Chapter 88

(Second update, please give recommendations and new readers, I humbly thank you.)

A five-colored furnace, with three legs and two handles, floated in the void, nearly half of it condensed into a tangible form. A difficult-to-describe martial realm was beginning to sprout, and Su Qinnian's eyes shone brightly. In the end, he reined in his qi and blood, and the five-colored furnace disappeared.

Over several dozen miles, four ambushes, the sky stained with blood, nearly a thousand demon soldiers lay dead, and the young commandant, clad in a cloud-patterned iron armor, staggered, blood seeping through his mask. His voice was somewhat hoarse, clearly indicating that his internal organs had suffered significant injuries.

"Go!"

Finally, he roared, and the remaining fifty-odd cavalrymen also shouted. These soldiers were clearly seasoned veterans, and at this moment, their blood and ferocity were ignited.

"A mere seventh-rank commandant, with less than half of the twelve main meridians unblocked, also wants to seize the opportunity for transformation!"

Less than ten miles away, a figure like an iron tower blocked the path. He held a massive iron hammer larger than a millstone, a demon soldier with no beard or hair, a face full of scars, and pale yellow eyes. His muscles were twisted like a cluster of snakes.

"Stop!"

The young commandant's gaze became unprecedentedly solemn. He ordered the troops to remain in place and stepped forward alone, drawing his cloud-patterned iron longsword. The green sword was stained with a layer of blood that wouldn't dissipate, a luster formed from the blood of countless demon races.

"Picking on the weak, are you?" the young commandant said in a deep voice, "You are from the Vajra Python clan."

"Good eyesight," the demon soldier, who appeared to be in his thirties, sneered, "This is just the first checkpoint. To reach Blood Shack Mountain, you people are far from qualified."

"Kill!"

With a roar, the young commandant's black hair flew up. He dragged his longsword on the ground, sparks flying as if the lake was being split by waves.

Wind Step!

A third-rate light movement technique in the Han army, but in the hands of the young commandant, it was refined to its ultimate form. His body moved like the wind, clearly having comprehended the martial realm and initially grasped the essence of this movement technique.

Clang!

The longsword fell, swift as a sudden rainstorm, with internal family true qi surging, and a two-inch-long sharp qi blade protruding from the tip.

Whistling!

A strange wind rose, striking first, piercing through everything, and directly dispersing the sword light like a sudden rainstorm. The massive black iron hammer struck down, like a black python coiling, its iron tail sweeping across more fiercely than a steel whip. The next moment, the hammer and sword collided, producing a deafening metallic sound.

Clang!

The young commandant coughed up blood, staggering back, his feet plowing the ground as he was forcefully pushed back three zhang.

Boom!

The Vajra Python clan demon soldier sneered, following closely behind, leaving deep footprints several inches deep on the ground, like a large python slithering forward. He swung his iron hammer, with blood-colored true qi surging from the hammer, the qi blade over three inches thick, like a giant python opening its bloody maw, biting down from the sky.

"Commandant!"

The cavalrymen roared in anger. The iron hammer of the Vajra Python clan demon soldier was no ordinary weapon. When it collided with the cloud-patterned iron longsword, it left only a faint white mark. It was easy to imagine that such a hammer, when it struck down, would shatter even the cloud-patterned iron armor, killing the commandant inside.

Puff!

Without any warning, a bright yellow lightning bolt streaked across the sky, silent and swift. A light sound, and it pierced through the millstone-sized iron hammer. At the same time, the Vajra Python clan demon soldier's head exploded, and his iron tower-like body fell to the ground, dead.

What!

The young commandant was startled. When he regained his composure, he couldn't find the source of the yellow lightning. He looked around, but there was no one.

"Thank you, senior, for your help. I hope you will reveal yourself so I can express my gratitude for saving my life!"

After ten breaths, the young commandant sighed, realizing that the senior was likely a reclusive expert who didn't wish to show himself. He looked at the demon's weapon, a hundred-refined iron hammer, which had been pierced through, and couldn't imagine the force required to achieve this.

After meditating for the duration of an incense stick and taking a few low-grade qi pills, the young commandant stood up, and the troops moved forward again. Blood Shack Mountain was in sight, and they had to find the princess and protect her.

When the troops were far away, Su Qinnian's figure also appeared. He gazed at the yellow jade-like Ruyi Jun iron in his palm. His first move had not disappointed him, as it had killed a Vajra Python clan demon who had already unblocked seven of the twelve main meridians and even pierced through the demon's hair-severing level iron hammer.

The speed was too fast. In fact, at the moment he struck, he noticed the horror in the demon's eyes, but it was too late to react. The demon was killed instantly, without any chance to resist.

This thought made Su Qinnian shake his head: "This is external force, ultimately not my own strength. I cannot rely on it too much. Heaven moves, and the gentleman should strive for self-improvement. Strengthening oneself is the right path. Otherwise, I will eventually go astray and suffer a mental breakdown."

Su Qinnian then calmed down and decided not to easily use the power of the Ruyi Jun iron. He needed to rely on his own strength to hone his martial path, to truly break through the shackles and reach a higher realm.

Hiss!

The five-colored furnace appeared, the lid opened, and the power of the turtle and snake swallowing the moon was transmitted. The robust blood qi of the killed demon was instantly absorbed, refined into pure qi, and injected into the furnace walls, becoming the nourishment for the birth of the martial realm.

The demon was a third-rate expert who had unblocked seven of the twelve main meridians. The cultivation of the Tiger Leaping Over the Stream technique was already more than halfway complete. As a demon of the Vajra Python clan, the robust blood qi, after refinement, left a pure qi that made Su Qinnian's five-colored furnace condense to over seventy percent.

"This is also my opportunity. If I hadn't entered the Moya Mountain Range, it would have taken more than a year or two to complete the eighth level of the Turtle and Snake Technique and master the Turtle and Snake Fist. This is a kind of transformation, but transformation comes in many forms, not just encountering strange events, receiving legacies, or finding treasures."

Su Qinnian had a moment of enlightenment. Indeed, only by delving into dangerous situations and walking on the edge of life and death can one's potential and insight be truly stimulated. This is an experience that cannot be replaced by seclusion and hard training, and it is an essential foundation for martial artists.

...

On a hundred-zhang-high precipitous cliff to the east of Blood Shack Mountain.

Qing Qian stood with his hands behind his back, his demeanor as refined as jade, wearing a pure white and gold-embroidered Daoist robe, exuding a subtle and intangible sharpness. This sharpness silently pierced through the void, tearing apart the thick demon fog, drawing down threads of sunlight.

"Master of the peak, this is the news from the past two days." Behind him, a young Daoist in a pure white robe handed over a letter.

Glancing over it, Qing Qian said indifferently, "Rescuing hundreds of people from the burial pit, winning hearts and gaining credit? It shows some cunning, but it's too naive. Thinking it can change the situation, but in the face of real martial power, it's just a paper tiger, easily shattered."

"Master of the peak, what now..."

After a moment's thought, Qing Qian said, "Pass the information to Guyue He of Huangya Peak."

Guyue He?

The young Daoist was taken aback, hesitating, "It's rumored that Guyue He has already become a disciple of Jin Suo Peak's Golden Light Immortal and will soon hold a grand ceremony to enter the peak..."

A hint of amusement appeared at the corner of Qing Qian's mouth, and he said calmly, "Do you not understand the principle of driving a tiger to devour a wolf?"

...

After the duration of an incense stick, Su Qinnian crossed ten miles and arrived at the foot of Blood Shack Mountain.

A purple-black mountain, looking somewhat oppressive, because the color of the rocks was not natural but truly stained with blood, which had dried over a long period, turning into a deep blood color.

There was demon blood, but more of what Su Qinnian sensed was human blood.

A seven-hundred-zhang-high ancient mountain, completely stained with blood, had turned purple-black over a long period. Su Qinnian could hardly imagine how much blood was needed to create such a scene.

"Hmm? Young man, you are indeed sharp, to be able to sneak here alone. Truly bold and daring."

This was a middle-aged knife fighter, wearing a gray-green robe, looking ordinary. In addition to him, there were dozens of other martial artists at the foot of Blood Shack Mountain, all more or less stained with blood and injuries, already waiting here.

(Second update, please give recommendations and new readers, I humbly thank you.)