These origin qi true dragons were no ordinary things.
They were an exclusive technique of the Qin Family's emperor-grade cultivation art, the Nine-Turn Divine Dragon Art.
The most formidable aspect of the Nine-Turn Divine Dragon Art was that, once vital energy filled the dantian, it could condense the excess vital energy into origin qi true dragons.
These origin qi true dragons roamed through the body's meridians, allowing even more vital energy to be stored within the body.
Each origin qi true dragon was equivalent to an additional dantian's worth of vital energy cultivation!
It was like a wooden bucket that could originally hold only one bucketful of water suddenly holding ten or even a hundred times that amount!
That was why, in the Upper Realm, Qin Family disciples were renowned for having far deeper reserves of vital energy than others at the same realm.
Legend had it that the Qin Family's mightiest ancestor had cultivated the Nine-Turn Divine Dragon Art to the perfected eighth heaven and condensed seventy-two origin qi true dragons. With his strength alone, he could battle a host of mighty foes, once fighting for ten days and nights without exhausting his vital energy!
Yet Qin Wuyou was now even more terrifying than that Qin Family Ancestor had been.
He had cultivated the Nine-Turn Divine Dragon Art straight to the great perfection of the ninth heaven, condensing nine times nine—eighty-one origin qi true dragons!
Each origin qi true dragon was equivalent to the entire vital energy capacity of his ultimate realm dantian.
These eighty-one origin qi true dragons gave him vital energy reserves eighty-one times greater than those of his ultimate realm dantian!
Had he not spent his efforts condensing these origin qi true dragons, Qin Wuyou would have already recovered to the Purple Mansion Realm.
But although he was still in the Essence Condensation Realm, Qin Wuyou did not regret it in the slightest.
In fact, after cultivating the Nine-Turn Divine Dragon Art to the perfected ninth heaven, he had made a new discovery.
That was... the Qin Family's Nine-Turn Divine Dragon Art did not stop at the ninth heaven!
That was why he had not rushed to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, choosing instead to continue honing himself in the Essence Condensation Realm.
He wanted to try cultivating the Nine-Turn Divine Dragon Art to the tenth heaven, or even the eleventh heaven, reaching an entirely new realm that none of the Qin Family's ancestors had ever attained!
After killing Lin Hu, Qin Wuyou did not hurry back to the Xuantian Holy Land.
Instead, he departed in the opposite direction.
To cultivate the Nine-Turn Divine Dragon Art to a higher realm, he needed vital energy reserves—vast quantities of them.
"Destination: Demon God Valley!"
Treading through the moonlight, Qin Wuyou raced toward Demon God Valley.
This was also one of the reasons he had come to keep the appointment.
After condensing his eighty-one origin qi true dragons, Qin Wuyou had already planned to leave the Xuantian Holy Land and find somewhere he could obtain large amounts of blood essence for cultivation.
After all, the Foundation Establishment Realm came after the Essence Condensation Realm.
The Foundation Establishment Realm meant forging the body anew.
This realm required vast amounts of blood essence and vital energy to temper the flesh over and over, forging it into the strongest possible vessel, just as iron became steel through repeated hammering.
Only then, after reaching perfection in the Foundation Establishment Realm, could one truly cultivate mana and open a purple mansion within the body.
The more perfectly one cultivated the Foundation Establishment Realm, the stronger the body became, and the more mana it could hold in the future. Upon reaching the Purple Mansion Stage, one could then condense a higher-grade mana lotus platform.
Qin Wuyou had already chosen Demon God Valley as his training ground, so even without this business with Lin Hu, he would still have left the Xuantian Holy Land.
Just after Qin Wuyou departed, two figures appeared before the Windwave Pavilion.
Both their expressions changed dramatically as they looked at the ground, where only traces of blood remained.
"Everyone said Qin Wuyou was finished. Who could have imagined that he had been hiding his strength all along?"
"That terrifying surge of vital energy just now could only have been unleashed by someone at least in the Purple Mansion Realm."
One of them scooped up a handful of bloodstained dirt, his expression utterly grim.
"The Purple Mansion Realm? How is that possible?"
The other shook his head in disbelief. "Hadn't that brat's strength already regressed to the early Essence Condensation Realm a month ago? Another month has passed since then. By rights, he shouldn't even have any Qi Refining cultivation left. How could he possibly be in the Purple Mansion Realm?"
"Or perhaps that brat has been hiding it all along?"
The first man rose and looked in the direction Qin Wuyou had gone. His brows knitted tightly as he said slowly, "Go back first and report to the patriarch. Tell him the information was wrong. Qin Wuyou's strength may well still be at the Purple Mansion Stage."
"I'll leave markers along the way. Tell the patriarch to make arrangements as soon as possible. Tell him this brat has already left the Xuantian Holy Land, and his destination is most likely Demon God Valley!"
Xuantian City.
The Lin Lineage.
As one of Xuantian City's first-rate lineages, the Lin Lineage was a newcomer that had risen only recently.
Among the many first-rate lineages, its strength ranked at the very bottom.
The main reasons for this were that the Lin Lineage had too few members and lacked top-tier cultivators to hold the fort.
Even after three years of growth, the Lin Lineage still had only a few hundred members.
Compared with lineages numbering over a thousand, or even tens of thousands, it was utterly insignificant.
Likewise, the Lin Lineage had no top-tier cultivators of its own.
The strongest cultivator currently stationed with the Lin Lineage was an early Myriad Phenomena Realm cultivator whom they spent a vast sum to retain each year.
Apart from this Myriad Phenomena Realm cultivator, the strongest members of the Lin Lineage were its head, Lin Nantian, in the Primordial Spirit Realm, several Purple Mansion Realm elders, and Lin Qingxue, who had only just entered the Purple Mansion Realm.
As for the other members, most were below the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Thus, after hearing the messenger's report, Lin Nantian's expression turned extremely ugly.
"How is that possible? How could that little bastard still have Purple Mansion Realm cultivation? Did you see wrong?"
"Tell me everything you saw, exactly as it happened. Don't leave out a single detail!"
He found it hard to believe that Qin Wuyou, who had already regressed to the Essence Condensation Realm a month ago, could still possess Purple Mansion Realm cultivation now.
"You instructed us not to get too close, so we waited a hundred zhang away and didn't see what happened very clearly. By the time we rushed over, Lin Hu was already gone. Only a pool of blood remained."
The Lin Lineage member kneeling on the ground said cautiously, "Based on the traces of vital energy left at the scene, the First Elder judged that Qin Wuyou still had at least Purple Mansion Realm strength. So he sent me back to report to you as quickly as possible. Please give us your next instructions, Patriarch. What should we do?"
"If that was the First Elder's judgment, it should be correct. Now that this little bastard has Purple Mansion Stage strength, only I or the esteemed Attendant can deal with him. But the city has been unsettled lately, and neither of us can leave!"
Lin Nantian sighed, then said viciously as killing intent burst from him,
"Fine, then. We'll spend money to ward off disaster!"
"Lin Xiong, go to the Seven Kills Hall. Whatever the cost, you must make sure that brat dies out there! He absolutely cannot be allowed to return to the Xuantian Holy Land alive!"
After Lin Xiong withdrew, Lin Nantian clapped his hands. A woman entered and knelt. "Yue'er pays her respects to the patriarch."
With a dark expression, Lin Nantian said,
"Lin Hu is dead, and Qin Wuyou appears to have gone to Demon God Valley. Go tell the young lady."
"Tell her and Lin Fan to make preparations early."
Before you continue