Gazing at the old servant who had fallen from mid-air, Shen Qing straightened out a few wrinkles on his chest caused by the crowd, his face calm."Although the Dragon Roar Armor is only at the level of Small Success and isn't a martial art of great depth, once mastered, even the Qi strength of a Qi Cultivation Realm martial master cannot penetrate the outermost layer of membrane."
"This was my first exchange with a Qi Cultivation Realm martial master, and this membrane is much more resilient than I had imagined."
Shen Qing put away his heavy bow and suddenly his divine sense vibrated.
Lines of water ink text appeared in his vision within the Water Ink Panel.
Through constant use, the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Skill had unwittingly met the conditions for a breakthrough.
Note: Skill: Nine Revolutions Mysterious Skill (Skillful/Fourth Transformation)
Note: Progress: 501/500 points
Note: Status: Can be advanced
Note: The Nine Revolutions Mysterious Skill is a cultivation technique that reverses Qi-Blood, containing violent strength and imposing a great burden on the body. The higher the level, the greater the power and burden, with a certain probability of transformation in later breakthroughs to eradicate negative effects.
Shen Qing's eyebrows slightly furrowed. Sёarch* The NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
Up to now, thanks to the Blood Dominance Technique, his Qi-Blood volume was exceptional and his recovery rate remarkably quick.
Therefore, the side effects of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Skill weren't very serious for him.
This was mostly because the cultivation technique was still at a relatively low level.
The higher the level of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Skill, the more obvious the side effects would become. If he could eliminate these side effects later, it would undoubtedly be a good thing for him.
Shen Qing took a deep breath and, without overthinking it, focused his consciousness directly on the Water Ink Panel.
The next moment, the information on the Water Ink Panel immediately refreshed.
Note: Skill: Nine Revolutions Mysterious Skill (Small Success/Fifth Transformation)
Note: Progress: 1/600 points
As the Water Ink Panel refreshed, the Qi-Blood contained within Shen Qing's body shuttled through his flesh and blood, constantly reversing and being compressed, becoming fierce.
After experiencing four consecutive reversals, Shen Qing felt the Qi-Blood inside him start to boil.
Finally, at a certain moment, Shen Qing felt the shackles within him quietly break, and the fierce Qi-Blood began its fifth reversal.
He suddenly opened his eyes and pointed with his hand, causing the air to emit bursts of booming sounds and the Qi to surge wildly.
"Nine Revolutions Mysterious Skill, the Fifth Transformation is achieved, its power has risen a notch compared to before," Shen Qing murmured with a trace of joy on his face.
The power derived from the Fourth Transformation was already capable of dealing with Qi Cultivation Realm martial masters. Now, with an additional transformation, he might be able to handle a martial master of the Qi Hai Realm as well.
Looking at the mark that indicated the small success of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Skill on the Water Ink Panel, Shen Qing's spirits gradually relaxed, and he was about to check the old servant's corpse.
Suddenly, a wave of dizziness and weakness washed over him.
Fortunately, moments later, Shen Qing quickly reacted, realizing it was a major side effect of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Skill, and hurriedly circulated the Blood Dominance Technique to replenish the Qi-Blood his body lacked.
Under the effect of the Blood Dominance Technique, the dizziness and weakness caused by the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Skill slowly faded after about eight breaths.
"The side effects of the Fifth Transformation have intensified. Judging by these side effects, the unleashed power might hold some unexpected surprises when it hits someone," Shen Qing said softly to himself.
After making sure his body was fine, Shen Qing wasted no time, leapt like a hawk onto a rooftop, and landed next to the corpse of the old servant.
At this moment, the Zhou Family's old servant's eyes were wide open, his face frozen with shock and unwillingness, his limbs sprawled weakly, no longer showing any signs of life.
Blood was slowly spreading on the cold stone floor beneath the position of his upper back, forming a glaring red stain.
Shen Qing bent down and carefully searched through the still warm body of the old servant, but found no items of value.
His eyebrows furrowed, disappointment flashing in his eyes.
"As expected, those who serve and toil for others, who are slaves and maidservants, even if they have some skills, they cannot escape the reality of being poor," he thought.
Boom!
Just then, a loud noise came from outside the city gate.
Shen Qing felt a slight tremor in the ground.
He quickly looked towards the source of the sound and saw a cloud of blue smoke rising like a mushroom, intertwined with faint flashes of lightning.
Shen Qing was all too familiar with this sight.
Martial Mechanism Bomb!
The Huang Tian Sect had begun their attack on the city.
Shen Qing's expression became serious.
The [Eagle Eye] Skill activated.
Instantly, multiple images of the surroundings of Taiping County came into his mind, forming an overview.
Using the ability of [sharp eyesight], Shen Qing could clearly see everything inside and outside the city. Large numbers of the Huang Tian Sect disciples were coming from the south, west, and north of the city.
Time was of the essence, he needed to find Xiao Hu as quickly as possible.
Shen Qing's gaze swept around, using the abilities of [Eagle Eye] and [sharp eyesight] to continuously confirm Xiao Hu's whereabouts.
He first checked around the courtyard, then looked down over it, only to find several bodies of young people.
Shen Qing recognized that none of these people was Shen Xiaohu.
Where could he be?
As time ticked away, after scanning the nearby streets for a long time, Shen Qing still came up empty-handed.
```
Scanning aimlessly like this, he realized that to find Shen Xiaohu within the city, he would have to exhaustively search every single person there.
Without at least half a day, it simply couldn't be done.
Now there wasn't much time left.
Shen Qing had already seen that the north gate had been breached by enemies both inside and out.
The disciples of the Huang Tian Sect had already started killing their way into Taiping County. Enjoy new tales from mvl
Leaving the east gate open, it was clear they were employing the tactic of encircling three sides and leaving one open.
Once Taiping County fell, they would surely seal off the city.
If he didn't leave now, it would become difficult to do so later.
The absence of Shen Xiaohu's body meant there was a greater possibility that he was still alive.
Many hunters from Hongshan Village were still in the city and had not moved, and since Shen Xiaohu himself had trained in martial arts, his strength was far greater than that of an ordinary person, making him more capable of self-preservation than those unarmed commoners.
After considering all these factors, Shen Qing decided it was best to leave now and come back to search for Shen Xiaohu once things settled down.
Shen Qing returned to the entrance of the courtyard, quickly untied his horse's reins, vaulted onto its back, and whipped it into a gallop toward the east gate, his figure gradually disappearing from the courtyard's entrance.
Taiping County, county government.
The disciples of the Huang Tian Sect fearlessly charged forward.
Some Yellow Angels and Holy Sect disciples, who had already sneaked into the city, took the lead in killing a few officials, then took out a yellow triangular flag, pinching seals with their hands and pointing in the air several times.
Soon, the flag spun in their hands without wind and unfurled by itself.
The Yellow Angel waved the yellow triangular flag twice, stirring up excitement as he spoke, "The Dog County Magistrate has more grain than one can eat, more money than one can spend, more treasures than one can use. Heaven above, whoever enters gets a share! Charge!"
A burst of yellow radiance flashed by.
The many disciples of the Huang Tian Sect who followed had their deepest desires and anger awakened.
As if recalling the oppression they had suffered, their faces turned fierce, and without fear, they forced open the doors of the government office.
Some disciples even strapped themselves with Martial Mechanism Bombs, rushing forward to die together with the officials.
The sounds of explosions were incessant.
"Lord County Magistrate, Team Leader Wang from the garrison was killed by the Huang Tian Sect commander who broke in; the north gate has fallen, and the west gate has also been lost. We cannot hold Taiping County anymore," the County Governor said in utter panic.
County Magistrate Du Yuntong's face was ashen as he replied, "So fast?"
"The enemy had prepared for a long time and came fiercely. We were caught off guard, this isn't Lord County Magistrate's fault," the County Governor quickly said. "We must leave at once and report the situation here to the county government so that the county town can send troops to eradicate these bandits."
County Magistrate Du Yuntong, with a resolved bite, said, "Go call Team Leader Wang to bring people and leave together."
He shed his official uniform and hurried into the inner hall.
With arrangements made by Wang Yanjun and other trusted followers, they didn't bother with their valuables. A group of them mounted their horses and broke through the siege, quickly vanishing behind the government office.
Seeing this, the disciples of the Huang Tian Sect's morale soared, quickly occupying the government office.
Among the many followers, a Yellow Angel with a clear goal headed straight for the study of the former County Magistrate Du Yuntong and began to search.
He rummaged through cabinets and finally found a sandalwood box, opening it with anticipation.
Inside was a piece of incense.
"Hahaha, found it. The Zhou Dynasty distributes Guardian Spirit Fragrance as official salary, which they only use to assist in refining Wish Power Pearls. For us, however, it's an invaluable treasure for focused cultivation—it's truly wasted in their hands," the Yellow Angel laughed.
The Yellow Angel snapped the sandalwood box shut and after a quick glance around, he swiftly slipped out the back door of the government office.
Upon stepping outside, he was confronted by a handsome young man charging toward him on a tall black horse.
The Yellow Angel's expression changed.
The oncoming man's aggression was clear—he was here for my Guardian Spirit Fragrance.
To hell with this!
In a hurry, he took out a Martial Arts Thunder, preparing to throw it and blast the attacker to smithereens.
Seated on the horse, Shen Qing saw the familiar object and instinctively pointed his finger out.
Bang!
Wind Force Qi burst out, striking the Yellow Angel on the neck.
Before the Yellow Angel could grasp what was happening, he felt his world spin and lost all sensation of his body, slowly slipping into unconsciousness.
"Shit..."
As Shen Qing looked at the decapitated Yellow Angel, his face turned grim.
The disciples of the Huang Tian Sect were truly maniacs, killing on sight. He absolutely had to leave the county town.
Just as Shen Qing was about to spur his horse and leave, he noticed the wooden box in the other man's arms. Without giving it much thought and purely on instinct, he grabbed the sandalwood box and the undetonated Martial Arts Thunder and immediately left.
Above the ferry outside Taiping County, aboard the Zhou Family's tower ship.
Zhou Xintong, the fifth young master, stood on deck gazing out. Seeing the flames soaring into the sky from Taiping County in the distance, his expression showed impatience. He ordered his steward Zhou Hao below, "Set sail, back to Yongzhou."
Steward Zhou Hao didn't ask any questions and immediately responded, "Yes, young master."
"The young master commands, set sail!"
"Set sail!"
Many servants on the tower ship sprang into action. The large oars on either side of the ship were lifted high and dipped into the water, beginning to push against the current.
The tower ship slowly left the dock, heading downstream.