Beggars' Catastrophe

"I'm definitely human, not a monster! I live in Xu Family Village, I have a father and a mother. Both my parents are human. My father's name is Xu An, and my mother's name is Tian Ruijun, from Tian Family Village."

Xu Ying muttered to himself, "I still remember the way to Xu Family Village and Tian Family Village. I'm definitely human..."

The Snake Demon, Yuan Qi, listened to his mumbling and felt puzzled, "If he's truly human, then why can he cultivate our demon race's techniques and martial arts? It seems he's not entirely human, with more demonic essence."

Xu Ying put his worries aside and, as he walked, activated the Taiyi Guiding Technique, drawing in the essence of the sun.

As he cultivated the Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist to the sixth level, the storm of light particles formed by his breathing became increasingly apparent. The light particles entered his body with each breath!

Xu Ying activated Thunder Sound Body Tempering and Great Sun Body Tempering to refine the residual true yang Blood Essence in his body and repair his injuries.

However, he didn't open his Ni Wan Secret Treasury, so he couldn't heal his injuries as quickly as Nu Masters like Ding Quan and Wei Chu.

Moreover, his fight with Huang Siping this time had nearly ripped him open, leaving a wound on his chest that exposed bone. Even if the injuries healed, a shocking scar would remain!

Xu Ying sighed, thinking to himself, "If only I had the methods for Dragon Seeking Positioning and opening the secret treasury..."

Opening the Ni Wan Secret Treasury and achieving an immortal body was truly enviable!

"And my face would definitely become much fairer. Perhaps I could make a living with my looks in the future."

The young man's heart was filled with unrealistic aspirations. He said to Yuan Qi, "My godfather said that wealthy women in the city like young men with fair skin. Two years ago, when we couldn't get enough to eat, he wanted to sell me to a city woman, but I wasn't fair-skinned enough, so I wasn't sold. The child from the Jiang Shouzheng family next door was sold for a good price and is living well in the city."

Yuan Qi was silent for a moment, then said, "Don't you find that pathetic?"

Xu Ying smiled innocently, "In this day and age, just being able to live is good enough. He eats better than me and wears warmer clothes."

He seemed to envy the child who had been sold.

In the riverbed at the foot of the mountain lay enormous skeletal remains; a single finger was taller than Xu Ying.

Xu Ying and Yuan Qi walked beside the giant bones, passing through the riverbed via the ribcage. The man and the snake stopped, gazing up at the thick ribs, both feeling a sense of surreal wonder.

"Is this what attacked the ruined temple on the River of Oblivion last night?" Xu Ying murmured.

Whether this skeleton belonged to a deity, a demon, or some other creature, it had been killed by the Great Bronze Bell. Its remains had fallen into the River of Oblivion, its flesh and blood dissolving.

As they passed by the bones, they heard a peculiar sound, like thousands of people whispering.

Yuan Qi said, "Deities enjoy sacrifices. They cultivate magical power over a hundred years and achieve a sixteen-foot golden body in three hundred years. This must be a deity. The whispering is the lingering incense energy of the deity. Incense energy is a deity's magical power. Although this deity is dead, the incense energy hasn't completely dissipated."

Xu Ying examined the skeleton, feeling only shock, and asked, "How many years would it take for such a massive deity to form?"

Yuan Qi shook his head, "A sixteen-foot golden body takes three hundred years. This skeleton is thirty to forty feet tall. It probably required tens of thousands of years of worship to cultivate such a powerful golden deity. But in all the books I've read, recorded history is only three thousand years old. Where did a deity worshipped for tens of thousands of years come from?"

Xu Ying stared at the golden patterns flickering on the bones, his mind filled with questions.

They continued onward, passing through the forests of Anzi Ridge, and encountered another corpse in the riverbed.

This corpse was even larger, blocking the center of the riverbed. It had no lower body, only an upper half.

The flesh and blood on the corpse had not been completely dissolved by the River of Oblivion; flesh still clung to the thick bones.

From a distance, the flesh on the white bones seemed to be slowly squirming.

As Xu Ying and Yuan Qi were about to walk closer, a flock of wild birds flew overhead, a dense black mass soaring above the riverbed. Suddenly, the flesh on the white bones shot out like a frog's tongue, sticking to all the birds and dragging them into the riverbed.

The birds cried out, feathers flying, but soon there was silence. Only the white bones and feathers of the flock fell to the ground.

The flesh on the corpse writhed and surged, becoming noticeably more abundant than before.

Xu Ying and Yuan Qi were horrified and quickly held their breath, detouring around the riverbed.

Suddenly, the enormous corpse abruptly raised its head. Its hollow eyes "looked" in the direction of Xu Ying and Yuan Qi. Its head was like a mountain of flesh, with fleshy tendrils wriggling and crawling on it.

"Run!" Xu Ying urgently shouted.

The man and the snake fled for their lives, while the half-corpse used its two arms to crawl, moving with incredible speed along the riverbed in pursuit!

The corpse chased for a while, but losing track of Xu Ying and Yuan Qi, it gave up.

Xu Ying and Yuan Qi fled desperately, unknowingly arriving at Jian Mountain. Seeing that the monstrous corpse had not pursued them, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Look at Jian Mountain!" Yuan Qi exclaimed.

Xu Ying looked up and saw that a large chunk was missing from the summit of Jian Mountain, as if some giant monster had taken a bite out of it.

However, on this side of the mountain, there were many loose stones, making it seem more like something had crashed into the mountainside, creating a gap.

"This world is becoming more chaotic," Xu Ying shook his head.

Ahead lay a wide mountain ravine, with a babbling stream about three to four zhang wide. The water was crystal clear, allowing one to see the riverbed. It was currently the dry season; if it were the rainy season, mountain floods would sweep down from upstream, making the ravine extremely dangerous.

Yuan Qi went to the other side of the ravine to hunt, while Xu Ying stripped naked and jumped into the stream to wash off the bloodstains, also washing his clothes.

After a while, he put on his damp clothes and activated his Blood Essence. His body steamed with heat, and before long, his clothes were dried.

Suddenly, Yuan Qi's scream echoed. Xu Ying rushed over and saw that the forest was in disarray, with trees broken and felled everywhere. Hot air emanated from the forest, growing hotter the further he walked.

Xu Ying walked a few dozen more steps and saw that the trees ahead were completely flattened, all bent in the same direction!

And in the middle of the fallen trees, a Great Bronze Bell, over a person tall, floated there, two feet off the ground. Strange patterns on the bell's surface occasionally lit up and then dimmed, flickering erratically.

With the flickering of the patterns, the Great Bronze Bell rose and fell unstably.

Even stranger, as the bell floated up, it would slowly expand by a circle, and as it fell, it would shrink considerably!

It seemed to be breathing.

But on the bell's surface, there was a deep palm print, over three inches deep, almost piercing the bell with a single strike!

Judging by the palm and finger lines, it belonged to a woman, quite delicate.

Xu Ying couldn't help but recall the female ghost from the coffin last night, thinking, Judging by the palm print, it might be the work of that beautiful ghost.

Around the palm print, various strange patterns intertwined, sometimes bursting with energy, sometimes collapsing and shattering, as if the palm print contained a terrifying power that was destroying the Great Bronze Bell's internal structure.

Even stranger, Xu Ying felt the Great Bronze Bell was using a peculiar breathing technique to stimulate its potential and resist the terrifying power within the palm print!

It was healing itself!

Not far away, the Snake Demon Yuan Qi was gnawing on a black wild boar weighing about ten pounds. The boar had already died from poison, while another black boar was pinned beneath him, still alive.

The snake and the pig stared wide-eyed, looking at the Great Bronze Bell in terror.

"How did this bell end up here? I thought it was dragged into the underworld. Was the gap in Jian Mountain caused by it crashing through?"

Xu Ying cautiously approached, extending his hand from a distance, and whispered, "Is it hurt?"

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi was extremely anxious, lowering his voice and shouting, "Don't mess with it! People will die!"

Xu Ying, emboldened, crept forward bit by bit.

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi yelled, "Xu Ying, come back quickly! You haven't left an heir for the Jiang family yet. If you die, the Jiang family will be wiped out!"

Xu Ying's palm gradually neared the Great Bronze Bell.

Suddenly, the Great Bronze Bell stopped, no longer rising and falling, nor growing and shrinking.

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi cried out in alarm and held his breath. Xu Ying also felt as if the great bell had a pair of eyes, staring at him, watching what he intended to do.

The surrounding air temperature rose significantly, and the fallen trees began to crackle and explode as they were scorched.

Xu Ying remained motionless.

After a moment, the Great Bronze Bell resumed its rising and falling, growing and shrinking, concentrating on dealing with the palm print on its surface. Clearly, the bell considered Xu Ying to be no threat.

Xu Ying felt the surrounding air temperature drop considerably. He quietly took another step forward, his palm continuing to extend.

The Great Bronze Bell stopped again, and Xu Ying froze.

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi and the black boar's hearts were in their throats.

The Great Bronze Bell continued to rise and fall, breathing and circulating energy. Xu Ying's palm gently landed on the bell's surface, and he touched it, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi whispered, "You risked being smashed to death by the bell just to touch it?"

Xu Ying chuckled, "Last night, we survived the River of Oblivion's diversion thanks to it. It's injured, so of course, we should touch it to comfort it. My cats and dogs calm down when I pet them like this."

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi actually found some twisted logic in his words. However, the moment Xu Ying turned his head, there was a sudden loud clang, and the Great Bronze Bell fell from the sky, smashing onto the ground!

Xu Ying was startled and quickly turned back. He saw the bell's surface trembling incessantly, its patterns chaotic and jumping around, twitching occasionally.

The scene was eerily similar to someone severely injured and on the verge of death!

"Come back quickly!"

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi shrieked, his voice hoarse, "It's dying! If it explodes later, it'll splatter your face with blood!"

Seeing this, Xu Ying also couldn't be sure if the violently shaking bell would explode. He quickly walked towards the Snake Demon Yuan Qi.

He had only taken two steps when he heard the sound of the bell scraping against the ground behind him. Xu Ying looked back and saw the Great Bronze Bell still behind him, having moved two steps closer, still twitching convulsively as if about to give up its last breath.

Xu Ying took a step forward, and the Great Bronze Bell dragged forward a step.

Xu Ying took another step forward, and the bell slid forward with a twitch.

Xu Ying walked forward quickly, the Great Bronze Bell clanging and sliding behind him, following his every move.

"You've been scammed!"

The Snake Demon Yuan Qi shrieked in a low voice, "You touched it just now, and now it's latched onto you! It's severely injured and can barely protect itself. Since you touched it, it's decided to stick with you. I told you not to help old ladies cross the street, didn't I?"

The little black pig beside him nodded repeatedly, deeply agreeing.

Xu Ying bolted, and behind him, the Great Bronze Bell clanged and banged, trailing smoke and kicking up dust, relentlessly following him!

Xu Ying darted between two large trees growing side-by-side. Behind him, two loud cracks echoed as the trees fell neatly!

Xu Ying leaped over a rock as tall as two or three men. The next moment, the rock was crushed into powder, and the Great Bronze Bell, clanging loudly, still followed behind him, inseparable.

Xu Ying ran back again. The Snake Demon Yuan Qi and the little black pig watched the bell still clanging and bumping against the ground behind him.

The young man stopped, his expression blank, two tears sliding down his face.

"I've killed people, and even a god. Now I'm a wanted man by the City God and the authorities. With this great bell stuck to my backside, as if I'm not conspicuous enough, I probably won't live through the day." Xu Ying tilted his head back to the sky, preventing his tears from falling into his mouth.

Suddenly, the Great Bronze Bell behind him silently floated up, rotating slowly, growing smaller and smaller, and then with a swish, it drilled into the back of his head!

Xu Ying saw the Snake Demon Yuan Qi and the little black pig looking at his back in terror. He quickly turned his head, only to find the Great Bronze Bell had vanished. He was both surprised and delighted, laughing, "Finally got rid of this burden."

Yuan Qi's tail tip pointed at his head, and he stammered, about to speak, when a bell chime suddenly echoed in his mind. Yuan Qi was startled, and his tail went limp.

"Yuan Qi, you caught two wild boars. I think this one has quite a spirit. Why don't we let it go?" Xu Ying looked at the little black pig pinned beneath the snake demon and suggested.

Yuan Qi said, "This black pig was poisoned by me. My poison is incurable. If you eat it, you'll definitely die. This live one isn't poisoned. Are you sure you want to let the live one go?"

A short while later, the two small wild boars were roasted over a bonfire until they were glistening, their fat dripping onto the flames, filling the air with the scent of pine smoke and roasted meat.

Xu Ying and Yuan Qi, their bellies full and their thirst quenched, continued their journey toward Mount Wu Wang.

"Little Qi, I don't know why, but whenever I shake my head, I always hear a bell," Xu Ying said, shaking his head again in surprise. After listening for a moment, he added, "I think I'm hallucinating."

Yuan Qi kept his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, remaining silent.

Xu Ying shook his head again and heard the bell once more.

"Stop shaking your head! If you keep doing that, you'll shake your head right off!" the Snake Demon, Yuan Qi, worried inwardly, fearing Xu Ying would shake so hard that the great bell would shatter his head from the inside.

Not only did Xu Ying frequently hear the bell, but he also felt his Blood Essence was not as abundant. He grew breathless after not walking very far, attributing it to his lingering injuries.

Yuan Qi watched him, utterly terrified. In just a few moments, Xu Ying had become gaunt, his face sallow, dark circles under his eyes, as if he'd been drained by a female ghost for three hundred rounds!

Suddenly, a voice like a great bell resonated in Xu Ying's mind: "Young man, do you know what inner observation and contemplation is?"

Xu Ying startled. "Who? Who's speaking?" he asked urgently.

The Snake Demon, Yuan Qi, froze and looked around. "Someone's talking? Why can't I hear them?"

The voice in Xu Ying's mind replied lazily, "Your Blood Essence cultivation has clearly reached its peak, and your Qi Gathering Stage is perfected, yet you don't understand inner observation and contemplation. Your cultivation cannot advance further."

Xu Ying looked left and right, unable to see the speaker. He tentatively asked, "Senior, please tell me, what is inner observation and contemplation? How does one observe inwardly? How does one contemplate?"

The voice slowly replied, "What is called inner observation and contemplation? 'Inner observation' means drawing sustenance from within. The Qi Gathering Stage draws the essence of the sun, which is drawing from the outside, to replenish Blood Essence. Inner observation, however, is to observe within, to look inside your own body, to open the Realm of Serenity, to see your internal organs, extraordinary sights, mystical and illusory. When you reach that stage, the Five Qi Towards Origin will harmonize the five energies, transforming them into primordial energy. Only then is the Qi Gathering Stage truly complete. After completing the Qi Gathering Stage, you can see the body's Xuan Guan and advance to the next realm."

Xu Ying was confused. "Senior, the next realm you speak of doesn't align with the Nu Master realm. Are you perhaps referring to the cultivation methods of the Demon Race?"

Yuan Qi heard Xu Ying muttering and quickly looked over. He saw Xu Ying talking to the air, acting suspiciously, and thought, "What's wrong with A Ying?"

The voice asked doubtfully, "What is a Nu Master? I'm talking about Qi Refiners! Aren't you a Qi Refiner?"