Cripples

After the Flower of Qi successfully condensed, the Hu Mang did not get up immediately, but continued to sit with its eyes closed, carefully sensing the various changes brought about by the new power within its body.

The torrential rain continued to fall, but the layer of Spiritual Qi energy around him had slowly receded, no longer as dazzling as before, but instead transformed into a white cloak that flowed gently against his skin.

He opened his eyes, looked down at his hands, stretched out one palm into the rain, and slowly grabbed a ball of Spiritual Qi without using any Law Power.

The Hu Mang squinted at the ball of Spiritual Qi, then gently blew on it, and the lightning-infused dark cloud-like Spiritual Qi was instantly dispersed.

"Goodness, in the Heavenly Gate, the Unity of Heaven and Man is a State of Mind, but in the Azure Mysterious Realm Unity of Heaven and Man, it's actually a physiological state. Now I finally understand why those old monsters from the side sects make such a grand display when they fight. This isn't showing off; it's a genuine physiological phenomenon."

He sensed the Flower of Qi within his body, and the powerful Flower of Qi Innate True Qi it brought, filling his limbs and bones.

Hu Mang pondered for a moment and began to estimate.

"According to the Golden Core Spiritual Qi Level Manual I saw at the Hundred Herbs Spirit Hall, even disregarding the difference between innate and acquired Spiritual Qi, the lowest level Golden Core has 5 to 10 times the Spiritual Qi content of the top-level Foundation Establishment, while the Industrial Golden Core has 10 times the standard, the high-quality Golden Core has more than 20 times, and the legendary Perfect Golden Core starts at 50 times... as for the upper limit, I'll ask Gu Yunshu later."

"And this Flower of Qi of mine absorbed all the True Qi within my body, resulting in a Spiritual Qi content one hundred times that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment Perfection of their cultivation!"

"Quantitative change does not necessarily lead to qualitative change, but this quantitative change is too violent, and the Innate Qi alone is enough to cause a qualitative change."

The Azure Mysterious Realm seems to be quite different from the Heavenly Gate.

Gu Yunshu worked herself to the bone, and finally used her heaven-defying swordsmanship to evolve the Corpse Liberation Sword, which allowed her to generate Innate Qi.

But it seemed as if he hadn't suffered at all, and he had condensed it with ease.

At Heavenly Gate, he scoffed at the idea that a natural cultivation environment could improve one's cultivation level to a high standard, but here, it seems to be true.

He flipped his palm, and a small Spiritual Qi Little Snake slid across his fingertip.

Ordinary Spiritual Qi is "dead" and needs to be driven and guided by the cultivator's will. In contrast, Innate True Qi is "alive". It has its own spirituality and will actively interact with the cultivator's Divine Sense. It will even automatically adjust its flow according to the cultivator's emotions and intentions. This feeling is like the relationship between a rider and a well-trained horse.

The horses in the Azure Mysterious Realm seem to possess an extraordinary level of intelligence.

"After the Flower of Qi condenses, I should have no weaknesses. Unless Nascent Soul attacks at close range and severs my physical body, there should be no one on Java Island who can do anything to me. There are some things that need to be done. Since Boss Zheng won't visit me, I'll have to go and visit him."

Hu Mang's gaze swept around, especially landing on the original array eye of the "Human Immortal Lightning Puppet". For some reason, the feeling that something was missing became more and more intense.

He always felt that something must have been left behind in the Demon-Subduing City.

Moreover, I am very familiar with this thing.

"Forget it, I'll deal with Zheng Family Garden first, then I'll come back myself."

Master A Pei's steam blacksmith workshop is located deep in a narrow alley in the western district of Port Surumai. From the outside, it is just an inconspicuous iron door with rust on the door panel and the Heavenly Gate "A Pei Iron Workshop" written crookedly in chalk.

But as soon as you push open the door, a wave of heat mixed with coal smoke, rust, sweat and steam hits you, as if you've crashed into an erupting volcano.

"You're here earlier than I expected. The gun's ready. Jia, wait a bit, he's hammering it in." Master A Pei was shirtless, with only a dirty towel draped over his shoulders.

Hu Mang stared at the large, dark spear in the pool.

My gaze then fell to the right side of the smelting furnace.

It was a huge steam hammer, with a cast iron body, exposed rivets, and connected to several thick iron pipes and valves; steam hissed out from the pipe joints, condensing into white mist in the air, permeating every corner of the workshop.

The steam hammer's head was as big as a bucket, its surface covered with dents left by hammering, and it gleamed with a dark red luster under the glow of the furnace fire.

Every time the master stepped on the pedal, the steam hammer would emit a dull thud and crash down onto the workpiece on the anvil, sending sparks flying and shaking the entire workshop floor.

What he was hammering were the several pieces of deep-sea artifacts he had provided. With each hammering, the luster of these spirit irons brightened, and the fusion deepened.

The bursting spiritual energy steam is a phenomenon caused by the high-temperature combustion of Spiritual Qi.

"I thought you guys were still doing some old-fashioned blacksmithing, but I didn't expect you to be doing this now," Hu Mang said casually, getting straight to the point. "Old man, I've given you the wine, so give me the gun too."

"Of course, the shooting was excellent; the ghost-slaying effect you requested will definitely be great."

"The ghosts I'm talking about aren't just any kind of ghosts. There are many shamans here in Nanyang, some who raise ghost children, some who practice evil magic, and some who raise human-headed Buddhas. You know what I mean."

Master A Pei nodded firmly.

"I understand what you mean. I'm a local. Do you think the gun I use can only deal with ghosts? It can suppress anything related to the Evil Dao of Nanyang. It's a standard weapon for suppressing evil spirits. However, if it's nourished with some yin-related items, the gun will be even more effective. Right now, the gun still has a bit of a fiery aura."

"As long as it works, that's fine."

Just then, a muscular apprentice rushed over, and then Master A Pei looked at Hu Mang with a troubled expression.

"You know, we craftsmen traditionally don't participate in gang warfare. I have a little secret here..."

"No need, they're the ones I'm waiting for."

Hu Mang grabbed the dark, long spear, and a chilling Yin Qi instantly spread throughout his body.

As he reached the door, Hu Mang suddenly realized something and said, "Oh right, I might be developing some businesses here in the future. Perhaps we could collaborate sometime?"

Without waiting for a response, Hu Mang pushed open the door and left.

Hu Mang walked from the narrow alley to the main street.

The streets were deserted, not a soul in sight. All the shops on both sides had their doors and windows tightly shut. Even the fruit and dried goods stalls that usually stood outside had been hastily tucked inside, leaving only a few trampled vegetable leaves and a forgotten shoe lying forlornly on the road.

A sea breeze swept through the street, blowing up a few fallen leaves and a crumpled piece of oil paper. They tumbled a few times on the empty street before falling back to their original place. Those ordinary people with a keen sense of smell, sensing something was wrong, ran away as fast as they could, abandoning their stalls. They were clearly quite used to this environment where fighting was always a possibility.

This is much better than Heavenly Gate. The people in Heavenly Gate either don't know how to run away, or they just stand around like stupid deer, watching the whole thing like it's a show.

Overseas, watching a play can literally kill you.

Then, figures began to appear one after another at the alley entrance, on rooftops, in second-floor windows across the street, and even in mid-air.

Some emerged slowly from the shadows, some leaped from the rooftops, and some hovered directly in mid-air, their robes fluttering in the surging Spiritual Qi. Each of them exuded their aura, making no attempt to conceal their cultivation level; the lowest was at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, and many were at the Golden Core Early Stage.

They all bear traces of Law Artifact modification to varying degrees. As the modified Law Artifact are activated, those in the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage break through to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, and those in the late-Foundation Establishment Foundation Establishment Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment Late Stage. These people must have undergone internal Law Artifact modification, such as the Law Artifact Dantian that Hu Mang saw, otherwise their Law Power would not have increased so much all at once.

Hu Mang looked at the two demonic Golden Core at the head of the group, confirming his judgment.

One of them was almost entirely covered by a Law Artifact shell, making it look like a robot, while the other had skin that was a bluish-green color like a sea beast, making it impossible for it to be human skin.

As expected, a cultivator who wants to break through the ceiling must undergo a complete body transformation.

"That's a bit unexpected. It's not someone from Zheng Family Garden, but someone from the Demonic Machine Hall," Hu Mang laughed.

"The Heavenly Blood Python, or rather, the Sealed Holy Son from the Heavenly Gate, is that it?" a modified Golden Core cultivator said coldly.

"Heavenly Blood Python, do you still remember me?" Another transformed Golden Core cultivator revealed a condescending expression. "I am the underground black cultivator whose arms and legs you broke back then!"

"But the me now, without being blunt, could kill ten of you from back then."

"I don't doubt that, but what's there to brag about?" Hu Mang said with a smile, glancing around before suddenly making an unexpected move, putting the ghost gun in his hand into his storage box.

"Don't misunderstand, this gun isn't for you," Hu Mang shook his head and said, "You guys were just unlucky to run into me. Of all people to run into, you had to run into me after I subdued the White Tiger. If you had acted a couple of days earlier, things might not have turned out so badly."

"What do you mean?" a Golden Core cultivator asked in surprise. Even if the opponent had broken through to the Golden Core, what was he compared to this kind of encirclement and attack?

"I should be considered the strongest fake Daoist in the five dynasties in Dao of Inner Alchemy. But you are all incomplete in your meridians. Even a Qi Training could not have such crippled meridians as you."

Hu Mang pinched his finger bones.

"But if you encounter me, you'd probably behave worse than a cripple."

In a small building in Liang Household Garden

Liang Yanqiu was dressed in shorts and a soft armor over them, her hair was neatly styled, and her phoenix eyes were filled with murderous intent as she looked around.

Downstairs, a sea of black people—all die-hard loyalists of the Liang Household.

Liang Xiaoqiu strode upstairs, her face a mixture of suppressed excitement and exclaimed, "Big sister, we're all ready! We can go rescue Mr. Mang anytime!"

"Who said we were going to rescue the Heavenly Blood Python?" Liang Yanqiu retorted coldly.

Liang Xiaoqiu was taken aback. "Then where do we go?"

"Go to Zheng Family Garden and settle accounts with that guy surnamed Zheng!"