In contrast, over at Bright Moon Valley, whose strength was originally far inferior to the three families’ coalition forces, with the Valley Master now punched to death, their morale was understandably low.
Thus, they were soon crushed into disarray, fleeing in all directions.
But how could they possibly escape?
In just a moment, the once-mighty Bright Moon Valley was completely annihilated, and not even the ordinary Outer Disciples escaped this disaster; they were all killed.
Observing this scene of rivers of blood, Jingping Saint remained utterly unmoved, not even batting an eyelash.
It was not until entering the Medicine Saint Shrine and seeing the Medicine Saint Statue that Jingping Saint’s eyes revealed a hint of fascination.
"What a delightful surprise, it actually contains such vast Wish Power?"
As he spoke, he leapt down from the palanquin and approached the Medicine Saint Statue.
This Medicine Saint Statue was ancient, and it was evident it had been worshiped for a very long time, to the extent that the stone’s surface was coated with a layer of sheen.
This was the former Medicine Saint Shrine, now the very foundation of Bright Moon Valley.
Jingping Saint extended his hand, his fingertips gently gliding over the surface of the Medicine Saint Statue, finally resting at the statue’s brow.
Buzz.
The Medicine Saint Statue trembled violently, and the originally lustrous surface quickly lost its sheen.
This phenomenon spread from the bottom to the top, until only a final golden sheen remained on the statue’s brow.
But even this last remaining sheen, Jingping Saint refused to leave untouched, his finger suddenly probing forward.
His fingertip directly penetrated the statue.
Crack.
With a crisp sound, cracks spread densely across the surface of this ancient Medicine Saint Statue.
And when Jingping Saint withdrew his finger, the Medicine Saint Statue shattered dramatically, turning into pieces of rubble.
Jingping Saint’s face bore an unsatisfied expression, licking his lips, he sighed.
"The taste is not bad, but it’s still quite weak."
Indeed.
In such a short moment, Jingping Saint had actually absorbed all the Wish Power accumulated within the Medicine Saint Statue over countless years.
And this was precisely the reason for Jingping Saint’s high achievements in Martial Dao at such a young age.
Jingping Saint called it... Godslayer!
"Rest here for the night, and tomorrow we set out, taking the route... South to Azure Dragon!" Jingping Saint said calmly.
"Yes!" Everyone responded in unison, then began to tidy up.
Jingping Saint stood in the grand hall of the Medicine Saint Shrine, looking at his shadow elongated by the candlelight, he suddenly chuckled silently.
"Guan Xuejiang, Guo Luming, it’s been many years. Can you still fight?"
-----------------
Meanwhile, at the Azure Dragon Temple a thousand miles away, Zhao Ya had not yet slept and was intensifying his training and preparations.
With a twang, the crossbow string vibrated, and the crossbow arrow shot out, covering over a hundred paces in an instant, embedding deeply into the target.
Then Gui Xuanqing exhaled, wiping the sweat from his forehead, his muscles aching all over.
He had previously thought how difficult could shooting be, just aim and pull the trigger.
But not until he actually tried did he realize the difficulty.
Not to mention holding the mechanical crossbow without a single shake was enough to make him, a Fifth Realm Martial Artist, lament continuously.
Moreover, there were other tedious and tiresome exercises, so within just a day, Gui Xuanqing dared not underestimate it anymore.
Just then, torches lit up in the forest.
To simulate a real combat environment as much as possible, the entire mountain forest beforehand had no artificial lighting, and all the shooters, including Gui Xuanqing, shot purely relying on natural light.
Then Zhao Ya emerged from the forest, approaching Gui Xuanqing and the other shooters.
"Overall, the results improved significantly compared to before, but there are still problems,"
Zhao Ya said, throwing two targets onto the ground.
"Cao Qing, You Lan, the two of you shot five arrows in total, missing three times, this performance is the worst."
The two young men lying in the grass lowered their heads in shame.
"But the two shots that hit were very good, basically hitting the target accurately, which indicates one problem, that is, your stability is too poor. So, you two continue practicing stability later."
"Yes!"
Then Zhao Ya separately pointed out everyone’s shortcomings, using few words but piercing to the heart of the issue.
These proud young people dared not defy his critique, accepting it wholeheartedly.
Gui Xuanqing’s heart was hanging the whole time.
Because he knew Zhao Ya was never lenient in these matters, even though he was the most acquainted with him, any faults would be mercilessly pointed out and criticized.
But as it was almost the end, Zhao Ya still hadn’t mentioned him.
Gui Xuanqing felt a bit strange.
Just then, Zhao Ya picked up a target, "Gui Xuanqing!"
"Present!" Gui Xuanqing hastily responded, feeling anxious, ready for criticism.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Ya smiled at him.
"Not bad, all five arrows hit the target, and the spread is quite small, showing you’ve basically got the fundamentals down."
Instead of criticism, Zhao Ya unusually praised him in public.
This made Gui Xuanqing feel as if he was floating on air.
"Good, today’s training is over. Retrieve your own arrows and clean the crossbow mechanism, maintain them well."
"Understood!"
The group started bustling around.
Watching them, Zhao Ya couldn’t help but feel some sentiment.
Just two days ago, none of these people had any experience with long-range shooting, and now they were forced to become archers, ready to enter brutal battles at any moment.
But there was no other choice.
After all, the mechanical crossbows confiscated from the assassins at Separation Tower were extremely precious and highly lethal.
Not making use of them would indeed be a huge waste.
Yet, there were also surprises among them.
For instance, Gui Xuanqing.
This descendant of the Gui Family who joined the Azure Dragon Temple along with Zhao Ya, his Martial Dao talent was mediocre, unremarkable among many disciples.
But once he tried shooting, the potential he showed made Zhao Ya take notice.
It wasn’t that he shot perfectly accurately from the start, but rather that his arrows had a small spread.
This indicated a high consistency in his actions.
Do not underestimate this, for many people cannot achieve this level even after years of hard training.
It seems there are truly no ordinary people, just those who haven’t found their suitable field.
Zhao Ya turned and left the woods, returning to the Azure Dragon Temple.
The Azure Dragon Temple was bustling, with many people actively preparing for the impending battle.
Zhao Ya returned to his small courtyard, washed a bit, then sat cross-legged to meditate and cultivate.
Despite the ongoing battles, Zhao Ya’s cultivation had never been neglected.
His meridians had already developed to the Heart Meridian of the Hand Shaoyin, having refined the Extreme Spring, Cyan Spirit, and Shaohai acupoints.
The choice of this meridian was purely because it required the fewest acupoints and was relatively easier to develop.
Right now, every bit of improved strength is crucial, so developing one meridian is essential.
Moreover, Zhao Ya found that Star-devouring True Power and Azure Dragon True Power were now more closely linked.
Though not fused together, they were deeply harmonious.
Once one was activated, the other would follow.
For instance, breaking through the Heart Meridian of the Hand Shaoyin now.
Azure Dragon True Power led the charge, Star-devouring True Power refined subsequently, their cooperation speeding up Zhao Ya’s Meridian Opening process significantly.
Soon, the Spirit Dao, Tongli, Yinxi, Divine Gate acupoints were refined, leaving only Young Master’s Mansion and Shaoshong acupoints.
At this point, True Power was showing signs of depletion, under normal circumstances it was time to conclude.
But Zhao Ya decided to push through today, aiming to refine the remaining two acupoints to boost his strength further.
He took a deep breath, coordinating his Qi Blood and guiding True Power towards the Young Master’s Mansion acupoint.
After a slight obstruction, the Young Master’s Mansion acupoint was easily breached, but now came the true test.
Because the last acupoint of each meridian is always the hardest to break through.
Zhao Ya was prepared for this, so he wasn’t in a rush, initially using Azure Dragon True Power tentatively a few times before suddenly switching to Star-devouring True Power, forcefully advancing.
The Shaoshong acupoint struggled briefly before finally giving way.
Zhao Ya quivered all over, exhaling a stream of stale air.
The Heart Meridian of the Hand Shaoyin, thus successfully developed.