The Heavenly Demon Alliance

Upon hearing "Qingyan City," Chu Feng's curiosity was piqued, and he asked,

"What happened in Qingyan City? Did it cause the earth dragon to turn over, the river channels to collapse, and the people to become displaced?"

In the past, he had never doubted these official explanations. But now that he thought about it, there were far too many suspicious points. If the earth dragon had truly turned over, Yong'an City should have sensed it.

"It naturally wasn't a natural disaster, but a demonic calamity!"

Li Zhenshan sighed slowly. "The Great Zhou Dynasty has stood for a thousand years, and it's long since passed its prime. Noble Families control the local regions, obeying orders but not imperial summons. This chaotic age has bred demons. They hide in the shadows, secretly feeding on humans and gradually growing stronger!"

"Qingyan City in the north became what it is because the demonic experts of the Heavenly Demon Alliance altered the terrain, turning the entire city's people into soil that nourished demons."

"Displaced civilians, surging resentment, hatred, fear, and despair—these are the finest breeding grounds for demons."

Chu Feng said in shock, "Could it be that the martial Noble Families and the imperial army simply don't care?"

"Qingyan City is nothing more than a border town. How could they see it?" Li Zhenshan said bitterly.

"The Fox Demon appearing in Yong'an City is a very dangerous signal. Perhaps they've already set their sights on this city."

Chu Feng's heart was filled with urgency. The Fang Family's troubles had yet to end, and now demons had appeared as well. This world truly wasn't giving people even the slightest chance to live!

Li Zhenshan also wore a solemn expression. He had personally experienced a demonic calamity before. If a Marrow Tempering expert had not appeared that day, he would have died in Qingyan City long ago.

For a time, neither of them said a word. Their hearts were heavy.

After obtaining the techniques, Chu Feng no longer lingered around with Li Zhenshan.

He found an unoccupied corner and looked at the remaining sixty-two years of lifespan on the panel.

The Bone Tempering Chapter of the Dragon Transformation Body Tempering Art was incomplete. If he forcefully improved it, he probably would not gain much.

Movement techniques and fist-and-foot techniques had always been his weaknesses. Now that he had Master Li's Heavenly Snake Body-Wandering Steps, along with the Spirit Crane Piercing Cloud Fist he had obtained by killing Wang Linghe, he could finally make up for those weaknesses.

Chu Feng casually flipped through the two techniques.

The Heavenly Snake Body-Wandering Steps was an advanced movement technique. Once cultivated to Great Accomplishment, the body would be like a boneless snake—agile and swift.

The Spirit Crane Piercing Cloud Fist was a killing-oriented fist technique evolved from imitating the way a spirit crane hunted.

Still as a maiden, moving like a startled hare, its five fingers transformed into a long beak and unleashed terrifying explosive power, ripping through muscles and piercing bones. Its lethality was astonishing.

With such a powerful technique, how had Wang Linghe used it like a chick pecking at grain?

Chu Feng shook his head, feeling utterly bewildered.

If Wang Linghe knew of this from beyond the grave, he would surely leap up and curse.

He had simply been a wastrel. When cultivating techniques, he would fish for three days and sun the nets for two. Against Chu Feng's terrifying physical body, it would have been stranger if he had actually won!

These two techniques complemented each other to a certain extent, so Chu Feng planned to cultivate them together and see what happened.

As usual, time to burn lifespan!

[First year, you committed the Heavenly Snake Body-Wandering Steps and the Spirit Crane Piercing Cloud Fist to memory. However, because you were insatiably greedy and cultivated both techniques at once, your progress was slow. You merely memorized them thoroughly, accomplishing nothing else.]

[Tenth year, the Heavenly Snake Body-Wandering Steps reached the Initiation stage, and the Spirit Crane Piercing Cloud Fist reached the Initiation stage.]

[Twentieth year, the Heavenly Snake Body-Wandering Steps reached Great Accomplishment, and the Spirit Crane Piercing Cloud Fist reached Great Accomplishment. You tried to fuse the two techniques, making them complement each other and forming a complete system.]

[Thirtieth year, you continued experimenting with the fusion, but you could not find the key. Instead, your hands and feet became poorly coordinated, and you sometimes even tripped while walking. You believed this was because the techniques had not yet reached Perfection, so you decided to grind both techniques to Perfection first.]

[Fortieth year, both techniques reached Perfection, causing your skills to reach the pinnacle. The two techniques naturally fused together, as if they had always been one.]

[Congratulations! You obtained a new technique, the Serpentine Crane Hand Art!]

[Remaining lifespan: 29 years and 3 months.]

Chu Feng opened his eyes and clenched his five fingers, shaping them into the form of a crane's beak.

"Crane Beak Strike!"

With a single strike, it was as fast as lightning. A sharp sonic boom rang out through the air.

A massive old tree as thick around as a person's waist stood before Chu Feng. In an instant, a hole the size of a dragon's eye appeared in it.

"What terrifying penetrating power!"

"I wonder whether my newly fused Serpentine Crane Hand Art is more powerful than Old Li's claw technique!"

Looking at his remaining lifespan, Chu Feng felt an itch in his heart.

He knew that even if he invested this little lifespan into the technique, he probably still could not deduce and perfect the Bone Tempering technique. Yet he could not help wanting to give it a try.

[First year, you comprehended the incomplete Bone Tempering Chapter of the Dragon Transformation Body Tempering Art, but gained nothing!]

[Tenth year, you already possessed the Bronze Skin Iron Bones constitution, and your bones were inherently astonishingly strong, making cultivation even more difficult.]

[Twentieth year, you no longer thought about tempering the bones throughout your entire body. Instead, you planned to temper only the bones in your right hand.]

[Twenty-ninth year and third month, after your ceaseless and disorderly cultivation, you finally gained nothing at all. You had not tempered even a single bone!]

"Damn it!"

"Gamblers never die well!"

Chu Feng was utterly speechless. Although he had expected this, his heart still bled when the result truly appeared!

That had been twenty-nine years of lifespan! How many pigs and sheep would he have to kill to earn it back?

"I'm never gambling again. At the very least, I'll get a Bone Tempering technique before I gamble. Making things up purely by relying on my brain is simply too inefficient..."

After calming himself down, Chu Feng walked to the restaurant's main hall.

His lifespan was gone, so he planned to go earn some.

"Shopkeeper, I have something to do outside for a while..."

The old shopkeeper said unhappily, "This is when we have the most customers. Why aren't you helping in the kitchen? Where are you going?"

Perhaps because of Gao Han's matter, the old shopkeeper had developed a grudge against Chu Feng.

He had also heard that Chu Feng had found work as a butcher outside, which displeased him even more.

Chu Feng did not answer. Instead, he asked,

"Old shopkeeper, I heard that seventy percent of the restaurant's earnings are given to the Fang Family?"

"Uh... everyone knows that. Why are you asking about it?"

Chu Feng smiled faintly. "From now on, there's no need to hand over that seventy percent."

With that, the youth threw back his head and laughed as he walked out the door.

The old shopkeeper was baffled. He scratched his head and said doubtfully, "Could this boy have been frightened silly by Gao Han? Did he fall and hit his head without remembering it?"

He had heard that the Fang Family had suffered an attack by vicious assailants and sustained heavy casualties. But as long as the Fang Family's master, Fang Hanshan, remained alive, merchants like them would never dare resist.

"I originally thought Shitou had found himself a good master. Who would have thought he was just an arrogant madman, revealing his true nature after some time..."

The old shopkeeper sighed and muttered,

"No, I have to talk to Shitou and have him pay more attention to Master Li. That's a Bone Tempering martial artist. If he could pass on even one or two moves, Shitou wouldn't have to worry for the rest of his life..."

As he spoke, the old shopkeeper gave an order to the busy waiter.

"Afu, go call Shitou for me..."

"All right, Shopkeeper..."