Zou Feng weaved through the streets and alleys of Yuan Guang County Town. It didn’t take long for him to shake off the Sword Sect disciple who was following him.
Once he confirmed he was no longer being tailed, Zou Feng entered the shantytown. He randomly knocked a resident unconscious and prepared to inspect Su Changqing’s cloth bag.
He didn’t plan to carry the bag with him, in case it had been tampered with.
Inside the bag were about a dozen green elixirs and a small porcelain vial.
Although he didn’t recognize the green elixirs, they were probably something the Celestial Essence Sword Sect disciples ate regularly.
As for the small porcelain vial...
After he opened the stopper, a familiar scent immediately wafted out.
Zou Feng was instantly overjoyed.
The very reason he had taken the risk to come out and finish off Su Changqing early was for this item.
Two Nine Yang Profound Qi Pills!
Don’t underestimate these two pills; that was quite a lot.
Zou Feng had long since inquired about it. Even for a Seventh Grade Elite Disciple of the Sword Sect, there was normally no fixed quota for the Nine Yang Profound Qi Pill.
One had to use the Sect’s Contribution Point system to exchange for them.
The reason Su Changqing had two on him was naturally related to him kill-stealing and slaughtering several Ten Directions Teaching Envoys earlier.
The reason he still had two left was simple: the things were too potent. If even a Seventh Grade Martial Artist took too many in a short period, it could easily cause problems.
But Zou Feng didn’t have this concern. After taking the Nine Yang Profound Qi Pills, he would immediately start cultivating the Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force.
Using the cultivation of the Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force to absorb and digest the Nine Yang Profound Qi Pills was a lesson Zou Feng had learned from his experience taking the elixir last time.
The Nine Yang Profound Qi Pill was extremely yang and rigid, while the Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force leaned toward yin and gentle attributes. They would perfectly balance each other, providing mutual benefits.
Therefore, Zou Feng prepared to take both pills at once to avoid any unforeseen complications from keeping them on his person.
As for these green elixirs...
He had three Human Gu he was cultivating in the shantytown. He would feed one pill to each of them first to see the effects.
He’d eat half of what was left. If the effects on him weren’t significant, he’d reward Xiaolv with the rest.
Zou Feng was a man of action. He quickly finished feeding them.
His feeding method was simple and crude: knock them out, stuff the pill in their mouths, then use Emitting Force to slap it down into their stomachs.
Otherwise, even if these guys had "found" the item, they would have been suspicious and wouldn’t have dared to eat it.
After the feeding, Zou Feng quickly left the shantytown and went to the bank of the East River.
Before diving back into the water, he swallowed both Nine Yang Profound Qi Pills in one gulp, then immediately leaped into the river.
Originally, he planned to swim toward the Jiayue River and return to the Dragon Gate Boat while cultivating the Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force.
But after swimming for only a short while, he realized something was wrong.
The effect of two Nine Yang Profound Qi Pills was far more intense than just one; it wasn’t a simple addition.
Although Zou Feng was cultivating the Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force, transferring the side effects, he could still clearly feel the river water around him beginning to boil.
From time to time, an unlucky fish would swim by. As soon as it touched the water near Zou Feng, it would immediately start doing the backstroke.
And before long, the aroma of fish soup would appear.
Seeing this, and to avoid the disturbance in the river being discovered, Zou Feng simply dove to the riverbed and sat down to focus on cultivating the Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force.
With Inner Qi, holding his breath for a long time wasn’t a problem.
If he really couldn’t hold it any longer, he could just surface for a breath and sink back down.
Although he didn’t have time to check his cultivation progress, Zou Feng was certain that the progress of his Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force was skyrocketing.
The cultivation method for the Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force originally involved soaking in a special medicinal solution.
But now, thanks to the Nine Yang Profound Qi Pills, Zou Feng had essentially transformed the water around him into the "medicinal solution" he needed for cultivation.
It would be an exaggeration to say he was using the entire East River to cultivate, but he had indeed "suppressed" this small area of water!
The whirlpools and undercurrents that usually appeared on the riverbed would calm down as soon as they neared Zou Feng, only to then be boiled into fish soup.
Xiaolv had been following beside Zou Feng, but as soon as it sensed something was wrong, it had quickly fled.
Otherwise, this pot of fish soup would definitely have a hint of bug flavor.
Even Zou Feng himself was secretly astonished by this strange phenomenon.
’Could it be... that this Cultivation Skill can take this opportunity to break through directly to the Realm of Refining Fire?’
The strange phenomenon in the river lasted for a full hour.
Thankfully, it was nighttime, and no one was passing by the riverbank.
Otherwise, although they wouldn’t have been able to spot Zou Feng on the riverbed, they definitely would have seen large, fragrant, cooked fish floating to the surface from time to time.
After a full two hours, having surfaced for air several times, Zou Feng’s eyes snapped open.
At that moment, he felt as if he could see his surroundings clearly on the murky riverbed.
But this wasn’t because his eyes had mutated; rather, it was because his Inner Qi Release had greatly enhanced his Perception of his surroundings.
"Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force (Refined Skill), Progress: 9%"
As expected. Including the previous one, Zou Feng had relied on three Nine Yang Profound Qi Pills and turning this section of the East River into his personal cultivation ground to break his Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force through to the Realm of Refining Fire in one fell swoop.
The next moment, Zou Feng shot forward, quickly swimming to an area where there were still living fish.
From a distance of more than thirty feet, he reached out and grabbed!
A carp was instantly frozen in place, as if stuck by something invisible.
Then, it was quickly "sucked" into Zou Feng’s hand.
Holding it in his hand, Zou Feng applied a slight bit of force, and the fish was vibrated into a bloody pulp.
Before, although Zou Feng could use Inner Qi Release, his range was at most about ten feet.
But now, even though he had not yet advanced to the Seventh Grade, his Inner Qi could be released to a distance of more than thirty feet.
Furthermore, because his Inner Qi had changed and now had an effect similar to "Love That Can Stretch and Contract at Will," he could now "suck" things back after releasing it.
Next, Zou Feng surfaced, suppressed his excitement, and hummed a little tune to call Xiaolv back before heading toward the Dragon Gate Boat again.
Only when he returned to his room did he finally let out a few strange, suppressed laughs.
’At this point, I now have three Cultivation Skills at the Refined Skill level while still in the Eighth Grade stage.’
"Chaos Finger (Refined Skill), Progress: 16%"
"Five Poison Fire Lotus Skill (Refined Skill), Progress: 32%"
’Having three Cultivation Skills at the Refined Skill level while only at the Eighth Grade Realm... no one would believe it if I told them.’
But as a cheater, how could Zou Feng be so easily satisfied?
’When I advance to the Seventh Grade, I must have a Cultivation Skill at the Peak of Perfection as my foundation!’
As his understanding of Cultivation Skills deepened, he could already vaguely sense that if he didn’t improve the Chaos Finger, it would be impossible for it to reach the Peak of Perfection.
To put it bluntly, the grade of the Chaos Finger skill was limited. No matter how much he practiced, Refined Skill was its ceiling.
Originally, Zou Feng had planned to find a way to fuse the Chaos Finger with the Five Poison Skill.
But now he felt that the Chaos Finger was a much better match for the Great Compassion Hand he’d been practicing randomly.
’After all, isn’t the effect of the Chaos Finger basically the sin of lust from the seven deadly sins?’
’But there’s no rush for any of that for now. With my current strength, I should already be a rare match for anyone else in the Eighth Grade Realm.’
Before his Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force reached "Refined Skill," Zou Feng was never afraid of facing ordinary Eighth Grade Martial Artists, even those from the Ten Directions Sect.
But he was somewhat wary of the Eighth Grade disciples from the Celestial Essence Sword Sect.
Those who could join the Celestial Essence Sword Sect were all Martial Artists full of potential who had survived a highly competitive environment.
Just like a prestigious university, they recruited a group of top students, so their overall quality was naturally far beyond that of ordinary institutions.
’However, things are different now. Take that Eighth Grade from the Sword Sect who was trying to chase me earlier—I’m confident I can end the fight within ten moves now.’
’If my opponent shows even a hint of carelessness, it’s not impossible that I could kill them in an instant.’
Next, Zou Feng looked at the List of Gods.
The top spot on the list had once again been taken by Ji Changsheng.
Originally, that guy had a high tolerance for the side effects of cultivating the Great Compassion Hand. Coupled with the fact that Zou Feng was busy "stomping on" the newly listed Su Changqing, Ji Changsheng had been temporarily liberated and his body was recovering extremely quickly.
His name on the list had even lit up again.
Unfortunately, due to the breakthrough of the Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force to Refined Skill and the tyrannical medicinal effects of taking two Nine Yang Profound Qi Pills at once, the guy’s name had dimmed considerably again...
’You’ve worked hard, Brother Ji,’ Zou Feng thought silently, then turned his gaze to Xiaolv.
The bug was actually asleep.
But that was normal. After all, Xiaolv had devoured some of the flesh from Su Changqing’s palm and eaten many of those green elixirs. It definitely needed to rest now to digest everything properly.
Zou Feng was quite looking forward to seeing what kind of changes would occur in the creature’s toxicity.
Su Changqing, affected by the side effects of the haphazardly practiced Great Compassion Hand, could be considered a special "poisonous object" himself.
’When it encounters a Gu Insect like Xiaolv, which can continuously evolve, it’s bound to create some unusual sparks...’
After a short nap, the sky began to brighten. A clamor came from outside; many people were boarding the boat.
Knowing that the gang members who went to Qifeng Mountain to hunt Demon Beasts must be back, Zou Feng got up, washed his face, and walked out, intending to see if they had any success.
Even though he hadn’t gone with them, it didn’t stop Zou Feng from being quite curious about Demon Beasts.
Leaving the pharmacy, Zou Feng could tell just by looking at the expressions of the people boarding the boat that they likely hadn’t gained anything.
And they weren’t just disappointed; most of them also looked annoyed.
A moment later, Bian Yixia jumped aboard, cursing under his breath.
Zou Feng went up to ask and learned that they had originally surrounded a Demon Beast. Just as they were about to succeed, disciples from the Celestial Essence Sword Sect had snatched it away, claiming they had discovered the Demon Beast first.
Faced with this, the members of the Black Flood Dragon Gang were naturally furious but didn’t dare to speak out.
In fact, having cooperated with the Celestial Essence Sword Sect disciples for some time now to exterminate the remnants of the Ten Directions Sect, everyone had already gained a certain understanding of this Major Sect’s tyranny and arrogance.
But they were still somewhat surprised that the other party could be so shameless as to lie so brazenly.
What angered Bian Yixia even more was that the other forces who went to try their luck on Qifeng Mountain last night—the Danxin Alliance, the Mountain and River Association, the Heart Meeting Martial Arts Hall, and others—had all successfully hunted Demon Beasts.
Only the Black Flood Dragon Gang came back empty-handed.