The phantom let out a shrill scream. Li Qing watched its illusory form, his whole body trembling faintly.
It wasn't human anymore. Tumors covered its body, and it had strange limbs.
The Flood Dragon bit the phantom into pieces.
After biting the phantom to pieces, the Flood Dragon flashed back into Li Qing's Jade Tablet.
Li Qing's whole body went limp, and he slumped to the ground, utterly drained.
He gasped for breath.
The little vital energy left in his body had been completely used up.
"I can only use this thing once for now. If I fail, I die."
His gaze fell on the bearded man lying on the ground.
His eyes were vacant, and a large bulge rose from his back. He no longer seemed to be alive.
His body was drying up and shrinking at a visible speed. Before long, it had become a horrifying dried corpse.
Seeing this, Li Qing's mouth twitched. "That's a truly gruesome way to die."
After catching his breath for a while, Li Qing walked over and poked the corpse with a branch.
The corpse showed no reaction. The bulge on its back was just as still.
He felt slightly relieved. Looks like he's really dead.
Li Qing began searching the corpse. Soon, he had stripped it bare, leaving a skin-and-bones corpse before him.
A huge, shriveled tumor bulged from its back.
"This man must have been on the verge of Aberration, but died before it happened."
"So Aberration stops when you die."
Pondering this, Li Qing began counting his gains.
A tattered set of clothes, a black bundle containing two flatbreads and a piece of braised beef, a water flask, and a Night-Bright Pearl.
There was also a black token bearing a large character for "blood." It was clearly a symbol of some kind of status.
And a money pouch containing ten taels of silver in small pieces.
"Ten taels of silver. That's enough to live on for a while."
But what caught his attention most were the two yellow booklets in the man's possession.
His focus was now on the Jade Tablet in his mind.
The instant he touched one of the books, it was recorded on the tablet.
Old Version:
Blood Fusion Art (Category: Art; Hundred-Day Foundation Establishment) Cultivation Method: Use the essence blood of nine kinds of living creatures to write the second Blood Curse. This allows your own bloodline to fuse with one kind of essence blood, granting you a certain ability of the corresponding life form and strengthening your origin to complete Foundation Establishment. Innate Minor Art: Blood Burning. Burn the vital energy in your bloodline to double all of your physical abilities. Price: You must never again eat any of the corresponding nine kinds of living creatures. Breaking this taboo will gradually lead to Aberration, turning you into an Anomaly. Blood Refining Art ...
New Version:
Essence Blood Art (Category: Art; Hundred-Day Foundation Establishment) Cultivation Method: Use your own essence blood to inscribe the improved Heaven and Earth Blood Curses on your body, locking in your dissipating vital energy and completing Foundation Establishment. Innate Minor Arts: 1. Bloodletting: Any wound touched by the power of this minor art cannot heal and will continue to bleed. 2. Blood Burning: Burn the vital energy in your bloodline to temporarily double the power of all your physical abilities or other minor arts. Price: None
"There are two scriptures. One is the Blood Refining Art, and the other is the Blood Fusion Art. They're similar techniques, both able to cultivate Foundation Establishment, though their effects are slightly different."
A faintly strange expression crossed his face. "So that means I can cultivate this technique one more time."
At the thought, he shook his head slightly. "I don't have the means right now."
"First, I need to get out of here."
Li Qing didn't want to spend the night beside a corpse. He tucked the Night-Bright Pearl away in the black cloth bag.
He slung the bundle over his back and held a flatbread in his hand.
Nibbling on the flatbread and taking a sip of cool water, he hurried through the dense woods and continued along the road.
Li Qing walked at least two or three li before stopping. He found a nearby tree and climbed up.
By then, he had eaten one flatbread and half the beef.
He planned to get a good rest and recover some vital energy.
As he silently recited the scripture, the food in his stomach digested slowly, turning into streams of vital energy that flowed through his body.
Several hours passed in a daze. The sky had grown bright, and the sun had risen.
Li Qing woke from his meditative cultivation and sprang down from the tree.
The vital energy in his body seemed to have recovered to its original state, and his physical abilities had increased considerably.
He dropped from a height of five meters, landing with a steady stance. The impact of his weight barely affected him.
His eyes glinted with thought. "When my vital energy is plentiful, my physical abilities seem to improve quite a bit."
Thinking of the half piece of beef and one flatbread left in his bag, he shook his head slightly.
"That'll only last one meal, and the prefectural city is still at least two hundred li away."
Li Qing shook his head slightly, took out the food, and ate as he walked along the mountain road, hoping to meet other travelers or find a roadside waystation.
By then, he was traveling light. He had already thrown away the bundle, the two scriptures, and the token.
He didn't want to carry anything that might make him an obvious target, especially since someone was still hunting the man.
He had stashed the Night-Bright Pearl in the bearded man's black pouch and hidden it in the pocket of his ragged clothes. He kept the silver there as well.
As he walked along the mountain road, Li Qing kept mulling over the new Essence Blood Art.
He realized that its most important parts were two different Blood Curses.
One was called the Heaven Blood Curse, and the other the Earth Blood Curse. A thought crossed his mind.
"Could there also be a Human Blood Curse? Heaven, Earth, and Human—the three powers? Would that be the perfect Foundation Establishment technique?"
Pondering this, he felt it was highly likely.
Li Qing didn't walk quickly, conserving his strength and trying to keep himself in peak condition.
The sun blazed overhead. It was the height of summer. Although Li Qing kept to the shade of the trees, the heat was still hard to bear.
He shook his head slightly, his expression turning grave. "If it stays this hot, these two hundred li will be hard to cover."
The official road was deserted in both directions. So far, he hadn't seen a single passerby.
He kept to the shadows as he walked. Before long, the whole morning had passed, and his legs had begun to go numb. "I should've covered thirty or forty li by now."
He had left Black Wind Mountain behind and was walking across the flat ground leading to the next peak.
Li Qing stared wearily ahead. His water flask was empty, and he was parched and ravenous.
Suddenly, a building up ahead caught his eye.
A red lantern hung outside, bearing the character "waystation."
A smile appeared on his face. "Finally, somewhere to rest."
"Hopefully they have something to eat. Otherwise, I really won't be able to keep going."
"I'll have to try my luck in the forest and see if I can catch something to eat."
Li Qing gave a couple of wry smiles and headed toward the building.
A loud rustling came from behind him.