Yuan Qi Transforms into Human Form

Young Master Xiang scrambled and crawled for dozens of miles before he could no longer suppress his injuries. He fell backward, gasping for air.

After a moment, the beautiful woman, Thirteen Niang, limped over, coughing up blood.

The two powerful figures looked at each other, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"I didn't expect this person's cultivation to be unfathomably deep. We've lost."

Young Master Xiang took a breath and sat up, saying, "Fortunately, we ran fast. Otherwise, we would have surely died."

Thirteen Niang slumped down and said, "I couldn't discern the depth of his cultivation. He merely sat there and pointed a few times, and we were heavily injured. Could he be a Qi Refiner from the ancient Qin Dynasty, deliberately disguised as a youth?"

She felt quite ashamed. Xu Ying had dealt with the two of them without even fully raising his hands, and they were already half-dead. They hadn't even seen how Xu Ying had attacked!

Young Master Xiang shook his head, "We've been searching for ancient Qi Refiners for so many years and only found one in the Stone Mountain. Where did this ancient Qi Refiner come from?"

Thirteen Niang was also baffled.

On the River of Oblivion, the wind had stopped, and the moon was bright. Even the usually lively lone souls and ghosts in the river were silent. Apart from Xu Ying, no one dared to even breathe.

Xu Ying had heavily injured the two powerful figures, and his gaze became deep and distant, as if he himself had become a great expert.

After a moment, the young man snapped out of his elation and thought, If I become arrogant and overconfident, I could easily be killed for no reason. It's like many experienced snake catchers who, thinking they are skilled, get bitten by a venomous snake and end up kicking the bucket.

However, the bronze basin was truly astonishing. It had actually disguised him, a mere Qi Refiner, as an unparalleled master, beating Young Master Xiang and Thirteen Niang until they spat blood and fled in disarray. This made Xu Ying even more fond of the basin.

"The maiden in the coffin gave me the bronze basin, but she never said she wanted it back. So, I won't return it."

The young man thought, This bronze basin might be a token of love she gave me. For the sake of the basin, even if she's a female ghost, I'll reluctantly accept...

The maple leaf boat traveled thousands of miles eastward overnight, finally arriving near Mount Wu Wang. Suddenly, the sky brightened as the morning sun shone down. Xu Ying knew something was wrong and immediately hugged the bronze basin.

Beneath the maple leaf boat, the entire River of Oblivion suddenly vanished without a trace. The maple leaf boat became a rootless falling leaf, drifting down from the sky.

Xu Ying fell from the sky. Although he wasn't injured, the basin of the bronze basin was cracked, and water was leaking out!

Xu Ying was heartbroken. He quickly cupped his hands to hold the basin and ran, shouting, "Hu Family, Hu Family! Lend me a tael of silver! Gold would be even better!"

Those fox demons lived in the small town at the foot of Mount Wu Wang. It was just dawn, and many fox demons had not yet woken up. They saw Xu Ying burst into the town, holding the bronze basin.

An elder of the Hu Family came out, hurriedly saying, "King Xu, what brings you here?"

The water in the bronze basin was almost gone. Xu Ying, not having time to say more, saw a golden ring on the elder's finger and snatched it, tossing it into the basin.

The water in the basin was almost gone. The golden ring fell into the water with a clatter.

Xu Ying hurriedly looked up and suddenly saw the sky crack open. A massive golden ring descended from the heavens, about three to four li in diameter, falling from beyond the sky.

BOOM!

A violent tremor shook the ground. The three-li golden ring broke through the atmosphere, trailing blazing flames, and hurtled towards Mount Wu Wang. This startled the myriad monsters in the mountain, who cried out in terror and scattered.

Xu Ying, accustomed to poverty, looked up with anticipation. He saw the golden ring fall, but it kept getting smaller. It was initially two to three li wide, but soon it shrunk to about a hundred zhang.

By the time it reached Mount Wu Wang, it was only five to six zhang.

CLANG!

The golden ring spun and struck the cliff face, embedding itself there.

Xu Ying ran over and pulled the golden ring out of the cliff. The ring was only four feet wide, but it was countless times larger than the golden ring and weighed a thousand jin!

"I won't have to work hard for the rest of my life..." Xu Ying's voice trembled.

He looked at the cracked bronze basin. The water had all flowed out, and the maiden in the coffin's divine abilities had also vanished with the water.

Xu Ying tossed a small pebble into the basin. It only made a "dang" sound. No stone mountain fell from the sky.

"What a pity. This treasure is far more powerful than the legendary Treasure Gathering Basin, but it's just too fragile."

Xu Ying was quite regretful. However, obtaining a large golden ring meant that Young Master Xu would have no worries about food and drink for the rest of his life, and betrothal gifts would no longer be a problem.

The Great Bell floated quietly behind him, thinking, The brat thinks the bronze basin is the treasure, but the real treasure is actually the demoness's spatial divine ability. However, those who can cultivate such an ability are usually celestial beings. For the demoness to have achieved this technique is no small matter. Her escape this time is like a dragon emerging from shallow waters.

It suddenly thought, The demoness is not evil; instead, she resolved the Plague God's invasion. If I suppressed her, wouldn't that be a sin?

Am I a bad bell?

It became dispirited and muttered, Could it be that my master and I are the villains? No, my master is upright and heroic, how could he be a villain? It's more likely the demoness is hypocritical and deliberately deceived us!

Xu Ying returned the golden ring to the Hu family elder and carried the Great Golden Ring back to Qin Yan Cave. He saw a large snake coiled at the cave entrance.

The snake's head was over ten feet wide, with horns growing from its head. The two horns were forked, like newly sprouted deer antlers, covered in fuzz, and were black and white. Blood vessels could even be seen.

The snake was about thirty to forty feet long and coiled in front of the cave. Its scales were like polished mirrors, reflecting golden-red light under the spring sun.

The snake's head was raised about thirty to forty feet high, wrapped in dense demonic energy. Its gaze was deep, gazing silently at the rising sun.

It was facing the sun, breathing and cultivating the guiding technique. As it inhaled, its massive body expanded, and its scales rubbed together, emitting a crisp sound like clashing metal.

Countless light particles surged from the sunlight, forming a vortex, and poured into the snake's mouth.

Inside the snake's body, a great sun could be seen moving. Its light even shone through its scales, revealing its internal organs.

In a short moment, that great sun traveled from its throat to its tail tip. Wherever it passed, its body bulged and expanded, becoming two to three times thicker than a farmer's water vat.

As the snake exhaled, sand and stones flew, and poisonous gas formed clouds of smoke, which were illuminated by the sun into colorful clouds, rising into the sky.

Xu Ying had encountered many Demon Kings and Demon Gods, but none had the same imposing aura or demonic energy as this giant snake.

"You're... Yuan Qi?" Xu Ying approached, asking tentatively.

The giant snake gazed at him with deep eyes, remaining silent.

Xu Ying said, "The seventh most venomous snake in the world, Yuan Qi?"

The giant snake opened its mouth, and a childish voice, like that of a three or four-year-old, emerged. "Before my transformation, I was fifth in the world. How could I be seventh after transforming? I'm at least in the top three now!"

Xu Ying asked in confusion, "Yuan Qi, weren't you supposed to transform into a human? Why have you become like this?"

The giant snake closed its mouth, its deep eyes fixed, saying nothing.

Xu Ying stared at him. After a long while, the giant snake finally spoke, its voice a clear, childish tone. "I also thought I would transform into a human. The power of transformation was growing within me, a sign of metamorphosis. I didn't expect that after I went into seclusion, the transformation power would gather at the back of my head, and then two horns would grow."

Xu Ying also noticed that when the giant snake spoke, its voice was clear and childlike. He thought, No wonder he's always so quiet.

Yuan Qi had achieved great cultivation. This time, during his seclusion for transformation, he not only cultivated the Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist to the seventh level and became a Demon King, but he also succeeded in inner observation, trained his divine sense, entered the Realm of Serenity, and regulated his five energies to achieve Five Qi Towards Origin.

His cultivation achievements in these past few days were truly extraordinary!

Xu Ying walked closer and said, "Yuan Qi, let me see how you've progressed these past few days!"

He surged his Blood Essence, and the Elephant King Divine Body appeared behind him. With a punch, wind and thunder erupted!

In these past few days, Xu Ying had beheaded Zhou Yang and whipped the Plague God, experiencing extraordinary events. Although this punch was the essence of the Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist, it had changed significantly.

His fist intent had shed the frenzied intent of the bull demon, instead gaining a touch of the sword's sharpness and fluidity.

Yuan Qi also surged his Blood Essence, and an Elephant King Divine Body, about a zhang tall, formed behind him. However, compared to his massive body, the Elephant King Divine Body appeared quite small.

He struck with his tail tip, using it as a fist, to meet Xu Ying's punch.

His tail tip paused slightly, like a heavy scale weight. With a punch, its power was no less than Xu Ying's, perhaps even greater!

"Bang!"

Fist and tail collided, releasing a burst of power, and the air waves surged. Xu Ying's clothes fluttered, and Yuan Qi's long mane behind him also whipped about, like a string of feather-like banners.

Xu Ying then noticed a row of flowing mane behind the giant snake's head. It looked somewhat like feathers, and somewhat like a horse's mane, appearing soft.

Could it be because he drank those few mouthfuls of Dragon Blood that he failed to transform into a human? Xu Ying mused.

He remembered Yuan Tian Gang mentioning that Yuan Qi's greed for a few mouthfuls of Dragon Blood had added some obstacles to his human transformation. Xu Ying assumed Yuan Tian Gang was referring to this current situation.

Yuan Qi used his tail as a fist and attacked again. Xu Ying met him with fists and feet. The man and the snake clashed, their Blood Essence surging, and for a time, sand and stones flew outside Qin Yan Cave.

Suddenly, Yuan Qi unleashed the move "White Elephant Swings Its Trunk." The tail tip tore through the air, emitting a thunderous roar. Xu Ying quickly dodged, not daring to meet it head-on.

Yuan Qi's tail swept across a rock, instantly shattering it into pieces.

This was Yuan Qi's most powerful move. The tail tip surpassed the speed of sound, containing immense power. Xu Ying did not dare to meet it head-on easily, lest he get injured.

"Little Qi, the Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist is no longer suitable for you," Xu Ying said, looking at the small divine figure of an elephant head behind the giant snake.

Yuan Qi nodded. He also felt that the Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist was somewhat incompatible with him. The Elephant King Divine Body formed by this martial art could not contain all his Blood Essence and instead limited his combat effectiveness.

"A Ying, where is Great Bell?" Yuan Qi asked.

Xu Ying gestured down the mountain with his chin. "He's staring blankly over there for some reason. He might have something on his mind; go and persuade him."

Yuan Qi slithered down the mountain. His body, over ten zhang long, moved slowly, crushing thorns and grass, forcing the trees in the forest to bend. The beasts and demons in the forest fell silent, prostrating themselves, not daring to look up.

Yuan Qi passed silently among the beasts and demons, arriving beside Great Bell. He looked down at the bell, and after a moment, said, "Lord Bell, why are you lamenting?"

Great Bell's divine sense fluctuated. "I don't know if I am good or evil, and I'm a bit overcome with emotion... Huh? It's you! Yuan Qi, why has your voice turned into a child's voice?"

Yuan Qi was both embarrassed and angry. "A Ying said you had something on your mind and asked me to persuade you, yet you're mocking me! What is it that's bothering you?"

Great Bell explained his worries. Yuan Qi, having read many books, said, "Since you suspect you're a bad guy, why not ask the female ghost in the coffin? Clarify the situation with her, and you'll understand. Why lament here by yourself?"

Great Bell was unwilling to bow his head and apologize to the young girl in the coffin. He sneered, "I am under my master's orders to suppress her. She is a bad person, and my master would never be wrong. Moreover, I am severely injured now. If I go to see her and she kills me directly, wouldn't that be unjust?"

Yuan Qi said, "You're just a coward."

Great Bell was furious. He pressed the giant snake's head against the ground, shouting, "I'm a coward? I'm just injured! If I were fine, would I be afraid of her? When I recover, I will personally suppress her and stuff her back into the ancient well of Stone Mountain!"

Despite getting several bloody bumps on his head from being slammed, Yuan Qi was still unconvinced and yelled, "Back then, even when you weren't injured, she still beat you severely, forcing you to flee in disgrace! Even if you heal your injuries and seek revenge, you'll only be beaten even worse!"

Great Bell was enraged. "You damned snake, today I, Old Zhong, will send you to the Underworld by the banks of this River of Oblivion!"

"We're already in the Underworld, no need for you to send us!"

"You stinking snake, I'll beat you to death!"

"Lord Bell, spare me!"

Xu Ying was breathing and meditating in front of Qin Yan Cave, practicing the Taiyi Guiding Technique. He heard the commotion from below and looked down. He saw Great Bell and Yuan Qi fighting. One moment Great Bell was slamming Yuan Qi's head against the ground, and the next Yuan Qi was coiling around Great Bell, trying to crush it. They seemed to be getting along extremely well.

"The spring sunlight is just right," Xu Ying said with a smile, his heart at peace. Sunlight gathered above his head, gradually forming a half-mu field of light.

The weather was warm and pleasant, and all things were stretching out.

Zhou Yihang was walking towards Mount Wu Wang. He saw the majestic mountain in the distance, his face grim.

This old man was covered in injuries and illnesses. For two days, he had traversed forty li of the Underworld, from Yilin Temple to this place. He encountered various dangers and witnessed incredible phenomena in the Underworld, finally arriving at Mount Wu Wang alive.

"Yang'er, your father will cut off Xu Ying's head today and place it on your altar as the first offering for you to enjoy after becoming a god!"