A dark red airflow circulated around Junior Leopard, covering every inch of his skin. It made an even stranger sight when a piece of pink airflow became detached from the dark red airflow and floated to the space between his eyebrows.
The pit full of dark red mucus, the airflow entwining Junior Leopard, as well as the pink airflow detaching from its dark red counterpart were three different forms that Blood Essence Evil Yuan presented around Junior Leopard. This was an inevitable step for him if he wanted to practice the Extreme Yang Heavenly Sword. He first needed to dilute the liquidated Evil Qi from the Blood Essence Evil Yuan and turned it into gas. However, it was not easy to use the Blood Essence Evil Yuan at such concentration even if it was in gas form. He still needed to dilute the highly concentrated dark red airflow before he could begin refining his sword.
It was a tedious process, but once everything was put in order, Junior Leopard realized it was not a difficult task at all.
Yin and Yang Heavenly Sword truly deserved its reputation as a mighty Special Technique. It was particularly good at the fusion and isomerization of Evil Qi. Of course, he also owed thanks to his Fiery Eyes. No matter how powerful the Yin and Yang Heavenly Sword was, his body would not be strong enough to take on the violent Evil Qi of the Blood Essence Evil Yuan without his pair of so-called legendary Eternal Eyes.
After the Yin and Yang Heavenly Sword isomerized the Blood Essence Evil Yuan, it was absorbed. It was then fused with the Internal Qi of Nine Dragons Heavenly Fire in Junior Leopard's External Elixir. It was cleared by the Yin and Yang Heavenly Sword, forming pieces of sharp sword wires. Those red sword wires wandered the abstruse way of Yin and Yang Heavenly Sword from the space between Junior Leopard's eyebrows. But like water and oil, it did not merge with the Internal Qi in the External Elixir.
While still seated cross-legged, there was a sudden shift in Junior Leopard's placid expression. His face flushed heavily and he abruptly opened his eyes, revealing red lights in his irises. The black lines in his irises rotated and the Blood Essence Evil Yuan in the pit in front surged as if it was stimulated by something.
Junior Leopard had remained seated in place for three whole days. On the first day, he tried to absorb the Evil Qi in the pit with his External Elixir. He did well thanks to the way of Yin and Yang Heavenly Sword. In just two days, he had refined a whole layer of Blood Essence Evil Yuan in the pit. He had also successfully refined the External Elixir between his eyebrows into an all-conquering red sword wire. If he further refined the Blood Essence Evil Yuan, he would be able to forge the first piece of the Sword Qi.
But surprisingly, his External Elixir suddenly vibrated as if it was attacked just as his first piece of Sword Qi was about to be shaped. The speed of absorbing Evil Qi rose unexpectedly and in a very short time, all red pneuma around him was absorbed into the space between his eyebrows. It also resulted in an unusual action of the Blood Essence Evil Yuan, completely messing his plans for practice. Noticing the strangeness, he opened his Fiery Eyes at once and used its inner vision to examine the condition of the External Elixir between his eyebrows.
"This is the power of the Yin and Yang Heavenly Sword!" As he watched a large amount of Blood Essence Evil Yuan being absorbed into the External Elixir between his eyebrows, the black lines on his irises rotated faster and faster. He estimated his control of divine thoughts to the Blood Essence Evil Yuan in the External Elixir between his eyebrows was now ten times better.
The high amount of activity in his brain allowed him to enter a mysterious, wonderful state where all was forgotten. Almost madly, he isomerized the Blood Essence Evil Yuan to be absorbed into his Fiery Eyes. At the same time, he kept his eyes on the fusion of the sword wires with his External Elixir to forge the Sword Qi.
After an unknown period of time had passed, the red glow in Junior Leopard's wide-open eyes gradually dimmed. The rotation of the black lines on his irises became slower and it finally stopped.
The miraculous glow in his eyes disappeared as well and his eyes appeared clouded. Slowly, his eyes closed and his head drooped, having lost consciousness.
He was knocked out for three whole days. When he opened his eyes again, he felt only a splitting headache and an exhaustion that pushed him to the limits. He felt like immensely lethargic as if he could sleep for another three days.
"It looks like I've completely exhausted my Fiery Eyes." Junior Leopard examined his body, finding no damage. But he had expended his Fiery Eyes so much that his mind was overwhelmed and he was extremely exhausted. When he looked at the pit in front of him, he saw that it was completely empty of Blood Essence Evil Yuan. Not even the slightest trace of it was left.
"Let's check how powerful my Extreme Yang Heavenly Sword is now!" With a slight shift of his thoughts, the space between his eyebrows flashed red and shot a sanguine sword light, impaling it in the stone wall in front of him without any sound. The red light disappeared, leaving a thumb-like round hole in the wall.
Junior Leopard blinked, quietly inhaling a breath of air.
"Damn! What a terrifying attack force!"
He looked a bit pale when staring at the hole.
That was because he could see clearly that the Sword Qi had penetrated several hundreds of feet underground in a flash, despite the silence of his attack earlier. What was worse was the fact that the attack was accompanied by a terrible heat coming from the Blood Essence Evil Yuan. In his view, his attack was akin to a small High Heat Particle Gun. It was something that existed only in science fiction. It may even be even stronger than a Particle Gun. Compared with a High Heat Particle Gun, his attack even carried the extremely lethal sharp Sword Qi.
"No wonder Snake King holds the Yin and Yang Heavenly Sword in such high esteem. If the Extreme Yang Heavenly Sword alone is so powerful, how awesome will it be if I put the two forms together? But if I want to store such Sword Qi inside my body, I'll need a lot of physical strength!"
Considering physical strength, Junior Leopard was suddenly reminded of a problem.
"Wang She once mentioned that a person can only withstand nine Special Techniques no matter who he is and how advanced his cultivation is. But what if he has an External Elixir?"
What would happen if the inclusion of an External Elixir was taken into consideration?
An External Elixir could be considered as another body with its an integrated and independent internal Qi operating system. What would the outcome be if the External Elixir was used as a medium to store the Special Techniques?
It was akin to how Junior Leopard was storing the Extreme Yang Heavenly Sword in the External Elixir between his eyebrows. Would it be counted as one storing out of the nine Special Techniques?
"Maybe it's because External Elixirs are rare and not all are as sturdy as the eternal Fiery Eyes. That may be the reason why they're not taken into consideration."
Junior Leopard thought of this possibility, so he put this thought aside.
With his hand pressed against the ground, he propped himself up from his sitting posture. In a moment of inattentiveness, he nearly stumbled before he could stand firm on his feet.
"I didn't think it's still possible for me to experience sores after sitting for so long. My body now is in the Full Closure of Skin-Toughening Realm. There shouldn't be any problem like this! I must really have overused my Spiritual Strength. Seems like I better take a rest and recover before I leave this place!"
Junior Leopard was about to leave when he recalled Qi Ying, the Lieutenant-Colonel he met in the entrance of underground fire vein. His heart sank. He was not afraid of Qi Ying, but he was truly in poor condition at this moment. If he left now and met Qi Ying or any of his companions, he may suffer in their hands. Before he had entered this place, he had taught Qi Ying a lesson. If he was treated the same way by Qi Ying's companions on his way out, that would be too depressing.
Considering this, Junior Leopard did not try to rush matters. He sat down and prepared to regulate his breathing and nurse his spirit.
...
...
Guard County Manor, Zhonghejun City.
The Mayor Wan An was inside the guest room wearing a gloomy expression. He stood in front of the bed, staring at the Qi Ying who drifted in and out of consciousness.
"Doctor Ming, how is Inspector Qin now? Why does he remain in such condition for the past few days? Even when he's awake, he seems to be very confused!"
"Alas. His injuries are too heavy." Doctor Ming was a man in his sixties. Helplessness marked his wrinkled face, which was covered with a flowing white beard. "The one who injured him landed him with a very calculated kick. Though it's not lethal, the kick still hurt his viscera heavily. He needs to recover for a very long time."
"Will it affect him in any way in the future?"
"His condition isn't that bad. Though his viscera suffer serious injuries, it won't hurt his foundation. But he'll be in a lot of pain during the recovery process. He has learned martial arts for so many years, so his body is stronger than ordinary people. He'll soon recover if he's carefully nursed and nourished by quality medicinal herbs. However, it's best if he doesn't practice any martial arts or Qi within a year's time. It'll help him recover sooner."
"One whole year?!"
"This is the most optimistic estimation." Doctor Ming smiled bitterly. "The one who attacked him didn't go over the line but was insidious. He can't be an ordinary person!"
"Humph!" Wan An snorted in anger and had someone send Doctor Ming out of the Guard County Manor. He stared at Qi Ying, his expression becoming uncertain.
"Your Excellency, Constable Li is back!"
While Wan An was basking in anger, the footboy's voice came from outside the door.
"Tell him to wait in the study!"
"Yes!"
As the sound of the footsteps gradually dimmed, Wan An slowly took a seat at the table. He looked solemn as he fell into deep thought.
After an hour, he finally sighed and left the guest room for the study.
"Your Excellency, you're here!"
Inside the study, a man dressed in sackcloth rushed forward when he saw Wan An and saluted him respectfully. "I'm your humble servant, Li Sihai. I pay my respects to Your Excellency!"
"Do away with the courtesy!" Wan An waved impatiently. "How is the investigation I ordered you to do?"
"I've found out the truth," Li Sihai said in a hurry. "That night, there were a total of 14 people from the Personal Guard Camp drinking in the restaurant. They were mainly there to welcome Zhou Bao's return. Only three left the restaurant in that time and they even left at the same time."
"Oh. Which three?"
"Camp Supervisor Qi Fei and personal guards Zhou Bao and Dong Chen."
"Zhou Bao! Why Zhou Bao appeared again!" Wan An exploded in anger when he heard Zhou Bao's name.
"Your Excellency, Zhou Bao's sister and brother-in-law both live in the city. Should I...?"
"Shut up! I have my plan!" Wan An reprimanded him coldly. "Don't you make a move on your own!"
"Yes!"
A dark red airflow circulated around Junior Leopard, covering every inch of his skin. It made an even stranger sight when a piece of pink airflow became detached from the dark red airflow and floated to the space between his eyebrows.
The pit full of dark red mucus, the airflow entwining Junior Leopard, as well as the pink airflow detaching from its dark red counterpart were three different forms that Blood Essence Evil Yuan presented around Junior Leopard. This was an inevitable step for him if he wanted to practice the Extreme Yang Heavenly Sword. He first needed to dilute the liquidated Evil Qi from the Blood Essence Evil Yuan and turned it into gas. However, it was not easy to use the Blood Essence Evil Yuan at such concentration even if it was in gas form. He still needed to dilute the highly concentrated dark red airflow before he could begin refining his sword.
It was a tedious process, but once everything was put in order, Junior Leopard realized it was not a difficult task at all.
Yin and Yang Heavenly Sword truly deserved its reputation as a mighty Special Technique. It was particularly good at the fusion and isomerization of Evil Qi. Of course, he also owed thanks to his Fiery Eyes. No matter how powerful the Yin and Yang Heavenly Sword was, his body would not be strong enough to take on the violent Evil Qi of the Blood Essence Evil Yuan without his pair of so-called legendary Eternal Eyes.
After the Yin and Yang Heavenly Sword isomerized the Blood Essence Evil Yuan, it was absorbed. It was then fused with the Internal Qi of Nine Dragons Heavenly Fire in Junior Leopard's External Elixir. It was cleared by the Yin and Yang Heavenly Sword, forming pieces of sharp sword wires. Those red sword wires wandered the abstruse way of Yin and Yang Heavenly Sword from the space between Junior Leopard's eyebrows. But like water and oil, it did not merge with the Internal Qi in the External Elixir.
While still seated cross-legged, there was a sudden shift in Junior Leopard's placid expression. His face flushed heavily and he abruptly opened his eyes, revealing red lights in his irises. The black lines in his irises rotated and the Blood Essence Evil Yuan in the pit in front surged as if it was stimulated by something.
Junior Leopard had remained seated in place for three whole days. On the first day, he tried to absorb the Evil Qi in the pit with his External Elixir. He did well thanks to the way of Yin and Yang Heavenly Sword. In just two days, he had refined a whole layer of Blood Essence Evil Yuan in the pit. He had also successfully refined the External Elixir between his eyebrows into an all-conquering red sword wire. If he further refined the Blood Essence Evil Yuan, he would be able to forge the first piece of the Sword Qi.
But surprisingly, his External Elixir suddenly vibrated as if it was attacked just as his first piece of Sword Qi was about to be shaped. The speed of absorbing Evil Qi rose unexpectedly and in a very short time, all red pneuma around him was absorbed into the space between his eyebrows. It also resulted in an unusual action of the Blood Essence Evil Yuan, completely messing his plans for practice. Noticing the strangeness, he opened his Fiery Eyes at once and used its inner vision to examine the condition of the External Elixir between his eyebrows.
"This is the power of the Yin and Yang Heavenly Sword!" As he watched a large amount of Blood Essence Evil Yuan being absorbed into the External Elixir between his eyebrows, the black lines on his irises rotated faster and faster. He estimated his control of divine thoughts to the Blood Essence Evil Yuan in the External Elixir between his eyebrows was now ten times better.
The high amount of activity in his brain allowed him to enter a mysterious, wonderful state where all was forgotten. Almost madly, he isomerized the Blood Essence Evil Yuan to be absorbed into his Fiery Eyes. At the same time, he kept his eyes on the fusion of the sword wires with his External Elixir to forge the Sword Qi.
After an unknown period of time had passed, the red glow in Junior Leopard's wide-open eyes gradually dimmed. The rotation of the black lines on his irises became slower and it finally stopped.
The miraculous glow in his eyes disappeared as well and his eyes appeared clouded. Slowly, his eyes closed and his head drooped, having lost consciousness.
He was knocked out for three whole days. When he opened his eyes again, he felt only a splitting headache and an exhaustion that pushed him to the limits. He felt like immensely lethargic as if he could sleep for another three days.
"It looks like I've completely exhausted my Fiery Eyes." Junior Leopard examined his body, finding no damage. But he had expended his Fiery Eyes so much that his mind was overwhelmed and he was extremely exhausted. When he looked at the pit in front of him, he saw that it was completely empty of Blood Essence Evil Yuan. Not even the slightest trace of it was left.
"Let's check how powerful my Extreme Yang Heavenly Sword is now!" With a slight shift of his thoughts, the space between his eyebrows flashed red and shot a sanguine sword light, impaling it in the stone wall in front of him without any sound. The red light disappeared, leaving a thumb-like round hole in the wall.
Junior Leopard blinked, quietly inhaling a breath of air.
"Damn! What a terrifying attack force!"
He looked a bit pale when staring at the hole.
That was because he could see clearly that the Sword Qi had penetrated several hundreds of feet underground in a flash, despite the silence of his attack earlier. What was worse was the fact that the attack was accompanied by a terrible heat coming from the Blood Essence Evil Yuan. In his view, his attack was akin to a small High Heat Particle Gun. It was something that existed only in science fiction. It may even be even stronger than a Particle Gun. Compared with a High Heat Particle Gun, his attack even carried the extremely lethal sharp Sword Qi.
"No wonder Snake King holds the Yin and Yang Heavenly Sword in such high esteem. If the Extreme Yang Heavenly Sword alone is so powerful, how awesome will it be if I put the two forms together? But if I want to store such Sword Qi inside my body, I'll need a lot of physical strength!"
Considering physical strength, Junior Leopard was suddenly reminded of a problem.
"Wang She once mentioned that a person can only withstand nine Special Techniques no matter who he is and how advanced his cultivation is. But what if he has an External Elixir?"
What would happen if the inclusion of an External Elixir was taken into consideration?
An External Elixir could be considered as another body with its an integrated and independent internal Qi operating system. What would the outcome be if the External Elixir was used as a medium to store the Special Techniques?
It was akin to how Junior Leopard was storing the Extreme Yang Heavenly Sword in the External Elixir between his eyebrows. Would it be counted as one storing out of the nine Special Techniques?
"Maybe it's because External Elixirs are rare and not all are as sturdy as the eternal Fiery Eyes. That may be the reason why they're not taken into consideration."
Junior Leopard thought of this possibility, so he put this thought aside.
With his hand pressed against the ground, he propped himself up from his sitting posture. In a moment of inattentiveness, he nearly stumbled before he could stand firm on his feet.
"I didn't think it's still possible for me to experience sores after sitting for so long. My body now is in the Full Closure of Skin-Toughening Realm. There shouldn't be any problem like this! I must really have overused my Spiritual Strength. Seems like I better take a rest and recover before I leave this place!"
Junior Leopard was about to leave when he recalled Qi Ying, the Lieutenant-Colonel he met in the entrance of underground fire vein. His heart sank. He was not afraid of Qi Ying, but he was truly in poor condition at this moment. If he left now and met Qi Ying or any of his companions, he may suffer in their hands. Before he had entered this place, he had taught Qi Ying a lesson. If he was treated the same way by Qi Ying's companions on his way out, that would be too depressing.
Considering this, Junior Leopard did not try to rush matters. He sat down and prepared to regulate his breathing and nurse his spirit.
...
...
Guard County Manor, Zhonghejun City.
The Mayor Wan An was inside the guest room wearing a gloomy expression. He stood in front of the bed, staring at the Qi Ying who drifted in and out of consciousness.
"Doctor Ming, how is Inspector Qin now? Why does he remain in such condition for the past few days? Even when he's awake, he seems to be very confused!"
"Alas. His injuries are too heavy." Doctor Ming was a man in his sixties. Helplessness marked his wrinkled face, which was covered with a flowing white beard. "The one who injured him landed him with a very calculated kick. Though it's not lethal, the kick still hurt his viscera heavily. He needs to recover for a very long time."
"Will it affect him in any way in the future?"
"His condition isn't that bad. Though his viscera suffer serious injuries, it won't hurt his foundation. But he'll be in a lot of pain during the recovery process. He has learned martial arts for so many years, so his body is stronger than ordinary people. He'll soon recover if he's carefully nursed and nourished by quality medicinal herbs. However, it's best if he doesn't practice any martial arts or Qi within a year's time. It'll help him recover sooner."
"One whole year?!"
"This is the most optimistic estimation." Doctor Ming smiled bitterly. "The one who attacked him didn't go over the line but was insidious. He can't be an ordinary person!"
"Humph!" Wan An snorted in anger and had someone send Doctor Ming out of the Guard County Manor. He stared at Qi Ying, his expression becoming uncertain.
"Your Excellency, Constable Li is back!"
While Wan An was basking in anger, the footboy's voice came from outside the door.
"Tell him to wait in the study!"
"Yes!"
As the sound of the footsteps gradually dimmed, Wan An slowly took a seat at the table. He looked solemn as he fell into deep thought.
After an hour, he finally sighed and left the guest room for the study.
"Your Excellency, you're here!"
Inside the study, a man dressed in sackcloth rushed forward when he saw Wan An and saluted him respectfully. "I'm your humble servant, Li Sihai. I pay my respects to Your Excellency!"
"Do away with the courtesy!" Wan An waved impatiently. "How is the investigation I ordered you to do?"
"I've found out the truth," Li Sihai said in a hurry. "That night, there were a total of 14 people from the Personal Guard Camp drinking in the restaurant. They were mainly there to welcome Zhou Bao's return. Only three left the restaurant in that time and they even left at the same time."
"Oh. Which three?"
"Camp Supervisor Qi Fei and personal guards Zhou Bao and Dong Chen."
"Zhou Bao! Why Zhou Bao appeared again!" Wan An exploded in anger when he heard Zhou Bao's name.
"Your Excellency, Zhou Bao's sister and brother-in-law both live in the city. Should I...?"
"Shut up! I have my plan!" Wan An reprimanded him coldly. "Don't you make a move on your own!"
"Yes!"
