That Night, Summoning Wind

Chen Xu strode away from Shengyu Workshop.

That night, he had killed another man who deserved to die, discussed the Dao with a Fox Demon, and gained quite a bit of Firework Value. Excellent!

The wondrous curtain of this world was slowly peeling back layer by layer before him. His experiences over the past few days had been richer and more interesting than the previous ten years combined.

Chen Xu only hoped that the affairs of the Lin Family would not give rise to any further twists and turns. After all, he was no lunatic who delighted in exterminating clans; it was not as though he would slaughter Lin Qi's entire family merely because he bore a grudge against him.

After leaving Shengyu Workshop, Chen Xu turned back and gazed for a moment at the bustling marketplace in the night.

Through layers of lamplight and passing figures, he could vaguely still see the little Daoist Xuan Yi tugging at his donkey, beating his chest and stamping his feet.

"Stupid donkey, you have ruined me! Aiyo, that demonic aura is gone, and I cannot find that senior who wielded Innate Qi either. Yet you, you stupid donkey, cling to me like a shadow.

What use are you?"

Chen Xu turned around and silently savored the four words "Innate Qi."

From the meaning behind that little Daoist's words, Innate Qi was presumably

extremely rare?

Chen Xu strolled home through the night, while his consciousness simultaneously linked to the Mud Pill Dao Soldier.

After using blazing flames to kill the malicious ghost, the Mud Pill Dao Soldier had not immediately departed. Instead, it used those raging flames to burn Lin Yuan's corpse to ash as well.

These flames were no ordinary mortal fire, but were formed from Chen Xu's Innate Qi from afar. Though their power seemed diminished across such distance, they still rapidly burned Lin Yuan's body to ashes within a short while.

At last, a night wind blew, scattering the ashes into the flowerbeds and shrubbery nearby.

Yet where Lin Yuan's corpse had previously lain, not even a patch of grass had been scorched.

Such was the control afforded by Level One Perfected Fire Control.

Thanks to Lin Yuan having deliberately dismissed the servants and guards beforehand, only now did voices rise in alarm from afar. "Eh, is there a fire under that corridor over there?"

"Seems like there's firelight. Come on, let's hurry over and take a look!"

"Ah, no, no. Eldest Young Master ordered that none of us were to go over there before dawn."

"We can't worry about that now. There's a fire, how can we not go... Eh? The fire, where's the fire?"

The firelight had only leaped into the sky for a brief moment before vanishing in an instant, so swiftly that it made people think they had seen an illusion.

The few people who had noticed the firelight looked at one another, immediately falling into hesitant indecision.

The firelight was gone. Should they still go over and look?

Among them, someone gave an awkward laugh and lowered his voice. "Eh, what fire? I didn't see any fire. Your eyes must have been playing tricks on you, right? In any case, Young Master said we were not allowed to go over there, so I'll just obey Young Master's orders.

You can never go wrong by listening to Young Master."

The several people who had been staring at one another each rolled their eyes, and immediately understood.

With some matters, doing nothing meant doing nothing wrong; the more one did, the more mistakes one made. Going out of one's way might earn a reward, but it might also cost one's life!

That night, no further disturbances arose in the Lin Residence. It remained quiet and peaceful until dawn.

Chen Xu returned home and recalled the Mud Pill Dao Soldier.

When the Dao Soldier returned, its tiny body seemed to have gained an especially distinct spiritual bearing and Killing Intent.

Chen Xu met the Dao Soldier's gaze and felt his control had become smooth and complete, his commands obeyed as readily as his own hand. Yet the Dao Soldier itself seemed to have gained an additional spark of intelligence, allowing it to respond freely to orders without requiring Chen Xu to expend much mental effort.

This Dao Soldier had grown!

With Chen Xu's current strength, he could only control one Dao Soldier at a time for a short period. Yet this Dao Soldier actually possessed the ability to grow on its own.

That was another delightful discovery.

Chen Xu stored the Dao Soldier back in Embers Kitchen and began considering how to make up for its weakness against water.

Unable to come up with an answer for the moment, he committed the matter to memory.

Chen Xu spent another 100 points of Firework Value to enter Embers Kitchen. This time, he would master the Summon Wind Technique in one stroke!

He summoned the Heavenly Book panel.

[Accumulated Likes: 1067]

[Free Attribute Points: 31]

[Firework Value: 548]

[Essence: 36]

[Vital Blood: 36]

[Divine Soul: 36]

[Cultivation: Vessel Meridian Realm (Early Stage 1.4%)]

What a pity. After successfully establishing the Three Essences Foundation Establishment, every additional Free Attribute Point required at least 20 Likes.

The Free Attribute Points he had stockpiled before his breakthrough were still a little too few.

Chen Xu now had several ways to increase his strength. First, he could diligently cultivate the God of Cookery Cultivation Scroll himself. Second, he could obtain spiritual cultivation opportunities by making spirit food. Third, he could add points.

Of course, simply adding points could only strengthen his physical foundation. To turn that foundation into actual strength, he still needed cultivation and comprehension.

Chen Xu felt that he could treat adding points as taking pills.

Ordinary people who took pills might suffer from pill toxins, or might find it difficult to precisely control the growth of their Threefold Attributes. But whenever he added points, his control was exquisitely precise, and once proven, forever proven. That was his greatest advantage!

He still needed to keep accumulating Free Attribute Points. Not only could they serve as pills during cultivation, they could also help sustain him in battle.

One thing, many uses—the more, the better.

[Consume 300 Firework Value to learn Summon Wind.]

[Summon Wind Level One (0/100)]

Within Embers Kitchen, Chen Xu gradually immersed himself in learning Summon Wind.

"Yin and yang gave birth to one another; the clear and turbid flowed and moved—this was called wind."

Chen Xu discovered that learning Summon Wind seemed far easier than learning Wood Chopping and Fire Control had been.

No, perhaps it was not because the Summon Wind Technique was simpler.

It was because Chen Xu had grown.

His Divine Soul had strengthened, his thoughts had become sharper, and after eating Lotus Flower Wisdom-Enhancing Soup, he had gained a photographic memory.

Naturally, his comprehension had also improved without him realizing it.

Chen Xu sat cross-legged in Embers Kitchen with his eyes closed, yet he seemed to be walking with the wind through verdant mountains and forests.

He passed through groves of emerald bamboo and listened to the roar of pines.

He savored the gentle breeze and witnessed wild winds raging...

Within his dantian, Innate Qi slowly rose, passed through his liver, rolled across his lungs and viscera. Yi Wood gave rise to wind.

[Summon Wind Level One (1/100)]

[Summon Wind Level One (3/100)]

(5/100)

The next day, when Chen Xu awoke, his presence had instead become more restrained.

That was because his comprehension of the Summon Wind Technique the previous night had also given him a deeper understanding of that thread of Innate Qi within his body.

He discovered that if he could conceal wind, then he could conceal his qi as well!

With his spiritual bearing drawn inward, Chen Xu at first glance looked even more like the frail scholar people ordinarily imagined. His face was like polished jade, his bearing elegant and graceful.

Who could have imagined that he had repeatedly wielded a blade and chopped people apart like firewood?

As usual, Chen Xu simply made some breakfast and asked Granny Lai to help sell it.

This was not a long-term solution, but Chen Xu had no spare time to put a new method into practice, so he would temporarily maintain the old way.

Once he had "paid his respects" to Lin Qi today, he planned to return to the countryside.

But Lin Yuan had "gone missing." What kind of excitement would unfold in the Lin Family today?

What Chen Xu did not know was that the Lin Family was still calm and peaceful, while in Yunjiang Prefecture City, a conversation concerning him was unfolding like wind stirring waves.

Yunjiang Prefecture, Cui Clan.

Cui Yunqi had been unconscious for two days after returning home. On this morning, he finally awoke.