Chapter 62 of 100

Chapter 62

16 min read4,095 words

(Thanks to the great support from 'Winning the Big Prize'.)

After returning from Liangcheng, as Ding Qi had anticipated, the Qingyun Sect soon withdrew all their search personnel from the area around Qixia Mountain. After that, Ding Qi retrieved the batch of herbs.

In the following days, Ding Qi devoted all his energy to refining elixirs and practicing the Xiantian Gong.

Days passed one by one.

With the help of those herbs, Ding Qi continuously refined them into elixirs that enhanced his cultivation, and took them to practice the Xiantian Gong.

As the seasons changed, four years had passed since Ding Qi obtained the batch of Fengwei Grass.

During these four years, Ding Qi lived like an ordinary young man in the mountains, staying in Qixia Town without drawing much attention.

Except for the bandits in the mountains around Qixia Town, who knew there was a young man in Qixia Town not to be provoked, to everyone else in the town, Ding Qi was just an ordinary apprentice, no different from anyone else.

But only Ding Qi himself knew that in these four years, with the help of the elixirs, he had undergone astonishing changes.

To refine elixirs, over these four years, Ding Qi had specially built a secret room in the herb garden.

Although the herb garden was located in a remote area and generally undisturbed, to be on the safe side, Ding Qi still built a sealed room specifically for refining elixirs.

This room was airtight, with multiple layers of isolation and various methods to absorb the medicinal aroma that escaped during the refining process. Refining elixirs there would cause no problems and would not be discovered by anyone, ensuring absolute safety.

However, during these four years when Ding Qi was peacefully refining elixirs and practicing the Xiantian Gong, the Qingyun Sect had a tough time. Since they never found the batch of herbs, but could not ignore the need for elixirs for the cultivation of their disciples, they had to spend a huge amount of silver to purchase various herbs on a large scale throughout the Xia and Lu states.

As a result of the Qingyun Sect's actions, the prices of various precious herbs in the surrounding areas of the Xia and Lu states increased several times over. Many herbs that were once commonly seen became scarce due to the Qingyun Sect's extensive search.

However, all of this was none of Ding Qi's concern. As long as he had enough elixirs for his cultivation, he did not care about the Qingyun Sect's affairs.

During these four years, Ding Qi's elder brother, Ding Yong, had a chubby baby boy after getting married, which made him extremely happy every day.

However, the disaster that almost befell the Ding family a few years ago, which Ding Qi had silently averted, remained unknown to the family due to Ding Qi's deliberate concealment.

This was exactly what Ding Qi wanted.

During this period, two major events occurred in Qixia Town.

One of them was related to the old man Bai, whom Ding Qi knew.

Initially, the task of staying in Qixia Town assigned to old man Bai was unexpectedly extended for a few more years due to the change in the sect's leadership. However, this also gave old man Bai a rare opportunity to advance within the sect.

Two years ago, old man Bai, who was stationed in Qixia Town, discovered a spy of the Tianquan Sect by chance and uncovered a major conspiracy that threatened the lives of over a hundred Qingyun Sect members. As a result, he was promoted to the position of sect leader.

At that time, Mr. Tong and Ding Qi, among others, celebrated old man Bai's promotion.

The other event was that a group of bandits around Qixia Town was completely wiped out overnight a year and a half ago.

This group of bandits was different from the ones Ding Qi had known before, such as Wu Zhaizhu. Although Wu Zhaizhu and his men often robbed and plundered, their main goal was to seek wealth, and they generally did not harm people unless necessary. Most of their members were forced to become bandits due to military conscription. However, this group of bandits was different.

This group of bandits not only sought wealth but also took pleasure in killing and arson, committing all kinds of evil deeds. They left no survivors wherever they went, making them extremely vicious.

However, this group of vicious bandits was completely wiped out overnight by an unknown person. The terrifying scene of hundreds of bandits lying dead around Qixia Town was seen by many people in the town and became the biggest topic for a long time.

This incident also made many bandit groups around Qixia Town, including Wu Zhaizhu's, live in fear for a long time. Two bandit groups even disbanded out of fear of the mysterious killer who had wiped out the vicious bandits.

After all, none of them knew if they would be the next target after the mysterious killer had eliminated the bandits, so they were naturally on edge.

Fortunately, after wiping out the bandits that night, the mysterious killer never appeared again. Over time, the remaining bandit groups finally felt at ease.

Rumors in Qixia Town said that the person who eliminated the bandits was an unknown martial arts expert who happened to pass by the area and decided to 'eliminate the evil for the people.'

Although everyone believed that the unknown martial arts expert had left Qixia Town after that, the remaining bandit groups became more restrained than before.

After all, these bandit groups were originally just seeking wealth. Clearly, after the previous incident, they did not want to become like the previous bandits and be eliminated by a passing martial arts expert for 'upholding justice.'

One day, Ding Qi came out of the elixir refining room, holding two pure white elixirs in his hand. These two elixirs were the fruits of his labor today.

Looking at the two elixirs, Ding Qi took out a brocade box from his pocket, opened it, and carefully placed the elixirs inside. Although these two pure white pills looked ordinary, they had used several hundred-year-old herbs and were extremely precious.

After putting away the brocade box containing the elixirs, Ding Qi walked towards the house at the eastern end of the herb garden.

"In the first three years, with the elixirs refined from this batch of herbs, I easily advanced my cultivation to the tenth level of the Xiantian Gong. After that, I started refining the most powerful elixir, the Juling Dan. This elixir, which can only be barely refined by cultivators who have advanced to the tenth level, indeed has an astonishing effect," Ding Qi muttered to himself, recalling the astonishing effects of the Juling Dan.

On his way back to the house, Ding Qi touched the brocade box in his pocket and recalled the scene when he first took the elixir.

Ding Qi still remembered the shocking feeling the power of the Juling Dan gave him the first time he took it. The energy of the elixir burst forth in his body, continuously flushing through him, causing his cultivation to increase significantly after he first refined the elixir's power.

However, while recalling the astonishing effects of the Juling Dan, Ding Qi suddenly thought of something else and a look of distress appeared on his face.

Next, Ding Qi's face showed a thoughtful expression, and he frowned slightly, as if considering something.

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