The Terrifying Path of Immortal Cultivation

Wang Kuohai arranged a room for Li Qing, or rather an independent small courtyard.

The Tianxia Escort Agency's mansion in this Jade City is not small, housing several dozen people at least.

After accepting Wang Kuohai's warm hospitality, Li Qing finally lay down on the bed.

Feeling the soft blanket and the dim candle burning, he let out a deep sigh.

"Finally safe, it's too dangerous outside."

After resting for a while, Li Qing turned over.

He walked to the table where there was a brush and a small bowl, which the servants had brought for him when he returned.

"Now that it's temporarily safe, I should practice the new 'Blood Essence Art' first."

"This world is too dangerous, and I must enhance my self-defense ability as much as possible."

The recent experiences made Li Qing feel a sense of urgency, as if some disaster was approaching.

Taking off his shirt, he picked up the hundred-forged steel knife and cut his left hand's five fingers, letting a large amount of blood drip.

His blood now was very red, looking as bright as a ruby.

The blood was obviously different from that of a normal person.

Li Qing looked at the bowl of blood, his expression changing inexplicably.

"At the end of this practice, I'm afraid I won't be human anymore."

"But there's no other way, this world is too strange."

Shaking his head slightly, he picked up the brush, dipped it in the blood, and began to write two different blood spells, one for the heavens and one for the earth, on his body.

The blood spells seemed to be imprinted in his mind, and he only needed to continue writing them.

In the blink of an eye, an hour had passed, and the total length of the heaven and earth blood spells exceeded 6000 characters.

After finishing writing, Li Qing felt a soreness in his right wrist.

As he finished the last character, the bright blood light emitted from the blood spells on his body, as if it had life, quickly circulated all over his body and sank into his skin.

A severe pain erupted from within his body, and Li Qing struggled to lie down on the bed.

Countless blood-colored characters turned into two large networks, covering all his blood vessels in his body.

A strange rhythm kept sounding, and countless blood surged frantically.

The essence in his body accelerated, making the pain even more profound.

"Hmph..."

Li Qing groaned in pain, his muscles and bones convulsing, as if he were a lobster with its tendons pulled, instinctively struggling.

His eyes widened, and he gripped the bed tightly, his whole body turning red.

His eyes were filled with dense blood vessels, and there seemed to be traces of characters flickering on the blood vessels.

This pain was at least twice as intense as the first time he practiced. Li Qing felt his consciousness becoming somewhat blurry.

But he didn't faint. According to the requirements of the 'Blood Essence Art', he absolutely couldn't faint during the Body Refining process of the blood spells.

Otherwise, he would die from the backlash of the blood spells.

Li Qing gritted his teeth, not making a sound. He didn't want anyone to discover his practice.

The 'Blood Refinement Art' and 'Blood Fusion Art' were definitely from a certain Demon Dao sect.

It was a typical method for quick success. Although it had been optimized by the jade tablet, the fundamental nature of Demon Dao remained unchanged.

The practice of any Demon Dao technique inevitably came with a price. Although the most serious price had been eliminated on the jade tablet, the pain during practice could not be avoided.

An hour passed, and Li Qing was covered in sweat, completely motionless, lying on the ground.

"Hoo... hoo..."

Breathing heavily, a hint of a smile appeared on Li Qing's face. He had finally made it through.

The essence in his body was surging, and he could clearly feel that the essence had become deeper red, although the quantity hadn't changed and still only accounted for one-fifth of the total blood volume.

But the purity had at least doubled.

"Now, my life-saving ability should have improved again."

After resting for a while, Li Qing slowly stood up.

Mentally circulating the essence, feeling it tremble slightly, he activated the innate skill 'Blood Ignition' contained in the 'Blood Essence Art'.

In an instant, he felt a third of his essence disappear into thin air.

Then, he sensed the changes in his body.

Grabbing the hundred-forged steel knife, he swung it in the room.

Puff, puff, puff.

Each cut sliced through the air, bringing a sharp whistling and breaking sound.

The blood light on the knife became even brighter, as if a blazing flame was burning.

It had a peculiar nature.

Pfft.

The blade light flashed and struck a stool.

The stool broke into two halves with a sound, and a faint burnt smell appeared where the blade light had passed.

Li Qing's eyes lit up, and he quickly walked over to examine it carefully.

There was a layer of black scorch marks where the stool had been cut, as if it had been burned by a hot flame.

"The power of Blood Ignition is quite strong."

"First, my body can clearly feel the increase in strength and speed, and second, the essence seems to have acquired a burning nature."

"This burning sensation is different from ordinary flames. It seems to have little heat, but its effect is similar to burning."

"Is it equivalent to the True Qi attribute in martial arts novels?"

Li Qing pondered, "Now, I have a sword technique and possess a certain level of close combat ability."

"Combined with the Spirit-summoning Card, I have a certain level of long-range combat ability, and it seems like I have no weaknesses."

"The ability of the jade tablet is to optimize all knowledge, and what I need to do is to continuously collect and practice various types of techniques, so as to integrate all the strengths and create my own path."

"However, the techniques in this world are usually very dangerous and come with a price."

"The techniques optimized by the jade tablet currently don't seem to have any problems."

"But for more advanced techniques in the future, perhaps the price is inevitable."

"It's just a matter of how heavy the price is."

"So, I have to be careful. I absolutely cannot practice unsuitable techniques and should try to find a path of practice that requires no or minimal cost."

"I don't want to be a shop assistant for another ten years. That kind of life is too hard to bear."

Thinking of the ten years he spent at the Flower Moon Study House, it was completely a servant's life.

Having finally gained power and freedom, Li Qing was determined not to return to that kind of life.

He took a few steps back to the bed, his mind contemplating the path ahead.

"Warriors can condense their Qi and blood. It sounds similar to the essence I practice, as if they are both rooted in the bloodline."

"Perhaps I can collect more martial arts and have the jade tablet optimize them, maybe I can integrate multiple martial arts into one, creating a more powerful technique that complements the 'Blood Essence Art'."

"This is currently the most likely path for me."

With a goal in mind, Li Qing slowly lay down and drifted into sleep.

The essence naturally circulated, and he was enveloped in a faint red light.

"Knock, knock, knock."

After an unknown amount of time, the sound of knocking suddenly rang out.