Food and Medicine

"Die!"

At that moment, Chu Huo Gun unleashed his long-gathered strike. The torrent of flames transformed into a Red Feathered Dark Bird, spreading a ten-zhang-long pair of flaming wings as it charged toward the Four-Eyed Divine Being.

This was a technique that activated Immortal Qi, and its destructive power was immense!

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

The Four-Eyed Divine Being flew into a thunderous rage. Like a mad demon, it swung its long halberd and hacked out more than ten consecutive attacks, breaking through the firebird as it charged forward.

"Chi-chi!"

This was the strongest attack Chu Huo Gun could unleash as a veteran Qi Refiner. Though the technique had been broken, the Red Qi flames burned continuously across the Four-Eyed Divine Being's body like lamp oil, nearly burning through its armor.

"You've already fallen to the point of being buried alongside someone. What are you fighting so desperately for?"

Chen Xuan seized the Bronze Halberd that the Four-Eyed Divine Being had hacked at him with, his eyes blazing with fury.

"Roar! Roar!"

The Four-Eyed Divine Being tried to pull out its long halberd, baring its teeth and cursing furiously. Its entire bark-like face twisted with rage. Chen Xuan could not understand what it was saying, but he knew the curses had to be vile.

"Playing at being gods and ghosts? I've put up with you ancient 'Ghost Gloom' for long enough!"

Chen Xuan immediately leaped down from the horse, clenched his fist, and punched toward the Four-Eyed Divine Being's face.

From the Bronze Halberd, he had already gauged the Four-Eyed Divine Being's strength. It possessed two or three thousand jin of force, far weaker than he had imagined.

"Bang!"

Chen Xuan's punch sent the Four-Eyed Divine Being stumbling. It shook its dizzy head, then opened its mouthful of sharp bronze teeth and lunged to bite Chen Xuan.

"Get lost!"

Chen Xuan dodged that hideous maw, then yanked down the Bronze Halberd. With a resounding kick, he sent the Four-Eyed Divine Being flying several meters. It slammed into the wall, bounced onto the ground, and stirred up ripples of dust.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The Four-Eyed Divine Being had just begun struggling to rise when Chen Xuan came leaping over like a tiger. A vast storm of fists and footprints rained down like cannonballs, smashing into it from head to toe.

In the distance, a group of short figures wearing bizarre masks stood gaping in astonishment. The thief who had stolen the treasure had actually cornered the powerful Four-Eyed Divine Being and was beating it mercilessly—and the Four-Eyed Divine Being could not fight back at all?

"Crack!"

The Four-Eyed Divine Being's lower legs and arms were trampled and broken. Its neck was struck backward, and its entire bronze-cast body bent into grotesque arcs everywhere. It was a horrifying sight. Wailing, it tried to crawl away, only to be seized by a pair of large hands and dragged back by the scruff.

"Eee-ya-ya!"

The short figures wearing bizarre masks shrieked, hoisted their banners, and charged over to rescue it. Without even turning his head, Chen Xuan swept out an arm and sent them all flying.

"You get lost too!"

At the entrance, the Bronze Horse held Chu Huo Gun between its teeth, both of them staring wide-eyed. Chu Huo Gun said blankly, "A Qi Refiner trained in martial arts really is different..."

The scene before him was extraordinarily shocking—violent and savage.

"Clop! Clop! Clop!"

At that moment, a neat, uniform series of footsteps suddenly rang out from deep within the Underground Palace.

Chen Xuan looked up and saw that the Ghost Gloom born from that nest of clay soldiers had awakened. There were dozens of them, advancing in a group toward this place, their movement stirring fierce winds and surging killing intent.

"Xiao Wang, run!" Chu Huo Gun cried out in alarm. Although Chen Xuan fought with unbelievable ferocity, he was ultimately only one person and could not resist such a huge number of ghosts and monsters.

Chen Xuan frowned. Then he grabbed one of the Four-Eyed Divine Being's arms and violently hurled its entire body like a projectile, directly smashing several Ghost Gloom to the ground.

"You..."

Chen Xuan stood in the middle of the exit. He pointed at the group opposite him, then pointed at the ground in front of him and drew a line across it. Raising his fist, he said, "Don't follow."

His tone was calm, yet it seemed to carry an irrefusable force.

Opposite him, the nest of Ghost Gloom halted. They helped the mangled Four-Eyed Divine Being to its feet and exchanged glances. For a moment, they truly did not dare take even half a step past the Thunder Pool.

"Heh..."

Chen Xuan snorted coldly, turned, and left. He mounted the Bronze Horse and rode away with a flourish.

Chu Huo Gun stood there dumbfounded. Only after a long while did he recover and murmur, "Xiao Wang, they really didn't dare chase us..."

A single sentence had made dozens of Ghost Gloom retreat. That uncontainable heroic spirit truly seemed to soar straight into the heavens!

"Ghosts and monsters pretend to be gods and devils, using fear to frighten people. So we have to be bold—more frightening than they are!"

Chen Xuan answered with a laugh, looking entirely justified.

Chu Huo Gun fell into thought after hearing this. He felt that the words made a great deal of sense, but after a long while, he heard the young man add, "Of course, if they catch up, just pretend I never said it."

Chu Huo Gun: "..."

Chen Xuan said, "I'm going to undergo Feather Transformation immediately."

Then he ordered the Bronze Horse in the air to descend toward a distant hill.

A quarter of an hour later.

In the mountains, Chen Xuan took out the White Ganoderma Jade Herb and walked to a sheltered corner out of the wind, where he sat down.

"Xiao Wang, I'll protect you while you do this."

Old Man Chu came closer. He believed Chen Xuan's talent was extraordinary and faintly looked forward to seeing what level he would reach after consuming the Land Treasure Medicine.

Perhaps he might even be able to nurture a strand of Immortal Qi ahead of time.

Chen Xuan ignored him and swallowed the White Ganoderma Jade Herb in two or three bites.

"Whoosh!"

In an instant, his body seemed to transform into a bottomless abyss, frantically devouring the medicinal effects of the White Ganoderma Jade Herb.

Brilliant, pure white light shone through his chest and abdomen, mingled with several wisps of faint gold. Amid the great billows of vapor, it enveloped him in a clouded, misty haze.

"What a tremendous phenomenon. This Land Treasure Medicine truly is extraordinary."

Old Man Chu could not see the exact situation within, but he could vaguely sense that Chen Xuan was rapidly shedding his mortal shell and replacing his bones. The continuous crackling of colliding bones rang out without pause.

"Whoosh!"

Chen Xuan casually grabbed a piece of mountain rock and clenched it in his five fingers, sensing the strength in his body surge like torrential rain pouring into a pond.

Two thousand jin... three thousand jin... four thousand two hundred jin!

"Bang!"

The tough mountain rock in Chen Xuan's hand shattered, fragments flying in every direction.

Even Chen Xuan himself was startled. This was not a household brick or stone fired in a kiln, but an incomparably hard piece of natural mountain rock. Yet now, he had crushed it into pieces with his bare strength.

If he encountered another existence with a bronze body like the Four-Eyed Divine Being, Chen Xuan would no longer be helpless, limited to beating it up and leaving it at that. He might be able to rely on strength alone to snap off its head and tear away its limbs...

"Hm? It's not over yet..."

Chen Xuan suddenly sensed that the remaining medicinal power of the White Ganoderma Jade Herb within him had gathered into something and abruptly erupted. Unable to restrain himself, he threw back his head and let out a long howl, which sounded like a dragon's roar and a tiger's cry, reverberating through the mountain forests.

"Roar!"

A dazzling strand of pure white Immortal Qi was directly roared out of Chen Xuan!

"Boom!"

The Immortal Qi shot forth, punching straight through a tree as thick as a man's waist and leaving behind a bowl-sized hole.

"Immortal Qi!"

Old Man Chu suddenly shouted, "I knew it! I knew it! With your foundation so stable, and after eating the Soul Return Grass from the tomb, how could you possibly fail to nurture Immortal Qi ahead of time?"

Ordinary Qi Refiners could only nurture a strand of origin Immortal Qi after completely walking the Feather Transformation Path and increasing their strength to the limits of their physique.

Yet at this moment, with the aid of the Land Treasure Tree's effects, Chen Xuan had actually reached this step ahead of time!

"Whoosh!"

A strand of Immortal Qi hovered in midair, white as snow. It gave off a sense of righteousness and radiated the most primitive, ancient aura between heaven and earth.

A trace of envy flashed through Chu Huo Gun's eyes. He assessed, "Xiao Wang, I feel that your future achievements won't be inferior to those of the most elite geniuses in Red Crow City."

It had to be known that even those figures who had been piled up with heavenly treasures and earthly medicines had not been able to nurture a strand of Immortal Qi immediately after undergoing Feather Transformation when they were young.

"We'll talk when we meet them."

Chen Xuan smiled. Then he summoned the strand of Immortal Qi back from the air and circulated it throughout his body, sensing its wonders.

Then he began practicing his fists in the snow. Starting with basic boxing, then Yang Family Fist, followed by that set of Mountain Suppression Fist, and finally even Pei Family Fist, which he had only sparred with once, he completely performed every technique after several rounds of deduction and simulation.

A strand of Immortal Qi circulated throughout his body with his breathing. A bright, righteous radiance suffused his skin, making him look almost like a divine being.

"Xiao Wang has already begun to display the bearing of a Martial Arts Grandmaster." Old Man Chu watched, transfixed, and sighed inwardly.

The Bronze Horse buried its crooked, lopsided head in the snow and trembled.

It was terrified. It felt that the fists radiating that hazy white light contained a Great Terror. It could no longer withstand even a single punch and would be beaten to death outright.

"Whoosh!"

Chen Xuan's heart grew increasingly tranquil as he gazed across the vast land beneath the mountain. The last few human villages of Peach Town in the Ancient Chu Kingdom appeared at the far edge of his vision.

Junior Brother Wang Chan.

It was time to meet...