Hungry, Fellow Daoist, Save Me

The two figures flickering within the lightning flashed through the clouds so quickly that Li Qing could not see them clearly.

Shaking his head slightly, he looked down at the jade tablet in his hand.

This tablet was quite peculiar; it was pure cyan in color, with a dragon carved upon its surface.

"What is the use of this thing?"

A look of curiosity crossed his face, and after a moment of thought, he injected a wisp of vital energy into it.

As the energy flowed in, the tablet underwent a sudden transformation.

The tablet began to glow with a faint cyan light, and a stream of information appeared out of thin air within his mind.

"Spirit Summoning Tablet! Can summon a phantom of a Flood Dragon to devour souls and consume spirits."

Li Qing's eyes lit up. "Is this some kind of magical artifact?"

His heart burned with excitement.

His biggest problem right now was his lack of offensive means; if he were to run into any jackals, wolves, tigers, or leopards, he might very well end up dead.

Now that he had obtained something akin to a magical artifact, he immediately felt a sense of security.

He looked up at the sky; the heavy rain seemed to be subsiding suddenly.

The sky grew brighter, and Li Qing thought to himself, I don't know what the situation is, but I had better make a run for it.

I must not get involved in the struggles of such existences.

He gathered the clothes he had hung to the side and dashed out in a blur of motion.

He sprinted at top speed toward the other end of the canyon.

The rain weakened at a speed visible to the naked eye, and in the blink of an eye, it had turned into a light drizzle.

Half an hour later, the sky had returned to a state of scorching sun.

Running along the road, Li Qing shook his head slightly. "This world is truly bizarre. One moment it was pouring rain, and now the sun is blazing down?"

"I hope there won't be any more trouble; my fragile body can't withstand many more accidents."

He looked at the Spirit Summoning Tablet in his hand. "I need to find a place to test its power."

"Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle."

Suddenly, his stomach let out a hungry growl, and Li Qing's face twisted like a bitter melon.

"I only ate two cucumbers this morning, and there's not a village or shop in sight on this road. Where am I supposed to find food?"

By now, he had passed through the canyon and was moving along a mountain path.

Qingshi County was located in the Huanglong Prefecture of the North Province, and the prefectural capital was Jade City, a massive city with a population of one million.

Outside the city flowed a great river, the Pu River, which ran from north to south, dividing the entire Great Tang Dynasty in two.

The distance between Qingshi County and Jade City was about 300 li, and Li Qing's goal was to head there.

With its million inhabitants, Jade City was economically prosperous and served as the commercial center and transportation hub for the entire North Province, relying on canal shipping and extending in all directions.

Various mountain goods and rare treasures from across the North Province were transported from here into the heart of the Great Tang Dynasty.

The mountain path he was currently on belonged to Black Wind Mountain; in the 300-li region between Qingshi County and Jade City, there was one canyon and three mountain peaks.

Black Wind Mountain was the first peak, and it was said that wild beasts roamed there and mysterious events frequently occurred.

Li Qing walked alone with great caution.

He gripped the Spirit Summoning Tablet tightly, ready to summon the Flood Dragon phantom the moment danger arose.

The sky gradually darkened, and Li Qing felt a growing sense of anxiety.

He hadn't eaten for half a day and was so hungry he felt as if his chest was touching his back.

"I hope I don't have such bad luck as to starve to death on the road."

Suddenly, a dilapidated temple appeared ahead, and Li Qing's eyes brightened.

But after a moment of thought, he paused his steps. "They say in these ancient times, don't enter forests and don't enter temples."

"Besides, this is a dangerous world. I have a feeling that going in will likely lead to trouble."

After weighing his options, Li Qing quickened his pace and moved rapidly away from the ruined temple.

From time to time, he would look back at the temple.

Until the ruined temple had completely vanished from his sight, he finally let out a small sigh of relief.

"Good thing I didn't get caught in some ghost-wall trap."

"Old tricks—I won't be fooled."

By now, the sky had grown even darker, and the road was becoming difficult to see.

Li Qing's expression shifted. "It looks like I'll have to go hungry tonight."

"I'll have to stay in the trees."

Thinking this, his gaze swept over the nearby woods, and a large tree caught his eye.

His eyes brightened. He picked up a withered branch from the roadside and swept it repeatedly in front of him as he walked.

This was to "beat the grass to scare the snake."

He had to prevent a venomous snake from suddenly lunging out of the grass and biting him.

He soon arrived before the large tree, which stood three zhang deep into the woods.

He climbed up quickly and soon reached one of the tree's branches.

His position was about two zhang above the ground; it would be a disaster if he fell.

Looking left and right, Li Qing's expression was somewhat helpless.

"I probably won't be able to sleep tonight."

"I'm exhausted and hungry; if I fall asleep and tumble down, that would truly be courting death."

He held the Spirit Summoning Tablet in his hand, but he did not use it lightly.

Using this item consumed vital energy, and he wasn't sure if he would collapse from exhaustion after using it.

There were no conditions for him to experiment right now, so he could only sigh and keep it gripped in his hand.

The dark woods were filled with the cries of various animals, adding a touch of vitality to the pitch-black night.

As time passed, a sense of fear began to grow involuntarily in Li Qing's heart amidst the darkness.

Faced with darkness, humans were naturally prone to fear.

With nothing to do, Li Qing began to silently recite the scriptures of the Essence Blood Art.

The faint vital energy within his blood vessels began to circulate slightly, reaching his entire body, and a trace of warmth rose throughout his frame.

Li Qing could clearly feel that there wasn't much vital energy in his body; his excess fat seemed to be burning away, transforming into vital energy and merging into his bloodline.

The characteristic of this cultivation technique lay in converting all the excess parts of the body into vital energy, nourishing specific organs bit by bit.

Reciting the scriptures was merely to divert his attention, preventing Li Qing from falling into excessive fear in this darkness.

Time flew by, and as Li Qing recited silently, his spirit gradually drifted, as if he had entered a wondrous state.

His body sat upon the thick branch, relaxing bit by bit, yet inexplicably maintaining its balance.

His entire being was immersed in a strange state, as if he were in deep meditation.

It was unknown how much time had passed when a figure appeared on the road outside the forest.

The man stumbled, his entire body reeking of a thick, bloody scent.

A hole was clearly visible on the left side of his chest, his ribs were sunken, and blood flowed endlessly from the wound.

Rustle.

At this moment, he leaned against a tree, his eyes fixed on the location where Li Qing was perched.

A ferocious grin appeared on his face. "The Blood Refining Art? Truly, Heaven does not wish for my demise—a Blood Pill delivered right to my doorstep."

He struggled to walk over, his body already weakened to the extreme.

I must trick this fellow into coming down.

At this moment, the rustling sound in the woods had already awakened Li Qing.

He hurriedly turned his head, looking toward the direction from which the sound originated.

In this dense forest, one could barely see their own fingers in front of their face.

Visibility was no more than three meters.

A voice rang out from beneath the tree, "Fellow Daoist in the tree, could you save my life?"