Profound Qi Sword Three-Hit Combo

When Ning Xiaochuan returned to Begonia Manor, it was already the afternoon of the following day.

Ning Xiaochuan placed the badly wounded old man he had carried back onto an ice bed in the middle of the small lake.

The ice bed had been carved from an entire block of ice stone. When martial artists cultivated upon it, it could calm their minds, steady their spirits, soothe their blood, and protect their vitality. It was a treasure for martial cultivation; only the descendants of great clans and grand Marquis Mansions could afford to install an ice stone bed.

Minister Tian's injuries were exceedingly severe. He had now entered a state of Fetal Breathing False Death, his six senses sealed away, making it impossible for him to heal himself.

External aid was needed.

Ning Xiaochuan used Lock Nails to fasten Minister Tian's spine back together, then used Silk Thread to stitch his wounds.

Roll after roll of white cloth wrapped up Minister Tian's entire body, airtight and tight as a mummy.

Yu Yan stood nearby, continuously passing various tools to Ning Xiaochuan. She watched him slice open Minister Tian's flesh with a blade, nail his bones together with Lock Nails, stitch flesh with needle and thread—he even sewed a piece of skull back into place.

Ning Xiaochuan's hands became drenched in blood. The scene was horribly gory; Yu Yan vomited several times and nearly fainted.

"Young... Young Master, is it over?" Yu Yan's face was pale, and fine beads of sweat covered her ivory-white forehead.

Ning Xiaochuan washed his hands with clear water. "Hand me the Blood Accumulation Elixir and the Bone Reconnection Elixir."

Yu Yan handed him two small jade bottles.

Ning Xiaochuan poured out two drops of Mysterious Medicine liquid from the bottles. The drops fell onto his palm, which was wrapped in Martial Dao Profound Qi. The two drops dispersed, merged into the Martial Dao Profound Qi, and were driven into Minister Tian's body.

The glow of Martial Dao Profound Qi flickered twice over Minister Tian's body before being absorbed by his wounded flesh.

Yu Yan's lips moved. "Young Master, can this person still come back to life?"

Ning Xiaochuan shook his head. "If he were an ordinary person, he would certainly be dead. But this man is a martial arts master, and his body is many times stronger than an ordinary person's. If his will is firm enough, he should still have a chance of surviving. I have done all I can. What happens next depends on him."

Ning Xiaochuan gave Yu Yan thirty thousand Small Coin and told her to spend it all on Nourishing Heart Grass and Fracture Rejoining Bone Grass. Then he walked alone beneath the Blood Toad Wood Tree and continued cultivating, restoring the Profound Qi he had expended.

Ning Xiaochuan took out a short blade and chopped a one-catty piece of wood from the Blood Toad Wood Tree.

The blood-red wood chip was crystalline and translucent, like a blood gemstone. It felt icy cold in his hand and gave off a woody fragrance.

Bang!

Ning Xiaochuan used Martial Dao Profound Qi to shatter the piece of Blood Toad Wood into powder, then absorbed it into his blood, circulated it into his heart, and began refining it.

It took Ning Xiaochuan a full day and night to completely refine that catty of Blood Toad Wood into Blood Toad Elixir.

He refined several dozen drops of Blood Toad Elixir in all, which gathered into a lump of crimson treasure liquid the size of a pigeon's egg, even brighter red than blood.

If he could circulate this Blood Toad Elixir out of his body, it would sell for at least eight hundred thousand Small Coin.

But before Ning Xiaochuan could move the Blood Toad Elixir out of his body, it was absorbed by the Demon Sword within his Blood Aperture.

The Blood Aperture and Heart Aperture began chasing each other again, forming a Taiji Pattern that spun madly like a vortex, stimulating the Earth Martial Essence Qi within his body to transform into Martial Dao Profound Qi.

The Demon Sword's absorption of that mass of Blood Toad Elixir caused Ning Xiaochuan's cultivation to surge by another great leap.

Ning Xiaochuan sat cross-legged beneath the Blood Toad Wood Tree. Countless strands of Martial Dao Profound Qi permeated the air around him, forming mist-like currents that enveloped his body. Any living creature that came within thirty feet of him would be attacked by the Profound Qi.

Whoosh—

The speed of Ning Xiaochuan's blood flow rose once more, becoming faster and faster.

Over three consecutive days, he absorbed three catties of Blood Toad Wood.

His blood circulation reached six cycles per minute, and his body had become unimaginably strong. Even if he picked up a stone and smashed it against his own head, it would be the stone that shattered—not his head.

Now, condensing a Profound Qi Sword had become quite effortless for him. With a casual gesture, he could form one.

Profound Qi Sword!

Ning Xiaochuan pressed his palms together. A longsword condensed from Profound Qi appeared in his hands, and with a sweep of his arm, he slashed toward the surface of the small lake. Sword qi briefly split the lake water apart.

Profound Qi Sword!

In an instant, Ning Xiaochuan condensed a second Profound Qi Sword and cleaved it into the lake.

Profound Qi Sword!

The moment the second Profound Qi Sword vanished, Ning Xiaochuan immediately condensed a third one and chopped it into the lake again.

Profound Qi Sword, Three-Hit Combo.

The lake water churned wildly and crashed against the shore, startling the fish in the lake into surfacing one after another.

At the Profound Qi Seventh Level, Ning Xiaochuan needed half an hour to restore his Profound Qi after using the Profound Qi Sword once.

Now, within an extremely short time, he could unleash the Profound Qi Sword three times in succession. One sword followed another, their power stacking layer upon layer, each strike stronger than the last.

This was the strongest killing move he could currently unleash. He named it the "Profound Qi Sword Three-Hit Combo."

Of course, this was only the strongest killing move his current cultivation could produce. Once his cultivation rose, perhaps he could unleash a "Four-Hit Combo," a "Five-Hit Combo"... As long as the Profound Qi in his body was powerful enough, even a "Nine-Hit Combo" might be possible.

"I can now circulate my blood through six cycles within one minute. To reach the Profound Qi Ninth Level, I must circulate it through seven cycles in one minute."

It looked as if there was only one cycle of difference, but in reality, the gap was enormous.

It was like one person running a hundred meters in seven seconds while another ran it in six. The difference seemed to be only one second, but to break through that second, one's physical qualities had to rise to a wholly new level.

"Although I am only at the Profound Qi Eighth Level, if I use the Profound Qi Sword Three-Hit Combo, I can more than hold my own against a martial artist at the Profound Qi Ninth Level. And with the Blood Toad Wood, I should soon make a Cultivation Breakthrough to the Profound Qi Ninth Level." Ning Xiaochuan's gaze was sharp as he grew ever more resolute upon this path of the strong.

Although he had not gone to train in the Five Desolate Mountain Range with the Sword Pavilion Marquis's genius descendants, he would do better than those geniuses. He would become stronger than them.

Begonia Manor's walls stood a full seventy feet high, comparable to the walls of a small city.

Inside a watchtower atop the wall sat an old man and a middle-aged man clad in heavy armor, drinking together.

The guards around them had all been sent away.

At this moment, only the two of them remained in the watchtower.

The old man was Steward Qiu of Begonia Manor. Though he was not young, he did not appear decrepit. Instead, he possessed something of a master's bearing. His cultivation had reached the peak of the Profound Qi Eighth Level, and he managed all affairs within Begonia Manor.

The middle-aged man in heavy armor was Ye Chenglong, Begonia Manor's commander of the guards.

Ye Chenglong commanded the Five Hundred Guard Army. His own cultivation had reached the Profound Qi Ninth Level, and he possessed tremendous prestige within Begonia Manor.

Before Ning Xiaochuan had arrived at Begonia Manor, Ye Chenglong had practically been the manor's master. Everything in Begonia Manor had been decided by him.

Steward Qiu slid over a black wooden box and smiled faintly. "This is something Fourth Master asked me to pass on to Commander Ye. Fourth Master said that if Commander Ye worked for him, benefits would certainly not be lacking in the future."

Ye Chenglong lifted one corner of the wooden box. Azure light shone out from within; it was a whole box of Azure Gold, no less than one hundred taels.

Ye Chenglong's heart pounded fiercely. One hundred taels of Azure Gold was equivalent to one million Small Coin. It was quite a sizable fortune, enough to stir his greed. "To serve Fourth Master is my honor. Does Fourth Master have any instructions?"

Steward Qiu lowered his voice. "Fourth Master said that an expert has been helping Sickly Ning from behind the scenes. He hopes we can cooperate with him to find this expert."

Ye Chenglong's eyes narrowed. He suddenly stiffened. "Fourth Master suspects that expert is hiding inside Begonia Manor?"

Steward Qiu's eyes were as vicious as a hawk's. "Recently, Sickly Ning ordered that no one was to enter the Purple Qi Garden where he resides. There must be some secret hidden in that garden. We need to find an opportunity to go in and investigate."

Ye Chenglong sneered and nodded. "He has not stepped outside these past few days. Sneaking in without anyone noticing will not be easy!"

Steward Qiu said, "Then we can only think of a way to lure him out of the Purple Qi Garden. Only then can we investigate the secret hidden there."

"What method should we use?" Ye Chenglong pondered.

Just as Steward Qiu and Ye Chenglong were discussing their secret plan, a youth of fifteen or sixteen slowly approached Begonia Manor beneath the city wall.

That youth was Murong Wushuang.

Today, he had deliberately changed into a slightly cleaner outfit, but it still bore several patches and had clearly been washed countless times.

He carried a large hen in his hand. Its legs were tied together with straw, and he held it upside down.

The hen kept making "cluck cluck" noises!

Murong Wushuang had spent the last few days cultivating the Turtle Breath Immovable Skill and had achieved modest success, making a Cultivation Breakthrough to the Profound Qi Eighth Level. Today, he had come specifically to visit Ning Xiaochuan.

He thought that arriving empty-handed would be far too embarrassing. He needed to bring a gift.

So he stole the large hen raised by Three-Fingered Lin's family next door. Early in the morning, he carried the hen to Begonia Manor to visit Ning Xiaochuan.

Murong Wushuang stood beneath the towering walls, looking at the vermilion gates before him. "Damn, this really is a rich man's home. This estate probably has several hundred servants alone!" He called up at the watchtower, "Hey! Don't tell me such a huge estate does not even have someone guarding the gate?"