23: Chapter 23: Concealing Merit and Fame, Breaking Through to the Sixth Level of Qi Refining

"You rat who attacks from the shadows! Get the hell out here!"

The leader in black was thoroughly enraged, his blood-red eyes scanning his surroundings.

His Qi Condensation 8th Layer cultivation erupted at full force, and his earth-type armor firmly blocked those toxic mists outside.

As long as he did not withdraw his protective barrier, this toxic mist could do nothing to him!

The absolute suppression of the Realm was vividly displayed at this moment.

"Get out here? I must have a hole in my brain to go out and fight a Qi Condensation 8th Layer head-on with you."

Qi Yang in the swamp sneered repeatedly in his heart.

Facing an opponent like a tortoise shell, Qi Yang would never get within half a step.

He flipped his palm, and ten Grade 1 intermediate Thunder Fire Talismans covered in crimson patterns appeared in his palm.

Without any nonsense or probing, Qi Yang directly activated all ten of these priceless Thunder Fire Talismans, smashing them toward the leader in black like scattered flowers falling from the sky!

Rumble!

Ten Thunder Fire Talismans exploded simultaneously, and the terrifying firelight and thunder swallowed the leader in black!

The violent shockwave mixed with thunder and fire reverberated back and forth within the narrow canyon, shaking the rubble on the cliffs on both sides to roll down in rustles.

"Ah!"

A shrill scream from the leader in black came from the center of the thunder and fire.

Under the bombardment of ten Grade 1 intermediate Thunder Fire Talismans, his earth-type armor finally filled with spiderweb-like cracks, and then shattered with a bang!

Once the armor shattered, the toxic mist began to pour in through his seven orifices.

The leader in black violently spat out a large mouthful of black blood, and his Spiritual Qi began to frantically collapse.

But after all, he was a ruthless character at the Qi Condensation 8th Layer, biting his tongue raw to keep himself awake, and holding a large saber as he rushed toward the outside of the canyon.

"Want to leave? In your next life."

Just at the moment the leader in black turned around, Qi Yang's eyes in the swamp turned fierce, and his right sleeve violently shook.

A delicate sleeve-arrow mechanism sprang out, and a short black arrow drenched in fatal poison that killed upon contact was shot out from an incomparably tricky blind spot!

Puchi!

The short black arrow accurately shot in from the side and back of the leader in black, directly piercing through his throat!

The poisonous arrowhead protruded from the front of his neck, flashing with a deep blue cold light.

The leader in black widened his bloodshot eyes, his hands tightly covering his bleeding neck, and a rattling, leaking sound came from his throat.

He turned his head with difficulty, wanting to see clearly who exactly killed him, but the virulent poison had already paralyzed his nerves.

Thud.

This powerful Qi Condensation 8th Layer expert heavily slammed onto the muddy ground, twitched twice, and completely lost all breath.

Luohun Valley returned to dead silence once more, with only the lingering smell of gunpowder smoke after the explosion of the Thunder Fire Talismans and a rich bloody stench permeating the air.

Su Qinghan barely maintained her last breath, watching the leader in black fall, her tightly strung nerves finally snapping completely.

Her vision darkened, and she could no longer suppress the injuries inside her body, collapsing limply to the ground.

In the last second before losing consciousness, her blurred vision only saw a figure wearing a wide black robe and a gloomy human skin mask slowly walking out from the swamp.

That figure exuded a heart-palpitating coldness and mystery.

"Many thanks... Senior..."

Su Qinghan murmured a sentence and completely lost consciousness.

Qi Yang walked to Su Qinghan's side, lowered his head to glance at her, and confirmed that she was only heavily injured and unconscious without any life-threatening danger, only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"Consider yourself lucky. If you die, my protection amulet for the Special Grade Herb Garden will be in trouble."

Without any shred of tender affection for the fairer sex, he directly fished out a most ordinary healing Medicinal Pill from his Storage Pouch and crudely shoved it into Su Qinghan's mouth, just ensuring she wouldn't die was enough.

Afterwards, Qi Yang immediately turned and walked toward the corpses of the three assassins, starting his most favorite segment—looting corpses.

A person of the Dao of Gou would never waste even the tiniest bit of resources!

Qi Yang's movements were proficient, and in a flash, he tore down all the Storage Pouches from the waists of the three assassins.

Not only that, even the Magical Artifacts they held in their hands, the defensive armor they wore, and even the few pieces of fragmented Spirit Stones hidden in the soles of their shoes were all thoroughly plundered clean by Qi Yang.

"Poor ghosts, the three assassins combined didn't earn as much as me selling a single supreme-grade Spirit Medicine."

Qi Yang weighed the Storage Pouch and curled his lips.

After looting the corpses, Qi Yang fished out the black porcelain bottle filled with corpse-dissolving water.

With an indifferent gaze, he evenly poured the corpse-dissolving water onto the three corpses.

Accompanied by the sizzling sound of corrosion and pungent white smoke, the three corpses, along with their clothes and hair, turned into pools of foul-smelling yellow water at a speed visible to the naked eye, completely blending into the soil.

Finally, Qi Yang formed seals with both hands and cast the Spirit Rain Technique, washing away all the blood stains, residual poison powder, and his own footprints at the scene completely clean.

After confirming that no traces were left behind, he slapped a divine mobility talisman onto his legs, transforming into a black shadow as he quietly evacuated Luohun Valley, as if he had never appeared.

Late at night, in the underground secret room of the Special Grade Herb Garden in the Xuantian Sect outer Sect,

Qi Yang sat cross-legged on the bronze stone platform, removing his human skin mask to reveal an old face full of wrinkles.

He let out a long breath of foul air and completely emptied the three Storage Pouches he had looted today.

Clatter!

Hundreds of Low-Grade Spirit Stones piled together.

Besides Spirit Stones, there were also several decent earth-type and metal-type spell Jade Slips, as well as several bottles of poison and healing medicine.

"So-so, it can be considered a windfall."

Qi Yang put away the spoils of war classified by category, and then his gaze became extremely solemn.

Today's assassination, although he won completely relying on sneak attacks and Formations, also made him deeply realize the terror of the gap in Realms.

If that Qi Condensation 8th Layer leader had erected his protective barrier right from the start, his poisonous darts and toxic mist would have been completely useless.

In the Cultivation World, strength was paramount after all!

"Qi Condensation 5th Layer is still too weak; I must make a Breakthrough!"

A trace of ruthlessness flashed in Qi Yang's eyes, and he took out five supreme-grade century-old Spirit Medicines radiating rich Five Elements Spiritual Qi from the jade box beside him.

Crimson Flame Grass, Water Lingzhi, qingmu vine, Sharp Gold Fruit, and Yellow Rock Ginseng!

If Cultivators outside were to see this, they would definitely go mad with jealousy.

Without any hesitation, he shoved all five Spirit Medicines into his mouth, and the violent medicinal power began to dissolve within his body!

Boom!

The Five Elements Spiritual Qi rushed about wildly and violently like five angry dragons within Qi Yang's fragile Mixed Spiritual Roots Meridians!

That feeling was as if someone were taking an iron file to file his bones little by little!

"Ugh, ah!"

Qi Yang clenched his teeth tightly, blue veins bulging on his forehead, and cold sweat soaking through his clothes.

If a Five-Element Mixed Spiritual Root wanted to make a Breakthrough, it had to endure unimaginable pain that ordinary people could not fathom!

But he did not retreat!

There was only one thought in his mind, and that was to survive!

Qi Yang crazily circulated his Cultivation Technique, guiding this violent Spiritual Qi to impact the Bottleneck of the Qi Condensation 6th Layer again and again.

His Meridians were torn apart, and then quickly repaired under the nourishment of the supreme-grade Spirit Medicine, becoming broader and tougher.

I do not know how much time passed, accompanied by a roar like muffled thunder coming from deep within his Dantian!

Qi Yang's entire body violently shook, and an aura several times more formidable than before erupted from his withered body!

Qi Condensation 6th Layer!

He suddenly opened his eyes, and two terrifying rays of sharp light shot out from his turbid old eyes.

Feeling the surging Spiritual Qi within his body, Qi Yang exhaled a breath of foul air and smiled with satisfaction.

"I'm at the Qi Condensation 6th Layer now. Coupled with poison and Talismans, even if I encounter someone at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, I dare to scheme him to death!"

At this time, Su Qinghan, who had passed out in Luohun Valley, was finally rescued by a passing caravan and managed to return to the Xuantian Sect with great difficulty.

Lying on the bed, recalling that black-robed figure wearing a gloomy mask, her heart was filled with intense curiosity and gratitude.

"Senior... I, Su Qinghan, will remember this life-saving grace."

She swore inwardly.

But she never dreamed in her wildest dreams that the decisive and unfathomable expert was Qi Yang, the centenarian old man who was slowly sweeping the yard and coughing as if he might expire at any moment.

Meanwhile, the news of Su Qinghan returning to the Xuantian Sect heavily injured caused a huge uproar in the outer Sect.

Although the Luoxia Sect was only an affiliated third-rate Sect, Su Qinghan was nominally the Sect Master's daughter sent for a political marriage after all.

Now that she was almost assassinated on the Xuantian Sect's territory, this was undoubtedly a fierce slap to the Xuantian Sect's face!

The higher-ups were shaken, and the elites of the Law Enforcement Hall all came out to strictly investigate the matter.

Under the powerful deterrence of the Xuantian Sect, the black hands stretched out from the Luoxia Sect were scared into instantly retracting, no longer daring to make any rash moves.

Su Qinghan finally ushered in a period of truly safe breathing room, staying behind closed doors and recovering from her injuries with peace of mind.

As for Qi Yang, he continued to play his role as an old farmer who would fall over at a puff of wind in the Special Grade Herb Garden.

Planting fields and watering flowers every day, his life was quite cozy.

His Qi Condensation 6th Layer cultivation was firmly suppressed to the Qi Condensation Third Layer by the wuxiang pill, so even Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators like Great Elder Li Changyuan could not see any flaws.

However, peaceful days did not last many days before the Sect suddenly became chaotic again.