The Wandering Immortal

Chapter 18 A Demon Core That Has No Significance
Jiang Yuan certainly wouldn't only have the peach wood hairpin as a backup plan.

The talismans used by the blind Taoist priest were each equivalent to a cultivator at the first or second level of Qi Refining, and could last for half an incense stick's time.

You might not use it normally, but it can save your life in a critical moment.

After exchanging a few more blows, Qinghe grew bolder and suddenly unleashed a burst of energy, throwing out three talismans in succession.

Two fireballs missed their mark, but the third struck the giant snake's body. The snake demon roared and charged forward instead of retreating.

Qinghe ultimately lacked experience in combat. She hadn't expected the monster to go berserk after being injured, leaving her with no backup plan.

Jiang Yuan rushed forward and threw out five talismans, which instantly transformed into five golden talisman Taoist priests, wielding magic swords and attacking the snake demon.

The snake demon's attention was entirely focused on Qinghe, and she was completely caught off guard, not expecting that the mortal behind her could also use magic.

Qinghe then realized what was happening and stopped being stingy with her talismans, throwing out seven or eight fireball talismans in one go. At least two of the fireballs hit the snake demon's head.

The snake demon then became frightened and turned to run away.

"We can't let it escape!"

Jiang Yuan rushed forward and threw out five more talismans, while Qing He also kept throwing out fireball talismans.

The valley was suddenly filled with golden light and sparks.

The snake demon, though slashed and bleeding profusely by the Taoist priest wielding talismans, and then burned beyond recognition by fireballs, continued to writhe on the ground, screaming in agony.

Before the Taoist priest with the talisman disappeared, the snake demon had been cut into seven or eight pieces and was already dead.

Jiang Yuan quickly grabbed a knife and rushed over to chop off the snake's head.

Qinghe was completely exhausted, mainly from being too nervous. She slowly walked over, not understanding what Jiang Yuan was doing.

Jiang Yuan slashed several times, but couldn't cut any further, so he handed the knife to Qing He, saying, "Cut open his head and see if there's a demon core inside."

Qinghe was skeptical, but she chopped down with her knife, splitting open the top of the snake's head, from which a faint green light seeped out.

Qinghe was a little dumbfounded, seemingly unable to believe that she was so strong.

"Quickly split it open and take out the demon core!"

After Qinghe made a few more cuts, Jiang Yuan finally took out a green demon core the size of a pigeon egg from the snake's head. It seemed to be of the wood element.

Although it didn't really take off, it still had some effect.

Without a storage magic item like a jade box, this demon core would soon lose its spiritual power. Jiang Yuan handed the demon core to Qing He.

"If I swallow it, I might be able to break through to the second level of Qi Refining."

Qinghe felt a little nauseous, but she forced herself to swallow it after hearing that it could improve her cultivation.

“This demon core must be somewhat poisonous. The Yi Wood Scripture can naturally refine it. Quickly sit down and circulate your energy. I will protect you.”

Qinghe sat down on the battlefield to practice her internal energy. The Guan family servants were relieved when they saw that the giant snake was dead. Some of the bolder ones came over to take a look, but Jiang Yuan chased them all back.

Lord Guan and his wife had naturally woken up long ago, and upon hearing that the monster had been killed by their son and daughter-in-law, they were still trembling with fear.

Jiang Yuan couldn't worry about that now. The commotion was a bit too loud. If there were any monsters nearby, they might take the opportunity to take advantage of him.

Quickly repair the formation and inventory the talismans.

This battle used more than thirty talismans, and the formation also used more than twenty. Bai Xiazi's talismans were almost exhausted.

Jiang Yuan didn't take it seriously. Even the blind man himself wouldn't use talismans so much. The old Taoist and the fierce mother and child demons fought desperately, but the Taoist only used one talisman. Qinghe sat for two hours. When the sky began to lighten, she finally refined the worthless demon core and opened her second acupoint, the Xingjian acupoint on the sole of her foot.

Jiang Yuan was overjoyed. Xingjian acupoint is a crucial acupoint in the wood-type spiritual vein, known as Jiling, meaning to draw in spiritual energy.

If one can obtain the two important acupoints of Absorbing Spirit and Gathering Spirit in the early stage of Qi Refining, the path of cultivation will surely be smooth sailing.

How did my lady acquire such excellent qualities? Jiang Yuan even began to doubt Qinghe's true origins. Could she also be the reincarnation of some powerful being?
Having achieved his goal of lingering in the Five Ridges, Jiang Yuan told his family to pack their bags and set off immediately.

Last night's commotion terrified everyone, and no one dared to linger.

Jiang Yuan had to use some words to appease his parents, still shifting the blame to Bai Xiazi, saying that Master Bai had indeed passed on some Taoist techniques to his son and daughter-in-law, but had not asked them to become his disciples, at most they were just nominal disciples.

Grandpa Guan was relieved. His son had acquired Taoist magic, which allowed him to subdue demons and monsters without having to become a monk. It couldn't be a bad thing.

This old man, Guan, was a blessed man. He was kind and charitable and had accumulated a lot of merit. The evil mother and son had tried to harm him many times, but he always managed to escape. However, they only harmed his three sons.

While Jiang Yuan chatted idly in his parents' carriage, Qing He sat alone in the carriage, devouring snake meat.

When she left, Jiang Yuan told her to take a lot of snake meat that had been cooked with fire talismans. Ordinary people couldn't eat that, but it was a great tonic for cultivators.

Qinghe was initially a little resistant, but after a whole night of fighting and cultivating, she was really hungry. After taking a couple of bites, she knew it was indeed good food and began to wolf it down.

In the other three carriages, the servants were whispering among themselves, saying that last night the young couple from the master's household fought and killed the snake demon together, acting like gods.

No wonder they dared to linger in the deep mountains; they no longer had to worry about anything along the way.

By the time Jiang Yuan returned to his carriage, Qing He had already fallen into a deep sleep.

Experiencing his first battle of magic in one night and swallowing a demon core to advance to the second level of Qi Refining was indeed not easy.

When Qinghe woke up, she lifted the curtain and was greatly surprised to find that the Guan family had already left Wuling. "How long have I been asleep?"

Jiang Yuan chuckled, "Not much, just three days and three nights."

Qinghe was shocked and quickly got out of the car to pay her respects to her parents-in-law. Even if she had become a cultivator, she could not abandon etiquette.

Who knew that when he jumped off the carriage, he used too much force with his foot and leaped more than 20 feet in one step, which startled him.

Madam Guan had been worried about her daughter-in-law and hadn't gotten off the carriage for several days. But when she saw Qinghe looking refreshed and radiant, she couldn't help but feel delighted.

After Qinghe returned to her carriage, she asked Jiang Yuan what had happened earlier, and why she felt like her body was out of control.
"Your cultivation level has improved too quickly, and you're just a little unaccustomed to it."

Is this... considered fast?

"Your cultivation level is already almost the same as Master Bai's. He has been cultivating for most of his life, and you have only been cultivating for a few days?"

After pondering for a long time, Qinghe said again, "I feel a pounding in my chest, a burning sensation. Could it be from eating too much snake meat?"

"Don't worry, the five elements of wood generate fire. You have opened two wood-type spiritual vein acupoints in succession, and you have absorbed and gathered spiritual energy. The wood spiritual energy is already abundant. In the future, you will open the fire vein. The fire vein will begin in your chest."

"So what do we do now?"

"There are only signs, it's still a long way from breaking through the fire meridian. To quell the burning desire in your heart, you just need to circulate your internal energy and regulate your true qi so that it accumulates in your dantian."

"Once the true energy has accumulated in the dantian, you can use spells."

Qinghe became excited immediately, "What kinds of spells can I learn? Husband, teach me!"

(End of this chapter)