You have cultivated the Desolate Heaven Saber Technique to the Bone Tempering Middle Stage.

True Qi surges within you like a tide, and your liquid True Qi has increased more than fivefold.

Your strength skyrockets, and you dance around the courtyard clutching the Minghong Blade.

The surging True Qi makes the Minghong Blade gradually unable to withstand your infusion.

The blade of the Minghong Blade goes limp, trembling and twitching on the ground.

You plan to find time to re-forge the Minghong Blade.

Your technique for refining Qi and Blood Pills has finally reached perfection.

Out of ten Qi and Blood Pills, you can refine at least nine, and when in good condition, all ten are successful.

This day, you are in the middle of your fourth time Condensing True Qi.

Yan Hongde comes to find you.

He asks you where you found so many giant stones to build the walls.

Over the past six months, he has gathered the young and strong of Peach Blossom Village to quarry all the stones they could find nearby.

But the giant stones for reinforcing the walls of Peach Blossom Village are still far from enough.

You say nothing, merely pointing to the mountain not far away that is now only half-remaining.

Yan Hongde looks at you in disbelief: "You quarried all of that by yourself?!"

You nod.

The mountain peak in the distance has been hollowed out by you.

The giant stones were quarried from the inside of the mountain.

Yan Hongde realizes that you are a very powerful martial artist.

He does not come to find you again.

Your life returns to peace.

You continue to Condense True Qi.

In the fifty-ninth year, you successfully condense your True Qi for the fourth time.

Your True Qi is now capable of leaving your body and being released externally.

The release distance is one zhang, and while the lethality is not great, it can only cause damage to ordinary people.

But you are still very excited; True Qi Release is the hallmark of the Essence Refining Peak.

After reaching the Essence Refining Peak, True Qi becomes extremely solid, like a physical object, which is why it can achieve the effect of releasing it to attack enemies.

Even though you are only at the Bone Tempering Middle Stage, the solidity of your True Qi has already met the standard.

You flick your fingertips suddenly, and a stream of liquid True Qi shoots out.

The roast suckling pig not far away falls to the ground instantly.

A blood hole the size of a fist appears on the pig's head.

"This is like having a little handgun!"

You are very satisfied with the striking power.

Moreover, you know that as the number of condensations increases, the power of the release will become even greater.

You cannot wait to begin the fifth True Qi condensation.

This day, you are in the courtyard condensing True Qi.

Your courtyard gate is suddenly pounded frantically.

At the same time, Yan Hongde's anxious cry for help comes from outside the gate: "Young Master He! Please, save us!!"