74: Chapter 74 Refining the Paper Doll for Substitute Calamity, Su Qinghan Emerges from Seclusion

Facing this fatal sword strike, Qi Yang stood in place, neither dodging nor avoiding.

"Are you scared out of your wits? What a piece of trash."

A trace of disdain flashed through the eyes of the Qingyu Sect Deacon.

Just as the Azure Wind Sword was about to hack down on top of Qi Yang's head, Qi Yang moved.

He did not deploy any Magical Artifact, nor did he raise a defensive barrier. Instead, he slowly raised his right hand and flicked his finger.

Inside the Dantian, the Qi Refining Tenth Layer liquid Poison Wood Spiritual Power tightly sealed by the wuxiang pill was suddenly unsealed at this moment!

A drop of liquid toxic power, as viscous as mercury and as pitch-black as ink, shot out from Qi Yang's fingertips!

This drop of venom drew a thin black line in mid-air, its speed so fast that even the perception of the Qi Condensation 11th Layer could not capture it!

It made no earth-shattering sound, merely floating lightly to meet that awe-inspiring Azure Wind Sword.

Hiss!

That indestructible Magical Artifact Azure Wind Sword, upon being struck by that drop of black venom, was directly melted through with a large hole!

The spiritual light on the sword body directly extinguished, letting out a mournful cry, and it fell into the mud pit as a piece of scrap iron!

"What?!"

The Qingyu Sect Deacon's eyeballs were practically popping out, his heart shrank violently, and a sense of life-and-death crisis enveloped his entire body.

But he had no time to make any reaction at all; after melting through the Azure Wind Sword, that drop of liquid toxic power did not diminish in momentum, crashing directly onto his Protective Aura with a destructive force!

Puff!

The Protective Aura, which was sufficient to withstand a full-strength strike from a first-grade superior Magical Artifact, had completely no resistance before this drop of liquid spiritual power fused with several ultimate poisons, and it was violently pierced through!

The black venom sank with absolute precision into the center of the Qingyu Sect Deacon's brow.

"Uh…"

The Qingyu Sect Deacon only managed half a syllable before his entire body stiffened in place.

The next second, the extreme bitter cold and terrifying corrosive power violently erupted inside his body!

His formidable Physical Body of the Qi Condensation 11th Layer began to melt at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Skin, muscles, bones, internal organs… In a mere three breaths of time, a living expert turned into a pool of foul-smelling black blood, completely merging into the swamp beneath his feet.

He didn't even have time to utter a single word for mercy.

Qi Yang walked forward expressionlessly, using spiritual power to scoop up the Storage Pouch that had fallen into the muddy water and grabbed it in his hand.

"Before my liquid toxic power, your Qi Condensation 11th Layer is still not quite enough."

Qi Yang sneered, skillfully pulling out the corpse-dissolving water and sprinkling a circle around, completely erasing the last traces of battle, then casting a Spirit Rain Technique to wash the scene clean.

Afterward, Qi Yang attached a divine mobility talisman and returned to the Xuantian Sect.

Returning to the underground secret chamber, Qi Yang impatiently took out those few shriveled pieces of spirit-guiding yin wood.

He carefully pulled out the stopper of the black gourd and dripped a drop of emerald-green mysterious liquid.

The originally lifeless dead wood began to rapidly radiate vitality, its outer skin peeling off to reveal the top-grade wood core inside that was as pitch-black as ink and exuded a dense yin-cold aura!

Three-hundred-year-old spirit-guiding yin wood!

Qi Yang took a deep breath, opened the remnant pages of the scapegoat paper doll, and began to carve complex Formation patterns on the top-grade yin wood.

Over the next few days, the only sound in the secret chamber was the rustling of the carving knife scraping across the wood.

Finally, after destroying two pieces of yin wood, the last palm-sized, lifelike black paper doll appeared in Qi Yang's hand.

Qi Yang forced out a drop of heart blood and dripped it onto the center of the paper doll's brow, his hands quickly forming hand seals.

"Fuse!"

The paper doll turned into a streak of black light, sinking into Qi Yang's chest and disappearing.

Qi Yang only felt an extra trace of icy connection at his heart, as if he had gained an extra life.

"My trump card for saving my life is done."

Qi Yang let out a long breath of turbid air, revealing a satisfied smile.

...

In the Cultivation World, a few months of time is merely a snap of the fingers.

For Qi Yang, however, these past few months had been exceptionally fulfilling.

The Nether Grass Field was as dead and secluded as ever; by day he acted as an old farmer step-by-step, and by night he curled up in the secret chamber fifteen zhang underground, frantically refining top-grade poisonous herbs and stabilizing the Qi Refining Tenth Layer liquid Poison Wood Spiritual Power.

At noon this day, just as Qi Yang had poured a basket of withered nether grass into the waste soil pit, a harsh sonic boom suddenly came from the sky.

Boom!

A peerlessly sharp moon-white sword light tore through the clouds of Baicao Peak, carrying a terrifying aura that made one's heart palpitate, plunging straight toward the direction of the Nether Grass Field.

The strength of that pressure caused even the second-grade defense Formation on the periphery of the grass field to emit an unbearable creaking sound.

"Qi Condensation 11th Layer!"

A sharp glint flashed in Qi Yang's murky old eyes.

He immediately stooped his waist and back, tightly suppressing his aura to the Qi Condensation Third Layer, pretending to be trembling with fear from the pressure.

As the sword light dissipated, Su Qinghan's figure landed steadily outside the fenced courtyard.

Not seen for a few months, her moon-white long dress was untainted by dust, and her temperament became increasingly cold and otherworldly, resembling a Fairy from above the Nine Heavens.

In those pretty phoenix eyes, Sword Qi faintly flowed, and her entire person was like a peerless divine weapon that had just been unsealed.

The first thing after coming out of seclusion, she did not go to Jianzhi Peak to report to the peak master, nor did she go to the Inner Sect Resource Hall to claim a reward, but instead flew directly to this desolate Nether Grass Field.

Looking at the stooped old man in the courtyard wearing tattered linen clothes, with a face full of wrinkles, holding a water ladle to water, a trace of imperceptible warmth flashed through Su Qinghan's cold eyes.

In this Xuantian Sect filled with schemes and slaughter everywhere, only this nominal husband with one foot in the grave could make her feel a trace of rare peace.

"Fairy has come out of seclusion! Congratulations to Fairy for achieving Major Achievement in your divine skill!"

Qi Yang dropped the water ladle and staggered up to greet her, his wrinkles smiling into a bunch.

Su Qinghan did not speak, but instead stepped into the courtyard.

Her wrist flipped, and she pulled out a soft armor emitting a faint silver light from the Storage Pouch, handing it in front of Qi Yang.

"This is a first-grade ultimate defensive soft armor, the Silver Thread Treasure Armor, which can withstand a full-strength strike from a Cultivator of the Qi Refining Tenth Layer."

Although Su Qinghan's tone was still cold, it revealed a sense of concern.

"Your old bones are too brittle. Any casual bump in the Inner Sect could take your life. Wear this soft armor close to your body, and whether you are sleeping or working in the fields, you are not allowed to take it off."

Qi Yang took the soft armor with trembling hands, but his heart bloomed with joy.

First-grade ultimate defensive Magical Artifact!

This thing can sell for at least two thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones in the outside marketplace; this girl's spending has become increasingly lavish lately.

"Many thanks to Fairy for the reward! This old man will definitely wear it day and night, and will never disappoint Fairy's kind intentions!"

Qi Yang bowed repeatedly, putting on a look of being moved to tears of gratitude.

Su Qinghan nodded, her expression turning solemn afterward.

She brought her fingers together to form a sword, rapidly tracing several Formation patterns in mid-air.

With a hum, a layer of soundproofing barrier tightly enveloped the two of them inside.

Seeing Su Qinghan's formidable-enemy-like appearance, Qi Yang's heart skipped a beat.

To make a Qi Condensation 11th Layer Prodigy so cautious, it was definitely no trivial matter.

"Qi Yang, what I say next must rot in your belly, and you cannot mention half a word to anyone."

Su Qinghan stared fixedly into Qi Yang's eyes, her voice pressed extremely low.

"The dead zone Yunxing Abyss at the border of the Xuantian Sect and the Qingyu Sect has recently experienced drastic abnormalities. After secret investigations by high-level Sect officials, it has been confirmed that a Sect ruin from a thousand years ago is suspected to have appeared there!"

Yunxing Abyss!

Qi Yang's eyelids twitched violently.

Having laid low in the Xuantian Sect for so many years, he had naturally heard of that ghost place.

It was shrouded year-round by terrifying stellar magnetic storms with abnormal gravity, where even flying birds could not cross; it was truly a place where the living were forbidden to enter.

"When a millennium ruin appears, there must be heavy treasures, but the stellar magnetic Formation of Yunxing Abyss is extremely unstable. Once a Foundation Establishment Stage Elder steps in, the massive spiritual power will directly detonate the Formation, causing the entire ruin to collapse."

"Therefore, the main force for exploring the ruins this time can only be Qi Refining Stage Disciples."

Su Qinghan took a deep breath, a trace of resolution flashing in her eyes.

"Peak Master Wu Lie has already appointed me as the exploration vanguard for Jianzhi Peak, and I am to set off for Yunxing Abyss starting today."

Qi Yang cursed inwardly.

This bunch of high-level Sect officials were truly fucking no good; it sounded nice to call it an exploration vanguard, but to put it bluntly, it was going to be cannon fodder for pathfinding!

In a place like Yunxing Abyss, even entering with the Qi Condensation 11th Layer meant a life of nine deaths and one survival!