Chapter 20: Devouring Beast Pellet

  Several people talked until late at night, and they didn't leave until the sun went down.

  "Wait a minute..." Lu Qing suddenly spoke up.

  "What?" Duan Qingyun and the other three were stunned upon hearing this, their eyes turning towards Lu Qing.

  But then Lu Qing reached into his clothes and took out four small cyan jade bottles, handing one to each of the four people. In these four jade bottles, Lu Qing had placed two pills of Can Wang Dan and four pills of Yang Shen Dan. For someone like him who possessed the Blood Slashing Sword Yuan Liquid, even if he were to swallow all of the Can Wang Dan, it would be equivalent to no more than half a drop of Blood Slashing Sword Yuan Liquid. Moreover, having cultivated the Zi Huang Sword Body Technique, he could use it to nourish and repair his internal organs. So, it was better for him to give them to Duan Qing Yun and the others. Lu Qing deeply remembered their help in the past.

  After removing the bottle stopper, Duan Qingyun smelled two kinds of strong medicinal scents and saw that inside were two green pills and four light yellow ones. Duan Qingyun's face changed color as he was an inner sect disciple and had heard something about these elixirs.

  "Could this be a dan medicine?" Duan Qingyun asked with some disbelief.

  He nodded and said, "Among them are two inferior-grade Xuanwang Dan, which can be used to enhance Sword Yuan's cultivation. The other four are ungraded Nourishing Body Dan, which can be used to treat some not-too-serious internal injuries."

  When Lu Qing said this, even Nie Qingtian's complexion changed slightly. The elixir was a rare treasure that was hardly ever circulated and only existed in the hands of high-ranking members of the sect. Even ordinary executives couldn't possess it, and only when one reached Lu Qing's position as a guardian would they receive a small amount each year. It was imaginable how precious it was. Even if it were an inner disciple, a normal guardian wouldn't be willing to take it out.

  "This dan medicine is probably not even a few pills for you in a year, we can't have it." Unable to bear it, he swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Duan Qingyun was the first to push the jade bottle back to Lu Qing, and then Nie Qingtian and the others also pushed the jade bottle back to Lu Qing's side.

  He shook his head and Lu Qing said, "You can rest assured that I still have some of this elixir left. Moreover, since I came to Chaoyang Palace a year ago, it was all of you who helped me when I was in trouble, guiding me. If it weren't for all of you, Lu Qing wouldn't be where he is today. This elixir, if you don't accept it, my heart won't be at peace."

  She gazed deeply at Lu Qing, Zhao Qianye's eyes were profound, like an ancient well with no ripples, after a long while, "Alright, this time we'll take it."

  "But," Zhao Qianye's tone shifted, "if you truly consider us to be close friends, then let this matter rest and I'll take this elixir. It's not as good as you accompanying me in a few more battles in the future."

  Lu Qing was taken aback by the words, but soon saw that Nie Qingqing and the others also nodded in agreement. Duan Qingyun even hung his head and said: "Well, people are really incomparable. If you really want to thank me, just point out a few more things for me in the future, so I can become a swordsman earlier and see how far ahead of me all of you are."

  Duan Qingyun's gloomy face made Lu Qing and the others stunned for a moment, then they all burst out laughing. The five of them lingered for a while longer, even bringing out the few jars of fine wine that Duan Qingyun had collected in the Purple Bamboo Courtyard every year and drinking them dry. This made Duan Qingyun feel extremely painful, yet he couldn't help it. In the end, he let go and opened up his stomach, and some of the wine did enter his belly. Finally, he was supported by Yu Jihua and three others as they sent him back, stumbling and staggering.

  For the next five days, Lu Qing stayed in Lianxin Academy to calm his mind and cultivate his energy. Sometimes he would go to Zhu Jian House to exchange ideas about sword casting with Huang Lao. As one of the few eight-grade sword casters in the sect, Huang Lao had a lot to offer Lu Qing in terms of sword casting techniques. Although Lu Qing was born into a family of sword casters and had inherited their traditions, he still had much to learn from Huang Lao, who had spent decades mastering the art of sword casting.

  So every time he communicated with Huang Lao, Lu Qing had some profound insights into the subtle aspects of sword casting, which gradually improved his sword casting skills. After all, sword casting is a meticulous and rigorous matter, and sometimes even a small mistake can lead to the failure of sword casting or the decline of sword quality.

  Huang Lao had no reservations either, and no matter what questions Lu Qing asked, he answered them as thoroughly as possible. This made Lu Qing feel grateful, and at the same time, he shared some of the Lu family's unspoken theories about sword casting with Huang Lao, who listened with rapt attention.

  The two of them would occasionally enter the Sword Casting House to practice, and now Lu Qing's cultivation had made great progress. The Purple Cloud Wind Thunder Sword had already grasped its 13th form, and at this time, he had a major breakthrough in the Taiyi Thirty-six Hammers. Now, he could smoothly cast out the first fourteen hammers. When he tried it for the first time in the Sword Casting House, he even managed to cast a ordinary black iron into a third-grade sword.

  This made Old Huang extremely surprised, and he was full of praise for the Lu family's exquisite sword casting skills, the Great Evolution of Thirty-six Hammers. Although Lu Qing saw that Old Huang had high expectations for the Great Evolution of Thirty-six Hammers, due to the ancestral rules, Lu Qing could not pass it on to Old Huang.

  With only three days left, Lu Qing decided to absorb the beast dan hidden in Mingyue Pool. When he entered the Sword Pool, he could use the powerful thunder and lightning power inside to break through to the second layer of the Zihuang Sword Body Technique. At that time, relying on his strong physical strength, he could also condense the sword embryo with more confidence. After all, the power of the Wind and Thunder Sword Origin was unparalleled and domineering, and if he wasn't careful, he might explode and die due to the violent wind and thunder power.

  Now that summer has arrived, the cool breeze is blowing gently over Mingyue Lake, and many small birds like to stay here to drink water and play. Even when Lu Qing came, he saw a first-class four-eared black bear.

  Four-Eared Black Bear, a first-class spiritual beast, is a very common spiritual beast in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains. It belongs to the earth element and can use its earth-elemental power to form a thin armor on its body, with immense strength. If it can advance, it will become a second-class spiritual beast, the Six-Eared Fierce Bear. Its weakness lies in its large physique, which makes it less agile in movement.

  Obviously, the temper of this four-eared black bear was not very good. After seeing Lu Qing, it let out a loud roar and stood up on its hind legs, its body over 3 meters tall, more than two to three heads taller than Lu Qing. Its massive body was like a mountain of flesh pressing down on Lu Qing.

  Roar!

  With a loud roar from the four-eared black bear, its massive paws, as large as human heads, instantly sprouted a layer of yellow fur. The sharp claws tore through the air, creating a whistling sound that swept towards Lu Qing's head, bringing with it a blast of wind that struck his face.

  Shaking his head, Lu Qing took a step forward with his right foot following a strange trajectory, leaving behind a clear shadow of his body. In an instant, Lu Qing's body appeared behind the Four-Eared Black Bear, and with a swift motion, he slapped the bear's massive head with his right palm.

  Ahh——

  All of a sudden, the nearly thousand-pound four-eared black bear let out a miserable cry and flew forward, crashing into three trees as thick as a person's arms before finally falling to the ground. It got up from the ground in a somewhat terrified state, its head buzzing as if it had been struck by a giant stone due to the intense impact. Its body swayed back and forth as it stood up.

  As the figure of Lu Qing in the distance became clear, the four-eared black bear immediately revealed a fearful expression. Its dull head really couldn't understand why such a small body could possess such great power. At this moment, in the eyes of the four-eared black bear, Lu Qing was already enough to be compared with those powerful second-tier spiritual beasts.

  According to its keen senses as a spiritual beast, after the initial angry attack was broken, it felt a strong aura of terror from Lu Qing's body. As a spiritual beast, it clearly knew that this was the aura of a superior being, and feeling this aura had not erupted, the four-eared black bear did not hesitate, its two hind paws scraping out six claw marks on the ground as it desperately fled towards the depths of the mountain forest.

  Lu Qing did not continue to pursue, as he was now in the calm and peaceful stage before entering the Sword Pool. If he were to start killing now, it would inevitably disrupt the atmosphere that had been brewing for a long time. Otherwise, with his current strength, that one blow just now was not a simple physical attack, and the powerful wind and thunder sword energy could instantly pierce through the black bear's brain.

  Arriving at the edge of Mingyue Lake, a layer of protective wind and thunder sword energy floated on Lu Qing's body. With one step of the Wind and Thunder Step, his figure instantly appeared on the black boulder in the lake. At this moment, he allowed the powerful waterfall to impact his body, and although Lu Qing felt some pressure, it was already negligible. Standing under the waterfall at this moment, Lu Qing knew that with his current physical strength of over a thousand kilograms and his flesh being comparable to a fifth-grade sword, continuing to train below would no longer have much effect.

  Even the practice of Da Yan's 36 hammers is far less obvious and rapid than the Purple Emperor Sword Body Scripture. After entering the waterfall, Lu Qing felt a strong and gentle thunderous aura. The inner skin of that fir tree was still as tender as before, apparently due to being nourished by the aura of the beast dan all along.

  The inner skin was stripped away, revealing a beast dan the size of a human head inside. The deep purple beast dan was smooth as jade all over its body, like a large, rare purple jade pearl. However, with Lu Qing's current understanding of the wind and thunder energies, he could clearly feel the incredibly powerful purple electric energy stored within the beast dan. Compared to the wind and thunder sword yuan in his dantian qihai, it was like the vast Sword God Sea and the mountains and lakes of a continent - there was a huge difference.

  P.S. Happy Labor Day to everyone! How's your day going so far? Also, the Shanghai World Expo has opened, let's cheer!