Coming like thunder to suppress anger, dissipating like the stillness of a vast sea.
That sword, imbued with the intent of startling awakening, came and went swiftly.
The dense and swirling malevolent qi in front of the Rejuvenation Pavilion, appearing and disappearing abruptly, as Chu Weiyang flicked his wrist in place, a few drops of blood splattered from the edge of the sword.
The crimson color seemed to remind everyone that what they had just witnessed, the astonishing killing intent that erupted in a flash, was not an illusion but a real occurrence.
At the same time, there were almost several uncontrollable exclamations coming from different corners.
Different from the battles between cultivators of higher realms where the slightest difference could determine the outcome, Qi Refining stage cultivators were merely beginners in the path of cultivation, with many techniques not much different from mundane ones.
A proficient sword technique alone was enough to stand out among such people, let alone in that moment of fiery anger, Chu Weiyang further comprehended the power of sword intent!
Among the outstanding, he appeared even more aloof.
Moreover, even the hidden hand inciting others to probe, probably never expected Chu Weiyang's reaction to be so fierce.
There wasn't much enmity between them, just some foul language.
Perhaps it was just his habit, being a bit slippery while mingling in the River Source area.
Behind his ferocious demeanor, there was another story of bitterness to tell.
He also had his own difficulties, supporting a whole family with his own strength.
But under Chu Weiyang's sword, all of this came to a complete end.
All was over, lying on the street was nothing but a life that had passed.
The more it was like this, the more chilling it was.
Although sword cultivators would rather break than bend, always straightforward in expressing their feelings, Chu Weiyang's reaction was a bit too much, even more so than a demonic cultivator, deserving the title of "fierce."
However, Chu Weiyang in place slowly lifted the long sword in his hand and gradually sheathed it.
At this moment, the young man was not feeling well.
The unprecedented burst of malevolent qi naturally had to bear an unprecedented price of pain.
And that swift thunderous sword, symbolizing the awakening of spring, almost depleted Chu Weiyang's diseased body in an instant.
In fact, at this moment, Chu Weiyang was the most dangerous.
He was even powerless to use the same second sword again.
His almost exhausted arm also wanted to tremble uncontrollably.
But his long-standing habit of enduring pain made his expression calm, even indifferent to the death of the person in front of him.
The malevolent qi accumulated in his limbs and bones also made his blood and qi not as flexible as imagined, and his slightly stiff body concealed the flaws.
Furthermore.
Facing the gazes of everyone, Chu Weiyang took a few steps forward, bent down on his own, and reached out to search for something around the waist of that person.
He seemed indifferent to the probing in the shadows.
Similarly, with Chu Weiyang's movements, the basket behind him also conspicuously exposed itself to these people's view.
With a sword strike, Chu Weiyang was no longer mysterious, but appeared fierce and tricky.
The breathing sound hidden in the basket implied another layer of mystery, elusive and unpredictable.
When Chu Weiyang stood up from the corpse, he had taken a sleeve arrow and a bag of scattered alchemy items, with more than ten spirit stones mixed in, which was a pleasant surprise.
Weighing the pouch, Chu Weiyang put it away, then broke the delicate sleeve arrow by bending it forcefully.
He threw it on the corpse, then without looking back, Chu Weiyang turned around and walked straight back into the Rejuvenation Pavilion.
This time, the old man with a goatee looked at Chu Weiyang with an even more peculiar gaze.
In his eyes, someone like Chu Weiyang, who could survive, was already unreasonable, let alone mastering such astonishing sword intent and being able to unleash such a fierce sword strike.
It was even more unreasonable.
In a few breaths, the old man wanted to speak several times but hesitated.
After all, they were not in the Dan River Valley but doing business in the market.
Sometimes a word could ruin things, and a glance could inexplicably cost a life.
The complex emotions in the old man's heart were unknown to Chu Weiyang, who first placed nine taels of alchemy on the counter.
"Three pots of Hundred Herbs Breaking Calamity Pills."
Saying this, Chu Weiyang took out the windfall obtained from the corpse.
After carefully weighing the alchemy, he added four spirit stones.
"Also, one Dragon-Tiger Returning Yuan Pill."
He was not sure which of these two types of pills was more suitable for him, but the Dragon-Tiger Returning Yuan Pill was precious, and Chu Weiyang could only afford to buy one to test its effects.
Even though the Hundred Herbs Breaking Calamity Pill was not very effective for dispelling malevolent qi from his body, its medicinal power was excellent for cultivating the "Five Organs Nourishing Qi Essence Technique."
Nodding, the old man quickly took out the pills and handed a palm-sized wooden box to Chu Weiyang.
The texture of the wooden box was deep, and even from a step away, Chu Weiyang could smell a faint and elegant fragrance.
There was a talisman wrapped around the seams of the box, ensuring that the medicinal power of the pills would not dissipate.
Although a single talisman was not worth much, the packaging was so solemn that it was only for the Dragon-Tiger Returning Yuan Pill.
Looking at the old man's actions, the four porcelain bottles lined up in a row seemed much more ordinary.
Wait, four of them...
Chu Weiyang subconsciously looked up at the old man.
The shopkeeper then smiled and stroked his goatee.
"Normally, we don't inquire about origins in the River Source area, but with such astonishing sword intent, young brother, you are not an ordinary disciple of the Sword Sect. Perhaps in the future, there may be some dealings between our sect and yours. Looking at it this way, I feel a bit sorry for not interfering earlier, so I'll give you an extra pot of Hundred Herbs Breaking Calamity Pills as a gesture of goodwill on behalf of our sect."
Upon hearing this, Chu Weiyang calmly nodded.
A pot of Hundred Herbs Breaking Calamity Pills, three taels of alchemy, and three spirit stones were not considered valuable, but it was a gesture of goodwill, which was acceptable.
"Thank you!"
With that, Chu Weiyang calmly accepted the items, gathered them all in his sleeve robe, and without saying another word, just like when he arrived, he walked out of the Rejuvenation Pavilion with the basket on his back, the long sword in his hand, and walked almost without deviation in the direction he came from, heading towards the outskirts of the River Source market.
Originally, he had planned to find a temporary residence in the market.
But plans changed.
When he wielded his sword on the street and killed someone, the River Source market was no longer a place to stay for long.
Sword intent and mystery were destined to only block them temporarily.
When those old cunning individuals made up their minds, Chu Weiyang, who lingered without leaving, was destined to be imprisoned and face calamity.
Now, decisively breaking free was the long-term plan.
At first, Chu Weiyang walked steadily, everything as usual.
But when he truly left the River Source market, the mountain valley disappeared completely from view, Chu Weiyang suddenly changed direction and strode quickly towards the south.
At this moment, he could no longer care about his body's condition.
Chu Weiyang spared no effort and walked swiftly for half a day, completely leaving the River Source and entering the mountains and wilderness.
The young man then slammed the basket on the ground, leaned against a tree, and gasped for breath in a disheveled manner.
Before Chu Weiyang could lift the lid of the basket, the steward was already impatiently reaching out to support the edge of the basket, leaning out in disbelief to look at Chu Weiyang.
At this moment, the River Source market, the precious elixirs, and the safety of life were no longer the steward's top concerns.
"That sword intent... What's the matter with that sword intent!"
Chu Weiyang ignored the steward and waited until he caught his breath slowly before glancing at the steward.
"'Springtime Sword' was taught to me move by move in the mountains by you. The method for Sword Sect cultivators to enter a deep meditative state and comprehend sword intent was also told to me by you. Six chapters and thirty-six forms, you watched me practice all the way, and now you ask me what's going on with that sword intent..."
"Are you the steward of the Sword Sect, or am I?"
Faced with this question, the steward fell silent.
In fact, Chu Weiyang had already guessed that there was likely a very subtle resonance and reaction between the Sword Sect's cultivation method and the ancient scripture "Five Organs Nourishing Qi Essence Technique" from the Pan King Sect.
Even his accumulated malevolent qi, long-suffered pain, hunger, and angry thoughts played a catalytic role.
That sword intent was not purely the springtime sword intent.
It was more like Chu Weiyang's anger, utilizing one aspect of springtime, manifesting in the form of thunder and fire, and the external appearance of startling awakening!
But these speculations no longer required a conversation with the steward.
As if understanding Chu Weiyang's thoughts, the steward furrowed his brow, as if wanting to say something, then hesitated, and finally did not lean out of the basket again, frowning and sitting back down.
After a few breaths, the steward's somewhat dull voice came from the basket.
"You haven't truly lived your life yet! Why, are you on guard against me now? In a few days, are you going to think about killing me?"
Still ignoring the steward's words, Chu Weiyang stabilized his mind in place, then took out a porcelain bottle from his sleeve robe.
The advantage of the "Five Organs Nourishing Qi Essence Technique" lay here.
Although it was a static technique, it did not require any deep meditation or visualization, nor did it require a specific posture; it only required swallowing.
Taking out a Hundred Herbs Breaking Calamity Pill, Chu Weiyang gently smelled the faint herbal fragrance and swallowed it directly.
The precious materials entered the alchemical cauldron, and the fire of the five organs furnace was ignited.
In an instant, the flames wandered through the meridians of the five organs, sensing a rich warm stream originating from the middle wheel, slowly descending into the elixir field.
Chu Weiyang's brow relaxed as never before at this moment.
At this moment, he truly understood why the people of the Hundred Flowers Tower had to take this path of consuming elixirs and eating spirit stones, aside from the slick and unblemished gimmick, the rich elemental qi and medicinal power refined from the elixir in the heart fire, its fullness and satisfaction were something that Chu Weiyang had never experienced despite consuming so much blood food along the way.
Of course, it might also be because Chu Weiyang's previous diet was limited to the realm of beasts, and perhaps the blood and flesh of the demonic beasts that nourished the moonlight and awakened intelligence could provide him with a different kind of enjoyment.
But at least at this moment, Chu Weiyang felt the abundant elemental qi and magical power of the elixir.
The two mixed and sank into the elixir field in the sea of qi.
In just a moment, Chu Weiyang felt a lightness in his elixir field.
At the same time, some of the magical power suddenly became active, no longer heavy and sluggish after being eroded by malevolent qi.
Indeed, it had an effect.
But this kind of relaxation came quickly and left just as quickly.
It was as if the malevolent qi in Chu Weiyang's body had formed a kind of "balance."
Soon, strands of malevolent qi emerged from his limbs and bones, gradually pouring into the elixir field, once again eroding the elemental qi and magical power.
In this process, Chu Weiyang also sensed the strand of sword intent hovering above the elixir field.
The sword intent formed by the startling awakening transformed into a sun slowly "breathing in" the malevolent qi, gradually sharpening and strengthening the essence of the sword intent.
This meant that the two paths Chu Weiyang and the steward had discussed seemed to have both been successful.
But the situation was still not very optimistic.
The elixir was effective but not highly effective.
Bound by the quantity of medicinal power, using the Hundred Herbs Breaking Calamity Pill was almost like moving a mountain.
Similarly, the sword intent was still too weak.
But Chu Weiyang was already very satisfied with this result.
Moving a mountain was better than having no way out, and at least there would come a day when even the highest mountain could be moved.
Thinking this, Chu Weiyang carefully sensed the last trace of medicinal power dissipating in the elixir field, then took out a wooden box from his sleeve robe.
It stung a bit.
But Chu Weiyang didn't spend too much time examining it.
He immediately removed the talisman and took out the Dragon-Tiger Returning Yuan Pill.
The round precious pill's surface was interwoven with layers of pill patterns, resembling cloud seals, and it smelled a rich medicinal fragrance when gently sniffed, which invigorated Chu Weiyang's spirit.
With a sense of anticipation, Chu Weiyang swallowed the Dragon-Tiger Returning Yuan Pill.
Boom!
In the depths of his mind, it seemed like thunder was exploding in Chu Weiyang's ears.
In an instant, the young man's face turned red, and a violent heat wave surged in his intense breathing.
The extremely rich elemental qi and medicinal power almost caught Chu Weiyang off guard.
At this moment, Chu Weiyang truly felt the stark difference between three taels of alchemy and thirty spirit stones and one twenty taels of alchemy.
More crucially, the continuous accumulation of blood food along the way, in the face of the rich elemental qi and magical power refined from the elixir that emerged with the precious pill, suddenly, the bottleneck that had been lingering in Chu Weiyang's realm shattered silently!
The sudden changes in various aspects momentarily caught Chu Weiyang off guard, causing him to be flustered.
Faced with the surge of magical power in the elixir field, the strands of elemental qi mixed with malevolent qi dispersed, making Chu Weiyang unsure of how to deal with the advancement in his realm.
Perhaps he should swallow a spirit stone to replenish the elemental qi?
Just as he was pondering this, Chu Weiyang heard the steward's voice in his ear.
"Don't just stand there stupidly, beware of demonic possession, malevolent qi damaging the heart meridians!"
"Draw your sword!"
"At this moment, act according to the situation!"
"Start refining the 'Springtime Sword' from the beginning!"
"I understand! I understand how your sword intent works!"
"Don't try to hide it from me! Is it the 'Five Organs Nourishing Qi Essence Technique'?"
"In ancient times, cultivators eating the morning dew and drinking the evening mist were all legends. Why can't sword intent be consumed?"
"But this is very special. Your emotions are just the trigger, the sword intent travels through the meridians of the five organs, refining the five elements is the pure process of sword intent..."
"So your anger is not anger, nor is it killing intent, but thunder and fire, it's the startling awakening of spring!"
"But 'Springtime Sword' has six chapters!"
"Visualization, you still need to visualize! Visualize the Beginning of Spring! Visualize the Rain Water!"
"The Beginning of Spring is the root, it is where the Three Elements are peaceful!"
"Rain Water is the symbol of magical power, it is where the nourishment of the meridians lies!"
"The advancement in realm is the opportunity, it is the opportunity for you to condense these two sword intents!"
Many books are already hard to find, so cherish what you have.