Chapter 198: 198
Aside from the true qi of the five elements, there were yin and yang as well . They were all known as Profound Yin true qi and Profound Yang true qi . The Sect of Clouds and Rain practised dual cultivation of yin and yang, where men cultivated profound yang and women cultivated profound yin, which was represented as black and white . When they reached the limit, yin could produce yang and yang could produce yin . They would be in harmony . Not only was it not regarded as an evil cultivation method, but it was even regarded as a standard cultivation method of daoism .
Yin and yang were capable of endless variations . The cultivation methods derived from them would surpass the true qi of the five elements, and it would come in all sorts of forms . What the Zombie Daoist happened to cultivate was Profound Yin true qi as well, but his Profound Yin true qi was for refining and nurturing corpses . It could not enchant anyone or devour their vitality .
Li Qingshan was secretly surprised . Profound Yin true qi was not known for their vigour, yet it was still capable of something like this . Ninth layer Qi Practitioners truly were not people who could be trifled with .
Suddenly, a shadow enveloped Li Qingshan, A huge, black hand reached over viciously .
The West Gate Granny had her right hand extended in the empty air and said in a sunken fashion, “I’d like to see where you run off to this time . ”
“Why would I run?” Li Qingshan said boldly . He parted his hands and took out the Cursive Sword Calligraphy . Pure true qi surged into it wildly, and a series of strokes lit up like swords and blades .
The last time he had tried using the Cursive Sword Calligraphy was when he was still in Qingyang city . He had not even reached the second layer of the Innate Method of Practising Qi back then, but he was on the seventh layer now . His true qi had grown over ten times in quantity . A total of twenty-one strokes lit up on the Cursive Sword Calligraphy and shot towards the black hand .
The sword qi shot through the air, and the black hand crumbled .
“A high grade spiritual artifact!” The West Gate Granny was surprised . She called out, “Black Clay Vortex!” Thick, dark true qi formed a huge vortex that revolved rapidly before her; it was as if it was trying to swallow everything .
This was the strongest defensive technique that the West Gate Granny knew . She was confident that she could block the attacks of any Qi Practitioners with it .
The twenty-one strands of sword qi plunged into the black vortex simultaneously, and it immediately began to ripple .
The West Gate Granny was stern . She poured all of her strength into the technique, such that the Black Clay Vortex spun as quickly as it could as it attempted to grind the twenty-one strands of sword qi to pieces .
Li Qingshan immediately took out a spiritual stone . Pure energy gradually flowed into his body through his palm, and his true qi rapidly recovered .
He felt shocked too . Originally, he just wanted to stop the black hand and use the opportunity to flee, but he never expected the Cursive Sword Calligraphy to be so powerful . He actually managed to injure a ninth layer Qi Practitioner in a single attack, but that was also due to the fact that his true qi was simply too pure . Other Qi Practitioners would probably need to be at the fifth layer to unleash the same power as him .
“A supreme grade spiritual artifact?” The West Gate Granny’s expression changed drastically . This piece of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy was still rather incomplete, which was why even the West Gate Granny was unable to discern its grade . All she knew was that it was important . Aside from her anger that had risen from frustration and shame, she became extremely greedy as well .
“That’ll be mine . Old woman, you’d better not fight over it with me . ” The East Gate Granny’s eyes lit up . Then she closed her eyes, forming seals with her hands and chanting . The Profound Yin true qi all returned to her side like black, surging water; it was as if it was alive!
A sense of danger rose up inside Li Qingshan . It must be an extraordinary technique since even a ninth layer Qi Practitioner needed to expend effort to prepare it .
However, he advanced instead of retreating . He held the hilt of the Wind-entwining blade in a reverse grip as true qi surged out of the acupoints below his feet like a cushion . He stepped on the walls like it was flat ground and strode vigorously . He took a total of seven steps and leapt over the West Gate Granny .
There was a flash of cold light, and the Wind-entwining blade exited its sheath with a clang . He swung down with it like he could cut through anything .
The West Gate Granny’s technique had just been defeated, so she was unable to provide any assistance . Or perhaps she did not want to provide any assistance at all . She had just made a fool out of herself in front of the East Gate Granny earlier, so she obviously wanted to make up for it right now . She just stood aside and watched on as she thought, The kid’s art of practising the body sure is impressive . If you throw that supreme grade spiritual artifact into the equation, even sixth layer Qi Practitioners might end up falling to his hands if he strikes suddenly .
The East Gate Granny suddenly snapped open her eyes . She pressed her hands together and raised her index and middle fingers together, directing them at Li Qingshan . “Snakebind’s Curse!” Black true qi transformed into thousands of pitch-black snakes that surged over together . Just the sight of it would be enough to frighten the wits out of ordinary people .
The Wind-entwining blade became bound by several dozen black snakes and could not move another inch forward; it was like it had sunken into mud . Li Qingshan’s body was surrounded as well, only leaving behind the figure of a human . Li Qingshan focused on a single point and concentrated all of his strength on the Wind-entwining blade . He peered past the black true qi and locked onto the top of the East Gate Granny’s head . He erupted and yelled, “Go through!” His arms suddenly swelled and darkened . Daemon qi rushed through the restraints of the black snakes, and he swung down violently .
The expression of the East Gate Granny, who had just begun to smile complacently, suddenly stiffened . “What’s this?!”
The West Gate Granny sensed that something was off as well . She produced a scarlet needle . The needle was small, but it shone extremely brightly . It was actually a high grade spiritual artifact . There were not a lot of high grade spiritual artifacts, with even fewer high grade needles . They were even more difficult to forge .
Once they were refined, however, they were tremendously powerful . Not only could they move with great secrecy and speed, but they could even pierce through all protective true qi and techniques . They could instantly kill a Qi Practitioner who did not have any protective spiritual artifacts in battle .
The needle produced a thin, red streak and basically arrived near Li Qingshan’s head the moment it had shot out .
A Skull Prayer Bead flew out and struck the needle, while the other one transformed into a huge skull that bit down on the West Gate Granny .
Xiao An emerged from the soil and leapt out of the darkness, stabbing towards the East Gate Granny’s back . A total of three talismans were stuck to her arms, legs, and blade, maximising her speed, strength, and lethality, just so that she could launch a fatal strike .
Fine streaks of light emerged from the East Gate Granny, enveloping her completely .
The blade swung down, and the sword stabbed out . They produced two great ringing booms, causing the streaks of light to tremble, but they did not shatter . Li Qingshan and Xiao An used the rebounding force to quickly leap backwards . A nick appeared on both of their weapons . They both found this to be a pity . The East Gate Granny possessed an extremely powerful defensive spiritual artifact .
The East Gate Granny screamed and fled to one side . It had been several years since she last experienced life-threatening danger . If it were not for the mid grade spiritual artifact she had purchased before at a great cost, the Mirrorplate of Luminance, she would have lost her life in such an easy matter . She checked the Mirrorplate of Luminance and discovered two deep marks . Its spiritual qi had decreased drastically . She was both astounded and furious .
When she looked at Li Qingshan again, he had already grown to ten feet in size . His skin was pitch-black like iron, and a pair of horns protruded from his forehead . His scarlet hair draped near his waist .
She yelled out, “There’s something wrong with the kid! Use your full strength!” She raised her hand, and a comb flew out of her sleeve . It expanded as it shot towards Li Qingshan . The comb shone brightly . It was also a high grade spiritual artifact .
She had never expected the kid to be so troublesome . Even the child with the Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty was extremely strange . However, she believed that as long as the two of them became serious, Li Qingshan would never be the opponent of two ninth layer Qi Practitioners wielding two high grade spiritual artifacts .
She saw Li Qingshan take out a talisman . She recognised it in a single glance . It was a mid grade Lightning Summoning talisman, which made her sneer inside . It was not like there was a storm right now . A mid grade Lightning Summoning talisman would not even be able to pierce her protective true qi . It only confirmed to her that Li Qingshan was out of tricks now .
Li Qingshan smiled . He had yet to complete his killing combination .
The Lightning Summoning talisman was activated, but it did not shoot towards the East Gate Granny . Instead, it turned into countless, tiny sparks that illuminated the entire cavern . It also illuminated the eight talismans that Li Qingshan had prepared earlier, setting them off with the sparks .
The eight talismans activated simultaneously . They gathered into a scorching-white bolt of lightning, as thick as a pillar, which landed on the East Gate Granny in the air . The thin layer of true qi was unable to stop it at all, pierced through instantly, while the Mirrorplate of Luminance shattered immediately . She shrieked out and fell out of the air, smouldering with smoke .
“What a crafty kid!” The West Gate Granny’s face darkened at this sight . Her wrinkles writhed .
She used a high grade Golden Shield talisman to block the flame-spitting skull as she guided the flying needle towards Li Qingshan again . It was both swift and vicious . The Skull Prayer Bead was unable to intercept it . Li Qingshan’s face stiffened . His height exploded to thirty feet . He extended his hand to grab the comb that had lost control and released the Spirit Turtle’s Profound Shell .
With a ding, the needle stabbed into the Spirit Turtle’s Profound Shell and became lodged in there, unable to advance any further .
The West Gate Granny was surprised . Her flying needle had actually failed to pierce through the protective technique . When she looked at Li Qingshan’s terrifying form again, a thought crossed her head . She cursed aloud, “It’s that little bitch’s trap!”
At the same time, Xiao An shot over to the East Gate Granny’s side . She swung down with her sword, giving her no time to catch her breath .
There was a clang, and the sword landed on a layer of golden light . In that moment of danger, the East Gate Granny stuck a Golden Shield talisman on herself as well . High grade talismans were extremely precious, so they never wanted to use them unless they had to .
Xiao An was unfazed . The hidden sword stabbed out in a storm-like barrage as her hand almost turned into a blur . The golden light receded slowly .
The East Gate Granny was surprised, but not frantic . She used the opportunity to eat a recovery pill and take out a spiritual stone to recover true qi . Although she was charred all over, just a few Lightning Summoning talismans were not enough to kill her . She was utterly enraged as she desperately tried to wield the comb .
The comb trembled in Li Qingshan’s hand, but how could it contend against his strength of two oxen? As soon as he had begun to smile, there was a sudden flash of light and several dozen blades of light shot out from the teeth of the comb . They were no weaker than the sword qi from the Cursive Sword Calligraphy . With how close the weapon was to him, he was unable to dodge the attack, nor could he use the Spirit Turtle’s Profound Shell to block .
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! There was the resonance of metal . The blades of light landed on Li Qingshan’s chest and produced spurts of blood .
Xiao An did not even look at him . She struck out even more viciously . The hidden sword was unable to endure the wear and began to crack . The East Gate Granny’s Golden Shield talisman had been worn down as well . It was close to shattering .
Li Qingshan gained several dozen terrifying wounds that criss-crossed across his body . Some of them were bone-deep, but none of them were fatal . Wounds like that were nothing to daemons . With a surge of daemon qi, his injuries rapidly closed up and vanished .
Just when the East Gate Granny began to smile complacently once again, her expression froze . “That’s impossible . Even daemons don’t possess such a tough hide!” Little did she know that after Li Qingshan achieved the second layer with the Ox Demon’s Fist of Great Strength, his Ox Demon Forges its Hide had reached a whole new level as well .