Blood Refining Art

Seven Mysteries Peak.

Mist wreathed a secluded grove.

Li Zongqing and Wang Fulai sat among the trees, eating as they glanced around and spoke in hushed voices.

"Junior Brother Li, did you find anything out? That Ye Han really seems to be just as that senior described!"

"Yes, that's what I heard too!"

"Heh! Then Zhang Qingshan latched onto that thigh for nothing."

"Haha! Exactly...!"

As they were talking...

Swish!

Leaves rustled as Zhang Sanlei emerged from the woods. Seeing the two, he walked straight over and asked, "Did you find anything out? I did. That damned Ye Han really is just as that senior said. He came to our Azure Profound Sect with an Azure Mystic Token. He received a Foundation Establishment Pill and traded it to the Seventh Elder for a cave abode!"

At this point, Zhang Sanlei's voice brimmed with jealousy. "That Ye Han's luck is far too good! Thanks to the shade cast by his ancestors, he actually got an Azure Mystic Token! It's infuriating."

Hearing this, Li Zongqing and Wang Fulai were also filled with jealousy and spoke bitterly.

"That's right. We heard the same thing. Looks like it's true."

"Exactly. That Ye Han is far too lucky!"

"Hmph! He actually got a cave abode through sheer luck. Where the hell is the justice in that?"

"But that damned Zhang Qingshan latched onto Ye Han's thigh, only to find it wasn't much of a thigh after all. We'll have plenty of chances to deal with him later."

Zhang Sanlei showed no surprise at their words. Instead, he asked pointedly, "Then did you hear about the other piece of news?"

Li Zongqing and Wang Fulai exchanged a glance. "What news?"

Lowering his voice, Zhang Sanlei furtively scanned their surroundings. "Did you know? There was actually a dispute over how Ye Han got that cave abode! The Fifth Elder of Five Elements Peak and our Seventh Elder of Seven Mysteries Peak argued over Ye Han's Foundation Establishment Pill."

His voice turned vicious as Zhang Sanlei continued, "In the end, the Seventh Elder traded the cave abode for the Foundation Establishment Pill. Do you know what that means?"

Something stirred in Li Zongqing's and Wang Fulai's hearts, and they immediately asked, "Senior Brother Zhang! Do you mean the one who told us to act that time was... that person?"

They did not dare mention the Fifth Elder's title outright, afraid the walls might have ears and someone might find out. After all, the Fifth Elder was not the Seventh Elder...

Though that sounded like a statement of the obvious, the Seventh Elder was like a divine dragon whose head could be glimpsed but never its tail, and never bothered with anything.

The Fifth Elder was different. An important figure who wielded real authority, the elder had numerous disciples and also oversaw Five Elements Peak...

If the two elders really had clashed over the Foundation Establishment Pill in Ye Han's hands, then the one who had ordered them to deal with Ye Han...

That meant it was the Fifth Elder!

The three did not dare say much more, but they actually felt much more reassured. Based on what they had learned, if the Fifth Elder had ordered them to act, then even if something went wrong in the end...

As long as they could reach the Fifth Elder afterward, major troubles could be whittled down to minor ones, and minor ones could be swept away...

The three exchanged looks, and Li Zongqing asked, "Senior Brother Zhang! Are you sure what you heard is right?"

Neither he nor Wang Fulai had heard about this, so he still wanted to confirm whether it had really happened...

If they got it wrong, they would have more trouble than they could stomach. Offending the Seventh Elder...

No!

They could not afford to offend either the Seventh Elder or the Fifth Elder.

Zhang Sanlei said with complete confidence, "Don't worry! I went to Five Elements Peak myself and asked some senior brothers. It absolutely happened. That person wanted the Foundation Establishment Pill for a grandson! Just think-the Seventh Elder barged in... and that brat Ye Han didn't know what was good for him...!"

Hearing this, Li Zongqing's and Wang Fulai's expressions relaxed. It seemed there really was plenty to gain from this affair. They would not merely be dealing with Ye Han.

If they could also climb aboard the Fifth Elder's great ship through this, they might have more opportunities in the Azure Profound Sect in the future.

Moreover, the Fifth Elder oversaw the service duties of the sect's disciples. Even if they could not reap enormous benefits, they could still get some help through that connection.

Of course, the prerequisite was handling this matter properly.

Wang Fulai immediately said, "Then, senior brothers, we really must do this well. Do you have any ideas? I'll follow your lead."

Zhang Sanlei said eagerly, "My plan is simple. First, spread the truth about Ye Han throughout the sect and get some people to go after him! Test the waters, see whether Ye Han really has no one else helping him, and see how the Seventh Elder reacts...!"

The three whispered among the trees, discussing their plan to deal with Ye Han...

Ye Han's cave abode!

The Cultivation Room!

Bare-chested, Ye Han stood with his feet in a horse stance and his hands raised overhead. As though supporting a thousand-pound weight, he slowly lowered into a squat. His movements were extremely slow, as if there really were something weighing a thousand pounds above his head.

A closer look would reveal that as he slowly squatted, the veins across his body bulged...

His face and limbs flushed blood-red, as though his qi and blood were constantly gathering. His feet and hands rose slightly, and his muscles slowly twitched...

Ye Han felt utterly exhausted, but after completing another squat...

He said through gritted teeth, "Fifty-one!"

This was the body-refining technique Senior Brother Zhang Qingshan had taught him, the Blood Refining Art!

As its name suggested, this was a cultivation art that drove the qi and blood to strengthen the flesh...

Zhang Qingshan had obtained this cultivation art from an Ancient Fragment he had happened to acquire at a cultivator's stall.

It was not a cultivation art originally belonging to the Azure Profound Sect.

Practicing this cultivation art produced astonishing improvements in physical strength. Before Zhang Qingshan reached the eighth level of the Qi Refining Realm, he had often been bullied by disciples in the sect.

But after he began practicing the Blood Refining Art, his body became immensely powerful, far surpassing ordinary cultivators at the same level.

He was simply honest and kindhearted, and rarely initiated conflicts with others.

Unfortunately, this Blood Refining Art was incomplete, containing only the first two levels.

Even so, it greatly enhanced a cultivator's physical cultivation, and was Zhang Qingshan's greatest source of confidence.

Now he had passed all of it on to Ye Han.

Ye Han was practicing the first level, which he was now barely able to perform...

Yet after just fifty-one of these thousand-pound lifts, Ye Han looked as though he had been hauled out of the water, his entire body drenched in sweat.

He finished practicing and sat on the floor, panting heavily.

It seemed cultivation was not all that easy, even for cultivators.

Just then.

"Junior Brother Ye! Junior Brother Ye!" Zhang Qingshan's voice rang out from outside, sounding somewhat anxious.

Ye Han walked out. Seeing Zhang Qingshan's rather grim expression, he asked in puzzlement, "What's wrong, Senior Brother Zhang?"

With his brows tightly furrowed, Zhang Qingshan stared at Ye Han and said, "Junior Brother Ye! Tell me honestly! Are you really the Seventh Elder's disciple?"