Yan Qingshan slowly unfurled the scroll on the table.
A pair of pitch-black eagle wings that looked chillingly realistic appeared in his sight, drawn upon the scroll with vivid detail.
These wings were entirely obsidian in color, faintly traced with purple cloud patterns.
They looked like they were forged from black refined iron, possessing a distinct metallic texture.
The wings seemed almost alive; as a light breeze swept across the scroll, the feathers actually fluttered like a real pair of wings.
“Purple Cloud Black Fire Eagle, a 5th Rank flying Magical Beast.
Legend says it possesses a thin trace of Ancient Phoenix blood.
Its flight speed is among the best of all flying Magical Beasts.
It is naturally cunning and ferocious, making it extremely difficult to capture.
It only lives in the ‘Cloud Mist Land’ in the southern part of the continent.”
A line of small characters on the scroll recorded the origins of the Magical Beast used for this Eagle Wings Dou Technique.
A 5th Rank Magical Beast was equivalent to a Dou Wang; given that this was a standout even among 5th Rank flying beasts, the difficulty of dealing with one was no less than facing a Dou Huang.
This further verified the strength of the creator.
‘The soul of an Eagle King…’
Yan Qingshan stroked the Eagle Wings scroll.
His powerful perception allowed him to feel the hidden, tyrannical soul within the parchment.
This was the Beast Soul of the Purple Cloud Black Fire Eagle—an existence similar to an artifact spirit—and the key to this Flight Dou Technique.
Yan Qingshan steadied his mindset and circulated the method for casting an unyielding Lion Heart recorded in the Lion Heart King Qi Method.
The inheritance left by the grotto’s master was a complete set, naturally taking into account the possibility of a successor having insufficient cultivation.
The master of this stone chamber lived in a very ancient era.
The Qi Method inheritance he passed down bore many traces of ancient secret arts, such as the method for casting the Lion Heart, which seemed to involve mental cultivation.
Mad Lion’s Roar was a rare Dou Technique that fused Dou Qi with sonic wave attacks.
Furthermore, the production method for this Flight Dou Technique was extremely scarce on the current continent.
Yan Qingshan adjusted his state of mind and moved both palms onto the scroll.
Not long after his palms made contact, a piercing screech echoed, seemingly stabbing through his soul.
His body shivered involuntarily.
He felt a numbing sensation all over as the shrill screeching acted like an electric drill, desperately battering his brain.
Yan Qingshan stilled himself and guarded his mind.
‘Let him be strong; the breeze brushes the mountain.
I remain unmoved.’ He used this soul screeching to practice the method of casting the Lion Heart, silently enduring wave after wave of impact.
Even though his face turned pale and he broke into a cold sweat, he had no intention of letting go.
Instead, he sank into a deep state of cultivation.
This battle of souls eventually ended with the defeat of the Purple Cloud Eagle.
After all, it was merely left with animal instincts; once all its methods proved useless, this “source-less water” finally retreated.
The tyrannical shrieks receded like a tide, but Yan Qingshan remained sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, immersed in a deep level of comprehension.
Suddenly, the eagle wings on the black scroll erupted with a magnificent glow.
The purple and black colors grew deeper and deeper, eventually transforming into two small beams of purple-black light.
Like lightning, they shot into Yan Qingshan’s body.
The two small beams of light traveled up to his back, pulling and forming two extremely fine secondary meridians along his spine.
The pain of forcibly opening meridians caused Yan Qingshan’s expression to flicker, but he did not struggle or vent.
He continued his cross-legged cultivation of the unyielding Lion Heart, treating the pain as nourishment to grow stronger.
An hour later, Yan Qingshan—looking as if he had been soaked in water—opened his eyes.
He almost collapsed when he stood up by bracing against the bluestone table, but the corners of his mouth were pulled wide in a grin.
His face was full of excitement.
‘2-Star Dou Zhe.
As expected of a High Xuan Class Qi Method.’
During the Dou Zhi Qi cultivation phase before becoming a Dou Zhe, a warrior’s constitution is still weak, and there are few means available to accelerate progress.
For most practitioners, increasing by one stage of Dou Zhi Qi in a year already marks them as a genius.
However, after becoming a Dou Zhe, due to different factors such as Qi Methods, resources, and environment, cultivation speed is much faster than in the Dou Zhi Qi phase.
A Dou Zhe with excellent conditions can break through several stars within a single year without issue.
Yan Qingshan didn’t have a teacher to guide him or pills to assist him like the protagonist in the original story, but the Qi Method he practiced now was a High Xuan Class Qi Method.
This was five levels higher than the Low Huang Class Flame Mantra at the start of the story.
Even if it couldn’t reach maximum efficiency because it wasn’t a perfect match for his constitution, the attribute-neutral Lion Heart King Qi Method would never suffer from a compatibility that was too low. This chapter is updated first at novelping(.)com.
A High Xuan Class Qi Method should be enough to offset factors like pill resources.
Looking at it comprehensively, Yan Qingshan’s early cultivation speed should be even faster than Xiao Yan’s in the early stages—at least faster than before Xiao Yan first evolved his Qi Method.
Yan Qingshan stood up with an excited heart.
After taking a deep breath to calm the lake of his mind and organizing his thoughts, he walked to the seated skeleton and bowed once more.
Then, he carefully took the Ancient Map of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame from the skeleton’s arm bone.
“Beep…
Unrecorded knowledge detected.
Recording and analysis beginning…
Creating a folder…
Analysis progress: 0.0001%.”
When his palm touched the demonic fire remnant map, a situation occurred that left him stunned: his Dawn database actually began to operate.
This remnant map was actually a database recording knowledge.
However, unlike the Qi Methods, Dou Techniques, and Poison Scripture—which were intentionally left as inheritlands that were easy to understand—the relevant data hidden within this remnant map had to undergo analysis.
‘Could it be…
that there is an inheritance left by the Pure Lotus Demon Saint inside this remnant map?’
Such a thought popped into Yan Qingshan’s mind.
He understood the nature of this remnant map better than most.
It was a contingency left by the Pure Lotus Demon Saint after being backbitten by the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame, containing the Saint’s remnant soul which could wipe out the fire’s current consciousness.
Since this remnant map contained the remnant soul of the Pure Lotus Demon Saint, it naturally contained some of the Saint’s memory information—the unknown knowledge discovered by the auxiliary AI.
However, since this knowledge was inside someone else’s sleeping remnant soul, it wouldn’t actively reveal itself to him.
It was also fortunate that the soul was in a deep sleep.
Otherwise, peeking into someone’s memories like Yan Qingshan was doing would be a textbook case of seeking death.
But the sleeping Saint’s remnant soul also gave Yan Qingshan an opportunity.
Since Dawn showed it could be analyzed, it meant he had a chance to obtain the knowledge within.
This was absolutely wonderful news for him.
After all, this was the remnant soul of a Half-Saint; even if it only leaked a tiny bit of “drizzling rain,” it would be a massive fortuitous encounter for a tiny Dou Zhe like him.
…
On the outskirts of the Magic Beast Mountain Range, a figure tied to a rope was stumbling through the air outside a cliff.
The purple-black wings on his back looked exceptionally demonic, but his movements were very cautious and awkward, like a novice driver on the road.
This activity continued for a considerable amount of time.
It wasn’t until the sun hung high overhead, entering the hottest part of noon, that the person untied the rope.
He began to fly with significantly more flexibility, soaring freely through the long sky.
‘The consumption of this flight is truly no small matter.
Even with my current 3-Star Dou Zhe cultivation, I can only maintain top speed for about ten minutes.
Long-distance travel is impossible without the cultivation of a Dou Shi.’
Yan Qingshan landed carefully.
After slowly exhaling a turbid breath, he recovered some Dou Qi.
The High Xuan Class Qi Method offered an incredibly impressive recovery speed.
Just like now, Yan Qingshan—a 3-Star Dou Zhe—had consumed more than half of his Dou Qi by using the Purple Cloud Wings.
Yet just by walking and breathing, his Dou Qi was mostly recovered.
Comparing this to the ordinary mercenaries in his memory who needed massive amounts of time to recover after every battle.
A person like him was far stronger.
No wonder everyone pursued higher-level Qi Methods.
“Dawn, data analysis!”
[Host: Yan Qingshan
Cultivation: 3-Star Dou Zhe
Qi Method: High Xuan Class Lion Heart King Qi Method
Dou Techniques: High Xuan Class Mad Lion’s Roar (Beginner), Low Xuan Class Phoenix Flight Steps (Beginner)
Strength: 2.9
Status: Healthy
Soul Strength: 17
(Data Collection Target: Average of a 1-Star Dou Zhe in Qingshan Town.
Median data for a 1-Star Dou Zhe is 1.0 for all indicators.)]
The Lion Heart King Qi Method was truly worthy of being a High Xuan Class Qi Method.
Although he was only a 3-Star Dou Zhe, his various data points were on par with high-level Dou Zhe.
His explosive power even approached that of a 9-Star Dou Zhe.
One had to know that the comprehensive data for a 9-Star Dou Zhe was only around 3.0, and he was already close to that figure.
‘I’ve been in the mountains for nearly a month.
If I don’t go back, Xiao Yixian will probably worry.
Besides, I now have a bit of power to protect myself.
It’s time to return.’
Yan Qingshan turned to gaze toward Qingshan Town.
He was a person of extremely strong execution; once he made a plan, he acted immediately.
He went to the edge of the cliff, packed the things he had left at his camp, and donned his original attire.
However, the pack on his back was significantly more bulging.
He had no intention of putting everything into his storage ring because he had to maintain an appearance that matched his current identity.
He had never worn the storage ring; it was always hidden close to his body and disguised through certain means so that it couldn’t be seen from the outside.
The return journey was not too difficult.
The well-prepared Yan Qingshan walked quickly.
Perhaps because the harvest was so great, after the round trip, his whole being seemed sublimated, becoming more confident and his steps much lighter.
The cliff where the treasure was hidden was actually still in the outskirts of the Magic Beast Mountain Range, not too far from Qingshan Town.
The light-footed Yan Qingshan soon reached the edge of the outskirts.
He was about to leave this danger-filled territory.
His mood was quite good, and he even had the mind to hum a tune.
“Hmm…”
As he walked, Yan Qingshan suddenly furrowed his brows.
He turned to look toward the diagonal right-rear direction.
Hurried footsteps were approaching quickly, mixed with voices calling out.
In the short time it took him to turn around, the noise became even more obvious.
He could even vaguely see figures fleeing through the forest in that direction.
‘Those are…
herb hunters who entered the mountains during the snow season.
Not good.
These people are doing this on purpose.
Bastards, they definitely lured something difficult to deal with.’
Yan Qingshan squinted and looked into the distance at the figures running toward him and shouting for help.
He could vaguely hear waves of beastly roars coming from behind them.
These people seemed to have spotted Yan Qingshan as well, as they ran toward him while screaming frantically.
Without a second thought, Yan Qingshan turned and started running.
He had no relationship with these people and no reason to stay, let alone when they deliberately shouted so loudly after seeing him and moved toward him on purpose.
They were clearly trying to pull him in to take the fall; he had no interest in staying to help.
Yan Qingshan was never some “Saint Mother” character.
He would never involve himself in something that was clearly bringing trouble upon himself.
Forget things like “watching someone die without helping”; as a tiny Dou Zhe, he truly wasn’t some powerful figure on the Dou Qi Continent and didn’t have the qualifications to fight for justice.
Furthermore, he understood the nature of these herb hunters better than anyone.
To make a living in the Magic Beast Mountain Range, you had best stay sharp and suspicious, or you wouldn’t even know how you died.
This was an experience bought with the lives of his predecessors.
Just like these people now, shouting for help the moment they saw Yan Qingshan and charging at him—this wasn’t hoping for help, it was dragging someone else down as a scapegoat.
Someone who truly sought help from others would never lure the danger toward them.
Instead, they would change their route to deliberately create an opportunity for others to provide assistance.
(End of Chapter)