Blood Bodhi

He kept recalling everything he knew about Nie Ying.

Although Nie Ying had severely wounded the Fire Qilin, he himself had also been affected by the Qilin Mad Blood.

In the end, unable to suppress the Mad Blood and afraid of harming his wife and child, he left his homeland and sought help from his close friend, Ao Ri, the master of Sword Worship Villa, telling him everything.

Ao Ri was not only the master of Sword Worship Villa, but also a renowned swordsmith. He possessed a piece of thousand-year Cold Iron that he had obtained by chance—Black Cold, one of the Four Great Strange Stones.

After learning the details from Nie Ying, Ao Ri decided to forge the Cold Iron into an incomparably frigid treasured sword. That way, it could destroy the scorching Fire Qilin and restrain Nie Ying's Mad Blood.

After learning this, Ao Ri immediately lit the furnace and forged the Peerless Good Sword day and night without rest.

However, neither of them had expected that forging a divine weapon was not something that could be accomplished overnight.

Unable to wait any longer, Nie Ying returned home and left the Snow-Drinking Saber and his family's martial arts to his wife and newborn son. As his murderous impulses grew ever stronger, he locked himself to the ground with thick chains in Lingyun Grotto to avoid bringing calamity upon the martial world, hoping to wait until the Peerless Good Sword was born and could save him.

Yet who could have known that the Peerless Good Sword would take several hundred years to forge? Naturally, Nie Ying could not live to see it leave the furnace, and he died alone in Lingyun Grotto.

After his death, he left behind the secrets of his family's martial arts, the Fire Qilin, the Snow-Drinking Saber, and the Peerless Good Sword within Lingyun Grotto, waiting for the descendants of the Nie Clan to discover them.

As he recalled what he knew of Nie Ying, Li Chenfeng could not help but sigh.

It could be said that Nie Ying was an absolute hero of righteousness, but his ending had not been a good one.

Setting aside his emotions, Li Chenfeng faintly spotted writing on the smooth wall beside the skeleton. His heart immediately stirred again. He stepped forward and wiped away the dust on the cave wall, revealing the words' true form.

"This is... the Ice Heart Formula and the Six Frosty Techniques!"

Li Chenfeng smiled silently.

The Six Frosty Techniques did not mean much to him, since he primarily cultivated sword techniques, though he could still use them for reference.

But the Ice Heart Formula was a supreme cultivation method for suppressing inner demons. With it, he would no longer need to worry about the Fire Qilin Sword eroding his sanity.

"If the heart is as clear as ice, even the collapse of heaven brings no alarm. Amid countless changes, remain steadfast; the spirit is at ease, the qi tranquil, untouched by worldly filth, unstained by mortal forms..."

After reading it several times, Li Chenfeng committed the entire Ice Heart Formula to memory. He circulated it slightly according to the formula, and instantly felt a thin, clear stream emerge in his mind, leaving his consciousness remarkably lucid.

"As expected of such a wondrous cultivation method, capable of suppressing Mad Blood. Its effect is truly impressive!"

Suppressing the joy in his heart, Li Chenfeng turned his gaze once more toward the Six Frosty Techniques beside it. This was a saber art that vaguely surpassed the Duan Clan's Sun-Eroding Sword Technique, worthy of being called peerless martial arts!

The Six Frosty Techniques contained six techniques: Fleeting Glimpse of Frost, Three Feet of Ice, Red Apricot in Snow, Graceful Peach Branch, Seeking Plum Blossoms Through Snow, and Cold Blade, Icy Heart.

The sixth technique, Cold Blade, Icy Heart, was the supreme move of the Six Frosty Techniques. Its power could shake heaven and earth, making it terrifyingly formidable. Unfortunately, only an ancestor of the Nie Clan had ever mastered it, and the saber manual had long been lost.

After memorizing both the Ice Heart Formula and the Six Frosty Techniques, Li Chenfeng bowed three times to Nie Ying's remains. After all, he had received so many benefits from the man, and Nie Ying had ties to the ancestors of Sword Worship Villa. Such respect was only proper.

Looking at the chains still binding Nie Ying's corpse, Li Chenfeng drew the Changli Sword in his hand and severed them. He then dug a pit in the cave and buried the bones, allowing him to rest in peace.

Having settled Nie Ying's affairs, Li Chenfeng looked once again at the Blood Bodhi.

"A peerless spirit fruit that increases cultivation and heals injuries. Now that I have obtained them, my goal in risking my life to enter Lingyun Grotto has been completely achieved!"

He plucked all the Blood Bodhi from the vine and counted them. There were actually one hundred and thirty, giving Li Chenfeng another pleasant surprise.

"But this is not a good place to cultivate. I should leave the cave first!"

Holding the pile of Blood Bodhi, he looked at the Storage Ring on his finger. His father, Nalan Su, had given it to him when he was in Battle Through the Heavens. It had remained on his hand ever since he came to this world, but unfortunately, it could no longer be used here.

Shaking his head, he could only wrap everything in his clothes and carry it on his back.

Once everything was ready, Li Chenfeng carried the Changli Sword and headed out of the cave along the way he had come.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

Not long after Li Chenfeng left, thunderous beast roars suddenly rang out from the depths of the cave.

"Not good! The Fire Qilin!"

Li Chenfeng was instantly alarmed. He knew that sound far too well. What had happened a month ago had left a deep impression on him.

"Damn it, it had to come out now? Couldn't it wait until I was gone?"

Cursing inwardly, Li Chenfeng did not dare delay. He pushed his lightness skill to its limit and raced toward the cave entrance at his fastest speed.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

The sound grew closer and closer. Within the cave, the Fire Qilin's roars were endlessly amplified, making Li Chenfeng's ears ache.

Feeling the surrounding temperature rise, Li Chenfeng grew increasingly anxious. From these changes, he could tell that the Fire Qilin was getting closer and closer.

"Damn, it's that fast?!"

"I'll risk it!"

He immediately took a Blood Bodhi from his bundle and tossed it into his mouth without even looking at it. He bit through the flesh, and fragrant sweetness instantly filled his mouth.

A moment later, a dense force exploded within his body!

"What powerful effects!"

Li Chenfeng's expression changed. The circulation speed of his internal energy instantly reached its limit, and waves of stabbing pain coursed through his meridians. This was a sign that his meridians could not withstand such potent medicinal energy.

His best choice now was to stay where he was and circulate his cultivation method to refine the medicinal energy, but that was clearly impossible. Thus, Li Chenfeng poured all the medicinal energy into his lightness skill, causing his already-limit-breaking speed to increase by another fifty percent!

Feeling scorching heat sweep toward him from behind, Li Chenfeng's expression darkened further.

"Damn, this thing is way too fast!"

Just as Li Chenfeng considered hiding inside the Myriad Worlds Gate, he rounded a bend and suddenly saw a bright light ahead.

"Haha, heaven never seals off every path!"

Li Chenfeng was overjoyed. His speed increased once again as he shot forward.

Bursting out of the cave entrance, Li Chenfeng did not choose to climb Buddha Summit. Instead, he leaped directly from Buddha's Knee and plunged toward the Min River below.

While still in midair, Li Chenfeng found time to look back, and the corner of his mouth immediately twitched.

Amid flames soaring into the sky, a massive, ferocious beast stood at the cave entrance, roaring at his fleeing figure. Illuminated by the firelight, it looked like both a God and a Demon.

Seeing Li Chenfeng fall directly into the waters of the Min River, the Fire Qilin roared toward the heavens once more before turning and disappearing into Lingyun Grotto.