Chapter 14: The Daughter of the City Lord

"Boy, you... good... good... hand..."

The leader of the black-clothed men, who had been beaten to a pulp, still had a breath left in him. After falling to the beach from the air, he stared at Yang Qi, "What's your name?"

Bang.

Yang Qi struck again from a distance, ending his life once and for all, without saying another word.

"Sir, your boxing skills and qi techniques are impressive. To cleanly and decisively defeat a seventh-stage expert with only sixth-stage cultivation is rare even among geniuses in major sects." The woman in white stared at the scene for a moment before exclaiming, "Thank you, sir, for saving me. May I ask your name? I am Yan Feixia, daughter of the City Lord of Yan Capital."

"My name is Yang Qi."

Yang Qi thought that Yan Feixia would be greatly surprised upon hearing his name, as he was now known throughout the city as a "waste" and a "playboy." However, to his surprise, the woman in white showed no reaction, merely smiling faintly, "So you are a young master of the Yang family. I am truly grateful for your assistance this time."

"Miss Yan Feixia, are you just back in Yan Capital?" Yang Qi's heart stirred.

"Yes, I have been cultivating outside for ten years. This is my first time returning home, and I was ambushed by these Shadow Poison Sect experts before even reaching my house. I need to return immediately to see what has happened in Yan Capital." Yan Feixia stepped forward, looking at the broken bodies of the black-clothed experts and the crushed heads. Then, with a flick of her sword, she extracted a small bronze bell from one of the bodies.

The bronze bell was covered in intricate patterns, seemingly made of copper, but it was actually crafted from a strange, exotic metal.

"I wondered why his Golden Bell Covering Qi Technique was so strong, even my Green Peak Sword couldn't penetrate it. It turns out he had this treasure on his body, a Golden Bell forged by a Qi Master using meteoric iron. It greatly enhances qi techniques. With this bell, the Golden Bell Covering Qi Technique is at least twice as powerful."

Yan Feixia played with the bronze bell in her hand, observing it for a long time, memorizing something, and then suddenly tossed it to Yang Qi.

"For me?" Yang Qi was taken aback, looking at the patterns and tiny characters carved on the bell, which turned out to be a cultivation method for the Golden Bell Covering Qi Technique.

This was a high-level qi technique, not to be underestimated. Once mastered, it could form a bell-shaped qi shield to protect oneself, making one invulnerable to all kinds of evil and toxins.

"This is your spoils of war," Yan Feixia smiled. "I've already benefited by obtaining this high-level cultivation method. I can refine it further upon my return. Such a technique is quite rare and would fetch at least several hundred thousand Gathering Qi Pills at an auction."

"Several hundred thousand Gathering Qi Pills..." Yang Qi whistled. "That's a fortune."

"Of course, such a bronze bell is also extremely valuable, not inferior to a high-level qi technique." Yan Feixia pointed at the black-clothed leader's corpse with her Green Peak Sword. "He has some treasures on him. It would be a pity not to retrieve them."

"His body is toxic. I haven't reached the realm of remote object manipulation, so I hope Miss Yan can retrieve the wealth from his body. We can then divide it equally." Yang Qi said calmly.

"Agreed." Yan Feixia was also very straightforward. She flicked her wrist, and a stream of qi rose, forming a lifelike hand. This true qi hand descended onto the black-clothed leader's corpse, searching and retrieving some items.

A snuff bottle-like medicine bottle, several exquisite pieces of paper, and a book made of some unknown leather.

"This snuff bottle contains an antidote, effective against most of the Shadow Poison Sect's poisons. These pieces of paper are deposit slips from the Sacred Ancestor Dynasty's bank, storing Gathering Qi Pills. This book, made of human skin, records some of the Shadow Poison Sect's poison cultivation methods."

Yan Feixia seemed very knowledgeable about such secrets, broadening Yang Qi's horizons. It was clear she came from a major sect.

Although Yang Qi was once known as a young talent in Yan Capital, he was like a frog at the bottom of a well compared to the well-informed disciples of major sects.

"An antidote!" His eyes lit up. "My older brothers were also poisoned by the Shadow Poison Sect. With this antidote, it will be much easier to treat them. As for the deposit slips, I'll take half. I don't need the poison manual, nor do I intend to cultivate poison techniques. I'll leave it to Miss Yan."

"Agreed." Yan Feixia was not at all hesitant, handing over the antidote and half of the deposit slips. "I don't need to cultivate the poison manual, but I can exchange it for many good things when I return to my sect. It's getting late, and I need to hurry home. I won't invite you to my house, but I will visit the Yang family in a few days to thank you properly."

"Thank you." Yang Qi said, "However, I hope you don't mention this to anyone. Just say that you defeated these Shadow Poison Sect experts yourself."

"I understand. You're afraid it might harm the Yang family if it gets out. I get it." Yan Feixia suddenly shook her arm, and a stream of qi shot out from her palm, igniting in the air. The black-clothed men's bodies on the beach were soon reduced to ashes.

"Blazing Fire Qi Technique." Yang Qi's eyes widened. "I didn't expect that Miss Yan, who is proficient in metal-based qi techniques and sword arts, also cultivates the Blazing Fire Qi Technique. Can two qi techniques coexist?"

"Just a secret technique. In our sect, we can cultivate two qi techniques simultaneously, complementing each other." Yan Feixia seemed unwilling to elaborate, which was understandable, as sect secrets should not be disclosed.

In theory, one can only cultivate one type of qi technique. Cultivating two simultaneously is very dangerous, as the qi techniques can conflict.

Although Yang Qi cultivated the family's qi technique, all his techniques had been previously nullified. Now, the family's qi techniques were simulated using the "Divine Elephant Hell Suppressing Technique."

This technique was as profound as hell, capable of concealing and simulating everything, making it impossible to discern.

In fact, although Yang Qi had obtained the Golden Bell Covering Qi Technique, he was not particularly eager to cultivate it. Once he reached the seventh stage, the Elephant Qi Realm, the Divine Elephant Hell Suppressing Technique would grant him a protective divine technique called the Guardian of the Netherworld, which would appear alongside the Demon Wings Qi Technique, far surpassing the Golden Bell Covering Qi Technique in power.

This showed that the "Divine Elephant Hell Suppressing Technique" was a legendary, invincible divine technique.

According to the cultivation method transmitted by the golden figure in his mind, once the Guardian of the Netherworld was mastered, a black, egg-shaped true qi would form around the body. At the Qi Master realm, one could survive for a long time even in volcanic lava.

This was beyond human capability.

Even "Yan Gufeng," the City Lord of Yan Capital, a Qi Master with extraordinary protective divine techniques, would immediately turn to ashes if he jumped into volcanic lava.

"Every time my qi technique advances a stage, my strength increases by more than a hundredfold. I wonder when I can reach the seventh stage?" Yang Qi looked forward to it.

He had just entered the sixth stage and, during the battle with the black-clothed messenger, awakened a third particle, gaining the combined strength of three ancient elephants.

"Goodbye, Young Master Yang. I will thank you again for your help today." Yan Feixia suddenly activated her qi technique, transforming into large white crane wings, leaping into the sky and gliding away, looking like a giant crane under the starlight.

Yang Qi looked at his spoils, the exquisite deposit slips, which stored ten thousand Gathering Qi Pills. Ten thousand pills were equivalent to three months' income for the Yang family.

The main branch of the Yang family was almost bankrupt. With ten thousand Gathering Qi Pills, they could ease the situation a bit.

Moreover, the bronze bell in his hand was a valuable treasure, worth at least five hundred thousand Gathering Qi Pills, including the cultivation method. Although it was far from compensating for their losses, it could help alleviate the crisis.

Swish!

He rushed to the city walls, leaping up like a cat, disappearing from the guards' sight.

Returning to the Yang family estate, Yang Qi knocked on the door of the secret chamber.

"It's Qi, come in."

Yang Zhan's deep voice echoed, and the two steel doors, at least a foot thick, slowly opened. Yang Qi immediately entered and saw his father sitting cross-legged on the ground, one hand on each of his older brothers' backs, trying to remove the poison.

However, his older brothers' faces showed that the poison removal was not successful.

"Qi, your cultivation has improved greatly." Yang Zhan's eyes flashed with intense light as he looked at Yang Qi.

"Yes, Father. Today, I finally broke through to the sixth stage, the Weapon Qi Realm. With my current abilities, defeating Yang Honglie is no problem," Yang Qi said calmly.

"Don't be arrogant. Yang Honglie is at the seventh stage, not to be underestimated. Generally, a sixth-stage qi technique cannot match a seventh-stage qi technique. You need to continue cultivating," Yang Zhan warned.

"Yes, Father." Yang Qi nodded.

"Little brother, this is truly a blessing in disguise for you." Yang Qi's older brother smiled bitterly. "Unfortunately, I am now a cripple. This damned poison even Father can't cure."

"Don't worry. I'll seek help from the Qi Master elders to remove the poison for you," Yang Zhan said.

"Father, those Qi Master elders are nearing the end of their lives. They are all striving to extend their lives by reaching the Life Seizing Realm. They won't waste their qi techniques to remove our poison," Yang Qi's older brother shook his head, accurately assessing the situation. The Qi Master elders in the family no longer engaged in battles to avoid depleting their true qi.

"Older brother, don't worry." Yang Qi took out the antidote from his chest.