Again, a Case of Qi Deviation

"Misunderstanding, we can clear up this misunderstanding."

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Ye Ziyang tried to smooth things over.

Nangong Zheng gave a soft snort. He was still wary of the Divine Dynasty.

"I can let the rest go, but this good-for-nothing disciple of mine is a member of the Nangong Clan."

Nangong Zheng was just as unyielding. Even though Wu Yuanqing was an outer sect guardian of the Ancient Li Royal Court, he wasn't afraid of him.

"Brother Nangong, we can spare Cloud Rising Sect. Consider it a favor to you. What do you say?"

Nangong Zheng's aggressive manner annoyed Wu Yuanqing, but he still backed down.

The Nangong Clan was a family of alchemists. Its founder had once been a Fourth Refinement Alchemist, and had entered the Golden Crow Ancient Kingdom as a guest elder, holding a noble status.

Later, he had retired to his homeland and founded the Nangong Clan.

A Fourth Refinement Alchemist was generally someone only a Divine Dynasty could produce. A power like an ancient kingdom's royal court could cultivate only a Third Refinement Alchemist.

This was enough to show just how noble the Nangong Clan's founder had been.

As for Nangong Zheng, he was not only a major figure in the Great Dao Divine Treasury, but also a high-grade Third Refinement Alchemist.

An alchemist of this level was beyond the reach of even an ancient kingdom's royal court.

There were even rumors that Nangong Zheng had a chance to break through to the Fourth Refinement.

Even the Divine Dynasty was eager to recruit an alchemist like him.

It was no wonder people said Nangong Zheng had connections to the Divine Dynasty.

Wu Yuanqing was showing Nangong Zheng respect by backing down.

"Brother Nangong, you can't protect this man. Otherwise, I won't be able to answer for it."

Respect was one thing, but Wu Yuanqing still had to take Liu Chengfeng into custody.

Nangong Renshe grew anxious. He looked pleadingly at Nangong Zheng. He had brought Liu Chengfeng here precisely to ask Nangong Zheng to protect him.

Nangong Zheng gave Nangong Renshe a cold glance and snorted.

"I came this time because I heard the Ancestral Hall was about to open."

Nangong Zheng simply let the subject drop. He neither said he would protect Liu Chengfeng nor that he wouldn't.

Nangong Renshe sighed softly. He didn't blame his ancestor.

Liu Chengfeng remained calm. Nangong Renshe had done his best, and he was grateful to him.

"Brother Nangong, you're well informed. Unfortunately, the Ancestral Hall hasn't opened yet. Opening it won't be easy."

Nangong Zheng and Ye Ziyang began discussing the Ancestral Hall. Liu Chengfeng listened from the side.

His heart tightened, and a sense of foreboding came over him.

Nangong Zheng hadn't come for Nangong Renshe. He had come for the Ancestral Hall of Qiuchi Kingdom.

With two major figures from the Great Dao Divine Treasury, Nangong Zheng and Wu Yuanqing, gathered at Grandmaster Mansion, and Ye Ziyang there as well, that made three such figures.

They posed a direct threat to Empress of Qiuchi.

The thought made Liu Chengfeng feel that something was terribly wrong.

"If you want to open the Ancestral Hall, I recommend Young Master Liu."

Ye Ziyang didn't conceal anything; he told Nangong Zheng about Liu Chengfeng.

"Would you be interested?"

Nangong Zheng looked at Liu Chengfeng and extended an invitation.

Nangong Renshe's heart tightened too. He was a perceptive man and saw the implications at once.

What would happen if Liu Chengfeng joined Nangong Zheng and Ye Ziyang?

"Not interested. I'm a little sleepy, so I'll head back to the imperial palace."

Liu Chengfeng yawned and turned to leave.

"Quite bold."

As Liu Chengfeng walked away, Nangong Zheng watched his back, deep in thought.

Ye Ziyang and Wu Yuanqing watched him leave without stopping him.

"Things are looking grim. A storm is coming."

Nangong Renshe followed Liu Chengfeng out, full of worry. Liu Chengfeng was right in the eye of the storm now.

"Why did Ancestor Nangong come here?"

Liu Chengfeng was curious too. Wu Yuanqing had a reason to be here, but what was Nangong Zheng's?

"The Blood Sea Divine Treasury Heart Method of our Nangong Clan originated from the Crow Nest Tree in the Ancestral Hall of Qiuchi Kingdom."

"It's the most essential heart method of our clan, and the key to becoming a Fourth Refinement Alchemist."

At the mention of the Crow Nest Tree, Liu Chengfeng immediately thought of the Ancient Tree.

"It's a top-grade Sage Scroll heart method."

"Right. The Crow Nest Heart Method. But our ancestor didn't pass it down. I'm afraid the old ancestor came this time for the Crow Nest Heart Method."

"To encircle Qiuchi Kingdom—or rather, the royal family of Qiuchi Kingdom."

Liu Chengfeng understood.

"The Grandmaster Mansion and the royal family have always fought over power. The Grandmaster Mansion is made up of descendants of nobles. They oversee the Ancestral Hall and control the Fire Spirit Pool, with no one able to keep them in check."

"Should we leave the Imperial Capital?"

Nangong Renshe was worried. The Imperial Capital was no longer safe. A storm was coming, and Liu Chengfeng was in its eye. He could be torn apart at any moment.

"Where could I run? The most dangerous place is the safest place."

Liu Chengfeng smiled, his eyes flashing with a tiger's cold gleam.

Nangong Renshe was powerless too. The Divine Dynasty had issued an order, and the royal court was hunting Liu Chengfeng. There was nowhere to run. Perhaps all they could do was fight.

Liu Chengfeng returned to the imperial palace. Empress of Qiuchi was already waiting for him, having come in person to the hall where he lived.

"Why didn't you join them?"

Empress of Qiuchi was still as cold as frost, her imperial might oppressive, but her gaze had softened somewhat.

"Ah, with a pretty young lady like you here, how could I bear to leave the imperial palace?"

Liu Chengfeng looked at Empress of Qiuchi and teased her.

Her beautiful eyes turned cold, her gaze sharp as a blade.

Liu Chengfeng wasn't afraid. He met her gaze and took in her stunning beauty. She truly was a peerless beauty.

"The founder of the Nangong Clan once attained enlightenment beneath the Crow Nest Tree in the Ancestral Hall and comprehended the Crow Nest Heart Method. In the end, that was what allowed him to become a Fourth Refinement Alchemist."

"By agreement, the founder of the Nangong Clan couldn't pass down the Crow Nest Heart Method. But the Blood Sea Heart Method of the Nangong Clan still evolved from the Crow Nest Heart Method. It's only a middle-grade Sage Scroll, though."

Empress of Qiuchi took the initiative to tell Liu Chengfeng.

"Nangong Zheng came for the Crow Nest Heart Method."

Liu Chengfeng looked at Empress of Qiuchi. She was truly remarkable. Even deep in the palace, she knew everything that was happening outside.

"Nangong Zheng is already a high-grade Third Refinement Alchemist. To become a Fourth Refinement Alchemist, he must rely on the top-grade Sage Scroll Crow Nest Heart Method."

"Can a top-grade Sage Scroll really make someone a Fourth Refinement Alchemist?"

Liu Chengfeng couldn't help rubbing his chin. Creating and fusing heart methods was his specialty.

"The Blood Sea Heart Method is only one factor in determining the size of a Blood Sea. And the size of the Blood Sea determines how many refinements an alchemist or swordsmith can achieve."

Ten li of Blood Sea for the First Refinement, twenty li for the Second Refinement, thirty li for the Third Refinement...

A Third Refinement Alchemist needed a Blood Sea thirty li across.

The most powerful alchemists in the Green Meng Realm had reached only the Fourth Refinement. The Fifth Refinement existed only in legend.

"Your Majesty, how many li across is your Blood Sea?"

"Twenty-four li."

Empress of Qiuchi gave him a cold look. If he teased her again, her gaze would turn into a blade and cleave him in two.

"Sorry, mine's twenty li."

Liu Chengfeng smiled and said it casually.

Empress of Qiuchi's heart shook. She stared at Liu Chengfeng.

"How can you have a twenty-li Blood Sea? What True Blood do you possess, and what heart method do you cultivate?"

Empress of Qiuchi was astonished. In the Blood Sea Divine Treasury, she cultivated the Dragon Transformation Heart Method, a low-grade Sage Scroll, and possessed Dragon Carp True Blood with a lifespan of fifty thousand years.

That was what had given her a Blood Sea twenty-four li across.

How could Liu Chengfeng have a Blood Sea twenty li across?

"I'm a genius. I just happened to create a Human Scroll Innate heart method."

Empress of Qiuchi thought that impossible. Human Scroll Innate methods were inferior to Sage Scroll Innate methods.

That alone shouldn't have been enough for a Blood Sea twenty li across.

Empress of Qiuchi couldn't help thinking of the God Tomb. She stared at Liu Chengfeng, but didn't press him.

"You can create Innate methods that easily?"

Lady Chen had told her that Liu Chengfeng had created an Innate Sage Scroll version of the Flying Sword Technique.

He was an astonishing genius.

That was why she wanted to recruit Liu Chengfeng.

"Ah, a genius the likes of which appears once in ten thousand years. Cultivation is just that easy for me."

Liu Chengfeng's smug look made him seem like he was begging for a beating.

"Would you like to try the Dragon Transformation Heart Method?"

"You're willing to teach it to me?"

Liu Chengfeng was surprised. The Dragon Transformation Heart Method was a low-grade Sage Scroll, the finest heart method of the royal family.

Of course he wanted a Sage Scroll heart method. If he fused it with his Mad Kui Heart Method, he could make an Innate Sage Scroll heart method.

That would greatly expand his Blood Sea and increase his combat power.

Empress of Qiuchi was decisive. Without another word, she passed the Dragon Transformation Heart Method to Liu Chengfeng right there.

She wanted to reach a Blood Sea thirty li across too.

Liu Chengfeng memorized the Dragon Transformation Heart Method, took it into his mind, and drove his Celestial Body to smash into it.

The Celestial Body upgraded the Dragon Transformation Heart Method from a low-grade Sage Scroll to a top-grade Sage Scroll.

Liu Chengran then brought out the Mad Kui Heart Method, mixed it with the Dragon Transformation Heart Method, and used his Celestial Body to smash them together.

But they wouldn't fuse. The two even clashed with each other. The Mad Kui Heart Method was as irritable as a Kui Ox, while the Dragon Transformation Heart Method was as proud as a True Dragon.

As he tried to combine the two heart methods, they clashed like fighters, each unable to stand the sight of the other.

After a few attempts, Liu Chengfeng gave up.

Although he hadn't fused the Dragon Transformation Heart Method and the Mad Kui Heart Method, the Celestial Body still charged him as usual. It directly drained his vital energy, nearly sucking him dry.

"Damn—"

Liu Chengfeng couldn't help cursing. This was way too brutal. The Celestial Body was getting more and more expensive.

Liu Chengfeng lay sprawled on the bed, nearly reduced to a dried corpse. Empress of Qiuchi was startled.

Empress of Qiuchi immediately gave Liu Chengfeng three portions of Second Refinement Blood Medicine. She was certainly generous.

Second Refinement Blood Medicine replenished the Blood Sea, and Liu Chengfeng's vital energy recovered quickly.

"Don't force it, or you'll suffer qi deviation."

"Although you couldn't fuse them into an Innate method, you did manage to upgrade it to top grade."

"What—"

Empress of Qiuchi froze.

She had thought Liu Chengfeng had failed. She hadn't expected him to upgrade the low-grade Sage Scroll Dragon Transformation Heart Method to a top-grade Sage Scroll in just two or three days.

He had only failed to make it Innate, and even that sounded like a disappointment to him. What kind of monster was he?

"I already created an Innate version of the Green Phoenix Heart Method and named it the Dragon Phoenix Green Gold Heart Method. I'm the dragon, and you're the phoenix. Pretty girl, the phoenix should follow the dragon."

Liu Chengfeng teased Empress of Qiuchi and passed the two heart methods to her.

Empress of Qiuchi paid no attention to his teasing. As she received the two heart methods, she was stunned.

The Dragon Transformation Heart Method, a top-grade Sage Scroll; the Dragon Phoenix Green Gold Heart Method, an Innate Sage Scroll.

How long had it been? He had upgraded one method to top grade and created another as Innate.

Empress of Qiuchi looked at Liu Chengfeng as if she were seeing a ghost. What kind of monster was he?

Creating and fusing cultivation methods was extremely difficult.

Those who could create cultivation methods were all peerless geniuses.

Secret manuals created below the Great Dao Divine Treasury realm were Human Scroll methods.

Those created at the Great Dao Divine Treasury or Demigod realm were Sage Scroll methods.

Those created by gods were God Scroll methods.

Those who could create top-grade and Innate Human Scroll or Sage Scroll methods would eventually ascend to godhood.

Liu Chengfeng casually created top-grade and Innate methods.

Even the most dazzling gods had never achieved such feats in their youth.

Creating Innate methods was as easy as drinking water for him. How could such a monster fail to ascend to godhood in the future?

Even Zhao Tian, with his divine descent phenomenon, couldn't compare with the monster standing before her.

"I'm so handsome, I've left you spellbound?"

Empress of Qiuchi was stunned, and Liu Chengfeng teased her.

Empress of Qiuchi took a deep breath and composed herself.

"In the Blood Sea Divine Treasury, the Crow Nest Heart Method may be the best heart method you can obtain. It was created by Divine General Lihuo."

Empress of Qiuchi told Liu Chengfeng.

Back then, Divine General Lihuo had planted the Crow Nest Tree, drawn down heavenly lightning, and condensed earthly fire. He had left behind the top-grade Sage Scroll Crow Nest Heart Method on the tree.

All this time, aside from the founder of the Nangong Clan, no one in Qiuchi Kingdom had comprehended it.