Chapter 385 - 170: Battle of East Island, Northern Seven Constellations (Subscription Request)

Words : 2114 Updated : Oct 11th, 2025

"Could someone be after me?" At this time, Xu Qing and Feng Wu were sitting on their family’s merchant ship, traversing the waterways of Black Water Lake. Xu Qing felt a stir in his spirit. His brow swelled, his Qi-Blood concentrated, and the Divine Soul, assisted by the essence of Qi-Blood, wore the Purple Emperor Dragon Armor and transformed into a dragon flying up into the sky to look around. He did not deliberately manifest his form, but continuously condensed water vapor, causing an abrupt mist to rise from the lake surface. Simultaneously, the power of Divine Soul spread through the mist around them. The intense pressure from the Divine Soul was so cold and damp that even the sailors on the merchant ship felt a chill brushing past them. After Xu Qing released his Divine Soul, the Qi Fortune Little Snake ceased emitting black air and slowly dissipated. Then, he withdrew his Divine Soul, the mist surrounding the merchant ship gradually dispersed, and the inexplicable sensation of cold dampness also vanished without a trace. When Xu Qing’s Divine Soul had left his body, Feng Wu was immediately by his side to protect him. Seeing Xu Qing’s Divine Soul return to his body, Feng Wu felt relieved. Without waiting for her to ask, Xu Qing whispered telepathically, "It seems there was some danger nearby just now, but I’ve scared it off." Feng Wu sighed in relief. A nation on the brink of collapse is always plagued with devils. Despite the Grand Secretary currently pushing reforms that seem successful, in reality, both the local and central authorities are becoming increasingly alienated from virtue. Especially since the Grand Secretary’s attempts to overhaul the bureaucracy with the newly implemented assessment laws have made many Civil Servants resentful. Yet, it’s typical for a dying dynasty to experience a brief, misleading resurgence. Particularly in the Southeastern Land, apart from the threat of sea calamities, it has always been a land of peace and prosperity. The common people of South Zhili cannot comprehend the hardships of citizens in other remote provinces. After that, the journey proceeded without incident, and Xu Qing and Feng Wu safely returned home. The Parasol Tree was lush and vibrant, seemingly symbolizing the prosperity rising at the Xu Residence. What a flourishing beauty! Yet, Xu Qing noticed a faint unusual fragrance around the Old Wutong Tree. Had his nose not been so sensitive, he would have probably not detected it. As Xu Qing approached the Old Wutong Tree, he noticed its Divine Soul was the same as always, without any anomalies, yet this faint unusual scent still raised his vigilance. The Qi Fortune Little Snake showed no reaction for the time being. This meant that whatever left the scent posed no threat or had already left. However, Xu Qing had the Qiankun Bag, and the important items at home were safely stored inside, so he wasn’t worried about losing anything valuable. He did not ask the maidens who managed the house, as they would not have noticed anything. Moreover, he guessed who the visitor might be. It was probably the Holy Spirit Heart Moon Fox of the Wenxiang Sect. "Could the sense of danger at Black Water Lake earlier be related to the Heart Moon Fox?" Without any clues, Xu Qing decided to set aside this concern for now. It was time for him to penetrate the hidden veins of the Xuanwu Seven Stars. After cultivating the Eastern Azure Dragon Seven Stars, the training of the Northern Xuanwu Seven Stars also had its significance, which he realized through insights from the Heavenly Gang Wuji Skill. It would aid him in achieving his "Alchemy Dao." "Turtle and Snake Entwined, life robust, can plant a golden lotus in fire." This sentence elucidated the subtle intricacies of Inner Elixir Skill. The entwinement of Turtle and Snake symbolizes the harmonization of Yin and Yang, intertwining with each other, which is a key aspect of Inner Elixir Skill, thereby rendering life robust and elevating its essence through transformation and transcendence. This is an important process from being human to becoming immortal. Therefore, the Dao of Alchemy is crucial in the journey of cultivation. Predecessors have thus lamented, only cultivating ancestral nature and not the alchemy, is it hard for Yin spirits to attain holiness through myriad calamities. The dragon belongs to the yang as a snake; Xuanwu belongs to the yin as a turtle. Having cultivated the Seven Azure Dragon Constellations, from the perspective of Alchemy Dao, cultivating the Northern Xuanwu Seven Stars is an excellent choice to help achieve the entwinement of Turtle and Snake, thus making life more robust. The Innate Divine Ability of the Seven Azure Dragon Constellations, the Purple Emperor Dragon Armor, primarily guards the Divine Soul. However, the Xuanwu Seven Stars has the exact opposite; its Innate Divine Ability named the Three Yin Demon Slaying Saber, is a potent martial Divine Skill of slaughter. After its cultivation, the Divine Soul, by permeating the hidden veins of the Xuanwu Seven Stars, could also harness Star Power to penetrate the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian, Hand Jueyin Heart Meridian, and Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian, hence named Three Yin. Especially since Xu Qing possesses the Heavenly Repairing Tribulation Hand, cultivating this Hand’s Three Yin Divine Skill could not be more suitable. Cultivating the Eastern Azure Dragon Seven Stars involves Static Technique, while Northern Xuanwu Seven Stars involves Dynamic Technique. Common perception assumes dragons should continuously move, thus corresponding cultivation involves Static Technique; Xuanwu is perceived as stationary, yet its corresponding cultivation involves Dynamic Technique. It must be said, this dynamic-static correspondence is also extraordinarily profound. Inside the room, Xu Qing was at times sitting, standing, inverted, or breathing towards the sky. Dipper, Ox, Woman, Emptiness, Danger, Room, Wall - these Northern Seven Stars appeared in Xu Qing’s Sea of Consciousness Divine Soul, albeit faintly without illumination. Xu Qing first focused on the Dipper, corresponding to the forehead of Xuanwu, similar in shape to the Beidou, but located to the South, also known as Beidou. The Quanzhen Dao also possesses corresponding Beidou cultivation secrets, namely the Heavenly Gang Beidou Formation. This is an Array, but also a profound and subtle cultivation method. From this, a very powerful sealing method can be derived, named Beidou Sealing God, capable of sealing and suppressing various Evil Path devils and Divine Souls in the world. Compared to the Eastern Seven Stars, the Northern Seven Stars are much more challenging. It’s not that the Northern Seven Stars are superior. Rather, the Eastern Seven Stars are more orthodox and straightforward, although they deeply depend on the Divine Soul Power and the external Dragon Qi. The Northern Seven Stars are more a test of an individual’s Dao heart and Comprehension. To illustrate, the Eastern Seven Stars involve the person gradually accumulating strength; even if they absorb Dragon Qi, it is primarily through refining, building up enough over time to naturally achieve success. Northern Seven Constellations involves invoking the power of stars to forcefully connect seven hidden veins externally, from the outside to the inside. The perils of this process are self-evident. Xu Qing returned home and immersed himself in the cultivation of the Northern Seven Constellations, quietly waiting for the Ancestor Worship Festival in mid-July. On the other hand, King Lin’s East Island welcomed an uninvited guest. ... ... On this day, a thick fog enveloped East Island. King Lin took a deep breath and exhaled sharply, like a sword. His breath grew increasingly profound and astonishing, achieving profound integration of spirit and body, and mastering his martial arts to perfection. It must be said, after venturing out to sea and breaking his chains, his mindset achieved a great breakthrough, and his martial arts talent was fully unleashed in numerous sea battles. After all, on land, he was like a caged dragon unable to spread his wings! Furthermore, Xu Qing had been a brother beyond reproach, recently gifting him several elixirs beneficial even to a Refining Internal Master. After taking them, King Lin’s Qi and blood reached new heights. However, as he exhaled this breath sword, dispersing the heavy fog before him, he spoke lightly, "Come out." The dense fog slowly closed up, yet it did not obstruct King Lin’s vision; in his eyes, a figure with an aura of a Daoist sage appeared. "To cultivate martial arts to this extent, you are not far from the Grandmaster Realm. To think someone like you could emerge from the wilderness of the Southeastern Land, it’s truly rare," the visitor slowly spoke. King Lin: "Playing tricks and pretending to be a ghost." His muscles trembled, and his clothes started to puff out, revealing the contours of his muscles. King Lin, already a formidable and towering figure, now seemed even more like The Immortal of Colossal Spirit. Qi and blood surged within him, his body thundering with a booming sound. The surrounding insects and birds, as if sensing the cataclysmic danger, ceased their cries. "Giant Spirit Mysterious Skill." The visitor showed a slight surprise. "You have some discernment," said King Lin, taking a step towards the other, as if an earth dragon turning over, heaven and earth splitting apart. He burst into loud laughter, utterly unrestrained. This forceful step also drew King Lin’s figure close to the visitor at a striking speed. In the blink of an eye, they were mere inches apart! Strike first when attacking. The visitor harbored ill intentions, so naturally, he didn’t need to abide by the rules of the worldly society. Leveraging the powerful impact of his previous step, King Lin charged like a mighty elephant across the land, unstoppable. This punch, integrating both Bull Demon Stepping Hoof and Bull Demon Horn’s top-tier skills, represented the pinnacle of Bright Strength. Dark Strength and Hua Realm primarily destroy internal structures, a higher realm doesn’t necessarily mean greater frontal destructive power than Bright Strength. Moreover, King Lin’s punch was not only fierce but also aimed squarely at the visitor’s chest—a stark contrast to the typically sneaky and underhanded tactics of ordinary martial artists aiming for the eyes, the waist, or other vulnerable spots. It showed immense confidence in the power of his strike. This majestic and mighty punch was essentially unavoidable; King Lin combined his waist and horse stances, moving fluidly like drifting clouds and flowing water, leaving no openings. It was like the bursting of Heavenly Thunder, utterly without reason. He intended for the visitor to die! Confronted with such a fierce and merciless punch from King Lin, the visitor stepped back, shrinking ground to inches, retreating several meters instantaneously, just narrowly escaping the strongest reach of King Lin’s punch. King Lin continued to laugh wildly, taking another step. This step was even quicker. It shook the ground as if rolling up the surface like a carpet. The visual effect was extremely violent and shocking. This step again forcefully shortened the distance between him and the visitor. His punch looked set to penetrate the visitor’s chest. But the visitor did not dodge again; instead, leveraging the energy from his previous retreat, he accumulated inner strength and suddenly struck out with a soft, seemingly weak palm. "Taoist Soft Palm." Hard clashed with soft. There was no earth-shattering boom; rather, it was eerily silent. Great sounds are scarce, great images formless. After a brief silence, the surrounding fog suddenly dispersed. In that instant, the explosive clash of their Qi and blood practically evaporated the surrounding mist, a terrifying feat. After a brief exchange, the two separated. "You are the Luo Sect Master." "Correct." King Lin laughed heartily: "Very well, very well, defeating you will surely advance me to the Grandmaster Realm." Facing this formidable figure of the Evil Path who had carved a swath through the South, King Lin showed no fear; instead, he was inexplicably joyful. His path to the Grandmaster Realm was separated only by a thin veil, which might take three to five years to pierce through, or perhaps would never be breached in his lifetime. But having such a formidable opponent from the Evil Path to sharpen his skills on, defeating this man would definitely allow him to truly enter the Grandmaster Realm of martial arts. As for being killed? In the worldly society, it’s either you kill me, or I kill you, what’s there to fuss about? In that moment, King Lin swept away all emotions of fear, caution, excitement, and ecstasy. Facing this powerful foe who could take his life, King Lin entered a state of fearless abandonment. This battle was uniquely his chance to Steal the Heavenly Secret. Standing at the threshold of the Ghost Gate, life and death ceased to matter.

Chapter 385 - 170: Battle of East Island, Northern Seven Constellations (Subscription Request)

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