If the Great Dao Heart Seed Demon Technique had not been a Witch Cultivator secret art lost for ages, he would have burst apart and died the moment he swallowed the One-Leaf Golden Lotus! Even an Immortal Seedling Realm expert would burst apart and die after eating a Vermilion Fruit far inferior to the One-Leaf Golden Lotus, let alone him, a mortal body of flesh and blood!
And if Yuan Shanhu and those old hands had not bullied him afterward, inadvertently helping him absorb a small portion of the violent spiritual power within his body, along with the geothermal heat of the Lava Cellar, he would have long since been blown apart by the medicine's potency!
After flipping through a book mainly recording spiritual medicines, Qin Haoxuan let out a heavy sigh. So the One-Leaf Golden Lotus was this precious. It could refine so many pills used by sect patriarch-level figures. Even patriarch-level immortal cultivators found such medicine hard to obtain. If people learned that he had simply swallowed it whole, the dead would probably be angered back to life!
After reading for a while, Qin Haoxuan felt the heat in his body growing intense again, so he sat down to cultivate once more. In an environment as harsh as the Lava Cellar, too little sleep inflicted enormous harm on immortal cultivators' bodies. Seeing Qin Haoxuan read for half the day and then, full of vigor like a dragon and tiger, enter meditation to cultivate again, the sleepy old hands were all stunned speechless. Martial Dao Innate practitioners were this fierce!
He stayed in the Lava Cellar for two days. During those two days, Qin Haoxuan did nothing but meditate and cultivate or read the notes Xu Yu brought each afternoon. He slept no more than two or three hours a day.
It was not that he did not want to sleep. The medicinal power inside him was scorching hot. Once he stopped cultivating, the geothermal heat alone could not offset it. Before long, the heat would rouse him awake. If not for the One-Leaf Golden Lotus's medicinal properties nourishing his body, an ordinary person would have long been unable to endure such high-intensity cultivation.
Tormented beyond endurance by the One-Leaf Golden Lotus's medicinal power and forced to cultivate to offset the heat, Qin Haoxuan did not know that, in the old hands' eyes, he was a freak—a cultivation maniac freak who did not even need sleep! Although he took half their food every meal, and every one of them hated him to the bone, the way they looked at Qin Haoxuan had changed from initial fear to reverence, with a faint trace of respect mixed in!
Because people with strength and perseverance were respected wherever they went!
That afternoon, Qin Haoxuan had just closed the notes Xu Yu had brought and was about to enter meditation when the iron door crashed open. A burly man covered in explosive muscles was escorted into the Lava Cellar by several law-enforcement disciples.
These two law-enforcement disciples were the same pair who had escorted Qin Haoxuan in two days ago. They cast him a knowing look, then quietly hid behind the iron door, ready to watch a grand show now that they knew what was about to happen.
The moment the newly arrived fierce man stepped inside, his muscles brimming with explosive power were impossible to ignore. A savage bandit-like air seeped from his body. Even Old Ye, the most bandit-like of the old hands, was merely a small witch before a great witch compared to him.
His gaze, thick with Killing Intent, swept across every face before finally settling on Qin Haoxuan. A trace of icy sharpness flashed through his eyes.
Ever since suffering at Qin Haoxuan's hands, the old hands no longer dared casually offer "newcomer meals." Looking more closely at this newcomer, although he radiated a bandit-like air, his imposing presence seemed innate. He was clearly an Immortal Seedling Realm Fifth Leaf expert! They could not help secretly rejoicing. If they had made a move, their fate would definitely have been even more miserable than offending Qin Haoxuan.
This burly man was Yuan Shanxiang, sent by Zhang Kuang to the Lava Cellar to deal with Qin Haoxuan!
Without the slightest attempt to conceal himself, he walked up to Qin Haoxuan. His blade-sharp gaze locked onto Qin Haoxuan, who had just entered meditation. Without saying a word, he formed hand seals. Spiritual power gathered at his fingertips and, after two breaths of condensation, transformed into a fireball that shot cleanly toward Qin Haoxuan.
"Crimson Cloud Flame Burst!"
The strange atmosphere after the man entered had already made Qin Haoxuan secretly vigilant. Although the Lava Cellar was a place where the Tai Chu Sect confined prisoners, it also carried the flavor of a lawless land. Once here, one had to stay alert at all times, especially while cultivating. If someone launched a sneak attack and caused one's breath to run astray, the trouble would be immense.
But with Qin Haoxuan's current cultivation, what use was vigilance? He had no way at all to evade an attack from an Immortal Seedling Realm Fifth Leaf expert. He could only watch helplessly as the fireball, carrying an unstoppable and ferocious momentum, struck his body.
At once, the scorched stench of burnt clothing filled the air. The fireball sent Qin Haoxuan flying, and he slammed viciously into the rock wall. Even fragments chipped from the hard stone.
Pain? No! It was pleasure!
Qin Haoxuan climbed up from the ground as though nothing had happened. The scorching heat inside him had immediately weakened by more than half when he was blasted just now. The blow had made his entire body feel wonderfully comfortable, but it had also set his temper ablaze.
The moment he had been thrown into this Lava Cellar, he had been beaten for no reason at all, under the fine-sounding name of a "newcomer meal." He had been locked up here for two days now, yet any random person who came in attacked without even farting out a word. Was there some kind of "old-timer meal" too?
Yuan Shanxiang frowned slightly. That Crimson Cloud Flame Burst just now was something ordinary Immortal Seedling Realm First or Second Leaf cultivators could hardly withstand, yet Qin Haoxuan was acting as if nothing had happened. It seemed the rumors about him were indeed true—but what kind of freak was this bastard?
By the dim yellow firelight, Qin Haoxuan noticed that his attacker's facial features somewhat resembled Yuan Shanhu's. He quickly connected the dots and understood what was going on!
Zhang Kuang, Zhang Kuang... it looks like you want to wipe me out completely!
What a tyrannical body! Could he be an Innate martial artist? Yuan Shanxiang rapidly formed hand seals, and one Crimson Cloud Flame Burst after another formed and blasted toward Qin Haoxuan.
Hit him! Hit him! Don't give this brat even half a chance to catch his breath! Yuan Shanxiang suddenly held in a breath. The five spiritual leaves inside his body swayed repeatedly, releasing waves of spiritual power that formed one spiritual technique after another.
Comfortable! It hurts! Comfortable! It hurts!
Qin Haoxuan dodged left and right, terrified that the Little Snake hidden against his chest would be discovered. The Crimson Cloud Flame Bursts were like a rain of arrows doused in flaming oil and fired in succession from a powerful bow. He could dodge the first arrow, but he could not evade the second...
In the blink of an eye, Qin Haoxuan's already tattered outer robe became even more ragged.
I can't keep taking hits like this! If this continues, the Little Snake will really be discovered! This is my greatest trump card! Qin Haoxuan lowered his head and used his shoulder to shield the Little Snake at his chest. Raising his eyes, he fixed his opponent in the corner of his vision. With danger and fury intertwining, Qin Haoxuan let out an enraged roar. Even the old hands watching from the side could feel the rage surging rapidly from his body.
"A mere ant dares to have a temper! Taste my Meteor Fist!" Yuan Shanxiang sneered. Spiritual power rippled over his body. As Qin Haoxuan's rage shot to the heavens, the muscles across Yuan Shanxiang's body bulged one after another. Gathering all his strength, he punched into empty air. His fist was unbelievably fast, tearing through the air with hissing sounds. A phantom fist burst out from his body, growing with the wind until it became as large as a millstone, smashing straight toward Qin Haoxuan's forehead.
Feeling the terrifying momentum generated by the Meteor Fist, the old hands watching the show beamed with delight. Oppressed by Qin Haoxuan until they could scarcely breathe over the past two days, they wished nothing more than to see his blood splash five paces away and watch him die miserably on the spot.
With nowhere to evade, Qin Haoxuan could only take the punch head-on. The millstone-sized fist smashed into his forehead with a dull smack. His body flew backward and crashed into the rock wall again. His head punched a small crater into the hard rock, shaking loose stones down in a patter.
Qin Haoxuan lay sprawled on the ground like a dead dog. For a long while, he did not move at all. No one knew whether he was dead or alive.
"Look at him, not moving at all. Do you think he's dead?"
"Hard to say. We beat him like that, and he wasn't injured in the slightest! But the one beating him now is an Immortal Seedling Realm Fifth Leaf expert. I think he probably fainted."
"I think so too. If he dies just like that, wouldn't it be such a pity?"
"What's so pitiful about it? Think about how he abused you two days ago, and you won't find it pitiful anymore!"
"Now that you mention it, my teeth are itching with hatred again. This is so satisfying!"
An extremely hard, overbearing spiritual technique like the Meteor Fist was very difficult to cultivate. But once mastered, its power was extraordinary. When that fist struck Qin Haoxuan's head, the intense pain instantly knocked him unconscious for a moment. It took quite some time before he regained awareness.
"Pathetically weak!" A cold smile tugged at Yuan Shanxiang's mouth. Rumors about Qin Haoxuan had been raging through Spirit Field Valley these past two days. He had even specifically spent a great sum to buy a beginner attack talisman as backup, yet he had not expected to knock Qin Haoxuan down with just two or three punches.
"Pain! It hurts so much! Wonderful! So wonderful that my entire body is numb! It feels so good I really want to take a few more punches! But if I take too many punches like this, I really will be beaten to death..."
Qin Haoxuan braced both hands against the ground and muttered softly, as though speaking to himself, or as though confessing to his opponent. His body swayed as he stood back up.
How was that possible? Yuan Shanxiang's eyes suddenly widened. Even an Immortal Seedling Realm Fifth Leaf cultivator struck in the head by his Meteor Fist would have their skull turned to mush. Actual rock would be ground into powder. How could Qin Haoxuan have only a slight bruise and swelling on his forehead, looking as though he was not seriously harmed?
"Whoa, that freak is actually hurt! Did you see it? Even his forehead is swollen!"
"An Immortal Seedling Realm Fifth Leaf expert really is extraordinary—he actually injured him! As long as he can injure him, he can definitely kill him!"
Fifth Leaf... no wonder he's so strong... Qin Haoxuan shook his head hard. Good thing I swallowed the golden lotus, or he would have beaten me to death just now!
"No wonder someone wanted me to come in and deal with you." Yuan Shanxiang's rough voice echoed through the small Lava Cellar. At that moment, his focus abruptly sharpened. Anyone who could take a Meteor Fist from him, even an ordinary mortal, was qualified to become his opponent. "Brat, remember my name: Yuan Shanxiang! Yuan Shanhu, the one you beat two days ago, is my younger brother. I came today to avenge him! So you won't die without knowing why and become a muddled ghost!"
After speaking, Yuan Shanxiang spread his arms wide. Pure spiritual power surged from his body and, several breaths later, condensed into daggers that seemed almost solid. It took a full twenty breaths for all the daggers to take shape. They hung silently in the air, poised and ready to strike!
For an Immortal Seedling Realm Fifth Leaf expert to spend twenty breaths gathering a spiritual technique, its power was certainly no trivial matter.
First update on January 12, 2018. Calling for recommendation votes—wasn't today's first update early, everyone!
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