Becoming an immortal from a canal worker

Chapter 178: Qi Transforms into a Dragon, A Glimmer of Spiritual Light

half a month later.

Number Six of the Xuan Character, Martial Arts Arena.

Chen Ping stood in the center of the arena, with Jing Ye held horizontally in front of him. A layer of dark red qi was attached to the blade, and a faint smell of blood seeped from it.

Blood Fiend Blade Technique.

He hadn't used this sword technique in actual combat for a long time, but he never stopped practicing it every day.

The Blood Fiend Blade Technique has only three moves, each a deadly strike that concentrates all the body's blood and energy into a single blade.

One slash, and either the opponent dies, or you are crippled.

There was no second chance.

This kind of swordsmanship isn't for fighting; it's for taking lives.

The words flickered in front of my retina.

[Blood Fiend Blade Technique (Mastery)] [Current Progress: 1/1500]

Great success.

Chen Ping sheathed his sword, sensing the changes that came with mastery.

The bloody aura was several times more concentrated than before, and the moment it was poured onto the blade, even the air seemed to be stained red.

The power of these three killing moves has increased to a higher level after mastering them, but Chen Ping knows that with his current strength, there are not many opportunities left for him to truly use the Blood Fiend Blade Technique.

The Tide Abyss Blade and Dragon Python True Qi are enough to deal with most opponents, while the Blood Fiend Blade Technique is a trump card, reserved for situations where survival depends on fighting to the death.

He tucked the startled night behind his back and sat down on the prayer mat.

Next, let's get down to business.

Dragon Python True Qi, second layer of Qi movement forming a snake, 498/500.

Two points short.

In the past two weeks, Dragon Python True Qi has been his secondary training subject, and he has improved from 300 to 498, which is quite fast.

After the dual-attribute energy of metal and fire was poured into the python's body, the golden edges of its scales became increasingly sharp, and the dark red fire patterns became clearer. When the eighteen golden-red pythons coiled in the training ground, heat rose and golden light flowed, and the oppressive feeling was much stronger than it had been half a month ago. But all of this was just the accumulation of quantity.

What we need today is a qualitative change.

Chen Ping closed his eyes and mentally reviewed the difficulties of the Dragon Python True Qi before pushing the last two points to their fullest extent.

The most difficult part of this unique skill has never been the control and condensation of internal energy, but rather the physical composition of the three creatures: python, jiao, and dragon.

How are the scales arranged? How do the muscles move? How do the bones mesh? How do each muscle coordinate during movement? How is power transmitted during an attack?

If you don't understand these things thoroughly, the transformed Qi will just be an empty shell, good to look at but useless.

The second level, forming a snake through the energy flow, is relatively easy. Pythons are common creatures; you can dissect and analyze any one, understanding its muscle texture, scale pattern, and the way it exerts force when coiling. It only takes a few months to figure it out.

But the third level, Zhen Gang Cheng Jiao, is completely different.

Although dragons exist in this world, they are extremely rare, mostly hiding in deep mountains and marshes. An ordinary martial artist may never see a living one in his entire life.

The rubbing of the Dragon and Python True Qi does include an anatomical diagram of the dragon, showing the arrangement of scales, muscle texture, and skeletal structure. However, the dragon's movement patterns, attack actions, and the principles of swallowing fire and spitting water are only described in a few pictures and a few words of text.

A few pictures, a few words.

How could someone who has never seen a dragon possibly understand how it moves based on such limited information? Chen Ping had read through many books in the fourth-floor armory and knew that most martial artists who cultivated the Dragon Python True Qi were stuck on this floor.

Some people gritted their teeth and created a Qi dragon, but its movements were stiff and its posture rigid. Every movement required a lot of Qi to maintain, making it less effective in combat than a python.

Some people spend years or even decades searching deep in the mountains and marshes in order to break through this barrier, just to see the true form of the dragon with their own eyes. Some found it, while others searched their whole lives without success.

He has a control panel.

Each breakthrough in the panel will grant complete knowledge of the corresponding level of that martial art.

By the time he broke through to the second level, he had seen enough of everything about the python; the knowledge provided by the panel was merely icing on the cake.

But the knowledge about dragons given in the third level is truly a godsend.

Chen Ping then recalled the content on the rubbing about the fourth layer of transforming qi into dragon.

A true dragon.

There is only one picture on the rubbing.

The image depicts a dragon flying in the sky, rendered with bold brushstrokes and blurred lines, revealing only a general outline.

Next to it were drawn several dragon bones, some pieces of dragon meat, and a dragon head that had long since turned to white bones, all looking like parts taken from the remains. There was no complete anatomical diagram, not even any annotations.

The founder left a message at the end of this page.

"I only caught a glimpse of the true form of the dragon and picked up its remains. I have already understood its form and drew this picture to record it. However, what I have understood is difficult to fully describe in words. Those who come after me and wish to reach this level can refer to this picture. Perhaps they will be fortunate enough to be able to truly dissect the true dragon."

Chen Ping understood as soon as he saw that sentence.

The founder mastered the fifth level himself. He had amazing comprehension and could understand the structure of a true dragon with just one glance, thus constructing a true dragon of qi.

But if he wants to pass on this martial art, he has to draw diagrams and write annotations so that future generations can also understand it.

Pythons are common. I dissect one and draw it clearly so that anyone who comes after can practice by following my example.

The Jiaolong is rare, and the founder himself understood that, but it is too difficult to explain everything about the Jiaolong in just a few pictures and a few words.

Upon reaching the level of the True Dragon, the Founder only saw it once in his entire life and picked up a broken body.

He figured it out himself, but he couldn't draw it.

That talent of being able to comprehend the true form of a dragon with just a glance cannot be passed on to others through writing.

Therefore, those who later reach the fourth level only have two paths left. They either stare at that blurry picture and a few fragments of a body, and try to understand it for themselves.

Either find a real dragon and dissect it yourself.

But that's a story for another time.

Let's get past the third level first.

Chen Ping regained his composure, and his inner energy surged from his dantian, circulating throughout his body and permeating his limbs and bones.

He reached out, and his inner energy surged from his palm, condensing into a giant golden-red python in front of him.

It was as thick as a thigh, with clearly defined scales on its body, sharp golden edges, and dark red fire patterns flowing between the scales.

The python raised its head, its tongue flicking in and out, moving as if it were a living creature.

Chen Ping continued to unleash his inner energy, and eighteen giant pythons materialized one after another, coiling above the training ground. Their tails dragged on the ground, their heads were raised, and golden light and firelight intertwined, illuminating the entire courtyard.

499.

Chen Ping took a deep breath and poured in the last bit of his inner energy.

500. The number stopped.

Then, it shattered.

In an instant, a series of images exploded in Chen Ping's mind.

Jiaolong (蛟龙).

A dark blue-black dragon coiled in the deep pool. Its body was enormous, and its scales were like iron armor, one on top of another, tightly sealed.

Beneath each scale lies a dense network of muscle fibers, intertwined layer upon layer, like a tightly twisted steel cable.

Screen switch.

The dragon's skeleton emerged, its spine thick and tightly clenched, with a layer of cartilage cushioning each vertebra, making the entire spine both strong and flexible. The bones of its limbs were short and thick, with thick, soft armor covering the joints.

The scene cuts again.

On the top of the dragon's head, two horns grow obliquely from the sides of the skull, merging with the skull at the base of the horns. The surface of the horns has fine patterns, like the annual rings of a tree.

Then come the claws.

Four claws. Each claw has four toes, with curved tips like four hooks, and thin webbing connecting the toes.

The images continued to flood in, becoming increasingly dense.

The dragon hunts.

A dragon suddenly rose from the deep pool, splashing water into the sky. Its body twisted in the air, and all four claws reached out at the same time. The moment it grabbed its prey, its limbs contracted simultaneously, and the claws pierced into flesh. The dragon's body then coiled around the prey and tightened its grip.

The dragon devoured it.

The dragon opened its mouth wide, its lower jaw spread open, and swallowed its prey whole, skin and bones. The muscles in its throat twitched segment by segment, pushing the prey into its stomach.

The dragon spews fire.

Deep inside the dragon's belly was a ball of dark red flame that surged upwards along a special trachea, was compressed as it passed through its throat, and was then expelled from its mouth.

The flames spread in a cone shape, reaching extremely high temperatures, and when they landed on the ground, they heated the rocks until they glowed red-hot.

The dragon dives into the water.

When a dragon swims in the water, its scales will slightly lift up, forming countless tiny eddies to reduce resistance.

With limbs pressed tightly to his sides and his tail swaying from side to side, he propelled the dragon forward. Countless images surged through his mind, as if someone had directly crammed a book of all knowledge about dragons into his brain.

The direction of the scales, the texture of the muscles, the structure of the bones, the type of horns, the curvature of the claws, the way of movement, the hunting posture, and the principle of swallowing fire and spitting water.

The things that the few pictures and annotations on the rubbings couldn't explain all came rushing in now, as clear as if he were standing on the edge of a deep pool, watching a living dragon writhe before his eyes all day long.

Chen Ping stood there, trembling slightly, enduring the immense shock of this information.

After an unknown amount of time, the image gradually faded away.

Chen Ping opened his eyes.

In the training ground, the eighteen golden-red giant pythons were still coiled up, their heads raised and their tongues flicking.

But in Chen Ping's eyes, they suddenly seemed crude.

Pythons have a very simple form: a smooth body, monotonous scales, and a constricting attack method.

Compared to the images of dragons in my mind, it's like the difference between a child's clay figurine and a real person.

Chen Ping withdrew his protective energy.

The eighteen giant pythons transformed into golden-red mist and returned to his body. He exhaled his inner energy again, this time shaping it according to the form of the dragon in his mind.

A surge of energy erupted from his palms and condensed in front of him.

The dragon's body took shape.

A dragon, as thick as a water vat, coiled out, more than twice as thick as the previous python.

The scales on the dragon's body were stacked one on top of another, arranged in a way completely different from those of a python. Each scale had a slightly raised corner, and beneath the scales were dense muscle textures of qi. Dark red fire patterns flowed between the golden scales, like magma surging beneath the golden armor.

The dragon's head took shape.

The flattened head of the dragon protrudes from the front of its body, with two horns growing obliquely from the sides of its skull, their surfaces covered with fine lines. The dragon's mouth is slightly open, revealing a row of fine teeth.

Four claws formed.

Two short, thick claws extend from each side of the dragon's body, each claw with four curved toes, the tips of which are like hooks, gleaming with a sharp, golden luster.

A golden-red dragon coiled in the center of the training ground.

Chen Ping stared at it for a few moments, then continued to condense it.

The second, the third. With continuous output of qi, one after another, dragons condensed and emerged.

By the twelfth point, Chen Ping felt that the internal energy in his dantian had reached its limit.

The eighteen pythons transformed into twelve dragons.

The number has decreased, but the size, solidity, and imposing presence of each one far surpasses that of the previous pythons.

Chen Ping frowned as he looked at the twelve dragons.

He had the scales and the muscle texture, but he couldn't sculpt the bones and tendons that should be beneath the scales.

The protective energy is insufficient.

The dragon's bones and tendons require too much internal energy to fully form; his current amount of internal energy is insufficient to support this.

Twelve dragons with skin and flesh were already his limit. To add more bones and tendons, he would either have to reduce the number of dragons or shrink each one.

Chen Ping estimated that without the support of bones and tendons, the dragon's defense would be reduced, and if someone punched it, its body would be dented and deformed.

However, it's not a big deal. The dragon's attack method is to entangle and strangle, and tear with its claws. Defense is not the main focus.

Chen Ping looked at the twelve golden-red dragons and flipped his wrist. The dark red color on the surface of one of the dragons surged, and the dragon opened its mouth, a glint of light appearing deep in its throat.

A flame emerged from the dragon's mouth.

It was about the size of a fist, floating around like a lantern about to go out. It swayed twice in the air and then dissipated.

Chen Ping understood what was happening as he watched this scene.

The total amount of protective energy is insufficient, so it cannot emit real flames.

If the total number is sufficient, the twelve dragons will open their mouths and breathe fire; that's what this ultimate skill should look like.

With another flick of his wrist, a dragon suddenly rushed towards the Iron Man Stake.

The dragon twisted in the air, mimicking the hunting scene in its mind, and extended all four claws at the same time.

It swiped down with one claw.

Hiss.

Four deep claw marks appeared on the Iron Man's chest, stretching from his left shoulder to his right waist. The black iron was torn open by the dragon claws, leaving four deep grooves. The metal at the edges of the grooves curled up, showing a hint of char.

The metal element was sharp, and the fire element was scorching. Chen Ping stepped forward and reached out to touch the four claw marks.

The force was not as great as the five thousand jin of power in his full-force punch, but this claw was enough to tear apart the protective aura on Lin Gongfeng's body and directly tear open his flesh.

He looked at the dragon's claws; the tips of its four curved toes gleamed with a golden luster, each one resembling a hook knife forged from refined iron.

The sharpness of these dragon claws is comparable to that of a magical artifact.

New words appeared before my retina.

【Dragon and Python True Qi (Third Layer)】

Current progress: 1/1000

Chen Ping retrieved the dragons, and the twelve golden-red dragons turned into mist and returned to his body.

He stood in the center of the training ground, closed his eyes, and savored the images that had just flooded his mind.

The way the dragon exerts its power.

The sudden burst of power during a hunt involves all four limbs pushing off the ground simultaneously, with each vertebra transmitting force from the tail to the head, culminating in an explosive burst.

That explosive feeling was somewhat similar to his Dragon Python Force, but even more ferocious and refined. Chen Ping opened his eyes, circulated his power, and tensed all his muscles.

He adjusted his muscles according to the way the dragon used to hunt in his mind.

The soles of the feet grip the ground, the force rises from the soles of the feet, travels along the calves to the thighs, through the waist and hips, down the spine, pushing upwards segment by segment, into the shoulders, and sinking into the fists.

It is similar to the power generation route of the Dragon Python Force, but there is an additional process of power transmission through the spine.

The dragon's spine meshes together segment by segment, each segment accumulating power. As the power is transferred to the next segment, it multiplies, reaching its maximum several times over by the end.

Chen Ping instinctively threw a punch.

The dragon's roar was clear.

The wind howled as the fists struck, raising clouds of dust.

This punch was at least several times stronger than the previous Dragon Python Force.

Chen Ping withdrew his fist, looked down at his hand, and then at the training ground ground that had been messed up by the wind from his punch.

It's stronger.

But that's not enough. A jiaolong is ultimately not a real dragon.

The power transmission of the dragon's spine is already very strong, but the dragon's size, bone density, and muscle strength are far inferior to those of a real dragon.

Each segment of a true dragon's spine is several times thicker than that of a jiaolong (a type of dragon), making the combined effect of force transmission even more terrifying.

If we could know the physical composition of a true dragon and how it exerts its power, the Dragon Python Force would surely undergo a transformation.

Chen Ping suppressed this thought in his heart.

The Dragon-Python Force requires knowledge of the physical body of a true dragon.

The ultimate technique of Dragon Python True Qi itself contains these things. The second level is given to pythons, the third level to dragons, so the fourth level, transforming Qi into dragons, should be given to real dragons.

Once he pushed the Dragon Python True Qi to the fourth level, and the knowledge of the True Dragon entered his mind, the conditions for the transformation of the Dragon Python Force were met.

The road is clear now.

Chen Ping closed his eyes and mentally reviewed the five levels of the Dragon Python True Qi.

The first layer condenses the Qi into form; the second layer moves the Qi to form a snake; the third layer suppresses the Qi to form a dragon; the fourth layer transforms the Qi into a dragon; and the fifth layer is a dragon and python as desired.

The first four levels focus on resolving the issue of "form," making the qi manifest in forms that increasingly resemble real living beings. So what about the fifth level, "Dragon and Python Ruyi"?

As one wishes.

Do whatever you want.

Chen Ping recalled the feeling of controlling the twelve dragons just now.

They are agile and fierce, but ultimately, he is the one controlling them.

His thoughts commanded every movement of each dragon—entwining, strangling, grabbing, spitting fire—all required his thought and command.

He could manage twelve, but if there were more and they were larger in the future, his willpower alone would not be enough.

Unless, of course, the dragon can move on its own.

Chen Ping felt a slight tremor in his heart.

It endows the creations with true life through the power of qi, and gives instincts with true intention, transforming the inanimate into the living.

The dragons no longer needed his control; they knew how to fight, how to dodge, and how to coordinate.

Chen Ping only needed to give a direction, and the dragon would handle the rest on its own. A flash of inspiration crossed his mind, then vanished.

Chen Ping did not chase after that glimmer of light.

Too far.

He hasn't even fully sculpted the dragon's skeleton yet, so the true meaning of the fifth level is still too early to grasp.

But that glimmer of inspiration left a mark, like a seed buried in the soil, waiting to sprout one day.

Chen Ping opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of stale air.

Today's harvest is more than enough.