All Neat and Tidy

Lin Le's hairs stood on end, and he was inwardly astonished. Since when had his spiritual senses failed to notice?

He turned around and saw a White Great Serpent as thick as the mouth of an inner well quietly watching him.

With that size, was it not a Qi Refining Realm demon?

"Don't worry, I have no intention of eating you," the great serpent said. "If I wanted to eat you, you would already be dead."

Lin Le said nothing. His blood qi merely surged as he remained ready to use that drop of Sun Moon Spirit Nectar at any moment.

If he wished, the Sun Moon Spirit Nectar could instantly transform into violent energy and blast outward. He did not know how powerful it would be, but it should be enough to deal with a Qi Refining Realm being still in the early stages.

"Interesting. You seem to think your trump card can kill me?" The great serpent's eyes curved as though it were smiling like a young maiden.

"It should be enough to escape with my life," Lin Le said. "You're hiding here, so you must also fear certain people in the city."

"It would indeed be a little troublesome if they found me." The great serpent nodded. "Interested in making a deal, little one?"

It seemed to have seen at a glance that Lin Le's bone age was not particularly high.

"What do you need?" Lin Le asked.

"Pills, meat, spiritual materials," the great serpent said. "Give me those, and I can give you methods you cannot obtain."

"Do you have martial arts?" Lin Le asked, sizing up the great serpent.

"Yes. I even have methods for after becoming a Spiritual Platform cultivator, so long as you can afford the price," the great serpent said.

After considering it for a moment, Lin Le tossed the three bottles of pills at his waist to the great serpent.

They were spoils he had looted, all Blood Essence Pills. They were of little use to him, and difficult to sell, so they were just right for a trade.

"Three bottles of Blood Essence Pills in exchange for six better martial arts," Lin Le said.

The great serpent swallowed them in one gulp and nodded. "Fine, but I'll only recite them once. Listen carefully."

After listening, Lin Le nodded faintly. They truly were rare martial arts, each capable of changing two forms or three forms.

"Will all future trades be here?" Lin Le asked, pointing at the floor.

"No need. Knock nine times anywhere within Withered Well, and I can come. Of course, only within this city," the great serpent said. "Also, by meat, I mean ordinary chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep. Don't feed me people. I don't eat them."

"Aren't you a demon?" Lin Le glanced at the dried corpses in the courtyard. "Would you refuse Great Medicine?"

The great serpent actually rolled its eyes in a very human manner. "I'm not taking the path of Malignant Demons. Wouldn't eating people just be making trouble for myself?"

"Fine." Lin Le nodded. "Then I'm leaving."

But the great serpent opened its mouth and spat out a stream of white qi at Lin Le.

It was so fast that before even Lin Le could react, it had already entered his chest.

"A control method?" Lin Le asked, expressionless as he looked at the great serpent.

"After all, if you communicate with my enemies, it will be troublesome for me." The great serpent nodded slightly. "Don't worry, it's merely a breath of true qi. If you harbor no ulterior intentions, I will retrieve it myself once your injuries have healed."

"But if you dare betray me, then prepare to spend the rest of your life as a mortal!"

As soon as it finished speaking, the great serpent moved close to Lin Le, extended its forked tongue, and licked him once. Then it could not help licking him again, and once more. Mm, another lick. So fragrant.

Lin Le nearly broke character from all the licking and grabbed its tongue. "Hey, that's enough licking, isn't it? I'm not candy!"

The great serpent also felt a little embarrassed. Fortunately, it was a snake and could not blush. It drew itself back. "Ahem, go back. Bring me at least some food every day."

"Got it." Lin Le left the courtyard.

At the bottom of the well, the great serpent muttered to itself, "That kind of aura... could it be a Yang Spiritual Root?"

After returning to the inn, Lin Le swallowed three Spirit Blood Pills. Once they had dissolved into medicinal liquid, he used the Qi Gathering Art to fully digest their medicinal power.

Three more of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians had been opened this time. Together with the one he had opened over the past day or two, more than half had now been opened.

Lin Le had not expected his Qi Guiding cultivation to show signs of overtaking the rest from behind.

Unfortunately, the Qi Guiding Realm had little combat power. Otherwise, Lin Le would have to consider whether to switch his main cultivation path.

As he circulated his blood qi, condensed blood qi had already enveloped his entire forearm.

Lin Le estimated that he would need, at most, another fifty Spirit Blood Pills before he could attempt to break through to the Blood Qi Furnace Realm.

At dawn, Lin Le finished breakfast and headed out, making straight for a residence.

He had originally planned to slowly nibble away at the Concentric Society for maximum benefit, but that was no longer feasible. The great serpent's existence was like a fishbone stuck in his throat. He had to grow stronger faster.

As he walked, Lin Le's appearance continuously underwent subtle adjustments. By the time he reached his destination, he wore an entirely different face.

Seeing Lin Le's menacing manner, the gatekeeper immediately raised a wooden board to stop him. "Hey, stop! What business do you have at Jia Manor?"

Lin Le remained silent and simply walked inside.

The gatekeeper flew into a rage, swinging the board down as he shouted, "I'm talking to—"

Bang! The gatekeeper never finished the rest of his sentence, because he no longer had a head.

Stepping through the main gate, Lin Le headed toward the rear courtyard. Several servants tried to stop him along the way, but Lin Le smashed all of their heads apart with a single punch.

Seeing Lin Le's fiendish savagery, the servants no longer dared to block him and scattered to save their own lives.

But Lin Le had come to exterminate the household. Those servants who tried to flee either had their heads blasted away by his fists or pierced through by shattered stones and tiles.

In the rear courtyard, a family of five was eating. The middle-aged man seated in the place of honor frowned. "What's going on in the outer courtyard? Why is it so noisy?"

As soon as he spoke, a headless corpse flew into the courtyard. Then an unfamiliar man stepped into the inner courtyard.

The middle-aged man rose to his feet, his voice brimming with murderous intent and fury. "Who are you? How dare you kill my people?"

Lin Le had no interest in wasting words with him. He swept his gaze over those in the courtyard and charged straight at the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man snorted coldly. "Courting death!"

With that, he threw a punch. Condensed blood qi coiled around his arm. He was actually a third-limit Martial Master with Blood Qi Like a Dragon.

A flicker of surprise appeared deep in Lin Le's eyes.

This was Jia Dafa's household. Jia Dafa was a Concentric Society hall master, and according to the information Lin Le had gathered recently, he should only have been a second-limit Martial Master.

Lin Le then cast that unexpected detail to the back of his mind. So what if Jia Dafa was third-limit? After so many battles, Lin Le had already clearly understood his own combat strength.

Above, he had the keen perception brought by soul refinement; in the middle, the powerful physique brought by changing his Bone Structure; below, the extraordinary endurance brought by the circulation of yang qi.

He, Lin Le, was invincible among those of the same rank!

He threw a punch, producing nine crackling blasts as it collided with Jia Dafa's fist.

After the clash, Jia Dafa's expression changed drastically, because he had actually fallen into a disadvantage—a complete and utter disadvantage.

His bones were not as hard as that man's, his qi was not as solid, and his skill was even further inferior.

"Wait, we can talk this out!" Jia Dafa immediately changed his attitude.

He had struggled so hard to obtain his present wealth and glory. He did not want to die before he had enjoyed it all.

Lin Le ignored him and threw another punch, smashing Jia Dafa's guard wide open.

Another punch directly shattered his breastbone and exploded his heart.

"Go tell King Yama."

Lin Le spoke as he looked at Jia Dafa collapsing to the ground, then turned to kill Jia Dafa's family.

A family of five had to be all neat and tidy.