Chapter 65: The Ancient City of Loulan

"Jing Wuxue, a master of the Life-Stealing Realm!"

Yang Qi repeated this name once again.

So far, he had witnessed the terrifying abilities of "Chu Tiange," against whom he was no match when he was at the Eighth Level of Qi Gong. However, now that he had advanced to the Ninth Level of Qi Master, with the awakening of the power of fifteen ancient mammoths and the near-complete refinement of the Thunder Mammoth Life Essence within him, he was unsure just how powerful his three major Qi Gong techniques—the "Spear of the Nether God," "Devil's Wings," and "Nether God's Protection"—had become. He needed to find a formidable opponent to test his strength.

But ordinary Qi Masters could not withstand even a few punches or kicks from him. Only those who were a hundred times stronger than Qi Masters, such as the Life-Stealing Realm experts, could truly test his cultivation and even help him fully refine the Thunder Mammoth Life Essence within him.

Now, his true qi was boiling and surging, eager for a battle with a true master.

"Let's go. We'll set out now for the Ancient City of Loulan. It's a journey of three thousand miles, but we can reach it in less than a day. It's morning now. By evening, we'll be around the city. With the dark night and heavy snow, it will be the perfect time to sweep away the demons."

Yang Qi stood up.

The other four naturally centered around him.

Soon, the five of them changed into snow-white clothes, even wearing thick fur cloaks that covered their entire bodies. These cloaks were made from the fur of snow bears, providing warmth and making them nearly invisible in the snowy landscape, blending in perfectly with the snow. They were the best combat attire.

Even an ordinary person, if wrapped in a snow bear's fur, would not freeze to death in the icy snow for an entire night.

These were gifts from the old estate owner.

Originally, the five of them had come from Tianwei Academy with few clothes due to their deep cultivation in Qi Gong. Now, with these snow bear fur cloaks, they could save a lot of true qi used for keeping warm and protecting their bodies.

Five white figures glided and leaped over the snow, rising four or five zhang (about 13-16 feet) with each jump, covering two or three li (about 1-1.5 miles) in a single bound, bounding across the land.

The snow showed no trace of their passage, as they left no footprints.

Indeed, following the map, by evening, they could sense a faint smell of blood in the cold, snowy air.

Suddenly, Yang Qi reached out and caught a snowflake in his hand. He saw that the snowflake was tinged with a faint red, as if stained by a blood-colored true qi.

"What a powerful evil force. How much human blood must have been sucked to taint the snow with such a bloody smell?" He knew that someone was cultivating a blood qi technique, causing the snow clouds to be stained with a bloody aura, which then fell as snow.

This was enough to prove that a world-class demon was among them!

"Up ahead is the Ancient City of Loulan!"

Li He pointed to the distance.

Indeed, everyone saw a magnificent city standing on the northwest plain, surrounded by many smaller towns. However, these smaller towns appeared decayed and ruined, as if they had been ravaged by war.

Fortunately, the tall city walls, massive stone pillars, and round-roofed temples still showed the former glory of the city.

This was the legendary Ancient City of Loulan, which, just a few years ago, had a population of tens of millions. Now, not a single living person remained, only blood-sucking bandits.

Yang Qi and his companions immediately crouched in the snow and saw that the vast city was surrounded by patrols of blood-sucking bandits.

These bandits all wore blood-red clothes, making them extremely conspicuous in the snow.

They moved agilely, unafraid of the cold, as they were inherently cold-bodied. According to legend, after cultivating the Blood Demon Qi Gong and sucking a large amount of blood, a person would transform into a blood demon, becoming incredibly strong and cruel, specializing in sucking the blood of the living.

"There are so many bandits."

Yang Qi, with his sharp eyesight, saw that there were tens of thousands of bandits patrolling the various cities, including many Fifth Level Qi Gong masters, and even some Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Level Qi Masters.

The Ancient City of Loulan was built in concentric circles, with thousands of layers of buildings, showing how prosperous it had been when the population was thriving.

There were this many bandits outside; who knew how many more were in the depths of the city.

"What should we do?" Liang Dong lay motionless in the snow, suppressing all his aura. He knew that if they alarmed these blood-sucking bandits, it would mean certain death: "According to legend, the Blood Demon Qi Gong is very mysterious, derived from the Blood Emperor Magic Scripture of the Floating Mountain, a legendary Imperial-level Qi Gong. However, most blood demon caves cultivate a branch of it, a Royal-level Qi Gong, but it progresses very quickly. An ordinary person can reach the Fifth Level in two or three months by sucking enough blood, and can condense qi into a weapon in a year..."

"Such a fast speed?" Yang Qi was also surprised. In the "countryside" around Yan Capital, it usually took more than ten years for a major Qi Gong master to reach the Fifth Level, depending on their talent.

"Yes, a Qi Gong that can be cultivated by sucking blood is very tempting. According to legend, an ancient demon king, seeing the prosperity of humans, created the Blood Emperor Magic Scripture to lure humans into the path of evil. It was a great success, as deep in the human heart is a madness to pursue power at any cost. But I would never cultivate it," Hua Yinhao licked his lips.

"Indeed, in the past, some students at Tianwei Academy pursued power by cultivating demonic Qi Gong. Now, if such things happen at Tianwei Academy, they are thoroughly investigated," Li He reminded Yang Qi.

His "Divine Elephant Hell Suppressing Technique" had manifested the "Spear of the Nether God" and especially the "Devil's Wings," which resembled demonic Qi Gong. If the people of Tianwei Academy found out, it could cause trouble.

In fact, the "Divine Elephant Hell Suppressing Technique" was the most orthodox divine Qi Gong, grand and majestic, a supreme method used by the gods to suppress hell. Unfortunately, it was tainted with hellish aura, giving it a demonic flavor.

Of course, this was due to Yang Qi's insufficient cultivation. If he reached a higher level, the "Devil's Wings" would transform into "Angel's Wings" and eventually into "Wings of the Gods," allowing him to traverse the vast universe and various planes and dimensions with a single finger snap.

While lying in the snow, estimating the strength of the blood-sucking bandits, Yang Qi also analyzed his own Qi Gong.

He couldn't help but try to communicate with the golden figure in his brow space, but unfortunately, the "golden figure" remained motionless, still in a deep sleep.

This was his greatest secret.

The "Divine Elephant Hell Suppressing Technique" was transmitted by this golden figure. What was its true identity?

"Right, our Tianwei Academy has dispatched many students to suppress the blood-sucking bandits. This Ancient City of Loulan is a key point. I don't believe we are the only ones here. Besides, I don't think other academies would not send students to deal with the blood-sucking bandits ravaging the northwest."

Yang Qi suddenly said.

"You're right, how could I forget that?" The other four were delighted: "Our Tianwei Academy has over a million miscellaneous students, and there are many outer, inner, and elite students. They will likely attack the Ancient City of Loulan soon. We'll act accordingly."

As if to prove Yang Qi's words, as soon as they finished speaking, long whistles echoed from all directions.

In the snow, figures flew toward them from the distance.

The blood-sucking bandits also heard the whistles and roared, quickly preparing themselves. They held sharp weapons, strong bows, and even cannons appeared on the city walls.

Those giant cannons, with a single shot, could kill even a Qi Master.

"It's our Tianwei Academy students. Brother Yang Qi, look, it's the Gentlemen's Party. All students of the Gentlemen's Party wear a white cloth on their heads and green clothes."

Li He was no longer afraid, standing up like a snow bear.

Indeed, Yang Qi saw that hundreds of Tianwei Academy students were charging from the east. They all wore green clothes, carried long swords, and had white cloths tied around their heads. They moved in perfect unison, having undergone rigorous training. Each of them could communicate their true qi with each other. Thirty-six Qi Masters led the charge, their Qi Gong techniques in full force, leaping into the midst of the blood-sucking bandits, causing chaos and death.

Boom!

On the city walls, the cannons roared.

A cannon fired, and a massive shell, propelled by gunpowder, exploded among the "Gentlemen's Party" students.

But at that moment, the gentlemen of the Gentlemen's Party let out a long whistle, and their Qi Gong techniques suddenly burst forth, forming a massive aura in the air that spun rapidly, stopping the shell mid-air and then rebounding it back at a faster speed, collapsing a large section of the city wall and turning dozens of blood-sucking bandit experts into ashes.

"Thunder Fist!"

Then, the hundreds of students roared in unison, punching forward in perfect unison.

Buzz! A massive wave of qi gathered into a thunderous storm, rushing toward the city gate, which was made of steel. The gate, weighing hundreds of thousands of pounds, was blasted into the air like paper.

Yang Qi had seen it all. The steel gate, weighing hundreds of thousands of pounds, was as thin as paper under the combined power of the hundreds of Gentlemen's Party students. The bandits guarding the gate were turned into blood and flesh by the punch.

"Amazing! Is this the power of the Gentlemen's Party?" Yang Qi muttered.

"Brother Yang Qi, this is just the strength of a small team of Gentlemen's Party students. The true Gentlemen's Party has tens of thousands of members. It is the second-largest party after the ***. Even the crown prince fears the leader of the Gentlemen's Party."

Li He explained.

"Just a small team is this powerful." Yang Qi was filled with excitement, "Let's go, we'll charge in too."