Sin Within the Flesh

"Oh? Those people are searching for my location."

Eastern Capital, on a secluded path.

Qiu Yan strode forward, but his speed remained within the limits of ordinary people and did not exceed the norm. In contrast, the aura around him was changing rapidly, sometimes strong and sometimes weak.

At the same time, Qiu Yan also diverted some of his attention to his eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and Heart Fire, raising his senses, perception, and Heaven-Rushing Soul to an astonishing level, making it difficult for any change in his body to escape detection.

Just now, through the connection of their qi, he vaguely sensed that someone was trying to lock onto his aura.

The connection of Qi (vital energy) may seem mysterious, but it is actually not complicated. Any two things in this world that have come into contact will leave a trace. Some traces are very large and can be seen at a glance, while others are very small and difficult to detect.

When Qiu Yan came out of the Literary Pavilion, he noticed that several experts were hiding around the building. Their senses and perceptions enveloped the entire Literary Pavilion, revealing an atmosphere of protection and defense.

Upon further reflection, Qiu Yan guessed the origins of these people and realized they were responsible for protecting the Grand Confucian in the building.

This wasn't hard to guess. He had been paying attention to it for a while. For example, the old prime minister Han Yi had an old servant surnamed Wu by his side, who was a master of Life Cultivation. Qiu Yan couldn't figure out his background because of his high level of cultivation. Of course, this was also because it was inconvenient to use his Divine Ability powers to investigate in detail. After all, the two sides were not enemies, and deliberately investigating would be disrespectful and offend people for no reason.

However, from another perspective, it is enough to prove that the old servant's control and restraint of Qi and Blood had reached an extremely high level.

By the same token, the other martial artists responsible for protecting the Grand Confucian must all possess extraordinary cultivation levels, making them unlikely to be easily discovered.

In fact, Qiu Yan did not notice anyone spying on him when he entered the building. This was because the building was filled with rich Literary Thought, and the entire Literary Pavilion was faintly shrouded in an aura that could repel Divine Ability powers.

When Qiu Yan emerged, due to the mobilization of the gentlemen, the surrounding Literary Thought gathered and concentrated, and the Force of Order swept through, causing the formation to thin out, and the things hidden beneath surfaced.

In addition, having comprehended the Force of Order and elevated his Divine Grade rank, and having grasped the Way of the People's Heart the Myriad People's Heart Fire, Qiu Yan's entire spirit and Divine Soul have undergone a transformation. His perception has become more acute, and even without his soul Spirit Projection, he can still see everything around him clearly.

Moreover, while gathering insights and writing the chessboard text, Qiu Yan's Seven Souls were also affected, absorbing Essence Blood, Qi and Blood, vital energy, and True Qi. They rapidly grew stronger, shortening the entire nurturing process. This brought Qiu Yan, who already had a deep foundation, even closer to the level of Life Cultivation at Chapter 436. He was not greatly affected then, but now, as he walked out of the Literary Pavilion, his muscles and bones trembled, and the essence of Qi and Blood and energy was constantly being injected into his Soul Shadow. It was like robbing Peter to pay Paul, and the most direct manifestation of this was the continuous weakening of his aura.

At this time, relying solely on the acupoints of the physical body to absorb the surrounding Spiritual Qi is far from enough to keep up with the consumption. Fortunately, Qiu Yan still has Divine Spirit Body, which can unleash divine power to surge over and transform it into Qi and Blood through the power of Third Grade.

When he was at the Fourth Grade the Divine Spirit Body, Qiu Yan was already able to convert his divine power into Qi and Blood because of the few silver lights on the Chiyan Land, and replenish his Fleshly Body to heal injuries and strengthen his body. Now that he has officially stepped into the Third-Grade Divine Rank, this conversion of divine power is naturally beyond his control.

Strangely, after the divine power leaves the divine body, it still cannot completely condense into a piece of flesh and blood; at most, it can only maintain the state of Qi and Blood for use.

Qiu Yan found this strange, but he had no time to investigate it further. He could only leave it for later. What he needed to do now was to use the Qi and Blood transformed from divine power to replenish his Fleshly Body and make up for the absorption by his Soul Shadow.

While consuming and replenishing his energy, Qiu Yan's aura fluctuated rapidly, sometimes rising and sometimes falling. With each step he took, he slowly accumulated an imposing aura that spread around him. The plants and trees along the way would instinctively shrink upon contact with it, like mimosa plants. Even wild animals that passed by would turn and flee in panic.

However, as his momentum grew, Qiu Yan also noticed something.

"Hmm? Some impurities are starting to slowly settle into the Fleshly Body..."

Martial artists cultivate their destiny, refine their Qi and Blood, and their bodies constantly transform. The dirt, toxins, and dregs in their flesh and blood are gradually reduced and expelled. When they reach Qiu Yan's level, the tendons, bones, skin, flesh, and internal organs in his body are already pure, like refined steel, with every piece of flesh harboring astonishing strength and power.

Now, the Seven Souls absorb the essence of Qi and Blood, and are replenished with Qi and Blood transformed from divine power. Back and forth, the primordial qi slowly changes. The primordial qi formed purely from the Spiritual Qi absorbed from the outside world is replaced by the primordial qi transformed from divine power.

Then, impurities gradually appeared. Calling them impurities is not entirely accurate. Unlike dirt or dregs, these impurities were blackish, like smoke, drifting in the flesh. They were still relatively thin, but it is conceivable that over time, the black mist would accumulate more and more, becoming thicker and thicker.

With a quick scan, Qiu Yan swiftly analyzed the characteristics of the impurities in the black mist and recognized its true identity.

"It's actually Karmic Sin!"

This discovery startled him, but then he understood and realized the reason.

Divine power originates from the incense offerings of the people, and is thus entrusted by human thoughts. Human Thoughts are complex and mixed; if the gods do not purify them and instead freely absorb them, one's thoughts can be influenced, eventually leading to a drastic change in temperament. How much more so for a flesh-and-blood body?

The small evils in people's minds, when accumulated by millions, become great evils. When Qiu Yan used his divine power to repair the damage to his flesh and blood, these impure thoughts were mixed in. As they accumulated, the Karmic Sin in his flesh and blood grew stronger.

"It seems that the method of replenishing flesh and blood with divine power cannot be used frequently. However, in urgent situations, we still need to rely on this divine Qi and Blood to replenish what our body has consumed. We can only deal with it later, otherwise the entire plan will collapse..."

In any plan, there will always be unexpected events and variables. It is unrealistic to expect to always have everything under control, and it is a pipe dream to expect to avoid all dangers. The key is to have the mindset to bear risks and the courage to make decisions!

Lost in thought, Qiu Yan left the path and entered the dense forest.

Just then, a surging aura suddenly erupted from not far away, covering the sky and startling the birds in the Lin Zhong into flight!

"It's finally here."

Looking at the figure not far away, Wang Yifu breathed a sigh of relief, a complex mix of emotions welling up inside him: relief, anger, triumph, a sense of loss, and a little...

Nostalgia.

"Nostalgia?" Wang Yifu shook his head. "Now that Father is here, Qiu Yan isn't here, and his men are no match for him. I can say I've avenged half of my grudge, but..."

His gaze swept around, taking in the expressions of Tong Shou, Liu Tian, and the others. Although their eyes showed joy, their faces remained calm and composed, displaying a composure Qi Nurturing.

Then, his gaze shifted to Hu Qi and Dai Guo, who stood in front as if facing a formidable enemy. Wang Yifu spoke up, "Senior Brother Tong, Hu Qi and Dai Guo haven't committed any evil deeds. Father's actions this time are like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. You and I might as well try to persuade them, so as to subdue them without a fight and save their lives, thus avoiding unnecessary bloodshed."

"Oh?" Tong Shou was slightly surprised upon hearing this, but after thinking for a moment, he nodded and said, "Alright." (To be continued)