56: Chapter 56 Qi Refining Ninth Level!

Far away in Qingyun Market, Second Elder Lu Wei of the Luoxia Sect was so enraged upon receiving the news that Huo De was executed on the spot by the Law Enforcement Hall for privately planting evil grass that he smashed the private booth of the entire teahouse.

"Trash! Useless trash who can't accomplish anything but ruins everything!"

Lu Wei's face was gloomy, and his eyes were filled with unwillingness.

With Huo De dead, the clue he had managed to find was completely cut off.

Xuantian Sect was currently heavily guarded because of the evil grass incident, and as an Elder of the Luoxia Sect, he simply dared not send anyone to sneak in for an investigation.

"Su Qinghan… You're lucky! Sooner or later, this old man will settle this score with you!"

Gritting his teeth, Lu Wei led his men to evacuate Qingyun Market.

Meanwhile, in the remote Nether Grass Field of the Xuantian Sect's Inner Sect.

Qi Yang was still wearing that tattered hemp robe, hunching his back as he leisurely loosened the soil for the nether grass.

Huo De was dead, and the Luoxia Sect's surveillance was completely cut off. This patch of Nether Grass Field restored its former tranquility, and Qi Yang continued to play the role of his transparent old farmer whose body was half-buried in the soil.

Time flew by, and a month passed in the blink of an eye.

In the secret room fifteen zhang deep underground beneath the Nether Grass Field, it was filled with a nauseating, fishy stench.

Qi Yang sat cross-legged on the bronze stone platform, his entire body soaked in a layer of black poisonous sweat. His wrinkled old face was horribly distorted, and the veins on his forehead twitched wildly like earthworms.

"It hurts too much!"

This bone-deep torture was simply something a human couldn't endure!

On the stone platform in front of Qi Yang, more than ten empty jade boxes were scattered haphazardly.

Over the past month, using the drop of green liquid condensed by the black gourd every three days, he had frantically ripened over a hundred grade 2 highly toxic Spiritual Plants.

heartbreak grass, bone-corroding vine, Seven-Step Life-Taking Flower… These poisons, which could make Late Stage Cultivators turn pale with fright if brought outside, were chewed up and swallowed into his stomach like Chinese cabbages.

The Five-Element Mixed Spiritual Roots absorbed Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi slower than a leaking broken jar.

When others ate one Spirit Medicine, they could absorb ninety percent of its medicinal power; if he ate ten, thanking the heavens and earth was in order if even ten percent remained.

Not to mention that what he cultivated was an extreme ancient poisonous technique like the Five Poisons Nourishing Spirit Art.

"This old man simply doesn't believe in this evil!"

Qi Yang clenched his teeth tightly, letting out a low roar from his throat.

He grabbed another poisonous plant that was pitch-black all over with barbs covering its leaves, and shoved it into his mouth without hesitation.

Boom!

As the poisonous plant entered his abdomen, terrifying toxicity exploded within his body, as if countless poisonous small knives were frantically cutting his internal organs.

The Five-Element Mixed Spiritual Roots inside Qi Yang's body transformed into a massive Five Elements Grindstone, beginning to operate at overload.

The five spiritual powers of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth frantically strangled and stripped away, crushing those fatal toxins bit by bit and forcibly converting them into overwhelmingly domineering Poison Wood Spiritual Power.

This was the only advantage of the Five-Element Mixed Spiritual Roots: complete with the Five Elements, it could encompass all things!

If it were those geniuses with Dual Spiritual Roots or Three Spiritual Roots, no matter how high their talent was, if they dared to swallow grade 2 ultimate poisons raw, they would have long since been corrupted by the toxic qi and turned into a pool of blood!

As the medicinal power of the last poisonous plant was completely crushed by the Five Elements Grindstone, the Poison Wood Spiritual Power in Qi Yang's Dantian had expanded to a dangerous critical point.

The originally dark green Spiritual Qi now became as deep as ink, and even had a trace of sticky texture.

"Break for me!"

Qi Yang let out a hysterical roar in the depths of his heart, and the massive Poison Wood Spiritual Power transformed into an indestructible heavy hammer, fiercely smashing towards the barrier of the Qi Condensation 9th Layer!

Crack!

Accompanied by a muffled roar within his body, that impregnable barrier shattered instantly!

The Dantian Qi Sea expanded abruptly, and the sticky Poison Wood Spiritual Power surged out like a breached embankment, circulating through all the meridians of his entire body!

Qi Condensation 9th Layer!

Qi Yang suddenly opened his eyes, two sharp gleams bursting out from his turbid old eyes.

He panted heavily, feeling the power within his body that was several times stronger than before, and finally revealed a trace of a smile.

"Qi Condensation 9th Layer! Only one step away from the Spiritual Qi liquefaction of the Qi Refining Tenth Layer!"

Qi Yang clenched his fists.

As long as he took another step forward and reached the Qi Refining Tenth Layer, he could be considered a true Inner Sect Disciple-level figure.

But he was not carried away by joy.

Qi Yang skillfully swallowed an improved version of the grade 2 wuxiang pill, and the medicinal power dissolved, tightly sealing his massive Qi Sea and Poison Wood Spiritual Power of the Qi Condensation 9th Layer.

In the blink of an eye, he turned back into that withered old waste of the Five-Element Mixed Spiritual Roots with declining blood qi and only at the Qi Condensation Third Layer.

Tidying up the secret room, Qi Yang followed the tunnel back to the thatched cottage on the ground.

Pushing open the door, the sunlight outside was somewhat dazzling.

He hoisted his hoe, slowly walking towards the Nether Grass Field to continue his unchanging old farmer routine.

At noon, a cold sword light descended from the sky, landing steadily outside the Nether Grass Field.

Su Qinghan had arrived.

She wore a moon-white long dress symbolizing Inner Sect Personal Disciples, carrying a long sword on her back, and her temperament became increasingly icy and otherworldly.

Ever since she refined the three-leaf golden lotus in Qingyun Market last time and purified her Three-element Profound Spiritual Root, her cultivation had been completely stabilized at the Qi Refining Tenth Layer.

"Why does Fairy have time to come to this old man's place today?"

Qi Yang put down his hoe, hunched his back, and greeted her with a smiling face.

Looking at Qi Yang's wrinkled face and pale white hair, Su Qinghan's gaze remained cold, but her tone lacked a bit of the high-and-mighty attitude.

"I was passing by and came to take a look. The cold qi in your Nether Grass Field is extremely heavy. If your old bones can't hold out, come to Jianzhi Peak to find me, and I'll have a word with the Spirit Plant House for you to change your job."

"Thank you for your concern, Fairy. This old man's life is cheap, and this place is quiet, which is quite nice."

Qi Yang waved his hands repeatedly.

He couldn't bear to leave; underground still hid his tunnel leading to the Spirit Spring Cave.

Su Qinghan frowned slightly and did not force the matter.

Glancing around the desolate scenery of the surroundings, she lowered her voice and said, "You must be careful yourself. The Inner Sect has not been very peaceful recently. The Materials Hall discovered that many precious grade 2 Spirit Medicines and Artifact Refining Materials have mysteriously vanished, as if a traitor is at work."

"A traitor?"

Qi Yang's turbid old eyes narrowed slightly, feigning a frightened appearance.

"In this heavily guarded Inner Sect, someone actually dares to steal the Sect's things?"

"Men die for wealth, birds die for food."

Su Qinghan snorted coldly.

"The Law Enforcement Hall has already begun secret investigations. Your place is remote, so usually keep your eyes open. If you encounter any suspicious people, directly use the Jade Slip I gave you to send a message."

Having said that, Su Qinghan didn't stay long, turning into a sword light that soared into the sky.

Standing on the field ridge, Qi Yang watched Su Qinghan leave, the foolish grin of an old farmer on his face gradually fading.

Inner Sect Materials leaking? A traitor?

Qi Yang's powerful perception quietly spread out, covering a radius of a hundred zhang.

In fact, as early as half a month ago, he had sensed that something was amiss.

Near the abandoned mine cave at the edge of the Nether Grass Field, obscure Spiritual Qi fluctuations always came over late at night recently.

"It seems that a big rat is truly hidden here."

Qi Yang sneered, hoisted his hoe, and continued weeding.

The Dao of survival principle: what doesn't concern oneself should be ignored.

But if this rat threatened his safe house, then it must die!

Night fell, and the Nether Grass Field was shrouded in a thick layer of grayish-white cold fog.

Qi Yang changed into a featureless night-travel outfit, attached a qi-suppressing talisman, and groped towards the abandoned mine cave at the edge of the grass field.

He was now at the Qi Condensation 9th Layer, and his perception was several times stronger than before. Any slight disturbance within a radius of two hundred zhang could not escape his detection.

The entrance of the mine cave was covered by thick vines, looking like it had been abandoned for over a hundred years.

However, Qi Yang's perception clearly captured that a concealed isolation Formation was set up behind the vines.

"This is a bit interesting."

Qi Yang did not touch the Formation; instead, using Earth-system spiritual power, he directly tunneled in from the rock layer on the side of the mine cave.

The Five-Element Mixed Spiritual Roots might suffer in combat, but in this kind of lurking and probing, it was definitely not weak.

Passing through the rock layer a dozen zhang thick, Qi Yang arrived above a wide underground passageway.

He held his breath, turning his perception into a fine needle, and cautiously probed downward.