Rousing the Mountain to Startle the Tiger, Essence and Qi Merged into the Soul

As Qiu Yan finished speaking, the straw scattered with a "bang".

Three figures stood up from the middle.

The air suddenly became more oppressive and heavy.

Two burly men glared angrily at Qiu Yan, while the other man, dressed in a long robe, looked on with suspicion.

The three men stared at Qiu Yan with intense hostility, yet none of them made a move, clearly still wary of him after the fierce battle.

Suddenly, a Hanzhong stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "I know you! You are Qiu Yan! A famous scholar from Qingchang County, who once distributed porridge to save lives. I never expected you to also possess such extraordinary martial arts skills!"

"Oh? I'm that famous now? A genius?" Qiu Yan shook his head. "I can hardly be considered a genius." He looked at the three of them. "May I ask how the three of you are addressed?"

It was the burly man who spoke first, "My Hu Qi, and this is my second brother, Dai Guo. We are just street performers in the city. Since we are inferior in skill and lost to you, there's nothing to say. But if you have such skill, why did you have to resort to trickery and ambush to injure people?"

"Street performers in town?" Qiu Yan was slightly surprised. He carefully examined the two burly men, noticing that they were both dressed in short-sleeved clothing and looked shrewd and capable, but their faces did bear the marks of years of exposure to the sun and wind. "A cultivator at the Soul Tempering stage, making a living by street performance? And to have specifically come to this border county town with its incomplete Divine Path, they must have quite a story to tell."

Qingchang County, located on the border of Jiannan Circuit, is considered a remote place in the entire Great Rui. Coupled with the rampage of the Demon King, the city has never been able to establish City God, and the Divine Path is incomplete. As a result, it has become a gathering place for many people with Divine Ability powers.

As Qiu Yan pondered, her gaze shifted and landed on the man in the long robe.

The man in the long robe hesitated for a moment before saying, "I am Qu Ziyi of the Yin-Yang Dao. I have heard of Young Master Qiu's talent, but this time, due to the overwhelming Yang Qi, I was overcome by greed. A single wrong thought led to my defeat, which I can only blame myself for."

"The Yin-Yang Dao?" Savoring the name, Qiu Yan couldn't help but ask, "Brother, are you perhaps a member of the Daoist Sect?"

Qu Ziyi shook his head. "Our sect is slightly different from other sects. Personally, I can't be considered a member of the Daoist Sect."

The conversation among the group dispelled some of the heavy atmosphere. In fact, Qiu Yan's words exuded a calming and subtly influential aura that slowly spread and seeped into the hearts of the three.

Hu Qi and the other two were first defeated and severely injured, then their ambush failed and they were exposed in one fell swoop, leaving their minds already vulnerable. Now, being infiltrated by this intention, they were suddenly somewhat dazed.

But they were, after all, people who had achieved mastery of Life Cultivation and possessed unwavering resolve. Hu Qi and Dai Guo quickly regained their composure, dispelling their distracting thoughts. They asked, "What exactly are your plans? State your intentions."

Qiu Yan glanced at the two of them and said, "I have no intention of doing anything to you. You are free to leave at any time."

"Hmm? You'd be so kind? Or is there some ulterior motive?" Hu Qi and Dai Guo looked on with suspicion.

Qiu Yan then said, "I, Qiu Yan, did not invite you here; you came to me of your own accord. But this is a one-time exception. If you provoke me again, I will not let you go easily. I know that there is a division of power among the cultivators in Qingchang County, and they are all connected. You may inform the cultivators and demons in the city of what I have said."

When Qiu Yan spoke, his tone was calm and his demeanor was serene, but his words revealed an aura that made Hu Qi and the others tremble with fear.

"What a bold and unrestrained spirit this scholar possesses!"

With a sigh to himself, Hu Qi and his companion were quite sensible. Since they could leave, they naturally wouldn't stay to demand an explanation. They each clasped their hands in a fist salute to Qiu Yan, left without even exchanging pleasantries, and hurriedly departed, stepping onto the rooftop.

Watching the two figures soar and undulate in the night, Qiu Yan had a thought.

"The Divine Path has been lost in Qingchang County for many years, and many people with Divine Ability have taken up residence in the city. These two are just one of them. My current move is to make an example of them, which may make some people restrain their thoughts, but it is also possible that it will backfire. If we really want them to be cautious from now on, we still need to make an example of them. Fortunately, this has already been done."

Thinking of this, his gaze swept across a spot in the courtyard where a stray dog lay motionless, seemingly dead. However, with Qiu Yan's perception, he could clearly sense that the dog's life force was slowly returning; it was simply holding back its motionlessness.

"Besides, the few who attacked today were also seeds I sowed among the Divine Ability beings in the city."

Just as Qiu Yan was changing his mind, neither of the two Living Soul flying swiftly through the city nor the Hu Qi brothers running on the rooftops noticed the faint divine power flowing through their souls and bodies.

Snap!

In the Qiu Family courtyard, Qu Ziyi, a man in a long robe, shuddered, shattering the divine power clinging to him. He then looked at Qiu Yan and said, "I didn't expect that Young Master Qiu is not only highly learned and skilled in martial arts, but also connected to the Divine Path. However, I'm afraid you'll encounter trouble if you go to Yuanning Prefecture." Qiu Yan hadn't deliberately lowered his voice during his conversation with Zhang Zhen, and this man overheard him, hence his words.

"Oh? So you only recently arrived in Qingchang," Qiu Yan snapped his fingers. "Although I had some guesses based on Hu Qi and the other man's reactions and attitude towards you, only after hearing this can I be sure that you stayed in Yuanning Prefecture before?"

"Indeed, I previously resided in Yuanning Prefecture, but the prefecture is now occupied by others. Anyone with some cultivation, including demons, has been forced to leave. Those who remain are either those who have already submitted, those who rely on their Divine Ability, or exorcists who went there upon hearing the news."

Qu Ziyi said, taking two steps back and then bowing deeply to Qiu Yan.

"Since Young Master Qiu will not make things difficult for me, I will take my leave now. I do not know much about the background of those who occupy the city, but I do know that it seems to be the work of more than one person."

With that, he sprang to his feet, flipped over, and disappeared into the moonlight.

"This Qu Ziyi; I immediately discovered the faint divine power attached to me, the Yin-Yang Dao..."

Qiu Yan, however, fell into deep thought.

"And those who occupied Yuanning City actually drove away all the cultivators and demons in the city? I wonder what happened to the gods in the city. The highest-ranking Yuanning Divine Office is the Metropolitan City God, who is Fifth Grade, followed by Sixth-Rank Deity, mainly the local Great Land God. Now that Yuanning City has been occupied by outsiders, it means that their overall combat strength is at least stronger than that of Sixth-Rank Deity."

He thought of the information about the Way of Nature and Life he had obtained from the longsword and Ancient Seal Script.

"In the Life Cultivation and the Nature Cultivation, what corresponds to Sixth-Rank Deity is the second level of the Core-Forging Realm False Core) and the second level of the Unity Realm (Soul-Nourishing by the Corporeal Soul) respectively. In other words, the opponent is definitely stronger than the scholar's clone!"

Thinking of this, Qiu Yan shook his head.

"The path of cultivation is truly one mountain after another; one must never stop or become complacent."

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, his whole body trembled, Qi and Blood gushed out from his pores, condensing into the phantoms of Rhinoceros and Rhinoceros Beetle, intertwining and dispersing!

Flesh and blood swell!

Within his body, the fifth Soul Shadow became increasingly clear.

"Melting the essence of two powerful demons at the Soul Tempering —this accumulation is indeed enough to barely break through to the Fifth Soul. However, after refining, it will leave hidden dangers like before, and may even lead to weakness due to overdrawing the accumulated essence, which would be detrimental to the trip to Yuanning Prefecture."

Thinking of this, Qiu Yan's mind raced, and the pores all over his body emitted a powerful suction force.

The suction force exploded, instantly drawing the two illusory figures of Qi and Blood back and forcibly compressing them within the body!

These two illusory figures originated from the Rhinoceros demon and the Rhinoceros Beetle that Qiu Yan had defeated. Because the Kitchen God's Flame could not completely refine them in time, they were taken to the Netherworld. Now, Qiu Yan has returned to Qingchang County and wants to stabilize his cultivation, so he has melted the essence of the two demons in one go!

The essence of the two Four Souls demons was forcibly condensed into the Fourth Soul. The enormous essence exceeded the limit of the Four Souls, but Qiu Yan was unwilling to become weak from condensing the Fifth Soul, so this power was compressed and condensed!

The Fourth Soul, the Heroic Soul, can condense the five internal organs and six bowels, change the bone marrow Qi and Blood, and alter one's own bloodline. Once a cultivator reaches this level, not only will their physique and constitution improve, but their strength, energy, and power will also be integrated into their blood. The nature of their blood will change, and their offspring will also inherit Innate Realm ability, surpassing ordinary people, and their descendants will also benefit from it.

Demons and monsters, once they condense their Heroic Soul, can even alter their internal organs and meridians, transforming into human forms that are almost indistinguishable from the real thing, thus concealing their Yao Qi!

This was a transformative turning point!

Right now, Qiu Yan has forcibly integrated the cultivation of two Four Souls demons into his Heroic Soul. This power is incredibly strong. Even though he released some of it during his battle with Hu Qi and the others, it was just a drop in the ocean!

Prices are rising! Rising! Rising!

The Heroic Soul suddenly swelled up like a balloon, as if it had reached its limit. Qiu Yan's heart stirred, and he poured his surging energy into the other Three Souls!

Instantly, the four refined Soul Shadow expanded and condensed!

Change!

Qiu Yan's body swelled up, his blood flowed rapidly, and his muscles, bones, skin, blood, meridians, and internal organs underwent drastic changes!

The transformation lasted for almost the time it takes to eat a meal. During this time, the air around Qiu Yan surged, his body floated up, and his aura was powerful, but his Qi and Blood were firmly locked in his flesh and blood, without any leakage.

In the corner, the longsword and the Ancient Seal Script sensed the change in Qiu Yan's aura and were secretly surprised.

"Qiu Yan poured such a massive amount of Qi and Blood into his Four Souls; could it be that he's trying to solidify his foundation? Once this foundation is established, his future in the path of life Life Cultivation will be limitless!" The longsword murmured with a clanging sound.

Just as the two spirits were surprised, a loud "bang" was heard and the air suddenly dissipated!

Qiu Yan landed again.

The moment his foot touched the ground, the stone slab beneath his feet shattered!

Looking down at the ground, Qiu Yan shook his head. "My strength has suddenly become too great, it's a bit hard to control, I need some time to get used to it."

"Qiu Yan, what just happened?" The Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription flew over, its voice full of curiosity.

Qiu Yan did not answer, but said, "You all go back to your study first. We're leaving tomorrow, and I need to make some more preparations." With that, he pushed open the door and left, walking quickly until he arrived outside the courtyard where Ma Yang had lived. (To be continued...)

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