96: Diamond Leather

Then came the third and fourth Taiyin Qi Vortexes.

They were also activated after the other two masses of Grand Yin Qi shattered their Qi locks.

Xiao Shi took the opportunity to expand the second Taiyin Qi Vortex.

Although he had used a considerable number of Qi Warrior Grade items to expand the first Taiyin Qi Vortex previously,

He still had many surplus Qi Warrior Grade items in his possession.

After all, when he killed those Seven Stars Sect disciples, he obtained nearly twenty Qi Warrior Grade items, plus the relics he plundered from their bodies, and the more than thirty Qi Warrior Grade items acquired from this recent killing... This brought the total number of Qi Warrior Grade items he possessed to over sixty.

Even if he excluded the items useful to him from these sixty-plus items, he still had more than forty Qi Warrior Grade items that could be used to expand the Taiyin Qi Vortex.

And this didn't even account for the Qi Warrior Grade items that might be on the corpses in the basin.

He believed that after plundering these corpses, he would have more gains.

Furthermore,

Xiao Shi had not yet collected the numerous special auras in the basin.

There were nearly twenty such special auras.

All of them could be used for the expansion of the Taiyin Qi Vortex.

Xiao Shi believed that with the quantity of these Qi Warrior Grade items, it would definitely be enough for him to expand the second Taiyin Qi Vortex to its limit!

Thinking of this,

He immediately began the expansion.

However, what he didn't expect was that the expansion of the second Taiyin Qi Vortex reached its limit after only four expansions!

"What's going on?"

Xiao Shi was a bit bewildered.

The previous first Taiyin Qi Vortex had been expanded eight times, devouring a total of thirty-six Qi Warrior Grade items before reaching its limit.

Yet the second Taiyin Qi Vortex reached its limit after only four expansions.

This greatly surprised him.

"Could it be that the limits of different Qi Vortexes are not the same?"

Xiao Shi speculated in his mind.

This was similar to how some Qi locks were more secure, while others were looser.

The Qi Vortexes themselves also had differences.

Not every Qi Vortex had the same limit.

However... after the second Taiyin Qi Vortex reached its limit, its depth was clearly far less profound than that of the first Taiyin Qi Vortex.

The Taiyin Qi Strength within it was also much less than in the first Qi Vortex.

This was also a difference under different limits.

But the subtle transformation it brought to the body after reaching its limit was as consistent as ever, just like with the first Qi Vortex, with no difference.

These two consecutive body transformations also gave Xiao Shi a clearer understanding of this transformation, leading him to ponder that it seemed to make his body more adaptable to Taiyin.

"Could it be that it's transforming my body into a Taiyin Body?"

Xiao Shi had a guess in his mind.

At this moment, under the night sky,

His entire figure had dimmed considerably.

The Taiyin Qi Strength within his body was more active than ever, and both its intensity and recovery endurance had noticeably increased.

Since the expansion of the second Taiyin Qi Vortex did not result in significant consumption, Xiao Shi thus had enough Qi Warrior Grade items to proceed with the expansion of the third Taiyin Qi Vortex.

The limit of this third Taiyin Qi Vortex far exceeded that of the second Taiyin Qi Vortex.

Xiao Shi performed six expansions in total.

He devoured twenty-one Qi Warrior Grade items.

Only then did he finally expand the third Taiyin Qi Vortex to its limit.

As he consecutively expanded three Taiyin Qi Vortexes to their limits, most of the Qi Warrior Grade items he couldn't use much were essentially depleted, with only the items useful to him remaining.

Although he had only opened three Qi Vortexes now,

These three Qi Vortexes were all Limit Taiyin Qi Vortexes!

Xiao Shi mused that even those Qi Martial Realm cultivators who had opened twenty Qi Vortexes could now be easily killed by him.

"I just don't know... how far am I from the early Qi Martial Realm right now?"

Although these three Limit Taiyin Qi Vortexes greatly enhanced his strength, he was still not an opponent for an early Qi Martial Realm cultivator.

However... once he completed the cultivation of Vajra Skin, it would be a different story!

Thinking of this,

Xiao Shi began to take out rare treasures.

This killing had dropped a total of five rare treasures, plus the three rare treasures that had naturally appeared in this place.

Now he had a total of eight rare treasures in his hand!

"Eight rare treasures should be enough for me to cultivate the Vajra Skin!"

Xiao Shi's heart was filled with anticipation.

He took out the rare treasures one by one and refined them.

He turned them into a liquid-like substance and applied it to his body.

Crack! Crack!

Besides the crack on his shoulder, more fine cracks appeared successively all over his body.

After refining seven rare treasures in a row,

The cracks on his skin now spread densely across his entire body like tortoise shell patterns, and many areas even connected, resembling a vase that had been shattered and then glued back together.

It seemed as if he could fall apart at any moment.

"The last one!"

Xiao Shi took a deep breath.

He gripped the last rare treasure tightly.

He refined it and applied it all over his body.

Boom!

In an instant,

His body trembled.

Pieces of his skin peeled off, revealing a brand new layer of skin!

This new layer of skin was fairer and more translucent than his previous skin, and beneath this skin, a large area of golden luster was hidden.

As Xiao Shi's thoughts stirred,

This hidden luster immediately seeped out from his skin, making him stand there like a golden figure to anyone else who saw him, rather than a true flesh-and-blood person.

Amidst this golden light, his skin possessed astonishing toughness.

Xiao Shi flipped his hand and took out the Qi Severing Blade, striking his body with it.

The moment it touched his skin, a sound of metal clashing was heard, a clang. His chest, which had been struck by the Qi Severing Blade, felt only like a mosquito bite, and upon closer inspection, there wasn't even a single scratch.

"This is... the Vajra Skin, part of the Nine Refinements Vajra Body!"

Xiao Shi was overjoyed.

This was merely the protection of the Vajra Skin.

In addition to protection, the physical strength and speed after cultivating the Vajra Skin also experienced an enormous increase.

The power, like a volcano, lurking in every inch of his skin, made Xiao Shi clearly feel that his current physical strength had even surpassed the power of Qi Strength!

Even though he had just opened three Limit Taiyin Qi Vortexes,

He still couldn't compare to the might after cultivating the Vajra Skin.

This was... physical strength comparable to an early Qi Martial Realm cultivator!

Xiao Shi's gains in this place of opportunity far exceeded his previous gains from killing Seven Stars Sect disciples.

After all, the previous gains were mostly exclusive items.

While the gains this time brought permanent improvements.

Even if he left this Seven Stars Holy Land, both the Taiyin Qi Vortex and the Vajra Skin would still exist.

At the same time, Xiao Shi also realized that due to the limited number of exclusive items, even if most of them were currently in his hands, there would come a time when they ran out... Once they ran out,

He would definitely not be an opponent for those powerful Qi Martial Realm cultivators he encountered again.

It would be dangerous then.

"I must use these exclusive items sparingly, not carelessly... I must ensure that I always have exclusive items on me before leaving."

Xiao Shi thought to himself.

Although he still had many Wandering Soul Guardians around him,

The number of Qi Martial Realm martial artists in the entire Seven Stars Holy Land was numerous, with at least twenty Qi Warrior Realm Great Perfection cultivators alone!

And Wandering Soul Guardians were not guaranteed to be born after every killing.

For instance, this time when Xiao Shi killed the Qi Warrior Realm Great Perfection cultivator from Flying Origin Palace, no Wandering Soul Guardian was born.

He had to consider his predicament after the exclusive items ran out.

He knew very well.

These exclusive items could only guarantee his temporary strength.

He couldn't be reckless in the Seven Stars Holy Land just because he had these exclusive items.

He had to use these exclusive items rationally to create the greatest value for himself, thereby achieving the most improvements in this place!

He couldn't help but think of the holy land key in his hand.

He felt it was time to open the secret ground.

The secret ground could be said to be the greatest opportunity and fortune in the Seven Stars Holy Land.

He believed the gains there... would be even greater!

However, the opening of the secret ground required a sufficient number of people.

Before this, Xiao Shi had already thought of suitable candidates.

Their five-person team when they eliminated the evil spirits, plus Cen Qingci, made exactly six people!

And bringing them into the secret ground would also allow them to gain more from this place.

Xiao Shi was very happy to see the people around him grow stronger.

Under circumstances within his power, he naturally wanted to give them a hand.

"I must find them as soon as possible."

Xiao Shi immediately set off to search.

At night, his speed had significantly increased, but these increases were no longer from the Night Tiger cultivation method, but from the Taiyin Qi Strength.

Night Tiger was, after all, an Entering Martial Realm cultivation method.

After reaching the Qi Martial Realm, Night Tiger's improvements were basically only in perception, vision, and other aspects; it was no longer possible for his strength to increase threefold as it did in the Entering Martial Realm.

However, Taiyin Qi Strength perfectly compensated for this.

Especially now that Xiao Shi had three Limit Taiyin Qi Vortexes, night was still his strongest period.

Rushing along,

Xiao Shi quickly saw another group of Seven Stars Sect disciples killing together.

And among the many corpses killed by these Seven Stars Sect disciples, he saw some Red Tiger Sect disciples' bodies.

This made his expression grave.

He realized that Seven Stars Sect disciples were forming groups to kill in various places now.

He couldn't help but worry about Yang Zhen and the others' safety.

To find them as soon as possible, Xiao Shi didn't waste time on these Seven Stars Sect disciples and left directly.

The Seven Stars Holy Land was vast.

Even the area where their Qi Martial Realm cultivators were located was extremely expansive.

Finding Yang Zhen and the others was clearly not an easy task.

He searched for two consecutive days like this.

Xiao Shi looked at the corpse under the tree with a somber expression.

This was a young man.

His neck had been pierced by a sharp blade, and he had been dead for some time.

This person... was a member of their original five-person team.

A cold glint flashed in Xiao Shi's eyes.

His inner urgency grew stronger.

"I must find the others as soon as possible!"