Shocking the World

As they spoke, they saw another mountain.

This mountain was much taller and larger than Tea Mountain, its peaks stretching far into the distance, lush and green, with large flocks of birds taking flight and circling.

"This is Flag Mountain, and there's a sweet spring at the summit! And quite a lot of it, too. It's the perfect place for me to heal."

"Yan Nu, we'll deal with the Zhang Family here. We'll likely have a battle tonight!"

Shen Leling, being of Water Spirit constitution, could smell the spring's source from miles away.

If her true form were injured and her source polluted, she would need to consume spring water to replenish her own vital essence.

Calculating the time, she figured she had enough. The Zhang Family's first wave of encirclement had been almost wiped out by her; it wouldn't take them too long to regroup and pursue again... Besides, that Ghost Cultivator would surely avoid fighting at noon.

Yan Nu was a little puzzled. "A battle tonight? They found our tracks so quickly?"

Shen Leling pouted. "Do they even need to track us?"

"Ghosts are best at sensing energy, not to mention I'm injured and left a trail of demonic energy all the way here. It's hard to shake them off."

"If we fled to another territory, the Zhang Family might even join forces with other powerful clans. That's why I need to find a good place to heal and recover my strength quickly."

"This calamity cannot be avoided! Anyway, my Dao cultivation is gone. Once I deal with that ghost..."

"This Zhang Family... I'll turn their world upside down! I'll make sure they know what it means to have no peace!"

As they arrived at the foot of Flag Mountain, they saw a stream. Following the water, they could find the spring's source.

However, Shen Leling suddenly stopped, her brow furrowed.

"What? There's a monster here!"

She looked around, sensing a strong demonic aura on the mountain, not even trying to conceal itself. Furthermore, the distribution of this aura suggested it was marking its territory.

"This mountain has a monster's lair, and it's raising many wild beasts."

Yan Nu was a bit surprised. "Huh? We've only walked this far, and we've already encountered a monster?"

Shen Leling rubbed her nose. "It's a Dog Demon, and it's been occupying this place for a long time."

"This is my first time in Langya... You're a local, haven't you heard any legends about Flag Mountain?"

Yan Nu recalled, "Speaking of Dog Demons, I know one! Grandpa said that sixteen years ago, the year before I was born, a Dog Demon took over a mountain and settled there. Many wandering heroes went to fight it, but they all died in the mountains."

"Hmm, it's been quiet in recent years. We only heard of wolves and wild dogs appearing, but no one has seen that Dog Demon since."

"So that Dog Demon was occupying this mountain..."

Shen Leling caught the key point and couldn't help but ask, "Doesn't it trick people? Does it just eat them directly?"

"It was like that a few years ago. Passing merchants and villagers from various hamlets were caught and eaten on the spot," Yan Nu said.

"Tsk... Still a wild demon that doesn't cultivate the Dao! Those are the most troublesome. Although it's only at the Mystical Stage, it has an insane amount of Magic Power!" Shen Leling knew these kinds of monsters were tricky. If she were at a higher realm, she could suppress it, but with her current fallen state, it would be difficult.

She thought for a moment, then suddenly drew a ball of vital water from within herself. Enduring the dizziness and pain, she quickly crafted a Water Talisman and sent it into Yan Nu's body.

Yan Nu looked at her blankly, feeling a pulling force from the water within him, as if it wanted to fly towards Shen Leling, before it finally settled.

"You stay here. I'll go up the mountain alone. If things go badly, I'll come back for you... But if you feel that pulling force from earlier, you come up and find me yourself," Shen Leling said, feeling dizzy.

Seeing this, Yan Nu was concerned. "Why don't we go up the mountain together?"

Shen Leling shook her head. "No, this kind of vicious monster would kill you as easily as drinking water. You stay here and cultivate properly!"

"The Water Talisman I put inside you is located in your Shencang Acupoint. It can resist spells for you and absorb True Qi to strengthen itself... Although the efficiency of strengthening itself with True Qi is very low, it can at least quickly deplete your True Qi."

"You infuse your True Qi into it, then eat grass to gather it again, let it absorb it dry... then eat grass again..."

"Um... I don't know if this will work. I've never heard of cultivating this way before. It's too strange... You can give it a try!"

Yan Nu exclaimed upon hearing this, "This Water Talisman makes things so convenient! Doesn't that mean I can just keep improving my True Qi by eating and drinking?"

Shen Leling said sternly, "Did you forget what I said? Without body tempering, your most powerful move can only use twenty years' worth of True Qi."

"Solely increasing True Qi will only enhance your stamina... Facing that ghost, you'll just be a supplement!"

"Fortunately, with incredibly abundant True Qi, you at least won't have to fear the beasts in this mountain. Monsters that occupy a territory like this will surely raise many wild beasts to wear down Martial Artists, and you are the least afraid of being worn down!"

Yan Nu pursed his lips, looking quite wronged. "Sister, I really don't understand how to temper my body. You say many words, but I don't know what you're talking about..."

Seeing this, Shen Leling gently comforted him, "It's not that you're stupid, it's just that your foundation is too poor. I haven't explained many things clearly to you, so of course, you don't understand."

"It's okay. When I have free time, I'll teach you slowly."

"You focus on refining your True Qi. I'm also very curious if a person's True Qi can truly cycle infinitely, growing stronger."

With that, Shen Leling mounted her horse alone and rode up the mountain, following the stream deeper and deeper.

When she encountered rugged terrain, her horse leaped into the air, galloping across the water, and soon disappeared from sight.

Seeing Shen Leling depart, Yan Nu first bent down and drank a few mouthfuls of water from the stream.

Then, he searched and dug along the stream bank, eventually gathering a large pile of Sheep Grass.

Yan Nu sat down on a blue stone, crossed his legs, and began to 'cultivate'.

Normally, using his body tempering method to deplete his True Qi would take at least an hour.

It would be much faster during combat, but no matter how fast, it wouldn't be as quick as directly infusing True Qi into the Water Talisman, which only took three breaths!

The Water Talisman was located on his back, and after absorbing True Qi, it only grew slightly. Yan Nu's True Qi, comparable to that of a second-rate expert, vanished without a trace.

It's fine, I'll eat grass to recover, and my Hammer True Qi will refresh in an instant.

He silently circulated the Great Emperor White Jade Scripture again, re-condensed the Qi vortex, and gradually, all the Hammer True Qi transformed into the Yin-Yang Qi Vortex, even growing by ten percent.

Calculating the time, the entire process took only half a quarter of an hour!

Eat grass again, re-condense again, and so on. The Great Emperor White Jade Scripture became more and more proficient, and the True Qi grew stronger and stronger.

When Yan Nu set his mind to something, he was incredibly focused and unwavering.

Therefore, after an hour, the True Qi in his body broke and then reformed, extinguished and reborn, a full sixteen times!

Each time, the amount of True Qi increased by ten percent!

Thus, in just one hour, Yan Nu's True Qi quadrupled and a half.

What does that mean? His True Qi, which already reached the level of someone cultivating a profound technique for thirty years, was now equivalent to one hundred and thirty-five years of cultivation!

The True Qi within his body surged like great rivers and vast seas.

The two major Qi vortices in Xuanji and Huagai circulated ceaselessly, like the eyes of a storm on a stormy day.

Why is the division of martial artist realms based on True Qi requirements for the second and third-rate, but later only on body tempering progress, with no further requirements on the amount of True Qi?

Because human lifespan is limited! Without an earth-shattering encounter, who could cultivate a hundred years' worth of True Qi on their own?

Even with divine techniques, if they could shorten this time, cultivating sixty years' worth of True Qi in a lifetime would already make one an extraordinary internal arts master.

Many top experts, in their Three Essences Body Tempering, actually only had twenty years of cultivation, but this did not prevent them from becoming top martial artists, their sword qi and blade qi surging.

Normally, most people would reach their limit with forty years of cultivation, considering the average lifespan.

However, at this moment, Yan Nu easily possessed an incredibly vast amount of True Qi, absolutely astonishing.

And it wasn't over yet!

This process of breaking and reforming, extinguishing and growing, became even more terrifying the further it progressed.

After two hours, Yan Nu's True Qi was already twenty-one times its initial amount.

After three hours, ninety-seven times!

This was equivalent to two thousand nine hundred and ten years of True Qi for an ordinary person! It was as if he had started cultivating since the era of Shennong!

Under Yan Nu's True Qi infusion and nourishment, the Water Talisman continuously grew stronger.

Of course, this talisman did not have a compatible affinity with his True Qi, and it was refined and absorbed like pure energy, making its growth efficiency extremely low.

But Yan Nu's sheer volume was too immense!

After three hours of infusing an unknown amount of True Qi, he forcibly nurtured the Water Talisman to grow more than ten times its original size, transforming from its original transparent color to a cyan Water Talisman.

Yan Nu could not perceive its color, but suddenly, he felt it pulsate, as if it were about to break free from his body.

A pulling force directed towards the mountaintop.

"Hmm? Sister is calling me." Yan Nu immediately stopped his 'cultivation'.

Night had already fallen. Yan Nu opened his eyes, his gaze sharp and gleaming.

He sprang up and landed on the ground. The bluestone behind him exploded with a roar, and the airwaves kicked up billowing dust.

This was him accidentally releasing True Qi and crushing it...

He glanced back, then followed the stream upstream.

"Bang bang bang!"

He ran like the wind, his speed incredibly fast. The ground vibrated with air ripples beneath his feet, creating large craters, sending dust flying and scattering gravel.

Yan Nu had no understanding of movement techniques; he simply leaped with brute force, covering ten Zhang with each step, tracing parabolic arcs.

"With so much True Qi, even if I only use one percent each time, it will last for a long time."

Yan Nu remembered Shen Leling's repeated instructions: without the One Essence Body Tempering, never unleash more than twenty years of True Qi at once, as it would be equivalent to self-destruction.

Therefore, with each step, he only consumed this much, afraid to mobilize too much, lest he harm himself due to his lack of martial arts knowledge.

However, even so, the consumption of each step was as terrifying as a lifetime's worth of cultivation exploding, truly formidable!

p.s: Sorry.