All-class Gu Immortal

Chapter 258 True Spirit Bloodline, Seven-Colored Ink Butterfly!

"..." Yao Xuewei's lips moved, her heart filled with turbulent emotions that she could not calm down for a long time.

In just over three years, less than four years, Ah Qing, who used to call him "Lord Yao" all the time, has now become someone she needs to look up to.

Part of the reason she ran away from the wedding was because of Zhou Qing; she still harbored special feelings for this young man with whom she had shared intimate moments.

But the main reason was that she didn't want to be controlled by her family; she wanted to decide her own life.

As the fourth concubine's daughter, Yao Xuewei did not have an easy time in the Yao family.

Especially the head of the fourth branch, after her father Yao Tian was seriously injured and bedridden, the fourth branch declined, and her actual status was probably not even as good as the maids who served the first and second sons.

To avoid becoming a tool for family alliances, Yao Xuewei did not receive much support from the fourth branch of the family.

Only Yao Ze, the eldest son of the fourth wife and her third brother, treated her a little better.

Therefore, Yao Xuewei didn't feel much psychological burden about running away from the marriage. After all, the Yao family was far stronger than the Xie family, and even if she ran away, the Xie family wouldn't dare to make things difficult for the Yao family. As for what would happen to the fourth branch of the family, she couldn't care less.

The letter from Zhou Qing was merely a trigger for her to run away; even if Zhou Qing hadn't written, she would still have eloped.

Actually, Yao Xuewei had never considered going to Zhou Qing's place.

Firstly, it would cause trouble for Zhou Qing and invite retaliation from the Xie family and the fourth branch of the Yao family.

Secondly, she didn't believe Zhou Qing was capable of protecting her.

After running away from home, she planned to leave Jinyun Prefecture and venture to the neighboring Tianyuan Prefecture. However, she was robbed by a Blood Exchange Realm martial artist at the border and barely managed to escape after a great deal of effort.

Afterwards, she entered Tianyuan City and was harassed by a spoiled young master. She didn't want to cause trouble, so she just gave him a small lesson. However, she didn't expect that his brother-in-law was the fifth young master of the Lin family in Tianyuan City.

The strength difference between the two powerful families in Tianyuan Prefecture and Jinyun Prefecture is not significant.

However, the Lin family holds absolute power in Tianyuan Prefecture, possessing three Grandmasters of the "Human Flower" skill.

At first, the fifth young master of the Lin family did not take Yao Xuewei seriously. He simply sent three martial arts masters at the Qi and Blood Thin Veil Realm to his door, hoping to get revenge.

As a result, Yao Xuewei, relying on the Taiyi Gengjin Sword Technique, defeated three opponents of the same level, fighting them all alone.

Unexpectedly, this led to the exposure of her identity.

The Lin family and the Xie family have business dealings. In order to befriend the second son of the Xie family, the fifth young master of the Lin family directly sent two high-level martial arts masters at the Qi and Blood Dragon Realm.

Although Yao Xuewei was able to barely fight beyond her level thanks to the domineering sword energy of the Taiyi Gengjin Sword Technique, the Qi and Blood Longlong Realm was two realms higher than her, so she had no chance of fighting back.

In the time that followed, Yao Xuewei was relentlessly pursued by the Lin family's master martial artist, finding herself with nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Her situation was truly miserable.

Fortunately, she was agile and quick, and the fifth young master of the Lin family had given a strict order to capture her alive without any injury. Therefore, the two high-level martial arts masters did not dare to use their full strength, for fear of hurting her, the future matriarch of the Xie family.

Thus, under the fighting style of the two high-level martial arts masters who sought no merit but only to avoid mistakes, Yao Xuewei escaped from Tianyuan Mansion.

However, she dared not linger in Jinyun Mansion.

After much deliberation, Yao Xuewei decided to go to southern Xinjiang to avoid the limelight.

When she arrived in the Southern Frontier and entered the city of Nanli County, she learned that many things had happened in the past few years.

Lan Canghai, the leader of the Witch God Sect, along with Su Tiancheng, the patriarch of the Su family, and Wan Shentong, the former leader of the Five Poisons Sect, all perished together.

In addition, some members of the Wei family and the Baiyun lineage left the Five Poisons Sect and moved to Black Mountain Town.

Yao Xuewei thought to herself that since there were no more top experts in the Southern Frontier, it wouldn't be so easy for the Yao family to find her with the help of local powerful forces.

Therefore, Yao Xuewei planned to first visit Zhou Qing and Wei Hongyu in Heishan Town, and then go to the Qilian Mountains to cultivate in seclusion. She planned to work hard to improve her cultivation level, and then return to the Yao family after a few years when the storm had passed.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she arrived in Heishan Town, she saw the Yao family's caravan.

Yao Xuewei didn't want to be taken back for a forced marriage, but she was also afraid of implicating Zhou Qing, so she gritted her teeth and entered Baiyun Martial Arts School. As soon as she arrived in the backyard, she met her third brother, Yao Ze.

In a panic, Yao Xuewei chose to use a poisoned needle to knock out Yao Ze, intending to leave with Zhou Qing to avoid Yao Ze blaming her later.

However, although she recognized each word Zhou Qing said, she couldn't understand them when they were put together.

After the engagement was dissolved, Yao Ze came to the door, asking for a favor.

Whom should I ask?

Seeking Zhou Qing?
Should we seek help from the Wei family?
Zhou Qing's voice and appearance are still the same as before, he has just grown taller and stronger, and become more handsome. Overall, there is not much difference.

However, his current strength, ability, and status have undergone earth-shattering changes. In fact, Yao Ze's visit to befriend him this time is also due to the intentions of his ancestors.

When Yao Xuewei learned from Yao Ze that Zhou Qing was a second-tier alchemist and that his master, Zhou Chaoxian, was a second-tier high-grade alchemist who was about to break through to the third tier, she felt it was all very unreal.

"Ah." Once she came to her senses, Yao Xuewei could no longer call out "Ah Qing." When they met again, Zhou Qing had become someone she had to look up to.

"What's wrong, Miss Yao? Don't you recognize me?" Zhou Qing smiled.

"Seventeenth Sister, if you had told me you knew Brother Aqing earlier, none of this would have happened. Do you know that Brother Aqing traveled all the way to Jinyun Prefecture just to see you and repay the favor you did for him? You should thank him properly." Yao Ze tugged at the somewhat dazed Yao Xuewei and naturally changed his form of address.

Before coming, he conducted another detailed investigation into Zhou Qing's life.

Yao Ze discovered that Zhou Qing had an excellent reputation and was a reliable person, which is why he thought of cooperating with him again to refine pills.

After all, last time they took a big gamble by relying on a vow made through inner demons, and this time, in order to deepen their relationship, they can't use the same method.

Now that Yao Xuewei has appeared, Yao Ze has other ideas.

If Zhou Qing could become his brother-in-law, then the rise of the fourth branch of the Yao family would be unstoppable.

Even if his father fails to break through the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top this time, he will have a second chance to break through with the help of Zhou Qing and his master, Zhou Chaoxian.

High-level resources are often hard to find, but high-level alchemists are even harder to find.

Zhou Qing alone is worth cultivating with all the resources of the four families.

It can be said that one of the four families will surely become a grandmaster in the future, either Yao Tian or Zhou Qing.

A young man who is already a second-tier low-grade alchemist is rare, even in the Central Plains.

A 22-year-old Qi and Blood Dragon Realm Grand Martial Master is also rare, but top families have one or two of them every generation.

However, it is extremely rare for both conditions to occur in one person at the same time.

Moreover, Zhou Qing is a kind and righteous gentleman who knows how to repay kindness.

In Yao Ze's opinion, even the eldest daughter of the Xie family, who was selected by the Divine Capital Martial Academy, was no match for Zhou Qing, let alone the Xie family.

Given Zhou Qing's character, if he truly breaks through the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top with the help of the Yao family's fourth branch, he will definitely provide significant assistance in the future.

Therefore, in order to befriend Zhou Qing, Yao Ze mobilized all the resources of the four branches of the Yao family. With Yao Tian's support, they collected a large amount of high-quality Heavenly Spirit Pill auxiliary medicines. At the same time, they also sacrificed a lot of benefits for the Xie family, just so that the Xie family would ask for fewer Heavenly Spirit Pills.

Both families provided high-quality medicinal materials for refining the Heavenly Spirit Pill, but in the end, only three mid-grade Heavenly Spirit Pills were needed, also in order to cultivate good relations with Zhou Qing and Zhou Chaoxian.

If Zhou Chaoxian performs consistently this time, he should be able to leave behind at least three mid-grade Heavenly Spirit Pills.

Yao Ze and Zhou Qing were both well aware of the immense benefits involved, and he never believed from the beginning that Zhou Qing and his apprentice would refuse this alchemy deal.

"Ah Qing is still the same Ah Qing!" Yao Xuewei couldn't help but sigh.

She never imagined that a momentary lapse in judgment, which led her to help Zhou Qing kill Lin Tianzheng and obtain the Corpse Worm Gu King and the Wooden King Cauldron, would change her destiny in the future.

Judging from the way Third Brother treats Zhou Qing, it's easy to imagine that her treatment will change drastically after she returns to the Yao family.

Seven days later, Yao Xuewei left with Yao Ze and the Yao family's caravan.

Now that the engagement has been called off, Yao Xuewei no longer needs to hide.

In addition, because Zhou Qing made a list and purchased dozens of precious medicinal herbs from the Yao family in one go, Yao Xuewei and Yao Ze went back together to prepare the herbs.

This time, Yao Tian recovered from his injuries and even improved his cultivation. As compensation, the Yao family patriarch directly allocated a portion of the Yao family's medicinal herb business to the fourth branch.

The medicinal materials Zhou Qing needed were naturally for refining the Five Palaces Forging Yuan Pill.

With his third-tier alchemy skills, Zhou Qing felt that refining a low-grade Five-Element Forging Pill shouldn't be too difficult.

With his current strength, he is capable of protecting himself in front of a Grandmaster.

Besides, the medicinal herbs he purchased could be combined in several ways, and weren't necessarily just for refining the Five Elements Forging Pill. After seeing Yao Xuewei and Yao Ze off, the Xie family's caravan arrived in Black Mountain Town the next day, presenting a two-hundred-year-old Heavenly Spirit Fruit.

Both parties agreed to collect the pills six months later.

In addition, the Xie family promised that regardless of whether the transaction was successful or not, they would open a special trade route from Jinyun Prefecture directly to Heishan Town, and the Xie family would do their best to collect the medicinal materials that Zhou Qing needed in the future.

Zhou Qing was naturally happy to accept this.

The mountain gate of the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect is still under construction and is estimated to take another year to complete.

Zhou Qing originally planned to establish a sect because he wanted to live a peaceful life in a secluded corner of the world.

Now that his strength has increased, he wants to establish the strongest force to dominate the southern border, so the mountain gate must be expanded to avoid having to build it again if it becomes too large in the future.

Nowadays, students from several nearby counties come to learn from Baiyun Martial Arts School. The total number of students at all branches of Baiyun Martial Arts School has reached six or seven hundred.

In addition, after this period of missionary work, Ruyan has gained more than 3,000 followers who believe in the mountain god, and more than 300 of them are devout believers.

It is foreseeable that in the future, the number of disciples under the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect will reach tens of thousands.

Outside Heishan Town.

"Thank you, Steward. I will go find my master now. I'll leave the matter of opening up trade routes to you."

The martial artist leading the Xie family this time was Xie Feng, the manager of the Xie Clan Trading Company, whom they had met before.

Zhou Qing made an excuse to leave Heishan Town in search of Zhou Chaoxian to refine pills, and Xie Feng escorted him all the way to the outskirts of the town.

"Brother Zhou, rest assured, I'll take care of this!" Xie Feng said solemnly. The reason why the Xie family was willing to pay such a huge price was to build a good relationship with Zhou Qing and his apprentice.

Yao Tian's injuries were extremely serious. All the well-known doctors and alchemists in Jin Yun Prefecture had examined him, including the alchemists from the Xie family.

Based on the assessment, at least four mid-grade Heavenly Spirit Pills are needed for a complete cure.

The fact that Yao Tian could recover in such a short time, and that his cultivation level not only did not regress but actually advance, suggests that he may have even taken a high-grade Heavenly Spirit Pill.

Therefore, the Xie family is approaching this collaboration with great sincerity.

After leaving Heishan Town and confirming that no one was following him, Zhou Qing headed towards Shuntian Prefecture City.

As darkness fell, he used the Four-Winged Ice Silkworm to ascend straight into the sky and enter Shuntian Prefecture City before nightfall.

Zhou Qing did not rush to start the furnace. Instead, he rented a courtyard and rested for a day before renting a fire chamber to start refining pills.

A quarter of an hour later.

"puff!"

A burnt smell wafted from the Azure Flame Purple Gold Furnace. Zhou Qing opened the lid and saw that the medicinal liquid inside had turned into a black paste, emitting an unpleasant odor.

"Tsk!"

Zhou Qing smacked his lips, cleaned the alchemy furnace, and started refining pills again.

"Buzz!"

Two quarters of an hour later, a buzzing sound came from the alchemy furnace. When it was opened, there were four Heavenly Spirit Pills inside, three of which were of medium grade and one of high grade.

"As expected, even with third-tier alchemy, one cannot rush it."

Zhou Qing sighed inwardly.

While the oven was still hot, he continued to heat it up.

As he continued refining the pills, he gradually slowed down. Although his energy was greatly depleted, the success rate of refining the pills did indeed increase.

A two-hundred-year-old Heavenly Spirit Fruit, opened in the furnace ten times, succeeded six times.

They obtained four low-grade Heavenly Spirit Pills, ten mid-grade Heavenly Spirit Pills, six high-grade Heavenly Spirit Pills, and two top-grade Heavenly Spirit Pills.

Zhou Qing currently possesses as many as six top-grade Heavenly Spirit Pills!

Zhou Qing put away the pills and then returned to the courtyard to rest. This time, he rested for half a month.

Once his energy and spirit had recovered to their peak, he fled thousands of miles away, entered the territory of Jinyun Prefecture, arrived at a desolate mountain, released the Divine Wood King Cauldron and the Wood God Gu, and gathered the power of heaven and earth.

"Let's see how potent the top-grade Heavenly Spirit Pill is."

Zhou Qing sat cross-legged atop the Divine Wood King Cauldron, took out a Heavenly Spirit Pill that shimmered with a three-colored halo, and tossed it into his mouth.

As soon as the pill entered his body, Zhou Qing felt as if his entire body was enveloped by a powerful heat. With his current cultivation level, it was not easy for him to experience such a noticeable sensation.

Of course, even a top-grade Heavenly Spirit Pill is of great benefit to a Grandmaster. If a top-level martial artist who is half-step into the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top obtains one, he would probably have to enshrine it. There are probably very few people like Zhou Qing who took it during his nine blood exchanges.

"What a powerful medicine!"

As Zhou Qing felt the powerful medicinal effects, his body underwent noticeable changes, and the power of heaven and earth began to rush into his body.

The night passed just like that.

He had only digested the surface layer of the top-grade Heavenly Spirit Pill in his stomach.

In this way, it took Zhou Qing a whole month to exhaust the medicinal power of the top-grade Heavenly Spirit Pill.

His cultivation had reached the peak of the ninth blood exchange. With the enhancement of the top-grade Heavenly Spirit Pill, his meridians had withstood the scouring of a large amount of heaven and earth power, making his blood and qi extremely pure, faintly glowing with a light golden hue.

Generally speaking, only when one cultivates body-refining techniques to the Grandmaster level, and their blood and qi are cleansed by the power of heaven and earth and magical power, will they turn a light golden color.

Although Zhou Qing did not break through to the Qi and Blood Furnace Realm, he felt that his physical body had become much stronger.

For the next five months, Zhou Qing began cultivating by consuming high-grade Heavenly Spirit Pills.

Although the potency of the superior-grade Heavenly Spirit Pill was much weaker, it still had a significant effect on him.

"It's time to go back."

Taking advantage of the darkness, Zhou Qing flew towards the southern border. Just as he arrived at the outer edge of the Qilian Mountains, the Divine Wood King Cauldron within his body was uncontrollably activated, and a massive amount of heaven and earth power converged towards Zhou Qing.

"Owner!"

A child's voice appeared in Zhou Qing's mind.

"Who is it?" Zhou Qing asked in surprise.

"It's me, Erqing!"

"Erqing?"

Zhou Qing took out the Divine Wood King Cauldron and released Erqing.

boom!
With a deafening roar, a black silkworm cocoon, ten feet tall, fell from the sky, smashing a large crater into the ground.

You have obtained a new Gu worm—the Seven-Colored Ink Butterfly (unhatched)

[Rank: Mid-grade Tier 3 (Can be evolved and combined)]

【Seven-Colored Ink Butterfly (Unhatched): Formed from the Heavenly Poison Peach Blossom Butterfly absorbing the deadly poison of the Ink Dragon and mutating from a young Ink Dragon, it fully inherits the supernatural powers of its ancestor, the Poison Dragon, and activates a trace of the ancient true spirit Yinglong bloodline contained within its bloodline.】

"!!!"

"Mid-grade Tier 3?!"

Zhou Qing looked incredulous.

No wonder the Ink Dragon exploded with power after breaking through to the third rank!

He actually possesses the bloodline of an ancient true spirit?!

Ancient True Spirits and Immortal Gu are beings of the same level, both terrifying existences comparable to sixth-order Immortal Lords of the Longevity Realm.

"Master, I'm hungry," Erqing's voice rang out again.

"Tell me quickly! What do you want to eat?" Zhou Qing asked through gritted teeth, panting heavily.

(End of this chapter)