Chapter 108: True Blood of the Fire Phoenix
The words spoken by Li Yunqing instantly brought to Wang Changsheng’s mind a particular figure—that of Lao Mou.
According to Li Yunqing, the more profound the corpse-refining sect’s techniques become, the easier it is to lose one’s consciousness.
Isn’t that exactly like Lao Mou?
Lao Mou was powerful, yet his consciousness often wandered; he couldn’t remember anything. So far, the only thing he recalled was Old Wang next door—Wang Changsheng himself. Doesn’t this perfectly align with what Li Yunqing described?
“Impossible!” Wang Changsheng immediately dismissed the thought.
Despite Lao Mou’s strength and frequent mental fog, he was not a mindless killing machine. As long as no one provoked him, he would stay in his little dark room, indifferent to everything else.
“Did you think of something?” Seeing Wang Changsheng shake his head, Li Yunqing asked in a low voice.
Wang Changsheng shook his head again. “No.”
“In any case, the corpse-refining sect...” Li Yunqing sighed softly, “Nephew Wang, you’d better keep your distance from them. Getting too close won’t end well.”
Wang Changsheng nodded.
As for what Wang Changsheng truly thought, only he knew.
“Have you decided whether to cultivate the Body Refining Method?” Li Yunqing asked.
Wang Changsheng nodded firmly. “I have. Please, Uncle Li, teach me the technique!”
He cupped his fists and bowed deeply to Li Yunqing.
“Very well!” Li Yunqing agreed and produced a jade slip in his hand. “Within this jade slip lies all the profound secrets of the technique. Study it well.”
At the same time, another hand appeared holding a jade vial, which he handed to Wang Changsheng.
“What’s this?” Wang Changsheng looked at the jade vial with a puzzled expression.
“This Body Refining Method is a secret passed down only within the Li family. Only those of Li bloodline can cultivate it,” Li Yunqing said gravely. “Inside this vial is a drop of Li family’s blood essence. To practice, you must rely on this single drop.”
“That way, your bloodline will carry the aura of the Li family, enabling your cultivation,” Li Yunqing explained.
Wang Changsheng nodded.
“Go back and comprehend the subtleties of the technique. In three days, I will take you to the training grounds,” Li Yunqing said.
With that, Li Yunqing waved his hand, and Wang Changsheng’s figure gradually receded until he stood outside the cave dwelling.
Holding the jade slip and vial, Wang Changsheng’s face showed lingering doubts.
“To grasp a technique in just three days?” Wang Changsheng murmured skeptically.
“Is this the Fire Phoenix Art?”
Just as Wang Changsheng was puzzled, a voice of surprise came from behind.
“How could it be? How could Grandfather Yunqing have passed the Fire Phoenix Art to you?”
Wang Changsheng turned to see a young maiden standing not far away—Li Ziqi, the very person Li Yunqing had mentioned.
“Impossible! Absolutely impossible!” Li Ziqi said sternly. “Not only the Fire Phoenix Art but also a drop of Fire Phoenix blood essence—how could Grandfather Yunqing have given these things to you?!”
“I don’t believe it!” Li Ziqi declared coldly.
“Believe it or not!” Wang Changsheng replied firmly.
Wang Changsheng had never liked Li Ziqi. She always carried an air of superiority, and the events that had unfolded before only deepened his disdain for her.
“I’ll ask Grandfather myself!” Li Ziqi said, and she knocked on Li Yunqing’s cave door.
“Ziqi, the Fire Phoenix Art and the blood essence were given to him by me!” Li Yunqing’s voice came from inside without opening the door. “Take Nephew Wang back and prepare a quiet place for him to study the Fire Phoenix Art. In three days, I will take him to the Fire Phoenix Pool.”
“Grandfather Yunqing, are you sure you’re not mistaken?” Li Ziqi shouted. “The Fire Phoenix Art is the Li family’s most guarded secret and the foundation of our lineage. How could you pass it to an outsider?”
“Moreover, the Fire Phoenix blood essence—our core disciples don’t even receive such treatment!” Her voice grew anxious.
“That’s enough, it’s decided!” Li Yunqing’s voice returned firmly. “Withdraw.”
Li Ziqi glared at the firmly closed door, emitting a cold snort to express her dissatisfaction.
Especially when she glanced back at Wang Changsheng’s faintly mocking expression, her anger flared. To her, his look was a direct insult.
“Fine, arrange a quiet room for me,” Wang Changsheng said, addressing Li Ziqi.
“Impossible!” Li Ziqi replied coldly.
“Do you have any manners at all?” Wang Changsheng retorted. “You call Yunqing ‘Grandfather,’ I call him Uncle Li, and he calls me nephew. That means I’m senior to you by several generations. Is that how you speak to your elders?”
Wang Changsheng stared at the increasingly furious Li Ziqi and said sternly, “The Li family is a great clan. Don’t you have any respect?”
“You...” Li Ziqi wanted nothing more than to slap Wang Changsheng into silence.
Unfortunately for her, she hadn’t done so earlier, and now the opportunity had passed.
“Hmph!”
With a cold snort, Li Ziqi turned and left without bothering to arrange a quiet place for Wang Changsheng.
Wang Changsheng sighed helplessly. “Only petty people and women are hard to please.”
Resigned, Wang Changsheng retraced his steps, encountering many Li family cultivators along the way.
They all looked at him with surprise.
Fortunately, the Li family’s etiquette was good; seeing Wang Changsheng openly roaming the clan grounds, they recognized him as a distinguished guest. After all, ordinary folk could not enter the Li family’s stronghold.
No one approached him, which suited Wang Changsheng fine, allowing him to observe the Li family’s condition.
“This Li family is indeed extraordinary,” Wang Changsheng said quietly. “The cultivation atmosphere here is incredibly strong. No wonder they possess such top-tier power.”
To Wang Changsheng, the cultivation ambiance of the Li family surpassed even that of the corpse-refining sect.
The corpse-refining sect’s disciples cultivated because their sect was sealed off; except for the sect’s elders, no disciple was allowed to leave. Thus, aside from cultivation, they had nothing else to do.
In contrast, the Shangyang Li family did not restrict their disciples’ movements, yet these people still focused steadily on cultivation. It was clear why the Li family had become such a formidable clan.
Back in the room assigned by Elder Xu, Wang Changsheng closed the door and took out the jade slip and vial.
He opened the jade vial first. As soon as it was opened, a vast and overwhelming aura burst forth, startling Wang Changsheng into quickly resealing it.
“This aura is immense...” Wang Changsheng said in shock.
Looking at the vial in his hand, he knew this was no ordinary treasure.
Unknown to Wang Changsheng, the moment he opened the vial, all the cultivators in the Li family sensed it and simultaneously turned their gaze toward his direction.
“Is that the aura of the Fire Phoenix blood essence? How could this be?”
“Has someone else obtained the Fire Phoenix blood essence? That’s impossible—only Ziqi has gone out recently, and she hasn’t accomplished anything noteworthy.”
“If only I could get a drop of that blood essence—then I’d have a chance at the Golden Core stage!”
...
The Li family disciples, sensing the fleeting aura, showed looks of envy.
The Fire Phoenix blood essence was extremely precious to the Li family; receiving even a single drop could almost guarantee cultivation to the Golden Core realm. This explained Li Ziqi’s strong reaction upon seeing Wang Changsheng with the blood essence.
Fortunately, since this was within the Li family, though all disciples sensed the aura, none dared harbor improper thoughts.
“Father, did you sense it? I told you, Grandfather Yunqing gave that corpse-refining sect disciple Wang Changsheng the Fire Phoenix blood essence!” Li Ziqi said gravely to a middle-aged man before her. “I suspect Wang Changsheng used some trick to deceive Grandfather into giving him the blood essence!”
“And the Fire Phoenix Art as well!”
Her face was fierce.
“Alright, alright, I know. You should go back and focus on cultivation!” The middle-aged man, addressed as her father, smiled. “Do you really think, with Grandfather Yunqing’s cultivation, anyone in the Shen Tian realm could fool him?”
“I believe the Patriarch has his own plans and intentions,” he continued. “Don’t meddle in this matter.”
“Hmph!”
Li Ziqi snorted coldly in displeasure. “Just wait. I will get to the bottom of this!”
With that, she left.
Watching her retreating figure, the middle-aged man smiled wryly. “How could I not know? That Fire Phoenix Art was prepared by me. Moreover, that’s not just Fire Phoenix blood essence, but true Fire Phoenix blood. The few remaining drops of true Fire Phoenix blood in the Li family—I gave one to him.”
“But only the Patriarch knows the whole story. He assured me this matter will influence the future of the Li family...”
As for Wang Changsheng, he was completely unaware of the stir caused by opening the vial. At this moment, he had already put away the Fire Phoenix blood essence and was engrossed in the jade slip, clearly contemplating its mysteries.
The jade slip contained the Fire Phoenix Art. After only a brief glance, Wang Changsheng opened his eyes wide in astonishment.
“This... this Fire Phoenix Art... how could it be so powerful?” Shock registered on his face.
At once, Wang Changsheng understood why the Fire Phoenix Art was the Li family’s greatest secret and why Li Ziqi had reacted so strongly upon learning he had it. To Wang Changsheng, the Fire Phoenix Art’s power was beyond anything he had imagined.