A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

In the blink of an eye, four months have passed.

After paying a huge price, the Jin Clan finally "fed" Zhou Ping's Qingyuan Technique to the fourth level.

Zhou Ping was also helpless. He did not expect the Jin Clan to be so crazy. Although he did not know how they obtained so many high-aged medicinal herbs, he must have paid a considerable price.

Therefore, two days ago, Zhou Ping finally revealed his cultivation level of the fourth level of Qingyuan Gong under Jin Jingtian's eager gaze.

When he saw the glint in the latter's eyes, he immediately became alert and extremely cautious.

Seeing that the other party was in a good mood, Zhou Ping tentatively asked about the subsequent cultivation techniques.

However, Jin Jingtian unexpectedly told him that there was no need to rush his cultivation for the time being, and that it was time to prepare for his marriage into the Jin clan.

As Zhou Ping had expected, the other party did not mention the cultivation method after the fourth level of Qingyuan Gong at all.

In the dense bamboo forest, a fleeting gray figure shifted its position, appearing and disappearing like a gray shadow, yet making not a sound.

Suddenly, after a few quick movements, the figure miraculously disappeared into the bamboo forest, as if it had never been there at all.

Apart from the occasional rustling of a gentle breeze, there was no other sound in the woods.

Not long after, the shadow of the bamboo groves suddenly rippled as if on the surface of water, and a gray figure emerged from within.

Upon closer inspection, it was Zhou Ping, who had been cultivating here for a long time, and he had a satisfied look on his face.

After mastering the Floating Shadow Step, both its stealth and agility have improved by more than one level.

This martial art, which relies on movement and skill to confuse people's hearing and vision, is finally beginning to show its true power.

Unfortunately, this technique has obvious limitations; it is only suitable for close-range maneuvering in slightly complex environments and is not suitable for long-distance attacks.

Zhou Ping raised his hand and looked at his long, slender fingers. In a blurry instant, several slender, silver needles suddenly appeared between his fingers, their silver light flowing like the forked tongue of a snake.

He was about to achieve minor success in his training of the Wind-Intercepting Hand and the Soul-Wandering Needle. According to his estimate, it would take him at most another ten or twenty days to break through the barrier of minor success in each of them.

Because Zhou Ping cannot cultivate internal energy techniques, he must combine the skills of both martial arts when practicing them in order to unleash considerable offensive power.

However, this also significantly increases the difficulty of cultivation for both, and naturally, the time required for cultivation also becomes longer.

Zhou Ping had a wry smile on his face at this moment, not because of his cultivation speed.

Instead, he discovered something ridiculous as he became more and more proficient in the two martial arts.

If you take the Intercepting Wind Hand out on its own, setting aside its offensive capabilities enhanced by True Qi or Wandering Soul Needles, it is essentially an enhanced version of the infamous stealing technique in the martial arts world, "The Master Thief"!

He didn't know which senior master in the Flying Shadow Hall had created this skill, but he was certain that this senior was an unparalleled genius in the world of thieves.

Zhou Ping shook his head with a wry smile, then with a flick of his hand, several silver needles disappeared between his fingers before returning to the house.

Looking at the several porcelain bottles neatly arranged on the table, Zhou Ping carefully pulled out a silver needle that was exactly the same as the one from before.

Unlike the previous glittering silver needles, this one was completely black except for the part where Zhou Ping held it, making it look extremely eerie.

All the silver needles in the porcelain bottle had been soaked in highly poison by Zhou Ping, making their lethality even more terrifying.

The most important method of killing in this secret manual, the Soul-Wandering Needle, is to combine it with various poisons to achieve the terrifying effect of killing invisibly and lingering in the soul, hence the name Soul-Wandering Needle.

The poisoned silver needles in front of Zhou Ping today have reached an unprecedented level of toxicity.

The poison inside the porcelain bottle was all concocted by Zhou Ping using poisonous herbs that were hundreds of years old, and its toxicity was rarely seen in the world.

If he hadn't also concocted an antidote of the same level, he would never have dared to tamper with these things, even if it meant his death.

With these silver needles by his side, Zhou Ping believed that anyone who was struck by one of them would surely die!

Even a grandmaster with unparalleled martial arts prowess would probably suffer a terrible fate.

After thinking it over, Zhou Ping nodded in satisfaction and carefully inserted the silver needle back into the porcelain bottle.

After four months of preparation and training, he has perfected his skills. In the short term, apart from the possibility of advancing the Wind-Intercepting Hand and the Soul-Wandering Needle to the minor completion stage, there are no other methods that can be improved.

Zhou Ping glanced down at the identity tag he had hidden in his chest, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

If conditions permit, he could also prepare another trump card, the destructive power of which is estimated to be even more terrifying than the poisons in front of him.

......

After Zhou Ping carefully put the last poisoned needle into his specially made close-fitting leather wallet, he looked up at the sky. The moon was already high in the sky, and night had fallen.

Since he no longer had the follow-up methods of the Qingyuan Gong, he had much more free time and no longer needed to spend a lot of time meditating and cultivating.

However, the sudden disruption of his long-established habits made Zhou Ping somewhat uneasy and agitated.

Therefore, it wasn't long before he resumed his usual meditation practice, only taking a short time each night to sit cross-legged on the bed and practice the Qingyuan Gong.

Although his cultivation level wouldn't improve in the slightest, feeling the true energy flowing smoothly through his meridians dispelled Zhou Ping's unease and restlessness.

As usual, Zhou Ping began circulating the Great Circulation of the Qingyuan Gong, sitting quietly on the bed in meditation.

"Rustle, rustle..."

A soft rustling sound of skirts mingled with gentle, even footsteps drifted from the path outside the Cuifeng Villa, approaching rapidly. Zhou Ping, who was meditating, immediately caught it.

Yunlan Villa? Jin Yan?

Based on the direction and characteristics of the sound, Zhou Ping quickly determined who was making the sound.

What is she doing here so late?

"Squeak—"

Hearing the sound of a wooden door being pushed open outside the courtyard, Zhou Ping hurriedly got up and put away the porcelain vase on the table. After quickly glancing around the room and finding nothing else that shouldn't be there, he hurriedly sat back down on the bed with a flustered expression.

"Zhou...Little Zhou, are you asleep?"

A slightly nervous voice came from outside the door asking a question.

Inside Zhou Ping's room, the candlelight was still on. The other person naturally knew that he had not yet gone to bed, but was just asking politely.

"I wonder what brings the Elder here at this hour?"

Zhou Ping opened the door and looked at the beautiful woman standing close by. He asked, slightly stuttering.

Seeing this, Jin Yan didn't answer, a blush rising on her cheeks, and she slipped past him into the house.

Zhou Ping stared blankly at the shy beauty in the room, and reflexively asked,

"Elder Jin... Elder Jin, what's wrong...?"

"I've come to collect a debt from you..."