From a humble farmer to a great martial arts master

80. Heretical Cultivation

Standing atop the wall of the central courtyard, Ren Qingshan shot arrows one after another into the Blood Pool room, killing the snakes.

Those who crawled out were all killed, but many more remained in the pool of blood.

After jumping off the wall, Ren Qingshan searched the bodies of the four maids. There were snake cages in the corner of the inner courtyard, and the snakes must have been caught by them. He quickly found a lot of gold and silver, a secret manual, and more than a dozen bottles of medicine powder.

Unable to distinguish their effects, they were dumped in piles in the yard.

Two of the piles emitted a strange fragrance, and snakes in the blood pool inside the house began to stir and crawl out one after another.

It really works!

Ren Qingshan climbed back onto the wall, using the terrain to his advantage, and shot them all dead.

Only after no more snakes crawled out of the blood pool and the ground reeked of blood did Ren Qingshan envelop his entire body in his true energy. After glancing around and seeing that no one in the central courtyard was making any unusual movements, he jumped off the wall and carefully entered the blood pool room.

The candlelight flickered, casting a dim, yellowish glow.

In the pool of blood, the woman had an arrow stuck between her eyebrows, and blood was flowing from her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth... It was quite frightening.

It looked like she was practicing martial arts just now.

Ren Qingshan thought to himself.

Just then.

A small, bright green snake suddenly emerged from her nostril, looking extremely terrifying and eerie!

As soon as Ren Qingshan entered the room and saw this scene, he cursed under his breath and subconsciously stepped back.

And spicy strips too!

But this emerald green snake, like a streak of green light, sped toward Ren Qingshan!

It is only the length of a chopstick, but it moves extremely fast and is exceptionally agile, almost like it is flying.

Ren Qingshan's hair stood on end, his true energy surged, and he instantly unleashed the "Dragon Subduing Style" of the Dragon Subduing True Energy Battle Technique!

A dragon-shaped burst of true energy struck the emerald snake head-on, but it was completely unharmed. It moved nimbly toward its face, as if trying to burrow into its seven orifices.

What an insidious, cunning snake!

Ren Qingshan mentally complained, then enveloped his hands with his true energy and used the "Entanglement Technique." His ten fingers lightly gathered, twisted, wiped, and flicked, creating afterimages. In the blink of an eye, he had fought the green snake for more than forty rounds.

Seeing that there was no hole to crawl into, it became somewhat anxious, retreated into the pool of blood, and then crawled into the woman's nostril again, where it withdrew and could not come out.

It's as if...it's not someone practicing martial arts?

It's not that people are raising snakes!

Could this emerald snake be a treasure of the Divine Dragon Cult?

Ren Qingshan remained wary of the snakes in the blood pool. He looked around the room and saw three porcelain bottles, a jade box made of ice, and an ancient silk scroll unfolded on the table next to the blood pool.

The Five Dragons True Scripture.

I skimmed through it.

This is a classic text of the Divine Dragon Sect, a method of body refinement. From childhood, one tempers the body with snake venom and secret medicines to enhance resistance. When one reaches the late stage of Silver Blood and condenses the first wisp of true qi, one can seek out five different types of spirit snakes and use one's own blood and qi to nourish and refine the Five Dragon Treasure Body.

When opening up the energy channels in the Jade Marrow Realm, the five spirit snakes can be of assistance.

The internal organs are tempered and refined, which is also beneficial.

The cultivation of the Five Dragons Body requires a gradual process, and the first snake to be nurtured with qi and blood is the Jade Serpent.

The Jade Serpent is a unique and exotic beast. It is non-venomous, incredibly fast and strong, and possesses remarkable vitality, making it nearly immortal.

After a hundred days of spiritual practice with this snake, and reaching a state of mutual understanding, one can be cured of all poisons, and the snake's blood can be used as an excellent medicine for wounds.

Seeing all this, Ren Qingshan immediately understood the woman's cultivation level and situation in the blood pool.

She is a late-stage Silver Blood.

They are currently refining the first spirit snake.

"What kind of nonsensical, flashy techniques are these... one arrow and he's dead!"

Ren Qingshan felt disdain.

To be fair, this heretical cultivation technique does offer quick results. After cultivating the Five Dragons Body, one can reach the Internal Organs Realm in at most three years.

But no matter how fast it is, how can it compare to one's own earth book?

After glancing at the woman's corpse, Ren Qingshan opened the Frost Jade Box, which was specially designed to store the Jade Serpent. The inner wall of the box was coated with a snake-attracting elixir, and inside the Frost Jade Box, the Jade Serpent would hibernate and solidify into a "Snake Ball".

In a short while.

Sure enough, the jade snake appeared again, emerging from its nostrils and entering the jade box. Its scarlet tongue excitedly licked the inner wall, and it quickly fainted, only to be frozen into a snake ball.

Ren Qingshan closed the lid, turned the mechanism, and locked it.

They searched the house again and found a jade tablet of the Divine Dragon Sect. It was a piece of green jade with the words "Azure Dragon Envoy" written on it.

Is she the Azure Dragon Envoy?

She looks to be at most around twenty years old.

He cut off her head, carried it out, and then cut off the heads of the four female guards, which Ren Qingshan carried to the central courtyard.

There are too many bad people; we need to verify their identities!

It seems my reputation for having "neck pain" is truly well-deserved.

……

The women who were squatting were terrified when they saw this scene, and a slight disturbance arose.

Ren Qingshan scolded them a few times before calming the atmosphere and asked them if they knew any of the five heads.

He suspected that the Azure Dragon Envoy might be a descendant of the Qian family; otherwise, he wouldn't be here.

Everyone shook their heads, claiming they didn't know, but one of the madams' eyes darted around, and she lowered her head, looking slightly flustered.

Ren Qingshan strode forward, held a knife to her neck, and finally forced her to reveal: This is the eldest daughter of the Qian family, named Qian Yuyan. She entered the Shenxiao Holy Sect to learn martial arts a few years ago and returned last year during the Spring Festival.

The Divine Firmament Holy Sect?

Lu Qingyi's sect?

This sect has really made something of itself, even producing a Azure Dragon Envoy from the Divine Dragon Sect!

I wonder if Lu Qingyi knows her. Could she be her best friend?

It should not be.

Otherwise, if the Lu family were to encounter trouble, Lu Qingyi would seek help from the Qian family.

……

After confirming the identity, Ren Qingshan went back into the inner courtyard and, with considerable effort, retrieved the corpse from the blood pool.

They examined all five corpses and found dragon-shaped tattoos under the dantian of each body.

They untied the ropes binding the people and made them push carts, carrying the corpses and the gold and silver from the storeroom, all onto a large fish transport boat.

Go ahead and go.

……

The boat left Wangyue Lake and headed back the way it came. After passing through the karst cave, it entered the Jingnan Canal and went upstream.

We passed by Qianjia Wharf without stopping and continued straight ahead to the county town wharf.

As dawn broke.

More and more boats began to appear on the river.

The waterway is even further; it takes until at least noon to reach the county town's dock.

If the Qian family comes after me... I'm not afraid, but I'm afraid they'll destroy the ship and erase the evidence.

Ren Qingshan became increasingly vigilant, surveying his surroundings with his bow and arrows in hand.

We walked for a while longer.

Ahead, a large pleasure boat was sailing downstream, cutting through the waves.

There were many yamen runners at the bow of the boat.

Fang Yanping stood with his hands behind his back, in the wind.

"Qingshan, I've come to pick you up!"

Upon seeing Ren Qingshan in the distance, Fang Yanping shouted loudly, his clear voice revealing joy.

The two ships docked.

One by one, the constables and yamen runners jumped onto the boat. Looking at the scene before them, they all swallowed hard, filled with shock and horror.

Even Fang Yanping's eyelids twitched slightly.

Ren Qingshan is all alone!

There were more than twenty corpses on the ship!

Forty-two living people!

Not to mention these corpses, judging from their injuries, they were all killed with a single blow.

Such a record is truly astonishing, like a god of war descending to earth, brave and unparalleled.

"I killed the second and third leaders of that gang of bandits, Ghost Breeze, along with more than a dozen henchmen. I left only three survivors to take back for interrogation."

"I killed all five members of the Divine Dragon Cult."

"One of them is Qian Yuyan, the granddaughter of the Qian family. She joined the Divine Dragon Sect and is practicing the Five Dragons Body Technique. Her head and body are here."

Ren Qingshan looked at everyone, finally settling on Fang Yanping's face, and said calmly.

……

……