CHAPTER 138: CHAPTER 112 HARVEST

The Mountain-Lifting Palm—what a martial art! Its power could indeed lift mountains!

Its immense power struck directly at his forehead!

This was essentially a fatal blow. Even though the elder was a Martial Practitioner of the Second Realm Mystic Barrier, in a split second, his world turned dark, and his brains seemed to churn into a mess.

"Ahhh!!!"

Instinctively, he bellowed like a mad bull, attempting to seize the person behind who had attacked him.

Unexpectedly, the young man behind had already slipped away like a slippery eel the exact moment the two powerful palms struck, additionally kicking out...

BANG!

Using the force, he kicked the old man forward four to five meters, causing him to crash in a heap.

Simultaneously, Chen Ku retreated back into the ruins, reached out, grabbed a staff hidden among the debris, and with a tap of his foot, unleashed the Piercing Sound Step in tandem with the Furious Ape Mighty Staff...

Without pausing to catch his breath, he swung the staff again toward the elderly man, who was already half-dead from the two palm strikes, smashing down on him!

"Ahhh!!!"

The old man’s seven orifices bled, his head felt as if it would split open, his skull fractured. Kicked to the ground, his vision was a blur of blood, unable to see anything clearly.

WHOOSH!

All he felt was the air inside the courtyard seeming to grind like a millstone, rushing down towards him.

"You are not my young master... Who exactly are you..."

Elder Liang Shi instinctively roared against the gust of the staff, using the last bit of strength in his grievously injured body to execute the Ancient Elephant Sect’s Nine Dragons Union, striking out with a palm toward the oncoming staff.

[Liang Shi intends harm toward his master...]

With this palm, the nine large tendons on the blood-soaked elder’s back coiled up, twisting into a cluster, propelling all his body’s Qi Power outward like a cannonball.

BOOM!

This strike, an invisible Force Power, roared like a dragon, resembling a column of air, whipping up sand and stones.

BOOM!

Chen Ku too could feel the terrifying power of the Nine Dragons Union, which could project Inner Qi through the air, harming others without direct contact.

But as the staff’s force bore down, he realized that while his opponent’s Ultimate Skill was formidable, it lacked actual strength.

If his opponent had been in his prime, Chen Ku would not have been able to withstand that attack. Unfortunately... he wasn’t.

He only had his last breath left!

This instance of Nine Dragons Union possessed less than ten percent of its normal power.

BLAST!

The moment the staff’s wind and palm’s wind met in the courtyard, an air explosion erupted, diffusing in all directions.

But Chen Ku’s staff directly shattered all the Qi flows, dissipating the old man’s now feeble Nine Dragons Union.

One strike of the staff!

It smashed onto the old man’s head!

SPLAT!

His forehead split open, brains splattering.

[Diagram Master kills Liang Shi, obtaining a strand of Second Realm Mystic Barrier Evil Qi.]

Standing still, Chen Ku retrieved his staff.

He looked at the old man’s head at his feet, now a bloody mess, and expressionlessly summoned the Flower Fox Mink to devour the corpse.

Only then did he exhale.

"The first time killing someone of a higher Realm... that was truly nerve-racking."

In the past, he had killed enemies across minor Realm differences, but those were small Realms, at most differing by minor tiers of Power.

The Strength Training Realm, for instance, is just about the magnitude of strength; the Inner Qi Realm is about the quantity of Inner Qi...

But the gap between the Inner Qi Realm and the Mystic Barrier Realm isn’t merely a difference in the amount of Qi Power.

Damn, that was frightening! Those two palms of mine were so heavy, even if it were two massive elephants, the impact of the Mountain Roar Tsunami Seal would have slaughtered them... This is the Mystic Barrier Realm!

Chen Ku felt a lingering fear. If it weren’t for his usual precaution of preparing for the worst-case scenario—retrieving the staff to finish off his opponent—the outcome would have been uncertain.

He murmured to himself:

Thankfully, I listened to the two masters talk about the Mystic Barrier Realm. This Realm involves breaking through the Life-and-Death Mystical Pass, allowing Inner Qi to flow through the throat and into the brain, touching the most mysterious part of the human body. It’s said that when the Qi Performing Technique is active, it can even protect the brain. If I hadn’t transformed into Zhao Chuanzu, lulling his wariness to its lowest point, and if his brain hadn’t been unprotected by his Qi Performing Technique when I struck his temples with those two palms... Even so, I didn’t manage to kill him instantly. Terrifying, truly terrifying.

At this moment, Chen Ku, who had just killed Zhao Chuanzu and his servant Liang Shi, did not leave immediately. Instead, he handed his bow and arrow and staff to the Flower Fox Mink to carry away.

He himself, still in the guise of Zhao Chuanzu, remained in the battle-scarred ruins, sat down on the ground, and focused his Spirit to examine the changes related to Zhao Chuanzu in his mind.

Firstly, there was the Root Bone.

Zhao Chuanzu’s Root Bone was much better than Ling’s; it was a [Superior Root Bone].

His Cultivation was also at the late stage of the Inner Qi Realm.

The boost he had just received had directly propelled Chen Ku’s Inner Qi to the peak of Great Perfection, almost to the point of overwhelming him.

But most importantly, there were Zhao Chuanzu’s Martial Arts.

[Nine Dragons Union (Minor Achievement)]

Chen Ku felt this Ultimate Skill bestowed upon him. He closed his eyes and circulated it. He could feel the nine large tendons in his back bulge simultaneously, like nine Qi channels, instantly drawing upon his entire body’s Qi Power, then twisting...

BOOM!

Chen Ku casually waved his hand, and a potent, surging Force Power erupted from his palm!

Yang, fierce, majestic, and domineering!

His Palm Force extended thirty feet, shattering a pillar more than thirty feet away out of thin air!

WHOA! Even at Minor Achievement, it’s this powerful? Once it reaches Great Achievement, wouldn’t this be like the Eighteen Palms of the Descending Dragon...

Chen Ku felt the power of the Nine Dragons Union, musing to himself:

This Nine Dragons Union seems to be just a ’secret technique’ for projecting Inner Qi externally, or perhaps a ’mental method’. It can’t be considered a Hand Technique. The Mountain-Lifting Palm, on the other hand, is only a Hand Technique and lacks a mental method... I wonder if this Hand Technique and this mental method can be combined?

Of course, creating a Fusion of Martial Arts was definitely an extremely dangerous undertaking.

However, Chen Ku considered that he could use one of his Incarnations. He could casually transform into one and let it undertake the trial and error, facing the risks. If it went awry and the Incarnation was possessed by the Devil, it would merely mean the loss of that Incarnation.

I’ll keep this idea in mind.

After testing the power of the Nine Dragons Union, Chen Ku then explored the other skills Zhao Chuanzu possessed.

[36 Acupoint-Striking Techniques]

This was a Martial Art complementary to the Nine Dragons Union. The Cultivation process of Nine Dragons Union relied on the assistance of Acupoints Striking, sealing meridians, and holding one’s breath.

Moreover, it could be used not only on oneself but also on others; if someone with profound Skill used it on those less skilled, they could achieve what was depicted in martial arts novels...

By striking others’ Acupoints with Qi Power, one could immobilize them.

Acupoint Divine Skill! A martial arts version of a Paralysis Spell...

Chen Ku was slightly excited.

Although he understood that this Ultimate Skill was mostly auxiliary, in a true life-or-death battle, unless one could cultivate this technique to the Perfection Realm, otherwise...

The opponent wouldn’t foolishly stand there and let you strike their Acupoints.

Conversely, if you could reach their Acupoints, wouldn’t it be simpler to just pierce them with a sword?

Apart from the Acupoint Technique, Zhao Chuanzu also possessed some other Martial Arts...

[Mud-Wading Step Technique (Great Achievement)]

This was a footwork technique from the Ancient Elephant Sect used for training the lower body. It involved moving as if wading through mud, where the body moves but the intent remains unchanged, like a log drifting on water, flowing smoothly in one breath.

[Ancient Elephant Fist Skills (Minor Achievement)]

...

There were also some entry-level Martial Arts. Clearly, aside from the Nine Dragons Union and the Acupoint Technique, the other skill Zhao Chuanzu possessed that could offer Chen Ku an improvement was primarily the Mud-Wading Step.

Perhaps it could provide him with some insights related to his Piercing Sound Step.

Unfortunately for Zhao Chuanzu, he hadn’t managed to lift a finger against Chen Ku before he died, and all his Martial Arts ended up in the belly of the Flower Fox Mink.

Withdrawing his attention from Zhao Chuanzu’s attributes, Chen Ku then focused on the first strand of Second Realm Evil Qi he had obtained.

The Evil Qi of the Zhao Family’s old servant, Liang Shi... a Mystic Barrier Realm figure...

Chen Ku stroked his chin and pondered:

Should I transform him... or use this Evil Qi as the ’refining shape’ basis for Transformations like the Flower Fox Mink, Golden-eyed White Feathered Sculpture, Volcanic Crow, or Fire Beak Pot?

The first level of Transformation, Shape Shifting, only requires the Evil Qi of the original being.

However, the specific aspect manifested by the initial Shape Shifting depends on luck.

If he was lucky and it directly manifested the old servant’s Mystic Barrier Realm Cultivation, that would be a huge gain.

But if his luck was average, it would most likely yield some entry-level Martial Arts, or attributes like Root Bone or Talent.

The old man was in his sixties or seventies and only at the Mystic Barrier Realm; clearly, his Talent and Root Bone weren’t exceptional.

Just as Chen Ku was pondering in the ruins, the snowflakes from the sky became heavier.

When the snow had covered half the courtyard, Huang Muxia from the Twin Rivers Guild suddenly hurried over with his men from outside. Seeing Chen Ku sitting there, he exclaimed in surprise, "Nephew Zhao, my servant told me something had happened here, so I brought people to check. How are you?"

Chen Ku noted that someone had finally arrived.

My buttocks have gone numb from sitting.

He feigned weakness and said, "I was just preparing to sleep tonight when someone came into the courtyard and attacked me. Thankfully, Uncle Liang intervened swiftly, and I am largely unharmed."

"Who was it? Who would dare to conduct an assassination in the Inner City?" Huang Muxia frowned. Suddenly, as if he had guessed something, he asked, "Was it the Medicine King Hall?"

Chen Ku shook his head and said, "No, it was the Peace Path. I don’t know how I offended them. They attempted to assassinate me tonight. Uncle Liang injured them and pursued them. If he’s successful, perhaps he can capture one or two of those Demon People to find out what’s going on."

"Peace Path?" Huang Muxia’s expression changed. "The New Year is almost here, yet these Demon People still dare to cause trouble in the Inner City."

Chen Ku deliberately covered his mouth and coughed a few times.

Seeing this, Huang Muxia said, "Nephew Zhao, you’re seriously injured. It’s clearly not suitable for you to stay here tonight. Why don’t you come to my Twin Rivers Guild and rest for the night?"

Chen Ku feigned weakness and said, "How could I impose like this?"

Huang Muxia replied, "What’s there to impose about? I owe a great deal to your Ancient Elephant Sect. Aren’t our families old friends? I promised your father I would look after you when you came to Baojiao County. Now that you’ve been attacked, how can I ignore it?"

Old friends? No wonder that Huang fellow tried to use Zhao Chuanzu to set me up. How come my master’s staff didn’t beat you to death today... Chen Ku thought to himself. So, we’re that close, are we? Tomorrow, I’m asking you for a loan!

Speaking of which, he hadn’t searched Zhao Chuanzu’s house yet.

"I’ll just grab a few things from here before leaving."

He hadn’t searched the house earlier to avoid arousing suspicion—after all, who would search their own house? Now that much of the suspicion had been dispelled, it was, of course, time to conduct a "thorough and justified" search.