Chapter 99

(Second chapter is up, please give recommendations and new readers, please add to your favorites. Chunyang will be available on February 1st.)

*The Chi Dragon Technique*, a ten-layer foundation-building technique, is exclusive to the Han imperial family. Unless one has royal blood, it is difficult to cultivate it to a profound level. Without the imperial aura, it is impossible to unleash its full power.

In the imperial family, princesses and concubines cultivate *The Chi Dragon Technique*, while princes, dukes, and their descendants cultivate *The Fish Dragon Technique*.

Throughout history, there have been rumors that those who complete the tenth layer of *The Chi Dragon Technique* or *The Fish Dragon Technique* will possess the strength of a chi dragon or a fish dragon, respectively. Of course, whether it is a chi dragon or a fish dragon, they are only young dragons.

Even so, such spiritual beasts as chi dragons or fish dragons, even in their youth, are enough to dominate all directions. Their power is so immense that even dozens of heavenly steeds pulling together could not shake them.

In this generation of the imperial family, in Chang'an City, Su Qinnian had not heard of anyone cultivating *The Chi Dragon Technique* or *The Fish Dragon Technique* to the tenth layer. The ninth layer, however, has been achieved by some of the most outstanding princes and princesses, who are highly regarded by the current Han emperor.

There are even rumors in the market that when the current Han emperor was young, he cultivated the tenth layer of *The Fish Dragon Technique* to build his foundation, thereby sweeping through the other princes and successfully ascending the throne. Of course, this is just a rumor, and the palace is always shrouded in secrecy. Many traces related to the current Han emperor have been erased.

Su Qinnian took a step forward. His pace was fast, but compared to usual, it was a bit slower because the pressure on his back, weighing a thousand catties, was always present, showing no signs of weakening or disappearing.

Buzz!

However, in the next moment, Su Qinnian activated the eighth layer of *The Turtle Snake Technique*. The five-colored furnace in his body began to rotate, the lid opened, and the pure essence energy in the air was completely absorbed by a powerful suction force.

The pure essence energy replenished his consumption, and the rest merged into the furnace walls. Eventually, Su Qinnian no longer felt the thousand-catty pressure on his body. His speed returned to its peak, and with a flash, he could cover several dozen feet, far faster than a heavenly steed. This was the extreme speed of the celestial horses that pull the chariots of the gods in the Heavenly Realm.

As time passed, Su Qinnian's gaze became even more intense. The purity of the essence energy in the air exceeded his expectations, far surpassing the purity of the essence energy he had refined from the large amounts of demon fog in the Moyun Mountains. He didn't even need to refine it further; he could absorb it directly.

Unconsciously, the five-colored furnace had condensed to eighty percent, leaving only the final twenty percent to reach perfection.

Hmm?

Suddenly, Su Qinnian's gaze shifted, and he saw a palm-sized white rabbit with red eyes, nibbling on tender grass on the nearby grassland.

Upon seeing Su Qinnian, the rabbit was startled. It kicked a rock the size of a human head with its hind legs, shattering it, and leaped several dozen feet away, disappearing into a burrow.

"Such a thick aura of vitality."

Su Qinnian was somewhat amazed. A common rabbit here possessed such strength. He took a deep breath, realizing that the essence energy in the air here was so pure that any living being growing in this environment would likely be much stronger than those in the outside world.

Climbing to the top of a mountain about a hundred feet high, Su Qinnian looked into the distance and couldn't help but draw a sharp breath.

It wasn't that the distant landscape was still green and bright, but that a hundred miles away, the sky was shrouded in darkness, where sunlight disappeared and could not penetrate. It seemed to belong to the realm of the Dark God.

Su Qinnian seemed to sense a heavy demonic aura.

It's like a miniature version of the Moyun Mountains!

With a thought, Su Qinnian suddenly had this feeling. He sensed the dormant one-third of the Time Heart within him and confirmed that the subtle connection came from the dark land a hundred miles away.

Whew!

Without hesitation, Su Qinnian swept forward like a gust of wind. He now vaguely sensed that he was still in a divine spirit world, but this ancient genius of the Beggar Gang's divine spirit world seemed to have undergone some strange changes, becoming somewhat mysterious.

It was now impossible to exit, as Su Qinnian had already tried. The exit disappeared after he took that step, leaving no way back.

But the journey must continue, and he could only face whatever came his way.

A hundred miles away was darkness, and a hundred miles within was light. This world of intertwined light and darkness was something Su Qinnian had never seen before.

"A cluster of ginseng at least twenty years old!"

Within a few miles, Su Qinnian saw many types of herbs. It seemed that various medicinal plants grew everywhere here. Some were recorded in the eighth volume of the *Demon Classic*, while others were completely unknown. Earlier, he had found some mountain ginseng that was a dozen years old, but he hadn't paid much attention. Now, he found a cluster of at least twenty-year-old ginseng, nearly twenty plants.

Boom!

Su Qinnian stomped the ground, and a shocking force sent the soil flying. The dozen or so old ginseng plants flew up, and he inhaled, causing them to shatter into a bright yellow ginseng juice, which he swallowed.

"Five elements! Five elements! The Taiji cycle, yin and yang complement each other, aiding the divine!"

He chanted, blending the ancient *Taiji Song*. His arms embraced, and a five-colored furnace appeared in front of him. The five-colored furnace walls shimmered with light, condensing visibly.

Eighty-one percent! Eighty-three percent! Eighty-seven percent! Ninety-two percent!

Ninety-five percent!

In just a dozen breaths, the essence energy from nearly twenty old ginseng plants was absorbed, but the five-colored furnace still needed the final five percent to fully condense.

Somewhat disappointed, Su Qinnian quickly adjusted his mindset. The five-colored furnace had absorbed so much vital essence energy that once it fully condensed, it would surely be earth-shattering.

Covering a hundred miles, Su Qinnian's speed was very fast. In less than half an incense stick's time, he had crossed twenty to thirty miles. During this period, he encountered some wild beasts, such as lions, tigers, and bears, but unlike the outside world, these beasts seemed to have never seen humans and were very peaceful, lacking the usual bloodthirsty aura and instead emitting a faint herbal scent.

"These beasts are on the path of spiritual evolution!"

Su Qinnian was suddenly startled, forming some conjectures. In recent days, he had digested the knowledge from the outer library of Baiyun Peak and understood that the spiritual evolution of beasts, like human evolution, began with the first step of leaving the primitive life of raw meat and blood.

This step was not difficult, but beasts lacked self-control and intelligence, unlike humans who had laws, rules, and order. However, from what he had seen so far, Su Qinnian was deeply moved, as if an invisible force was driving these beasts to evolve, leaving ignorance and avoiding bloodshed.

After a few more miles, Su Qinnian suddenly stopped. He smelled a strong aroma of lingzhi, far more intense than anything he had encountered before. He flashed past several ancient trees and a few boulders, arriving at a mountain hollow.

A lingzhi mushroom that had grown for at least a hundred years!

Su Qinnian's eyes gleamed. In the mountain hollow, there was a spring, with clear water gushing out and flowing into a nearby stream. Beside the spring, a lingzhi mushroom the size of a human head was bright red like fire jade, crystal clear, and emitting a strong aroma, clearly ripe.

What a timely gift!

Su Qinnian sensed the vast essence energy within the lingzhi, enough to help him complete the final condensation of the five-colored furnace.

He moved and approached the spring, reaching for the lingzhi.

Whoosh!

A red beam shot at his throat without warning, piercing the air silently.

Su Qinnian remained calm, transforming his palm into a blade, faster than lightning, and sliced the red beam in half, sending it to the ground.

A large snake with red scales, about seven to eight feet long, appeared. It lacked the bloodthirsty aura, but the noble path of evolution was difficult. Despite its far more robust vitality compared to ordinary snakes, it had not yet transformed and was no match for Su Qinnian, not even as strong as a demon-infested snake.

"Stop!"

Just as Su Qinnian was about to strike again, four figures leaped down into the mountain hollow, surrounding him. (Second chapter is up, please give recommendations and new readers, please add to your favorites. Chunyang will be available on February 1st. Are you ready with your monthly votes and subscriptions?)