31: Chapter 31 One reaps what one sows.

"Ah!!!"

That Inner Sect Disciple, whose hem was grabbed by Zhou Yunfei, was so frightened that he sat heavily on the ground and scrambled backward in a panic.

The entire Outer Sect plaza exploded into an uproar!

"D...Dead?! Zhou Yunfei is dead?!"

"My goodness! What on earth is going on here! How did he suddenly turn into water?!"

"Qi Deviation! It must be Qi Deviation! He forcefully urged his spiritual power earlier just to show off, and as a result, he suffered a backlash!"

The crowd retreated in terror, and no one dared to approach the pool of poisonous water exuding a chilling aura.

In the Cultivation World, Qi Deviation was a common occurrence.

The better the Spiritual Root and the faster one Cultivated, the more miserable the outcome would be if one's state of mind became unstable or they were overly eager for success, triggering a spiritual power backlash.

In the eyes of all the Outer Sect Disciples, Zhou Yunfei's death state of spiritual power countercurrent and self-detonation was simply the most typical case of Qi Deviation!

No one would associate his death with that Qi Condensation Third Layer old trash sweeping the floor far away in the Special Grade Herb Garden.

That was the Qi Refining Tenth Layer!

Even if he stood still and let a Qi Condensation Third Layer Cultivator hit him, his defense wouldn't be broken!

Who could kill him? Who would dare to kill him?

The news spread rapidly across the entire Xuantian Sect as if it had grown wings.

"Audacious! Who dares to kill a Disciple of my Jianzhi Peak within the Xuantian Sect!"

Soon, a roar like a thunderclap came from the depths of the Inner Sect.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

Several incomparably powerful streams of light soared into the sky, and within a breath, they descended upon the Outer Sect plaza.

Leading them was none other than Peak Master Wu Lie, the Peak Master of the Inner Sect's Jianzhi Peak and a powerful Elder at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage!

Peak Master Wu Lie's expression was ashen, and the terrifying coercion of the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage erupted forth, pressing down on all the Outer Sect Disciples present until they all dropped to their knees with thuds, not daring to even draw a breath.

"Peak Master! You must seek justice for Senior Brother Zhou!"

Those Inner Sect Disciples who had followed Zhou Yunfei crawled over, crying and howling.

Peak Master Wu Lie strode over to the pool of poisonous water, his brows locked tightly together.

His immense spiritual sense was like a giant net, covering a radius of a hundred zhang within a single breath.

There were no enemies! There were no Formation fluctuations! There were no traces of any sneak attacks!

Peak Master Wu Lie squatted down, enduring his nausea, and used his spiritual power to wrap around his finger to touch a bit of the ice-blue water stain on the ground, bringing it to the tip of his nose to sniff.

"Qi of extreme cold... traces of spiritual power completely collapsing and flowing in reverse..."

Peak Master Wu Lie's expression was so gloomy that water could drip from it.

"What on earth is going on! He was completely fine before he went out, how could he die here!"

Peak Master Wu Lie grabbed the Inner Sect Disciple who had been scared to the point of pissing himself by the collar and sternly demanded.

"P...Peak Master... We don't know either!"

That Disciple trembled all over and stammered out the situation from moments ago.

"To establish his prestige in the Outer Sect, Senior Brother Zhou erupted with all his Qi Refining Tenth Layer spiritual power on the Spirit-Guiding Bridge... And then... and then he suddenly let out a miserable scream, fell down, and turned into water!"

After hearing this, Peak Master Wu Lie threw the Disciple away.

He took a deep breath, his expression extremely ugly.

"Erupted with spiritual power with all his might?"

Peak Master Wu Lie knew that Zhou Yunfei had been stuck at the Peak of the Qi Refining Tenth Layer for some time and had always been eager to break through to the Qi Condensation 11th Layer.

"This idiot! This old man warned him long ago that although Dual Spiritual Roots allowed for fast Cultivation, the Foundation was prone to instability, and told him to consolidate more! But he refused to listen!"

Peak Master Wu Lie cursed, grinding his teeth.

In Peak Master Wu Lie's view, Zhou Yunfei must have been too eager for success, leading to unstable spiritual power within his body, and as a result, he still forced himself to show off and erupt on the Spirit-Guiding Bridge. This caused his Dantian to be unable to bear it, leading directly to Qi Deviation, where the backflowing spiritual power froze and shattered his Meridians!

As for that pool of water?

The states of death from Qi Deviation were varied and strange, and with different Spiritual Root attributes, the results of the backlash also differed.

What Zhou Yunfei Cultivated was an ice-type Cultivation Technique, so turning into ice water upon backlash was completely normal!

"Investigate! Thoroughly investigate the Spirit-Guiding Bridge inside and out for this old man! See if there are any traps!"

Although he had already concluded in his heart that it was Qi Deviation, Peak Master Wu Lie still refused to give up and had the people of the Law Enforcement Hall turn the surrounding area upside down.

The result, of course, was finding nothing at all.

A deadly poison like Frost Absolute Shadow would dissolve upon contact with blood, leaving not even a trace of residue behind, let alone one personally concocted by Qi Yang using the Five Poisons Nourishing Spirit Art.

In the end, the Law Enforcement Hall could only grudgingly reach a conclusion.

Inner Sect Disciple Zhou Yunfei was too eager for success, suffered a spiritual power backlash, and died of Qi Deviation.

A grand wedding procession turned into a farce.

Meanwhile, inside the West Wing Room of the Special Grade Herb Garden.

The blade of Su Qinghan's sword had already pressed a bloody scratch against her neck.

She closed her eyes, waiting for the moment when the courtyard door would be kicked open.

But waiting and waiting, there was no movement outside at all.

Just at this moment, excited discussions from a few passing handymen came from outside the Special Grade Herb Garden.

"Have you heard! Zhou Yunfei is dead!"

"He turned into a pool of water! He died so miserably!"

"Serves him right! Letting him be so arrogant usually, he must have suffered Qi Deviation!"

Clang!

The cyan steel longsword in Su Qinghan's hand dropped to the ground, and she abruptly opened her eyes, her face filled with disbelief.

"Dead? That Dual Spiritual Roots Genius of the Qi Refining Tenth Layer died just like that?!"

Su Qinghan felt her mind go completely blank.

She pushed open the room door and stumbled into the courtyard.

In the courtyard, Qi Yang was holding a pair of scissors, slowly trimming the withered leaves of a Spiritual Plant.

"Old man... Zhou Yunfei... is dead?"

Su Qinghan asked with a trembling voice.

Qi Yang raised his head, his murky old eyes filled with shock and confusion.

"Dead? Is Fairy joking? That is a big figure of the Inner Sect, who could possibly kill him?"

"Not killed... I heard it was Qi Deviation..."

Su Qinghan took a deep breath, her gaze complex to the extreme.

This was simply too coincidental!

So coincidental that she felt like she was dreaming!

She glanced at the old man before her with a hunched back who seemed as if he would fall over if the wind blew, and shook her head with self-deprecation.

She must have truly gone mad to actually suspect for a split second that this old man did it.

A mere Five-Element Mixed Spiritual Root waste at the Qi Condensation Third Layer couldn't even block a single strand of Zhou Yunfei's Sword Qi, so how could he possibly kill a Genius of the Qi Refining Tenth Layer?

"He who sins against heaven can still be forgiven, but self-inflicted sins cannot be survived."

Su Qinghan let out a long breath of turbid air, her nerves that had been taut for three days finally relaxing completely.

Qi Yang lowered his head and continued to trim the withered leaves, a faint cold smile hooking the corner of his mouth.

"Coincidence?"

How could there be so many coincidences in this world.

...

Zhou Yunfei's death stirred up a wave within the Xuantian Sect, but it quickly subsided.

What the Cultivation World lacked the least were geniuses; a dead Genius was worth even less than a blade of grass.

The Sect's upper echelons merely sighed in regret before continuing to tilt resources toward other Disciples.

As for the Outer Sect's Special Grade Herb Garden, it returned to peace once again.

Having gone through a life-and-death tribulation, Su Qinghan seemed to have seen through many things. She was no longer as icy as before and would occasionally help Qi Yang manage the spiritual field in the courtyard.

Of course, the two of them still maintained that tacit understanding of non-interference.

Qi Yang was more than happy to have it this way.

His mind was now completely filled with how to raise his Cultivation and how to get the refining method for the foundation establishment pill.

Late at night, in the underground secret chamber.

On the bronze stone platform, Qi Yang sat cross-legged, surrounded by wisps of dark green Poison Wood Spiritual Power.

Although he now Cultivated the Five Poisons Nourishing Spirit Art, wanting to Breakthrough again in a short time was still unachievable.

"A Five-Element Mixed Spiritual Root is truly a bottomless pit!"

Qi Yang opened his eyes and sighed helplessly.

Although he had the black gourd which could continuously ripen top-grade poisonous plants, the load-bearing capacity of his Meridians was limited.

Swallowing poisonous plants every day to transform spiritual power was like cutting flesh with a dull knife.

Moreover, after the Qi Condensation Seventh Layer, the difficulty of Cultivation increased exponentially, forming a huge watershed from the first six layers.

The gap in Spiritual Roots would be infinitely magnified at this stage.

A Genius with a Single Spiritual Root absorbed Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi like a giant whale drinking water, without any obstacles.

As for a Mixed Spiritual Root like him that possessed all Five Elements, the Spiritual Qi he absorbed was chaotic and disordered. It had to go through the crazy filtering of the Five Elements engendering and restricting each other, and if even one-tenth of the Spiritual Qi remained in the end, he would be burning high incense.

"According to the current progress, even if I treat century-old poisonous plants like meals, wanting to reach the Qi Condensation Twelfth Layer Great Perfection will still take at least thirty years!"

Thirty years!

Qi Yang was already a hundred years old now, and the ultimate lifespan of a Qi Refining Stage Cultivator was two hundred years.

If he could not achieve Foundation Establishment before his blood and Qi completely decayed, then his life would be completely finished!