Blood Qi Like Smoke

Wei Yan was now truly displaying the strength of Maple Forest City's Dao Merit Ranking second place, charging at the head toward the depths of Small Forest Town, practically crashing headlong into the swarm of wandering souls.

But every wandering soul was shattered with a single blow, scattering before him.

His body seemed cloaked in a layer of cold light—a manifestation of metal-element qi at extreme concentration. His steps did not pause for an instant, as if nothing in the world could halt his advance.

His long blade slashed and hacked, shrieking incessantly, as though even the air itself was being torn apart.

The others followed behind him, needing only to prevent ghosts from closing in on the flanks, greatly reducing their risk.

Jiang Wang and Zhao Rucheng flanked left and right, deliberately or otherwise shielding Ling He and Du Yehu in the middle. Ling He was fine, but Du Yehu's broad face flushed red. Still, he knew this was no time for pride, so he could only lower his head and press on.

After an unknown stretch of time, amidst the slowly gathering thick fog, direction became hard to discern, and even time itself seemed blurred. The wandering souls encountered so far were not powerful—within the range that ninth-rank transcendent cultivators could handle—but these eighth- and ninth-rank cultivators did not have abundant Dao Essence in their Heaven-Connecting Palaces. They could not sustain prolonged combat; if they pushed much longer, they would no longer be able to cast Dao techniques, or else risk damaging their Dao Vortexes and harming their foundations.

It was at this moment that Wei Yan stopped.

Based on rough positional calculations, they would soon reach the very center of Small Forest Town. Jiang Wang remembered that there was a market there; on market days, people from nearby villages would gather, bustling with activity.

Wei Yan stopped here not because he was unwilling to go further, but because a wall of fog blocked the way, forcibly halting his blade.

Unlike the dense fog along the route, this fog wall had a tangible presence and was extremely tough. With the sharpness of Wei Yan's blade, even bronze walls and iron barriers should have been cleaved through, but this fog wall stood unmoved.

No matter how many attacks landed, they vanished like stones sinking into the sea.

Wei Yan grew frantic. He keenly sensed that behind this fog wall, something untoward was happening. It was no simple evil deed—it might even affect his entire life.

But now, with his long blade at the ready, he was caught between advance and retreat!

"Does anyone here have a way to break this? Try anything!" Wei Yan said in a low voice. "The situation is urgent and cannot be delayed. I take full responsibility."

Immediately, a disciple walked straight up to the fog wall and, without a word, began unbuckling his belt.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Someone beside him grabbed his arm.

"Don't stop me!" This man declared confidently, "There are many ghosts here, and the yin energy is heavy. Child's urine can dispel evil and suppress ghosts. I have yet to lose my primal yang, so I naturally take the lead!"

This man was named Huang Azhan, an inner disciple from the previous intake. He was a drinking buddy of Du Yehu, with a decent personality, just not too bright in the head.

Wei Yan frowned as he waited for the man to finish his stream of urine. The fog wall did not budge. Only the pungent stench of piss reminded everyone of what had just happened.

"That's not right—maybe the amount wasn't enough?" The man held it in for a moment, then turned back to rally the others. "Anyone else here still a virgin? Come on! Of course, Zhao Rucheng doesn't need to come—you've got heavy yin. Du Yehu, hurry up! Don't hold back! With a face like yours, you're destined to be a virgin for life—your yang energy must be strong!"

With one sentence, he insulted two people. If the situation weren't so dire, Du Yehu would have already punched his dog head off.

Zhao Rucheng bared his teeth and said, "Azhan, think again—maybe it's not that child's urine isn't enough, but that you need child's blood?"

Huang Azhan rubbed his chin, sinking into deep thought, as if he were actually considering the feasibility.

Wang Changxiang, who had been somewhat weak ever since unleashing the Breath Cyclone earlier, said, "When the cyclone blew away the fog just now, I observed that the wandering souls in Small Forest Town formed a simple Nine Palaces formation. I wasn't sure at the time, but now that we're blocked at the Central Palace, I'm certain of it."

"How do we break it?" Wei Yan asked directly.

"The one who set the formation wasn't too meticulous, and with so many ghosts, it's hard to command them like an arm. So the solution is simple." Wang Changxiang smiled bitterly. "Destroy the formation eyes of the other eight palaces, and the Central Palace will collapse on its own."

Wei Yan immediately said, "Wang Changxiang, stay here to observe the situation. Leave four people under his command to support all routes as needed. I'll go to the Kan Palace myself. The rest of you split into seven groups, each to break one palace. Finally, we'll regroup here before the Central Palace."

The great divisions of heaven begin with yang emerging and yin entering. Yang rises from Zi, yin rises from Wu. Thus, the Supreme One descends through the Nine Palaces, starting from the Kan Palace.

The Kan Palace was due north, its element water. It was not the easiest palace for Wei Yan to handle, but with his strength, such considerations were unnecessary.

"I need to remind everyone," Wang Changxiang added, "the ghosts we've cleared along the way have all been ordinary. But at the formation eyes, there will surely be resentful ghosts or fierce ghosts. You must act within your limits."

Zhao Lang, who always followed Wei Yan's lead, was the first to respond. "In that case, I'll take the Kun Palace."

Li Jianqiu was even more straightforward, already heading west with his hand on his sword. "The Zhen Palace is mine. The rest of you can divide the others among yourselves."

The strong stepped forward and shouldered responsibility—this was the backbone of a cultivator.

Jiang Wang exchanged glances with Ling He and the others, then spoke up. "Our group of four brothers will handle the Xun Palace."

He wasn't being arrogant. Their combat strength had been evident along the way. Though he had not yet established his foundation, with the Purple Qi Coming from the East Sword Art, his strength was subtly above that of ordinary ninth-rank cultivators.

The Xun Palace's element was wood, and metal cuts wood—the timing was right. The remaining wood-element Zhen Palace had already been taken by Li Jianqiu; going to other palaces would make it harder for him and Zhao Rucheng to perform.

On another note, the incident in Small Forest Town would not be minor. Their contributions on this trip were all recorded. Ling He, Du Yehu, and Zhao Rucheng were all at a critical point in accumulating Dao Merits to exchange for Vein-Opening Pills. If they could resolve one palace this time, it would surely push them forward by a large step.

Everyone's choices strictly followed the Nine Palaces order. The Nine Palaces: two and four are the shoulders, six and eight are the feet, left three and right seven, wear nine and tread one. From one to nine, they were: Kan, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Central, Qian, Dui, Gen, Li.

Fighting as they advanced, Jiang Wang and Zhao Rucheng's transcendent swordsmanship had long been recognized by the others, so no one said much. The remaining twenty Dao Academy disciples formed groups of five and chose the remaining four palaces.

It had to be said that Wang Changxiang's Breath Cyclone had contributed greatly, allowing everyone to reorient themselves in such heavy fog—this was the prerequisite for breaking the entire ghost formation.

The Xun Palace was in the southeast. Jiang Wang advanced through the thick fog with his sword in hand. When he vaguely spotted the tavern ahead, his heart settled. Small Forest Town's only tavern was in the southeast—they hadn't taken the wrong path.

"Careful," Ling He suddenly said. "I sense something very dangerous ahead."

Ling He's intuition had always been accurate, so the others did not take it lightly.

Jiang Wang nodded. "That should be the resentful ghost Senior Brother Wang mentioned. It also represents the Xun Palace's formation eye. Rucheng, how many moves of the Purple Qi Coming from the East Sword Art have you mastered?"

"All of them are polished," Zhao Rucheng said.

There was nothing to say about this guy's talent. Jiang Wang gave orders on the spot. "I'll strike first. You follow up. Unleash your strongest attack the moment you can. We must cut down the target in the shortest time possible. Big Brother and Second Brother, keep watch on the surroundings. Don't let other wandering souls charge in. If necessary, burn blood qi even if it costs you."

Before establishing a foundation, without mastering transcendent means like the Purple Qi Coming from the East Sword Art, the only way to harm ghosts was to burn blood qi. But blood qi was the root of a person's vitality; burning it placed a heavy burden on the body. That was why Ling He and Du Yehu had been very restrained along the way.

But they did not hesitate at Jiang Wang's command. That was the unspoken understanding forged through countless battles fought side by side.

Though they couldn't see far in the fog, the brothers quickly marked out the target range and spread out to encircle it.

Just then, a sharp screech suddenly rang out, as if right in their ears. Before Jiang Wang, a sword light blazed into being!

Clang!

Purple Qi Comes from the East Sword, first killing technique!

A scarlet claw was just barely blocked by the longsword, and the vengeful spirit of the Xun Palace position manifested before them.

The wandering souls they had encountered along the way were not too different from living humans, merely faint in form and pale in color. But this vengeful spirit was completely different, already appearing to be another kind of creature.

It had a cyan face and fangs, standing nearly twelve feet tall, towering and muscular. Its sinews bulged, and its pair of claws were blood-red, with one claw tip still dripping beads of blood.

Jiang Wang had long known that within the thick fog, the vengeful spirit's perception would surely surpass theirs. So he had been on high alert, his sword poised and ready. Only thus could he block the vengeful spirit's attack in the first instant.

But he still underestimated the vengeful spirit's power.

In that brief gap created by the Breath-Twisting Dragon Twister, they had seen at least a thousand wandering souls—yet only these eight fierce ghosts seated in the Nine Palaces had emerged. Whether nurtured by human hands or born of natural slaughter, the vengeful spirit born from this was bound to be extraordinary.

Although Jiang Wang blocked the first strike, he was still grazed by the other claw tip, which tore a strip of flesh from his left arm.

The blood dripping from the vengeful spirit's claw tip came from his wound. Fortunately, the wound was not too large.

Just as Jiang Wang was attacked and counterattacked, Zhao Rucheng's sword also moved!

The first killing technique of the Purple Qi Comes from the East Sword prioritized speed above all, enabling attack like thunder and defense like lightning. When the Son of Heaven unleashes the wrath of thunder and lightning, it comes in an instant, yet shocks the world!

Before the vengeful spirit could even taste the torn strip of flesh, Zhao Rucheng's sword had already pierced into its abdomen.

Zhao Rucheng, man and sword together, was stuck on the vengeful spirit's body, looking like a monkey hanging on a person due to the size difference.

The vengeful spirit howled in pain and abruptly lowered its head.

Not good!

Zhao Rucheng's heart jolted. He kicked off the claw swinging toward him, performed a backflip in midair, and abandoned his sword to escape. The vengeful spirit tried to pursue, but Jiang Wang's figure flashed past its eyes like a thunderbolt.

The second killing technique of the Purple Qi Comes from the East Sword, its essence lies in precision.

Jiang Wang was already far away, but that sword light had precisely swept across the vengeful spirit's eyeball.

In that instant, a burst of cyan-black liquid exploded like pulp, and the vengeful spirit let out a most miserable scream. This creature, originally of chaotic mind, now fixed its remaining right eye fiercely on Jiang Wang, its hatred surging.

It didn't bother covering its eye, letting the cyan-black liquid flow freely, the sword Zhao Rucheng had left still wobbling in its body, as it charged in great strides toward Jiang Wang!

Ling He, who was driving away wandering souls outside the battle circle, shot his own sword toward Zhao Rucheng in the midst of his busy work. "Catch!"

Zhao Rucheng leaped up, caught Ling He's sword in midair, and like a meteor chasing the moon, shot once again toward the vengeful spirit's back. This sword pierced in from the back of its neck, the tip emerging from under its chin and pressing against its chest!

The vengeful spirit roared and swung its claw back, but due to the angle, this claw was inevitably slower than before. So Zhao Rucheng braced his feet against its back, trying to use the leverage to pull out the sword and retreat. But unexpectedly, the sword blade was clamped tight by the vengeful spirit's muscles; he couldn't pull it out in one go, and was delayed for a moment.

In that moment, the vengeful spirit's massive claw swept heavily onto him, sending Zhao Rucheng flying a full four or five meters, tumbling into the thick fog, his fate unknown!

And at this time, the thick fog was still filled with countless wandering souls roaming about!

Jiang Wang was now on the opposite side. Ling He, after sending his sword, was still entangled with the wandering souls. Only Du Yehu, also guarding the battle circle, was closest, and he could no longer hold back. He had come on this journey to eradicate evil and cleanse the world, not to be sheltered and earn Dao Merit, or even become a burden!

A roar erupted, sounding like thunder shaking the air. Du Yehu's qi and blood exploded with full force, the blood energy around him becoming almost tangible, surging toward his crown like a pillar of smoke!

Qi and blood smoke pillar!

Only a martial artist whose qi and blood had reached a certain level could ignite such a smoke pillar. Even Jiang Wang could not do this.

And Du Yehu's full-force burst here was ample proof that he was no less than others.

Wrapped in that almost tangible qi and blood power, as if clad in a blood-colored battle robe, he moved several times faster than usual and reached Zhao Rucheng's side in just a few strides!