124: Chapter 124 One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones! The Blessing of Laozi!

The wind pressure from the heavy sword had not yet fully dissipated when the shock in the Black Robe Leader’s flickering ghostly eyes instantly turned into a resolute ferocity.

"Arrogant!"

With a violent shout, the Black Robe Leader’s body exploded out of thin air, turning into a sky full of afterimages like black crows. This time, he no longer held back, and his ultimate trump card as an epic rank BOSS completely erupted.

It wasn't an ordinary displacement, but a high-speed refraction that seemed to slice space into countless fragments.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—!

Dense sounds of tearing silk erupted in the air. The Black Robe Leader’s palms turned into countless pitch-black ghostly claws, carrying an abyssal poisonous mist that could corrode all things, pouring down on Qin Ji like a torrential storm.

-102,550!

-103,400!

-206,800 (Critical)!

...

Ten hits in just one second!

The health bar above Qin Ji's head was like a dam with its gates opened, instantly evaporating nearly a million health points. This terrifying explosive power was enough to cause any top-tier tank at this stage to die on the spot.

However, standing at the center of the storm, the mocking curve at the corner of Qin Ji's mouth did not fade in the slightest.

"You've got some skill."

He commented softly, his heavy sword having already switched back to the jiu he long bow in a flash. His fingers hooked the bowstring, moving so fast that only a blurry afterimage remained.

"Then I'll show you some moves too."

Twang, twang, twang, twang!

Fletched arrows poured out at extreme close range like meteors chasing the moon. Every arrow was precisely nailed into the gaps of the Black Robe Leader’s attacks, bringing up puffs of black blood mist.

-156,000!

-158,000!

+42,000 (Life Steal)!

+42,000 (Life Steal)!

...

The 1% maximum health life steal from the Bloodthirsty Necklace, combined with the 5% damage life steal of the jiu he long bow, constructed a life-returning flow that defied common logic at this moment.

Twenty arrows in one second!

The health bar that was originally hitting rock bottom actually bounced back at a terrifying speed visible to the naked eye under the Black Robe Leader’s horrified gaze. 800,000, 900,000... In the blink of an eye, Qin Ji's health was full again!

The Black Robe Leader’s originally torrential offensive came to a sudden halt in mid-air.

His pupils contracted violently, as if he were looking at some indescribable monster.

A health bar as thick as a mountain, ridiculously high damage, and now even health recovery so fast it felt like cheating.

How could he even fight this?

The only weakness might be his dual resistances, but in the face of such perverted life steal ability, the level of defense had lost its meaning. As long as he couldn't be killed in an instant, he was an immortal god of war!

The Black Robe Leader slowly withdrew his palm, which still had traces of black energy, and the boiling killing intent around him was instantly extinguished as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over it.

"Snow Emperor..."

His voice was dry, carrying a sense of defeat that forced him to bow his head. "I was just testing your strength just now, don't misunderstand. Since you have such strength, then this quest... I will change it for you right now."

"Testing?"

Qin Ji lowered the longbow in his hand, not in a hurry to put it back into his inventory, but instead flicked the bowstring lightly with his finger.

Hum—

A crisp vibration echoed in the hall, causing the Black Robe Leader’s heart to tighten suddenly.

"You say it's a test and it's a test? Do you think I, the Snow Emperor, am really that easy to talk to?"

His voice wasn't loud, and there was no hysterical shouting, but it carried a pressure unique to those in power, making the surrounding air temperature seem to drop by several degrees.

The Black Robe Leader’s palm hidden in his sleeve subconsciously clenched, then loosened powerlessly.

"Snow Emperor, we should be friends, shouldn't we? More friends mean more paths."

"I treated you as a friend before, and even if it was a transaction, I showed my sincerity. But the way you do things is not very honorable." Qin Ji stepped forward, his combat boots making a crisp cracking sound on the rubble as he approached the throne step by step.

"Isn't this just a joke?" The Black Robe Leader forced a smile, but his body unconsciously leaned back slightly. He really didn't want to fight this monster anymore.

"Making jokes comes with a price."

Qin Ji stood still three steps away from the Black Robe Leader, his gaze like a knife piercing straight into the eyes under the other's hood. "How about this, I won't ask for much. Give me the Demon Cave Dungeon Key, and I won't pursue what just happened."

Hearing this, the Black Robe Leader’s forced smile instantly froze.

His eyes narrowed, and the extinguished ghostly fire flickered again, staring fixedly at Qin Ji as if trying to see through this human.

"Snow Emperor, I'm really curious, what exactly is your identity?"

His voice was low and dangerous. "You know my Infinite Black Smoke Displacement like the back of your hand, and now you know I have the Demon Cave Dungeon Key... You seem to know more about us Night Walkers than I do myself."

Qin Ji didn't explain, just looked at him quietly, his purple-gold pupils reflecting the Black Robe Leader’s suspicious face.

"So, are you giving it, or not?"

Silence.

A deathly silence spread through the cave.

The Black Robe Leader’s fist clenched until it creaked, his knuckles turning white from excessive force. He was weighing his options, gambling; the urge to strike surged in his heart several times, only to be forcibly suppressed by reason.

He couldn't kill him.

Even if he exhausted all his trump cards to kill him once, this Chosen One with an immortal body would make a comeback. When that happened, the Demon Cave would face endless retaliation.

For a single key, it wasn't worth risking the future of the entire Night Walkers.

"Fine."

The Black Robe Leader exhaled a long breath of turbid air, as if he had aged ten years in an instant. "I can give you the Demon Cave Dungeon Key, but that quest cannot change."

"The quest to establish a regime?"

Qin Ji shook his head and extended a finger, shaking it gently. "The key is compensation for that 'joke' just now. If you want me to help you establish a regime in the Star Kingdom, that's a separate price."

"Otherwise..."

The longbow in Qin Ji's hand was raised again, the arrow pointing directly at the center of the Black Robe Leader’s brow. "I can only kill you and personally loot the key from your corpse."

"You—!!"

The Black Robe Leader trembled with rage, his chest heaving violently.

Rogue!

This was simply blatant robbery!

As a dignified regional overlord, when had he ever suffered such humiliation? But he discovered sadly that he didn't even have the courage to flip the table.

"Good! Very good!"

The Black Robe Leader laughed out of extreme anger. HeHe suddenly waved his hand, and something flew toward Qin Ji with the sound of breaking wind.

"The Demon Cave Dungeon Key is yours! To help us Night Walkers establish a regime, what other benefits do you want?!"

Qin Ji raised his hand to catch the key, put it into his inventory without even looking at it, and then said indifferently, "That depends on what other benefits you can afford. Ordinary scrap metal won't catch my eye."

The Black Robe Leader took a deep breath, forcibly calming his nearly exploding state of mind. He flipped his wrist, and a withered flower appeared in his palm.

The flower was completely gray and decayed, with only a faint starlight flickering at the stamen. It looked unremarkable, even somewhat like a roadside weed.

"Do you recognize this?" the Black Robe Leader asked coldly, a hint of provocation in his eyes.

Qin Ji frowned slightly, his gaze falling on the withered flower.

The next second, his pupils shook slightly.

These patterns, this aura...

"talent evolution flower?!"

The moment these words escaped his mouth, the expression on the Black Robe Leader’s face became extremely colorful.

"Interesting..." The Black Robe Leader took a deep look at Qin Ji. "Snow Emperor, I'm getting more and more curious about you. This thing was a rarity even in ancient times. As an outlander, you actually recognize it."

Qin Ji ignored the other's testing and stared intensely at the withered flower.

talent evolution flower!

A divine object that was hyped to astronomical prices on the forums in his past life!

It could allow an Awakened's talent to make a qualitative leap. Although it was difficult to directly cross major Ranks (such as jumping from S-Rank to SS-Rank), strengthening within the original Rank was a certainty.

For example, increasing the number of bonds, increasing the types of attribute inheritance, or even doubling the multipliers!

"If it's this, then there's no problem with the transaction." Qin Ji suppressed the heat in his heart, his tone remaining calm.

He was thinking about a question: Would this thing be useful for his Super Divine Rank talent?

Data statistics from his past life showed that the higher the talent Rank, the weaker the evolution effect. Divine-Grade talents often only had minor adjustments after use, and he had never heard of a precedent for a Super Divine Rank talent evolving.

But if he didn't try, how would he know it wouldn't work?

"Ding! The Black Robe Leader has issued a quest to you."

"Quest Requirement: Help the Night Walkers establish a regime in the Star Kingdom."

"Quest Reward: talent evolution flower."

"Accept?"

"Accept."

Qin Ji chose to confirm without hesitation.

Immediately afterward, he was not in a hurry to leave, but took out another scroll from his inventory—it was the [Blessing of the Gods (Prerequisite Quest Scroll)] that the Black Robe Leader had given him before.

"This thing..." Qin Ji tossed the scroll in his hand, looking at the Black Robe Leader with a half-smile. "Shouldn't you change the quest requirements on this for me?"

The original quest was to assist in establishing a regime. Now that he had accepted the formal quest, if this prerequisite scroll's quest was repeated, wouldn't it be a waste?

The corner of the Black Robe Leader’s mouth twitched.

Is this person a devil? Not even letting a single bit of wool go?

But he was now asking for help, so he could only wave his hand with a dark face. A ghostly light flashed, and the text on the scroll in Qin Ji's hand instantly underwent a distorted change.

The originally complex "establish a regime" clauses disappeared, replaced by a line of text so simple it was outrageous:

[Quest Requirement: Give the Black Robe Leader one copper coin.]

Qin Ji nodded with satisfaction, casually fished out a copper coin, and flicked it with his finger.

Clink.

The copper coin drew a parabola in the air and landed precisely in the Black Robe Leader’s arms. The Black Robe Leader subconsciously caught it, and looking at this copper coin in his hand that still carried body heat, his face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

One copper coin for one Blessing of the Gods.

This deal was simply devoid of conscience.

At the same time, the pleasant System notification sounded in Qin Ji's ear.

"Ding! Congratulations on completing the Blessing of the Gods prerequisite quest."

"Quest reward being issued..."

"Communicating with the Divine Realm..."

Qin Ji took a deep breath, a hint of expectation flashing in his eyes.

Last time it was Yue Lao, who would it be this time?

"Ding! You have received the blessing of the Grand Supreme Elder Lord."

"Ding! You have obtained a Divine-Grade skill—One Qi Becomes Three Pure Ones (Incomplete)!"

Qin Ji was stunned.

Even with his composure, he couldn't help but be a bit dazed at this moment.

Grand Supreme Elder Lord?

The head of the Three Pure Ones of Taoism?

The Black Robe Leader, with his Western fantasy-style Necromancer setting, actually brought out a scroll that could yield a top-tier big shot from the Eastern mythological System?

Isn't this art style a bit off?

Could it be...

A bold guess flashed through Qin Ji's mind. These Blessing of the Gods prerequisite quest scrolls were very likely passed down from some Ancient Eastern Kingdom ruins. The blessing deity had nothing to do with the user, only with the source of the scroll itself.

He couldn't wait to open the skill panel.

[One Qi Becomes Three Pure Ones (Incomplete · Divine-Grade)]

Effect: Consumes 50% of current Mana, splitting into two Clones that possess 80% of the main body's attributes. The Clones can last for 10 minutes and can independently release skills (shared cooldown).

Cooldown: 24 hours.

Special Description: Dao produced one, one produced two, two produced three, and three produced all things.

Although there was the word "Incomplete," these attributes were still powerful enough to be outrageous!

Two Clones with 80% attributes—this wasn't just a triple increase in firepower, but a qualitative change at the tactical level!

Inside the hall, lights and shadows flickered.

Qin Ji slowly raised his right hand. In his palm, a mass of clear Qi slowly circulated, and three phantom lotus flowers could be vaguely seen floating in the airflow. His purple-gold pupils reflected this profound light, and the corner of his mouth hooked into a meaningful curve, as if a deity who had just mastered a new authority was peering through this faint clear Qi into the deeper abyss of rules behind this data world.