Yellow Millet Qi

Wang Chan's vision went black, and his mind was stuffed with pain that crashed in like mountains crying out and seas roaring.

He did not understand...

Was Chen Xuan not puzzled by everything that had happened to him? Did he not want a satisfactory explanation?

He had clearly lowered his stance and shown goodwill. Just as he was about to reveal that lofty and grand matter, the other party... had attacked him outright.

Without the slightest hesitation, he had struck with a killing move that left no room to spare!

"Puff, puff, puff!"

Chen Xuan's gaze was sharp as he wielded his weapon, his movements as swift as lightning. Wang Chan's body was riddled with puncture wounds. Not only had his internal organs been damaged, but many of his bones had been pierced as well. At the same time, strands of Metal Virtue White Qi rampaged through his body, continuing to inflict even more savage injuries.

"Get away!"

Wang Chan let out a shrill roar. A mass of Azure Gold light erupted from his body, making him almost transparent. Immortal Qi surged forth like enormous waves rolling backward, rushing toward Chen Xuan.

"Whoosh!"

Chen Xuan keenly sensed a crisis and instantly retreated, withdrawing more than ten meters. His gaze turned solemn. "What kind of qi..."

At a glance, he saw that this was not pure Green Qi. It radiated golden light and carried the fresh fragrance of grain ears.

This Immortal Qi was not particularly powerful; it even seemed peaceful. Yet Chen Xuan sensed an extreme threat within it. Once touched by it, something utterly terrifying would surely happen.

"Cough, cough..."

Wang Chan hunched over on the ground like a cicada pupa. His entire body looked as if it had been fished out of a blood pool, blood soaking through his clothes and dripping onto the ground in sheets. "This is Yellow Millet Qi—"

Strands of Yellow Millet Immortal Qi, like spirit serpents, surged from Wang Chan's mouth, nose, and seven orifices. They desperately suppressed and purged the damage caused by Chen Xuan's White Qi, rapidly stitching together his broken and battered body.

This was Immortal Qi utterly different from the Mountains and Seas Twelve Qi. It had been sublimated and transformed from Green Qi, was of a higher level, and originated from the Yellow Millet Dream!

"Yellow Millet Qi? Is this the art of the Yellow Millet Dream?"

Chen Xuan paced slowly, like a cheetah watching its prey. He cautiously circled Wang Chan, searching for another chance to attack. "No, you haven't mastered it..."

Although the Azure Gold Immortal Qi carried a trace of ancient aura resembling grain ears, Chen Xuan soon discovered that this was merely bluff and bluster, possessing only the outward appearance. Overall, it was still primarily Wood Attribute Green Qi.

Wang Chan explained, "I woke up too late and only had time to refine a trace of it. But against you, that is already enough—more than enough, in fact."

Chen Xuan sneered. "You're already at the end of your rope. What kind of expert are you pretending to be? This unrefined Yellow Millet Qi can't save you!"

His mood grew calmer and calmer. He did not hurry to press his advantage, instead patiently waiting for the moment Wang Chan revealed an opening...

No, Wang Chan was already gravely wounded and on the brink of death. Why was he still waiting? Why give him time to recover?

He should immediately press his advantage and kill him outright!

"Something's wrong..."

Chen Xuan suddenly shook his head, feeling that something had gone wrong somewhere. "Something's wrong with me..."

A strange smile appeared on Wang Chan's face. His tone was mocking. "Is it really useless? Chen Xuan, haven't you already stopped attacking of your own accord and become willing to discuss things with me calmly?"

He had fallen for it!

Chen Xuan jolted in shock. A chill shot from his coccyx straight to the crown of his head. At such a crucial moment in the battle, he actually still had the leisure to chat idly with his opponent. He had originally intended not to say a single word to him!

"Hah..."

He immediately tightened his grip on his weapon and charged at Wang Chan.

"Clang!"

A series of long, melodious bell chimes suddenly rang out in his mind, as if crossing the boundary between antiquity and the present. Each toll struck deep into his heart, calming his mind. The fragrance of ripened grain ears drifted on the wind. The sky was cool, autumn lassitude weighed upon him, and sleepiness washed over him in endless waves...

"So this is Yellow Millet Qi..."

Chen Xuan stopped once more. His eyelids seemed ready to droop. He reined in all his murderous intent and ferocity. Then, deep within his heart, countless memories of the past were stirred up and surged forth...

His first meeting with crippled Chen Ganshui's family in Small River Village, Junior Sister Yang's adoring face in the martial arts school, the three members of the Chu family whom he encountered at the ruined temple in the snowstorm... It was not only the events of these past three years—even all the happenings of his previous life began to surface.

Chen Xuan's heart was gradually filled with boundless emptiness and utter bewilderment.

The mortal world rolled on endlessly, fleeting as lightning and dew. Life in this world was one great dream. What was he struggling to seek? Why not simply fall asleep here...

"Chen Xuan, the difference between us is that you're merely a genius. I'm not only a genius, but also someone favored by this era... a Chosen One."

Wang Chan rose to his feet. His eyes had been pierced, leaving him in total darkness. Sensing his surroundings through that darkness, he staggered toward Chen Xuan, a strand of Green Light rising from his fingertip.

"I originally intended to subdue you and make you my follower, but you're unruly and impossible to tame. Your nature is hard to change..."

Chen Xuan's gaze was vacant as he stared ahead, as though his soul had left his body, leaving behind a wooden carving and clay statue stripped of consciousness.

He saw it.

Ear after ear of grain, glowing with golden light, swayed languidly in the autumn wind...

Black mist churned. The jade tablet shone with White Light as Mystic Cat raced toward the place called Ox Horn Mountain.

"The matter of Six Desires Heaven has only just ended, and now the Yellow Millet Dream has caused another earth-shaking incident!"

Mystic Cat Goddess was anxious. She did not even stop when passing the four corpses by Small Stone Lake.

Matters had different levels of urgency. Now that the Yellow Millet Dream had suddenly appeared halfway through, it was clearly more important.

The Yellow Millet Dream, Six Desires Heaven... all of them were Chosen Ones famous on the Small Underworld rankings.

Their karma and fortune were entangled too deeply and had to be treated with gravity. The bloody cases they caused had to be dealt with first. That was her duty.

As for Chen Xuan, whom she had been paying considerable attention to lately—

Although he was exceptionally talented and had caused one bloody incident after another, bringing her a handsome harvest, and although a Great Figure might be hiding behind him and teaching him breathing techniques, those facts alone were far from enough to place him on the same level as a Chosen One like the Yellow Millet Dream.

"Swish, swish!"

The earth raced backward beneath Mystic Cat's feet. Ox Horn Mountain gradually emerged in her field of vision. Suddenly, she halted. On the mountainside, she saw an exceedingly absurd scene.

An entirely snow-white old turtle stood upright in the grass like a human. Its turtle head, seemingly kneaded from dough, poked high into the air.

The old white turtle sniffed some scent in the air while staring solemnly at the mountain path ahead.

"An Old Turtle? Is it peeking at the Yellow Millet Dream's excitement?"

When Mystic Cat Goddess saw the other monster, she immediately ran over. She leaped onto the glowing, pearly-white shell, spread all four limbs, and clung tightly to it, sticking her coal-ball-like head out to look as well.

Her viewpoint abruptly rose, and the scene farther away appeared before her eyes.

The Yellow Millet Dream, and... him!

That Qi Refiner named Chen Xuan!

Mystic Cat Goddess's jewel-like cat eyes immediately widened. Without realizing it, her shocked mouth slowly opened until it formed a circle. "Why is he here?"

"That impolite little fish thief is going to die..."

The old white turtle had no idea Mystic Cat was there. It muttered to itself, "Yellow Millet Qi stirs up the roiling mortal world, causing all past memories to surge out in one go. Even those with steadfast minds will instantly sink into sleep, unable to break free."

"Tsk. The fish thief is only eighteen by bone age. He's even capable of committing such a frivolous act as stealing an old man's fish. His mind is immature, so he has even less chance of resisting."

A long time ago, it had followed the scent of the treasure fish to Chen Xuan. Seeing that he looked as if he intended to do something major, it had wanted to watch the excitement, so it followed him all the way here and watched quite a show.

Under the moonlight, the disheveled Yellow Millet Dream, Wang Chan, had already reached Chen Xuan. "Dying by my hand won't be an insult to you..."

The Green Light at his fingertip pointed toward Chen Xuan's heart.

The old white turtle watched without blinking. Seeing this, it snorted derisively once more.

"The little fish thief started out decisive, looking like someone with a resolute temperament. He even dared to provoke the Yellow Millet Dream of his own accord. Yet he was instantly subdued by Yellow Millet Qi, exposing his true colors. He's useless... Little fish thief, how laughable, how laughable."

Earlier, the old turtle had thought the fish thief's personality suited its tastes and that it could let him off this time without pursuing the matter of the stolen fish. But who would have thought it had misjudged him? He was a tiger-headed, snake-tailed fellow, impressive only on the surface.

Mystic Cat Goddess turned her head and cast a sidelong glance at the muttering old white turtle. You're an old fool with dim eyes. What do you know?

She did not understand why Chen Xuan had suddenly appeared here, nor did she understand what role he would play.

But she knew that the Small Underworld had told her:

The Yellow Millet Dream.

Tonight, it would definitely die.